The best figure of every species, according to Halichoeres

[Halichoeres]

Metazoans of the Mesozoic!


Takara Tomy Stygimoloch from the Ania Jurassic World line
Scale: 1:20-1:25
Released: 2018
Time: Maastrichtian of North America
This is much nicer than any of the Mattel figures. The texturing and paint job are also much nicer than the Snapco version. But I have a bit of a bias against action figures. Help me decide which one to keep:


Mattel miniature for scale (I probably won't keep it). This was my favorite dinosaur as a kid, so I have been more than usually impulsive with all the new figures this year. I was even on the fence with the Imaginext version.


IVS Group Ltd Dakotaraptor ("Dinosaurs in the Wild")
Scale: 1:12
Released: 2017
Time: Maastrichtian of North America
There's an arena show about dinosaurs ("Dinosaurs in the Wild") running in England right now, and the merchandise offerings include this and a Tyrannosaurus action figure. I wasn't prepared for how large it was! Dakotaraptor was a big animal, but even so, at more than 40 cm, this is more to scale with my Kaiyodo Dinoland Anchiceratops than with any of my Hell Creek dinosaurs. It's also to scale with my Vivid Hesperonychus, which gives an idea of the size range of dromaeosaurs. And this figure is heavy; all elements seem to be solid molds, whereas I expected it to be hollow in places like a Sega or Happinet figure. Cool addition, although I suspect a smaller, less jointed version will eventually be produced by a mainstream company. Thanks to ceratopsian for helping me get this for me and other members (the shop won't ship to the US).


I have no room in my apartment, so the Dakotaraptor is destined for a shelf in my office. Right above its new home is the shelf where most of my BotM figures live.


Onchopristis 3D print from Shapeways
Scale: 1:80
Designer: Manuel Bejarano
Time: Middle and Late Cretaceous
The only batoid fish I know of from a toy line is the little fish that came with the Bullyland Pteranodon. So I had to get this, even though it's tiny. I'm rapidly accummulating models to paint; I really need to catch up.


Scales reasonably well with the CollectA tube fishes.


Bullyland belemnite
Scale: depends on what species, but for a pretty average belemnite, about 1:3
Released: 2010
Time: Jurassic and Cretaceous
I've actually had this in my closet for at least a year and have been intermittently dithering about whether to "officially" add it to my collection. I don't usually like generic figures designed to represent an entire category of diverse animals. For that reason, I don't buy things called "trilobite" or "ammonite." But there is just no other belemnite made by a toy company. In the end it seemed worse to let that entire lineage go unrepresented than to just suck it up and have a generic one on my shelf.


Ambitiously attempting to prey on Kaiyodo's Eryon, who is just not having it.


Bullyland medusa (sold as Qualle which seems to be the German word for "jellyfish")
cf. Rhizostomites
Scale: 1:5
Released: 2010
Time: Jurassic
Like the belemnite, this one has been sitting around in storage waiting for my decision. The only other cnidarian toy I can think of is the Yowie Mawsonites, and even that is only probably a cnidarian. Again, without this, I'd have no medusozoans in my collection, whereas I have, for example, 8 trilobites and 9 ammonites, all explicitly modeled after particular genera. The fossil record of medusozoans is incredibly poor, as you'd expect from an animal that's 20 parts water to one part protein, with no mineralization whatsoever. But the Solnhofen limestone in Germany contains incredible fossils of the medusozoan Rhizostomites, so fine that you can make out the little genital pockets. It's a good bet that these fossils are the reason Bullyland saw fit to make this figure, so I'm calling this Rhizostomites.


I have very little in terms of Mesozoic aquatic animals near this scale, but the Kaiyodo Nipponites isn't too far off.


Safari ammonite (incertae sedis)
Released: 2014
I just told you I don't buy generic ammonites, and I had long ago decided to pass on this one. I have lots of specific ammonites (all the plastic ones available, in fact) and don't like not knowing what my figures are modeled after. But I was at the Museum of the Earth and this was the best prehistoric toy in the gift shop that I didn't already own. I wanted them to have a little more of my money, so I went for it. It is definitely my largest ammonite figure, and maybe someday we'll get some clue from the sculptor about what was used for reference material.

[Shonisaurus]

The ammonite of Safari is beautiful it is a pity that Safari does not risk to market more invertebrates and fish of the Mesozoic era are some works of art.

The Bullyland jellyfish is a figure that represents the time of splendor of the company in relation to the production of prehistoric toy animals of all kinds. The same can be said of the belemnite.

The raptors "Beasts of the Mesozoic" are precious all of them and are gorgeus, in my case I will collect from that company their ceraptosianos when they leave in the middle of next year. The ceraptosian dinosaurs are my favorite dinosaurs, apart from tyrannosaurs such as albertosaurus, yutyrannus, alioramus, tarbosaurus and others.

The miniatures of the prehistoric fish of Collecta 2017 is a bold and courageous bet on the part of that company. I hope that in the future they will make a xiphactinus and leedsichthys Collecta or another company in a considerable size like the dunkleosteus of this year to give an example.

My congratulations for your collectible figures are all very beautiful.

[ceratopsian]

An interesting read. It's fascinating to have those insights into how you collect. Nice to see the Dakotaraptor in all its bulky glory. I was too surprised by the size and weight to look closely as I repackaged the parcel to send to you!

[bmathison1972]

I'd say pick the Stygimoloch on the base; it's my favorite. Since you prefer to have only one of each species, I assume you don't have another Pachycephalosaurus?  [unless, of course, different life stages are ok  ]

[Jose S.M.]

I prefer the Takara Tomy one, my only complaint about that one is that the eye is hard to see in the pictures.

[Faelrin]

The Takara Tomy Stygimoloch is really nice. Definitely has a nice color scheme to it too. I really like seeing all those invertebrate figures you've shared too. I really ought to get some of those Kaiyodos down the road (including some of the more modern species they've done such as the giant tube worm). The only one of those invert figures I have in common is the Safari Ltd ammonite. Even if it is generic I quite enjoy the sculptwork on it. Just something about it I find believable although my knowledge on ammonites is rather minimal.

Lovely feathery friend shelf you have there too (with the BotM raptors and some friends).

[Halichoeres]

I'd say pick the Stygimoloch on the base; it's my favorite. Since you prefer to have only one of each species, I assume you don't have another Pachycephalosaurus?  [unless, of course, different life stages are ok  ]

Ha, I have the CollectA Pachycephalosaurus. I think the idea that Stygimoloch was a juvenile is plausible but difficult to demonstrate, with at least a little bit of countervailing evidence. So yeah, I permit both (and I also have the Safari Dracorex, which I justify more on the grounds that it's a very different scale).

I prefer the Takara Tomy one, my only complaint about that one is that the eye is hard to see in the pictures.

Maybe a different background will make it easier to see the face details:

The Takara Tomy Stygimoloch is really nice. Definitely has a nice color scheme to it too. I really like seeing all those invertebrate figures you've shared too. I really ought to get some of those Kaiyodos down the road (including some of the more modern species they've done such as the giant tube worm). The only one of those invert figures I have in common is the Safari Ltd ammonite. Even if it is generic I quite enjoy the sculptwork on it. Just something about it I find believable although my knowledge on ammonites is rather minimal.

Lovely feathery friend shelf you have there too (with the BotM raptors and some friends).

Yeah, the Safari ammonite is pretty nice, and I think it's quite likely that a real fossil was used for reference, I just wish I knew what it was. There are many, many ammonites that looked roughly like this and can't be distinguished (leastways, can't be distinguished by me) from just the external texture with no clues from, say, stratigraphy or internal shell morphology. I definitely recommend all of Kaiyodo's invertebrates, even the relatively simplified Meganeura.

[Faelrin]

Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe next year I can start assembling a collection of some of them. I'll have to make a wishlist at least so I can remember what to track down eventually. The fact they have a Meganeura is exciting to me though. It's definitely the one I remember the most when it comes to the Carboniferous period, well that and Arthropleura.

[Bokisaurus]

Wonderful group. I really like that Takara figure, I might have to hunt it down

[Halichoeres]

Wonderful group. I really like that Takara figure, I might have to hunt it down

So I should count that as a vote to keep the Takara figure? 

[Libraraptor]

Yes, 'Qualle' means 'jellyfish'. That is correct.
What a wonderful collection you still  have and how hard your decisions on it sometimes must be...

[Halichoeres]

Thanks, Stefan! The decisions can be difficult but they are pretty enjoyable in the end. Good problems to have

[Bokisaurus]

Wonderful group. I really like that Takara figure, I might have to hunt it down

So I should count that as a vote to keep the Takara figure? 

Absolutely I like the details and the overall sculpt... I'm just not fond of the articulated tail... why oh why, it just looks so badly jointed and unnecessary in my opinion. Otherwise, I really like it.

[Halichoeres]

Man, I hate packing.

[bmathison1972]

You should have seen my move from Atlanta :-)

I put a taxon (or grouped, related taxa) into small plastic boxes (e.g., Gladware type stuff) and then stacked those in larger plastic storage boxes with snapping lids...

[Faelrin]

Moving can definitely be stressful. My condolences. I hope everything stays safe during the move.

[Halichoeres]

B @bmathison1972 Oh man, with the size of your collection, it must have been quite a feat. Thanks for the tip, I'll use that for the inevitable next move (my collection is fully packed now, only the kitchen is left).

Thanks, @Faelrin This is my 20th move since I left "home," so you'd think I'd be used to it by now.

[Halichoeres]

Tetrapodomorphs of the Paleozoic!


cf. Captorhinus (stamped "China," unknown maker)
Scale: about 1:10
Middle Permian
I had an identical ugly figure in pink and yellow, but this one is a nicer color scheme. The figures are so nondescript that some people use them to represent rhynchosaurs. Somebody please make a real captorhinid! (And a rhynchosaur too, while you're about it.)


These other Permian animals demand more illustrious company.


Play Visions Pholiderpeton (=Eogyrinus)
Scale: 1:35-1:40
Released: 1998
Late Carboniferous
This might be the toughest Play Visions figure to find. I think part of the reason is that with its salamander-inspired color scheme it's really difficult to spot it in mixed lots, and its generally lizard-y or salamander-y aspect probably leads it to be included with animals rather than dinosaurs when people are cleaning out their kids' old toys from the attic. Despite being included in the prehistoric amphibians set, Pholiderpeton was probably a stem-amniote, which is to say on the lineage that gave rise to mammals and reptiles. It lived alongside some of the earliest synapsids and diapsids; fun to imagine it chowing down on one of our even-closer relatives. Anyway, glad to have hunted one down. There are very few toys of Carboniferous animals, but this scales pretty well with my Yowie Strepsodus.

Remind me to take a photo to demonstrate that.

My favorite Paleozoic acquisition lately:


Paleozoo sarcopterygian (Mandageria fairfaxi)
Scale: 1:8
Designer: Bruce Currie
Released: 2018
Late Devonian
This is a really lovely 3D print of a tristichopterid (the stem-tetrapod group that also includes Eusthenopteron and Hyneria). The body shape is a little bit pike-like, with a long body and most of the fins bunched up at the back--a hallmark of a fast-striking ambush predator. The color scheme recalls a pike too, with the yellows and greens, the white spots, and the reddish fins.


Acanthostega in peril from its fellow stem-tetrapods.

[Shonisaurus]

The eogyrinus, diplocaulus and gerrothorax along with the prehistoric mammals of Play Visions are almost impossible to find, even if they go out on the eBay market they cost totally impossible prices. Thank you for sharing your prehistoric amphibian figures, Halichoeres.

[SBell]

I love that Mandegeria. Maybe someday I'll save up--when it's available again...