Safari: New for 2017

[Doug Watson]

However I'd like a point of clarification. The Safari website lists this as P. mongoliensis, but I thought the specimen published in that paper was from an undetermined species?

I used the skeletal of an adult P. mongoliensis but the paper on the Psittacosaurus sp., for colour and the quills.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

This from the first paper released for the quilled specimen......From Liaoning Province, three
species of the genus Psittacosaurus have been reported;
Psittacosaurus mongoliensis, P. meileyingensis, and an
as yet unnamed taxon (Sereno et al. 1988; Sereno 1990;
Xu and Wang 1998).


Subsequent papers speculate the specimen às Lujatensis based on an earlier date suspected for the fossil.
Main issue with solid identification is the animal was buried head down and most identificational markings are on the upper skull


Doug would be well within his boundaries to argue Momgoliensis for more than one reason....A private joy for me..my own skeleton is Meileyingensis.....

[CMIPalaeo]

The black spots on the Psittacosaurus are reasonably well-supported by fossils. The new reconstruction indicates that it had dark spots around at least its forelimbs and torso. This figure really does seem similar to the recent reconstruction generally; darker above than below, fairly meaty, accurate hands, etc. OF course it was probably painted well before this new research was unveiled.

I painted my piece long before the recent interpretation was revealed, however, my colours and patterns were based on the same specimen as described in the 2010 paper.
The ring-like pattern of smaller tubercles surrounding the larger plate-like scales appear throughout the body but the colour pattern of light tubercles around darker larger scales was best preserved over the scapula and humerus. The authors speculated that the colours were better preserved over bone compared to areas over soft tissue so I interpreted that to mean the spotted pattern could have occurred over more of the body. I have pasted the pertinent section from the paper below.

"Pigmented impressions of the scales found imprinted over virtually all the skeletal
elements of the specimen give a very vivid impression of
color and patterns, no more so than those at the base of the
left scapula, probably articular cartilage, which shows a well
defined ring-like pattern of amber tubercles surrounding the
dark plate-like scales (Fig. 2d, white arrows; ESM S1). The
ring has possibly survived better over bone (ESM S3) given
that the skin as it contracts (as over a drum) is probably less
likely to crease and distort as it might over muscle. The color
too is generally brighter over bone—a brighter amber/brown
and deeper black (Figs. 2d, 3d, e; ESM S1), presumably
because the pigment has less chance to permeate bone or
cartilage and dissipate as over soft tissue....."

    It's great to see so much work and research going into mass-market dinosaur figures. It truly pays off! Yours are consistently among the finest-looking and most believable palaeo creatures out there.

[DinoToyForum]

Dat psittacoasaurus doe.......wow...Rostral correct..frill correct..digits ..hands..proportions..tail size...Spent an hour going over this model....my questions are what species Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis based off the quilled specimen?   Did  Dr Admin consult on the piece? Assume an adult based off bi pedal stance and the spacing between nasal and eye orbit?  A juvenile would have the two orbits touching so....
    The coloring is actually rather close...darker dorsally lightening ventrally as stated by the paper done by Lingham and Solar.   The only thing I see is it could have been shaded darker towards the tail lightening moving forward.  That is the most accurate commercial model of this dinosaur offered of the final toy is as accurate as the image.
Yeah I am going to need a few of those signed Doug...ha. A solid candidate for model of the year right there

Nope. Just the Tylo for Doug, and then the Quet, Kron, Micro, Giga, and Dippy.

[DinoLord]

I wonder if we will find out who sculpted the other figures. The Giganotosaurus especially reminds me of the Carnegie version.

[Dinomike]

Wow! These new figures are wonderful! The T.rex is obviously a masterpiece and I'm also really liking the Velociraptor and the Giganotosaurus! I'm very happy about these!

[MLMjp]

I wonder if we will find out who sculpted the other figures. The Giganotosaurus especially reminds me of the Carnegie version.

I guess Doug will tell us once all the figures are revealed.

[terrorchicken]

Tylosaurus-looove it, the stripes are a bit much but I can deal
Feathered Velociraptor: perfect! what a beauty!
Psittacosaurus: very nice, I have the cartoony Collecta which I like b/c its smaller but I may get this one as well.
Giganotosaurus:already have the Carnegie but I love this sculpt...but again,  those striped socks, ehhh.
Feathered tyrannosaurus rex: what a massive feathered monster! its breathtaking!

[Doug Watson]

I wonder if we will find out who sculpted the other figures. The Giganotosaurus especially reminds me of the Carnegie version.

I guess Doug will tell us once all the figures are revealed.

I do not have the permission of the other artists or Safari Ltd to divulge other artist's names if I knew them. After all some people like their anonymity.

[Faelrin]

I love that Pstittacosaurus. I'm glad it has the counter shading coloration too. Psittacosaurus isn't new to me, but ever since that model was revealed, its been growing on me. This will be a must buy. That T. rex is also going to be a must buy for me, but then again I already said as much. I really like the Velociraptor as well, and it does look good enough for a buy, but I think I will wait until I get my BotM figures first. I do like the Zhenyuanlong or Archaeopteryx shaped tail it has though.

[Silvanusaurus]

It goes without saying that the T rex is absolutely fantastic, though I do feel a bit uneasy about the transition of feathers to scales on the face, I think if the scales continued the burnt red/orange hues of the feathers it wouldn't be an issue. It would have been very cool to even see feathers continuing along the snout. Anyway, i'll probably do a repaint (or 5) on this anyway, as such a beautiful sculpt is sparking fires of imagination for alternate colour schemes in my head already. I'd love to make a male and female pair...
The Giganotosaurus looks great, I much prefer it to the Carnegie as the pose feels more natural and it doesn't look mummified. I love the contrast between the Giga and the rex; it really sets these two apart as very different animals.
The Velociraptor was a dead cert since that first teaser image, as with the rex, I can't wait to devise some repaint ideas...
Even the Psittacosaurus is tempting and I've not had an interest in that dinosaur before, same with the Coelophysis. It just shows what a great figure can do in terms of inspiring interest in these animals!
And yet there's still the Deinocheirus and those other non-Deinocheirus ones to be revealed!
Could they even be saving the best till last?

[Patrx]

The informational text seems to have been updated on the product pages for this year's figures. Mostly, it's really nicely written and pretty accurate compared to some of the "info" we've seen in the past.

[suspsy]

Hard to believe that there's still three more toys to be revealed. Again, Safari seems to be sending a strong message to the other companies.

[joossa]

Wanted to post pictures from the Safari site. So exciting!

[DinoToyForum]

The informational text seems to have been updated on the product pages for this year's figures. Mostly, it's really nicely written and pretty accurate compared to some of the "info" we've seen in the past.

I'm pleased somone noticed this since the copy is largely my own handiwork. An error or two may have been snuck in by the editor e.g they called Kronosaurus a dinosaur - a sin no plesiosaur palaeontologist would ever commit! - but they quickly corrected it when I pointed it out. Safari Ltd are obviously serious about their models and content, which is great for their reputation and adds so much value to their products.

I haven't read through all the live articles yet, so if you spot any mistakes, please let me know via PM.

[Roger]

The informational text seems to have been updated on the product pages for this year's figures. Mostly, it's really nicely written and pretty accurate compared to some of the "info" we've seen in the past.

I'm pleased somone noticed this since the copy is largely my own handiwork. An error or two may have been snuck in by the editor e.g they called Kronosaurus a dinosaur - a sin no plesiosaur palaeontologist would ever commit! - but they quickly corrected it when I pointed it out. Safari Ltd are obviously serious about their models and content, which is great for their reputation and adds so much value to their products.

I haven't read through all the live articles yet, so if you spot any mistakes, please let me know via PM.

I also noticed it and I find it enriching to the company's website. May I ask you if the text for extant animals is also your work?

[Concavenator]

Ever since the mighty Carnegie line ended,I have been wanting to see how would Wild Safari react.I wasn't too fond of the 2016 lineup,byt things have indeed changed!This new lineup is certainly fulfilling.Also,although in my opinion,the Carnegie line did the most beautiful dinosaurs (in my opinion),these new Wild Safari are more accurate than some of the Carnegie pieces,because,coming from a museum,they wouldn't agree (I suspect) with some of the Internet theories that may very strongly be accurate.
To provide an illustration,take a look at Carnegie's rendition of Tyrannosaurus and compare it with the Tyrannosaurus by Wild Safari which was sculpted in 2015.Same goes for the Velociraptor,who was released in 2015,and I imagine this new one was done that very year.
And yes,I agree.Even if I truly love the CollectA Tyrannosaurus (it's gorgeous and it's an art piece),this new Tyrannosaurus looks much more natural and accurate.This new Velociraptor is willing to be the ultimate version as well.And the Coelophysis,Psittacosaurus.
PS:You can see the Deinocheirus iand Einiosaurus on Safari's website by looking at the dinosaur banner.I really like the Deinocheirus too.

[CMIPalaeo]

Dang... that Deinocheirus looks nice. And I was planning on getting the CollectA Deinocheirus without a challenge...

[Jose S.M.]

If i would have known Safari was going to release a Deinocheirus I would have bought the Ornithomimus instead when I ordered my only two 2016 CollectA's hehe, now that one is out of stock at Dan's Dinosaurs  . I'm finding this one much better than their's but still need to debate on that. And the Einiosaurus looks great, I can see some reddish and yellow markings in the frill.

[DinoToyForum]

The informational text seems to have been updated on the product pages for this year's figures. Mostly, it's really nicely written and pretty accurate compared to some of the "info" we've seen in the past.

I'm pleased somone noticed this since the copy is largely my own handiwork. An error or two may have been snuck in by the editor e.g they called Kronosaurus a dinosaur - a sin no plesiosaur palaeontologist would ever commit! - but they quickly corrected it when I pointed it out. Safari Ltd are obviously serious about their models and content, which is great for their reputation and adds so much value to their products.

I haven't read through all the live articles yet, so if you spot any mistakes, please let me know via PM.

I also noticed it and I find it enriching to the company's website. May I ask you if the text for extant animals is also your work?

No, just the new dinosaurs.