Controversial opinions on dinosaur toys

[Pliosaurking]

I know Safari's skull is outdated, but I really don't see the need in me replacing it as I love its pose and colour scheme.

[SidB]

Yes, the 2023 PNSO Giganotosaurus has an accurate skull.  So do Mojo's two and the Papo...

And Vitae's too.

And Favorite's Soft Model, since we're at it.

Glad to have the Favorite too, for what it's worth. I'm a fan of the Favorite pieces, even when they follow the Ely Kish look.

[SidB]

I know Safari's skull is outdated, but I really don't see the need in me replacing it as I love its pose and colour scheme.

Color-wise , I find it a nice match with the old Forest Rogers'  Carnegie one. As long as space allows it, it's fun to have multiples for certain favored genera.

[Spinokaprogorgon]

I wanted to start this topic for a while, and I don't know why I didn't do sooner. Here's how it goes: I say an unpopular opinion of mine, and everybody else is free to comment or share their own opinion about my unpopular opinion. And when there's nothing left to discuss about my opinion, you can tell everybody else yours. As I started this topic, I'll go first:
Unpopular opinion: the papo giganotosaurus is an amazing figure, and one of their best. And the pose is what makes it special. It's dynamic, it looks alive!

Feel free to disagree

[Faelrin]

There was actually a thread for this in the past. The controversial opinions thread.

https://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=6880.0

[DinoToyForum]

There was actually a thread for this in the past. The controversial opinions thread.

https://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=6880.0

Yeah, I think "unpopular" and "controversial" are close enough to justify merging the topics (so I have!).

[Over9K]

Unpopular opinion: the papo giganotosaurus is an amazing figure, and one of their best. And the pose is what makes it special. It's dynamic, it looks alive!

Feel free to disagree

Nono... please go on...

[SidB]

This is probably self-contradictory, @Over9K , but though I don't like what Papo did in subjecting their Giganotosaurus to that pose, I do like what you done with it in this diorama. I not saying that this makes sense, just saying that you do have a flair for the dramatic!

[Trenchcoated Rebbachisaur]

Unpopular opinion, I do not understand what other people see in most Safari modells. There is some I consider good myself too, of course, but I don't understand why they're seemingly consistently regarded so highly.

[Faelrin]

T @Trenchcoated Rebbachisaur Ooh now that is an extra spicy take around here. I would be curious to see what folks say to that.

I mean myself I think they are neat. For a time they were probably the most up to date options, other then CollectA upping their game at that time. I mean back when I joined here in 2016. PNSO was only getting started either that year or the following with their large vinyl models. Haolonggood was not around yet (not even as the GR Toys partnership). Aside from them, it was Papo (mostly JP styled models, though was starting to branch out outside that with Sideshow imitations, and others) and Schleich (although I know there was the one line they made that was celebrated if I recall right, though the name escapes me atm), and Mojo (though they did have really good mammals), and Hasbro's JP and JW stuff. Creative Beast just launched their first kickstarter (which didn't finish production until 2018, which is the same year Mattel entered the game with their Kenner styled JW line, much more well received then Hasbro's screw hole no scale consistency figures from shorty prior). Rebor was only getting started around this time too (2014 I think with the Yutyrannus, which was not received well here). Nanmu also didn't exist yet until either around 2018 or 2019. There was also the re-released Battat line in 2014 I think, although it didn't last long, especially after Dan LoRusso's death, shortly after (in 2015?). One of the sculptors for Safari has had a present here on the forum too back in the day (Doug Watson), though his stuff was also criticized like nearly every model released these days are (I have been guilty of it a few minor times, I will admit, especially when I was younger then, never mind the fact I'm autistic).


I imagine there's a sense of brand loyalty that continues to this day. Let's also not forget their cherished, now classic Carnegie Collection which ended the year before I joined. Even now I still get excited for new Safari models, despite the tough competition from PNSO and Haolonggood, etc these days. And many of the folks here have been here long before me (though there were many that are now not so active, or have left entirely).

[Carnoking]

There's an honorable innocence to Safari's work that I find worth celebrating. Their models may not be the most "realistic" in terms of sculpt and paint but in their relative simplicity, they manage to capture the exact essence of their brand which is a childlike fascination with and appreciation for nature. Knowing that their figures are sculpted by hand vs being done in a computer instills them with a very raw appeal that you just don't get with other companies. And on top of that, in their celebration of the natural world, they take great pains to present accurate figures which is all the more nice to see given that their target demographic is children who now get to learn what these prehistoric animals may have actually looked liked.

I'm sure there is also a very real nostalgia factor to it. Most of the museums I visited as a child had a selection of Safari figures that I always looked forward to perusing and that same sense of excitement still bubbles up in me whenever I'm at a museum today and see whatever new Safari figures are now on the shelves.

I won't say that all of their stuff has been infallible, and in all honesty I find their earlier work to be stronger in terms of paint and sculpt even if they now lack in the accuracy department but yes, some of those old Carnegie figures are certified classics for a reason

That being said, there are still a few examples that transport me right back to that golden era of Safari with the Megalosaurus being the most recent example

[Sim]

Unpopular opinion, I do not understand what other people see in most Safari modells. There is some I consider good myself too, of course, but I don't understand why they're seemingly consistently regarded so highly.

Safari figures tend to be highly accurate and of good quality.

[Eatmycar]

Unpopular opinion, I do not understand what other people see in most Safari modells. There is some I consider good myself too, of course, but I don't understand why they're seemingly consistently regarded so highly.

That's a hot take, dang.

I never thought much of their stuff (I collect only Mattel and BoTM - had a brief interest in PNSO but I prefer action figures over statues) until I got to see their Hadrosaurus in person and it really made me appreciate their work. HLG and PNSO make really pretty stuff, but the Safari Hadrosaurus was just so... charming. Like, it's hard to explain, but I agree with Carnoking.

It's so cute and well done. HLG and PNSO can feel too overdone, as weird as that sounds.

[Paleodude]

Safari Ltd. for me is by no means bad or undesirable but I think as I've aged a lot of the kind of eh paint applications and color choices on their more recent figures has kind of put me off of them. Don't get me wrong I am an old school Safari die hard and I'm currently trying to complete my Carnegie Collection but generally I'm just not that interested in their recent offers and I'm not quite sure why.

[Turkeysaurus]

Safari is like cartoon style compared to PNSO's hyper realistic take on same animal.

Safari is a great for kids to play, carry & smash eachother while Pnso great for display only.

Not demeaning Safari's collectable value by saying that. It's just their purpose.

[SidB]

Safari is like cartoon style compared to PNSO's hyper realistic take on same animal.

Safari is a great for kids to play, carry & smash eachother while Pnso great for display only.

Not demeaning Safari's collectable value by saying that. It's just their purpose.

Myself, I find that Safari can fulfill both roles. As a recent for instance, their new Megalosaurus is beautifully painted and realistically sculpted, a terrific value for the cost, but still a worthy collectible for accuracy-minded folk. On the other hand, I'd put their new Austoraptor in your other category, with what I regard as a cartoon-like paint job (keeps costs down) over a basically accurate sculpt.

[Gwangi]

Everyone over here talking about Safari and here I am having similar feelings about CollectA. I've never much cared for CollectA dinosaurs, especially their theropods. There are exceptions though, I love their Hadrosaurus and cannot wait to get the Ingentia.

But both Safari and CollectA are doing things that other companies aren't. They're making smaller and more obscure taxa. Case in point, Safari's dromaeosaurs and CollectA's invertebrates. For those of us that want more than just 1/35 scale versions of large dinosaurs, they deserve the hype.

[Primeval12]

Safari is like cartoon style compared to PNSO's hyper realistic take on same animal.

Safari is a great for kids to play, carry & smash eachother while Pnso great for display only.

Not demeaning Safari's collectable value by saying that. It's just their purpose.

Safari's Megalosaurus is PNSO quality in my opinion. Its so finely detailed and painted.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Safari has been the standard for mass-produced dinosaur toys for almost 30 years now. Other manufacturers have either come and gone in that time, or aren't as consistent in the quality of their releases. I don't collect PNSO so I could be wrong, but they're not really "toys" proper, are they?

As for CollectA, I'm not the biggest fan either, but I have a few of their figures pre-2014 or so for nostalgia reasons, as well as some modern animals that no one else has made.

[Gwangi]

Safari has been the standard for mass-produced dinosaur toys for almost 30 years now. Other manufacturers have either come and gone in that time, or aren't as consistent in the quality of their releases. I don't collect PNSO so I could be wrong, but they're not really "toys" proper, are they?

As for CollectA, I'm not the biggest fan either, but I have a few of their figures pre-2014 or so for nostalgia reasons, as well as some modern animals that no one else has made.

If we include the Carnegie Collection, and we should, we could say they've been the standard for over 30 years.

If we're talking extant animals then CollectA makes some of the best, especially ungulates.