Papo New for 2017

[danmalcolm]

A "who wore it better?" poll would be fun. I think the acro pulls the look off extremely well.

[Jose S.M.]

I think Acro wore it better definitely.

[Reptilia]

You are comparing the picture of a production piece (T-Rex) with that of a prototype (Acrocanthosaurus), I doubt the final version will be as defined as the promo. In my opinion the comparison is more suitable with the running version stock photo:





The colours are exactly the same, purple, orange and grey, just a little brighter on the Acrocanthosaurus. And they are also arranged the same way, purple on the back, orange on the sides and grey for the main body and underside. Not owning the repainted rexes the Acrocanthosaurus will be unique in my collection, but still I think Papo made a lazy choice with it.

[Rathalosaurus]

Yeah, well. I think the colours look better on the Acro.

[Dobber]

I think the Afro looks great but agree that it is VERY much like the "Rainbow" Rex. Purple on the back then yellow/orange, then a thin purple line, then fading yellow/orange to gray. I don't mind it but don't get how some say they aren't alike. 

Chris

[Reptilia]

Now with the Acrocanthosaurus sporting the same colours the T-Rex repaints have become simply redundant.

[tanystropheus]

I think the Afro looks great but agree that it is VERY much like the "Rainbow" Rex...

Rainbow afros always look great 

[tanystropheus]

I think the Acro would look pretty grand if reimagined in REBOR's color scheme.

I had the same thought, and have already contacted Martin Garrett about repainting it to match the Rebor one Going to be a killer diorama with the two

Definitely keep us updated. I might follow your lead 

[The Atroxious]

I share your point of view 
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mmm... I think the choosen pose for the cryo is not related to being retro syle, but to handle the center of gravity problem. and at the same time, they took a risk on the feet posture of the Ceratosaurus.

I say again, I like this teropods, but "Holy fenestrae Batman!".

Aesthetically, I actually like the Cryo's pose. I'm not at all bothered by rearing dinosaurs personally, considering how many birds rear up similarly. I just have doubts if the tail of Cryolophosaurus could bend that way. I'm not a huge fan of the genus, and I'm not up-to date on its physiology, but perhaps that makes me more lenient toward the figure than I otherwise would be. I just like how slim, graceful, and spiky it looks, especially when juxtaposed against the recent trend toward making dinosaurs more pudgy and/or bulky.

I guess alot depends on what figures you find aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable to look at. I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I absolutely detest feathered dinosaurs (even though the feathers on some dinosaurs are certainly a fact). I almost wish they had never discovered the feathers on iconic dinosaurs...or better yet, that the animals themselves never had them. I guess there is just something about seeing boyhood favorite dinosaurs like the big theropods, raptors, etc. looking less like vicious monsters & more like mutated chickens that kinda takes the wind out of one's sails.
Now mind, if you are  going for scientific accuracy the models should be feathered, as the animals obviously were. I just PREFER the look of the old traditional beasts with skin & scales & no feathers. Me personally, just to LOOK at, I would more would rather look at Papo's running T.rex sitting on my shelf than Safari's feathered T.rex, even though it's a  given that Safari's model is probably more accurate (I say "probably", as as far as I know there STILL is no direct evidence that Tyrannosaurus itself was covered in feathers). It sorta goes to the adage of "if you are gonna spend money, do you want something that you enjoy LOOKING at but isn't 100% accurate, or something you really do not care for but it more accurate. As I said, I almost wish the animals never had them and stayed the way we all grew up with! That said, however, if the animals DID have feathers, then I definitely want to see the companies make them that way, even if I personally like the look of the unfeathered dinosaurs better from a purely personal point of view.
I  guess that's why my collection is full of Safari & CollectA figures for scientific accuracy (well, "relative" accuracy sometimes!) and Papo figures for their (to me) striking aesthetic appeal. But that's just me!

Well, I have a personal bias for feathers, especially considering that my dino-mania spawns from the fact that I think birds are the most awesome animals in existence, and as it happens, birds are dinosaurs, so I have a special weakness for any reasonably birdlike dinosaur. For that matter, the idea of mutated chickens sounds awesome to me. Under the right conditions, however, scaly dinosaurs can strike my fancy too. The thing about feathers is that they're so diverse, frequently ornamental, and can easily make an animal look more imposing and/or beautiful than it would without feathers. That said, I agree the Papo running rex has a certain appeal. I love the battered-up, snaggle-toothed look the head has. That figure looks like he has a personality and a story, and I find myself intrigued by him. That's saying something since I usually find Tyrannosaurus to be a fairly ugly, unappealing theropod. The main thing that keeps me from being tempted to buy him is the fact that the body is far too small compared to the head, and the arms are too long and skinny. The wonky proportions distract from the gorgeous head sculpt, and just kills the effect for me. On the other hand, I also love the Safari feathered Tyrannosaurus. Her proportions are a lot more realistic, and she actually looks suitably muscular. Too often I've seen Tyrannosaurus toys that look like they have some sort of wasting disease, with the pubis jutting out awkwardly and practically no definition in the arms or legs. Moreover, the feathers do make her look more imposing, which is always a plus in my eyes. I almost hate to say it, but I'm slightly tempted to buy the Safari Tyrannosaurus. It's a low priority temptation, since there are dozens of dinosaur toys I'm more keen on, but I never thought I'd again see the day I liked a Tyrannosaurus toy enough to consider it.

Funny you say that because I said basically the same thing just now in my Safari Velociraptor review that I posted on the blog this morning.

Similar sentiment, though I'm not overly fond of retrosaurs, barring a few that are particularly well constructed or nostalgia-inducing (the Dakin Gallimimus being a prime example). I'd sooner see scaly non-coelurosaurs as toys if toy companies are not going to do their research on how soft tissue and feathers work. I don't even understand how Papo managed to botch the feathered Velociraptor's wings so badly, considering the Papo Archaeopteryx has some of the best feathered wings I've ever seen on a toy, including modern bird figures.

[Shadowknight1]

I think the Afro looks great but agree that it is VERY much like the "Rainbow" Rex. Purple on the back then yellow/orange, then a thin purple line, then fading yellow/orange to gray. I don't mind it but don't get how some say they aren't alike. 

Chris

The shades of purple between the two are different and the rainbow rex's stripes, to my eyes, are clearly a pale yellow-green while the stripes on the Acro lean more towards orange.  And I like the more blotchy striping on the Acro.  It looks more natural.

[Dobber]

I think the Afro looks great but agree that it is VERY much like the "Rainbow" Rex...

Rainbow afros always look great 

LOL! Stupid auto correct

Chris

[Saurox]

Any news in releases ?

[Shonisaurus]

In practice the colors that Papo puts are speculative, except the archeoteryx and microraptor we do not know for sure what it would be from the point of view of the coloration of the dinosaurs and most of the prehistoric animals except the Pleistocene and Holocene.

I guess they look for attractive colors to attract the potential buyer and of course many times they repeat themselves. Also the jaguar, leopard and cheetah have similar colors in regards to hair decoration for example.

As for the releases everything is purely speculative according to other years was February or March, but we know nothing when they will release their figures. I guess that when the fairs happen they will start to market first on ebay and amazon and then in the online stores and finally to the retailers and wholesalers who work on these products.

[Reptilia]

I bet they'll come out in two or three waves, being a total of nine. I hope the theropods will be the first, can't wait to get the Cryolophosaurus and I'm particularly eager to see how the other two look in person.

[Shadowknight1]

Well, I'm definitely getting the Acro.  Might get the Cryo too, have some fond memories of that guy in Warpath Jurassic Park.  Probably gettin both phoenixes.

[Reptilia]

Well, I'm definitely getting the Acro.

Which one do you prefer, Rebor or Papo?

[LophoLeeVT]

papo!! They are easier to get!

[Halichoeres]

Aesthetically, I actually like the Cryo's pose. I'm not at all bothered by rearing dinosaurs personally, considering how many birds rear up similarly. I just have doubts if the tail of Cryolophosaurus could bend that way. I'm not a huge fan of the genus, and I'm not up-to date on its physiology, but perhaps that makes me more lenient toward the figure than I otherwise would be. I just like how slim, graceful, and spiky it looks, especially when juxtaposed against the recent trend toward making dinosaurs more pudgy and/or bulky.

It really is a pretty figure. I'm not sure about the tail either. I just looked it up and evidently recent systematic work has found it to be a tetanuran--that surprised me, since I thought it was outside that clade. The holotype includes quite a lot of caudal vertebrae, and they bear substantial neural and hemal spines, as well as inflexible-looking zygapophyses and lateral processes. It seems to me that at least the proximal half of the tail would have been relatively resistant to bending, but I could be wrong.

[Reptilia]

Another thing I'm not particularly fond of on the Acrocanthosaurus are the white spikes decorating the sail. They look like bony protrusions, which is unlikely the animal would have had in life.

[BlueKrono]

That's just to make it look more Godzillaesque. Awesome bro!