David Silvas New Kickstarter: Articulated Dinosaur TOYS

[Dinoguy2]

New image of mononykus
What do you guys think of the buitreraptor and the mononykus so far?

Hard to tell from side view if he fixed the snout. The old one was too wide, not necessarily too thin top to bottom. Mononykus had neither a raptor like snout nor a beak - it should look like a tube when the mouth is closed similar to an anteater.

[Flaffy]

The 'Forest Hunters'

[Flaffy]

Unpainted microraptor, a little too skinny for my liking, pass.

[Patrx]

Whoah, very underfluffed indeed. But! the wing digits are fuzzy and not scaly, so that's nice.

[Sim]

I think the Microraptor looks very nice!  I'm happy David is making such interesting and unusual species for the accessory packs, some of which have never been made in toy form before (Mononykus and Buitreraptor).  I hope he'll make more smaller species to go alongside the larger species in a given series, in the future.

Whoah, very underfluffed indeed. But! the wing digits are fuzzy and not scaly, so that's nice.

The first fingers have alula feathers too.

[Dinoguy2]

Whoah, very underfluffed indeed. But! the wing digits are fuzzy and not scaly, so that's nice.

Yeah, the detailing is great but the new Safari one is more accurate by far in terms of overall body shape.

[Flaffy]

new image of troodon

[Archinto]

Lol, I had to reset my survey because I just had to have more than four raptors.....

Finally decided on velociraptor mongoliensis & osmolskae, Adasaurus, Dromaeosaurus winter, Zhenuanlong fans choice and sauronitholestes fans choice. Also got the forest accessory pack with the microraptor, and the striped nestling pack. Really tempted on the winter environment pack too, but I think one nest is good enough, plus the damages to my bank account..... O_o hehehe

[Sim]

New Kickstarter update: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/creativebeast/beasts-of-the-mesozoic-raptor-series-action-figure/posts/1706232

As I explained in comments on that update, I'm disappointed the accessory pack species will have a foot peg despite also having a posing rod.  Since a posing rod offers more posing options, and better support over time and in hot weather, than a foot peg, and means the figures don't need a hole in their foot for a peg, I would have preferred the figures had just a posing rod for support and no foot peg.  I've explained these things in more detail in comments on some Kickstarter updates, mostly under this one from last month: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/creativebeast/beasts-of-the-mesozoic-raptor-series-action-figure/posts/1684395

I dislike figures having foot pegs, and after reading what David and others have said about the pegs, I genuinely think they aren't a good idea or worthwhile.  I no longer feel happy about getting the accessory packs which I was very much looking forward to.  After thinking about it today, I'm thinking of not getting the accessory packs now.

I thought the concept art for the figures implied Buitreraptor, Microraptor and Troodon would only be supported by a posing rod and wouldn't have a foot peg, like the main raptors.  (Apparently that was the original plan for them.)  So that's what I was looking forward to and pledged for. Having a foot peg was something I never considered they would have, even more so because I thought the posing rods of the main raptors were a well-liked idea.  It was first said the accessory pack species would have foot pegs when David had started sculpting them, long after the Kickstarter had ended.  This bothers me as if I no longer want to get the accessory packs due to the foot pegs, I can't reduce the amount I pledged to reflect this since I pledged for them before the Kickstarter ended.  It's also very disappointing as the figures having foot pegs was decided and disclosed a long time after the figures were first shown and I'd been looking forward to them.

This has made it less likely I'll want to pledge for a figure that hasn't been sculpted yet in the future, since it might end up having something I dislike that I have no way of knowing about until it's sculpted.  If it was something necessary or an improvement I wouldn't feel this way, but I don't think having a foot peg is necessary or an improvement.

[Halichoeres]

Does the hole in the foot negate the utility of the posing rod? It seems like you could use it in a different position and just not have the figure affixed to the peg if you chose. Or does the mere fact of having a hole in the foot bother you? Does it follow that you only buy free-standing figures? I'm just curious, not trying to invalidate your position, just making sure I understand what it is.

[Sim]

Does the hole in the foot negate the utility of the posing rod? It seems like you could use it in a different position and just not have the figure affixed to the peg if you chose. Or does the mere fact of having a hole in the foot bother you? Does it follow that you only buy free-standing figures? I'm just curious, not trying to invalidate your position, just making sure I understand what it is.

I think if one wants the figures posed in certain ways such as on the ground fighting/playing/having a dust bath, the hole in the foot would be visible.  I think the hole in the foot could also be visible if the figures are posed on the posing rod with their feet/legs similar to how they are:

-on the Dromaeosaurus in these two photos:
https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/013/781/172/d65f57f6f8d9887e1d6d1fe45dcfff5b_original.JPG?w=639&fit=max&v=1474212757&auto=format&q=92&s=3d3c6ee84f4a528b58cc481b25487f12
https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/013/781/179/27e13c53d3f353ee9429b5ce9c013482_original.JPG?w=639&fit=max&v=1474212783&auto=format&q=92&s=9f05e12e2a8397ed8a69d47f468737b2

-on this Dakotaraptor skeleton:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dakotaraptor_lateral_Wiki.jpg

The figures having a hole in the foot bothers me because of what I explained above, and also because I really like picking my prehistoric animal figures up and looking at them from many different angles, imagining them doing different things. Having peg holes (or permanently attached pegs or permanently attached bases) makes them feel less like real animals.  I thought theropod figures being supported by a posing rod was the best, as it would offer reliable support and the figure's appearance wouldn't be affected negatively e.g. the figure wouldn't have a permanently attached base, peg holes, oversized feet, or an awkward/forced pose (often a tripod pose).  A posing rod also allows the figures to be posed in different positions.  I was very happy the main raptors would have this and that this seemed to be the plan for accessory pack species as well.  It seems though that the enthusiasm I had for the posing rods in this series wasn't shared exactly by David and others, as shown by foot pegs being introduced in this series despite it being so late in the process for a change that makes the figures have a hole in the foot.

I've reached a point where I'm selective about the figures I want to have.  I won't want to get a figure if I'm happier just imaging that prehistoric animal in my mind.  The figures I'm interested in having are ones that are free-standing, or ones that come with support that doesn't affect their appearance negatively e.g. the Beasts of the Mesozoic main raptors with their posing rods, and the Invicta marine reptiles with their bases.

[Sim]

I thought of this which I've asked in a Kickstarter comment:

If the accessory pack species must have foot pegs, would it be possible for the peg hole to be disguised as a 'space' formed where the toes join the rest of the foot. To give an idea of what I mean I've linked to a few photos:
1. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dromaius_novaehollandiae_-zoo_-foot-8a.jpg
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_feet_and_legs#/media/File:Lagopus_lagopus_foot.jpg
3. https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-emu-foot-extreme-close-up-s-image32856098

If the hole in the foot was disguised like that, it wouldn't bother me so much and I think I would still be happy to have figures with a foot peg like that. Although I would still be uninterested in the foot peg function.

[Halichoeres]

Ah, interesting. The hole in the foot sort of breaks the illusion, then? To me, joints on an articulated figure are much more disruptive to my imagining the live animal than foot holes are, but different people will find different things distracting. Mind you, I still plan to get the majority of these Silva sculpts--they're the best thing going for almost every taxon in the series.

The peg interacting with a hollow created by the more or less natural form of the foot is an interesting idea. It might be pretty difficult to execute in a way that actually enhances stability, but definitely worth trying out!

[Sim]

The peg interacting with a hollow created by the more or less natural form of the foot is an interesting idea. It might be pretty difficult to execute in a way that actually enhances stability, but definitely worth trying out!

I did also explain on Kickstarter that I think I'd be okay even with just having the peg hole located in an area where it isn't obviously making a hole in the animal's anatomy.  I think David doesn't want to talk about this any more though, so I've asked if he could give me an idea of where on the feet the holes are located if that's been finalised.  I think that would help me decide whether to get the accessory packs.

Ah, interesting. The hole in the foot sort of breaks the illusion, then? To me, joints on an articulated figure are much more disruptive to my imagining the live animal than foot holes are, but different people will find different things distracting. Mind you, I still plan to get the majority of these Silva sculpts--they're the best thing going for almost every taxon in the series.

Yes, I'd say I feel that way about the foot hole.  I also like to use figures to see the anatomy of the animal from different angles, which is another reason I don't like a hole in the foot.  I find joints on an articulated figure are also disruptive in both of those situations, but that they can be less so than a hole in the foot - it depends on how conspicuous the joints or foot holes are.  I'm not bothered much by the joints on the Beasts of the Mesozoic figures as I'm very impressed by how inconspicuous David has made a number of them, and most of the joints are necessary for moving the body parts of the figures into different positions - which I find interesting.  There are a few joints I would have been happy to not have though.  I have seen some articulated dinosaur figures that have joints that are too conspicuous for me though.

If you're happy to say, which figures from this series are you planning to get?

[Archinto]

Did anyone see the updated paint scheme for Buitreraptor? Its amazing! I lost the link though

[Jose S.M.]

They published the pic on their Facebook page too, It looks really good.

[Nanuqsaurus]

Here it is!


Looks really good!

[Roselaar]

Looks fabulous! And cute but still menacing.

[Shadowknight1]

I can't wait to see the painted Microraptor.

[Thylacosmilus]

Despite the fact that the snout looks too short for me, I really like it overall.