What should we have Safari Do? Step one Suggestions

[Halichoeres]

Given how great the Dunkleosteus is, I'd also like to see a Rhizodon and a Helicoprion.

Heartily seconded. While we're at it, Leedsicthys, Xiphactinus, Pachycormus, Iniopterygius, Helodus, Drepanaspis, Edestus, Mawsonia, Santanichthys, and Serenoichthys (the only animal named after Paul Sereno so far).

But I would be very very happy to start with Rhizodon and Helicoprion.

[triceratops83]

Safari's ceratopsians are always a hit, so how about some of the neglected old school types like Anchiceratops, Arrhinoceratops, Centrosaurus and Einiosaurus.

[Tapejara1122]

Given how great the Dunkleosteus is, I'd also like to see a Rhizodon and a Helicoprion.

Heartily seconded. While we're at it, Leedsicthys, Xiphactinus, Pachycormus, Iniopterygius, Helodus, Drepanaspis, Edestus, Mawsonia, Santanichthys, and Serenoichthys (the only animal named after Paul Sereno so far).

But I would be very very happy to start with Rhizodon and Helicoprion.

I don't know if safari would take into that territory. I would however like to see a leedsicthys. Just the massive size would be overwhelming.

[Takama]

Ok I compiled a massiv list of Theropods that have bee requested.   So i wish to start a poll for them.   Alright if i Ask to not give any more Theropod Suggestions?  This is the list of all of the ones that were suggested up to this point.



Concavenator

Alioramus

Daspletosaurus

Giganotosaurus

Utahraptor Remake

Yangchuanosaurus

Yi qi

Ornithomimus

Dilong

Caudipteryx

Velociraptor remake

Sinorithosaurus

Tarbosaurus

Achillobator

Spinosaurus

Coelophysis

Struthiomimus

Daspletosaurus

Gorgosaurus Remake

Allosaurus remake

gallimimus

Compsognathus

herrerasaurus

Dryptosaurus

Torvosaurus

Huaxiagnathus

Deinocheirus

Appalachiosaurus

Ostafrikasaurus

Shoul I open a poll for The Theropods?  I will open pols for other Types of Dinosaurs and on for other prehistoric cretures

[suspsy]

As much as I adore ceratopsids, we've gotten one every year since 2012. If it's a question of armoured dinosaurs, then I'd much prefer to see more ankylosaurs like the Sauropelta and stegosaurs.

[Tapejara1122]

As much as I adore ceratopsids, we've gotten one every year since 2012. If it's a question of armoured dinosaurs, then I'd much prefer to see more ankylosaurs like the Sauropelta and stegosaurs.

I agree supsy, the safari line REALLY impressed me with the sauropelta. I was amazed by the detail of it. Its almost papo quality... but they should come out with more of that family.

[Takama]

Yes more Ankylosaurs Like the Sauropelta.   They have not made one at all until now.   Doug said in a Post that he likes sculpting Ceratopsians and Armored dinosaurs, so i hope this is a sign that we can see more of the latter from Safari.

But Really what i really want is a Few more Sauropods and Creatures that are 3 meters and under. The "First Bird"  (i can never spell its name right) model they made looks amazing even though i don't own it yet.

Theirs a lot of things i want Safari to do. So i opened this thread to get suggestions, to make polls and to send the results to Safari in order to see if they really care about what we want.

[Tapejara1122]

Yes more Ankylosaurs Like the Sauropelta.   They have not made one at all until now.   Doug said in a Post that he likes sculpting Ceratopsians and Armored dinosaurs, so i hope this is a sign that we can see more of the latter from Safari.

But Really what i really want is a Few more Sauropods and Creatures that are 3 meters and under. The "First Bird"  (i can never spell its name right) model they made looks amazing even though i don't own it yet.

Theirs a lot of things i want Safari to do. So i opened this thread to get suggestions, to make polls and to send the results to Safari in order to see if they really care about what we want.

You know... a few sauropods would be nice... they are kinda unique and safari hasn't made too many of them. And the ones they have come out with are good. Like the nigersaurus, it was great!

[Takama]

For the Wild Safari line. Safari only made 3. Brachiosaurus Nigersaurus, and Apatoesaurus. 

Speaking of Sauropods. I opened a poll for them here
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3458.msg99868#new

[Takama]

Ok so this Thread has Served its purpose , I opend polls for all groups of Dinosaurs listed below

Theropods
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3454.0

Sauropods
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3458.0

Ornithopods
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3461.0

Thyreophorans
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3459.0

Ceratopsians
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3462.0

As for non Dinosaur creatures, don't worry, they will get there own poll

[tanystropheus]

Yes more Ankylosaurs Like the Sauropelta.   They have not made one at all until now.   Doug said in a Post that he likes sculpting Ceratopsians and Armored dinosaurs, so i hope this is a sign that we can see more of the latter from Safari.

I agree that Safari Ltd. should do more nodosaurs, ankylosaurs, especially if they end up being as graceful as that Sauropelta. The Sauropelta and the Nasutoceratops look good side-by-side with even Paposaurs. "Armored dinosaurs"? -Does that include the stegosaur family? I would love to have Safari interpretations of Lexovisaurus, Wuerhosaurus and Dacentrurus.

[Takama]

Thyreophorans Includes Armored and Plated Dinosaurs.

[tanystropheus]

Thyreophorans Includes Armored and Plated Dinosaurs.

Awesome. Has Doug Watson made any plated dinosaur? Do you know if he made the Stegosaurus or Kentrosaurus?

[Takama]

Thyreophorans Includes Armored and Plated Dinosaurs.

Awesome. Has Doug Watson made any plated dinosaur? Do you know if he made the Stegosaurus or Kentrosaurus?

No he did not make those two.

[suspsy]

Yutyrannus suggested in another thread that there be a poll for sea monsters. In addition to the Rhizodus and Helicoprion I mentioned earlier, I'd also like Ophthalmosaurus and Rhomaleosaurus

[Manatee]

If we were to do a sea creature poll, I'd like to see Shastasaurus, Prognathodon, and Materpiscis.

[Takama]

Sea Creture poll is in the works, Just gathering all the suggestions

[Halichoeres]

I already suggested a bunch of fishes (probably too many, mea culpa), but for marine reptiles I'd like to see Shastasaurus, Cymbospondylus, and Polycotylus.

[SBell]

Okay, I've waited a while, but I'm going to chime in here now.

I have done exactly this before, when I managed a dinosaur museum and had direct links to designers and planners--in the original Dino Toy Forum. The list was requested by the now-President of Safari. Some of the eventual projects were the Prehistoric Sharks toob, the Prehistoric Crocodiles toob, the Edmontosaurus, the Kaprosuchus, the Inostrancevia and the prehistoric plants. Maybe some others, it's been several years and these things slip by (I remember talking about T.rex for something, but can't remember what). I wasn't designing or anything, just being involved in the initial planning steps. And keep in mind, for everything that we had even a little bit of input in that actually got made, there were a lot of suggestions, requests and even started projects (RIP Prehistoric Amphibians toob... ) that never moved forward.

I don't know what Safari's involvement is on the forum; there tends to be more involvement with social media these days.

The steps involved were:

1) Determine species/taxa. As with here, I approached the forum, but rather than using polls, kept the lists that people could suggest to very short minimums--keep in mind that even on a big year, Safari will make 5 models. If a list is presented of 15 or 20 models, it will be too much, even for a few years, and they will have plans of their own, plus responses to new and exciting finds.

2) Imagery. The presentation requires imagery. When I was asking forum members, I required an image that captured what people were thinking. It's easier for Safari's planners to determine what they are looking at if they can see a picture or two. They try, of course, but nobody can know what every single prehistoric animal is. If it's too obscure, it makes the designer and planner's jobs easier if they have an idea of what they are thinking about.

3) Marketing strategy and justification. Once the list was whittled down (I want to say 10 suggestions, knowing it was a brief 'wish list' at best) it is necessary to create a marketing reason to make the models. It's not enough to say "because I want to see more sauropods" or "the current Triceratops is not up to my standards (or current research)", etc. This is because they are not marketing to a single person or several  dozen collectors--they need to know why they should make 5000-10000 of a single animal. Which means they need to know why at least 5000-10000 people would buy that figure. Reasons given included historical significance, recent scientific interest, educational opportunity, complementing existing models (same time, same place, same ecosystem, etc), public/popular media appearance, broad demographic appeal (toys & parents first, collectors, educators) and probably some others. It was also important that we avoided, for the most part, taxa that were already done by widespread companies (unless those were several years old, in which case they could probably be done). There was also minimal taxonomic overlap--it is unlikely that they would make, say, 4 sauropods in one year (toobs notwithstanding) so it's best to mix it up a lot (this was also part of the whittling process). We also refrained from re-sculpt requests, but at the time most of their models were only a few years old so there were bigger fish to fry, so to speak, which may have changed in that time.

4) Presentation. The final document, with images, brief descriptions of age, location, relationships etc of each taxon (remember, again, the planners may not know what you are talking about!) was sent to the required people directly. And this is really important--it has to be presented as a business plan. That means that the spelling, grammar and formatting need to be in top form. I know that for many people this seems unfair (I've taught before as well) but presentation makes a difference. You are asking for their time and attention, so it's important to demonstrate that it's potentially worth it.

I don't know how you plan to produce the final request list. If it is to be suggested here on the forum it may have a tough time reaching the right people--or they may be wary of it, since competitors are also able to see it (and the business has become crazy-competitive). The best means is a direct email, but it needs to go to the right person.

So those are my...fifty cents or so. Canada doesn't officially have pennies anymore (!) so that's how it goes, you can't have just 2 cents. Take it or leave it, just some things I've learned in working with this sort of thing. I'm not trying to rain on parades or discourage/dissuade, etc--if it works out, that's fantastic. But there are potential ways to increase chances of success.

[Takama]

After that information sbell.  I'm not sure this will be a success.  I plan on sending the final list of animals to safaris Facebook page.   So I have to write a paper explaining why each animal would be a benefit to the company and why, and give a little background on the creature? I was going to show the final list to Safaris Facebook Page, and it was Dans idea that i do this.   Of course i will show them pictures of the animals. thats what i been doing with my personal suggestions to Safari..