Safari 2020

[Shonisaurus]

To me sincerely, the qianzhousaurus of Safari is my favorite theropod this year by this exceptional brand of toys also intended for collectors as is my case.

[SidB]

I'm very relieved that I actually like the colors of Concavenator and Qianzhousaurus after seen them in hand. Pity about the teeth of Qianzhousaurus, maybe if I'm feeling confident I will try to customize some new teeth on it maaaybe (probably not  )

Regarding the teeth - I very much doubt that Safari reached its potential in the sculpting of these. I'll bet that Doug Watson's original was a far cry from this dental failure. Safari can do better. For example, look at the four versions of the 10th Anniversary Carnegie Safari T-rex on the carnegiecollection,blogspot.com: the final version has long, delicate and beautifully formed teeth - it can be done.

Perhaps if this figure endures for a while, Safari will issue an updated version, like they have done so often in the past. If that happens, I'd hope that they would correct this deficiency. They are quite capable of so doing.

I'm sure Doug's original was 100% better as well.  I think the problem comes more into play when attempting to add lips to these guys, the overall look of them is pretty short anyway, then you cast that which reduces it more and..yeah.  You could try sculpting them larger to account for it but then what if it does get a few right? You'll end up with them too big. It's  a heck an issue to solve.

I wasn't going to say it, as I don't know for sure, but I suspected that the lips were the problematic with the casting process. The technique hasn't yet matured so as to do justice to both elements. I have Favorite's fine Tarbosaurus and the teeth seem to be compromised in a rather similar way, though they did a bit of a better job in their fabrication than Safari has. Mind you, the cost differential is significant.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I'm very relieved that I actually like the colors of Concavenator and Qianzhousaurus after seen them in hand. Pity about the teeth of Qianzhousaurus, maybe if I'm feeling confident I will try to customize some new teeth on it maaaybe (probably not  )

Regarding the teeth - I very much doubt that Safari reached its potential in the sculpting of these. I'll bet that Doug Watson's original was a far cry from this dental failure. Safari can do better. For example, look at the four versions of the 10th Anniversary Carnegie Safari T-rex on the carnegiecollection,blogspot.com: the final version has long, delicate and beautifully formed teeth - it can be done.

Perhaps if this figure endures for a while, Safari will issue an updated version, like they have done so often in the past. If that happens, I'd hope that they would correct this deficiency. They are quite capable of so doing.

I'm sure Doug's original was 100% better as well.  I think the problem comes more into play when attempting to add lips to these guys, the overall look of them is pretty short anyway, then you cast that which reduces it more and..yeah.  You could try sculpting them larger to account for it but then what if it does get a few right? You'll end up with them too big. It's  a heck an issue to solve.

I wasn't going to say it, as I don't know for sure, but I suspected that the lips were the problematic with the casting process. The technique hasn't yet matured so as to do justice to both elements. I have Favorite's fine Tarbosaurus and the teeth seem to be compromised in a rather similar way, though they did a bit of a better job in their fabrication than Safari has. Mind you, the cost differential is significant.

I don't know for sure myself, but having seen casting issues a lot on other products I suspect it's the issue.  It might be a bit of quality control at the factory too, I recall David saying with his line he had to a lot of back and forth and a visit or two? The upper teeth you sculpt against the lip in relief so the wouldn't show at all but be there, I'm sure they would still get the painting wrong on them though. The bottom jaw is harder to address. I don't have any good ideas for that yet.

[DragonRider02]

FINALLY! After over three or four weeks of waiting I finally have my new Safari dinos!
The Deinonychus Is my favorite 2020 figure. It's so beautiful! The body has potato-like shape and feels like a real bird. The colors are amazing too. My only complaint is one of the toes is warped upright and doesn't touch the ground.
I also decided to buy Qianzhousaurus mainly becouse I really like the way head and feet are sculpted. The colors could be more vibrant, though. The only thing that Really dissapointed me in this figure is lack of feathers. Otherwise it would be almost Perfect.

[Flaffy]

I've seen "Andy's Dinosaur Reviews" and "DinoScream Reviews" reviews on the Qianzhousaurus and I've noticed a severe lack of paint on the keratin knobs/hornets on the head of the dinosaur. And what little paint there is is pretty sloppily applied.
Is this a common issue among Qianzhousaurus copies?

As we see here, the white paint should cover the entire keratin knob.

[Shonisaurus]

@DragonRider02 I'm glad you got those two beauties.

In my case, my deinonychus does not have a deformed foot. Regarding the qianzhousaurus of Safari 2020, I am very happy with the appearance of that rare tyrannosauride by Doug Watson.

@Flaffy Regarding the qianzhousaurus I totally agree with your statement. Mine suffers from these paint defects.

[Flaffy]

@Flaffy Regarding the qianzhousaurus I totally agree with your statement. Mine suffers from these paint defects.

That's a shame, hoping Safari can fix this issue on future runs of the figure.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Looks like they just touched them quick with paint.  Kinda rushed, maybe like the teeth?

[MLMjp]

Honestly I don't know why but some of the most recent Safari´s scaly theropods look rather...un-polished.

It happened last year with the Allosaurus and Carnotarus, there were parts on their bodies were the details were lost and their heads lack definition in certain areas, the Allosaurus for example has a rather poor definition of the skull shape and the Carnotaurus lips and teeth are also not that well defined.

Now this years Qianzhousaurus and Concavenator seems to have that same loss of detail in their bodies and to make it worst a rather lackluster paint application (At least the Allo and the Carno had good paint applications).

But then you look at their feathered theropods like the T.rex or this year´s Deinonychus and they are all very well defined and have superb painjotb. Which makes quite the contrast.

[John]

I'm not sure what models you people are looking at,or if you all have bootlegs or something,but I can tell you that none of the examples of Safari's theropods anyone has brought up that I have (Allosaurus,Carnotaurus,and especially the Qianzhousaurus)are in any way "unpolished" or have no detail.And as for paint,these are toys for less than 20 bucks in most cases.You get what you pay for.

[Shonisaurus]

@John You are right the quality varies as it is logical to have the level of the cost of the product. If a figure costs 20 euros you can not demand the same quality as a figure that costs 100 or 120 euros if it is PVC or if it is vintage (rare figure in the market) or that a cheap figure of dinosaur or other prehistoric animal is of the Same quality and finish as a resin figure that costs 2,000 dollars or euros.

The quality of a figure obviously and usually varies significantly according to its price.

We cannot demand brands such as Schleich, Bullyland or other toy brands intended for most of their figures to children and the public in the best case of young adolescents regardless of whether we like to collect them from the elderly.

There are logically notable exceptions such as dinosaurs and prehistoric animals of Eofauna or PNSO and even Rebor but it is not normal.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

Something I just noticed with the qianzhousaurus is that the claws on the feet are done very similarly to those of the Battat theropods, instead of being on the ground.

[Doug Watson]

I'm very relieved that I actually like the colors of Concavenator and Qianzhousaurus after seen them in hand. Pity about the teeth of Qianzhousaurus, maybe if I'm feeling confident I will try to customize some new teeth on it maaaybe (probably not  )

Regarding the teeth - I very much doubt that Safari reached its potential in the sculpting of these. I'll bet that Doug Watson's original was a far cry from this dental failure. Safari can do better. For example, look at the four versions of the 10th Anniversary Carnegie Safari T-rex on the carnegiecollection,blogspot.com: the final version has long, delicate and beautifully formed teeth - it can be done.

Perhaps if this figure endures for a while, Safari will issue an updated version, like they have done so often in the past. If that happens, I'd hope that they would correct this deficiency. They are quite capable of so doing.

I'm sure Doug's original was 100% better as well.  I think the problem comes more into play when attempting to add lips to these guys, the overall look of them is pretty short anyway, then you cast that which reduces it more and..yeah.  You could try sculpting them larger to account for it but then what if it does get a few right? You'll end up with them too big. It's  a heck an issue to solve.

I wasn't going to say it, as I don't know for sure, but I suspected that the lips were the problematic with the casting process. The technique hasn't yet matured so as to do justice to both elements. I have Favorite's fine Tarbosaurus and the teeth seem to be compromised in a rather similar way, though they did a bit of a better job in their fabrication than Safari has. Mind you, the cost differential is significant.

I don't know for sure myself, but having seen casting issues a lot on other products I suspect it's the issue.  It might be a bit of quality control at the factory too, I recall David saying with his line he had to a lot of back and forth and a visit or two? The upper teeth you sculpt against the lip in relief so the wouldn't show at all but be there, I'm sure they would still get the painting wrong on them though. The bottom jaw is harder to address. I don't have any good ideas for that yet.

Hey there, I don't have any production samples yet but to anyone who thinks the teeth should be more visible I did this intentionally. Qianzhousaurus is thought to have very small thin teeth compared to other tyrannosaurs. If you look at the skull of a komodo dragon which has teeth relatively proportional in length to Qianzhousaurus and lips and then look at how exposed the teeth are my model actually shows the teeth to a greater extent than they probably were in reality. In fact you don't actually see the teeth on a Komodo when the mouth is open.

Here is the skull of a Komodo


Here a Komodo with its mouth open, anyone see any teeth?


Having said that I'll probably have to give up some more scientific accuracy and make the teeth more visible in the future because it seems dino toy collectors want their teeth over accuracy.

[SidB]

I'm not sure what models you people are looking at,or if you all have bootlegs or something,but I can tell you that none of the examples of Safari's theropods anyone has brought up that I have (Allosaurus,Carnotaurus,and especially the Qianzhousaurus)are in any way "unpolished" or have no detail.And as for paint,these are toys for less than 20 bucks in most cases.You get what you pay for.

@ John, as I sit here, sipping on my morning coffee, easing into the day, my eyes notice my two current displays on a bookshelf that catches the early sun. It houses two collections that are now on display - the PNSO's and the Wild Safari's. I'm just blown away at the quality of the Safari's, as observed from a viewing distance of 10-15 feet. Their impact in terms of color, form and detail is remarkable. To echo your comments as well as those of @Shonisaurus, at their price point, their beauty, precision and value is outstanding. Closer up, the quality of painting and finish is excellant, like yours.

I totally sympathize with those whose figures are sub-par, but a very minor and easily executed touch-up generally can take care of these short-falls. Considering the relatively low prices of these figures, over against the impressive offerings of say, Vitae, PNSO and Rebor, I find myself being quite forgiving of any deficiencies on the part of the Safari painters, as most of these can be readily amended. Hit and miss seems to be a concomitment to economy of price, with hopefully a minority of the figures being in the "miss" department.

[Flaffy]

Hey there, I don't have any production samples yet but to anyone who thinks the teeth should be more visible I did this intentionally. Qianzhousaurus is thought to have very small thin teeth compared to other tyrannosaurs. If you look at the skull of a komodo dragon which has teeth relatively proportional in length to Qianzhousaurus and lips and then look at how exposed the teeth are my model actually shows the teeth to a greater extent than they probably were in reality. In fact you don't actually see the teeth on a Komodo when the mouth is open.

Mr Watson, do you happen to have any images of your original sculpt of the Qianzhousaurus? Would give some insight to if any detail was lost during the casting process.

Having said that I'll probably have to give up some more scientific accuracy and make the teeth more visible in the future because it seems dino toy collectors want their teeth over accuracy.

While it's not a perfect comparison, I personally prefer if the lips and mouth tissue were restored like this. 

(RJ Palmer's Tyrannosaurus for Saurian)

[Flaffy]

And as for paint,these are toys for less than 20 bucks in most cases.You get what you pay for.

When I buy Safari figures, I don't expect amazing paintjobs. But it would certainly be nice if simple paint details were painted with more care. Especially since Safari figures don't tend to have the most complex paint schemes, you'd think issues like the iguanodon having a mispainted fifth finger, or qianzhousaurus missing the majority of paint on it's hornlets wouldn't be common.

And sloppy paintwork really detracts from the amazing sculpts Doug Watson puts out, making the final product look cheap and unpolished.

[SidB]

@Doug Watson, wow, this is a revelation to me. I had totally no notion that the teeth of the Komodo were so hidden "in the flesh," in comparison to the skeletal. I am now educated! Painting imprecision aside, the size and relative obscuring of the dentition makes sense in the context of the fossil evidence. It's true, though, we often do want to see "more teeth." Do continue to sculpt on the accuracy side - it's your trademark and a most welcome one in our subculture.

[Doug Watson]

Hey there, I don't have any production samples yet but to anyone who thinks the teeth should be more visible I did this intentionally. Qianzhousaurus is thought to have very small thin teeth compared to other tyrannosaurs. If you look at the skull of a komodo dragon which has teeth relatively proportional in length to Qianzhousaurus and lips and then look at how exposed the teeth are my model actually shows the teeth to a greater extent than they probably were in reality. In fact you don't actually see the teeth on a Komodo when the mouth is open.

Mr Watson, do you happen to have any images of your original sculpt of the Qianzhousaurus? Would give some insight to if any detail was lost during the casting process.

Having said that I'll probably have to give up some more scientific accuracy and make the teeth more visible in the future because it seems dino toy collectors want their teeth over accuracy.

While it's not a perfect comparison, I personally prefer if the lips and mouth tissue were restored like this. 

Yes I will post images of my originals but it takes time unfortunately that I don't have right now, I wish I could simply download an image directly from my computer.

If I did a T rex with lips then yes the teeth would look more like your image but Qianzhousaurus didn't have 6 inch daggers for teeth. Plus the tongue is wrong on that one.

[Dino Scream3232]

Excellent point avoid the teeth @Doug Watson. When I was looking over the model one of the first things I thought of are monitor teeth. Running your fingers a long the mouth the teeth feel prominent. Guess us collectors are used to teeth being over emphasized. I work with Blue tongues skinks and as you can see from a pic of one of my monsters the teeth a deep set into the gums. But trust me I do feel them when one decides to chomp me lol. That's why my hands look like a mess in some of my reviews.

[Doug Watson]

Please indulge me while I address another critique of one of my pieces. On the blog in a review by @indohyus the author says the snout on my Sarcosuchus is too short. I addressed it in a reply on the blog but the author is still unconvinced so since I couldn't figure out how to post an image on the blog replies I'll do it here.
Here is my original compared to the restoration in the 2001 paper by Sereno et al.  The restoration here was scaled to my model and was what I used to scale the piece. Using photos of the skull online that aren't taken directly from above or laterally tend to have fish eye distortion that make the snout look longer. A scientific illustration is a better source since they are drawn to scale. Even a photo of the skull taken directly above can have some camera distortion.