Safari: New for 2017

[DinoLord]

Very nice to see it standing on its own. One of our regular reviewers has called dibs on this figure so you can expect to see a review up soon... 

[Dobber]

Also I dont see why anyone is complaining about the paint app, i mean what do you expect?

Look at the care that was given to the head and neck. Even the body and tail have descent fading between colors. But the the white on the underside and side of the tail looks like a 2 year old just slapped some thin paint on it. The contrast between care an laziness is striking. So to answer your question, if they can put the effort in to most of the figures paint, then why not all of it?

Regardless, I have one on order with Dan and I just ordered another one from Amazon for a repaint to go with my repainted CollectA. Doug really hit it out of the park with this sculpt. 

Chris

[Tyrannosauron]

Very nice to see it standing on its own. One of our regular reviewers has called dibs on this figure so you can expect to see a review up soon... 

Glad I asked first, then! Looks like I'll have to actually do my job today and finish grading these papers instead...

Look at the care that was given to the head and neck. Even the body and tail have descent fading between colors. But the the white on the underside and side of the tail looks like a 2 year old just slapped some thin paint on it. The contrast between care an laziness is striking. So to answer your question, if they can put the effort in to most of the figures paint, then why not all of it?

I don't know if this is a difference that can be accounted for by having the figure in hand, but I disagree with this assessment. The countershading is continuous between the figure's tail and the rest of the body--it looks to me like there's just as much care that went into one part as went into the other, if for no other reason than because it's all the same paint application. But these are details; overall, everything about the figure is fantastic.

[Dobber]

Very nice to see it standing on its own. One of our regular reviewers has called dibs on this figure so you can expect to see a review up soon... 

Glad I asked first, then! Looks like I'll have to actually do my job today and finish grading these papers instead...

Look at the care that was given to the head and neck. Even the body and tail have descent fading between colors. But the the white on the underside and side of the tail looks like a 2 year old just slapped some thin paint on it. The contrast between care an laziness is striking. So to answer your question, if they can put the effort in to most of the figures paint, then why not all of it?

I don't know if this is a difference that can be accounted for by having the figure in hand, but I disagree with this assessment. The countershading is continuous between the figure's tail and the rest of the body--it looks to me like there's just as much care that went into one part as went into the other, if for no other reason than because it's all the same paint application. But these are details; overall, everything about the figure is fantastic.

You may have misunderstood what I'm referring to. I'm only referring to the white paint application, not actual parts of the body.

Chris

[Tyrannosauron]

You may have misunderstood what I'm referring to. I'm only referring to the white paint application, not actual parts of the body.

Less of a misunderstanding and more inefficient speed-reading on my part. Apologies! Even so, I don't think there was any less care or effort put into that paint application, but the white does make for a much starker contrast with the rest of the figure's earth tones. As far as the quality of the paint apps per se, it's pretty standard for a WS figure--a little bit of slop and some bad masking in one or two places, but nothing that would be noticeable at a distance greater than half a meter or so.

[Sim]

This really highlights how poor the detail is on the CollectA's head, one of the main reasons I was very hesitant to buy it.
Thankfully, I waited for a better option to come along with the Safari figure. I honestly do have some gripes about certain parts of this figure, but it's nothing a little bit of added sculpting and a repaint can't alleviate. While for me it isn't yet the best feathered rex toy i could envisage, it's a still a massive step towards it.

I don't see how the detail on the CollectA's head can be considered poor. It's definitely not as intricate as the WS', but it's still superior to say, the 2014 Carnegie or the Battat.

I think the CollectA T. rex has the paint on its head applied more neatly than the 2014 Carnegie and the Battat T. rex.  However, the CollectA T. rex has very visible skull openings over which the skin texture looks different to the surrounding skin.  This looks very unrealistic to me, contrasting with the 2014 Carnegie and Battat T. rex which look much more natural in this area.  A lot of the scales on the head of the CollectA T. rex are very big and lumpy-looking, it's especially noticeable on the lower jaw.  I find the skin texture on the heads of the 2014 Carnegie and the Battat T. rex much better both aesthetically and in terms of what I think is more believable.

I think the CollectA has better teeth than the 2014 Carnegie.  Except for the second version of the Battat Terra T. rex, I think all of Battat's T. rex figures have better teeth than the CollectA though.  The CollectA's teeth seem pretty good, but the way it only has one longest tooth on each side of the upper jaw in the same position doesn't look right to me.  It makes the CollectA T. rex look like a vampire.

  (image source)

The connective tissue at the sides of the mouth of the CollectA T. rex has a very strange, rounded shape.  As seen in the above photo, the CollectA T. rex has quite a visible gap in its lower jaw under the tongue.  I guess the CollectA has the gap in the lower jaw and the rounded connective tissue as a result of having an articulated jaw?  But I've seen dinosaur toys by other companies that have an articulated jaw and don't have the gap or rounded tissue.  In any case, the 2014 Carnegie and the Battat T. rex lack those two flaws.

[tanystropheus]

I like the CollectA Rex, but it looks too punk rock.

[Shonisaurus]

That beauty! Thanks Tyrannosauron for sharing your photos on the other hand I am very happy with this model that I have already ordered and I will arrive at my address on January-March next year.

On the other hand Battat's tyrannosaurus from the sadly disappeared Dan Lo Russo is on his way to my address next week I will have him at home.

This year without a doubt and without underestimating at all the outstanding brand of Collecta is going to be the year of Safari again. Its figures this year are the best of 2017 although that does not mean that Collecta has done a job as always devastating and titanic and at the same time successful and surpassing both artistic and scientifically with respect to last year and most importantly introduce figures of dinosaurs Very dark or little known in the field of dinosaur toy thing that is also appreciated.

Doug Watson is a masterful teacher among paleo-sculptors of dinosaurs and needless to say that the rest of Safari figures not made by Doug Watson are a whole new thing

[Shonisaurus]

By the way the rest of the figures of Safari 2017 have not yet been marketed or bought by anyone online?

It would be interesting to see photos of the rest of the group.

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

Hail to the Queen!!!

[Dobber]

You may have misunderstood what I'm referring to. I'm only referring to the white paint application, not actual parts of the body.

Less of a misunderstanding and more inefficient speed-reading on my part. Apologies! Even so, I don't think there was any less care or effort put into that paint application, but the white does make for a much starker contrast with the rest of the figure's earth tones. As far as the quality of the paint apps per se, it's pretty standard for a WS figure--a little bit of slop and some bad masking in one or two places, but nothing that would be noticeable at a distance greater than half a meter or so.

No problem  thanks so much for the pictures, I'm really looking forward to getting one. 

[stargatedalek]

The connective tissue at the sides of the mouth of the CollectA T. rex has a very strange, rounded shape.  As seen in the above photo, the CollectA T. rex has quite a visible gap in its lower jaw under the tongue.  I guess the CollectA has the gap in the lower jaw and the rounded connective tissue as a result of having an articulated jaw?  But I've seen dinosaur toys by other companies that have an articulated jaw and don't have the gap or rounded tissue.  In any case, the 2014 Carnegie and the Battat T. rex lack those two flaws.

Although I certainly agree that the Safari Tyrannosaurus has a lot nicer detail work, especially inside the mouth, the round shape isn't something I'd call a flaw (I'm assuming here you're referring to the profile perspective and not from the front, from the front it's definitely thicker to accommodate the articulation). I say this only because there's no evidence either way to suggest these tissues were convex or concave viewed in profile, I prefer the Safari one.

[Shonisaurus]

The connective tissue at the sides of the mouth of the CollectA T. rex has a very strange, rounded shape.  As seen in the above photo, the CollectA T. rex has quite a visible gap in its lower jaw under the tongue.  I guess the CollectA has the gap in the lower jaw and the rounded connective tissue as a result of having an articulated jaw?  But I've seen dinosaur toys by other companies that have an articulated jaw and don't have the gap or rounded tissue.  In any case, the 2014 Carnegie and the Battat T. rex lack those two flaws.

Although I certainly agree that the Safari Tyrannosaurus has a lot nicer detail work, especially inside the mouth, the round shape isn't something I'd call a flaw (I'm assuming here you're referring to the profile perspective and not from the front, from the front it's definitely thicker to accommodate the articulation). I say this only because there's no evidence either way to suggest these tissues were convex or concave viewed in profile, I prefer the Safari one.

That shows that without articulated jaws, a carnivorous dinosaur or a prehistoric animal can be great from every point of view.

From my point of view there is much more merit of theropods or marine animals without non-articulated jaws.

[suspsy]

Great photos, Tyrannosauron, thank you! Very excited to get my paws on this sucker!

[Silvanusaurus]

This really highlights how poor the detail is on the CollectA's head, one of the main reasons I was very hesitant to buy it.
Thankfully, I waited for a better option to come along with the Safari figure. I honestly do have some gripes about certain parts of this figure, but it's nothing a little bit of added sculpting and a repaint can't alleviate. While for me it isn't yet the best feathered rex toy i could envisage, it's a still a massive step towards it.

I don't see how the detail on the CollectA's head can be considered poor. It's definitely not as intricate as the WS', but it's still superior to say, the 2014 Carnegie or the Battat.

I sincerely disagree. I think the hodge-podge of scale sizes and shapes looks crude and unnatural, not to mention the way the skull openings are highlighted with a completely different scale design and their unseemly sunkenness. It also looks completely incongruous with the body, as though simply glued on to the front as an afterthought. I know a lot of people like the figure, so I don't want to cause any contention, but I honestly do think it looks kind of ridiculous and naive, and very far removed from something I could ever imagine as a real animal. I've only ever really thought about buying it as an obligation towards getting the only feathered T rex toy that was available, and have always been unable to bite the bullet on account of it's ugliness. While one could say that the Battat or Carnegie technically have less detail, they look far more natural than the CollectA, and with this Safari figure, it now looks pretty much obsolete for me, unless as the basis for a future custom project.

[Verahin]

Hello everybody, I quite like this debate regarding feathered tyrannosaurs, cause I've been waiting for a decent figure of this for awhile, but seems like I'll have to keep on waiting.

Starting with the Collecta one, I'm going to say it has a plethora of flaws, both conceptual and technical. First of all, the thing still looks shrink-wrapped. The overall body is way too slim, but the shrink-wrapping is more evident on the head, where skull openings are quite visible, and on the legs. They are so thin, with the feet looking like the animal barely had some flesh covering the bones. The tail is much longer than it would have been in life, I guess it's for stability and actually looks even cool, but inaccurate nonetheless.

Coming to the feathering, the plumage on the arms feels just unnatural. Like somebody else has pointed out a few posts above, Collecta give their large theropods this strange set of feathers hanging from the animal's forelimbs, on other models such as deluxe Therizinosaurus and Beishanlong it looks even more goofy. I agree with the aforementioned opinion that large theropods such as tyrannosaurs would have had their arms covered with the same type of "coat" of the rest of their body. Another thing that looks unreal to my eye is the fact that the animal is depicted as half feathered and half scaly, with the whole underside up to the snout completely bare. Is there any scientific evidence of it? And if so I doubt that in reality it would have looked that reptilian on the naked part, the Collecta model show very large crocodilian-like scales, giving the impression of a big lizard with some fur laid upon. Also the mohawk on the back of the head looks a bit wrong. Finally the colors, very unnatural. They should have gone all the way with brown, with some shades of other earthy colors, instead of those in-your-face red and electric green. Plus I don't get the point of the black stripes on the snout.

As for the technical flaws, they got it wrong with the movable jaw, with the rounded connective tissue between upper and lower, and there are quite visible junctures on the head and on the legs. These, and the fact that the figure needed a base to stand, give it an overall cheap-toy feel, at least to me.

Moving to the Safari one, I must say I'm disappointed. I usually don't care for Safari figures, not my taste, but this year I was positively surprised when they have revealed the two new feathered beasts. Sadly the production piece turned out to be on par with Safari standards, very poor quality control. If you look to the prototype in the sculptor's thread, or even to the stock photos on Safari's website, the difference with those production pieces shown on Amazon and on the pics posted before here is embarassing. There's a huge loss of detail coming from the combination of the mass production process and the rushed paint app. And it's a real shame, cause again, if you look to the prototype the detail is beautiful. There are still flaws, like the scaly head and belly, or the lack of lips, but still forgettable in the context of a very nice figure. And a huge improvement over the Collecta model.

Safari needs to rise the bar with their production standards, otherwise such fine pieces will keep on going wasted. I'm gonna pass on this one and will wait for Papo to make their own feathered T-Rex, hope the Velociraptor will turn out better but I don't have great expectations. Still I'll probably get it anyway and try to fix it with a repaint, if needed, cause it looks just like an Emily Willoughby painting made into a figure, potentially the best dromaeosaurid figure available on the market.

[Sim]

The connective tissue at the sides of the mouth of the CollectA T. rex has a very strange, rounded shape.  As seen in the above photo, the CollectA T. rex has quite a visible gap in its lower jaw under the tongue.  I guess the CollectA has the gap in the lower jaw and the rounded connective tissue as a result of having an articulated jaw?  But I've seen dinosaur toys by other companies that have an articulated jaw and don't have the gap or rounded tissue.  In any case, the 2014 Carnegie and the Battat T. rex lack those two flaws.

Although I certainly agree that the Safari Tyrannosaurus has a lot nicer detail work, especially inside the mouth, the round shape isn't something I'd call a flaw (I'm assuming here you're referring to the profile perspective and not from the front, from the front it's definitely thicker to accommodate the articulation). I say this only because there's no evidence either way to suggest these tissues were convex or concave viewed in profile, I prefer the Safari one.

Yes, I was referring to how it looks in profile perspective.  I consider the rounded shape of the CollectA T. rex's connective tissue a flaw not just because they're convex, but because they seem to just be a strongly convex artificial looking shape.  I can't imagine seeing something like this on a real dinosaur.  The connective tissues of the CollectA T. rex look like part of a perfect circle, or... a round slice of ham.

[Verahin]

The connective tissue at the sides of the mouth of the CollectA T. rex has a very strange, rounded shape.  As seen in the above photo, the CollectA T. rex has quite a visible gap in its lower jaw under the tongue.  I guess the CollectA has the gap in the lower jaw and the rounded connective tissue as a result of having an articulated jaw?  But I've seen dinosaur toys by other companies that have an articulated jaw and don't have the gap or rounded tissue.  In any case, the 2014 Carnegie and the Battat T. rex lack those two flaws.

Although I certainly agree that the Safari Tyrannosaurus has a lot nicer detail work, especially inside the mouth, the round shape isn't something I'd call a flaw (I'm assuming here you're referring to the profile perspective and not from the front, from the front it's definitely thicker to accommodate the articulation). I say this only because there's no evidence either way to suggest these tissues were convex or concave viewed in profile, I prefer the Safari one.

Yes, I was referring to how it looks in profile perspective.  I consider the rounded shape of the CollectA T. rex's connective tissue a flaw not just because they're convex, but because they seem to just be a strongly convex artificial looking shape.  I can't imagine seeing something like this on a real dinosaur.  The connective tissues of the CollectA T. rex look like part of a perfect circle, or... a round slice of ham.

I guess it's the same on the deluxe Spinosaurus, they've just adopted a bad solution to render this connective tissue with the movable jaw trick. On other models (deluxe Torvosaurus, for example) they've done it better but the mouth can barely open. They must have a look on how Papo and Schleich do their articulated jaws.

[suspsy]

I attribute the rounded tissue to CollectA not quite getting the hang of articulated jaws at the time. They seem to have improved the engineering since then, as the Torvosaurus' mouth tissue looks much better. So does the Deluxe Spinosaurus' for that matter. And as far as the size of the scales on the head are concerned, I suspect it's simply a matter of artistic license. There's been plenty of paleoart depicting T. rex with larger scales than in other works. The shrink wrapping is definitely still an issue though. It's probably the biggest flaw still remaining on CollectA's theropods. We'all have to wait till at least 2018 to see if they finally correct it.

As far as the distribution of plumage vs scales on the body is concerned, well, we're highly unlikely to ever know the true arrangement, but it's not unreasonable to assume that the underside was scaly. Aside from Yutyrannus, most depictions of feathered tyrannosaurs are that way. And the colour scheme has been discussed to death by now. Personally, I couldn't care less about "realism" or perceived lack of it when it comes to dinosaur renditions. But then one of my favourite artists is Luis V. Rey.

Also, Doug Watson has already addressed the lack of lips on the WS FTR.

[sepp]

Ohh yeah, I'm really excited for all of these! Look at all the fluffballs!!