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avatar_Archosauria

"Baryonyx Curse"

Started by Archosauria, April 20, 2018, 07:24:07 AM

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Archosauria

Baryonyx Walkeri has always been one of my favorite dinosaurs, and because of this I'm always on the lookout for a good Baryonyx toy/model.
But I have recently been convinced that there aren't any.
(Now, by "good" I mean "accurate." There are still a few nice Baryonyx models, but none are fully accurate.)

There just aren't any. Even if a figure comes close to being accurate, there is always at least one, one thing wrong with it.
I call this phenomenon "The Baryonyx Curse."
Every other dinosaur that has been immortalized in plastic (that I can think of) has at least one accurate model that does its species justice. Not Baryonyx, though.

The Baryonyx toy that comes the closest would probably be Invicta's Baryonyx from the 80's, but even this model has inaccuracies like pronated wrists.
The Invicta Baryonyx is from the 1980's so I guess some slight errors can be excused, but it is still, to this day, one of the most accurate Baryonyx models. Why? Why after 30+ years of paleontological progress and a whole slew of beautiful, true to life dinosaur toys released over the years, would Baryonyx not be better represented?

Here is a list of every Baryonyx figure that I know of and its corresponding inaccuracies.

1.) Jurassic Park Electronic Baryonyx by Kenner. This older figure has pronated wrists, a short, skinny tail, a horribly inaccurate skull, the dewclaw is positioned wrong, it lacks a notch in the upper jaw and it is missing the trademark thumb claw.

2.) Jurassic Park Baryonyx V2. A noticeable improvement over the last one, this one still has problems. The tail is too thin and too limp, the body is too lean, the nostrils are at the tip of the snout rather than the back, the wrists are pronated and the upper jaw lacks a notch.

3.) Carnegie Baryonyx by Safari LTD. This model is okay, but it is altogether far too lean. It's just too skinny. It has no meat on its body. The arms appear too thin. It also seems to be missing several teeth.

4.) Schleich Baryonyx. Ugh. This model is notoriously bad. It's tail is too thin, the skull is all wrong, the nostrils are placed too close to the front of the snout, the wrists are pronated, the feet are unrealisticly planted on the ground, it's body is very rotund, the pose would be impossible for a Baryonyx to assume and it lacks the notch in the upper snout. At least its smile is charming...

5.) Geoworld Baryonyx. Geoworld models aren't always very good, but this is one of their better figures. However, it is still plagued by Baryonyx Curse. The arms are laughably too short, the hands are pronated, it lacks the crest between the eyes and it is missing the characteristic notch in the upper snout.

6.) Papo Baryonyx. One of the most recent of the Baryonyx lineage, it certainly is striking but it isn't safe from the Baryonyx Curse. The pose is very awkward and would be very hard, if not, impossible for a real Baryonyx to achieve. It lacks the large front teeth the real animal would of had, the head, while seemingly accurate at first, is actually more like a Spinosaurus skull. The bottom teeth project from the bottom jaw when it's shut, when in reality, they'd be concealed within the mouth. Additionally, the nostrils are positioned wrong, the crest is in the wrong spot on the head and the upper-jaw notch seems too long.

7.) Mojo Fun Baryonyx. This Baryonyx is probably the closest we've gotten to an accurate Baryonyx since the Invicta one. However, the animal seems too lean, the tail seems too thin and curves at an unrealistic angle, and, judging solely from the promo image, the nostrils are far too close to the tip of the snout. We'll have to wait for this one to be officially released to judge this one further.

8.) Jurassic World Baryonyx. A pretty nice electronic Baryonyx, it, like the Mojo one, comes pretty close to being accurate but it still misses the mark. The arms seem too short, the head is too broad (though it's more accurate than the movie version), the crest is not large enough and the creature seems to lack nostrils completely.

9.) CollectA deluxe Baryonyx. This model is just strange looking. The wrists are pronated, the neck is very thin, the body is far too round, the skull is shrink wrapped and too thin, and the spine seems to curve too far back (in my opinion)

10.) CollectA standard Baryonyx. I think this one is slightly better than the Deluxe version, but the wrists are still pronated, the body seems too thick, the nostrils are placed too close to the tip of the snout, the tail base is too thin and the tail itself is too short and too thin. The legs also seem...odd.

11.) Wild Republic Baryonyx. An obvious homage/rip off of the Invicta Baryonyx, the skull is too short and too broad, it lacks a head crest and the tail is too short.

So there it is. Conclusive evidence of Baryonyx curse. No Baryonyx figure is without fault.

Perhaps I missed some or got some aspects about the models wrong, but I am still fully convinced that there has not been a "good" Baryonyx model since the Invicta one.

That was all the Baryonyx models that I know of. Know of any more that suffer from "Baryonyx Curse?" Know of any that managed to shake the curse?
"Dinosaurs may be extinct from the face of the earth, but they are alive and well in our imaginations"

-Steve Miller


IrritatorRaji

Atleast Baryonyx has some good figures, just consider yourself lucky that you're not a fan of Eustreptospondylus :(



Archosauria

Quote from: IrritatorRaji on April 20, 2018, 07:32:59 AM
Atleast Baryonyx has some good figures, just consider yourself lucky that you're not a fan of Eustreptospondylus :(



Yikes. The bottom one is ok, I guess, but that CollectA one. Ew.
"Dinosaurs may be extinct from the face of the earth, but they are alive and well in our imaginations"

-Steve Miller


Roselaar

I take it the Invicta Baryonyx is more than a little outdated and the new Mattel Baryonyx also isn't a serious contender?

Halichoeres

There aren't any good Megalosaurus figures either, but Baryonyx certainly hasn't been done well in light of how often it's been done at all. I actually like the looks of the Mojo one okay, but I'm not much of a theropod expert so whatever inaccuracies it might have are not things that I noticed. The Safari line has been replacing a lot of the Carnegie dinosaurs over the last couple of years; I wonder if we should expect one from them or if it's too close to Suchomimus.
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IrritatorRaji

Quote from: Archosauria on April 20, 2018, 07:24:07 AM
8.) Jurassic World Baryonyx. A pretty nice electronic Baryonyx, it, like the Mojo one, comes pretty close to being accurate but it still misses the mark. The arms seem too short, the head is too broad (though it's more accurate than the movie version), the crest is not large enough and the creature seems to lack nostrils completely.


Tbh I actually think the Mattel Baryonyx is really good. The short arms are kinda something you can look past and, oddly enough, the toy looks so much better when it's mouth is permanently closed (I blu-tacked my figures mouth shut)


Also, it does have nostrils, they're just not made abundantly clear.

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Takama

Quote from: Halichoeres on April 20, 2018, 03:51:50 PM
There aren't any good Megalosaurus figures either, but Baryonyx certainly hasn't been done well in light of how often it's been done at all. I actually like the looks of the Mojo one okay, but I'm not much of a theropod expert so whatever inaccuracies it might have are not things that I noticed. The Safari line has been replacing a lot of the Carnegie dinosaurs over the last couple of years; I wonder if we should expect one from them or if it's too close to Suchomimus.

Keep in mind That Safari is the companey that made a Kronosaurus when they alredy had a Lioplurodon, and a Giganotosaurus when they alredy had a Carchradontosaurus.  Im pretty sure we can expect a Baryonyx in the future from them.     Likely in 1:35 Scale, or oversized like there Amargasaurus

Archosauria

"Dinosaurs may be extinct from the face of the earth, but they are alive and well in our imaginations"

-Steve Miller

Archosauria

Quote from: Halichoeres on April 20, 2018, 03:51:50 PM
There aren't any good Megalosaurus figures either, but Baryonyx certainly hasn't been done well in light of how often it's been done at all. I actually like the looks of the Mojo one okay, but I'm not much of a theropod expert so whatever inaccuracies it might have are not things that I noticed. The Safari line has been replacing a lot of the Carnegie dinosaurs over the last couple of years; I wonder if we should expect one from them or if it's too close to Suchomimus.
You know, I've never really thought about Megalosaurus. You'd think for it being such a significant dinosaur we'd see it constantly. I wonder why we don't?

I sure hope Safari grants us a worthy Baryonyx in the years to come. They're my favorite brand and I know they could pull it off really well.
"Dinosaurs may be extinct from the face of the earth, but they are alive and well in our imaginations"

-Steve Miller

Archosauria

Quote from: IrritatorRaji on April 20, 2018, 04:08:45 PM
Quote from: Archosauria on April 20, 2018, 07:24:07 AM
8.) Jurassic World Baryonyx. A pretty nice electronic Baryonyx, it, like the Mojo one, comes pretty close to being accurate but it still misses the mark. The arms seem too short, the head is too broad (though it's more accurate than the movie version), the crest is not large enough and the creature seems to lack nostrils completely.


Tbh I actually think the Mattel Baryonyx is really good. The short arms are kinda something you can look past and, oddly enough, the toy looks so much better when it's mouth is permanently closed (I blu-tacked my figures mouth shut)


Also, it does have nostrils, they're just not made abundantly clear.

Hey it does look a lot better with the mouth shut.
Truth be told, the Baryonyx is the JW:FK figure I've been most excited for. I just can't find it anywhere for the MSRP...
Despite a few inaccuracies here and there it is actually really good. Funny how Jurassic World, of all brands, got Baryonyx almost spot-on...
It's like some twisted form of irony.
"Dinosaurs may be extinct from the face of the earth, but they are alive and well in our imaginations"

-Steve Miller

Archosauria

Quote from: Takama on April 20, 2018, 04:22:11 PM
Quote from: Halichoeres on April 20, 2018, 03:51:50 PM
There aren't any good Megalosaurus figures either, but Baryonyx certainly hasn't been done well in light of how often it's been done at all. I actually like the looks of the Mojo one okay, but I'm not much of a theropod expert so whatever inaccuracies it might have are not things that I noticed. The Safari line has been replacing a lot of the Carnegie dinosaurs over the last couple of years; I wonder if we should expect one from them or if it's too close to Suchomimus.

Keep in mind That Safari is the companey that made a Kronosaurus when they alredy had a Lioplurodon, and a Giganotosaurus when they alredy had a Carchradontosaurus.  Im pretty sure we can expect a Baryonyx in the future from them.     Likely in 1:35 Scale, or oversized like there Amargasaurus
I honestly wouldn't want them to do an oversized one like their Amargasaurus. I'd like one that's somewhat small, perhaps 1:30 or 1:40. One of the reasons I was somewhat turned off by Papo's Baryonyx is that it's just so dang large. Baryonyx wasn't some massive Titan of a beast, it was relatively small and I'd like a relatively small Baryonyx figure.
"Dinosaurs may be extinct from the face of the earth, but they are alive and well in our imaginations"

-Steve Miller

Patrx

I brought this up in another thread awhile ago, but the JW Baryonyx toy appears to be based more closely on the one Julius Csotonyi drew for the JW website than on the creature in the new movie. That's probably why it's reasonably accurate. But, it still looks too toyetic for me, and the forelimbs are definitely too short. If I really wanted a Baryonyx for my collection, I'd go for one of the (admittedly shrinkwrapped) Shapeways figures Robin pointed out, or just wait until a better one shows up from Safari or somewhere.

But yes, this "curse" affects a lot of other popular dinosaurs. There are zillions of toys marked "Velociraptor", and only one of them is good; two if I'm being generous. Deinonychus? Nothing yet. Ornitholestes? Protoceratops? But, with companies like Safari and CollectA working harder to create really educational figures, and new brands like Vitae showing up with pretty decent wares, I think the future looks pretty good. Heck, even Schleich's dinosaurs are starting to improve.


PhilSauria

Well the JW Baryonyx is a definite for me. Accuracy issues aside I like the look of it and will be taking similar measures with the mouth to close it. No sign of them in our neck of the woods as yet.

suspsy

A new Baryonyx from either CollectA or Safari would certainly be sweet.
Untitled by suspsy3, on Flickr

EmperorDinobot

Out of the seven JWFK dinosaurs I own so far, the Baryonyx is my favorite. It's also my favorite Baryonyx figure ever.


If only the Papo one wasn't posed in a "Kramer busts through Seinfeld's door" pose it might have been better.

Reptilia

#16
Why the Mattel Baryonyx wouldn't be accurate? Arms don't look short at all, and the head seems to be quite spot on compared to the actual skull.

Shonisaurus

Although I honestly do not think I'm going to buy the Mattel figures, I really like the baryonyx of this company. It looks very well finished. You do not have to envy toy companies like Lego or Playmobil is just as interesting as the dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals that these two companies make.

SidB

I too, don't have any of these figures, but this figure is tempting.

stegosauria

Quote from: Archosauria on April 20, 2018, 07:24:07 AM
Baryonyx Walkeri has always been one of my favorite dinosaurs, and because of this I'm always on the lookout for a good Baryonyx toy/model.
But I have recently been convinced that there aren't any.
(Now, by "good" I mean "accurate." There are still a few nice Baryonyx models, but none are fully accurate.)

There just aren't any. Even if a figure comes close to being accurate, there is always at least one, one thing wrong with it.
I call this phenomenon "The Baryonyx Curse."
Every other dinosaur that has been immortalized in plastic (that I can think of) has at least one accurate model that does its species justice. Not Baryonyx, though.

I think the whole Spinosauridae clan is cursed. A few years ago I tried to find a spinosaurid that's good. I would be happy with anything good- Spinosaurus, Baryonyx, Suchomimus (the WS Suchomimus wasn't released yet). And what was the result after my search on the blog? The CollectA Irritator. Okay since then I got the Carnegie Spinosaurus (besides the Irritator from my boyfriend) and the WS Suchomimus is on my list but that's all if you search for good spinosaurids plus the Invicta Baryonyx.

These creatures looks like hard to make beside the mystery around them (too few and fragmentary remains).

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