PhilSauria's Paleo Plastic Collection

[Shonisaurus]

@PhilSauria My congratulations on your new acquisitions, the PNSO carcharodontosaurus is very large, its Safari counterpart which is medium-small. Recur's elasmosaurus is a very funny figure, I have it in my collection and I honestly like it because of its position, it is very nice.

[Bokisaurus]

Lovely addition to the collection. I love that RECUR Plesio, such fun and active pose

[PhilSauria]

ADDITION

Have not had any new additions for a while, and probably won't be for the foreseeable (check below) but I saw this unbranded Pterosaur of indeterminate species on Ali a while ago and liked the look of it, so order placed. It's made of a rubber of some sort but has a fair degree of detail in the sculpt and the paintwork is quite neatly applied. So all up not too bad for the fairly low price.



It displays well with the Dinostar Tapejara, being of a similar size and colour scheme. If anyone knows what species it could be feel free to enlighten me. Some sort of Dsungaripterid?



As always thanks to those who took the time to look in and comment.

DIALING BACK ON THE DINOS

PNSO have finally worn me down!! I really like their product and would like to be a loyal customer but the steadily increasing prices for each release (it seems like) have forced me to re-evaluate where my collecting budget goes each month. Paleo plastic is not the only area of interest that I throw money at and fill shelves with. The price of one PNSO figure these days would buy me multiple items in other collecting focus purchasing, so rather than face the ongoing frustration of wanting to buy the latest release from them, with one appearing just about every other week, and being frustrated that I can't afford it (and don't get me started on shipping!) I will not be buying many more Paleo figures going forward. A fellow DTF member has arranged for a 'holy grail' of mine to head my way (thanks again Patrick!) and I have the Nanmu 'Future King' on the way (delayed yet again in reaching Australia, I was informed during the week) but that's it for now.

[Bokisaurus]

Very nice addition! What a coincidence that you post a photo of that pterosaur when @RobinGoodfellow also just posted the very same figure on his thread 🤣
I don't shop Alliexpress, maybe one day I can find it on eBay.
It does go well with that Dinostar model.😃

[RobinGoodfellow]

..well, I think that the unknown flying reptile could be an Hamipterus.
As you can see here (  http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3228.msg303472#msg303472 ) , it seems that the unbranded figure could match with some artworks from the artist Chuang Zhao.
I can't be 100% sure about that but it seems the figure can match with artworks.
Regards

[PhilSauria]

Thanks for the ID on the mystery Pterosaur. I have Mark Witton's book but could not find a close enough match in there and also had that image you posted come up in a search for 'Pterosaur', but none of the sources named the species, just used it to illustrate articles about Pterosaur behaviour. For now then, this is what I'm calling it in my collection catalogue.

[PhilSauria]

THE FINAL ADDITION

This one arrived just after Christmas (hoped that it would get here before 'the big day' but pandemics and postal services are not all that compatible it seems). I wasn't going to add it here, such is my diminished enthusiasmm for the hobby (see below) but I'd taken the photos so...

It's certainly very impressive coming out of the box and was everything that I'd hoped it would be, I even went that little bit further and plugged for the base as well. Aside from this one being very much a show-piece in and of itself, the pose being very similar to a figure that I admire but will never own, the Sideshow T-rex, was another selling point for me.



It also sizes up well with the Papo Triceratops.




So, that's it for me. Put simply; I can't afford this hobby any more. I rather ambitiously, in hindsight, aimed to just focus on PNSO figures, but the steadily increasing price tags for these has put an end to that plan. (I can get two books, a DVD and a record for the price of the new Triceratops!!)

Added to this is the price of international shipping (in some cases costing more than the item you are paying to have shipped). I used to order a lot from Everything Dinosaur but can't afford their shipping costs since they rose a few years back, and learning that local supplier here in Australia, Mini Zoo, where I used to source the majority of purchases over the last few years, have raised their minimum layby to a staggering $200!! and there's your final nail in the collecting coffin for me.

My money, what there is of it, will now be directed to other areas of interest where I can get more value for that money. I am so dispirited by it all at the moment that I may downsize my collection during the year and just hang onto a core selection, such as the PNSO figures that I already have, all of my 'high-end' purchases, the sauropods (though some of those may go) and my Mammoth herd.

Enjoy the last images, if you're not sick of seeing this figure yet (not sure how many others have posted pix as I've not checked in here for a few months) and sayonara.

[RobinGoodfellow]

It's really sad that you're  leaving this hobby due to increasing shipping cost.
I always enjoyed to follow this thread.
We'll miss your pictures. 

[ceratopsian]

I shall miss your posts. I hope your other areas of interest prove absorbing and fruitful.

[Lanthanotus]

Hello Phil,

I sincerely hope we will hear (and see) of you in the future, even with longer intervalls. Yeah, prices are increasing and PNSO releases so fast, only few can keep pace with it. I for myself do neither have space for all models I`d want nor the money, but after all, a collection can be maintained in different ways and in individual paces. However, I can chime in with ceratopsian and wish you a satisfying time with those other interests.

[suspsy]

Sorry to hear it, @PhilSauria. Hopefully you'll be able to resume collecting in time. And given how well received your previous reviews for the blog have been, I hope you'll be willing to contribute more in the future if you so desire. That impressive T. rex for example.

[Shonisaurus]

I am sorry that you are discouraged and that you stop collecting figures from online stores of a lifetime because of shipping costs. Certainly now for many of us it is much more difficult to collect than before, in any case you have made a good addition to your collection, that Nanmu tyrannosaurus is something great that fortunately with great sacrifices as you say you have allowed yourself anyway congratulations enjoy of the figure which by the way is great for any collector. We will have to be patient (at least in my case) and wait with a phlegmatic and stoic attitude for better times.

[JohannesB]

@PhilSauria I know the feeling, because I too can't buy from many 'close by' retailers anymore, since shipping costs and VAT have become prohibitively high. The only place I can order from is China, really. (If the seller does not frak up and I have to pay VAT twice.) But that Tyrannosaurus from Nanmu is a great figure and I hope you will enjoy it for many years 

[Bokisaurus]

Sorry to hear about all of these, but I do understand the reasoning behind your decision. You will be missed and good luck to you, who knows maybe one day your passion will be rekindled again.

[Fenestra]

I can relate to your gloom. 
It's been a depressive couple of years. It affects our hobbies. Prices asked for anything right now are insane. And I mean for figures (toys!) as well as shipping prices. Ridiculous.

Be happy with yourself that you realise in time it is ridiculous, instead of keep buying overpriced things because it makes you feel better for just a few minutes.  Things will get better.

"It can't rain all the time" Eric Draven

[PhilSauria]

Thanks for the comments - much appreciated!

And thanks to the perceptive comment / observation from @Fenestra, putting it all in perspective and echoing my thoughts at the moment.

It's not the end of the world if I can no longer continue to fill a part of our house with plastic Dinosaurs, no matter how well made they are these days. As long as you and your family are healthy and secure in the current climate then being able to enjoy your hobbies and interests is just the icing on the cake. Being only a couple of years from retirement I have been prioritising parts of my life, and I know that at that point whatever disposable income I have will likely be reduced so I am also preparing for that eventuality.

My fascination for things prehistoric will never go away, it's just that I can no longer afford or justify the cost now involved to aquire tangible manifestations of that interest. But at least I can still sit back and admire the number of figures that I have been able to collect over the last twelve years or so on top of the dozen or so models I had as a child that surprisingly survived not being lost in numerous house moves over the years!

It's a great time to be a collector with so much on offer and so much if it of a high quality but the down side is that you could go into debt trying to keep up with it all!

Pick your battles and adding to my shelves everything that I'd like to see up there is a battle I can't win, so (and at the risk of sounding overly dramatic, which is not my intention) I'm walking away from this one.