David Silvas New Kickstarter: Articulated Dinosaur TOYS

[Yutyrannus]

Out of all of these Models. The Balaar disappoints me because it looks too much like a Dromeosaur, when it should be a BIRD

Well, dromaeosaurs do look very much like birds. However, I agree, I would have preferred a Balaur that looks more like Emily Willoughby's recent paintings.

[DinoLord]

If we've pledged for a tier, is it possible to add on stretch goal items after the campaign's ended?

[Victoria's Cantina]

If we've pledged for a tier, is it possible to add on stretch goal items after the campaign's ended?

No, I'm pretty sure you can't. But, if there's leftover stock after all the orders have been filled you will be able to purchase them from what I understand. If there's something your'e not sure about you can always add it to your total, and if you don't like the figure just switch to another stretch goal before filling out the survey. Or, you could sell whatever it is you end up with if you don't want it afterward.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I bumped up my order for the accessory packs and the little raptors.

raptor pack usa 100 plus 15 ship
Dromeosaurus 35.00
Zhenyuanlong 35.00
mountain, wetlands, desert, forest 30.00 each / 120.00
nestling pack 20.00

325.00 total  that's about one sideshow statue..lol

[Faelrin]

Well I pushed my final pledge up to $170 adding on the amount for an accessory pack. Now to wait for the survey, other raptor prototypes, and the rest of the artwork. This was definitely worth it, I had fun with it, and it was my first kickstarter to back.

[Flaffy]

I would like to see bigger/longer humerus feathers on Balaur and Zhenyuanlong

[Dobber]

If we've pledged for a tier, is it possible to add on stretch goal items after the campaign's ended?

Actually, I'm pretty sure you can still add on after the campaign ends but before he "locks in" in our surveys. You will just not be able to reduce your pledge amount when the campaign ends. As I understand it. The campaign ends today at noon, in about a month he will send out the Backerkit Surveys where we will specify what stretch goals we want our EXTRA money we pledged to be applied to. During this time we can change our choices and add more money. Then by around August, he will "lock in" our survey choices meaning no further changes can be made. By this point hopefully all the prototypes will be seen so we can make informed decisions as to what we want. 

ALSO, big news for me. David is going to modify the S. Langstoni head and give it a nice full Crest as I suggested! 

Chris

[Silvanusaurus]

The Balaur is no more different from its concept art than any of the other "originals". I think it's because they were altered to be more accurate.

I appreciate that, I just feel that it wouldn't have compromised accuracy or taken much more effort to atleast retain things like the scruffy feathering and the little spikes on the chin etc. just to make it still seem more unique.

[postsaurischian]

I'm soo happy the Microraptor made it ! One of my all-time favourite Dinosaurs.
And Wow! Even the baby pack is unlocked now . What a succesful kickstarter!

[Dobber]

Yup, everything has been unlocked! That is fantastic!

Chris

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

The Balaur is no more different from its concept art than any of the other "originals". I think it's because they were altered to be more accurate.

I appreciate that, I just feel that it wouldn't have compromised accuracy or taken much more effort to atleast retain things like the scruffy feathering and the little spikes on the chin etc. just to make it still seem more unique.

I agree. I'm not above making small changes for artistic sake that is still well within the realm of accuracy.  I think it could have been done.   Baluar's name means "Stocky Dragon" and he look it in Kuo's art work, but the legs on the model are the same as the Velociraptor it looks like...minus the extra claw.

[Sim]

quick question: do they charge extra for shipping for the stretch goals? like I want to get velociraptor so I have to pay $45 (raptor plus $10 ship to USA.) If I pledge the extra $30 for the accessory forest pack is the ship cost already covered in the 10 bucks for the raptor shipping or will I have to add another $10 later for the accessory pack?

In the "Stretch goals" section of the campaign page it says, "no additional shipping is required when adding to a raptor figure pledge tier".  So I don't think you would need to add shipping for the accessory pack if you're also getting the Velociraptor figure.  I've pledged for the Velociraptor + shipping for it, two stretch goal raptors, and three accessory packs.

[Sim]

To me it looks like the Balaur's lower leg is thicker than the Velociraptor's (comparison below).  The Balaur also looks like it has a shorter tail.





Other differences I noticed are the Balaur seems to have reduced teeth, and different hands from all the others due to its third finger (if it can be called that) being reduced to the point it's thought to be nonfunctional.

[postsaurischian]

How I love that Velociraptor pose in the last pic !

This is my final USD 314 contribution (I never thought I'd go so far in the beginning):
Raptor Pack (Velociraptor, Atrociraptor, Tsaagan), Zhenyuanlong, Linheraptor, Desert & Forest Accessory Pack (couldn't resist Mononykus and especially Microraptor) and the Raptor Nestling 3-pack set.

[terrorchicken]

quick question: do they charge extra for shipping for the stretch goals? like I want to get velociraptor so I have to pay $45 (raptor plus $10 ship to USA.) If I pledge the extra $30 for the accessory forest pack is the ship cost already covered in the 10 bucks for the raptor shipping or will I have to add another $10 later for the accessory pack?

In the "Stretch goals" section of the campaign page it says, "no additional shipping is required when adding to a raptor figure pledge tier".  So I don't think you would need to add shipping for the accessory pack if you're also getting the Velociraptor figure.  I've pledged for the Velociraptor + shipping for it, two stretch goal raptors, and three accessory packs.

thank you, unfortunately I found out later they dont accept PayPal so I had to change plans and can only get the one raptor figure at this time. Really wanted an accessory pack but Ill just have to wait til the after the campagn to see if any accessory packs will be left over to purchase directly at the sculptors website.

[Silvanusaurus]

I'm just wondering about the Balaur, is it correct for those extra sickle claw toes to be so far above the others on the leg? It looks quite odd to me, but I don't really know enough about the proper anatomy to judge whether it's natural or not.

[Faelrin]

I know someone asked the same thing on the campaign's update about Balaur, and I responded to it. I'll copy paste my response here, because it might help explain why:

"That's actually the foot, as they are digitigrade (most people think the ankle is actually a backwards knee on digitigrade animals), standing on their toes. The first digit that's normally the "dew claw" has evolved to become larger, like the famous sickle claw on the second toe. Looking at the holotype fossil that seems about right for it to be there. I also just noticed the hands seem about right too on the prototype. I wonder if this means this will be the most accurate Balaur figure (assuming its not the first and only figure of Balaur so far)."

I hope this can help to explain it. Of course if there's someone more knowledgeable then me in this subject, they may be able to provide a more thorough explanation, etc.

[Papi-Anon]

I'm pledged for the Double Savage and 2 stretch-goal raptors (pair of Balaurs is my choice). I plan to modify the paintjobs on one of each for female colors of the birds that the colors are based on. I believe Atrociraptor was based on a species of cockatoo (glossy-something, I believe).

Was it ever confirmed what bird coloration Balaur is based on? I thought it was a cassowary...

[Silvanusaurus]

I know someone asked the same thing on the campaign's update about Balaur, and I responded to it. I'll copy paste my response here, because it might help explain why:

"That's actually the foot, as they are digitigrade (most people think the ankle is actually a backwards knee on digitigrade animals), standing on their toes. The first digit that's normally the "dew claw" has evolved to become larger, like the famous sickle claw on the second toe. Looking at the holotype fossil that seems about right for it to be there. I also just noticed the hands seem about right too on the prototype. I wonder if this means this will be the most accurate Balaur figure (assuming its not the first and only figure of Balaur so far)."

I hope this can help to explain it. Of course if there's someone more knowledgeable then me in this subject, they may be able to provide a more thorough explanation, etc.

Ok, cool, that makes sense, I guessed that might be it but wasn't sure. It's pretty intrigueing to wonder why it developed in that way.

[Dinoguy2]

Zhenyuanlong should NOT have long feathers of the humerus people! Look at the fossil!



(My favorite thing about this specimen is that not only is it in the same posture as the Berlin Archaeopteryx, but it has almost the same feather proportions. The concept art gave it a Microraptor tail for some reason).

Not even out birds have long humerus feathers (tertials). Those that do are shorter and kind of shaggy, just there to close any gap between the elbow and the body. Mostly the humerus is held flat against the body so there would not seem to be a gap.

As for Baler's foot, the second sickle claw is indeed a modified dew claw. BUT, it's modified to not just be larger, but also lower on the foot as in therizinosaurs and birds (whose dewclaw was modified into the perching hallux).

Here's a Balaur skeletal:



Note how low the second sickle claw is compared to the figure. In the figure, it seems to be attached to the ankle joint rather than being closer to the main toe joints. The leg proportions overall look way off compared to the body and seem to be basically the same as Velociraptor. Maybe this is a limitation of the kit-based assembly, but it's certainly not something that looks like Balaur.

In Balaur, the legs should actually be pretty long compared to the body. The reason it's "stocky" is the leg proportions. Upper and lower leg are the same length, rendering it a slow runner. Upper foot (metatarsals) is very short, less than half the length of the lower leg, also similar to therizinosaurs. In the model, it has typical "raptor" proportions, with shorter femur, slightly longer tibia, and tarsals a little over half of tibia length. Add to that the overall shortness, and the legs looks too short compared to the body to be Balaur.

I'm also a little disappointed by this, because Balaur is only known from the legs and torso, so if you don't get those unique proportions right, it's not so much a "Balaur" as a "generic raptor with extra claw".

(And yes, it's missing the digit 3, but they all should be since 2 and 3 were probably fused together by soft tissue in life.)

If I were to recommend a fix, I'd say the easiest thing to do is just double length of the upper two leg pieces. Not sure if that's doable. Giving it a shorter snout more like Archaeopteryx or even Zhenyuanlong would also help make it looks different from a generic raptor. Not sure why the package artist gave it such a snout, unless he's still operating under the assumption that it's a velociraptorine.