CollectA-New for 2015

[suspsy]

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

Unless the fight takes place in the middle of a lake, Feathered T. Rex would mop the floor with Spinosaurus. Brutally.

[leidy]

It's certainly impressive to have a toy on the market so soon after this latest version of Spinosaurus was unveiled.  Although to be honest, I don't much like it.  I find the new model a bit clumsy and awkward looking.  Balance looks off, there isn't a natural flow to the pose, and the sail is about as shapeless as I've ever seen it. 

Also, I'd question the way they appear to have the load-bearing hand flipped out.  It reminds me of the splayed digits of the old Invicta Baryonyx. 



The approved reconstruction showed it putting the weight on it's claws/knuckles, and even that was a bit controversial.

[tyrantqueen]

Anthony Beeson was known to be a fan of the Invicta line (and even wrote articles for PT) so perhaps there is some influence there.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

The look of the animal being off could be due it being out of water which if this is all correct is it's natural environment.  It was probably about as comfortable on land as a sea turtle.

[leidy]

The look of the animal being off could be due it being out of water which if this is all correct is it's natural environment.  It was probably about as comfortable on land as a sea turtle.

that's only part of it, it's really down to the artist to take the science and make it work.  I was looking through some amateur paleoart on deviantart earlier today, and you really have to admire how good some people are at taking outlandish, sometimes very unlikely theories and making them look believable. 

I'm certainly biased, in that I haven't been particularly enamored with the recent short-legged Spinosaurus, but when they sculpt it as a plausible animal with a sense of weight and movement, I'll buy that figure.  For a similar pose, I find the old BMNH figure that much more naturalistic.  I'll reserve further judgement on the chance that Collecta's Spinosaurus looks better from the other side.

[triceratops83]

Whether or not the current theories on Spinosaurus' appearance turn out to be true, the point of this figure is current belief - still speculation but fitting for the times. I wouldn't worry, if ideas change then I'm sure Collecta will do another updated figure. I appreciate what Collecta does, they're trying to give us modern views on dinosaurs, and although some ideas are just trends, like quilled Ceratopsidae, at least we're getting novel figures like this Spinosaurus when companies like Schleich and Mojo are still cranking out the "normal" versions. In time future discoveries may render this figure  a speculative "retrosaur", but that's just history; dinosaur toys have been sluggish tail draggers for longer than they have been "accurate". I thank Collecta for taking risks.

[Sim]

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

The figures could get modified before their release, but I think the CollectA Medusaceratops and Nasutoceratops we've seen are recycled sculpts of the CollectA Xenoceratops.


All four limbs of the Nasutoceratops and Xenoceratops are in the exact same position, notice the right limbs are further forward than the left limbs, with the left hand raised.  The muscle lines in the upper arm and upper leg are the same in both figures too.  I think the limbs of the 2 figures only look slightly different because the Nasuto is angled a bit to the left in the photo.


The Medusaceratops looks like the Xenoceratops sculpt is just mirrored, with the neck changed so the head looks upwards, and the horns changed.  Notice that the hand closest to us is raised in the exact same way.  And that the foot further away from us is lifted up a little in the exact same way.  The quills on the two figures look identical too.  The mouth is open in the exact same way on the Medusa and Xeno too.

[suspsy]

You make valid points, but keep in mind that these are photos of prototypes, not necessarily the final versions that will be released. Similarly, the Feathered T. Rex and Acrocanthosaurus models don't appear to have articulated jaws, because again, prototypes. And we just saw yesterday that the final version of Guidraco has an improved jaw design. So I think it's best to wait and see what the final versions of these ceratopsids are like. You could still end up being right.

[Sim]

You make valid points, but keep in mind that these are photos of prototypes, not necessarily the final versions that will be released. Similarly, the Feathered T. Rex and Acrocanthosaurus models don't appear to have articulated jaws, because again, prototypes. And we just saw yesterday that the final version of Guidraco has an improved jaw design. So I think it's best to wait and see what the final versions of these ceratopsids are like. You could still end up being right.

I mentioned the figures could be different once they're released:

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

The figures could get modified before their release, but I think the CollectA Medusaceratops and Nasutoceratops we've seen are recycled sculpts of the CollectA Xenoceratops.

[Meso-Cenozoic]

I find the new model a bit clumsy and awkward looking.  Balance looks off, there isn't a natural flow to the pose, and the sail is about as shapeless as I've ever seen it.

The approved reconstruction showed it putting the weight on it's claws/knuckles, and even that was a bit controversial.

But the CollectA sail looks to be of similar shape compared to that second pic you posted and with this newest skeletal reconstruction by Ibrahim and Sereno...


And I'm not sure they're calling this an "approved reconstruction" quite yet. From what I understand, there are still two schools of thought on the shorter hind legs (if they were actually shorter at all).
That second pic you posted comes from a set of two types of reconstructions...


In the end, I like that CollectA gave one of these new looks a try. And the most bizarre one of the two! Even if this new thought is later debunked, it's still cool to have a figure that represents this period of Spino's evolution.
On the flip side though, I'm not overwhelmed by CollectA's aesthetic choices on this figure. But that's a personal opinion.

[darth daniel]

I wonder why the sail would have all those pointed tips when the bones forming the sail all have round ends? A strange aesthetic choice in my opinion...

[Dobber]

I find the new model a bit clumsy and awkward looking.  Balance looks off, there isn't a natural flow to the pose, and the sail is about as shapeless as I've ever seen it.

The approved reconstruction showed it putting the weight on it's claws/knuckles, and even that was a bit controversial.

But the CollectA sail looks to be of similar shape compared to that second pic you posted and with this newest skeletal reconstruction by Ibrahim and Sereno...


And I'm not sure they're calling this an "approved reconstruction" quite yet. From what I understand, there are still two schools of thought on the shorter hind legs (if they were actually shorter at all).
That second pic you posted comes from a set of two types of reconstructions...


In the end, I like that CollectA gave one of these new looks a try. And the most bizarre one of the two! Even if this new thought is later debunked, it's still cool to have a figure that represents this period of Spino's evolution.
On the flip side though, I'm not overwhelmed by CollectA's aesthetic choices on this figure. But that's a personal opinion.

Even if the longer legged version that you are showing is correct, I don't see how the animal could have moved around on its hind legs only. So much of its mass is forward of the hind legs. It might have been able to rear-up for short bursts to lunge at something, to intimidate, or for a quick "sprint" into the water. Just my opinion anyway.

Chris

[Tallin]

I agree, the centre of mass is far too far forward. The tail would have had to weigh a ton to compensate for the torso, strong shoulder/arm muscles and the skull...

[stargatedalek]

That longer legged version was added based on Scott Hartmans recalculation,  however this recalculation was proven incorrect several months ago when more details regarding the method of measuring were released. So no, there really isn't any merit to the second reconstruction anymore.

[Dobber]

Gotcha. 

Chris

[sauroid]

the CollectA swimming Spino (from Everything Dinosaur fb page)



just wondering why the feet and hands arent webbed

[Megalosaurus]

May be Hartmans recalculations were wrong, but the fact that this reconstruction is based on mixed fossils, including some of spinosaurids (not spinosaurus), and they had to be scaled to match each other makes it highly prone to error.
Individuals may vary greatly in constitution and we already know that form and proportions may vary through the age of a dinosaur (it is still true in extant animals). If mixing parts of juvenile and adult or old animal the results can be so wrong.

But there's one thing I do like about the swimming spinosaurus: At least their wrists aren't broken in this figure.
By the way, there are 3 threads posting this same images.

I'll not buy the land spinosaurus, but may end getting this swimming one just because I love figures that show natural behaivor, or are in creative poses.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

the CollectA swimming Spino (from Everything Dinosaur fb page)



just wondering why the feet and hands arent webbed

I can't recall seeing the hands webbed..only the feet before. The swimming pose I've also seen for the updated skeletal was more like a duck.  This one reminds me of a Nothosaur.

[Roselaar]

Very cool figure! And great consistency with the previously revealed model.

[suspsy]

The swimming version looks great. Kind of wish CollectA had given it a coelacanth to chomp on though!