The best figure of every species, according to Halichoeres

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for visiting, everyone!

Tim, your collection is worlds apart...

I see what you did there.

And you know that the transparent one was the rare chase figure... even though it's the most pointless.

I'm sure you're right! Like the gold-plated skull in Kaiyodo's prehistoric mammal skull set.

[Halichoeres]

Sauropsids of the Jurassic!


EoFauna Atlasaurus imelakei
Scale: 1:35-1:40
Released: 2019
Middle Jurassic Gondwana
A spectacular figure of a fairly ridiculous animal. Its long forelegs solve the problem of reaching things way up high, but what a strange gait it must have had. The detail on the figure is pretty amazing, maybe just a shade overdone given the scale, but beautiful nevertheless. This is my favorite EoFauna figure so far, and I look forward to more like it, not to mention the sauropod book that's supposed to come out in 2020. I expect there'll be at least one more elephant between now and then, though. Got it for a great price from Dejankins. 

  
Most of my sauropods are still packed away after my recent move, but these were available for a comparison shot. I'll try to accommodate other requests for comparisons if I can. 


Mattel Callovosaurus (Jurassic World)
Scale: 1:9
Released: 2020, officially
Middle Jurassic Laurasia
The first book and first movie are the only good parts of the JP franchise, and whereas Callovosaurus is only known from a femur, it was one of the species present on Isla Nublar in the book. So it's a fitting inclusion for the figure line. None of my local stores have the new JW figures in stock, but I was on a road trip earlier this month and managed to find this one in Indiana just outside of Chicago. The proportions aren't perfect--it's 1:9 by femur length, but about 1:10 by overall estimated length, probably because of a too-short tail. And Callovosaurus was probably bipedal, a stance this figure is utterly incapable of approximating. Still, I'm always happy to get a new ornithopod, or a replacement ornithopod. This is miles better than the Multi Toy (Thunder-Beasts) Callovosaurus from the 90s, which it's replacing on my shelf:



Because I couldn't find the Ornitholestes, it's still stuck next to this Thunder-Beasts version.


Reasonably to scale with the Coelurus.


Favorite Plesiosaurus (Soft Models Series 1)
Scale: 1:20-1:25
Sculptor: Takashi Oda
Released: 2004
Lower Jurassic
I've had the 2013 edition by Kazunari Araki for a pretty long time, which I bought when I was new to the hobby and not buying many out-of-production figures. But recently I was comparing it to this older edition, and I think I prefer the old one. Its skin is less wrinkly and the pose is more interesting. According to Adam's review, the 2013 has a too-short neck, and this has a too-long neck, so that aspect is a wash. There aren't many good, modern Plesiosaurus figures, oddly, but I think this is the best aside from the miniatures by Kaiyodo. This was another DeJankins purchase. This hobby would be measurably worse without DeJankins around.

[Killekor]

Congratulations for your new acquisitions Halicoeres!
The Eofauna Atlasaurus, in my opinion is the greatest Sauropod figure ever produced. I'll surely get one too one day.
And it's surprising that there aren't many good plesiosaurs figures considering the popularity of this animal. Let's hope that some brand releases a good figure of it!

Have an Happy new year!
Killekor

[Halichoeres]

Congratulations for your new acquisitions Halicoeres!
The Eofauna Atlasaurus, in my opinion is the greatest Sauropod figure ever produced. I'll surely get one too one day.
And it's surprising that there aren't many good plesiosaurs figures considering the popularity of this animal. Let's hope that some brand releases a good figure of it!

Have an Happy new year!
Killekor

Thank you! And a happy new year to you, too.

2019 year in review:   








I only bought 34 new releases in 2019, compared to 65 in 2018, but 2018 was an unusually big year, partly thanks to Creative Beast, Vitae, and the return of PNSO with all its minis. For 2019, PNSO and Safari are the big winners, releasing interesting new taxa or superlative takes on old standards. Amazingly, Sonokong added the third most figures, mostly because CollectA had a small, theropod- and mammal-heavy lineup. Two new companies joined my collection: EoFauna and the mysterious Mofun. And the Dunkleosteus was the first Mojö release to be admitted to my shelves since the 2011 Sarcosuchus. Too bad 2020 looks like a quantity over quality year for them.

Happy New Year everyone, and here's to an even better 2020 for collectors!

[SBell]

That's a great assortment @Halichoeres . I don't think I picked up that many prehistoric figures.

But what is the hoppy mammal in the bottom pictures? I think I need it.

[Libraraptor]

An interesting assortment!

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for visiting, everyone!

That's a great assortment @Halichoeres . I don't think I picked up that many prehistoric figures.

But what is the hoppy mammal in the bottom pictures? I think I need it.

@SBell  That's the Koreasaltipes from Sonokong's Dino Mecard line, which I showed in reply 1072. You can get it on eBay, but I found it much cheaper to request it with other Sonokong figures through the drop-shipment service on harum.io.

[SBell]

Thanks for visiting, everyone!

That's a great assortment @Halichoeres . I don't think I picked up that many prehistoric figures.

But what is the hoppy mammal in the bottom pictures? I think I need it.

@SBell  That's the Koreasaltipes from Sonokong's Dino Mecard line, which I showed in reply 1072. You can get it on eBay, but I found it much cheaper to request it with other Sonokong figures through the drop-shipment service on harum.io.

Thanks. I knew it would be here somewhere...but there's a lot of posts if I can't remember the name of the animal!

EDIT--and guess which figure isn't showing on the Sono Kong site!? Figures.

[Halichoeres]

@SBell I'll be damned, I don't see it anymore either. I still have the URL in my email from when I ordered it, but now it returns a message that says "item does not exist." On the faint chance that it ever returns, here's the direct link: http://shop.sonokong.co.kr/shop/shopdetail.html?branduid=543792

I guess that also bodes poorly for the future of the Dino Mecard line in general; there hasn't been anything new teased or announced in over a year. Oh well, it was good mediocre while it lasted, albeit with a few interesting taxon choices.

[SBell]

@SBell I'll be damned, I don't see it anymore either. I still have the URL in my email from when I ordered it, but now it returns a message that says "item does not exist." On the faint chance that it ever returns, here's the direct link: http://shop.sonokong.co.kr/shop/shopdetail.html?branduid=543792

I guess that also bodes poorly for the future of the Dino Mecard line in general; there hasn't been anything new teased or announced in over a year. Oh well, it was good mediocre while it lasted, albeit with a few interesting taxon choices.

Worse, I didn't even see it on eBay. It won't kill me, but it would have been nice to have.

Their pair of Dunkleosteus was intriguing, but I have enough of those...an armadillosuchus may be a higher priority

[Halichoeres]

Sauropsids of the Triassic!


Xidi Riojasaurus (Kid Galaxy)
Scale: 1:35
Upper Triassic
Most of the time, when people lament that there aren't enough toys of [dinosaur group X], they're talking about a group that they personally like, but that actually has a lot of toys. Basal sauropodomorphs, that's less true. This is the only Riojasaurus I know of, and I first laid eyes on it late last year. I'm not sure if it's a new mold, but it's probably based on an old Dorling-Kindersley reconstruction. Unfortunately, it's impossible to get into a bipedal stance, and the head is a little wonky. One of the respectable companies should try their hand at this one.


Dawn of the Dinosaurs Saurosuchus for scale.


Icarosaurus (eraser figure, manufacturer unknown but possibly Iwako)
Scale: 1:4
Upper Triassic
I already have the godawful DinoFroz Icarosaurus, but I ran across this guy in a bin of erasers a few months ago and couldn't resist. I'm not sure who made it, but the name "Icarosaurus" is embossed on the belly in Japanese, so Iwako is a plausible guess. But several other Japanese companies make wonderful little erasers, so it could be one of those. I'd love to see someone do a proper figure of this animal. 


Lego figures, the universal scale bar.


Safari Ltd Shringasaurus
Scale: 1:20
Sculptor: Doug Watson
Released: 2020
Middle Triassic
One of the quickest turnarounds for a new animal that we've seen from Safari! They were almost CollectA-like in their celerity. It's a beautiful figure in-hand; as others have noted, the latest batch exceeds the promotional photos. The scale is perfect, too--I have more 1:20 Triassic figures than any other scale. And correct me if I'm wrong, but is this the first Safari figure of an animal found in Indian rocks?


The new figure is less spindly than the PaleoCreatures version, and somehow less spindly than even its own promo photos. It scales well with near-contemporary Prestosuchus. Keep the Triassic animals coming, Doug! I'd add more comparison photos, but most of my Triassic critters haven't been unpacked yet.

[Shonisaurus]

How beautiful is the shringasaurus of Safari 2020 I'm glad for you Halichoeres! You are a lucky person.

[Duna]

Shringasaurus is gorgeous! It's much more beautiful than the promo pics, very colourful ... congrats! 

[SidB]

Doug Watson's robust styling really captures the solidity of this barrel-shaped creature.

[Concavenator]

Nice! @Halichoeres did you get the Deinonychus too?

[Killekor]

Congratulations @Halichoeres for your new acquisitions!
The Safari Shringasaurus is wonderful, and I'll surely get one. @Doug Watson made a great work sculpting it! I hope that Safari will continue to make some Triassic figures, also because as you said in your post there's really need of a decent Icarosaurus figure!

Killekor

P.S. I have a question: do you have the Schleich Dracorex and/or the new Baryonyx? What do you think of them? Thanks!

[Faelrin]

Nice to see that the new Shringasaurus scales nicely alongside the Prestosuchus. It looks lovely, and yes the promo images definitely did not do this one justice. Definitely going on my wishlist, alongside most of the other 2020 releases.

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for stopping by, everyone!

@Concavenator: Definitely. I got all of the new Safari figures currently available, except Ichthyosaurus. It's a good figure, but I'm just really happy with the old Carnegie one. I would have bought a Platypterygius, or Utatsusaurus, or Cymbospondylus. I'll feature the rest of them soon, but in the meantime, here they are all together:



@Killekor I don't have either of those. As I only have one version of each taxon (or, as the case may be, life stage), I'm currently sticking with the Safari Dracorex and the Favorite Baryonyx. But those are some of the nicest Schleich figures of the last couple of years.

[suspsy]

Nice to see a comparison photo. That poor Dilophosaurus must be very resentful at how puny they are compared to the Deinonychus.

[Patrx]

That photo brings me great joy. Still waiting on my new Safari figures, but looking at yours will do for now