Fakes or Leaks? Safari 2018 models

[Patrx]

The 2017 rex also lists the city. Personally I'd prefer if they just said "PRC" since the stamp takes up so much space already.

Does it? That's interesting! I had just checked the 2017 Deinocheirus here in my office - "Made in China". . I do like "Made in PRC" better.

[sauroid]

i wonder if the extant animal figures in the pics are also new-upcoming Safari figures? sorry they just dont look familiar because i've been out of touch re: 2016/17 major brand extant animal releases.

[SBell]

How is the mastodon a strange choice? Mastodon toys are woefully few. Do you realize that if this is indeed a legit upcoming Safari product, it will end up being the first mastodon toy ever reviewed on the DTB?

If anything, this is one of the smartest choices Safari could have made.

Not even the Imperial or FameMaster mini are on there? Hmmm...

As for the models...they could be legit. They may also be special releases, given the extra details on the bottoms.

Or, back when they first released the mammal line, there was talk of further mammals that got scuttled for unknown (to us) reasons. Maybe they are revived models?

[Patrx]

I reached out to Safari about these; I figured they'd like to be informed.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention! We will look into the immediately.
Our 2018 collection is coming soon, so hopefully these leaks won't be a problem for very much longer. Hopefully you'll like what we have in store! And thanks again for alerting us.

This lends credibility to the notion that these are genuine. While they look really cool, it's almost too bad - I liked the way Safari handled the reveals for of the 2017 lineup. Hopefully, there are a lot more figures for 2018 so that some of them can remain mysterious for awhile

[Reptilia]

That's like saying that it was a strange choice to put the Tyrannosaurus rex and the Giganotosaurus in the same lineup given that they are both gigantic theropods with huge heads and tiny arms.

I wouldn't say that, Tyrannosaurus and Giganotosaurus have substantial differences, and the two Safari models reflect that, at least in my eye. It'd be more like Collecta released their Acrocanthosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus together. Mainly cause the sculpt is very similar and makes the two figures look very similar too, even if the actual animals in life would have had distinctive looks. But then again, it is just my own idea, I'm sure people won't mind and will be very happy to add those two new Safaris to their collections.

[terrorchicken]

ahhh Im so happy! Safari's bringing back more extinct mammals! I wonder if they were influenced by Papo's decision to add to their own long dormant extinct mammal line?

and a Colombian mammoth! they definitely listen to our requests! (now they just need a thylacosmilus and cave lion! and a cave bear b/c I hate the Papo one!)

as for being leaks, I know that with dolls, they often leak prototype doll head samples and shoe/bag samples on Chinese auctions sites all the time, long before the dolls using those parts are announced, so this isnt surprising.

[John]

As nice as the mammals are,(I like the mastodon the most of the three seen) I still hope to see something reptilian from Safari Ltd. as well.

[suspsy]

I'm sure we will all be pleased with whatever dinosaurs Safari has in store for 2018. My confidence in Doug Watson (and whoever the other sculptor is) is 100%.

And CollectA had better be on the alert now that Safari is back to making prehistoric mammals! Can't wait to see what they have in store for us as well! It actually wouldn't surprise or displease me if they too have a mammoth in the mix. Their only current mammoth toys are really showing their age.

[John]

I'm sure we will all be pleased with whatever dinosaurs Safari has in store for 2018. My confidence in Doug Watson (and whoever the other sculptor is) is 100%.

And CollectA had better be on the alert now that Safari is back to making prehistoric mammals! Can't wait to see what they have in store for us as well! It actually wouldn't surprise or displease me if they too have a mammoth in the mix. Their only current mammoth toys are really showing their age.

This is why I'm happy to see this competition between Safari and CollectA.I can appreciate that both companies go for accuracy rather than what the public would "expect" them to look like based on movies.
I wonder how many models will turn up this time from Safari?If their newer horse line from 2016 which started with about 14 or so horses then came out with about 6 or 7 the next year is any indication,then maybe we can expect maybe the same as the horses?Or if the dinosaurs are the biggest sellers,maybe more like this year's batch?We'll find out soon enough.

[PhilSauria]

If this is all legit then I for one am looking forward to a Colombian Mammoth, such a different looking animal to your regular mammoth with its lean build and long legs. Prehistoric mammals have been overlooked by too many manufacturers for too long, maybe they aren't as popular as the Dinosaurs but there are some spectacular creatures that could be rendered in plastic that might change that. Looking forward to further info on this one.

[Irritation]

I would love to see a new Entelodont. Hope this is true.

[ItsTwentyBelow]

Read through all the comments and you'll see that just a few posts up, a forum member said they contacted Safari about these, and they're pretty much confirmed as new releases that were leaked early.

I'm excited! The Columbian Mammoth is my home state's official fossil (Washington) and this one looks great! I think just yesterday I was hoping that Safari would FINALLY churn out some new mammals for 2018, now that the Carnegie Collection has been out of the picture for a couple years. I still can't get over how much the Carnegie tried to control Safari's own prehistoric releases.

Is it about time to create a "New for 2018" sub forum, mods?

[suspsy]

Out of respect for Doug and Safari, I think we should wait for official images to be released before starting a "New for 2018" thread.

[ItsTwentyBelow]

Of course, that makes sense.

This is a tantalizing peek! I'm looking forward to what else might be in store, in due time.

[Irritation]

I'm mostly pumped for the Daeodon, although, if there will be a Mastodon, I will be very pleased.
Guess we'll have to wait and see the others hopefully soon.

[Neosodon]

I really hope they are not just stopping at mammals next year. I don't collect anything post Mesozoic.

[stargatedalek]

I'm not generally interested in mammals, especially not elephants, but mastodon are more or less a "local thing" here in NS so I'll probably get it at some point.

Lots of mammals this year, if this represents a growing library of non-dinosaurs in general I'm hopeful for some other reptiles.

[The Atroxious]

I really hope they are not just stopping at mammals next year. I don't collect anything post Mesozoic.

Same. I almost never buy mammal toys, so it's kind of hard for me to get excited about these. I sincerely doubt they'd only be doing mammals, though. I can't see a reason why they'd stop doing reptiles and such all of a sudden.

[tanystropheus]

It's only a month early. They will be revealing the models within the next few weeks, anyway.

The Mammals Line was planned for a few years already. Perhaps, there is a larger assortment of prehistoric models (mammals + reptiles/birds) this year...or the same, at the very least.

I don't want to sound greedy, but I hope this is the beginning of a series of exotic prehistoric elephants...also, let's not forgo the annual ceratopsian figure 

[AcroSauroTaurus]

I'm surprised that they're bringing back the extinct mammal line, I thought Doug said that Safari weren't making any more extinct mammals some years ago. However, they're probably bringing the line back now that the Carnegie line is extinct. (Which is not a bad thing at all, I've been wanting an affordable Columbian Mammoth, hopefully we get a Deinotherium and an Elasmotherium as well.)