Battat, Terra series - New for 2014

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Just throwing this out there, although off topic. I do have a category made for paper postings , so if and when you want to post a paper feel free to add it there as well if you like, and want to. My idea was to have an open thread for anyone to post papers too, not just my own , so feel free to use that resource as well. So far I have done the heavy lifting getting at least a few in there for people to enjoy. We now return to the regularly scheduled topic !!

[Chad]

At the risk of opening up this can of words again, Darren Naish and John Conway bring the Nanshiungosaurus feather controversy on the new tetzoo.com podcast.  It's at about the 49 minute mark. (Spoiler--they don't blame the artist but the consulting paleontologist for the featherlessness.) I thought it was interesting they even mentioned it.

edit: BTW, I love the figure regardless!

[amanda]

Except of course that some of us just don't care? No one is to "blame" for the figure's look. You just don't seem to understand. Dan made a decision. Meaning he looked at the evidence, listened to some experts and made up his own mind. He made the decision to go the way he did, and I do not get the sense he regrets that or feels it was a mistake. Since there is no direct evidence at all for the feathering, it becomes more a matter of personal opinion. He has his, others have theirs. All things equal, no one is "wrong" and no mistake has been made, you just don't happen to agree with him. Why is this a difficult concept?

Look, paleontologist A says, "feathers'. Paleontologist B says, No feathers, paleontologist C says "meh, we're not sure". The artist then makes a decision. Just because the paleontologists you agree with say feathers, does not mean the artist is wrong for using a different one. Does not mean that paleontologist is wrong. It is not as if the fossils themselves show feathering. It is a "likely because of others having them" situation that is open to interpretation. Dan did feather the Ytyrannus, because hard evidence is there for that. If folks want to forever consider the figure wrong, or a mistake, that's your call. But Dan has explained his position, and does not plan to redo the figure, so I dunno what else there is to say about it?

[Raptoress]

I really hope I can cultivate a love for dinosaurs in my children. People ask what theme the baby room is going to be and we say "dinosaurs" and then they ask "what if it's a girl?" and we respond...."dinosaurs".    Dinosaurs don't need to be gender specific! Anyway, I'll stop derailing here. Maybe we need a "dealing with kids/cats and models" thread.

Good for you! I've been a dinosaur mad girl since I was 3 years old!

[Gwangi]

Good for you! I've been a dinosaur mad girl since I was 3 years old!

Likewise, except for the girl part. But according to my mother 3 years old is about the age when dinosaurs caught my interest.

Amanda, I'm not sure who you're ranting at. Chad said he loves the figure regardless, and John Conway and Darren Naish aren't members here so...just ranting? All Chad did was report that they had mentioned the figure in the Tetzoo podcast. At this point, you're the only one making an issue out of it.

[loru1588]

Thanks for the votes of confidence!! As Amanda so eloquently stated, the final decision on how the sculpted animal is depicted was/is mine. I won't repeat my reasons as one can go back and see them for yourself. No one can prove I am wrong or I am correct, until definitive proof of a particular species is unearthed. That's my story & I'm sticking to it!!

Also, I am VERY pleased to see the female population of this site expanding!

[Chad]

Except of course that some of us just don't care? No one is to "blame" for the figure's look. You just don't seem to understand. Dan made a decision. Meaning he looked at the evidence, listened to some experts and made up his own mind. He made the decision to go the way he did, and I do not get the sense he regrets that or feels it was a mistake. Since there is no direct evidence at all for the feathering, it becomes more a matter of personal opinion. He has his, others have theirs. All things equal, no one is "wrong" and no mistake has been made, you just don't happen to agree with him. Why is this a difficult concept?

Look, paleontologist A says, "feathers'. Paleontologist B says, No feathers, paleontologist C says "meh, we're not sure". The artist then makes a decision. Just because the paleontologists you agree with say feathers, does not mean the artist is wrong for using a different one. Does not mean that paleontologist is wrong. It is not as if the fossils themselves show feathering. It is a "likely because of others having them" situation that is open to interpretation. Dan did feather the Ytyrannus, because hard evidence is there for that. If folks want to forever consider the figure wrong, or a mistake, that's your call. But Dan has explained his position, and does not plan to redo the figure, so I dunno what else there is to say about it?

I'm not sure what you think I don't understand but I will concede to your superiority on the subject. I was simply sharing with the forum that this subject came up on tetzoo (which features a paleontologist I greatly respect and a paleo artist I greatly admire) and thought others here would be interested in their thoughts. The opinion on the figure is theirs, not mine. I do appreciate you setting me straight, though, as I go through life in a haze of confusion and stupidity and need all the help I can get.

[loru1588]

Thanks for the input Chad! I listened to the pod cast and though I like them both as experts in the field, they came across a bit "my way or the highway". Not everyone agrees with everything. That's the beauty of science, there's always something new being discovered. I may be on the conservative side ( only in dinosaur reconstruction, NOT in politics!!! LOL! ), but that's just me. There are others out there that, IMHO, go WAY overboard, but that's their opinion.

Chad we are all learning, or at least we should be trying to learn all the time!!

[Gwangi]

Well we should keep in mind that these are the guys responsible for "All Yesterdays". If you're not familiar with it, it's a book about highly speculative dinosaur reconstructions. The shrink wrapped cat I posted in the other Battat thread is from that book. Personally I'm a bit more conservative where dinosaur reconstructions are concerned, these guys are certainly very liberal. I do believe Jon Conway in the podcast made some sort of comment about us not really knowing how feathered some of these animals may have been.

[Chad]

Thanks for the input Chad! I listened to the pod cast and though I like them both as experts in the field, they came across a bit "my way or the highway". Not everyone agrees with everything. That's the beauty of science, there's always something new being discovered. I may be on the conservative side ( only in dinosaur reconstruction, NOT in politics!!! LOL! ), but that's just me. There are others out there that, IMHO, go WAY overboard, but that's their opinion.

Chad we are all learning, or at least we should be trying to learn all the time!!

Cheers Dan. Yeah, they are very strident in their opinions but I think their heart is in the right place and they are fighting the good fight for paleoartists like yourself. I find the debate fascinating and I think it's pretty great for the hobby that they're talking about your work in a forum like tetzoo. (And, not to kiss your backside too much, but I've been picking up Battats since I first saw them at the AMNH when I moved to New York in 2000. Having grown up with Marx, etc. my jaw dropped when I saw them and I credit them for really rekindling my dino obsession that had been dormant for a few years while I was filling my head with poetry and other useless things.)

[DinoLord]

I like Mark Witton's approach to this sort of thing, which basically says a one fits all approach to integument isn't the answer. I think that whenever one reconstructs an extinct animal they need to use their own judgment as to the specie's characteristic traits, habitat, etc. to form a representation of what it may have looked like, and that's what Dan has done.

[Patrx]

Well we should keep in mind that these are the guys responsible for "All Yesterdays". If you're not familiar with it, it's a book about highly speculative dinosaur reconstructions. The shrink wrapped cat I posted in the other Battat thread is from that book. Personally I'm a bit more conservative where dinosaur reconstructions are concerned, these guys are certainly very liberal. I do believe John Conway in the podcast made some sort of comment about us not really knowing how feathered some of these animals may have been.

I'd like to suggest that perhaps the word "traditional" would be more apt than "conservative" in this case. "Conservative" implies parsimony, which is not necessarily descriptive of traditional reconstructions. As to its inverse, perhaps "liberal" is suitable enough.

[Daspletodave]

Just saw the Battat Terra figures for sale on Amazon. More expensive than Target, and domestic shipping (within USA) only.

[amanda]

The Pachyrhino appears to be going for 17.95 minus shipping.

[Daspletodave]

That's still cheaper than what some EBAYERs are asking.
Just more options for you Americans to consider.

[therizinosaurus]

Just ran out to target and picked up all 4! Can still say my Battat collection is complete now 

[Patrx]

Posted in the wrong thread! Apologies.

[Daspletodave]

The Battat Terra figures are now available from Target online!

[Doug Watson]

Target just announced that they are pulling up stakes in Canada. So if any fellow Canadians haven't got them yet once they get the go ahead to liquidate it could mean for some screaming deals on the Battats in stock. Unfortunately we will probably be back to getting them online with the added shipping costs.

[Daspletodave]

As a fellow Canadian, I'm used to ordering all of my dinos from online shops. In fact, the only dinosaurs I ever purchased locally (besides the 4 Battat Terra from my local Target) were the factory painted Invicta dinosaurs a long time ago. And the only other dinos I was able to buy from within Canada was the 2004 Favorite release (the complete set) from Toyosaurus in Winnipeg.
So I'm used to it.