Papo New for 2017

[tanystropheus]

Lions have manes that start off lighter and then become darker.  The 2017 Papo Smilodon's mane is all one dark colour, which I find makes it look like scraggly human hair.  Since tiger stripes likely function as camouflage, having them just on the last third of the body looks bizarre.  It's also jarring as it looks like someone copied tiger stripes for the Smilodon's colouration but then stopped abruptly.

Actually, the stripes are perfectly reasonable. A number of mammals only have stripes on their rear end: okapis and thylacines immediately spring to mind. It's that mane that's the real problem. And the angle of the fangs; they're jutting forward like a rattlesnake's.

I hope the issue is resolved when seen from different angles.
The body sculpt is actually pretty okay. It's the head that looks off.

[Sim]

Lions have manes that start off lighter and then become darker.  The 2017 Papo Smilodon's mane is all one dark colour, which I find makes it look like scraggly human hair.  Since tiger stripes likely function as camouflage, having them just on the last third of the body looks bizarre.  It's also jarring as it looks like someone copied tiger stripes for the Smilodon's colouration but then stopped abruptly.

Actually, the stripes are perfectly reasonable. A number of mammals only have stripes on their rear end: okapis and thylacines immediately spring to mind. It's that mane that's the real problem. And the angle of the fangs; they're jutting forward like a rattlesnake's.

Okapis have stripes on their front legs too.  My first thought about the Smilodon's stripes was actually that they reminded me of the stripes of certain marsupials (e.g. thylacine, numbat, thylacoleo), due to the distribution on the 'back' of the animal.  But, as far as I know, the stripes of these marsupials go along the back descending down the sides of the body much more than in this Smilodon, and they don't go around the back legs.  I'm not saying it's not possible Smilodon had stripes like this figure.  I just find the Papo Smilodon's stripe distribution bizarre.

[empire3569]

Nice to finally see the new 2017 Papo models! I know I am late to the game, but would like to share my thoughts:

1. Cave bear and Smilodon: don't collect mammals so easy pass (and the Smilodon looks hilariously ridiculous to me)
2. Cryolophosaurus: Awesome sculpt, superb paint scheme, pose is meh. I can see what people are saying if you pose it with another dinosaur and it looks like it is rearing back in some sort of combat pose, but it just doesn't do it for me. Pass
3. Ceratosaurus: The sculpt is awesome and I don't mind the pose, but the paint scheme feels a little off to me. I think I would like it better if it was not quite to bright green, reminds me of an iguana. Will have to see some actual pictures of this one before making my decision, but will probably end up getting it
4. Acrocanthosaurus: words cannot describe how excited I am for this pose. My plan was to pair it with the Rebor Acro, and I honestly don't think the sculpt could have been any more perfect. I'm going to have it posed over the 2/3 tenontosaurus carcass like it is trying to protect it from Hercules, should make a killer diorama. The only hiccup is the rainbow-rex inspired paint scheme, but that's nothing a certain prehistoric painting genius can't take care of
5. Dimorphodon: Also don't collect these guys, so another easy pass (and I agree it looks like a blatant JW ripoff)
6. Polacanthus: nice sculpt, paint scheme is not horrible, somewhat boring pose; will probably pass

I am hoping the Iguanodon is still being released this year, that was one of the ones I was looking forward to the most. If no Iguanodon then it will most likely just be the Acro and Ceratosaurus for me

[Killekor]

That is the ugliest Smilodon figure I've ever seen.

It's not Real. The worst, more ugly and inaccurate Smilodon of all times Will be Forever the Dinofroz Battle Smilodon, and it's not the worst of the series (Dimorphodons with Thagomizers, 3-tailed Protoceratops, 3-horned prehistoric Elephants, all with more than 10 horns around the body)...



Killekor

[CityRaptor]

Dinofroz does not even attempt to be realistic. I still say that the worst "realistic" Smilodon is the Schleich one.

[Neosodon]

I'm usually very critical about papo but their Ceratosaurus blew my expectations. A great paint job and a natural looking pose. The Cryolophosaurus has an even better paint job but it is ruined by the almost vertical tripod pose. But one good dinosaur from papo surpassed my expectations, now I just hope I can find it for less than $20.

[DC]

Yes, "marketing/publicity side they leave a lot to be desired".
I am not big Papo fan but I think they feel they don't need to as they sell quite well, they could be right.
While I am listing aggravations, I would expect to see anything shipping until late next fall.  I have still not seen this years figures show up and my local toy store complains bitterly about not being able to get new releases in time for the Christmas season. 

[EmperorDinobot]

That is the ugliest Smilodon figure I've ever seen.

It's not Real. The worst, more ugly and inaccurate Smilodon of all times Will be Forever the Dinofroz Battle Smilodon, and it's not the worst of the series (Dimorphodons with Thagomizers, 3-tailed Protoceratops, 3-horned prehistoric Elephants, all with more than 10 horns around the body)...



Killekor

I've never heard of Dinofroz. What are they, exactly?

[tanystropheus]

Take home message: Papo was inspired by Dinofroz

[Killekor]

That is the ugliest Smilodon figure I've ever seen.

It's not Real. The worst, more ugly and inaccurate Smilodon of all times Will be Forever the Dinofroz Battle Smilodon, and it's not the worst of the series (Dimorphodons with Thagomizers, 3-tailed Protoceratops, 3-horned prehistoric Elephants, all with more than 10 horns around the body)...



Killekor

I've never heard of Dinofroz. What are they, exactly?

It's a lime of dinosaurs, there are 3 series:

The First series have this normal dinosaurs:



With this cards :



The second series is a series of "mutant" dinosaurs, like the ones that you have seen in the photos, are this:



With this cards:









There are also 6 glow in the dark models, with this cards:





The series Three was... A cartoon, and the producers soldi also models (i Will not post any photo). I have to Say that this Is the worst series.

Dinofroz have been popular in Italy (the most popular in Italy has been series two), so, i have many of them. Series One and 2 are retired, but very Easy to find.

A moderator Can transform this discussion in an off-topic called "the Dinofroz thread" in that case, i Will post my collection.

I Hope that i've helped you.

Killekor

[Megalosaurus]

I like the theropods but...
I don't like the prominent fenestrae, even they adorned it in the Ceratosaurus. No, no, no.
Even that, I'll get the 3 ones.
I love prehistoric mammals, but no, I don't want Baloo and Scar.

[Shonisaurus]

I am an admirer of the figures of Papo and loyal buyer to his company but also it is necessary to emphasize the dimorphodon of the same company that for me it is a mixture of flying reptile and of snake or viper.

It seems as if the dimorphodon had poison on its teeth.

[Nanuqsaurus]

I like the theropods but...
I don't like the prominent fenestrae, even they adorned it in the Ceratosaurus. No, no, no.
Even that, I'll get the 3 ones.
I love prehistoric mammals, but no, I don't want Baloo and Scar.

Yeah, there's some serious shrink-wrapping on the skulls of those theropods. It's the only thing that bugs me with these new figures.

[leidy]

This new batch of Papos are incredible, as always.  People will take issue about the accuracy, but they're pretty accurate to my eyes, certainly compared to what I grew up with, and also to what can be seen in many museum displays.     

As others have noted, the Cryolophosaurus appears to be the standout.  I have no issue with the pose.  It has a wonderful sense of follow-through and upward movement. 

My own criticisms would be mainly the choice of so many theropods, secondly, that the detailing and sculpting in the stride poses are getting somewhat repetitive.  The arms have tended to be oversized in Papo theropods, and these are no exception. 

Papo's preference for scaly and ferocious prevails over current trends in paleoart, and I can accept what they're going for mainly because I'm in awe of their sculptor's talent and ability.

Sorry to pop up and tell you so guys, but in this thread people used words like "horrible", "hideous" and "awful", regarding Papo new figures. Had I used the same terms for Battat figures, or worse for some Safari sculpted by Doug Watson, I would have been eaten alive for being insulting and irrespectful. This is hypocrisy at its best.

The Papo sculpter isn't here to read our criticisms, so we can say what we want without offending anyone.

It's the internet.  You should always assume that any disrespectful or ignorant comments made online may potentially find their way to the person in question.

[The Atroxious]

It's the internet.  You should always assume that any disrespectful or ignorant comments made online may potentially find their way to the person in question.

Criticism of the creation should not be confused with criticism of the creator. It's both possible and very common to appreciate the skill of an artist while finding their preferred aesthetic to be unpleasant. Artists are usually very aware of this, and if they've remained in the industry for any length of time, they've doubtless become used to the idea that some people will inevitably dislike their work.

[LophoLeeVT]

THE DINOFROZ PROTOCERATOPS?!?! I'VE BEEN HUNTING IT FOR ABSOLUTE AGES!!!!!

[Shadowknight1]

So, when should we start expecting to see these suckers come up for sale?  I'm getting that Acro.  Heck, depending on its size, I might spring for the Cryolophosaurus too.  Both dinos were introduced to me by Warpath: Jurassic Park, and both are very cool.

[AcroSauroTaurus]

I would like to know when the theropods come out as well.

[Everything_Dinosaur]

Everything Dinosaur has not got anything official from Papo as to release dates and availability.  We can't also post up official images of the new for 2017 models, but here is the information that we currently have:

New Papo update - we can't release images yet, but we can confirm that there will be a total of 9 new lines in the Papo prehistoric animal model range in 2017, details as follows:

Confirmation of New Models
55060 Polacanthus
55061 Ceratosaurus
55068 Crylophosaurus
55062 Acrocanthosaurus
55063 Dimorphodon
55066 Cave Bear
55067 Roaring Smilodon

Re-paints
Non-feathered Velociraptor (nick-named "blue tail")
Oviraptor (nick-named "blue neck")

Retirements
The green Papo Velociraptor introduced in 2016 (55058) is being retired.
We also suspect that the original Oviraptor (brown markings) 55018 is also going to be withdrawn, although nothing official as yet from Papo.  When we have official pictures and availability information we will post up more news on our blog and social media pages.

Hope this helps to clarify the situation.

[suspsy]

This new batch of Papos are incredible, as always.  People will take issue about the accuracy, but they're pretty accurate to my eyes, certainly compared to what I grew up with, and also to what can be seen in many museum displays.

I know of no museum with a Dimorphodon restoration that looked like that. That toy is neither accurate nor incredible. It's just a copy of a very poor movie design.