Controversial opinions on dinosaur toys

[SidB]

I am the only one who cant find anything good about the 2 most beloved figures of the year, safari deinonychus and lisowicia. I mean everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but I'm baffled at myself that I cannnot fit in by loving these figures, it boggles my mind that I'm like the only guy here who dislikes them haha And I'm not even trying to be mad or disgusted, its genuinely funny according to me.

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say, but don't feel so alone. I have the Deinonychus, and it's a good figure, but for me, it's okay, but not anywhere near my favorite Safari figure, not even close.

[Carnoking]

I think the appeal for the deinonychus lies primarily in the fact that it is currently the quintessential dromaeosaur figure. Despite the knowledge surrounding the family, proper examples are few and far between with the Safari Velociraptor and BotM series being the only notable examples of properly floofy raptors. Papo, Carnegie, CollectA and REBOR have also provided feathered dromaeosaurs in the past, but none were all that amazing. And wheras the BotM line is fantastic, the whole articulation thing isn't everyone's cup of tea, so if you're into models as opposed to action figures, the Deinonychus is one of two notable examples, and the better done one at that. If the market was more saturated with that breed of offering, or even more decent Deinonychus figures in general, I think the Safari Ltd. Deinonychus would be less of a showstopper even with its obvious merits. I mean that's basically the reason I enjoy it as much as I do.

[Gwangi]

I am the only one who cant find anything good about the 2 most beloved figures of the year, safari deinonychus and lisowicia. I mean everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but I'm baffled at myself that I cannnot fit in by loving these figures, it boggles my mind that I'm like the only guy here who dislikes them haha And I'm not even trying to be mad or disgusted, its genuinely funny according to me.

I feel the same way about Winter Wilson. It's a fine T. rex but I'm not feeling the hype.

[Gwangi]

Ah, yes, Wilson 3 is another good example, it is one of the best Tyrannosaurus figures out there now for sure but there is still so much wrong with it, mainly the large scales, missing lips and the teeth sliding too much out of their sockets.

Those are my issues with it too, on top of the price. And there's just something off about it, I can't quite put my finger on it. It's not that it represents a "modern" T. rex, I've seen many modern T. rex reconstructions I like. There's something else about it...

[Stegotyranno420]

I believe its too fat on the body and too skinny on the head.

[John]

Ah, yes, Wilson 3 is another good example, it is one of the best Tyrannosaurus figures out there now for sure but there is still so much wrong with it, mainly the large scales, missing lips and the teeth sliding too much out of their sockets.

Those are my issues with it too, on top of the price. And there's just something off about it, I can't quite put my finger on it. It's not that it represents a "modern" T. rex, I've seen many modern T. rex reconstructions I like. There's something else about it...

The thing that looks off to me about it is that it seems to be missing not only "lips" but even gum tissue,so the teeth appear to be sticking too far out of it's mouth to the point you can even see the roots.

[John]

That is not just due to the gum tissue missing, when a carcass decomposes teeth get loose and slide out a bit, when the bones fossilize they are stuck in that state.
A lot of reconstructions ranging from Smilodon to Tyrannosaurus don't put this into account.

Yes,there is that issue too.

[Lynx]

Spoiler

More of my unpopular opinions:

- PNSO is the best dinosaur brand out there quality and detail wise. I have seen many members on the forum who dislike most of PNSOs figures, but I see no reason why.

- Papo is overrated. Their figures are shrink-wrapped and the colors may not clash with each other, but then again they are all boring colors. You can't even give them the title of "the best JP style company" (that prize goes to nanmu and REBOR). The detail is okay, but not great. They do have a few figures that are hard to believe were even made by Papo (The limited edition Spinosaurus and Tupuxuara) Honestly I would only keep them on display if they are a childhood figure.

[close]

(kept as a spoiler because I don't want to ruin the current conversation) The main this I dislike is how tiny the bottom teeth are. I am fine with no lips (however it would be nice to have some) but the teeth really put me off.

[Stegotyranno420]

@Lynx you really opened my eyes with the thing about papo. I realised today, Papo is just lame and not for my interest, except for the top cream of figures by them(like the papo spinosauri, some of the ceratopsians,  and that gorgosaurus). You did ruin papo for me, but thank you for opening my eyes friend. I mean, most of us can agree their best figures are FAR FAR better than their average ones, and they don't even seem to be from their company

[Stegotyranno420]

Heres my latest one. Baryonyx is one of the few dinosaurs that has never had a really bad figure in my opinion. Each has its own charm. rather if its a retro figure, or a modern one. I mean, even schliech made a great one, and mojo proved you cant always judge a company by its earliest figures.Papo's is interesting, and i love the bulk on collecta's. Safari's is absolutely lovely, and even Favorites is nice. Thankfully, Mattel went with a different design rather than the movie one, and its kind of comparable with the Website's. The retro carnegie, invicta, and kenner all have their retro fun charm. I wonder if there are any other dinosaurs like that,not including unique species or species with little representation

[Bread]

I would really say there is no such thing as a bad figure for any species. Even the most produced dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus rex, does not technically have a bad figure, as it is purely based on someone's opinion whether a figure is good or bad. Some may like retro style, others may seek accuracy or screen accurate figures. Just my thoughts, and a reply to @Stegotyranno420's post.

[Ikessauro]

Spoiler

More of my unpopular opinions:

- PNSO is the best dinosaur brand out there quality and detail wise. I have seen many members on the forum who dislike most of PNSOs figures, but I see no reason why.

- Papo is overrated. Their figures are shrink-wrapped and the colors may not clash with each other, but then again they are all boring colors. You can't even give them the title of "the best JP style company" (that prize goes to nanmu and REBOR). The detail is okay, but not great. They do have a few figures that are hard to believe were even made by Papo (The limited edition Spinosaurus and "Tapejara") Honestly I would only keep them on display if they are a childhood figure.

[close]

(kept as a spoiler because I don't want to ruin the current conversation) The main this I dislike is how tiny the bottom teeth are. I am fine with no lips (however it would be nice to have some) but the teeth really put me off.

Don't you mean Tupuxuara? What's wrong with that?

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

- PNSO is the best dinosaur brand out there quality and detail wise. I have seen many members on the forum who dislike most of PNSOs figures, but I see no reason why.

Wat. Haven't you witnessed all the blessings and praisings, while all the new PNSO Figures were released? Or the Aftermath? Or the general Love for PNSO Figures in this Forum and the whole World? Of course, not everything is perfect, not everyone likes every aspect of every Figure but mostly... This Forum loves PNSO.  At least thats what i witnessed

- Papo is overrated.

Also, this seems to be the popular Opinion here. They have fine Figures (even fantastic in a few cases), but most People i read here share the same Opinion regarding Papo in the recent Years. Correct me if i'm wrong. 

Edit: In the end, they are just Companys producing Figures.

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

Heres my latest one. Baryonyx is one of the few dinosaurs that has never had a really bad figure in my opinion. Each has its own charm. rather if its a retro figure, or a modern one. I mean, even schliech made a great one, and mojo proved you cant always judge a company by its earliest figures.Papo's is interesting, and i love the bulk on collecta's. Safari's is absolutely lovely, and even Favorites is nice. Thankfully, Mattel went with a different design rather than the movie one, and its kind of comparable with the Website's. The retro carnegie, invicta, and kenner all have their retro fun charm. I wonder if there are any other dinosaurs like that,not including unique species or species with little representation

I have to disagree. As a big lover of Baryonyx I have to say that until a couple of years ago, Baryonyx had only horrible figures (not counting the Invicta). It has only just started getting nicer figures since 2018 or so.

[Carnoking]

I think Papo did a bang up job of filling a certain niche back in the days when we were really only dealing with four companies, them, CollectA, Safari Ltd, and to some extent, Schleich. Even when REBOR first hit the scene, Papo's role of producing movie inspired models was largely unchallenged given that REBOR focused more on "scientific" depictions with their models.

However, with the recent influx of high quality figures from other brands like Nanmu, PNSO and EoFauna, Papo have sort of struggled to keep up. They've only marginally altered their approach (somewhat more vibrant color schemes and slightly more accurate models) but they haven't found their footing amongst the competition.

Papo's whole appeal was their ability to produce high quality models of pop culture inspired dinosaurs for an affordable price. They did not need to compete with CollectA or Safari since they were making a totally different type of figure. But REBOR adjusted their priorities and decided to make more movie inspired pieces, and now Nanmu has also joined in on the craze of producing JP/JW inspired figures in a superior manner (although Papo still has both of those companies licked in terms of diversity in species and price point, and most likely always will). This new competition was compounded with the arrival of EoFauna, PNSO, and Vitae who are all now producing scientific models that both meet and exceed Papo's level of quality. PNSO alone might start phasing out the competition if they keep up what they're doing, but the point is, Papo is no longer as unique as it once was, and they're yet to show us that they still belong amongst the competition. Perhaps their only other unique aspect at this point would be the quality of their articulated jaws, I'm yet to see any brand do a better job with that. That being said, it's a shame because they were the brand that got me into collecting, and watching them sort of fall out of grace is kind of sad. 

[Takama]

Let us not forget, That Papo is now Infamous for one thing

Spoiler

Hearing Collectors Requsts, only to fufuil it with Hilarrity

[close]

[Bread]

- PNSO is the best dinosaur brand out there quality and detail wise. I have seen many members on the forum who dislike most of PNSOs figures, but I see no reason why.

Wat. Haven't you witnessed all the blessings and praisings, while all the new PNSO Figures were released? Or the Aftermath? Or the general Love for PNSO Figures in this Forum and the whole World? Of course, not everything is perfect, not everyone likes every aspect of every Figure but mostly... This Forum loves PNSO.  At least thats what i witnessed

Yes, there is a lot of praises for PNSO, but along with it there is a numerous amount of criticisms/harshness to some of their figures. I feel a few of their figures have gotten this, new Wilson, Carnotaurus, and Qianzhousaurus being a few examples. Especially Wilson, as I feel the whole no lips issue and large scales bother some people. To me at least, it does not dispute it from being one of the best Tyrannosaurs on the market. Anyways, I do feel like PNSO has gotten some heavy criticisms as compared to CollectA, Safari, etc... Just my opinion though and I don't see anything wrong with criticism or disliking to a figure, but I just wanted to point out that PNSO has not been liked by everyone.

[Lynx]

Spoiler

More of my unpopular opinions:

- PNSO is the best dinosaur brand out there quality and detail wise. I have seen many members on the forum who dislike most of PNSOs figures, but I see no reason why.

- Papo is overrated. Their figures are shrink-wrapped and the colors may not clash with each other, but then again they are all boring colors. You can't even give them the title of "the best JP style company" (that prize goes to nanmu and REBOR). The detail is okay, but not great. They do have a few figures that are hard to believe were even made by Papo (The limited edition Spinosaurus and "Tapejara") Honestly I would only keep them on display if they are a childhood figure.

[close]

(kept as a spoiler because I don't want to ruin the current conversation) The main this I dislike is how tiny the bottom teeth are. I am fine with no lips (however it would be nice to have some) but the teeth really put me off.

Don't you mean Tupuxuara? What's wrong with that?

I never said there was anything wrong with it, I said it is very impressive for papo. (by the way, the reason why I called it "Tapejara" is a bit of an inside joke.)

[stargatedalek]

There are a few things wrong with the Papo Tupuxuara, its baldness and being lifted from another product come to mind immediately, but the general proportions also just "feel off". Tapejarids tend to stand very upright and its proportions seems to prevent that from even looking possible.

[SRF]

- PNSO is the best dinosaur brand out there quality and detail wise. I have seen many members on the forum who dislike most of PNSOs figures, but I see no reason why.

Wat. Haven't you witnessed all the blessings and praisings, while all the new PNSO Figures were released? Or the Aftermath? Or the general Love for PNSO Figures in this Forum and the whole World? Of course, not everything is perfect, not everyone likes every aspect of every Figure but mostly... This Forum loves PNSO.  At least thats what i witnessed

Yes, there is a lot of praises for PNSO, but along with it there is a numerous amount of criticisms/harshness to some of their figures. I feel a few of their figures have gotten this, new Wilson, Carnotaurus, and Qianzhousaurus being a few examples. Especially Wilson, as I feel the whole no lips issue and large scales bother some people. To me at least, it does not dispute it from being one of the best Tyrannosaurs on the market. Anyways, I do feel like PNSO has gotten some heavy criticisms as compared to CollectA, Safari, etc... Just my opinion though and I don't see anything wrong with criticism or disliking to a figure, but I just wanted to point out that PNSO has not been liked by everyone.

For some reason models of theropods seem to get more criticism than other species. I don't really understand why that is actually.

If it is only because of the whole debate on wether they would have lips or not, or having some highly detailed and visible scales on their bodies, then I don't feel all the criticism is justified. Especially when the design choices for their theropods are well explained in detail. You're free to disagree with those choices of course, but that doesn't stand in the way of appreciating these models for what they are.

Since we're not exactly sure how these animals looked like anyway, artistic liberties are possible to separate one figure from the other. It's nice to have different interpretations of these animals on your shelf. Especially when the quality of the sculpt is very well done, as is the case with most of PNSO's theropods if you ask me.