Papo

[Jetoar]

The Papo Dimetrodon is spectacular imo.I think it is by far the best Dimetrodon available out there.I'm very excited about it  I think it is one of the best Papo models.

Oh really?! You mean Christmas?!

@Jetoar: Really! I hope so too. Im waiting that figure since the release of the pics!

You think the brown running rex will be released around the world?

I dont know. I didnt have seen this figure in stores  .

[suspsy]

While I was in Toronto this past weekend, I visited no less than three Mastermind Toy stores in the hopes of coming across another brown running T. rex. Nothing. Two of them didn't even have the standard green version. Sorry folks, I would have snapped up any I came across for the purpose of re-selling them to people here.

[Concavenator]

The Papo Dimetrodon is spectacular imo.I think it is by far the best Dimetrodon available out there.I'm very excited about it  I think it is one of the best Papo models.

Oh really?! You mean Christmas?!

@Jetoar: Really! I hope so too. Im waiting that figure since the release of the pics!

You think the brown running rex will be released around the world?

If you wanna see an image of the Dimetrodon,see the 2013 Figures thread page 118.I'm also going for the Dimetrodon!

[joossa]

Repost of the Papo Dimetrodon:

[therizinosaurus]

Am I the only one who is somewhat disenchanted with Papo? A number of years back I saved up and bought the whole collection (through the Allosaurus, I believe), and I enjoyed them, but since then the appeal of the line has worn off for me. I'd still like to pick up the Plesiosaur (I like the retro look), but beyond that they have yet to produce anything that I feel the need to buy.

[Bokisaurus]

Am I the only one who is somewhat disenchanted with Papo? A number of years back I saved up and bought the whole collection (through the Allosaurus, I believe), and I enjoyed them, but since then the appeal of the line has worn off for me. I'd still like to pick up the Plesiosaur (I like the retro look), but beyond that they have yet to produce anything that I feel the need to buy.

Hey, nice to see yo back
No, you are not alone. To be  honest, I am really not that excited with Papo's release. I love their attention to details, but the species choices are so unimaginative, they do the same overdone species Wish they can be more bold and so something interesting... as nice as that dimetrodon looks like, really, how man y dimetro do I need?

[Concavenator]

Am I the only one who is somewhat disenchanted with Papo? A number of years back I saved up and bought the whole collection (through the Allosaurus, I believe), and I enjoyed them, but since then the appeal of the line has worn off for me. I'd still like to pick up the Plesiosaur (I like the retro look), but beyond that they have yet to produce anything that I feel the need to buy.

They should definetely produce more obscure and exotic dinosaurs.
Can you imagine,for example,a Diabloceratops form them?pThat would be awesome.
I also hope they produce feathered dinosaurs,btw.
And more accuracy,please.2013's releases are accurate.Accuracy and that level of detail would be amazing.

[tyrantqueen]

Am I the only one who is somewhat disenchanted with Papo? A number of years back I saved up and bought the whole collection (through the Allosaurus, I believe), and I enjoyed them, but since then the appeal of the line has worn off for me. I'd still like to pick up the Plesiosaur (I like the retro look), but beyond that they have yet to produce anything that I feel the need to buy.

Hey, nice to see yo back
No, you are not alone. To be  honest, I am really not that excited with Papo's release. I love their attention to details, but the species choices are so unimaginative, they do the same overdone species Wish they can be more bold and so something interesting... as nice as that dimetrodon looks like, really, how man y dimetro do I need?

Papo knows where the money is- in making popular dinosaurs. I suppose they don't want to take risks with obscure species. They know that JP styled dinos sell well. I can't really fault them for that, although I do wish they would move away from JP and other movie monsters.

[therizinosaurus]

Am I the only one who is somewhat disenchanted with Papo? A number of years back I saved up and bought the whole collection (through the Allosaurus, I believe), and I enjoyed them, but since then the appeal of the line has worn off for me. I'd still like to pick up the Plesiosaur (I like the retro look), but beyond that they have yet to produce anything that I feel the need to buy.

Hey, nice to see yo back
No, you are not alone. To be  honest, I am really not that excited with Papo's release. I love their attention to details, but the species choices are so unimaginative, they do the same overdone species Wish they can be more bold and so something interesting... as nice as that dimetrodon looks like, really, how man y dimetro do I need?

I'm happy to be back! And completely agree about the Dimetro--especially considering the recent Bullyland one as well. I think the worst case, though, is the recent increase in the number of Carnotauruses--Carnegie, Sideshow, Schleich, and Papo all within a few years--don't see why it's necessary to have to many haha.

[gfxtwin]

Yes, Dimetrodons are quite common, but to be fair, this is the only plastic figure of one that seems like it will have the craftsmanship of a high quality sculpture.  There's nothing close in the figure market that look this nice, and that's good news to anyone with ridiculously high standards for craftsmanship who doesn't want to shell out the money for a statue - one without a neat moving jaw, no less.

Sometimes I wonder if this board just doesn't take well to Papo's rising popularity in the market, but I don't totally understand why.  I kind of don't get how everything they make, even when standing above and beyond most other figures that are similar,  seems to gets nitpicked to death.  Is it because of how they base almost all of their figure's deigns on existing designs?  THAT I can understand, being an artist myself.  It must be frustrating to have your art (especially if it's a sculpture and you distribute it yourself) liberally borrowed from by a company that makes a good profit of their products.  But from a collector's perspective, it's a good thing to have nicer figures for much less than some models or sculptures that have less craft.  Granted, there have often still been inaccuracies, even on their best models (like a slightly broad snout on a carnotaurus, a slightly long neck on a styrac, somewhat narrow hips on a Euoplocephalus) and other little screw ups - but some of them are fixable with the right tools.  Than I see a company like CollectA, which  seem to be the bees knees on this board.  I don't quite understand it, from a collector's perspective.  I mean, I understand the dislike of many Papo models - like the grotesque-looking 2012 running Rex with it's bizarre jaws and huge arms - because they are just plain inaccurate.  Completely inaccurate.  The stegosaurus, Oviraptor, and those horrid marine reptiles.  Dear god, the less said about them the better.  Not to mention the aforementioned nicking of existing designs. But I also see MANY innacuracies in just about every single line of dinosaurs out there.  CollectA is especially bad about warping proportions, but they are very colorful so I suppose that's why they are more sought after? 

I try not to take sides, but if I have a bias it's that my taste in dinosaur art veers a more towards naturalism.  The paint on my favorite Papo models are perhaps more boring, but they seem more plausible to me.  A carnivore that lives on a planet mostly comprised of greens and/or browns/ and or/ grays and/or tans will probably evolve to blend in with these colors in order to survive.  I can understand splashes of vibrant color here and there, however, and every once in a while Papo flirts with that (the design on the frill of the Styrac, the subtle bits of red and blue an the allo, the design on the dimetrodon's sail, etc) but maybe they don't take it as far as they should.  I don't know, I'm not really knowledgable when it comes to dinosaur color patterns (though I do know that stripes might have been common on the back half of hadrosaurs)

Anywho, I'm starting to ramble.  The point: Here is a beautiful dimetrodon.  IT's most likely going to be the best on the market.  Based on the pictures I've seeen (including that one of the final model at a convention) it has set the bar VERY high in regards to paint app, detail, realism, scientific accuracy, etc for plastic toys.  Overall, nothing comes close to this quality as far as plastic dimetrodons are concerned.  In fact, most, if not all toy dimetrodons are completely half-assed.  Why does there seem to be absolutely no interest in this figure?  Is it the fact that it's a dimetrodon (a very common species that we've all seen our whole lives in books and movies)? Is it because it kind of borrows liberally from Dimetrodon sculptures on the market?  In those regards, yes, it's uninspired, but in the toy market this thing is a god among kings.  Well, that was rather hyperbolic, but you know what I mean. 


EDIT: wow, this post is entirely too long.  meh, too lazy to edit it down.

[tyrantqueen]

I think I understand what you're saying- I made a point very similar a while back. I also felt that (especially in the old forum) there seemed to be a trend towards bashing on Papo because they were not scientifically accurate and were too similar to JP. And yet there are plenty of collectors on the board who like and buy Kenner JP toys. It seemed a bit hypocritical to me.

The Papo toys are not only beautifully detailed, but they're alive. I like Carnegie's offerings, but their dinosaurs still feel like toys to me. Although I admit they've been getting better through the years. I have Carnegie's Dimetrodon (which was also repainted), and its good...but the Papo one is so organic and alive.

I think Battat dinosaurs were good for their time, but they are very overrated. So many of them are quite crudely sculpted and sloppily painted. Plus many of them had standing issues.

I think CollectA have improved, but I wouldn't call them sought after...there are many CollectA toys that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. I wonder sometimes if they rush their figures out, because their models are often so riddled with bad anatomy and errors.

So basically, in summary, I think it's silly for people to hate on Papo. You may hate the JP borrowing, but as toys, they are awesome. The craftmanship is top notch. There is reason why Schleich and Bullyland started to copy their moving jaw mechanism.

I also have a theory that Papo is a big motivation behind the improvement in dinosaur toys. I see a big push for improvement in kids toys since Papo entered the market. But that's just me.

If I had to to rank the dinosaur toy companies (1 being the best) according to my personal preference, this is what it would be:

1. Papo
2. Carnegie
3. Battat
4. Safari (if they use a different sculptor than their current one, I would put them above Battat)
5. Favorite
6. CollectA
7. Bullyland
8. Schleich

My favourite company is actually Kaiyodo, but since their stuff is not toys, I didn't include them.

I don't like Mojo's old figures, but I think they could become a dark horse if their future toys are anything like their mammals.

P.S I am not a Papo fangirl, I think they have tons of potential but I hate the JP borrowing. They need to take leaves out of Sideshow's book

[John]

Where Papo truly shines is in some of their modern animals.Their big cats are what have that look of "being alive" to me.

[gfxtwin]

I think I understand what you're saying- I made a point very similar a while back. I also felt that (especially in the old forum) there seemed to be a trend towards bashing on Papo because they were not scientifically accurate and were too similar to JP. And yet there are plenty of collectors on the board who like and buy Kenner JP toys. It seemed a bit hypocritical to me.

The Papo toys are not only beautifully detailed, but they're alive. I like Carnegie's offerings, but their dinosaurs still feel like toys to me. Although I admit they've been getting better through the years. I have Carnegie's Dimetrodon (which was also repainted), and its good...but the Papo one is so organic and alive.

I think Battat dinosaurs were good for their time, but they are very overrated. So many of them are quite crudely sculpted and sloppily painted. Plus many of them had standing issues.

I think CollectA have improved, but I wouldn't call them sought after...there are many CollectA toys that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. I wonder sometimes if they rush their figures out, because their models are often so riddled with bad anatomy and errors.

So basically, in summary, I think it's silly for people to hate on Papo. You may hate the JP borrowing, but as toys, they are awesome. The craftmanship is top notch. There is reason why Schleich and Bullyland started to copy their moving jaw mechanism.

I also have a theory that Papo is a big motivation behind the improvement in dinosaur toys. I see a big push for improvement in kids toys since Papo entered the market. But that's just me.

If I had to to rank the dinosaur toy companies (1 being the best) according to my personal preference, this is what it would be:

1. Papo
2. Carnegie
3. Battat
4. Safari (if they use a different sculptor than their current one, I would put them above Battat)
5. Favorite
6. CollectA
7. Bullyland
8. Schleich

My favourite company is actually Kaiyodo, but since their stuff is not toys, I didn't include them.

I don't like Mojo's old figures, but I think they could become a dark horse if their future toys are anything like their mammals.

P.S I am not a Papo fangirl, I think they have tons of potential but I hate the JP borrowing. They need to take leaves out of Sideshow's book

Personal taste is an interesting thing.  I can afford to go to Whole Foods to get a bag full of stuff once a week (Which I often do).  Not sure where you live and I know there are a lot of folks from the U.K and other parts of Europe who post here, so JIC I'll say that whole foods is this a grocery store that has really, really good organic food.  Very fresh.  For all I know they might be everywhere around the world.  Anyway, I digress.  I can go there and get a weeks worth of stuff, but there's something about fast food places like McDonalds that, unfortunately, summons me to get a big mac at 1:00 in the morning.  I could do this at least a few times a week if I wasn't concerned about loosing weight (from eating too much fast food).  Anyway, I realized that I probably would have never given two about the place if I wasn't raised on it.  I guess dinosaur toys are the same way in that we are drawn to what we found interesting at a young age.  For many (if not the vast majority) of us, our first figures were probably kind of crummy by today's standards, but they was given to us by our parents or grandparents so there's something sentimental and nostalgic about it and that fuels what we look for years later.  It's the exact same reason I just bought a super nintendo yesterday I'm sure.  So Maybe that's why many of us gravitate towards some of the toys that are not as easy on the eyes. 

I Just realized I may have answered my own question from my last post, lol. 

Anyway, I'm with you as far as papo is concerned, although I admit that I'm still very picky, even when it comes to them and have only bought four or five figures total.  I also have some of the newer carnegie figures and the favorite soft models.  I could do without the rest, although I do admit that the paint on some Kaiyodo figures is really inspired.  Anyway, starting to ramble a bit again.

I most COMPLETELY agree with you that Papo are the primary reason why CollectA  and the market as a whole is improving.  When I was twelve and really into action figures of all kinds (now it's just a few dinosaur toy lines) I saw the exact same thing when McFarlane Toys entered the action figure arena in the 90s.  They kind of revolutionized action figures in the American market and kind of made every other company reassess the quality of what they were putting out.  Toys from companies like Hasbro and Kenner suddenly took on a new, more detailed look, and lots of smaller action figure companies cropped up and found a niche by making figures with their own style of detail or realism.  Kenner did something similar with Jurassic park figures too, but I can't remember if they or McFarlane toys came first.  Whatever the case, the days of G.I Joe were over for most kids who were into action figures.  Papo seems to be following Mcfarlane's business model to a tee (releasing stylish, hyper-detailed, hand-painted figures in dynamic poses).  The fact that they nick designs from other famous or beloved designs is a clever move and obviously works for them, though it makes me wonder how far they can go with that technique, heh.

[EmperorDinobot]

I forgot to carry over my "no to PAPO" persona from the old forum.


But I will not. These are better in person. That's all I'm gonna say, despite all their inaccuracy issues, etc.

[tyrantqueen]

Personal taste is an interesting thing.  I can afford to go to Whole Foods to get a bag full of stuff once a week (Which I often do).  Not sure where you live and I know there are a lot of folks from the U.K and other parts of Europe who post here, so JIC I'll say that whole foods is this a grocery store that has really, really good organic food.  Very fresh.  For all I know they might be everywhere around the world.  Anyway, I digress.  I can go there and get a weeks worth of stuff, but there's something about fast food places like McDonalds that, unfortunately, summons me to get a big mac at 1:00 in the morning.  I could do this at least a few times a week if I wasn't concerned about loosing weight (from eating too much fast food).  Anyway, I realized that I probably would have never given two about the place if I wasn't raised on it.  I guess dinosaur toys are the same way in that we are drawn to what we found interesting at a young age.  For many (if not the vast majority) of us, our first figures were probably kind of crummy by today's standards, but they was given to us by our parents or grandparents so there's something sentimental and nostalgic about it and that fuels what we look for years later.  It's the exact same reason I just bought a super nintendo yesterday I'm sure.  So Maybe that's why many of us gravitate towards some of the toys that are not as easy on the eyes. 

I'm from the UK (England to be exact)

Btw, organic food is nice, but sooo expensive. I have to confess I've never been inside a McDonalds or even eaten anything from them (or any other kind of fast food chain) because my parents never let me as a kid. I've had no desire to do so as an adult. I think after watching Super Size Me I could never look at fast food the same way again (as unfair as that movie was, it did raise some good points)

I actually don't have any old toys in my collection. My parents threw away all my childhood dinosaur toys (mostly chinasaurs and second hand JP stuff) so I started from scratch.

[tanystropheus]

....  The stegosaurus, Oviraptor, and those horrid marine reptiles.  Dear god, the less said about them the better.  Not to mention the aforementioned nicking of existing designs. But I also see MANY innacuracies in just about every single line of dinosaurs out there.  CollectA is especially bad about warping proportions, but they are very colorful so I suppose that's why they are more sought after? 


Anywho, I'm starting to ramble.  The point: Here is a beautiful dimetrodon.  IT's most likely going to be the best on the market.  Based on the pictures I've seeen (including that one of the final model at a convention) it has set the bar VERY high in regards to paint app, detail, realism, scientific accuracy, etc for plastic toys.  Overall, nothing comes close to this quality as far as plastic dimetrodons are concerned.  In fact, most, if not all toy dimetrodons are completely half-assed.  Why does there seem to be absolutely no interest in this figure?  Is it the fact that it's a dimetrodon (a very common species that we've all seen our whole lives in books and movies)? Is it because it kind of borrows liberally from Dimetrodon sculptures on the market?  In those regards, yes, it's uninspired, but in the toy market this thing is a god among kings.  Well, that was rather hyperbolic, but you know what I mean....

I def concur with your views on the Papo Dimetrodon. The only other Dimetrodon that I truly appreciated was from Tyco--that was more than two decades ago!

What's wrong with the Papo Stegosaurus? It almost looks identical to the Wild Safari Stegosaurus, IMO.

[tanystropheus]

If I had to to rank the dinosaur toy companies (1 being the best) according to my personal preference, this is what it would be:

1. Papo
2. Carnegie
3. Battat
4. Safari (if they use a different sculptor than their current one, I would put them above Battat)
5. Favorite
6. CollectA
7. Bullyland
8. Schleich

I pretty much agree with your assessment. However, I would rank Schleich's dinosaurs above Bullyland's. IMO, The only worthwhile Bullyland "dinosaurs" are Pteranodon Sternbergi and Therizinosaurus. Bullyland's strength lies in prehistoric mammals.

Schleich has the potential to make some amazing dinosaur "replicas" (they lack the motivation, though)--In some ways, their models sport more natural and grittier texture work than CollectA, Bullyland, and sometimes even WS. The "World of History" line was a promising step in the right direction. Schleich decided to make a 180 and then release the abysmal Styracosaurus and Carnotaurus in 2013.

Also, I would rank WS above Battat with or without the new sculptor(s).

[tyrantqueen]

I pretty much agree with your assessment. However, I would rank Schleich's dinosaurs above Bullyland's. IMO, The only worthwhile Bullyland "dinosaurs" are Pteranodon Sternbergi and Therizinosaurus. Bullyland's strength lies in prehistoric mammals.

Schleich has the potential to make some amazing dinosaur "replicas" (they lack the motivation, though)--In some ways, their models sport more natural and grittier texture work than CollectA, Bullyland, and sometimes even WS. The "World of History" line was a promising step in the right direction. Schleich decided to make a 180 and then release the abysmal Styracosaurus and Carnotaurus in 2013.

Well, I have 0% interest in prehistoric mammals so they didn't factor into my decision. I agree with the part about Schleich- they do have a lot of potential (as I noted in my "Schleich's future" thread)

If you look at some of their extant animals for 2012, I think you'll agree that they are capable of making decent replicas:





What about the Bullyland Stegosaurus? I thought that was one of the best replicas of Stego available...it would have been even better if it had a throat pouch.

So I guess it's mostly a tie between Schleich and Bullyland- with Schleich slightly winning because of their nicer sculpting work. I have never really been a fan of Bullyland's sculpting style- it's just so crude.

[anchry6]

What's wrong with the Papo Stegosaurus? It almost looks identical to the Wild Safari Stegosaurus, IMO.

http://www.dinotoyblog.com/2010/02/21/stegosaurus-papo-2/

[postsaurischian]

What's wrong with the Papo Stegosaurus? It almost looks identical to the Wild Safari Stegosaurus, IMO.

What about the Bullyland Stegosaurus? I thought that was one of the best replicas of Stego available...it would have been even better if it had a throat pouch.

Wrong number of plates and (worse) wrong feet and number of digits for both figures (to say the least).
Both Stegos are nicely sculpted but we will probably never see a scientific accurate Dinosaur from Papo or Bullyland.
Speaking about mass produced toy models there is the Kaiyodo Dinoland 1:20 Stegosaurus, the Favorite Collection 1st series Softmodel (1 plate missing) and ....... then there is nothing else .