Safari Ltd - new for 2015

[Tyto_Theropod]

I believe Archaeopteryx is now believed to have been black, just like Mircoraptor and Anchiornis, so that would make Safari's model the most accurate in terms of colour, even if not the most interesting (<<I personally disagree with that, tho..)

[Concavenator]

Archaeopteryx was indeed black and white.Not sure what are you in disagreement with,though? It's the most accurate as far as coloration goes.I think it's the best Archaeopteryx in te market easily.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Archaeopteryx was indeed black and white.Not sure what are you in disagreement with,though? It's the most accurate as far as coloration goes.I think it's the best Archaeopteryx in te market easily.

Sorry if I was unclear. I was disagreeing with the people who said that the colour scheme wasn't interesting.

[CityRaptor]

I did not argue againt it. I merely pointed out that it is a glossy black, like a magpie...and many black birds in general.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

From the research I did when making our Archeopteryx, they tested one or very few feathers of each of the species mentioned and came up with a darker coloration, most likely black, for those feathers tested. It would be hard to get a complete and accurate picture without testing all the areas of the animal I would think.  I also found it interesting they didn't find any other coloration at all..or they couldn't test for it?  At any rate I certainly think it's the most accurate and interesting larger scale figure in the market now.

[suspsy]

It's perfectly possible that Archaeopteryx's plumage was mostly or entirely black. It's also possible that it was blue and orange with black wingtips. No one can say for certain. But in an age where dinosaurs are being depicted in all sorts of weird and wonderful colour schemes, a little monochrome can be refreshing now and then.

[Doug Watson]

From the research I did when making our Archeopteryx, they tested one or very few feathers of each of the species mentioned and came up with a darker coloration, most likely black, for those feathers tested. It would be hard to get a complete and accurate picture without testing all the areas of the animal I would think.  I also found it interesting they didn't find any other coloration at all..or they couldn't test for it?  At any rate I certainly think it's the most accurate and interesting larger scale figure in the market now.

This is the 2013 paper I used to come up with the black and white pattern on the Archaeopteryx. I added the iridescent blue on the back based on the colour work done on Microraptor.
Synchrotron-based chemical imaging reveals plumage patterns in a 150 million year old early bird
Manning P.L., Edwards N.P., Wogelius R.A., Bergmann U., Barden H., Larson P., Schwarz-Wings D., Egerton V.M., Sellers W.I Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. 2013;. http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2013/ja/c3ja50077b

I am disappointed no one that has one in hand has noticed the iridescent purple I put on the back of the head and neck. I got that inspirationfrom our local Common Grackles.

[Shadowknight1]

I say again, seeing the in hand pictures and seeing that it's more iridescent than the promos made it look has changed my overall opinion off Archie, but just not a fan of the pose.  Personally would've liked it either midstride like it was preparing to take off or crouched lower with its wings up.  My own personal preference.

[Doug Watson]

I say again, seeing the in hand pictures and seeing that it's more iridescent than the promos made it look has changed my overall opinion off Archie, but just not a fan of the pose.  Personally would've liked it either midstride like it was preparing to take off or crouched lower with its wings up.  My own personal preference.

Yes, I get it you don't like the pose.

[DinoLord]

Personally I think the pose on the Archaeopteryx is pretty nice - it looks like it just landed from a brief flight/glide. That it stands on two feet is also a huge bonus for me - I really like how good the WS line has been with this in recent years.

[joossa]

I was planning of getting only the Sauropelta and Nasutoceratops from Wild Safari this year. I'm not a big fan of Archeopteryx to begin with and usually go with Papo as my first choice whenever adding a new species to my collection. While the Papo one is very detailed and flamboyant, I'm starting to like the Wild Safari one the more pictures and videos I see of it. 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

From the research I did when making our Archeopteryx, they tested one or very few feathers of each of the species mentioned and came up with a darker coloration, most likely black, for those feathers tested. It would be hard to get a complete and accurate picture without testing all the areas of the animal I would think.  I also found it interesting they didn't find any other coloration at all..or they couldn't test for it?  At any rate I certainly think it's the most accurate and interesting larger scale figure in the market now.

This is the 2013 paper I used to come up with the black and white pattern on the Archaeopteryx. I added the iridescent blue on the back based on the colour work done on Microraptor.
Synchrotron-based chemical imaging reveals plumage patterns in a 150 million year old early bird
Manning P.L., Edwards N.P., Wogelius R.A., Bergmann U., Barden H., Larson P., Schwarz-Wings D., Egerton V.M., Sellers W.I Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. 2013;. http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2013/ja/c3ja50077b

I am disappointed no one that has one in hand has noticed the iridescent purple I put on the back of the head and neck. I got that inspirationfrom our local Common Grackles.

It has to be the lighting in my house...since you mentioned it I pulled out a flashlight and looked and yep the iridescence is there.As my grandmother said, " If it were a snake it would have bit me." Cool detail bud!

[Doug Watson]

I say again, seeing the in hand pictures and seeing that it's more iridescent than the promos made it look has changed my overall opinion off Archie, but just not a fan of the pose.  Personally would've liked it either midstride like it was preparing to take off or crouched lower with its wings up.  My own personal preference.

Yes, I get it you don't like the pose.

Sorry for the snarky response I confused your two posts with Alexxitator's double post for his distain for the pose and added them up to four from one person.

[Shadowknight1]

I say again, seeing the in hand pictures and seeing that it's more iridescent than the promos made it look has changed my overall opinion off Archie, but just not a fan of the pose.  Personally would've liked it either midstride like it was preparing to take off or crouched lower with its wings up.  My own personal preference.

Yes, I get it you don't like the pose.

Sorry for the snarky response I confused your two posts with Alexxitator's double post for his distain for the pose and added them up to four from one person.

It's quite alright.  I don't mean to be too harsh on it.  Like I said, the pictures uploaded here definitely make the coloration look so much better than I thought it was.  But this is a good year for feathered dinos.  I'm waiting on both the Carnegie Velociraptor and REBOR Utahraptor and already have the very excellent Safari Yutyrannus in hand.  Heck, I can't praise the Yutyrannus enough.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Ready to concede Doug's Sauropelta, and Nasutoceratops are going to break my bank this year...I had purchased one of each to review, and upon recieving them was impressed enough to order another of each for Martin to repaint, and Now ive again ordered a pair...for another project I will show soon.

[Dinoguy2]

I say again, seeing the in hand pictures and seeing that it's more iridescent than the promos made it look has changed my overall opinion off Archie, but just not a fan of the pose.  Personally would've liked it either midstride like it was preparing to take off or crouched lower with its wings up.  My own personal preference.

Given that almost all modern studies show Archaeopteryx could glide at most, maybe get a little airborne jump extension going, but not fly and certainly not take off from the ground, that wouldn't be the best choice for a pose... And there were no trees in Solnhofen, so it had nowhere to even glide from anyway.

[triceratops83]

Got a question for Doug (couldn't find a recent Safari Topic that would be more relevant) - If Safari gave you the choice, what prehistoric animals do you most want to sculpt?

[Doug Watson]

Got a question for Doug (couldn't find a recent Safari Topic that would be more relevant) - If Safari gave you the choice, what prehistoric animals do you most want to sculpt?

Well these days they have been giving me my choice and since we try to keep our upcoming pieces under wraps until they are officially revealed I can't really comment much. I do like doing the horned and armoured dinosaurs as you may have guessed but really I enjoy doing any dinosaur, I am living a childhood dream. In fact when I was playing with my Marx dinos back in the 60s I never dared to dream that I might be making dinosaurs for other kids some day.
I can say one thing now that the Carnegie agreement is over Safari is now able to produce prehistoric mammals again. It was a clause in the old contract that Carnegie invoked that killed my old prehistoric mammals line and prevented us from doing more. In the recent negotiations Carnegie even wanted Safari ltd to stop producing their own line of Wild Safari Dinosaurs and that was one of the final straws that ended the agreement. I am not promising mammals for 2016 or 2017 but at least now we have the option.

[DinoLord]

I can say one thing now that the Carnegie agreement is over Safari is now able to produce prehistoric mammals again. It was a clause in the old contract that Carnegie invoked that killed my old prehistoric mammals line and prevented us from doing more. In the recent negotiations Carnegie even wanted Safari ltd to stop producing their own line of Wild Safari Dinosaurs and that was one of the final straws that ended the agreement. I am not promising mammals for 2016 or 2017 but at least now we have the option.

Ah, I and many others had been wondering about the contractual details that prevented prehistoric mammals. This is great news; there are so many interesting extinct mammals that would make great figures. I look forward to seeing some in coming years.

[suspsy]

Got a question for Doug (couldn't find a recent Safari Topic that would be more relevant) - If Safari gave you the choice, what prehistoric animals do you most want to sculpt?

I can say one thing now that the Carnegie agreement is over Safari is now able to produce prehistoric mammals again. It was a clause in the old contract that Carnegie invoked that killed my old prehistoric mammals line and prevented us from doing more. In the recent negotiations Carnegie even wanted Safari ltd to stop producing their own line of Wild Safari Dinosaurs and that was one of the final straws that ended the agreement. I am not promising mammals for 2016 or 2017 but at least now we have the option.

Really? That sounds puzzling. Can you share the reason(s) why Carnegie refused to allow megafauna?