The best and worst of CollectA?

[Jetoar]

From my point of view, one of the best point of collecta, it is the price of the figures in general and also, the great collection of figures. Currently, they are doing better models than the past. I would like to see a new figure of triceratops  .

[suspsy]

I'm very fond of the Tyrannosaurus rex with Struthiomimus prey (base version).

[Patrx]

The Therizinosaurus is actually not bad, but I can't recommend any of the others. Perhaps the Deinocheirus, but now that more of the animal's anatomy is known, the model is sort of "outdated". The newer CollectA models have been better, but they almost invariably have some strange anatomical quirk or lapse in proportion that keeps me away.

[tanystropheus]

The Therizinosaurus is actually not bad, but I can't recommend any of the others. Perhaps the Deinocheirus, but now that more of the animal's anatomy is known, the model is sort of "outdated". The newer CollectA models have been better, but they almost invariably have some strange anatomical quirk or lapse in proportion that keeps me away.

I agree with your assessment. Most of the CollectA theropods have elongated skulls (there are some notable exceptions e.g. Neovenator). I am cautiously optimistic about the Carcharodontosaurus.

There is a large number of CollectA figures that I am on the fence about ...these anatomical quirks and unusual proportion (e.g. Torosaurus elongated snout/face) turn me away.

[Brontozaurus]

Most of CollectA's dinosaurs are average; the biggest reason to get some is that the line includes lots of obscure species that either haven't been done or were done in lines that are hard to get.

For best I'd nominate the Ampelosaurus. While it doesn't get the feet right it has very nice sculpting and the pose is quite nice. I'd also nominate the Argentinosaurus.

Their worst stuff is mostly from their early years. Most of their early theropods (with special mention for Eustreptospondylus and Allosaurus) are awful and need to be avoided (though some are just average, e.g. Tyrannosaurus). The old Triceratops is outclassed by their massive one and the (cheaper) dead Triceratops. And their baby dinosaurs are just creepy-go for the Safari versions which at least look like babies and not demonic hellspawn.

[Spinosaurus Aegyptiacus]

Simply judging by the pictures (and yes, I know it's dangerous), I'd step out on a limb and say (with my fingers crossed) that at least some of the 2014 CollectA models promise to be CollectA's best models yet.

[Hermes888]

I'm not going to provide an alternate view of CollectA's Tsintaosaurus for fear that I may be banned.
In case you're curious, here's the Dino Toy Blog review of the figure.

[Brontozaurus]

I don't think you'll be banned for that. We've had pics of their Megacerops on here, and there's nothing unintentional about THAT figure.

[tyrantqueen]

I wonder who was responsible for sculpting that Tsintaosaurus. I would like to contact him or her, and ask whether it was sculpted that way intentionally....

Btw, is it true that CollectA released a slightly toned down version after finding out about the controversy surrounding this model?

[Takama]

Last I heard. NO.  I just bought myself another one this year to test that theory and it had a dong on its head as well

I don't think you'll be banned for that. We've had pics of their Megacerops on here, and there's nothing unintentional about THAT figure.

Not to mention that I got a close up of the "Megathingy"(A word that was invented upon the first time the forum saw it in 2011) on The Dino Toy Blog

[Raptoress]

These are must-haves (which haven't yet been mentioned) as far as I'm concerned, they all balance an attractive look with ample scientific accuracy (mostly). Non-dinosaurs are also included.

Deluxe Deinocheirus:



Deluxe Neovenator:



Deluxe Amargasaurus:



Deluxe Megacerops:



Ampelosaurus:



Argentinosaurus:



Irritator:



Therizinosaurus:



Hatzegopteryx:

Excellent list. I would also include  Dolichorhynchops, Dacentrurus, Diplodocus, Deinotherium Diabloceratops.

Those all look brilliant. Really love that ampelosaurus. Thanks for your suggestions!

[Raptoress]

You seem to be experienced in this hobby. Do you happen to know of any good ceratopsian models you can recommend me?

I know I was not the target of this question but if I may chime in I suggest looking into the latest releases by Safari. They've released fantastic ceratopsians the last three years and a few years back released a Triceratops that is pretty good despite some inaccuracies. You probably already are aware of them but the Papo ones are pretty good too, even in terms of accuracy which is unusual for them.

From the looks of it, Safari have indeed made some pretty good ceratopsians. I particularly like their vagaceratops.

[Simon]

Yeah, the Ampelosaurus is quite excellent.  The Therizinosaurus is the best sculpt that they have released to date, in any scale.  The Deinocheirus is excellent, bulky just like we now know the real animal was - all you have to do is sculpt a little sail/hump with putty and paint it and you'll have a very accurate piece.

[Simon]

The real question about that Tsintaosaurus is who decided to paint the "crest" a bright color that made it obvious what it resembled?  If it was the same color as the rest of the head, it wouldn't be as noticeable.  Someone was definitely having fun with this one, which is OK.  Just one of the many things that makes Collecta unique.

Irritator is very good, but suffers from its small size that reduces the detail like teeth.  Their ceratopsians are quite good too, especially some of the rares ones.  The Argentinosaurus is a good sculpt, except that its too small and has an erroneously upraised neck that is  wayyy too thin.

Kudos to Mr. Beeson & Co.  They are really leading/pushing the entire industry in the right direction ...

[Georassic]

If there are any other DTF members in Colorado USA, here's a good FYI:
I swapped emails with CollectA's new sales/marketing agent in Colorado. They don't have CollectAs placed in any Front Range retail outlets yet, but she'll let me know when (or if) they do. If there are fellow Coloradans on this forum, I'll share the info here when I find out...

[sauroid]

this is the worst CollectA figure ever

[tyrantqueen]

Indeed it is very horrible.



However, whenever I see the teeth of the CollectA Eustreptospondylus, I can't help but think of the shellfish crushing mosasaur, Globidens.

Or maybe your granddad's false teeth

[Simon]

WHO YOU CALLING UGLY?!!?

[Simon]

SEPARATED AT BIRTH:

[DinoLord]

Btw, is it true that CollectA released a slightly toned down version after finding out about the controversy surrounding this model?

No, it was simply a member who modified their figure to be less outrageous in the head department.