CollectA-New for 2015

[amargasaurus cazaui]

They likely had more lead time on this than you are thinking...remember all those pictures of that huge replica that was lifesize outside the building for the picture opps? Where do you think that came from and how long did it take to build and finally how secret do you think something that large could be kept?

[DinoLord]

They likely had more lead time on this than you are thinking...remember all those pictures of that huge replica that was lifesize outside the building for the picture opps? Where do you think that came from and how long did it take to build and finally how secret do you think something that large could be kept?

Yeah, that yellow short-legged replica has been around for a couple of years. I remember discussing it on this forum's first incarnation.

[suspsy]

I wonder when the decision was made to do a new Spinosaurus. The Sereno/Ibrahim paper and the accompanying National Geographic exhibit only came out in September, so the designer must have been working under a terribly tight deadline.

I also wonder if there'll be any backlash about this figure. The paleontological community is far from unanimous on this topic.

[dutchdinolover]

Wow!

I am really impressed by their new Spinosaurus. Instant buy for me. The first collecta since a long time

Collecta is defenitly improving the last years in my opinion

[tyrantqueen]

I'm actually thinking they are doing better sans a museum..if they had one it would mean yet another middle man to check approve things. Why do that when you have a paleontologist on staff?

Yeah, you're right. I would just like to see Collecta get recognised for their efforts somehow...

Me too. I feel that CollectA is the closest equivalent that we in the West can get to Kaiyodo (I know some will disagree but ymmv)

[DinoLord]

Me too. I feel that CollectA is the closest equivalent that we in the West can get to Kaiyodo (I know some will disagree but ymmv)

In terms of progressiveness and attention to science, I would definitely agree.

[stargatedalek]

I'm glad to see (several) new spinosaurus following the recent finds, and so quickly! However I also don't feel as though they made the most conservative choices. For one I don't appreciate the crocodile inspirations, sure it looks aesthetically pleasing but its not realistic to assume this sort of extreme convergence. Not only that but this is going to further the incredibly annoying stereotype of "spinosaurus the dinosaur crocodile" *deep drawn out sigh*. Secondly I don't personally find a quadrupedal stance particularly likely, just because it was the author(s) of the paper who suggested it doesn't make it any more likely than anyone else suggestions (assuming they are within reason of course). Spinosaurus could have moved on land in a great many different ways, it could have slid pushing with its legs like a grebe, or with its arms like a penguin, perhaps leaned on its elbow spreading the weight across the lower arm, heck it could have even have leaned that thick tail against the ground like a retrosaur/penguin hybrid! Out of all the possibilities I find walking on its hands or wrists (whether that be its knuckles, or its palms) to be amongst (if not) the least likely given what we do have of its arms and hands shows no signs of supporting weight. If it was walking on its hands than something amazing was happening to those wrists, and only those wrists at that!

@Tyrantqueen
The comparison to Kaiyodo, I had never thought of it but that's definitely very true!


~ 海巳慧琉

[Daspletodave]

I too am surprised that Collecta could come up with this new Spinosaurus figure so quickly. It will definitely generate a lot of controversy.
I wonder how quickly they can generate a new Deinocheirus?

[Meso-Cenozoic]

This looks like the Serano Spinosaurus reconstruction more than anything I have seen.

I thought Sereno's new life reconstruction leaned more towards the bit-longer-bipedal hind legs..




As far as CollectA's new figure(s), I'm happy we will now have a toy representation of this particular new thought on this creature. Even if the final scientific thoughts on this might change, it's still cool we'll have a figure that represents this period of its evolution. But IMO, I hope that one day in the future we'll be able to look back at this and say, "Remember when we thought it looked like this?" Hehe! I'm still on the side of thought that the hind legs were a bit longer.

I'm also curious about how the swimming figure will look. I hope it's something like this 3D image by Manuelsaurus!

[DC]

At this time there can be a valid range of opinions for how the forearms were used.  Insufficient data for an authoritative pronouncement.  Maybe used the claws unguligrade like a chalicothere, maybe plantigrade, maybe the sides of the hands like a sloth or even the belly slide idea.  All seem plausible given the limited evidence.  I hope we get several different versions so we can see what they look like.

[Concavenator]

I personally think the swimming version will be the same as the 1:40 one but posed  this way:
http://yoult.deviantart.com/art/Spinosaurus-now-and-for-once-481736627
As for the one on land,I would suggest this:
http://yoult.deviantart.com/art/A-Resting-Giant-495769243

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I'm glad to see (several) new spinosaurus following the recent finds, and so quickly! However I also don't feel as though they made the most conservative choices. For one I don't appreciate the crocodile inspirations, sure it looks aesthetically pleasing but its not realistic to assume this sort of extreme convergence. Not only that but this is going to further the incredibly annoying stereotype of "spinosaurus the dinosaur crocodile" *deep drawn out sigh*. Secondly I don't personally find a quadrupedal stance particularly likely, just because it was the author(s) of the paper who suggested it doesn't make it any more likely than anyone else suggestions (assuming they are within reason of course). Spinosaurus could have moved on land in a great many different ways, it could have slid pushing with its legs like a grebe, or with its arms like a penguin, perhaps leaned on its elbow spreading the weight across the lower arm, heck it could have even have leaned that thick tail against the ground like a retrosaur/penguin hybrid! Out of all the possibilities I find walking on its hands or wrists (whether that be its knuckles, or its palms) to be amongst (if not) the least likely given what we do have of its arms and hands shows no signs of supporting weight. If it was walking on its hands than something amazing was happening to those wrists, and only those wrists at that!

@Tyrantqueen
The comparison to Kaiyodo, I had never thought of it but that's definitely very true!


~ 海巳慧琉

Just a thought here Stargate, but have you read the book "The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt" which tels the story of Stromer and his recovery of the original Spinosaur material? I think it might help you to do so if you have not......essentially it comes down to this. The material that the Spinosaurus was recovered from was mined and shipped to Stromer in Germany...some five years after being recovered he finally was able to pay for the shipping through a loan from a friend. Once he got the boxes of material and began sorting. it is important to note that he assigned two species of Spinosaurus to his materials....Type A and type B. In addition , and this is where it gets quite strange. he named at least half a dozen new species of Crocodilyforms from this material of which I believe not one has stood the test of time as a valid species. So...what was it he was finding? Remember his original reconstruction of spinosaurus gave it a skull like an allosaurid....or tyrannosaurid, anything except a narrow snout like a croc..which we now know is correct. Aside from this his original descitption of spinosaurs was of having teeth smooth like an awl....in fact this was its most oustanding trait in his view. This is especailly inportant when learning the difference between baronchyines, spinosaurids and crocodilians. Indeed the type of teeth stromer suggested he found were most indicative of a crocodilian !! He stated they were smooth, with no striations at all. As you may be aware, that is a defining character for this genus of dinosaur....but so far not one spinosaurid has been found to have these teeth. It is highly possiboe that either stromer had more of spinosaurs than he thought he did and mistook it for crocodilyforms, or spinosaurs itself is more crocodilian than we even now realize.

[stargatedalek]

Very true indeed! I've not heard of this book but I have done a bit of research into this possibility with regards to stomatosuchus, sounds like I'll have to keep an eye out for this book. Skeletally speaking spinosaurus does share many similarities with crocodiles, but I still find integumental similarities to the extent CollectA has used to be rather far-fetched.

[Daspletodave]

After looking at pictures of the figures, I can see the CollectA Nasutoceratops and Medusaceratops have the same body as the CollectA Xenoceratops.  In the Nasutoceratops the quills and tail are different, but in the Medusaceratops everything beyond the head looks the same as on the Xenoceratops!  Looking at the Medusa again, it looks like for its head they just modified the Xeno's head.  The depressions in their faces are the same, and it would explain its inaccuracies which were mentioned earlier in this thread.

I don't like when parts of a figure are recycled for another figure.  It feels cheap, and it doesn't look good especially when the figures sharing body parts are together.  Papo recycled their Pachyrhinosaurus' body for their Styracosaurus, I wonder if any other figures have recylced parts from other figures?


Finally someone who agrees with my comment of October 31/14 that the Medusaceratops and Nasutoceratops are just recycled sculpts of the Xenoceratops.
It's very obvious!
Apparently Tanystropheus and Bokisaurus need new glasses.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Please watch the personal insults.

[suspsy]

I prefer to wait and compare Nasuto, Medusa, and Xeno side by side rather than rely on single publicity photos.

[Appalachiosaurus]

I love the Nasutoceratops, and I have no idea why! Its not special, and Safari made a better one, why do I have such a humongous urge to buy one and put it on my shelf?!?!

[suspsy]

That's because the CollectA Nasutoceratops looks awesome. I think it looks much nicer than the WS version, although it'll be nice to see a side-by-side comparison.

I've been looking at CollectA's E-catalogue. There's a nice shot of the Feathered T. Rex and the Acrocanthosaurus on page 4. But it is me or does it look like they don't have articulated jaws at all?

http://www.collecta.biz/en/e-catalogue#/4/zoomed

[amargasaurus cazaui]

The WS Nasutoceratops is every bit as nice and actually looks better in hand, definitely more lifelike in pose and general detail, as well as having correct hands and feet. If this figure had come out a few years back people would have said..wow , Battat has returned...or when did Carnegie release this one? So the collecta has some work to do to get there I feel.

[Concavenator]

I just realized, Collecta gave us the fighters for an accurate re creation of the Death match scene in Jurassic Park 3

Feathered Tyrannosaurus VS Quadrupedal Spinosaurus.   Those too will be must haves for me just so i can make them fight to the death

I'm getting the three Spinosaurus for sure.Now,I'm unsure wheter getting the Guidraco OR the Tyrannosaurus.I already have Tyrannosaurus in my collection,but I don't have a single feathered tyrannosaur yet,but I'm planning on getting the new Safari Yutyrannus.Bu t Guidraco is my favorite pterosaur,and I honestly think it's the best pterosaur model ever done.Which one to get?