Safari Ltd - new for 2019

[SBell]

Just thinking, with all the comments about the fantastic colour scheme and detail work--make sure to get your models in the first couple runs.

It's most noticeable in the toobs, but after their first runs of figures, the paint jobs sometimes get...scaled back. The best example is the Postosuchus. It's easy to tell if it was a first-run or not, because the originals have bright, shiny gold eyes. Later ones are more muted.

[Jose S.M.]

I personally don't see why ceratopsians are blamed for lack of diversity in other groups (I know I'm heavily biased don't remind of that  ). Even with one ceratopsian a year, if they release 6 dinosaurs last year, they could release 6 of different groups and cover more underrepresented species. I agree about last year repeating groups made the whole set less varied than it could have been, but not only they repeated ceratopsids, they repeated sauropods too, and in 2017 they made two large theropods and three small ones plus Deinocheirus.  My point is not to defend ceratopsid and pushing for one to be always made, but to say that I think they can repeat dinosaurs groups in succesive or close years and still made a varied line up if they try to not repeat groups within the same year.

[paintingdinos]

I, for one, am extremely hyped about the Styracosaurus.

Lots of companies make it, but few have anything even close to the quality of this Safari one (at least based on the previews). As much as I love my CollectA figure, feeling pretty confident this new sculpt is going to take its place as my favorite 

[Lizerd]

Falls asleep, wakes up to find new models 
I really like the prestosuchus the most out of any model so far.
Raurisuchians are definitely something that need more coverage as some of them were bizarre and amazing like saurosuchus.
So to recap we have a:
Carnotaurus, a woolly rhino, a styracosaurus, a citipati, a prestosuchus, and a camarasaurus. What could be next?

[Halichoeres]

This is very exciting. I didn't hate the "guess the body part" reveals as passionately as many others, but this is more fun. Really savvy marketing move.

I'm most excited for that Prestosuchus. This is the first new pseudosuchian toy from any company in three years (since the Plesiosuchus). Adding to the Triassic shelf is a rare treat.

That Camarasaurus is a beauty. I thought at first it was a Rogers sculpt (Please take that as a compliment, Doug, I love her sauropods). I also like that it's big, like big sauropods should be!

The Styracosaurus is beefy! Bigger than the Pachyrhinosaurus, but it was a smaller ceratopsian, so looks to be 1:25 or maybe even 1:20. Like others, I am really digging the color scheme.

I'm also a fan of the Citipati, which seems pretty clearly modeled on C. osmolskae based on the crest shape.

Why? That's not rational  Usually its the other way around for folks because of storage space or something.

There is nothing rational about this hobby.

[Sim]

I personally don't see why ceratopsians are blamed for lack of diversity in other groups (I know I'm heavily biased don't remind of that  ).

Speaking for myself here, I don't think it's a matter of making too many ceratopsians, I think it's a matter of making too many ceratopsids.  Psittacosaurus for example is a ceratopsian but not a ceratopsid.  It's different enough from ceratopsids to be seen as a different type of animal.  Ceratopsids are fairly similar animals, they can be clearly seen as different kinds of one type of animal, this is why they are united in the family Ceratopsidae.

Even with one ceratopsian a year, if they release 6 dinosaurs last year, they could release 6 of different groups and cover more underrepresented species. I agree about last year repeating groups made the whole set less varied than it could have been, but not only they repeated ceratopsids, they repeated sauropods too, and in 2017 they made two large theropods and three small ones plus Deinocheirus.

Regarding the 2018 figures, I didn't think making two sauropods was a problem.  They were two different kinds of sauropods, one was a titanosaur, the other a diplodocoid.  There had been no titanosaurs in the Wild Safari line previously, and while diplodocoids had three representations already (Apatosaurus, Nigersaurus, Diplodocus), I felt four was an acceptable number of similar animals for a line the size of WS.  In contrast, I found making two ceratopsids a problem because they were both the same kind of animal, and there had been 5 good WS ceratopsids previously, made almost every year since 2012, bringing the number of these to 7.  So in the 2018 WS line-up where I felt a lot of figures would or wouldn't appeal to people depending on their interests, I feel the problem was caused by making 2 ceratopsids as their family was by far the best represented in the WS line.

As for 2017, theropods are an extremely diverse group.  Theropods are a group that is comparable to ornithischians in the extent of diversity.  Ceratopsids as a group are more like tyrannosauroids, allosauroids or dromaeosaurids for example.  So for WS 2017, the theropods represented a wide range of diversity (1 tyrannosauroid, 1 allosauroid, 1 coelophysoid, 2 dromaeosaurids and 1 ornithomimosaur).  2 dromaeosaurids were made, but I feel this was very reasonable as this group was basically unrepresented in the WS line (since previously it was only represented by an extremely inaccurate featherless Velociraptor and equally inaccurate retired featherless Utahraptor).  Additionally, the two 2017 dromaeosaurids (Velociraptor and Microraptor) were fairly different from each other.  I also don't think there are many "theropod fans".  I think people are more likely to be either fans of dinosaurs in general, or fans of certain types of dinosaurs including certain types of theropods.  I consider myself the latter, there are some groups of theropods I'm very interested in, and some I have very little interest in.

My point is not to defend ceratopsid and pushing for one to be always made, but to say that I think they can repeat dinosaurs groups in succesive or close years and still made a varied line up if they try to not repeat groups within the same year.

I generally agree with this.  Though I think if a group of closely related animals gets represented basically every year, it's unavoidable that other types of animals people desire won't get good representation.  I think that's why as of 2018 the WS line had 7 decent ceratopsids, no non-sauropod sauropodomorphs, no decent stegosaur figures, very few thyreophorans, no troodontids...

[Lizerd]

I do like ceratopsids, but we need more diversity. One area really lacking is early Triassic animals, so more of those would be cool

[Faelrin]

I get the point of there being so many ceratopsids. I do like quite a few them though (Diabloceratops, Pachyrhinosaurus, Regaliceratops, Triceratops, and now this Styracosaurus). Now that there's finally a Styracosaurus (my favorite) I wouldn't mind a break from them for next year's lineup (although I'd still like to see Protoceratops in the same scale of the Feathered Velociraptor, and Pentaceratops done somewhere down the line).

I mean now with this Styracosaurus, there are now 9 ceratopsid figures (assuming I didn't miss any). However sauropods as a whole also have 9 figures now with the addition of Camarasaurus.

To go further there are numerous T. rex figures offered for sale (most for one species, with Triceratops, Brachiosaurus, and Velociraptor having two, possibly more). There are now 13 mammal figures with the addition of the Woolly Rhinoceros. There are only 6 pterosaur figures. There are 10 marine creature figures, several of those are not reptiles (Ammonite, Coelocanth, Dunkleosteus, Megalodon). Thyreophorans and ornithopods are pretty under represented with only 3-4 figures for each (Ankylosaurus, Sauropelta, and Stegosaurus, and Gryposaurus, Edmontosaurus, Iguanodon, and Parasaurolophus). This is all assuming I have not miscounted anything. I've also included retired figures that are still for sale currently on the website (such as the Nigersaurus). Obviously once those are no longer listed they should not be counted.

Honestly I think the bulk of the old outdated figures should just be retired now (especially most of those older T. rex models, such as this: https://store.safariltd.com/collections/wild-safari-prehistoric-world/products/wild-safari-prehistoric-world-tyrannosaurus-rex-figurines-278929 and this: https://store.safariltd.com/collections/wild-safari-prehistoric-world/products/wild-safari-prehistoric-world-t-rex-figurines-298529 ) to make room for new species, and or reconstructions.

[Lizerd]

Honestly I think the bulk of the old outdated figures should just be retired now (especially most of those older T. rex models, such as this: https://store.safariltd.com/collections/wild-safari-prehistoric-world/products/wild-safari-prehistoric-world-tyrannosaurus-rex-figurines-278929 and this: https://store.safariltd.com/collections/wild-safari-prehistoric-world/products/wild-safari-prehistoric-world-t-rex-figurines-298529 ) to make room for new species, and or reconstructions.

Yeah those ones should be rotated out, and weirdly enough I used to have a rex like that, it was pretty lame. Only problem I could see with rotating them out is that small children still probably like them...

[Jose S.M.]

Yes those rexes sell better than some of the newer stuff, which is a shame. They probably won't retire them until they start to have worse sells, and if that hasn't happened yet I don't know how much longer will it take.

[Takama]

If you know me you'll know how happy I am for another ceratopsian. I just have a question about it and it is about the frill spikes, I didn't know they were curved like that, the favorite one has them more straight. I haven't seen the Collecta in person, how are they positioned in it? I think the Battat one has them a bit curved like that doesn't it? But wow that coloration is lovely and more intricate than most Safari ceratopsians, they are usually two tones. This has oranges and greens in different tones and the white underbelly and dark back stripes.
Citipati looks just as lovely as Anzu, but less bright in colors, still very nice. I hope is stable, since doesn't have any aid of the wings to stand like Anzu.

The spikes should have a slight curve but this one appears to have suffered some slight distortion in packing and shipping, a heat and cool job should fix them. When I have a chance maybe when all are revealed I'll post images again of the original sculpt so you can see how they should be.
To answer others who have speculated, so far all six are mine.

Doug, do you mind telling us what species and Scale the Camarasaurus is in?

[Doug Watson]

Doug, do you mind telling us what species and Scale the Camarasaurus is in?

Soitainly, nyuk, nyuk, it is based on Camarasaurus lentus and is 1:40 scale. You may not be able to tell from the video but it has a beak and the manus claws are also oriented in keeping with the latest information.

[Ravonium]

Doug, do you mind telling us what species and Scale the Camarasaurus is in?

Soitainly, nyuk, nyuk, it is based on Camarasaurus lentus and is 1:40 scale.

Well, @MLMjp, looks like you finally have a sauropod to scale with other large dinosaur figures.

[postsaurischian]

  The Prestosuchus looks stunning!! Great choice!
      The others are also very nice, but the Prestosuchus makes me happy.

[stargatedalek]

The Camarasaurus reminds me a lot if the classic carnegie style. It's a very nice figure. If it the same size as the Carnegie Camarasarus, I might pick it up, if it is smaller, I will pass on it.

Why? That's not rational  Usually its the other way around for folks because of storage space or something.

It's plenty rational. A lot of people like to have things in their collections relatively to scale with each other.

For example, I will probably pass on the Camarasaurus, though it is a very nice sculpt, because I'm trying to slowly move away from scales below 1:20th, which is also why the Citipati is so exciting. It may seem paradoxical but this actually saves me a lot of space because large animals are rarely done in large scales. Added bonus it also gives larger animals a more impressive slot in the collection because a 1:15th scale pterosaur is a lot more impressive next to a 1:15th scale flamingo than next to a 1:40th scale Tyrannosaurus that still manages to dwarf it.

Yes those rexes sell better than some of the newer stuff, which is a shame. They probably won't retire them until they start to have worse sells, and if that hasn't happened yet I don't know how much longer will it take.

Can't speak for everywhere, but Michael's avidly refuses to stock the new Safari products until the older ones are discontinued. I imagine a lot of other stores are the same way, they order the Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, and a few others, and only add new stuff when one of those main-stays gets removed from availability and they have no choice but to update their orders. This is at least part of why they sell so well, because retailers don't stock anything else.

They are also cheaper, which isn't as much an issue for us as it is for uninterested parents or very young children. Safari would probably be wise to make "budget versions" of the main-stay species and replace the older figures with those before discontinuing them outright for the more expensive Wild Safari versions.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

I'm happy with what's been revealed so far. I agree the color schemes and application are strong this year. Also I'm glad we're finally getting a styracosaurus from Safari! I thought it looked a little strange at first but it appears as though it was based on the mount at the CMN, having more contrast in the lengths of the frill spikes as well as a straight nasal horn (compared to the more usual AMNH-style skull)

[Doug Watson]

I'm happy with what's been revealed so far. I agree the color schemes and application are strong this year. Also I'm glad we're finally getting a styracosaurus from Safari! I thought it looked a little strange at first but it appears as though it was based on the mount at the CMN, having more contrast in the lengths of the frill spikes as well as a straight nasal horn (compared to the more usual AMNH-style skull)

It is based on the holotype skull that is used on that mount but not in the state that it is presented. Instead it is based on the revision of that skull in the 2007 paper, "A revision of the Late Campanian centrosaurine ceratopsid Styracosaurus from the Western Interior of North America, MICHAEL J. RYAN, ROBERT HOLMES, and A. P. RUSSELL."  In that paper the authors restore the crushed parietal and also have a different restoration of the nasal horn. As the current curator at CMN once told me the original restoration of the nasal horn suffered from "horn" envy and was generously restored lengthwise. the new horn also has a slight forward bend.

[John]

Doug, do you mind telling us what species and Scale the Camarasaurus is in?

Soitainly, nyuk, nyuk, it is based on Camarasaurus lentus and is 1:40 scale. You may not be able to tell from the video but it has a beak and the manus claws are also oriented in keeping with the latest information.

In a blink and you'll miss it close up still picture of the Camarasaurus' head in the video,you can just about make out a sort of keritinized beak like covering over the mouth that seals in the teeth,if I'm seeing it right.

[Doug Watson]

Doug, do you mind telling us what species and Scale the Camarasaurus is in?

Soitainly, nyuk, nyuk, it is based on Camarasaurus lentus and is 1:40 scale. You may not be able to tell from the video but it has a beak and the manus claws are also oriented in keeping with the latest information.

In a blink and you'll miss it close up still picture of the Camarasaurus' head in the video,you can just about make out a sort of keritinized beak like covering over the mouth that seals in the teeth,if I'm seeing it right.

That's right. I had played with colouring it differently but I didn't like how it looked.

[MLMjp]

Doug, do you mind telling us what species and Scale the Camarasaurus is in?

Soitainly, nyuk, nyuk, it is based on Camarasaurus lentus and is 1:40 scale.

Well, @MLMjp, looks like you finally have a sauropod to scale with other large dinosaur figures.

@Ravonium I do have a couple of big sauropods, for example the schleich replicasaurus Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus, the Papo Brachiosaurus (which I use as Giraffatitan) or the carnegie Diplodocus(the two versions in fact). Now that I know that the Camarasaurus has a good size, the real question is: Is it worth buying it just to replace the Carnegie version?