10 favorite dinosaurs/prehistoric animals and favorite figure of each

[gfxtwin]

1. Allosaurus



2. Tylosaurus



3. Protoceratops



4. Acrocanthosaurus



5. Liopleurodon



6. Ceratosaurus



7. Euoplocephalus



8. Tyrannosaurus

bare:



feathered:



9. Carnotaurus



10. Dimetrodon

[Sim]

I'm surprised this topic got no replies when it was origianlly posted, but maybe it's because there wasn't a very good selection available at the time.

Here's mine:

1. Velociraptor
Safari 2017

2. Thalassomedon
I'm still waiting for a figure I like of this animal.  I appreciate CollectA's effort but the skin texture on their figure looks like crumpled tissue paper.

3. Herrerasaurus
I'm still waiting for a figure I like of this animal.  Schleich's is the best available, but it's too monstrous for me.

4. Saurornithoides
Still waiting for a figure I like of this animal.

5. Rhamphorhynchus
Still waiting for a figure I like of this animal.  Safari's is so outdated it hurts.

6. Baryonyx
Favorite

7. Stegosaurus
Safari 2019

8. Buitreraptor
I'm waiting for a figure of this animal that isn't an action figure.

9. Sinornithosaurus
Safari feathered dinos toob figure.  I'm still waiting for a better figure of this animal though.

That's it.  I only have 9 favourite prehistoric animals.  Four out of nine prehisotic animals having a figure I like isn't bad, but I hope the others in my list get good figures soon!

[Bread]

I'm surprised this topic got no replies when it was origianlly posted, but maybe it's because there wasn't a very good selection available at the time.

What an interesting topic, and thank you for reviving it! Here are mine as well:

1. Yutyrannus Figure: Safari Ltd. 2015. However, this could change if PNSO makes one

2. Tyrannosaurus rex Figure: Winter Wilson by PNSO 2020.

3. Nasutoceratops Figure: Safari Ltd. 2015.

4. Irritator Figure: None yet, but I found that a company called Dino Hazard was making one, and the pre-production one looks beautiful. If anyone has any more info about it, please let me know.

5. Corythosaurus Figure: PNSO 2020.

6. Shangtungosaurus Figure: PNSO 1:20 Vinyl figure, but I'm not too satisfied with it.

7. Deinosuchus Sideshow, but we need an actual full figure. How have we not gotten a figure of this large extinct genus!?!?

8. Alamosaurus Figure: Needs a figure. CollectA's is decent, but not very appealing to me.

9. Parasaurolophus Figure: Safari Ltd. 2017.

10. Iguanodon Figure: Either Safari Ltd.'s or CollectA's, to me they are both equal.

Honestly, my list changes and will in the future because I love all prehistorical animals and dinosaurs. Mainly the top five stay the same, though.

[Gwangi]

I don't have a top ten list of my favorite prehistoric animals, but I can think of 10 of my favorites and their respective figures.

Coelophysis: Wild Safari

Camarasaurus: Wild Safari

Liliensternus: Bullyland. Between Bullyland and CollectA I pick the former. We really need a new one but I'm not holding my breath.

Lambeosaurus: PNSO. It used to be the Invicta which I do not (but wish) I had.

Diabloceratops: Kaiyodo Capsule Q Museum. Of course the Safari is also an excellent model of the genus but I prefer Kaiyodo's take.

Postosuchus: Wild Safari. We need a new one but in the meantime this still stands as the best, and one of my all time favorites from Safari.

Nasutoceratops: Wild Safari

Plateosaurus: CollectA, but this is a genus with a lot of older models but no recent takes. We need a new one.

Ceratosaurus: PNSO, but I don't have it and am unlikely to get it. Hopefully they do a smaller version eventually.

Macrauchenia: Might better include at least one mammal. In this case I'm picking the Schleich figure, which is one of their all time greats.

[Stegotyranno420]

Figures are based on accuracy, affordability, size, and aesthetics
The list is my favorite dinosaurs, not my favorite figures. Also I will only do five

1. tyrannosaurus, feathered safari Ltd. even though I like accuracy, and the best tyrannosaurus in total is winter Wilson, based on price and creativity, I'd rather have the safari feathered one

2. Stegosaurus, Safari Ltd. I rather have the rebor one, but it's much more expensive, and according to most forumite it's inaccurate . I believe this stegosaurus could work for a female stegosaurus, because I imagine the male being more built and bold and colorful. The papo one is niceley made and detailed, but super unrealistic.

3. Spinosaurus. Obviously the Papo 2019. I love the papo model,  it looks like a real animal, even despite the long teeth, small hallux and skinny sail. While it has some accuracy issues according @Flaffy and L @Leyster, I said it thousand times and I will keep on saying it, it looks powerful and robust. It doesn't look like a t rex's punching bag at all, like most Spinosaurus figures. And I love the head, especially  how fleshy the head is. The only MAJOR issue is the tail, which is built the wrong way and is too small. But at least it's kind of passable, but I still don't have a detailed explanation of the tail and the way it's built.

4. Giganotosaurus , vitae cheap version . It's accurate, big, detailed  and it's relatively cheap. What more do you want?

5. Rajasaurus  collectA. It really sucks, but it's the only figure of the genus

[Subduction]

Like Gwangi, I don't have a top ten list of my favorite dinosaurs/prehistoric animals. So I'll share 10 of my favorites instead.

1.) Yutyrannus: Safari 2015. Even though I'm going to buy the Beasts of the Mesozoic figure when it comes out, I hope there will be more figures available.

2.) Mosasaur: Sideshow. This figure is way too expensive and outside my budget though. But the PNSO figure is just as nice. 

3.) Spinosaurus: Papo 2019 Limited Edition. However, there are a lot of nice figures coming out, like the Mesozoo figure.

4.) Smilodon: Safari. I'm waiting for a better figure to replace it though.

5.) Giganotosaurus: Vitae. Eofauna and the PNSO ones are a close second.

6.) Dimetrodon: CollectA 2018. The Papo one is just as nice too, even though it's an outdated depiction.

7.) Allosaurus: Mesozoo 2020.

8.) Basilosaurus: PNSO.

9.) Dinogorgon: Schleich. Although I hope there will be better figures of other gorgonopsids eventually.

10.) Dunkleosteus: Schleich. But the Mojo one is just as nice!

[Sim]

@Bread, there's the Carnegie and Schleich versions of Deinosuchus.  Rebor is planning to produce a Deinosuchus too.

@Gwangi, you said you can think of 10 of your favourites but you only listed 6.  I was wanting to read more!

@gfxtwin, could you fix the photos for Ceratosaurus and Liopleurodon in your list?  I'm curious as to what figures you chose for them.

[Faelrin]

@Sim Good idea reviving this thread. It's going to be a problem for me to narrow it down to only ten with the plethora of prehistoric fauna and figures of them that interest me. I was already trying to make a list of top 9 (for instagram) favorite figures (and that has been very hard to narrow it down as well), but never thought to go by my favorite creatures per se. I may need a bit of time on this, lol.

At this rate it may be better for me to just break it down into categories (theropods, ornithischians, sauropods, mammals, etc).

I suppose I can start with my top ten favorite invertebrates, mammals, and "amphibians" for now. I guess I could just add to this as I figure out more to add.

Invertebrates (yes all Paleozoic genera here):
Anomalocaris: Hard to pick one with how many decent options are out there from Favorite, Kaiyodo, Colorata, Takara Tomy, etc. I may go with the Yowie one though, even if a bit outdated and cartoony. It was also my first figure of this genus in my collection.
Opabinia: Probably the 2016 Favorite Mini Model, and the Kaiyodo Dinotales (or Paleozoic Capsule set) ones after.
Pterygotus: Any of the Kaiyodo ones, but I'm also looking forward to the Takara Tomy one.
Eurypterus: Kaiyodo Dinotales
Wiwaxia: 2016 Favorite Soft Model
Hallucigneia: 2016 Favorite Soft Model
Meganuera: Kaiyodo Dinotales
Arthropleura: Honestly I wish to see CollectA take this one on, but of the minimal options I suppose the Paleo-Creatures is the more realistic and accurate.
Tullimonstrum? Probably the Paleocasts figure. Wish there were more options.
Aegirocassis: Either the Paleo-Creatures or the LIFE game ones. Wish there were more options honestly.

Honestly I'm thinking I could probably also make a top ten list, or more, of my favorite trilobites.


Mammals:
Woolly Mammoth: 2003 Carnegie Collection
Woolly Rhino: 2019 Safari Ltd
Smildon: 2004 Safari Ltd
Thylacoleo: 2016 Southlands Replicas
Paraceratherium: 2020 I-Toy
Basilosaurus: 2020? Recur
Doedicurus: 2006 Safari Ltd
Hyaenodon: 2018 Safari Ltd
Daeodon: 2018 Safari Ltd
Megaloceros: 2020 Papo, but would prefer one with a more accurate coloration.

Honorable Mentions:
Mammut americanum/American Mastodon: 2018 Safari Ltd
Dire Wolf: Really need a new one
Chalicotherium: 2012 Bullyland
Cervalces scotti/Stag-Moose: Nothing yet
Deinotherium: 2019 Eofauna
Sivatherium: Nothing yet
Macrauchenia: 2018 Safari Ltd, but would prefer to see a trunkless version someday too.
Megatherium: 2005 Safari Ltd or the Bullyland one, but a new would be nice.


Stem-tetrapods and other animals (reptiliomorphs, temnospondyls, etc) casually or loosely called "amphibians":
Diplocaulus: Kaiyodo Dinotales
Ichthyostega: 2015 Kaiyodo Great Leaps
Tiktaalik: Paleozoo, but would like to see another company do something less delicate
Acanthostega: Kaiyodo Dinotales
Greererpeton: Nothing yet
Eryops: Kaiyodo Dinotales
Diadectes: Nothing yet
Cacops: Nothing yet
Platyhystrix: Play Visions, but we really need a new one
Prionosuchus: Nothing yet

Honorable mentions:
Beelzebufo: Nothing yet
Seymouria: Nothing yet

[Gwangi]

@Bread, there's the Carnegie and Schleich versions of Deinosuchus.  Rebor is planning to produce a Deinosuchus too.

@Gwangi, you said you can think of 10 of your favourites but you only listed 6.  I was wanting to read more!

@gfxtwin, could you fix the photos for Ceratosaurus and Liopleurodon in your list?  I'm curious as to what figures you chose for them.

Thanks for pointing that out! I had to step away from the computer and must have forgot where I was at, or what I was doing. It's fixed now. 

[Patrx]

1 Triceratops – Wild Safari (though I'm looking forward to a closer look at EoFauna's version)
2 Deinonychus – Wild Safari
3 Protoceratops – CollectA
4 Heterodontosaurus – None yet, but PNSO's Tianyulong is a good stand-in despite being too small for my liking
5 Camarasaurus – Wild Safari
6 Tyrannosaurus – No "definitive" version at present, but I like the feathered Wild Safari one pretty well
7 Hypsilophodon – None yet
8 Archaeopteryx – Nothing "definitive" yet, but my favorite currently is Wild Safari's
9 Sinosauropteryx – PNSO's is currently the best in my opinion, but too small
10 Coelophysis – Wild Safari's is nearly perfect.

[Bread]

@Bread, there's the Carnegie and Schleich versions of Deinosuchus.  Rebor is planning to produce a Deinosuchus too.

Ahhh yes, but not really satisfied with those two. I am hoping Rebor make one, or even Safari.

[Halichoeres]

I don't think I have 10 favorites, but there's a progression for individual taxa that I've noticed. A new taxon or a long-neglected one gets a figure, and everybody's happy. Then a second version is produced, and we start noticing the differences between the two. Some of those are artistic license or whatever, fine, but in some cases, they can't both be right. Once a third or fourth version is produced, we've collectively learned enough about the animal that we find flaws in every figure that exists. Eventually, we conclude that the 'definitive' version of the animal still needs to be made. But in most cases, a definitive version probably isn't even possible. I wasn't collecting back in 2007, but if I had been, I can only imagine I'd have been over the moon to see Safari's Dunkleosteus debut. Now every time a new one comes out, I can't help noticing how much it gets wrong.

Anyway, my favorite echinoderm figure is Kaiyodo's Pleurocystites.

[bmathison1972]

I don't think I have 10 favorites, but there's a progression for individual taxa that I've noticed. A new taxon or a long-neglected one gets a figure, and everybody's happy. Then a second version is produced, and we start noticing the differences between the two. Some of those are artistic license or whatever, fine, but in some cases, they can't both be right. Once a third or fourth version is produced, we've collectively learned enough about the animal that we find flaws in every figure that exists. Eventually, we conclude that the 'definitive' version of the animal still needs to be made. But in most cases, a definitive version probably isn't even possible. I wasn't collecting back in 2007, but if I had been, I can only imagine I'd have been over the moon to see Safari's Dunkleosteus debut. Now every time a new one comes out, I can't help noticing how much it gets wrong.

Anyway, my favorite echinoderm figure is Kaiyodo's Pleurocystites.

Brilliant analysis! Animal toys are a form of artwork and like or not, we can analyze morphologic features all we want, but in the end we are often innately guided by the aesthetics of the artwork This is especially true for prehistoric animals whose representations in toy form are often at least in part speculative.

On a side note, I am sticking with my Safari Dunkleosteus    I am also sticking with my Mojo Deinotherium and my Kaiyodo Dinotales Archaeopteryx. They are not the most recently made and may not be as accurate as Favorite, Eofauna, and Favorite, respectively, but they are the pieces I chose to showcase

EDIT: I am also sticking with my Safari 2019 Spinosaurus! nya nya nya 

[gfxtwin]

@Bread, there's the Carnegie and Schleich versions of Deinosuchus.  Rebor is planning to produce a Deinosuchus too.

@Gwangi, you said you can think of 10 of your favourites but you only listed 6.  I was wanting to read more!

@gfxtwin, could you fix the photos for Ceratosaurus and Liopleurodon in your list?  I'm curious as to what figures you chose for them.

They were the kaiyodo dinotales versions.  However in a post-PNSO and BOTM dino figure landscape and half a decade of updated paleontology my list is quite different now!  Updated version:



Spinosaurus (Time has been kind to this dinosaur.  The more we know about it the weirder/more interesting it gets. My favorite prehistoric animal now)




Triceratops (Since learning about that Keratin-armored frill it has become one of the more interesting ceratopsians to me)




Allosaurus (One of my favorite theropods. Elegant and formidable. Custom model.  Sculpt - Galileo Hernandez, Paint - Martin Garratt)




Protoceratops (Still love this one and how endearing it is)




Miragaia (Majestic!)




Adasaurus (Dakotaraptor is still my fave raptor, but since no figure of it catches my interest, I'll go with this)




Ankylosaurus (couldn't ask for a more perfect rendition.  Breathtaking details and accuracy)




Tyrannosaurus (the new Wilson isn't perfect, but close to it.  I love how it genuinely feels like the seven ton tank of a beast that it was.  Lips would be nice, but not a dealbreaker since there's still some debate on that)




Styracosaurus (Possibly my favorite ceratopsian. Gorgeous accuracy and details here, but I would say the color scheme is the star of the show)




Mosasaurus (Along with Tylosaurus, my fave marine reptile, and this figure certainly captures its awesomeness)

[Dinoguy2]

This is tricky, but I'll give it a try...

1. Pterodactylus
Really, it's shameful that this is still the best version ever made.


2. Stegosaurus


3. Tyrannosaurus


4. Struthiomimus


5. Deinonychus


6. Microraptor


8. Brachiosaurus


9. Triceratops


10. Longisquama
I didn't think any figures existed but I guess there's this?

[Ezikot]

Not really a top ten, but here are some favourites of mine (a mix of childhood memories and "big names"):

Ankylosaurus: I'll buy the PNSO (I bought the Lambeo to try aliexpress for the first time and now I'm waiting to see what PNSO is going to release in the next weeks to place just one order).   
Corythosaurus: Carnegie. It's just a lovely figure and I stick with it for now because the PNSO... well, I do not want to open that can of worms, but it's such a shame! (that big head)
Cryolophosaurus: I'm waiting for one from Safari or PNSO, but I think I'll buy the Battat anyway.
Dimetrodon: Papo. I know it's far from being perfect, but I love the sculpt and I'm not really fast in replacing  figures of species already on my shelves. 
Elasmosaurus: There isn't one I'm happy with.
Lambeosaurus: PNSO. Love the elegance, the colors, the pattern. Invicta vibes.
Liopleurodon: Invicta. I cannot find words to say how good it is.
Pteranodon: Safari. So happy with it! I was waiting for a good Pteranodon for years. (Maybe I'll repaint the crest ... Thinking of a blue crest or something like red dots).
Stegosaurus: I'll buy the Safari.
Triceratops: I'm waiting for the Eofauna.

[Halichoeres]

10. Longisquama
I didn't think any figures existed but I guess there's this?

D @Dinoguy2




Dino Magic Longisquama by Moose, with some other Triassic weirdos

[Sim]

D @Dinoguy2 you missed out number 7!

[Dinoguy2]

10. Longisquama
I didn't think any figures existed but I guess there's this?

D @Dinoguy2




Dino Magic Longisquama by Moose, with some other Triassic weirdos

Wow, that is... Oddly similar!

Not sure how I lost number 7! It should be Moschops.

[stoneage]

This is tricky, but I'll give it a try...

1. Pterodactylus
Really, it's shameful that this is still the best version ever made.


Who makes this figure?