David Silvas New Kickstarter: Articulated Dinosaur TOYS

[Faelrin]

That's a cute pose. I might have to give that idea a try when my new ones arrive (I don't want to mess with my current ones since I have them standing at the moment and it took a while to get them that way). It is pretty cool that is an option with all the articulation after all.

[Minmiminime]

I've had my shipping notification, too 😁🎉 I nearly missed it, it had gone into the wrong folder!! I hope you won't have to wait much longer, @IrritatorRaji 

[PhilSauria]

I was seriously considering ordering one of these critters but after reading the recent posts detailing the assorted issues with them now I am not so sure I should make the outlay. You'd think for these prices (well it will be pricey from where I am) that you would receive a better quality product.

[Shadowknight1]

I was seriously considering ordering one of these critters but after reading the recent posts detailing the assorted issues with them now I am not so sure I should make the outlay. You'd think for these prices (well it will be pricey from where I am) that you would receive a better quality product.

My only issue with my Zhenyuanlong is that, without the clip being big enough, it's not going to be able to do many one legged poses.  Outside of that, it's a lovely raptor.  And the Velociraptor is also fantastic.

[IrritatorRaji]

I've had my shipping notification, too 😁🎉 I nearly missed it, it had gone into the wrong folder!! I hope you won't have to wait much longer, IrritatorRaji 

Welp

Looks like I'm going deep sea diving

I have 6,000 messages in my junk folder what's a delete button

Wish me luck, boys


@Minmiminime  But seriously, it's awesome you got your shipping notification! Do you live outside America? (Just asking cuz if you live in a country near me then it maybe means I'll be notified of mine models being shipped soon  )

[ZoPteryx]

It's been interesting reading everyone's pros and cons to these figures once in hand, so I thought I'd share my observations:

Velociraptor (original):  Slight bit of paint goof over the left eye, but not super noticeable.  No issues with articulation.  Alternate toes pop on and off easily (in a good way).  It looks like the factory either forgot to add a light yellow wash to the underside of the tail base piece or they were a little overzealous with the dark paint.  Only really noticed that after looking at the promo pics.  Otherwise perfect.

Linheraptor: Jaws originally wouldn't shut all the way, but I was able fix the issue with hot water treatment.  Stripes on the tail base don't quite align with those on the tail, but not very noticeable.  No articulation issues.  Otherwise perfect.

Zhenyuanlong (original):  All the raptors have slight case of "googly eye" if viewed from the front, but it's most noticeable in this figure.  Paint and articulation are perfect.  There is one major goof that was so well hidden I actually didn't notice for several weeks: the additional pelvic insert was glued on backwards!  I was looking at it one day and noticed, "Hey wait a sec, the feathers on this piece are running the wrong way!"  I may or may not attempt to fix it.  This figure is definitely the most unstable of the trio, with its heavy tail and wings and no way to use the clip.

Amber Hatchlings:  No issues at all!  Parts are easily swapped between figures and they're super adorable!

All 4 Accessory Kits:  They're very nicely detailed and I'm very pleased with them.  They do have their issues though.  For all kits ball-pin style of holding ornaments in place is a little tenuous, either the ball goes too deep in the base or the pin is too loose in the ornament.  Some work better than others, it seems random.  The trees in the mountain and forest packs were surprisingly difficult to assemble, ultimately I had to trim a bit of plastic off the crowns to get them to attach to the trunk.  Also, both lean significantly (~60 degrees or so), I'm not sure if that's normal.  The trunks aren't bending or anything, it's happening at the base.  The desert kit's Protoceratops skull is super cool and really gives a sense of scale for the future ceratopsian series!  The wetlands kit's water feature is also really neat as is the "splash" accessory.  You can see the structural crossbeams under the water, but it's not super noticeable.  The nests, plants, and rocks have no issues other than the aforementioned trial and error of affixing them to the base.  They can be placed anywhere, but they certainly look and fit better in certain spots.  I'll address the mini figures separately.  Note that for all of them the pins are bit difficult to affix to their feet, but are nice and snug once you find the right angle.

Microraptor:  No issues at all!  It's fun to attach the deluxe raptor clip and jumping rod to it's tail base to make it fly!

Buitreraptor:  Warped snout out of the box, fixed with hot water treatment.  Has trouble remaining upright on the small dirt patch separate from the main base.  I may just need to try a new pin.  Wings don't have quite the range of motion I was hoping for.  Good paint application.

Mononykus:  Warped snout out of the box, mostly fixed with hot water treatment.  Legs are a bit loose resulting in stability issues, especially on the small dirt patch.  Good paint application

Troodon:  Jaw wasn't fully pushed into its socket, but that was easily fixed with a little pressure.  Still has a tendency to slide out if I open the jaw to aggressively.  Otherwise, no issues.

Build-a-Raptor Kits (A & B, 4 of each):  Really neat being able to mix and match figures as desired!  A few pieces had issues, usually due to them being packaged improperly, but all were fixed with hot water treatment.  The joint on the figures were quite stiff at first (I actually broke one's knee!  ), apparently due to being painted while assembled.  The Saurornitholestes tail is quite heavy and doesn't sit as nicely in its socket as the others.  The alternate toes on all of them were a real pain to switch out, even when heat treated.  I'm tempted to try and widen the hole on the base of the toes.  The box recommends gluing the primary feathers in place to the hands.  This sort of defeats the purpose of the set if you ask me, but at least I didn't encounter any issues peeling off the the pair that were already on the hands.  Gluing seems unnecessary for certain primaries, but a necessity for others.  The hands switch easy enough, so I'd recommend to David that he just incorporate the hand into the wing in future projects.  This is also more scientifically accurate.  The extra chest and pelvic pieces can be glued on if you desire, they won't hang in place on their own.  The neck rough from Set B comes already attached to the base figure.  If you want to remove it, don't try to remove the base neck piece (that's what I did and it was pain to reinsert!), just heat the whole thing in hot water and try and stretch the neck rough over the base of the neck.  This neck rough reduces neck and arm mobility, but it certainly looks cool.  Despite each set coming with a minimum of two lower jaws, there is only one tongue to go around.  The lower arm can be removed and reattached with little difficulty, despite the box's warning.  I've painted 2 of my 8, and have found it easiest to do so when the figure is disassembled into the following: head, lower jaw, tongue, upper neck, hands, primaries, tail base, tail, main body + limbs, and chest/pelvic pieces if desired.  I used the brand of paint David recommended and haven't had any particularly noticeable scraping issues, and that's without a clear coat on top.


Hope you enjoyed this novel! 

[Minmiminime]

@IrritatorRaji I'm in the UK! I'm guessing you are, too

[ceratopsian]

................
All 4 Accessory Kits:  They're very nicely detailed and I'm very pleased with them.  They do have their issues though.  For all kits ball-pin style of holding ornaments in place is a little tenuous, either the ball goes too deep in the base or the pin is too loose in the ornament.  Some work better than others, it seems random.

My experience is the same.  But they all stay put somewhere on the base.

......The trees in the mountain and forest packs were surprisingly difficult to assemble, ultimately I had to trim a bit of plastic off the crowns to get them to attach to the trunk.  Also, both lean significantly (~60 degrees or so), I'm not sure if that's normal.  The trunks aren't bending or anything, it's happening at the base.  ...............

I have the Forest pack.  It took a lot of pressure and effort to get the tree crown attached to the base but I managed it in the end without resorting to trimming.  And like yours, the assembled tree leans at that sort of angle from the base.  I had the feeling that the plug holding it in place wasn't stiff enough for the weight of the tree.  I'm keeping an eye on it to see if it leans any further before putting it in my cabinets where it could do damage to other items if it fell.

[tyrantqueen]

I used the brand of paint David recommended and haven't had any particularly noticeable scraping issues, and that's without a clear coat on top.

Hmm, that's encouraging. Guess I'll have to wait until July to get one of the build-a-raptors

[Shadowknight1]

By the by!  Did anyone else know that there's a second "port" for the bit right in front of the tail so you can have it at a lower or higher position?!  I sure didn't!

[Faelrin]

So my figures arrived this morning (Kickstarter exclusive blue Velociraptor, fan's choice/roadrunner Saurornitholestes, and the blue footed boobie Acheroraptor). I'll be getting their little diorama things set up later today (involving the accessory packs and packaging background) and then I'll get pics of them.

[IrritatorRaji]

Can't wait for those pics!

[Halichoeres]

Thansk for that breakdown, Zopteryx. I also have a really warped Mononykus snout. I haven't tried to fix it yet, but it's on my list.

My Troodon jaw seems okay, but I have several others with underbites, another little project. I think they'll have to be removed, shaved, and reinserted.

And my trees lean pretty severely. One of them fell over, but only hit a few sturdy CollectA and Safari figures, missing the Kaiyodos on the same shelf, so that was lucky. I have it reoriented to lean toward the wall now but it would be nice if it stood up straight. I think it really just needed longer pins.

[IrritatorRaji]

@Halichoeres

Which are the ones with underbites?

[Faelrin]

My trees are leaning a bit more then they did initially too. Although I know the bottom of them is sort of angled and not straight (which I would have preferred them to be straight honestly). I'll try playing around with them once I start arranging stuff.

Anyways my room needed some overdue cleaning and dusting that I wanted to get done first, and I'm taking a break before I get these guys arranged. Almost ready. In the meantime enjoy this quick look at them:

[IrritatorRaji]

Ooh, they look fantastic! The Saurornitholestes turned out great considering the issue with the paint.

[Halichoeres]

@Halichoeres

Which are the ones with underbites?

Balaur has it worst, but the Pyroraptor and Zhenyuanlong also have minor underbites.

[IrritatorRaji]

@Halichoeres

Hm, that's a shame :/ Not really great for a $35 figure. I've seen other Balaur figures with sever underbites but it's a lot less noticeable when the jaw is open.

[Faelrin]

To be honest I think they missed fixing the paint app on the leg not seen on the roadrunner Saurornitholestes I have there. It is pretty clean cut looking like it did in the pics from before at the factory. At least the leg in the pic I've shared above looks okay. Another issue I have with it is that the mouth won't close fully, and the teeth seem to stick out, which is odd since this one is supposed to have been corrected to have lips. I'm going to guess the teeth are a separate piece that were not pushed all the way in. It's not so bad with the mouth open, but really obvious when it is closed as much as it can. Sadly this one does not have the green iridescence that the prototype had on the wings and tail either. Like I recall being memorized by it when I saw it at Jerseyfest when David had it there along with the others two years ago. So that's disappointing, but at least it has the blue iridescence (seems to be the same color as on the Microraptor).

I don't have too many issues with the other ones. The Acheroraptor has googly eyes, and a bit of paint scuffed of one of the legs in the hip area. The blue exclusive Velociraptor had the same tight knee issue as my other Velociraptor that I received earlier. But otherwise paint apps is mostly good, and joints are working decently on this batch of figures.

Anyways, here's a pic of what I've been working on (sorry for the crap quality, because it was taken with my phone's camera and the sun is setting, so losing light). I'm not quite done with the other displays, but I'm running out of daylight to take decent pics of them. Will have to do that tomorrow unfortunately, but at least here is a preview of the one scene that took me much longer then I thought it would to get done (mostly looking for the rods and clips that I needed).

[IrritatorRaji]

Blue Velociraptor Osmolskae for sale in this group, $100 (need to be a member of the group to see and comment on the listing)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1182558221885212/permalink/1822357321238629/?comment_id=1822372724570422&reply_comment_id=1822572474550447&notif_id=1527905543170500&notif_t=group_comment_mention