Safari 2020

[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.

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.

The issue I was referring to Doug is that it looks like the painter expected teeth, so just painted some in where they thought they should be and then just missed others. Some look exactly like that Blue Tongued Skink's teeth, just circles of white paint. It was probably a time issue and I do doubt they came out as well as your original.   I think many of us are just getting used to the likes of PNSO, Rebor, ect.. and Safari has never been that ultra-detailed, 3D printed like look.  I do appreciate the time and effort that goes into an actual hand sculpted piece. I'm not sure how Safari's factory casts their pieces ( feels different than others? ).  I recall them having to blunt certain features to meet safety codes and regs in the past but somehow these other companies get away with it?

[stargatedalek]

Safety codes are a lot to do with marketing. PNSO and REBOR aren't marketing their products to children or parents, Safari is. The question is moreso how Papo gets away with it...

[John]

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.

My 2016 Iguanodon does not have any mispainted fifth fingers.But looking it up,I did notice that the one in this blog's review does.Mine is not from the first year of release however,so it looks like that particular issue has been taken care of.Either that or I just got lucky with mine.

[Doug Watson]

The issue I was referring to Doug is that it looks like the painter expected teeth, so just painted some in where they thought they should be and then just missed others. Some look exactly like that Blue Tongued Skink's teeth, just circles of white paint. It was probably a time issue and I do doubt they came out as well as your original.   I think many of us are just getting used to the likes of PNSO, Rebor, ect.. and Safari has never been that ultra-detailed, 3D printed like look.  I do appreciate the time and effort that goes into an actual hand sculpted piece. I'm not sure how Safari's factory casts their pieces ( feels different than others? ).  I recall them having to blunt certain features to meet safety codes and regs in the past but somehow these other companies get away with it?

I realize you were taking about paint but so many had also mentioned how much the teeth showed I took that opportunity to address it. I don't have any production samples but I fully expected paint issue with such small targets. You have to realize Safari Ltd doesn't use artists to paint these they use people who apply paint in an assembly line process. There are videos online that show some of the process. I am actually amazed most of the time at how close they actually come to my paint jobs. Using this method keeps them in the price range that our main target audience, kids, can afford.

[Doug Watson]

My 2016 Iguanodon does not have any mispainted fifth fingers.But looking it up,I did notice that the one in this blog's review does.Mine is not from the first year of release however,so it looks like that particular issue has been taken care of.Either that or I just got lucky with mine.

When I noticed the mistake in some of the release images I alerted Safari Ltd and they made the correction.

[SafariLTDLover]

I wanted to post some pictures of my copy of Safari's Concavenator but it doesn't seem like this site accepts imgur? In any case there are plenty of images out of the Concavenator so the effort on my part is mute, aha.  I gotta say when I got a chance to hold the new Concavenator in hand, to my surprise it quickly became one of my favorite figures from Safari's 2020 lineup.  The Qianzhousaurus is a fantastic release, I truely feel like it should have had feathers but it still looks fantastic.  Pretty much every release this year save for the Dilophosaurus really impressed me, a little more so than last year.  initially I was very excited for this years Dilophosaurus but my samples paint applications let me down and over all I would have liked a slightly different approach to the head sculpt.  But man.... that Shringasaurus has kept a smile of my face since it's reveal back in October. 

[SidB]

The issue I was referring to Doug is that it looks like the painter expected teeth, so just painted some in where they thought they should be and then just missed others. Some look exactly like that Blue Tongued Skink's teeth, just circles of white paint. It was probably a time issue and I do doubt they came out as well as your original.   I think many of us are just getting used to the likes of PNSO, Rebor, ect.. and Safari has never been that ultra-detailed, 3D printed like look.  I do appreciate the time and effort that goes into an actual hand sculpted piece. I'm not sure how Safari's factory casts their pieces ( feels different than others? ).  I recall them having to blunt certain features to meet safety codes and regs in the past but somehow these other companies get away with it?

I realize you were taking about paint but so many had also mentioned how much the teeth showed I took that opportunity to address it. I don't have any production samples but I fully expected paint issue with such small targets. You have to realize Safari Ltd doesn't use artists to paint these they use people who apply paint in an assembly line process. There are videos online that show some of the process. I am actually amazed most of the time at how close they actually come to my paint jobs. Using this method keeps them in the price range that our main target audience, kids, can afford.

A saving grace for we collectors, who sometimes expect everything to be just so at all times and under all conditions, is that a little bit of patience, color matching and a fine paint brush can make up for the unavoidable factory slips that occur. I certainly do appreciate the affordability of these sculpts though targeted for kids, are also enticing for adults.

[Patrx]

I wanted to post some pictures of my copy of Safari's Concavenator but it doesn't seem like this site accepts imgur? In any case there are plenty of images out of the Concavenator so the effort on my part is mute, aha.  I gotta say when I got a chance to hold the new Concavenator in hand, to my surprise it quickly became one of my favorite figures from Safari's 2020 lineup.  The Qianzhousaurus is a fantastic release, I truely feel like it should have had feathers but it still looks fantastic.  Pretty much every release this year save for the Dilophosaurus really impressed me, a little more so than last year.  initially I was very excited for this years Dilophosaurus but my samples paint applications let me down and over all I would have liked a slightly different approach to the head sculpt.  But man.... that Shringasaurus has kept a smile of my face since it's reveal back in October. 

Hmm, I use imgur here frequently, can you elaborate a little on the problems you're experiencing?

[tanystropheus]

There's not much going in the way of teeth as far as the skull is concerned (compare and contrast with a T-rex skull):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianzhousaurus#/media/File:Qianzhousaurus_skull.jpg

[Jose S.M.]

I'm very thankful for Doug's responses to the issues mentioned. I also feel educated about how teeth might have looked in these animals with the lips on. That's something I really appreciate of Doug's work and also of Safari's commitment to work with an artist who makes serious research I order to accomplish high level of accuracy.

[Concavenator]

@Doug Watson Doug, I have a question. If Safari hadn't told you until now to make a T.rex, would you give it feathers? Since you opted for a scaly version of Qianzhousaurus, also a (derived) tyrannosaurid. This is not to say I'm against the featherlessness of the model, I'm totally fine with it, if there's evidence supporting scaly tyrannosaurids, which I think there is, on Daspletosaurus, if memory serves me well.

Also Doug, I hope you can address to Safari that the paint scheme on the Psittacosaurus is obsolete. Would it be a big effort just release a repaint of that figure so it can reflect the new, more likely coloration? Instead of releasing a repaint of an old figure, this would be a much better option. Only the paint scheme would change and that would make the figure more accurate and realistic.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

There's not much going in the way of teeth as far as the skull is concerned (compare and contrast with a T-rex skull):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianzhousaurus#/media/File:Qianzhousaurus_skull.jpg

I expanded that pic a lot, but I can't tell if there are tiny teeth there or just empty sockets?

[SidB]

There's not much going in the way of teeth as far as the skull is concerned (compare and contrast with a T-rex skull):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianzhousaurus#/media/File:Qianzhousaurus_skull.jpg

I expanded that pic a lot, but I can't tell if there are tiny teeth there or just empty sockets?

See what you mean. On first glimpse it seemed like empty sockets, but upon closer inspection, maybe it's very small teeth ... hard to tell.If so, yikes, they are tiny!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

There's not much going in the way of teeth as far as the skull is concerned (compare and contrast with a T-rex skull):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianzhousaurus#/media/File:Qianzhousaurus_skull.jpg

I expanded that pic a lot, but I can't tell if there are tiny teeth there or just empty sockets?

See what you mean. On first glimpse it seemed like empty sockets, but upon closer inspection, maybe it's very small teeth ... hard to tell.If so, yikes, they are tiny!

Looking at images almost everyone is restoring it with more teeth than the skull l shows.


Kind of reminds me of the teeth like structures on a duck. I wonder what Qianzhousaurus would look like restored with a duck-like bill?

[Doug Watson]

There's not much going in the way of teeth as far as the skull is concerned (compare and contrast with a T-rex skull):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianzhousaurus#/media/File:Qianzhousaurus_skull.jpg

I expanded that pic a lot, but I can't tell if there are tiny teeth there or just empty sockets?

Those are empty sockets they didn't find any teeth as far as I know images of the upper jaw also show empty sockets.

[Doug Watson]

@Doug Watson Doug, I have a question. If Safari hadn't told you until now to make a T.rex, would you give it feathers? Since you opted for a scaly version of Qianzhousaurus, also a (derived) tyrannosaurid. This is not to say I'm against the featherlessness of the model, I'm totally fine with it, if there's evidence supporting scaly tyrannosaurids, which I think there is, on Daspletosaurus, if memory serves me well.

Also Doug, I hope you can address to Safari that the paint scheme on the Psittacosaurus is obsolete. Would it be a big effort just release a repaint of that figure so it can reflect the new, more likely coloration? Instead of releasing a repaint of an old figure, this would be a much better option. Only the paint scheme would change and that would make the figure more accurate and realistic.

My preference is to use the fossil record when it is available and as far as I know all fossil integument for North American Tyrannosaurs show scales.

What do you mean when you say the paint scheme is obselete. Has a new study come out refuting the colours? If you mean the 2016 article I don't see any great difference in the colours and since as far as I know it is still an unnamed species there was probably variation between the species.

[Takama]

I was going to Reply to @Concavenator about his qustion about the Pisttacosaurus model, but it seems the expert beat me to the punch.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

There's not much going in the way of teeth as far as the skull is concerned (compare and contrast with a T-rex skull):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianzhousaurus#/media/File:Qianzhousaurus_skull.jpg

I expanded that pic a lot, but I can't tell if there are tiny teeth there or just empty sockets?

Those are empty sockets they didn't find any teeth as far as I know images of the upper jaw also show empty sockets.

Ah ok cool, i'm going totally blind yet lol  Thats odd though they didn't find any teeth, sometimes its all we find heh

[Concavenator]

@Doug Watson Doug, I have a question. If Safari hadn't told you until now to make a T.rex, would you give it feathers? Since you opted for a scaly version of Qianzhousaurus, also a (derived) tyrannosaurid. This is not to say I'm against the featherlessness of the model, I'm totally fine with it, if there's evidence supporting scaly tyrannosaurids, which I think there is, on Daspletosaurus, if memory serves me well.

Also Doug, I hope you can address to Safari that the paint scheme on the Psittacosaurus is obsolete. Would it be a big effort just release a repaint of that figure so it can reflect the new, more likely coloration? Instead of releasing a repaint of an old figure, this would be a much better option. Only the paint scheme would change and that would make the figure more accurate and realistic.

My preference is to use the fossil record when it is available and as far as I know all fossil integument for North American Tyrannosaurs show scales.

What do you mean when you say the paint scheme is obselete. Has a new study come out refuting the colours? If you mean the 2016 article I don't see any great difference in the colours and since as far as I know it is still an unnamed species there was probably variation between the species.

Yes, I meant the 2016 study. I remember it because it came out a little while after your Psittacosaurus figure had been announced for 2017. And I didn't know it was an unnamed species.

[Patrx]

Unless I'm wrong, the conclusions of the 2016 Psittacosaurus study are similar to, but more complete than, the 2010 study. The coloration of the Safari piece lines up with both studies; the only "discrepancy" is the lack of patagia on the hindlimbs, identified in the later paper.