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Greatest dinosaur toys of all time

Started by Tea rex, September 16, 2018, 06:43:49 AM

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Patrx

Easy question; the answer is the latest Wild Safari Velociraptor–the first, and, so far, only, good Velociraptor figure ;)
Absurd hyperbole aside, I do think it suits your criteron as goes game-changing status!

Quote from: Tea rex on September 17, 2018, 05:51:24 AM
As for Shonisaurus mention of the little Kaiyodos... they look very well done, but maybe they are too small. Do you have a particular figure that stands out for some reason?

I agree, their tiny size is a bit of a disadvantage. But, standouts include the Yutyrannus, Sinosauropteryx (despite the outdated coloration), and Achiceratops. The Anchiceratops seems noteworthy to me because it's the first ceratopsian toy I know of which incorporated the proper orientation of the manus. Also, it has a fully-keratinized frill, a hypothesis that seems to rise and fall in perceived credibility but is currently popular :)


amargasaurus cazaui

I had to think on this question a bit before asking because...."greatest dinosaur toys " for me brings up so many each for different reasons . It is a broad question and one some will answer using nostalgia as their guide, while others will strive for accuracy in their choices , while still others might attach a particular memory or ideal with a given figure.
For me I found it easiest to create a category for some of the ones I chose and pick from that group a few favorites.
Nostalgia- I had all the MPC and Marx dinosaurs as a kid as well as many of the "sandbox" style hollow dinosaurs...my standalone favorite would have to be the Brontosaurus an Tyrannosaurus from Marx for this category.
Accuracy- There is a shift slowly happening within the market where toys seem to be moving towards more detail and following the established understandings more...My choices for accuracy have to go to three sculpts from Doug Watson...the Nasutoceratops, Sauropelta, and his rending of Psittacosaurus.
Signed figures- man oh man...several come to mind...my Elasomosaurus sculptpedby Doug and signed by both himself and dinosaurtoyforum (Adam) , my Sauropelta signed by Ken carpenter, my  psittacosaurus signed by Forest Rogers, or even my Edmontia signed by Dan Lorusso in 2014...but perhaps one of the best signed pieces I have was obtained for me in person by Halicheroes of our own forum , a Psittacosaurus signed by Paul Sereno, who discovered the species of psittacosaurus I have mounted in my living room.
A serious consideration also has to go to a few models I have that were done as 3D files by "Dinoraul" ....Tyrannt queen found them avilible on a site as digital files for use in art or gaming, was able to render them so they could be printed, with some modification, and lots of work. I was able to obtain the psittacosaurus from this work, as well as have it posed with several young. I was able to acquire four individual sudanoceratops, as well as a larger diormama that holds half a dozen Aracheceratops in different poses .....all of these models were given amazing lifelike bases by Martin Garrat, once Tyrannt queen was able to print the models themselves for me following my requests for scale, pose and quantity. The idea of owning models that were never likely made into actual physical models except this single time is somewhat inspiring.
A nod also has to go to my original glow in the dark aurora Godzilla model, which I had kept for years on my headboard, misglued, broken in spots and badly painted. I sent the mess to Martin who removed the glue, totally rebuilt the model, repaired the damage  then repainted it all beautifully. Is Godzilla a dinosaur? An argument for another place perhaps, but this was one of most loved dinosaurs as a kid in the mid sixties so...
Authors with varying competence have suggested dinosaurs disappeared because of meteorites...God's will, raids by little green hunters in flying saucers, lack of standing room in Noah's Ark, and palaeoweltschmerz—Glenn Jepsen


Halichoeres

Quote from: Patrx on September 17, 2018, 07:37:33 AM

Quote from: Tea rex on September 17, 2018, 05:51:24 AM
As for Shonisaurus mention of the little Kaiyodos... they look very well done, but maybe they are too small. Do you have a particular figure that stands out for some reason?

I agree, their tiny size is a bit of a disadvantage. But, standouts include the Yutyrannus, Sinosauropteryx (despite the outdated coloration), and Achiceratops. The Anchiceratops seems noteworthy to me because it's the first ceratopsian toy I know of which incorporated the proper orientation of the manus. Also, it has a fully-keratinized frill, a hypothesis that seems to rise and fall in perceived credibility but is currently popular :)

Funny, the smallness is exactly why I like Kaiyodo figures. But then again, I mostly don't collect their dinosaurs, I'm more interested in their smaller animals because their smallness puts them in scale with some of my larger figures. I like my big animals big and my small animals small. I have no use for a Kaiyodo sauropod, but I would also rather the BotM dromaeosaurids had been 1:20.

Anyway still don't have an answer for greatest dinosaur toy. I think maybe the kind of collection I have disqualifies me from a good answer.
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Quote from: amargasaurus cazaui on September 17, 2018, 05:51:02 PM
A nod also has to go to my original glow in the dark aurora Godzilla model, which I had kept for years on my headboard, misglued, broken in spots and badly painted. I sent the mess to Martin who removed the glue, totally rebuilt the model, repaired the damage  then repainted it all beautifully. Is Godzilla a dinosaur? An argument for another place perhaps, but this was one of most loved dinosaurs as a kid in the mid sixties so...

This leads me on to my favourites, the Aurora Prehistoric Scenes from the 1970s. With their large size, garish colours, movable limbs and inter-locking bases, they were definitely the greatest at the time to my mind. They were the closest things you could get to having Ray Harryhausen's models to play with.

Of course, they haven't stood the test of time too well, especially the dinosaurs in terms of accuracy (though the mammals have fared a bit better) and I would thus have to make their case collectively rather than as individual kits.

There is also a debate about whether they were toys or models, as Aurora certainly hedged their bets and marketed them as both. Mine mostly lived on shelves but I well remember playing with them too, often in battle with Airfix British commandos and German paratroopers, after I saw The Land that Time Forgot!

Anyway, there is my vote and thanks for the thread Tea Rex and Godzilla comment Armagasaurus - it led to a walk down memory lane!

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