Battat, Terra series - New for 2014

[Patrx]

Alas, this is regrettable. I also enjoy Dan's work, the Battat Terra Pachyrhinosaurus most of all. There has, unfortunately, been a lot of rather impolite discussion regarding new figures of late, which has been addressed before. Sharing information, articles, and criticism, can only be a good thing, but I hope all of us can agree that it important to remain civil and discuss relevant issues as they arise.
For my part, I regret having played a role in elevating the issue, though I attempted to remain as objective as possible and limited my posts to the sharing of information and positive notes regarding the undeniable talent behind these new Battat figures.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I guess short and sweet...how to beat someone silly with a feather duster. Dan is a friend of mine and I enjoy his comments and thoughts on facebook. I am sorry to see him go. As I have been reading some of peoples comments about his new figures I kept asking myself...do they ever sit back and think...what if I were the person...before clicking enter? I daily learn to stop and read what I type three or four times before sending it....reason, because I never want to feel responsible for everyone losing a talent like Dan's to the community.

  And Dan if you are reading this, you are tough enough to battle health problems like you have and always bounce back. I hope you reach in and find that little bit and bounce back here...its your most endearing trait . I understand your feelings, but I also ask on the part of those of us who love your work and admire your self for who you are. Do not go, we dont all need punished for a few peoples poor ways.

[Quen]

I don't even know what to say here.... Except for this:

Mr. LoRusso, if you ever actually read this (and even if you never do), I would just like to say thank you so much for taking all the time you did out of your presumably busy schedule to talk to us about your work, and thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to help choose the next models for your wonderful line. But thank you most of all for your beautiful work. Your sculpts have been coveted by so many of us for so long now, and the opportunity to obtain them much more easily for ourselves along with brand new ones, which had been nothing more than a dream not even a month ago, is truly inspiring. And I'm so, so sorry that you were made to feel that your work was unappreciated, when both you and your work deserve so much more. So, I say again: Thank You!

[spartasaurus]

I don't post here often, actually this might be post number 8, but wow.... A true artist and professional is chased off by people that feel the need to nitpick everything to death.  This is disgraceful why not be grateful that someone is bringing back a dinosaur toy line back from the dead that everyone thought was gone for good. A lot of opinions in here are just that, there is little proof and any is conjecture with many opinions stating otherwise. I notice the same people criticizing the work are the ones clamoring for models of dinosaurs that have a marginal fossil record even when he said he won't do it.  folks you don't need to post something just to feel smart.   

[postsaurischian]

  ........ .

Sorry Dan! "Thank you" high school kids!

[Seijun]

I think if you dont like something, it is ok to say so, but I don't see much reason to keep rehashing it when it is essentially a closed debate (Dan has already stated his reasons for the way he sculpted these and the figures are finalized). I don't think anyone meant insult though, I think it is just very easy to forget that what we write online is being read by real, live people.

Anyway.. I wasn't collecting dinosaurs when the MOS series was first released. I didn't have money and I didn't know the line existed - so I am very happy to see them resurrected with new releases. I never thought battat would come back, and I am getting a "second chance", as it where.

Unrelated to the current discussion, weren't some of the original battats sculpted by someone else? I can't remember.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Yes Pam some of the originals were done by Greg Wenzel, I believe.

[Meso-Cenozoic]

Yeah, I thought I remembered Dan saying that he only sculpted some of the originals, not all.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Greg Wenzel sculpted: Tyrannosaurus Rex,Triceratops, Gallimimus,Ouranosaurus, Styracosaurus,Utahraptor,Acrocanthosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus,Parasaurolophus, totaling nine of the eighteen.Dan did the other nine himself, totaling eighteen total.

[tyrantqueen]

I admit I was getting sick of reading about the feather issue with the Nanshiungosaurus over and over again when it had already been discussed on the blog.

There is the option of customising the toy, if you are really that bothered by its lack of feathering. It is possible that you could (or you could commission someone) add fuzz/feathers with an epoxy sculpting compound over the existing sculpt. I'm sure Martin Garratt would be more than capable of doing this.

[Patrx]

I only wanted to share those new articles and discuss the usage of the terms "conservative" and "speculative" with regard to paleoart in general and the new Nanshiungosaurus in particular. I was hoping to avoid the feather debate, and furthermore, I dislike debate on principle.

[amanda]

Ye, yes, so you keep saying. I think it is clear a lot of folks are not agreeing with the insistence on trying to nail the point in though. Either way, perhaps we should not with the blame thing either, as it will only further inflame hurt feelings and accomplish nothing. Not a lot of folks chimed in with these opinions during the debate, I will add. So, consider it a wash and leave it?

Patrx, new articles are fine, but too late for any real imput for this year's figures. As Dan is in contact with experts and doing research I am sure he is aware of them, he just decided not to adhere to them. Brand new evidence is a little new for figures. Figures do not need to jump into cutting edge based on stuff not around a bit and thoroughly examined. A paper by one, two or three scientists by no means the entire field considers the research a done deal, or else Torosaurus would be no more and Tyrannosaurus is nothing more than a vulture. And Jane is definitively a juvenile and not a NanoTyrannus and....you see. In the field there is much wiggle room for differing opinions, and we can cherry pick whichever we want to abide by. 50 60 years ago it was "known" that "Trachodon" went lake diving amongst snorkeling sauropods. Just saying all things progress, but even exciting new theories from the 90's, such as galloping herds of ceratopsians, eventually fell out of favor again after further research by multiple parties. The whole skinny dinosaur trend in models was exciting at first. The detail, the musculature the...oh, now they are shrink wrapped mummies and frowned upon. It is always a fluid moment, and I actually think it takes guts to find a point of view and stick to it despite outside pressure to change, so long as you feel it is reasonable. It is not ok to belittle others for having that view, even when you feel evidence disproves it. I am not singling you, but we all know comments throughout the board follow that approach.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I admit I was getting sick of reading about the feather issue with the Nanshiungosaurus over and over again when it had already been discussed on the blog.

There is the option of customising the toy, if you are really that bothered by its lack of feathering. It is possible that you could (or you could commission someone) add fuzz/feathers with an epoxy sculpting compound over the existing sculpt. I'm sure Martin Garratt would be more than capable of doing this.

I'd give it a go if someone were interested. We have many fine artists here that could do something so simple.

[Patrx]

Perhaps the sudden influx of vitriol and name-calling since Dan's departure has got me on the defensive. Overall, I agree with your post, Amanda, but please read mine more carefully before assuming I expected or demanded any changes to the Nanshiungosaurus model. Such a thing would be, as you rightly pointed out, absurd. Dan's a professional, he does his research and makes decisions as he sees fit. That was never in question.

[DinoToyForum]

You know, it seems like this spat might just resolve itself without intervention. It is clear nobody was intentionally trying to upset anyone else here. I don't see any malice in any of the posts, and those members that may have unknowingly contributed towards any bad feelings by "beating a dead horse" have come forward publicly here to clarify their honest intentions.

However, once an artist has clarified their position and reasoning, that should be the end of it. This isn't a thread for off topic extended debates and it was wrong for members to treat it as such. I'm sure they can see how it can be aggravating to others and I think they won't do it again. There are other threads on the forum for such debates.

This thread contains an overwhelming amount praise for the Battat Terra line and I don't think there's a single member that wants to see Dan leave. I hope Dan is able to forgive the forum for its sometimes heavy-handed criticism of his figures and instead focus on all the positive reactions instead. Dan, I hope that you reconsider and decide to stick around, after all. 

Also, let's not point fingers and please put this behind us to focus again at the topic at hand: The Battat Terra line! Thanks! 

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Yeah and besides Tyrannosaurus did not have feathers !!!!  Wait, wrong thread !!( sorry, just kidding) :)What I meant to say was, has anyone seen the new pair of Terra dinosaurs yet ? I keep watching here, but so far nada sadly.

[JakobVicent]

Yeah and besides Tyrannosaurus did not have feathers !!!!  Wait, wrong thread !!( sorry, just kidding) :)What I meant to say was, has anyone seen the new pair of Terra dinosaurs yet ? I keep watching here, but so far nada sadly.

I haven't found the gastonia and gigantoraptor either

[Takama]

Yeah and besides Tyrannosaurus did not have feathers !!!!  Wait, wrong thread !!( sorry, just kidding) :)What I meant to say was, has anyone seen the new pair of Terra dinosaurs yet ? I keep watching here, but so far nada sadly.

You mean Seen it in stores?   If so,  I did not find them yet

[amanda]

My last trip to Target was a couple of days ago. Their stock on the first 4 was extremely low. So perhaps a new shipment is due soon and maybe the new ones will be there? It won't be long, I'm sure. I feel better about it now my stores actually got the first 4 in...

[DinoToyForum]

My last trip to Target was a couple of days ago. Their stock on the first 4 was extremely low. So perhaps a new shipment is due soon and maybe the new ones will be there? It won't be long, I'm sure. I feel better about it now my stores actually got the first 4 in...

Sounds like they are selling well then, that's a good sign!