CollectA-New for 2015

[Meso-Cenozoic]

Yeah, there are some of us that wish the swimming version was the Deluxe. But the Standards end up not being too much smaller than the Deluxe. So that's a good thing!

[Meso-Cenozoic]

I'll probably get all three versions so I'll have a family unit spending the day at the beach together.

Couple palm tree umbrellas, some fresh fish..it's a great way to spend the day!

Just dreaming about a vacation.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Ah there you go!  Wish I was there! lol

[Meso-Cenozoic]

Ah there you go!  Wish I was there! lol

Me too! But definitely from a distance! Hehe!!

I wonder why sometimes the link to a pic doesn't keep going back to the PhotoBucket page? Last night it was going there and you could see the original XL pic. Now it just opens up in a medium size pic in a new window. Hmm. Scenic pics like this are better viewed in their XL format.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Ah there you go!  Wish I was there! lol

Me too! But definitely from a distance! Hehe!!

I wonder why sometimes the link to a pic doesn't keep going back to the PhotoBucket page? Last night it was going there and you could see the original XL pic. Now it just opens up in a medium size pic in a new window. Hmm. Scenic pics like this are better viewed in their XL format.

Hmm..I'm not sure. I haven't used photobucket in awhile. Anymore I post on Facebook and just link them from there.

[suspsy]

It appears that the Medusaceratops and Nasutoceratops do indeed have the same body as the Xenoceratops. That's slightly disappointing, but not nearly enough to make me not want them. Plenty of toy companies do retools and redecos and it's hardly a crime. Just an effective way of cutting costs without making the product suffer.

[Everything_Dinosaur]

Great picture, very imaginative use of the new Collecta Spinosaurus models.

[triceratops83]

The latest newsletter from Minizoo says the first Collectas will be in next week.
Looks like the first batch available will be -
Medusaceratops
Nasutoceratops
Xiongguanlong
Daxiatitan
Pliosaurus

[Meso-Cenozoic]

Great picture, very imaginative use of the new Collecta Spinosaurus models.

Thanks, ED!

[amargasaurus cazaui]

It appears that the Medusaceratops and Nasutoceratops do indeed have the same body as the Xenoceratops. That's slightly disappointing, but not nearly enough to make me not want them. Plenty of toy companies do retools and redecos and it's hardly a crime. Just an effective way of cutting costs without making the product suffer.

But....the products did suffer...it is the exact same toy, with a different head....why bother?You dont see Doug Watson cutting corners like this...really, cmon

[suspsy]

How exactly are they suffering? It's not like these three ceratopsids had radically different body designs. Sure, it *would* have been nicer if Nasuto and Medusa had all new bodies, but given that CollectA's giving us a ton of brand spanking new figures, including a T. Rex with feathers and three different Spinosaurus, I'm more than willing to overlook this act of cost cutting. Again, this sort of thing is done all the time by numerous toy companies. Papo did it with their Pachyrhinosaurus and Styracosaurus. Hasbro does it with their Transformers. Mattel does it with their superheroes.

This isn't a crime. If it really doesn't sit well with you, then just don't buy them.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

How exactly are they suffering? It's not like these three ceratopsids had radically different body designs. Sure, it *would* have been nicer if Nasuto and Medusa had all new bodies, but given that CollectA's giving us a ton of brand spanking new figures, including a T. Rex with feathers and three different Spinosaurus, I'm more than willing to overlook this act of cost cutting. Again, this sort of thing is done all the time by numerous toy companies. Papo did it with their Pachyrhinosaurus and Styracosaurus. Hasbro does it with their Transformers. Mattel does it with their superheroes.

This isn't a crime. If it really doesn't sit well with you, then just don't buy them.

Trust me I will not, I dont care for laziness in my figures for sure. If they need to cut costs perhaps they should consider not doing so many speculative figures or trying to cash in on people so hard. Bottom line is this..if you want to sell me a full priced figure, produce a full price figure. Dont sell me a new head each year and want paid full price again...not happening. Sorry.Aside from which I think continuing to insist on adding quills to these figures is the worst sort of silliness yet....when it is already considered to be somewhat of a  dead horse .


Aside from that the obvious comes to mind...why would you possibly consider dinosaur figures in the same category with action figures? They to me at least are two seperate markets with seperate goals and backgrounds entirely......odd

[ItsTwentyBelow]

I agree with everything amargasaurus is saying here. My thoughts exactly. The figures absolutely suffer in the end, and I am as displeased here as I am with Papo about their Styracosaurus. The ceratopsid body plan was not a carbon copy across all genera. Laziness and cost cutting which they have done well, because these recycled sculpts have fooled a lot of people here.  Forest would never do this, nor Doug, nor Dan. I would always, always rather see fewer higher quality figures if it means they are all original sculpts.

Dinosaur figures are not Transformers. Not by a long shot.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I kind of agree on doing all new sculpts..but most will display these guys on a shelf where you only see the heads..and kids aren't going to care really.  More troubling is that odd mouth/beak issue..now that it's been pointed out I can't unsee it.

They could have done some different poses though..we have a sitting tyrannosaur..how about a sitting ceratopsian. Would have been great to use in a dio taking a mud bath or resting in the shade. They could have made one with a calf..that would have been different too.  This is CollectA afterall..get some fresh ideas in there!

[tanystropheus]

CollectA dinosaurs generally have garish color coordination. I would assume that these "striking", "fun"  colors are appreciated wholeheartedly by kids.

I also find it odd that CollectA tries their best to integrate the latest scientific findings (even if a bit experimental or speculative) yet they haven't even nailed their basic anatomy (e.g. elongated theropod/ceratopsian heads, strange beaks). Pretty bizarre combination, in my opinion. They are progressive in their efforts but regressive in their execution.

I know this sounds harsh, but I really do want to see them succeed.

[tyrantqueen]

Meh, in my opinion Battat toys also have garish colours. Case in point:



For an animal that's supposed to be an ambush predator, no less. At least CollectA's recent Tyrannosaurus is mostly brown with some brighter colours thrown in.

But I don't really believe in criticising an artist's colour choices. It's not like we have solid evidence for most of them anyway.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Meh, in my opinion Battat toys also have garish colours. Case in point:



For an animal that's supposed to be an ambush predator, no less. At least CollectA's recent Tyrannosaurus is mostly brown with some brighter colours thrown in.

But I don't really believe in criticising an artist's colour choices. It's not like we have solid evidence for most of them anyway.

I believe if I remember right we have evidence for color for something like three theropods and maybe one or at the most two others , as far as dinosaurs. I do know I am one of the few in the forum so far with a figure painted to match the believed colors for the dinosaur, although I know Stargate seems to be working on a Microraptor and I believe ive seen a few other micros painted similarly

[Tallin]

To be honest, when the models are priced at £4 each, I don't think you can compare them to high end kits and models...

When played with by kids these models are definitely in the same bracket as action models and super heroes. When me and my brother were kids, the model dinos would always join in (and often devour) my brothers plastic power-rangers and matchbox cars.

Though some dynamic/different poses would be much appreciated - if they have the money to make radically different and unusual sculpts like the icthyovenator and others, you'd think they'd be more interesting with their less outlandish dinos...

Then again, maybe that's where the money's going? into producing the unusual models so they have to cut corners elsewhere?

[EmperorDinobot]

Hey...I like those colors on that Battat T.rex...they suck but they are nice at the same time.


And I like that beach pic!

[suspsy]

It's very easy for a collector to sit in front of his keyboard and complain about a company's perceived laziness. Having participated in the Transformers fandom for years, I'm all too familiar with it. Fact is, you're really not in any good place to pass such judgment. You're not working at CollectA. You're not an artist working himself to the bone for days and days on end, trying to meet all his deadlines. You're also not an executive in charge of marketing or sales. And you're not the CEO whose job it is to ensure that the company runs smoothly and stays afloat in a highly competitive market.

You can claim that CollectA---and Battat, Papo, Safari,etc----don't compare to action figures like super heroes and Transformers, but they do. They so do. They all fall under the same category: TOYS. And if you really believe that the toy companies making dinosaurs are more concerned about meeting the arbitrary demands of fans than turning a profit and remaining functional, you're sorely mistaken.

Your claim that Dan or Doug or whoever wouldn't do the same is completely irrelevant. Since they don't work for CollectA, how could you possibly know that would really be the case? Do you think Anthony Beeson gets to dictate what he will and won't do?

Finally, I again point to the fact that CollectA is giving us a whopping fifteen prehistoric figures this year, more than any other company save for Schleich. Of those, only two are resculpts of a popular 2014 model. The remaining thirteen are all brand-spanking new.

I see no reason for complaint.