Killekor's Collection: Day 5

[Killekor]

Glad to hear you're pleased with your purchase. Merry Christmas!

Thank you Halicoeres!
I wish you a Merry Christmas too, and an Happy New Year full of happy moments!

Killekor

[Duna]

I'm very glad you got this fantastic figure, I'm still waiting mine since December 6th from ED (I wanted also the discontinued Safari nigersaurus, if not I would have purchased from Alcaiceria).
It's really nice to hear from you that it's very detailed and in spite of the differences in painting between the prototype, it's still a masterpiece.

Merry Christmas and Happy new year!

[Killekor]

I'm very glad you got this fantastic figure, I'm still waiting mine since December 6th from ED (I wanted also the discontinued Safari nigersaurus, if not I would have purchased from Alcaiceria).
It's really nice to hear from you that it's very detailed and in spite of the differences in painting between the prototype, it's still a masterpiece.

Merry Christmas and Happy new year!

Thanks for your comment Duna!
I wish you a Merry Christmas and an Happy new year too!
And I also wish you to receive soon your order from ED, containing your Papo Spinosaurus. I'm sure that you'll like it a lot!

Killekor

[Killekor]

Yesterday I finally found a store near where I now live that sells Schleich figures! Between the figures available there where all the new figures, and I bought the New Baryonyx together with last year's Dracorex. Here's my thoughts about them!



Dracorex
Brend: Schleich. Released in summer 2019.

It's a great figure, probably the best Schleich dinosaur ever. It's nicely sculpted and realistic, and i like its color scheme.
If I have to find a defect in it the only one that comes to my mind is it's really small size. When I saw it in the store I was surprised by how small it was (and in fact it didn't cost so much).

Vote: 8,5/10.





Baryonyx
Brand: Schleich. Just released (2020).

In my opinion this is the best Baryonyx figure currently available on the market.
It's well sculpted, and it's color scheme is nice.

The feet doesn't look oversized to me, but maybe its tail is a bit too short.
But what can be it's biggest problem for some people is when you close it's mouth. As you can see it's neck is too thin, and the overall effect is somewhat weird:



However, after you look at it for a couple times you get used to it and you end up liking it (at least this is what happened to me). Funnyly enough, it has the opposite problem of the CollectA Baryonyx.

I don't have many other things to say about this model, so here's some more photos of it!





And here's some comparison photos with other models!





My vote for it is 9,5 out of 10.

In closing, i wish to all of you an Happy new year! And even better: an Happy New Decade! It has been a wonderful decade for dinosaur collecting. May be the new one even better than this one!

See you in 2020!
Killekor

[Shonisaurus]

Thank you for sharing your photographs of the baryonyx Killekor. Sincerely one of the best figures on the market is the baryonyx of Schleich, what perhaps takes a little beauty from this outstanding figure of Schleich is his pink eyeball painting, he does not sincerely convince me. For the rest it is perhaps one of the best figures of baryonyx made to date, but in my case I still like the baryonyx of Favorite, this is perhaps the second best toy figure of that carnivorous theropod.

My congratulations Killekor and Happy Year 2020.

[Duna]

Congrats for your adquisitions! And thanks for the nice pictures, the Papo spino looks fantastic, I'm still waiting for mine. I also think that Scheich Dracorex is the best figure of the company and for me, the best Dracorex of that size.

[Killekor]

Thank you for sharing your photographs of the baryonyx Killekor. Sincerely one of the best figures on the market is the baryonyx of Schleich, what perhaps takes a little beauty from this outstanding figure of Schleich is his pink eyeball painting, he does not sincerely convince me. For the rest it is perhaps one of the best figures of baryonyx made to date, but in my case I still like the baryonyx of Favorite, this is perhaps the second best toy figure of that carnivorous theropod.

My congratulations Killekor and Happy Year 2020.

Thank you for your reply Shonisaurus!

Congrats for your adquisitions! And thanks for the nice pictures, the Papo spino looks fantastic, I'm still waiting for mine. I also think that Schleich Dracorex is the best figure of the company and for me, the best Dracorex of that size.

Thanks for your comment Duna! I also think that the Schleich Dracorex is the best Dracorex figure, and I recommend it to you as my other recent acquisitions.

Killekor

[Killekor]

Dinosaurs of the day: day 1.

Today I'll post pictures of the two nodosaur figures in my collection! Here they are:



Sauropelta
Brand: Safari. Released in 2015.

I don't have many Safari figures in my collection, mainly because I don't have the possibility of getting them from toy stores near me (in fact most of the figures I have are from Schleich, and I rarely but models online), but I'm really happy with the ones I have, and I'll like to get more in the future (such as the Deinocheirus)!
I've received this Sauropelta as a gift years ago, and I think that it's one of the best figures in my collection even if it's not between my favorite ones. It's accurate as it can be a dinosaur figure, we'll sculpted (as usual with Mr. Watson's @Doug Watson models) and with a great color scheme!
I find unsurprising that the other major brands (except Mattel) didn't even tried to make a Sauropelta after 2015, because this model reached the perfection with this dinosaur, in my opinion.

Vote: 9,5/10.



Animantarx
Brand: Schleich. Released in early 2019.

This is, in my opinion, another great nodosaur figure.
I like it's color scheme, even if it's so dull, and it's sculpted nicely. My favorite thing of it are it's eyes: it's so cute! It almost looks as a baby dinosaur in my opinion.

Furthermore, I really like when brands produce a model of an underrepresented dinosaur, and I have to say that Schleich made particularly bold bets in the dinosaur toy market (in my opinion). I didn't known the existence of Tawa, Animantarx and Barapasaurus before the announcement of the Schleich models.
Naturally I'm hoping for a Sinornithosaurus figure from any brand, someday... 

Vote: 9/10.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Have a nice day!
Killekor

[Libraraptor]

Nice little reviews, Killekor! I like the Animantarx as well,  although the tail is a little sloppy. Probably due to security reasons they didn´t sculpt it as pointed as it should be.

[Shonisaurus]

Nice comments and nice pictures. Sincerely, the animantarx is an acceptable figure by Schleich although the one I like best with these two figures is the Safari sauropelta, the Safari figure is much better finished and his painting is impeccable.

[Halichoeres]

It's a pity more stores near you don't carry Safari, but glad you've managed to get this one anyway. It's such a beauty.

[Killekor]

Thanks for the replies!

Nice little reviews, Killekor! I like the Animantarx as well,  although the tail is a little sloppy. Probably due to security reasons they didn´t sculpt it as pointed as it should be.

Thank you! I agree with you on the Animantarx's tail, although it's still a great figure!

Nice comments and nice pictures. Sincerely, the animantarx is an acceptable figure by Schleich although the one I like best with these two figures is the Safari sauropelta, the Safari figure is much better finished and his painting is impeccable.

Thanks! The Sauropelta is undoubtedly better from that point of view, but I personally feel that the Animantarx has something that the other figure doesn't have. Naturally these are just personal tastes.

It's a pity more stores near you don't carry Safari, but glad you've managed to get this one anyway. It's such a beauty.

I'm happy too that I have the Sauropelta in my collection, as you say it's a beauty!
Anyways, I wish too that there weren't only Schleich and Mattel figures near to where I live. I would like to see also stores with Papo, CollectA and Safari figures, so I could have the opportunity to get them more than how I bought them until now.
Fortunately there's Alcaicería who sell Safari figures and ship quite fast (1-2 days, I'm in Spain), but it's not the same thing.

Anyways, here's the:
Dinosaurs of the day: Day 2.

Today I'll show you other two Safari figures, from the Carnegie collection, precisely.
It was a really great line, and it's sad that all their models are now discontinued because many models of the line have still to be considered some of the best of their species.

So, let's start!



Carnegie Miragaia
Brand: Safari Ltd. Released in 2011.

This is a real classic of DinoToyCollecting, in my opinion.
It was my first Safari figure, which I received as a birthday gift; at that time I didn't even know the existence of Safari (Papo and Schleich were all I knew).
When I received this beautiful figure, wonderfully sculpted and painted, it immediately got an important place in my collection. I've been particularly impressed by its eyes's color scheme, and I immediately started searching information on which brand produced it and which other models were must haves for me.
It's accurate as far as I know, apart of the missing shoulder spikes (there's some scientific evidence of their existence?) and, in my opinion, it still beats easily all the other versions of this animal available on the market. Furthermore, I think that this is one of those figures that accurate or not will always be loved by collectors, because it is so aesthetically pleasing that it's irresistible for any collector.

Vote: 10/10.



Carnegie Microraptor
Brand: Safari Ltd. Released in 2005.

This is one of those great models which, unfortunately, are inaccurate because of the color scheme. this time I've not received it as a gift, but I've bought it via Amazon years ago.

Thought, it's still a great figure in terms of sculpting: the feathers are realistically made, the expression of the dinosaur is lifelike (like it was hunting), and the pose gives a great sense of movement if displayed in the right way (as you can see from the photo it's not necessarily a tripod model)!

I've considered for a long time the BotM Microraptor the best figure of its genus, but I now consider the Carnegie to be superior to it, even if inaccurate.
You may ask me why I have this preference. It's the same reason why I consider the Carnegie collection one of the greatest dinosaur lines ever, why in my opinion it had success for many long decades. I consider it a great line because I think that the elegant style of its models translate the beauty of the real animals better than most other DinoToy lines.

I hope that you enjoyed this new post. Have a nice day!

Killekor

[Shonisaurus]

I congratulate you on your two new acquisitions, true the Carnegie miragaia was the best of its kind I say "was" because Carnegie has stopped production. On the other hand, Carnegie's microraptor still fascinates me like the first day, I have it with his companions with pens that were produced in the same year in one of my shelves, that is to say the dilong, beipiaosaurus and caudipteryx along with the two versions of Carnegie's oviraptor both discontinued shortly (which I got thanks to a member of DTF) and the oviraptor whose version lasted until the end of production with feathers in the tail.

[Dinoguy2]

It's accurate as far as I know, apart of the missing shoulder spikes (there's some scientific evidence of their existence?) and, in my opinion, it still beats easily all the other versions of this animal available on the market.

According to the most recent paper out a few months ago, neither Miragaia nor the closely related Dacentrurus had shoulder spikes. So the Carnegie one remains accurate.

[Killekor]

I congratulate you on your two new acquisitions, true the Carnegie miragaia was the best of its kind I say "was" because Carnegie has stopped production. On the other hand, Carnegie's microraptor still fascinates me like the first day, I have it with his companions with pens that were produced in the same year in one of my shelves, that is to say the dilong, beipiaosaurus and caudipteryx along with the two versions of Carnegie's oviraptor both discontinued shortly (which I got thanks to a member of DTF) and the oviraptor whose version lasted until the end of production with feathers in the tail.

Thanks for the reply!

It's accurate as far as I know, apart of the missing shoulder spikes (there's some scientific evidence of their existence?) and, in my opinion, it still beats easily all the other versions of this animal available on the market.

According to the most recent paper out a few months ago, neither Miragaia nor the closely related Dacentrurus had shoulder spikes. So the Carnegie one remains accurate.

Oh, that's a surprise! So the Carnegie is now the most accurate Miragaia figure. I'm happy to know that, because it truly deserves to be the best of its kind. Thank you for the information!

Killekor

[Halichoeres]

I love that Miragaia! The Microraptor is also a really nice piece. One could just pretend it's some other microraptorine if the color bothers you

[Killekor]

I love that Miragaia! The Microraptor is also a really nice piece. One could just pretend it's some other microraptorine if the color bothers you

Thank you! I love the Microraptor even with wrong colors, which don't bother me.

Killekor

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

Congrats on your new acquisitions especially the beautiful Miragaia sculpt

[Killekor]

Congrats on your new acquisitions especially the beautiful Miragaia sculpt

Thank you!

Killekor

Spoiler

P.S. the two Carnegie's aren't new acquisitions... I bought them years ago, as I said in the post  . It would be nice if it was still so easy to find Carnegie figures as years ago!

[close]

[Killekor]

Dinosaurs of the day: Day 3.

Today we're going to look at three different famous mongolian dinosaurs! I've chosen three models I have of them in my collection, all by different companies.



Velociraptor (feathered)
Brand: Papo. Released in 2016.

I bought this figure three years ago, and I had the big luck to receive one without stability issues (although now it's starting to have them)! I actually did not expect that at all, so it has been a big surprise.
It's still (for me) one of the best Velociraptor figures available. The details of the sculpt are amazing (as usual from Papo) and I also like it's duck-like color scheme. In particular the way the mouth is made still impress me each time I see it, because the way it's sculpted and painted (with a glossy coat) make it so realistic that you can almost fear that the toy bites you! Seriously, it really looks like a wet mouth with sharp teeth and lips.
Even if it has it's problems of various types (from small inaccuracies to the way too visible seams) in my opinion this is a figure that should at least be considered as a possible addition, because it's wonderfully sculpted and it's a great paleoartistic work.
As you may know Papo is going to release a repaint of this figure. Let's hope that it will be stable!

Vote: 9,5/10 for my tastes, 8,5/10 as a figure.



Dino Rivals (Attack Pack) Protoceratops
Brand: Mattel (JWFK). Released in 2019 (original sculpt from 2018.

After looking at a Velociraptor it's natural to think at its most famous enemy. So here's one for you!
It's sad that until now there's haven't been really great figures of this animal, so it's great that some good versions (Wild past, CollectA, BotM...) are starting to appear in the DinoToyMarket! This is not one of such figures, but it's still a nice rendition of it.

I've bought this model (the only Protoceratops in my collection) last year, both because I liked it, because I wanted a Protoceratops in my collection and, finally, because it was the first time I saw a JWFK figure somewhere.
It's a nice figure, sculpted acceptably well and with a pleasing but not exceptional color scheme, which you can't expect from an figure of this kind (it's not BotM). The articulations are well made and it's really fun to play with it, especially with that neck ball joint that gives you a lot of possibilities. In particular I find interesting the tail "quills", even if they're probably inaccurate.
This is not an exceptional figure, but it met my tastes and I'm satisfied by it!

Vote: 7,5.



Oviraptor
Brand: Schleich. Released in 2018.

The last figure featured in this post is, as your can see, an Oviraptor!
In this case this is the best toy of this genus, one of the recent gems from Schleich. The only two problems it can't have are it's speculative Citipati crest (depending of what you think of this dinosaur) and it's dull color scheme (depending of your tastes).
You'll probably know my repaints, so probably you'll be surprised to know that I like the color scheme of this Oviraptor. I like it, and I also find it quite credible for a desert animal. Certainly it's an economical color scheme, though, and unfortunately it doesn't bring out all the beautiful details of the sculpt, which is spectacularly made. I don't know who the sculptor is but he/she made a great job with this figure.

Vote: 9,5/10.

Both the three figures we've examined today represent famous species, but it's interesting that none of them (except maybe the Oviraptor) is perfect.
In general it's easier to find an excellent figure of an obscure genus than of famous species like Tyrannosaurus or Compsognathus, even if the latter two have an exorbitant number of figures!
Maybe they're popularity itself it's the cause of the lack of a big number of good representatives it toy form. Maybe they're too influenced by Jurassic Park and other popular culture to convince most brands to produce perfect figures of them.
Not that theses versions never exist (Safari and CollectA for example made great figures of these genus), but there aren't as many perfect figures as there should be, considering the popularity of these dinosaurs.
What do you think?

I hope that you enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading and have a nice day!

Killekor