The best figure of every species, according to Halichoeres

[Gwangi]

Very slowly building my Carboniferous collection--it takes some doing! If you go to "Carboniferous" on DinoToyCollector, there are 16 entries, 10 of which use my photos. So I'd guess I'm more interested in this period than the average prehistory fan.

I've got a lot of love for the Carboniferous but it doesn't help that what's available is not easily accessible for more casual collectors. I was really hoping PNSO might do something like a Falcatus but I don't see that happening now.

[Faelrin]

How does one obtain one of those adorable Falcatus? I found a link, but I'm not sure if they are selling the digital files, or the full printed model. Considering the price, I'm guessing it is the former.

Also the Dinotoycollector site might technically have more Carboniferous things on it, if we also count Diplocaulus, Edaphosaurus, etc that existed during it and survived into the Early Permian. I'm slowly working on researching each genus, or species in each group to see which animals had time spans like this (which also allows me to catch anything else that might need correcting, period aside). It's why I think the site needs to have a second period option, since there are instances like this, and I'm not sure which is ideal when there is only one to go with at the moment. Like do I settle for when they appeared at the earliest, or the latest?

But all that aside, it is absolutely a shame more from that period don't get figures. There are so many interesting creatures within it that would make for some great figures. Of the 16 labeled as such on the DTCcurrently, I have the Play Visions Crassigyrinus, Pholiderpeton/Eogyrinus, Kaiyodo Meganeura, Safari Ltd Edestus, Orthacanthus, Stethacanthus, plus there's also the Nol Corp Diplocaulus is currently in the haul you are holding for me (as well as the Kaiyodo and Play Visions version of this genus). Perhaps some day I'll go after the Innovative Kids Gone Extinct set (which includes the Arthropleura), the Kaiyodo Rayonnoceras, the Yowie Strepsodus, and the Life game Orodus. There's also the Medicom Tullimonstrum, which I'm still debating on considering (is it really worth shelling out for?).

[SBell]

How does one obtain one of those adorable Falcatus? I found a link, but I'm not sure if they are selling the digital files, or the full printed model. Considering the price, I'm guessing it is the former.

There's also the Medicom Tullimonstrum, which I'm still debating on considering (is it really worth shelling out for?).

The Falcatus as file or print was part of a Kickstarter. I believe they're doing a second run, and you'd probably be able to add the first run as well. I have the STL, just need a printer...

There's also a number of other 3d printed models out there, I know I've seen Tullimonstrum. Probably the same price as the Medicom at this point...

[Halichoeres]

Really wish Geological Museum of Guizho partnered with a company that produces realistic reconstructions rather than cartoony caricatures. While I don't doubt there's a (niche) market for these cutesy figures, I can't imagine the demand being any higher than proper models. Maybe PNSO will finally step up and give us interesting fauna again?   I'd imagine a PNSO x Museum collaboration would make for a formidable duo.

I would have preferred that too, and certainly people in our hobby would have, but I'm not at all sure they would have sold better in a museum gift shop. I think these can trade on general adorability to people who don't collect anything except souvenirs of their visits to places. I can see somebody who isn't particularly a prehistory buff but enjoyed their day at the museum picking one of these up on impulse (depending on the pricing at the museum, which I know nothing about).

I think what shocks me is the prices. For what they are, they seem to be too much.
They produced a bichir, and for the first time I made the choice not to bother

If they're really museum exclusives as the box claims, the prices might reflect multiple mark-ups: museum gift shop mark-up, and then re-seller mark-up. Not sure what the initial retail situation was for the bichir. But they are pretty expensive.

Very slowly building my Carboniferous collection--it takes some doing! If you go to "Carboniferous" on DinoToyCollector, there are 16 entries, 10 of which use my photos. So I'd guess I'm more interested in this period than the average prehistory fan.

I've got a lot of love for the Carboniferous but it doesn't help that what's available is not easily accessible for more casual collectors. I was really hoping PNSO might do something like a Falcatus but I don't see that happening now.

That's true, according to my spreadsheet I have 36 Carboniferous items, but a lot of those are flat metal plants, game pieces, resins, etc. And even the ones that are truly toys are mostly long out of production and hard to get, like the Innovative Kids Arthropleura or Play Visions Crassigyrinus. Maybe the recent re-description of Crassigyrinus will prompt some company to make a new one (not holding my breath, though).

How does one obtain one of those adorable Falcatus? I found a link, but I'm not sure if they are selling the digital files, or the full printed model. Considering the price, I'm guessing it is the former.

Also the Dinotoycollector site might technically have more Carboniferous things on it, if we also count Diplocaulus, Edaphosaurus, etc that existed during it and survived into the Early Permian. I'm slowly working on researching each genus, or species in each group to see which animals had time spans like this (which also allows me to catch anything else that might need correcting, period aside). It's why I think the site needs to have a second period option, since there are instances like this, and I'm not sure which is ideal when there is only one to go with at the moment. Like do I settle for when they appeared at the earliest, or the latest?

But all that aside, it is absolutely a shame more from that period don't get figures. There are so many interesting creatures within it that would make for some great figures. Of the 16 labeled as such on the DTCcurrently, I have the Play Visions Crassigyrinus, Pholiderpeton/Eogyrinus, Kaiyodo Meganeura, Safari Ltd Edestus, Orthacanthus, Stethacanthus, plus there's also the Nol Corp Diplocaulus is currently in the haul you are holding for me (as well as the Kaiyodo and Play Visions version of this genus). Perhaps some day I'll go after the Innovative Kids Gone Extinct set (which includes the Arthropleura), the Kaiyodo Rayonnoceras, the Yowie Strepsodus, and the Life game Orodus. There's also the Medicom Tullimonstrum, which I'm still debating on considering (is it really worth shelling out for?).

The Falcatus was from this Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/limelightminiatures/lifesize-1-1-dinosaur-prints-stl-models-to-print-at-home which offered both prints and STL files (they were designed to be 1:1 but the physical ones were also offered at 1:2). Limelight Miniatures has a web site, but they don't seem to have these listed there. I bet if you got in touch they would be willing to sell you the files. And SBell is right, they're planning a follow-up campaign and I bet it will be soon.

Unless you are a completist like me, I don't think the Medicom Tullimonstrum is worth the typical asking price. I got mine with a big ebay coupon.

[bmathison1972]

I really wish I had waited for Safari before buying the CollectA Estemmenosuchus but it's a cool species and one can't wait forever. Despite the anatomic differences, I think I will stay with CollectA. It has an aesthetics I really like and it's still too good and too recent to replace already.

[Gwangi]

I think the only thing I have from the Carboniferous is a plush Tullimonstrum.  It would be nice to get a plastic one of those, maybe CollectA will do it some day.

[Faelrin]

I technically have the Paleozoic Pals Tullimonstrum, if that counts. Agreed with @Gwangi. It seems right up CollectA's alley to do. Tiktaalik is yet another I wish they'd do.

Found one on etsy for under $40 (painted and cheaper unpainted). Not sure how accurate the anatomy is. Much cheaper then the Medicom one, which the cheapest I've seen on ebay currently is like $60-70 atm.

Another one here on etsy for $40+. Only one in stock left. Says it has painted and unpainted options but not seeing anything like that for ordering it?

Regarding the Falcatus the only problem with digital files is I don't know of anywhere in my area with a 3D printer. I have no experience using one either.

[bmathison1972]

I have Jetoar's Tully Monster from his Paleo-Creatures day. WOuld love a PVC version by an established major manufacturer

[Gwangi]

I technically have the Paleozoic Pals Tullimonstrum, if that counts. Agreed with @Gwangi. It seems right up CollectA's alley to do. Tiktaalik is yet another I wish they'd do.

Found one on etsy for under $40 (painted and cheaper unpainted). Not sure how accurate the anatomy is. Much cheaper then the Medicom one, which the cheapest I've seen on ebay currently is like $60-70 atm.

Another one here on etsy for $40+. Only one in stock left. Says it has painted and unpainted options but not seeing anything like that for ordering it?

Regarding the Falcatus the only problem with digital files is I don't know of anywhere in my area with a 3D printer. I have no experience using one either.

The Paleozoic Pals one is the same one I have. Leave it to plushies to fill in the gaps left by plastic figure producers.

[Primeval12]

Embarrassingly, I didn't notice this when I first reviewed the CollectA version for the blog, but its ear opening is smack dab in the middle of the squamosal bone, in an area that is solid bone. The Safari version has its ear opening at the bottom edge of the squamosal, which is the typical position for dinocephalians. CollectA made a similar error with their Lisowicia, which I guess is understandable, since early synapsids had a slightly weird configuration compared to sauropsids. At first I was thinking I'd keep both Estemmenosuchus figures, since they're different scales, after all. But the Safari has more believable musculature, especially around the neck; the correct ear position; a more realistic rendering of the facial embellishments; a more pleasant color scheme; and no articulations to mar it. So I think this is a replacement situation, although I'm still grateful that CollectA gave this animal a shot.

I was wondering which one is better. Shame about the ear placement but CollectA's is still really cool.

Also, Do you plan on selling the CollectA one? I've been after one for a while.

[Concavenator]

Not a fan of CollectA's Estemmenosuchus personally, but I love Safari's. Definitely plan to get it at some point. That is, if our local retailers ever decide to bring it in! The distribution of Safari products in Europe has really been terrible as of late...

Also, was scrolling through the first post and wow, you have an impressive collection of cenozoic mammals! Didn't know you collected Eofauna's proboscideans.

[Halichoeres]

I really wish I had waited for Safari before buying the CollectA Estemmenosuchus but it's a cool species and one can't wait forever. Despite the anatomic differences, I think I will stay with CollectA. It has an aesthetics I really like and it's still too good and too recent to replace already.

It's quite a good figure!

On Tullimonstrum, it's gotten a lot of attention since the (probably incorrect, in my opinion) claim that it might be a vertebrate. There are plenty of fancy resin or 3D printed versions, but yeah, a CollectA version would be cool. What we need is for someone to find a fossil of it in Japan; then a few manufacturers there would jump right on it.

Regarding the Falcatus the only problem with digital files is I don't know of anywhere in my area with a 3D printer. I have no experience using one either.

Yeah, that can be tricky. Some public libraries offer those services, but I think most do not. Limelight will ship physical models, but they're coming from the UK so it'll be a bit expensive to ship. That said, it's not super heavy, so maybe it would be worth it.

Also, Do you plan on selling the CollectA one? I've been after one for a while.

Maybe. I'd prefer to trade it of course, but I might sell it. The stuff I'm trying to trade for these days is getting a little obscure.

Not a fan of CollectA's Estemmenosuchus personally, but I love Safari's. Definitely plan to get it at some point. That is, if our local retailers ever decide to bring it in! The distribution of Safari products in Europe has really been terrible as of late...

Also, was scrolling through the first post and wow, you have an impressive collection of cenozoic mammals! Didn't know you collected Eofauna's proboscideans.

Yeah, I saw ED is estimating an early 2024 arrival for some of Safari's figures.

I definitely don't have an impressive collection of Cenozoic mammals! I think I only have three: EoFauna Palaeoloxodon, PNSO Livyatan, Safari Carnegie mammoth. When I learned that people were using my thread as a reference (less for "what is the best version of _____" and more for "has anyone made a toy of ________"), I added in things that I don't personally collect just for the sake of completeness. So on the first page, I only own it if it has a link to a post with a photo. If it's in plain black text (or white, if you're in dark mode), I'm acknowledging a figure as the best of that taxon, but I don't own it and don't plan to. If it's in red, I'm hunting for it. As I've said before, I find the Cenozoic plenty interesting, but I know that I would find Cenozoic shelves incomplete without a bunch of modern animals. For example, the overwhelming majority of Miocene fish fossils can be ascribed to extant genera. And most mammal species now alive coexisted with the woolly mammoth. So I just have the few Cenozoic animals I listed above, but I don't really consider them part of my collection as such.

Also, speaking of the reference list, it should be fully updated now.

[Concavenator]

Oh I didn't know that! Well, 3 figures may not be a large collection, but those 3 figures you have are great, so that's also a great Cenozoic mammal set you have, even if you don't consider them part of your collection per se. 

[Concavenator]

@Halichoeres I was looking at my PNSO Styracosaurus and Safari Diabloceratops, and the hands are pronated, aren't they? I noticed this with the PNSO Centrosaurus too (which I don't have). Looking at my Eofauna Triceratops, that doesn't seem to be the case.

[Halichoeres]

Stem-gnathostomes of the Devonian! These are all from Oumcraft, and several of the designs owe a debt to the Palaeopedia Tumblr blog by Anthony Pain.


Sanchaspis
Scale: 1:8
Early Devonian
Etymology: Chinese/Gr. "?strange shield," if it corresponds to the character 奇 but this is my inference and I am not certain this is what the authors intended
One of the galeaspids, a lineage of jawless armor-headed fishes so far only found in China and Vietnam. A lot of them come in bonkers shapes, like this one, whose chin reminds me of the false beards worn by pharaohs. You might be forgiven for thinking that opening at the front is a mouth, but the mouth and true gills are actually hidden underneath. That opening is probably more like a spiracle, connecting to the gill chamber and allowing the fish to breathe while sitting on the ocean floor.

A lot of paleoart, including these minis, have the spiracle-like openings permanently open, but I kind of suspect they might have had a soft-tissue flap to close them against sand, like in this drawing I did of Dongfangaspis a while back:



Lungmenshanaspis
Scale: 1:4 - 1:5
Early Devonian
Etymology: Chinese/Gr. "shield of the Dragon's Gate Mountains [Longmenshan]"
First, great name for a mountain range. But also, what a great head shape. Maybe it was partly for predator defense, but I think there's also a case to be made that it allowed it to cover more ground with its electric field sensors, to find more worms and other invertebrates to vacuum from the substrate. But I speculate.


Eugaleaspis
Scale: 1:5 - 1:6
Early Devonian
Etymology: Gr. "true galea [a kind of helmet] shield"
If you're wondering whether there is an animal called just "Galeaspis," the answer is yes, but it's a Cambrian trilobite. So this fish has to put "eu-" in front of it to be the standard-bearer for the clade Galeaspida. Pretty normal, compared to a lot of its relatives. I love these little guys. Thank goodness for Oumcraft, without which I would have zero galeaspid figures.

Do the galeaspids remind anyone else of Mr. Bill from the old sketches on Saturday Night Live? Just always in a mix of surprise and distress. "Oh noooooo!"



Polybranchiaspis
Scale: 1:4
Early Devonian
Etymology: Gr. "many-gilled shield"
One more galeaspid. As with the others, the gill openings were simple round holes on the underside of the head. Those ridges you see on the side are plate segments. This one looks maybe the most distressed of all.


Pituriaspis
Scale: 1:8
Middle Devonian
Ngaanyatjarra/Gr. "pituri shield" (pituri is a stimulant chewed by Australian Aboriginals)
The story goes that this fish got its name because the discoverer thought it so bizarre that he must have hallucinated it. As far as I know, pituri is not a hallucinogen, but the name is more regionally appropriate for this Australian fish than, say, "peyoteaspis" would have been. There's surprisingly been one Pituriaspis figure before, a low-quality but recognizable rubber stretchy toy by Diramix. I'm hanging on to it for now, since it's much larger and resides on a different shelf.


Boreaspis
Scale: 1:8
Early Devonian
Etymology: Gr. "northern shield," or more literally, "god of the north wind shield"
This one is a little more similar to the familiar Cephalaspis. It differs most obviously in the shape of the head, another one of these pointy jobs. I have a much larger resin of Boreaspis by Artificial Animals; I intend to keep both given the scale difference.



Groenlandaspis lived tens of millions of years after these guys; with its crunching placoderm jaws it probably would have ruined their day.


Stethacanthus was also much later, found in the Late Devonian and through the Carboniferous. But you all know how big it is, so it's useful here.

@Halichoeres I was looking at my PNSO Styracosaurus and Safari Diabloceratops, and the hands are pronated, aren't they? I noticed this with the PNSO Centrosaurus too (which I don't have). Looking at my Eofauna Triceratops, that doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm not sure what the range of motion of the shoulders would have been. They couldn't roll their ulna around their radius like we can, but based on trackways I think their shoulders could make their feet land at a variety of angles.


So I think the Styracosaurus is in a plausible position:


The Diabloceratops might be a bit more problematic:


...but not enough to bother me.

[Concavenator]

@Halichoeres Thanks for checking! I'm not bothered either, I was just being curious. I'm very happy with both figures, they are great representations of my two favorite ceratopsid genera. Will we ever see PNSO and Safari releasing a ceratopsid again?

Boreaspis - "northern shield"

Borealopelta disapproves.

[DefinitelyNOTDilo]

Now we just need Boreagladius lol

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for stopping by!

@Halichoeres Thanks for checking! I'm not bothered either, I was just being curious. I'm very happy with both figures, they are great representations of my two favorite ceratopsid genera. Will we ever see PNSO and Safari releasing a ceratopsid again?

Boreaspis - "northern shield"

Borealopelta disapproves.

I forgot to take a picture of Centrosaurus! I'll do that next time I'm home. I think we'll see more ceratopsids from PNSO, but for Safari it might be a while given they've retired several recently.

Boreaspis - "northern shield"

Borealopelta disapproves.

Now we just need Boreagladius lol

And a Boreothyreos. Man, there are lot of Greek words that in English we just translate to 'shield!' I wonder if in, say, medieval England, there were more words for shields of different types. I guess now we have plenty of words for 'gun.'

[DefinitelyNOTDilo]

I was making a joke with aspis (or whatever the root is) meaning shield and gladius meaning sword lol

[Flaffy]

Words cannot describe how much I appreciate the LIFE series for giving us so many jawless fish figures.