The best figure of every species, according to Halichoeres

[Faelrin]

I won't lie I'm definitely interested in it (the Great Auk, and maybe some others), but at the time I know it isn't a good thing for me to be buying things right now with my home situation in the air in the next two weeks, not just financially which will be tight, but mail-wise too (already wondering how shipping for the BotM Guanlong and Yutyrannus I backed will work out next month or so, and maybe my BBTS haul sitting in the pile of loot atm, unless I take the risk to ship things out now).

[Halichoeres]

To be fair, the Great Auk is, both a dinosaur and extinct. Although due to murder monkeys man rather than a meteor.

Spoiler

Nevertheless, I think an auk is not really in the spirit of things.

[close]

I won't lie I'm definitely interested in it (the Great Auk, and maybe some others), but at the time I know it isn't a good thing for me to be buying things right now with my home situation in the air in the next two weeks, not just financially which will be tight, but mail-wise too (already wondering how shipping for the BotM Guanlong and Yutyrannus I backed will work out next month or so, and maybe my BBTS haul sitting in the pile of loot atm, unless I take the risk to ship things out now).

I've stowed the calendar in a closet for now. It's getting to be time to revive my old trade thread, but I can hang on to it until your situation stabilizes if you're really interested in it. Good luck with the move, I've been in similar situations and it sucks.

Arthropods of the Ordovician! All of these are from Oumcraft's Life: The Evolution of Life on Earth game, released in 2021 (2022 for the painted version).


Furca
Scale: 1:2
Late Ordovician
Etymology: "fork"
One of the few known marrellomorphs; unlike trilobites, they don't have any mineralized parts, so they only preserve in exceptional environments. Sometimes people call them lace crabs, although they aren't true crabs, and nobody is quite sure what their closest relatives were. The 'fork' is a chitinous carapace, its many legs are hidden underneath.


I bet Arandaspis wishes it had jaws right about now. Furca is just a bit too large to slurp up.


Brachyopterus
Scale: 1:3 - 1:4
Middle Ordovician
Etymology: "short wing"
Appropriately named, with its stubby limbs. It was just a little guy, even modern prawns are larger. Kind of the Boston terrier of eurypterids. This design is probably based on one from the Palaeopedia Tumblr blog.


If you kept an Ordovician aquarium it could have these in it.


Megalograptus
Scale: 1:20 - 1:25
Late Ordovician
Etymology: "huge graptolite"
The name's literal meaning is "huge writing," but in spirit it means "huge graptolite," because this animal's chelicera was initially mistaken for a graptolite, one of the highly-branched colonial pterobranchs that leave calligraphic imprints on rocks throughout the Paleozoic. But further preparation revealed it to be a large, distinctive eurypterid. One of the more drastic cases of mistaken identity in the fossil record. The coloration of Megalograptus can also be inferred, and although the base color of this figure is actually close to correct, its extremities would have been darker, giving it more of a seal-point pattern. This is a great little figure, just a little bit banged up on the top of the head during transit.


It was big, but not quite Pterygotus big. (Also, Pterygotus didn't live in the Ordovician, but when roughly 75% of my Ordovician fauna is from Oumcraft, it can be tough to find informative scale comparisons that are also roughly contemporary.)


Aegirocassis
Scale: 1:45
Early Ordovician
Etymology: "Ægir's helmet"
A huge, filter-feeding hurdiid radiodont. The name refers to a Norse ocean spirit who also lent his name to the ichthyosaur Aegirosaurus, but the ICZN forbids ligatures. I don't know if Ægir actually wore a helmet, but if he did it would be fun if it looked like this. This figure also got a little battered in transit.


With Colorata's Cameroceras, the other giant of the Ordovician.

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

Great auks are one of my favourite extinct animals, and I've been after a figure of one for my Pleistocene Eurasia shelf for years, but I'm not buying all that lot just for that.

I can't believe there 3 of those life game figures in one post that are of animals I've heard of for a change too. They are nice and cute.

[SBell]

Great auks are one of my favourite extinct animals, and I've been after a figure of one for my Pleistocene Eurasia shelf for years, but I'm not buying all that lot just for that.

I can't believe there 3 of those life game figures in one post that are of animals I've heard of for a change too. They are nice and cute.

The only other Auk I'm aware of is a Club Earth mini, similar to Play Visions. Not particularly easy to find either though.

Yowies Forgotten Friends probably has one too.

[Faelrin]

@SBell You are correct. They definitely made one.

https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Yowies_Forgotten_Friends_27_Great_Auk

Honestly I had no idea there were so few figures of this extinct animal out there.

[SBell]

@SBell You are correct. They definitely made one.

https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Yowies_Forgotten_Friends_27_Great_Auk

Honestly I had no idea there were so few figures of this extinct animal out there.

There's at least a few others from Japan. But like most recently extinct animals, they get little attention

[Halichoeres]

Great auks are one of my favourite extinct animals, and I've been after a figure of one for my Pleistocene Eurasia shelf for years, but I'm not buying all that lot just for that.

I can't believe there 3 of those life game figures in one post that are of animals I've heard of for a change too. They are nice and cute.

Yeah, if I were keeping anything from the calendar, I'd be willing to break up the set further, but I don't want to be stuck with these little cartoon kaiju key fobs, for example.

Ha, 3 of them were familiar to me before buying the game too. If you're like me, the Brachyopterus was the one that was new.

@SBell You are correct. They definitely made one.

https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Yowies_Forgotten_Friends_27_Great_Auk

Honestly I had no idea there were so few figures of this extinct animal out there.

There's at least a few others from Japan. But like most recently extinct animals, they get little attention

That reminds me, I forgot to note above that while Oumcraft is the first to make a figure labeled 'Megalograptus,' the Imaginext eurypterid had an opisthosoma that matches no other genus, and of course Jetoar made an Aegirocassis. But there can't be more than 30 copies of Jetoar's model in the world. As for the auk, if I collected modern animals, I'd have been pretty pleased to find it. I didn't know before that it's a 20-year-old model--that's digging deep, like Dinotales-era deep!

[SBell]

@SBell You are correct. They definitely made one.

https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Yowies_Forgotten_Friends_27_Great_Auk

Honestly I had no idea there were so few figures of this extinct animal out there.

There's at least a few others from Japan. But like most recently extinct animals, they get little attention

That reminds me, I forgot to note above that while Oumcraft is the first to make a figure labeled 'Megalograptus,' the Imaginext eurypterid had an opisthosoma that matches no other genus, and of course Jetoar made an Aegirocassis. But there can't be more than 30 copies of Jetoar's model in the world. As for the auk, if I collected modern animals, I'd have been pretty pleased to find it. I didn't know before that it's a 20-year-old model--that's digging deep, like Dinotales-era deep!

It was the secret with the Penguin Lunch set, right?

[bmathison1972]

of course Jetoar made an Aegirocassis. But there can't be more than 30 copies of Jetoar's model in the world.

And I got one     

[SBell]

of course Jetoar made an Aegirocassis. But there can't be more than 30 copies of Jetoar's model in the world.

And I got one     

I was sad to learn that he's stopped producing his models. There were several I wanted to pick up.

But I only have the Pachycrocuta. So that's something at least.

[bmathison1972]

of course Jetoar made an Aegirocassis. But there can't be more than 30 copies of Jetoar's model in the world.

And I got one     

I was sad to learn that he's stopped producing his models. There were several I wanted to pick up.

But I only have the Pachycrocuta. So that's something at least.

Me too. I wanted several mammals, but he stopped producing right about the time I started the non-arthropod part of my collection (I did get a Pachycrocuta too, BTW )

[SBell]

of course Jetoar made an Aegirocassis. But there can't be more than 30 copies of Jetoar's model in the world.

And I got one     

I was sad to learn that he's stopped producing his models. There were several I wanted to pick up.

But I only have the Pachycrocuta. So that's something at least.

Me too. I wanted several mammals, but he stopped producing right about the time I started the non-arthropod part of my collection (I did get a Pachycrocuta too, BTW )

That's the most important it! It exists because of my request!

[Halichoeres]

It was the secret with the Penguin Lunch set, right?

According to the Toy Animal Wiki, yes. A better outcome than the retro Dinotales rex of similar vintage.

of course Jetoar made an Aegirocassis. But there can't be more than 30 copies of Jetoar's model in the world.

And I got one     

I was sad to learn that he's stopped producing his models. There were several I wanted to pick up.

But I only have the Pachycrocuta. So that's something at least.

Me too. I wanted several mammals, but he stopped producing right about the time I started the non-arthropod part of my collection (I did get a Pachycrocuta too, BTW )

That's the most important it! It exists because of my request!

I'm glad he made all those models. I still have several, including the Repenomamus, which he made after I requested it. A few, like the Saurosuchus, Tullimonstrum, Shringasaurus, and both Atopodentatus, have moved to other homes. It's amazing how many he made in just a few years, but I guess it was never really sustainable to launch models based on individual collectors' idiosyncratic requests. I wonder how many other people ever bought the Repenomamus, for example.

[SBell]

It was the secret with the Penguin Lunch set, right?

According to the Toy Animal Wiki, yes. A better outcome than the retro Dinotales rex of similar vintage.

of course Jetoar made an Aegirocassis. But there can't be more than 30 copies of Jetoar's model in the world.

And I got one     

I was sad to learn that he's stopped producing his models. There were several I wanted to pick up.

But I only have the Pachycrocuta. So that's something at least.

Me too. I wanted several mammals, but he stopped producing right about the time I started the non-arthropod part of my collection (I did get a Pachycrocuta too, BTW )

That's the most important it! It exists because of my request!

I'm glad he made all those models. I still have several, including the Repenomamus, which he made after I requested it. A few, like the Saurosuchus, Tullimonstrum, Shringasaurus, and both Atopodentatus, have moved to other homes. It's amazing how many he made in just a few years, but I guess it was never really sustainable to launch models based on individual collectors' idiosyncratic requests. I wonder how many other people ever bought the Repenomamus, for example.

That one stings. I would have liked to pick it up. I have a 3d printed one, but it's not the same. The Xenacanthus too (can't believe Safari is still the only one)

[bmathison1972]

I would have bought Repenomamus if it was still available  . I also have the Tullymonstrum and Arthropleura, and others that escape me at the moment.

[SBell]

I would have bought Repenomamus if it was still available  . I also have the Tullymonstrum and Arthropleura, and others that escape me at the moment.

You'd think I'd learn. If a figure is appealing, get it right away!
Especially small catch crafted ones.

[Halichoeres]

Rebor Deinosuchus
Scale: 1:18 - 1:25
Released: 2023
Campanian of North America
Etymology: Gr. "terrible crocodile"
When Rebor first showed their prototype images for this several years ago, it looked like an easy pass. It just didn't resemble Deinosuchus at all. Since then, they actually re-worked the head considerably to make it much more accurate. The tooth count is very slightly off, and the gap in the maxilla to accommodate the fourth tooth in the dentary is a bit exaggerated, but on the whole the head is really well done, well done enough to constitute a significant improvement in accuracy relative to the Carnegie version. So this duly replaces my Carnegie, which nevertheless stood as the best toy rendition for a quarter century!


The rest of the body, while attractively detailed, has a lot of unforced errors. The supernumerary claws on the hands are an obvious, baffling one. The osteoderms are also shaped wrong. Unlike a modern alligator, for example, in Deinosuchus, the lengthwise keel on each osteoderm was subtle even in young animals; in an adult, it would have been nearly obliterated by subsequent growth until it was more dome-shaped. I don't interact with Rebor on social media, but I learned recently that lots of people who do had alerted them to these errors, and they just...didn't take it on board. So I have to say that overall this is a pretty halfhearted attempt at accuracy, and there is room for someone else to improve on this design considerably.


Hilariously, the box states the scale as "1:11±1." That could be true if this is a really young individual, which could hand-wavingly explain away the relatively short tail and the keeled osteoderms, but the skull, for example, is just not consistent with a juvenile. Depending on whether you're looking at the western or eastern part of the Interior Seaway, this could be anywhere from 1:18 to 1:25. You could maybe fudge it to about 1:28 based on shaky extrapolations from fragmentary individuals.


Rebor Appalachiosaurus
Scale: 1:20
Released: 2023
Campanian of North America
Etymology: Gr. "Appalachian lizard," but "Appalachian" ultimately derives from the name of an indigenous tribe from what is now Florida
I wouldn't have bought it on its own, but it's not bad as dead stuff goes. I never bought Rebor's Tenontosaurus because you had to make two purchases to complete it, which kind of offends me as a consumer. I wonder if they're planning to offer the rest of this carcass separately.


Monoclonius and Deinosuchus agree: "The only good tyrannosaur..."


CollectA Ruyangosaurus
Scale: 1:50 or so
Released: 2023
Aptian or Albian of Eurasia
Etymology: Chinese and Gr. "Ruyang [County, in China] lizard"
A really impressive, imposing figure. I'm basing the scale estimate on the tibia, which is the most complete bone that can be measured from the outside (rib fragments and vertebral centra are a little more difficult!). I don't know why CollectA sells it as 1:100, I can only imagine that will cost them sales. The spiky osteoderms are cool-looking, but as far as I know entirely speculative for this particular genus.


With Safari's most recent titanosaur, and one of CollectA's older ones. Their Argentinosaurus is perfectly adequate, but CollectA has gotten a lot better at sauropods since!


CollectA Hadrosaurus
Scale: 1:45 - 1:50
Released: 2023
Campanian of North America
Etymology: Gr. "thick/bulky lizard," but a post hoc rationalization from Haddonfield, New Jersey, USA, near Philadelphia
It's odd that the type genus for one of the most popular ornithischian groups has been made so rarely, but this is a really beautiful rendition, if just a bit small. CollectA has also gotten really good at ornithopods and I hope they keep making them (wouldn't mind some of the obligately bipedal taxa, though!). This replaces my old 1990s DeAgostini Hadrosaurus, which is the only previous version I can think of other than Marx's.


With some other hadrosauromorphs.


CollectA Brighstoneus
Scale: 1:30
Released: 2023
Barremian of Eurasia
Etymology: after Brighstone, England
I was surprised by the scale estimate on this one, based on the femur. It's possible that you could get different numbers for other body parts. But I guess this just wasn't a particular giant among hadrosauriforms. It's got a nice, distinctive profile, adding some variety to its shelf.


CollectA Ceratosuchops
Scale: 1:30 - 1:35
Released: 2023
Barremian of Eurasia
Etymology: Gr. "horned crocodile face"
Last and emphatically least (among the CollectA offerings), a perfunctory addition to round out my order. The Spinosauridae has to be more completely represented in plastic than almost any dinosaur clade of similar diversity and duration. Even the extremely fragmentary genera have figures. No doubt next year companies will bring us Riparovenator, Vallibonavenatrix, and Ostafrikasaurus.


The two new British dinosaurs with Favorite Co's Neovenator (another British dinosaur), and CollectA's Fukuisaurus (not British, I'm afraid). The latter has the same colors as the Brighstoneus, although the animals are shaped pretty differently, and the pattern is of course different. It looks better on Brighstoneus.

Thanks for visiting! If you have requests for other comparison shots or other angles, let me know and I'll do my best.

[bmathison1972]

Nice; I actually have also gotten all of these new additions of yours. Except for the Ceratosuchops since it's only known from a few jaw fragments, especially given the constant changing of interpretation of spinosaurids...

I was a bit taken aback by the small size of the Hadrosaurus, but several of their similar ornithopods lately have been about that size it seems

[Flaffy]

The CollectA Ruyangosaurus proves that the days of large sauropod figures are not behind us.
Missed opportunity by Safari there to make a truly impressively sized Patagotitan.

[Fembrogon]

The Safari Patagotitan doesn't actually appear much smaller than Ruyangosaurus; the bulk and posture of the neck is the main issue. Isn't Ruyangosaurus speculated to be the longer of the two anyway?