CollectA: New for 2018

[japfeif]

Every time I go through the Collecta catalogue I can't help but wonder why they don't just axe all of their pre 2012 production? All of those early lackluster figures must be good sellers if they keep them going.

OMG no kidding......whenever I see some of their early ones, like their Tyrannosaurus 88036, I just want to cringe. I try to weed out the older ones as newer sculpts come out, but I try to keep one of each species (so unfortunately I am stuck with their junky Allosaurus & Eustreptospondylus, et. al., as for the moment it's either these guys or nothing so far...)

[Flaffy]

From MonsterhouseHK, Hong Kong toy fair 2018.








More at: https://www.facebook.com/monsterhousehk/

[Patrx]

Hm. Is it me, or is there something amiss with the Brontosaurus' neck? I'd be curious to see it from the front, from here it doesn't look wide enough overall.

[Jose S.M.]

I don't know about the neck but I see some difference in the head, this one looks more rounded than the first page image, maybe it's the angle or something but looks different, more like the head of older sauropods from them.

[Shonisaurus]

My opinion on the figures seeing the exhibition is as follows:

Estemmenosuchus looks better in those photos than in the initial promotional photo. I also like the detail of the figure with the mouth closed. It seems to the naked eye bigger than I thought the figure would be. 

The gomphoterium is honestly not the kind of prehistoric elephant I would have liked, although it is not a bad figure, its details of painting and its modeling leave it far behind the other figures of prehistoric mammals of Collecta.

The dunkleosteus is a great sculpture, although I respect Collecta's philosophy I would have liked it with another painting.

On the other hand the ceratosaurus I still say that it is very good sculpture, outstanding from my honest point of view but what spoils it is that war painting on the head or rather on the skull.   

The iguanodon seems to me together with the estemmenosuchus and dimetrodon one of the best figures of dinosaurs of Collecta made so far with details of a quality and beauty for me amazing. It is a good tribute to such a dinosaur considering that it was one of the first dinosaurs discovered by paleontology in the nineteenth century. 

The mantellisaurus I see it inmemorable, in spite of all its painting is elegant and has some very good details.

Regarding the dimetrodon, it seems to me one of the best figures together with iguanodon, estemmenosuchus and ceratosaurus made by the brand Collecta. 

As far as brontosaurus is concerned, I do not obviously understand paleontology but I see that the sickle is too long from my humble point of view.

The next figure sciurumimus is a very good and dignified figure but due to the size (which must be very small) I know this figure little by little.

My opinion about the feathered Tyrannosaurus rex that is much better than in promotional photos and most importantly at first glance seems to have no sustainability problems. It is as outstanding as its predecessor was. 

Finally the mapusaurus is sincerely another figure next to the gomphoterium that does not convince me at all. It would be hypocritical if I commented something else. I see it little voluminous for the type of theropod that I imagine above all after watching Dinosaur Planet of the BBC.

The rating that would put his figures is outstandingly high but honestly in some figures could have been improved without recognizing that Collecta is one of my favorite companies.

[suspsy]

Thank you for posting that link. I'm very pleased and impressed by the size of the Iguanodon, the Dimetrodon, the Estemmenosuchus, the Dunkleosteus, and the Gomphotherium, although they will admittedly end up consuming a great deal of collection space! And I don't care what anyone says; I really like that new T. rex. And the little Sciurumimus is absolutely adorable. 

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I don't know about the neck but I see some difference in the head, this one looks more rounded than the first page image, maybe it's the angle or something but looks different, more like the head of older sauropods from them.

It might be the angle.  The snouts look wide from above, it just shouldn't be bulbous.   The neck...i need a front, overhead or below shot. 

Did they shrink the Ceratosaur's teeth?  The promo image seemed to have them longer. 

[suspsy]

I don't know about the neck but I see some difference in the head, this one looks more rounded than the first page image, maybe it's the angle or something but looks different, more like the head of older sauropods from them.

It might be the angle.  The snouts look wide from above, it just shouldn't be bulbous.   The neck...i need a front, overhead or below shot. 

It could well be the angle, yes. Just have to wait for some in-hand pics.

Did they shrink the Ceratosaur's teeth?  The promo image seemed to have them longer.

Wouldn't be shocking if they did. Final products are often less pointy than the prototypes. Just look at how the teeth on the WS T. rex compares to the ones on Doug's prototype.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

less pointy I get.. but the length is one of the species defining characteristics.   He's sorta looking like the Mapusaurus right now around the mouth area.

[Faelrin]

Thanks for sharing the pics. I really do still want that Dunkleosteus, although I do like the general body shape a bit more on the Schleich one, which was more meatier or robust. Otherwise I do like the shape of the tail, and the head. I really like how it looks from the front, with its mouth closed. It looks like quite cute, and seems to have lips too.

Can't say I'm as excited for the production version of the Estemmenosuchus. Something about it is just throwing it off for me. In any case, I'm still glad they have a figure of it, but I might pass on this one (aside from the fact it is quite large, and would no doubt dwarf my other Permian period figures from Safari Ltd).

My other thoughts on these images: I didn't know CollectA was releasing a Muskox this year too. It looks really good (and similar to Safari Ltd's in terms of sculpt and colors). The Iguanodon is looking really nice. Is it just me or does it have a gold colored iris? Definitely another nice accurate Iguanodon though. Might be good for those that find the Safari Ltd one too small for their collections, or for the classic green color it has. I am bit disappointed with what I'm seeing of the Brontosaurus right now. I really hope it is just the angle here, and that it still looks as impressive and meatier as it did in the promo pic seen before, as well as the other pic of it in the catalogue. The head seems kind of worse too. My thoughts haven't changed on any of the others though.

[John]

The production version of the Ceratosaurus is not as nice as the prototype...nor is the Brontosaurus.
In the ceratosaur's case,among other anatomical issues common to CollectA's line it appears that the teeth have been reduced in length from the prototype to allow for easier articulation in the lower jaw.This is why I don't like this feature in models...
The two iguanodonts on the other hand look great to me.

[Ravonium]

Oh, so these photos have finally come out? I might as well give a few updated opinions on some of the models in the photos:


Brontosaurus: All I have to say is: CollectA, you sure know how to deceive us with angles! On the angle of the promo image, the Brontosaurus looks like a fairly large model: Here, it just looks pathetically small.


Dimetrodon: If the lighting of the photo isn't deceiving me, then all that I will say is that the green here looks a bit more natural in tone than in the promo image. If the lighting of the photo is deceiving me, then my opinions have not changed on it at all.


Dunkelosteus: The details here look much better than in the promo. As a few have already noted, the black eyes appear to work really well with this model. After viewing these images, I've decided to get it regardless of any scale obsession I have.


Apart from those three models, my opinions have not really changed that much on any of the others.

[Shonisaurus]

Undoubtedly the figures that I like the most are iguanodon, mantellisaurus, tyrannosaurus rex feathered, dimetrodon and estemmenosuchus. Ceratosaurus is one of my favorites but it spoils his war paint on his skull a lot. All these are very cool and very nice. 

Sciuromimus I also like but unfortunately it is too small from my humble point of view, however it is a great figure. 

Dunkleosteos is very good and I also like although I respect the philosophy of Collecta and Doug Watson who is a person understood in paleontology and will know more in my case that a server that is me, I have a different vision of dunkleosteus however is a awesome figure. 

The members that I like least about the group are the gomphoterium and the mapusaurus, sincerely speaking.

In this case I have graduated the figures that I like the most in the first ones and in the last ones I put the ones that I like least I know that it is my opinion but I can not be hypocritical. That does not mean I can not buy all those beauties.

I also have to admit that ceratosaurus is an impressive figure for me, but that painting on my skull seems unnatural. But what I said did not vary my position around the ceratosaurus that together with the iguanodon and the remains of figures from the first two paragraphs are the most beautiful from my point of view.   

[PhilSauria]

The curse of the promo image stikes again. They build interest for sure but does there have to be such a big gap between what is promised and what is delivered in terms of the item being promoted. Despite this most of the figures that I intended to buy will still end up on my shelves, it's just that my enthusiasm for the Brontosaurus has diminished slightly (but Sauropod figures have to be pretty bad for me to pass them up) but I am still anticipating the Iguanodon just as much, if not more.

[tanystropheus]

...well, at least the Estemmenosuchus,Iguanodon and Dunk still looks good.

P.S: The Gomph looks pretty respectable in the other pictures (not included above).

[Reptilia]

Collecta stock images are probably the most misleading of all brands' promos. The Gomphotherium, which I didn't care for, here looks interesting. The Dunkleosteus, Estemmenosuchus and Dimetrodon are top class figures, really. Even the T-Rex looks better, it's a nice sculpt actually, if only didn't have that awful mohawk and was just black-brown-cream coloured. The real monster of this year seems to be the Iguanodon though, as huge and impressive as the Styracosaurus was the past year.

Only disappointment is the Brontosaurus, yeah, that seems to share more with older Collecta sauropods than the promo suggested. The size is not bad, might probably be as big as the Papo Apatosaurus, but something in the head sculpt and how the neck and tail connect to the body now looks off.

Great stuff once again from Collecta, even the extants look pretty cool, beautiful hippo and whale. Now I feel a bit silly, cause I always tell to myself that I can't collect Collectas because of money and space limitations, but they keep on improving and making stunningly naturalistic and accurate models!

[suspsy]

I'd still like to hold off until more images of the Brontosaurus become available before passing final judgment. And even if the head is indeed off, I'm still going to snap this toy up as soon as it becomes available. It is the first proper Brontosaurus we've had in decades, after all!

And I like the size myself. It should scale well with the CollectA Diplodocus and the Carnegie Brachiosaurus.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Well at least a few errors will let me save a few bucks.  Trying to collect every figure is hard on space and budget in the long run.

[Reptilia]

Yes, I still don't understand how people with huge collections here deal with all of their stuff. At some point you probably need a warehouse or something, it must take a lot of money and effort anyway.

[John]

Upon taking a close look at it,the Ceratosaurus is still easily the best one to come out yet.It's body shape and proportions are spot on and I still like it's overall "character".Any nitpicks that I have about it can easily be remedied by modelling putty.