The best figure of every species, according to Halichoeres

[Sim]

What size estimate are you using for Mapusaurus?

[ceratopsian]

Those CollectA releases look so much better in your (and other members') photos than in the firm's publicity shots.  I was planning to get the Iguanodon, Mantellisaurus and probably the Sciurimimus anyway, though wasn't completely bowled over by the latter two.  Now I'm very keen and am beginning to think maybe I'll add the Mapusaurus to the list as well.

[Faelrin]

That Mantellisaurus looks really nice on that BotM Wetlands base. Almost a perfect match. All these images of the new CollectA Iguanodon (and the Dunkleosteus) have me so tempted though, even though I wanted to hold off later in the year for them, since I know I'm going to spend big on the JWFK stuff soon. Did you get these from Minizoo? How's the shipping to the US?

[Reptilia]

Great shot of the Collecta Iguanodon. It seems to depict an individual that's a little too on the skinny side, but still an outstanding model overall.

[Shonisaurus]

I am glad Halichoeres that you have achieved the four dinosaur novelties of Collecta 2018. The said Mr. Mathias Geiger makes figures of real beauty, for me the best of the group are the iguanodon and the sciurumimus, on the other hand in an outstanding measure is also very well done the mapusaurus deluxe of Collecta that together with the iguanodon of Collecta leave very diminished their respective standard versions even of the mapusaurus due to the beauty and creativity of their figures. 

The one that is a very acceptable figure but that I put in my case in the second case is the mantellisaurus, it is very well done but what I do not like about the mantellisaurus is its decoration of excessive paint on the skull independently that I like its figure preferred more conservative tones in the respective skull as he has done with the rest of his figures. But it is a simple appreciation of mine.

On the other hand is the sciurumimus is a nice miniature and is almost as small as the Yi Qi of the Kaiyodo brand. 

[ceratopsian]

..........but what I do not like about the mantellisaurus is its decoration of excessive paint on the skull independently that I like its figure preferred more conservative tones in the respective skull as he has done with the rest of his figures. But it is a simple appreciation of mine.

I rather agree, Shonisaurus.  I also find the rosette of red/brown springing from behind the hindleg a bit unnatural.  I'm already half-thinking of sending the Mantellisaurus to be repainted and given a nice base with water/foliage.

[Halichoeres]

I wasn't sure of getting all the Collecta's this year but the more photos I see the more I like them, now Iguanodon is a sure thing, and Mantellisaurus and Sciurumimus too, I'm still debating of Mapusaurus but looks really good. Also Mantellisaurus looks great in the wetlands pack base. And what happened to the snout of that Monoclonius? 

The snout is hilariously grumpy looking, like a cartoon turtle.

Did you not fancy the Safari Iguanodon from a couple years ago?

I actually do like it, but I suppose I'd rather have a figure too large for 1:40 than a figure too small for 1:40. I never bought it just because of the small size; it would have looked pretty out of place.

Great shot of the Collecta Iguanodon. It seems to depict an individual that's a little too on the skinny side, but still an outstanding model overall.

Thanks! I almost forgot this shot, where you can see more of the detail of the flanks:

That Mantellisaurus looks really nice on that BotM Wetlands base. Almost a perfect match. All these images of the new CollectA Iguanodon (and the Dunkleosteus) have me so tempted though, even though I wanted to hold off later in the year for them, since I know I'm going to spend big on the JWFK stuff soon. Did you get these from Minizoo? How's the shipping to the US?

Yep, MiniZoo. The shipping was $30 AUD, so roughly $24 USD, about double what I would have paid to ship from a US seller. However, since CollectA currently has no distribution in North America, the lower base price of the figures from MiniZoo partly makes up for it.

@ceratopsian & Shoni: I agree on the pattern on the hindquarters of the Mantellisaurus, which strikes me as really improbable. The face paint bothers me less.

[Halichoeres]

What size estimate are you using for Mapusaurus?

Whoops, missed this one. I'm using an estimate of 10.2 meters. I know there are extrapolated estimates of 12 m, but I saw enough allometry during the course of my PhD that I've grown really wary of scaling things up with identical proportions.

[Lanthanotus]

Nice additions and great shots again, Halichoeres. Shame it probably takes another month or two until the new CollectAs become availble here as it was last year :/

[Sim]

What size estimate are you using for Mapusaurus?

Whoops, missed this one. I'm using an estimate of 10.2 meters. I know there are extrapolated estimates of 12 m, but I saw enough allometry during the course of my PhD that I've grown really wary of scaling things up with identical proportions.

This Mapusaurus skeletal seems to do a good job supporting a length of over 12m for Mapusaurus: https://franoys.deviantart.com/art/Mapusaurus-roseae-skeletal-diagram-665544500  This skeletal even appears to have a proportionally shorter tail than other reconstructions of Mapusaurus including the new CollectA version, and it still ends up being over 12m long.  I don't know enough about what is actually known of Mapusaurus to comment further, except for this:

You said the following about the CollectA Mapusaurus, "The old one was about 1:40, too, unlike this somewhat larger figure (which is confusingly and inaccurately called 1:40)."  Does a length estimate a bit over 12m for Mapusaurus make the new CollectA figure closer to 1:40 than the scale you gave it (1:30)?  A length a bit over 12m for Mapusaurus is considered plausible, so even if one decides to use a lower length estimate for the figure's scale, I wonder if marketing the figure's scale as 1:40 is reasonable?

[Faelrin]

That's probably too expensive for me to justify getting them together or single. Guess I'll need to wait until these pop up on ebay or until Dejankins hopefully carries them, which they should be there later in the year. Thanks for the response though.

[Halichoeres]

What size estimate are you using for Mapusaurus?

Whoops, missed this one. I'm using an estimate of 10.2 meters. I know there are extrapolated estimates of 12 m, but I saw enough allometry during the course of my PhD that I've grown really wary of scaling things up with identical proportions.

This Mapusaurus skeletal seems to do a good job supporting a length of over 12m for Mapusaurus: https://franoys.deviantart.com/art/Mapusaurus-roseae-skeletal-diagram-665544500  This skeletal even appears to have a proportionally shorter tail than other reconstructions of Mapusaurus including the new CollectA version, and it still ends up being over 12m long.  I don't know enough about what is actually known of Mapusaurus to comment further, except for this:

You said the following about the CollectA Mapusaurus, "The old one was about 1:40, too, unlike this somewhat larger figure (which is confusingly and inaccurately called 1:40)."  Does a length estimate a bit over 12m for Mapusaurus make the new CollectA figure closer to 1:40 than the scale you gave it (1:30)?  A length a bit over 12m for Mapusaurus is considered plausible, so even if one decides to use a lower length estimate for the figure's scale, I wonder if marketing the figure's scale as 1:40 is reasonable?

Hmm, I have a note in my spreadsheet that says the 12m estimate was based on a single bone, which I wrote at the time that I acquired the standard-size Mapusaurus. It seems that there are more pieces that are possibly consistent with that length, from the dermatocranium, the axial skeleton, and the appendicular skeleton. The new version is between 33 and 34cm long measured along the dorsal curves, which would make it about 1:35, but to be 1:40 it would have to be over 13m long. So yes, closer, but still a bit large. Thanks for the reference!

Nice additions and great shots again, Halichoeres. Shame it probably takes another month or two until the new CollectAs become availble here as it was last year :/

Thanks very much! They're even slower to get to US shops than European ones, I think. I'm just so impatient that I go to Australia for them!

PS: added the new Colorata figures to my 2017 overview post.

[Sim]

Thanks for your reply, it's interesting to hear your thoughts regarding the size of Mapusaurus.

[Halichoeres]

Normally I like to let a decent number of figures accumulate before posting an update, but these guys are special. I only learned these existed sometime in the last year or so, and I assumed they must be so rare that I'd never find them. Thanks to the sharp eye of PlesiosaurusNessy, I was able to pick them up for a reasonable sum on ebay.de. Thanks for the tip!

They're part of the series of painted Marx figures sold at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in (West) Germany in 1963. There were also some dinosaurs in the series, of course, but my collection being what it is, those don't particularly interest me. I believe these were sculpted by Phil Derham, as most or perhaps all Marx prehistorics were.


Cynognathus
Scale: 1:12
The figure looks practically new, really amazing condition for what I paid. On the head, I think I can make out the faint imprint of a thumbprint of the worker who painted it. This replaces the similarly sized Play Visions Cynognathus on my Triassic shelf.


Sphenacodon
Scale: 1:25
The innermost toe on the left front foot has a bit of a crack in it, because I had forgotten that these are cast in a much more brittle plastic than standard Marx figures. So when I was excitedly opening the parcel, I didn't even bother to sit down on the couch or at the table, but unwrapped them while standing. This one slipped out of the bubble wrap and hit the floor. Could have been a lot worse than a cracked toe, as these are much more like Starlux in terms of durability than what you'd expect from a typical Marx toy. This charming fellow replaces my Linde and Chialu Sphenacodon figures (although of course this one in turn would be promptly replaced if Safari, Favorite, or CollectA produced a nice modern version).


The entirety of my Marx collection. I don't believe a Moschops was ever made in a painted version, though of course if one were, I would be after it!


PS: I've added an album called "Victims of Progress" to the browse-able version of my collection on Flickr, which has photos of most of the figures that have been replaced over the last couple of years as more accurate or attractive versions of a given taxon are released. Can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137381464@N07/collections/72157663343052556/

[Shonisaurus]

By the way, Halichoeres. How many figures of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals do you have today? I get the impression that your current collection is immense. 

[UK]

Great find. Two of the three I am missing to complete my set.... Hope PlesiosaurusNessy can find a couple of these for me too 

Could you post the link to the auction please Tim?

Thanks

[PlesiosaurusNessy]

@Halichoeres: Congrats to the two wonderful pieces! Great photos and very super,that they had a fast journey to USA!
And, no problem for the tip,you´re very welcome!Thanks a lot for showing them and the fantastic photos!

@UK: I´ll do my very best...,but, in your thread, page 15, Post #280, you showed a photo of the whole collection with
         these two, Halichoeres bought recently,...was the photo from another collection?
         I always thought, you´ve all these 12,only #13, the Allosaurus, which I own,is missing in your collection...

[Libraraptor]

Painted Marx!!!

[Halichoeres]

By the way, Halichoeres. How many figures of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals do you have today? I get the impression that your current collection is immense. 

It probably isn't as large as you think. I've got roughly 540 pieces now in my collection, although I probably have at least 500 more in storage awaiting sale or trade.

Great find. Two of the three I am missing to complete my set.... Hope PlesiosaurusNessy can find a couple of these for me too 

Could you post the link to the auction please Tim?

Thanks

Sure thing! Here's the Cynognathus and here's the Sphenacodon. I used to visit ebay.de regularly, but I got out of the habit once I'd gotten the dozen or so Bullyland figures that I wanted. So it was pretty lucky.

@PlesiosaurusNessy: I think that photo was from Dinosauriana, so not his personal collection. He was helpfully showing me that these existed (I knew of the series, but wasn't sure it had contained the synapsids) and now I've gone and beaten him to the punch. Feeling slightly abashed, to be honest, but perhaps the seller has more stock.

Painted Marx!!!

Right up your alley, isn't it?

[UK]

By the way, Halichoeres. How many figures of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals do you have today? I get the impression that your current collection is immense. 

It probably isn't as large as you think. I've got roughly 540 pieces now in my collection, although I probably have at least 500 more in storage awaiting sale or trade.

Great find. Two of the three I am missing to complete my set.... Hope PlesiosaurusNessy can find a couple of these for me too 

Could you post the link to the auction please Tim?

Thanks

Sure thing! Here's the Cynognathus and here's the Sphenacodon. I used to visit ebay.de regularly, but I got out of the habit once I'd gotten the dozen or so Bullyland figures that I wanted. So it was pretty lucky.

@PlesiosaurusNessy: I think that photo was from Dinosauriana, so not his personal collection. He was helpfully showing me that these existed (I knew of the series, but wasn't sure it had contained the synapsids) and now I've gone and beaten him to the punch. Feeling slightly abashed, to be honest, but perhaps the seller has more stock.

Painted Marx!!!

Right up your alley, isn't it?

Great find there. Shame the listings wording would never have featured in my searches. The cynogathus and sphenacodon together with the allosaurus are the figures I am missing. All three were originally listed for sale. Oh well,,I won't loose any sleep but congratulations there Tim.