Papo 2020

[suspsy]

Okay so is it just me or does the head look huge in this pic? I really have no idea what is going on with the proportions of this figure now. Its certainly been altered in a way that early reconstructions of dinosaurs were, just to be forced into a tripod pose. Crazy how we go from that mostly accurate Spinosaurus to this though (unless this was sculpted prior to that figure and is only releasing now). I just don't get it.

The more angles I see of this toy, the more I dislike it. The rearing pose is one thing, but the legs are spread way too far apart. I'm pretty sure that's beyond the range of motion that a giant theropod was capable of.

The head does look nice, albeit shrink-wrapped. One could hack that off, along with the arms, and combine them with the Running T. rex's body to produce a pretty decent kitbash.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Just wait until some Asian company knocks it off , they might even straighten it out.  I'm thinking back to Papo Bary where everyone wanted Spinosaurus made from it..well some company did it. lol

[SidB]

Just until some Asian company knocks it off , they might even straighten it out.  I'm thinking back to Papo Bary where everyone wanted Spinosaurus made from it..well some company did it. lol

Yes, one of the very few , but actual cases where a knock-off improves on an original sculpt. So maybe there's still hope for this figure.

[Ceratosaurus]

Yes, one of the very few , but actual cases where a knock-off improves on an original sculpt. So maybe there's still hope for this figure.

Funny you say that. I was just thinking the same thing when I came across a knockoff Papo Iguanodon the other day without the articulating jaw.

[SidB]

Exactly. The presence of the articulated jaw on the original never impressed me as being realistic. Papo does a good job in general with their articulations, but this was not one of them. When I too saw this figure on Aliexpress, I also thought that it was a definite improvement.

Another example: several years ago I ordered on eBay what I thought was the Schleich red rex. It turned out to be a knock-off, virtually indistinguishable from the original, but with this improvement - the hands were not pronated!

[Stegotyranno420]

Sometimes,  those companies accidentally make accurate scales, better poses, and better hands.

[Mirroraptor]

Here's the original photo of PAPO Giganotosaurus' sample.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

That head is pretty nice regardless of the rest. Thanks for sharing.

[Mirroraptor]

Thank you.
Actually, I don't think PAPO Giganotosaurus' posture is a big problem. It may seem strange today, but I believe it is a tribute to stop-motion animated films from the 1960s and 1970s such as [Valley of Gwangi].

[Ceratosaurus]

Selfie 

Here's the original photo of PAPO Giganotosaurus' sample.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Thank you.
Actually, I don't think PAPO Giganotosaurus' posture is a big problem. It may seem strange today, but I believe it is a tribute to stop-motion animated films from the 1960s and 1970s such as [Valley of Gwangi].

Yeah really feels like that maybe what the artist was trying. That or he gave up trying to get it to stand without a base..looking at it I just can't see how it would if made in a horizontal position. Just too much weight forward.   The Eofauna falls regularly and the Safari has a base.  We all know retailers hate figures that wont stand.

[Loon]

That or he gave up trying to get it to stand without a base..looking at it I just can't see how it would if made in a horizontal position.

It has to be this, Papo's "Jurassic Park" aesthetic wouldn't jive well with a tail dragger. I really wish companies weren't so averse to bases.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

That or he gave up trying to get it to stand without a base..looking at it I just can't see how it would if made in a horizontal position.

It has to be this, Papo's "Jurassic Park" aesthetic wouldn't jive well with a tail dragger. I really wish companies weren't so averse to bases.

It's not companies really, it's collectors and kids. You mention bases and people get upset.

[Loon]

It's not companies really, it's collectors and kids. You mention bases and people get upset.

Guess you're right. Though, I don't know how someone could be happier with this pose over a base.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

It's not companies really, it's collectors and kids. You mention bases and people get upset.

Guess you're right. Though, I don't know how someone could be happier with this pose over a base.

Kids will be. Collectors would have to view it as the lesser of two evils.

[Syndicate Bias]

I guess I'm the only one who is genuienly excited for the Chilesaurus?

Seems like all I'll be getting will be the stygi and Chile this year. I guess that's fine considering I wanna buy more resin kits anyways.

[Faelrin]

The more I think about why these figures often have problematic poses (such as the new Giganotosaurus, Chilesaurus, and perhaps even the Stygimoloch to some extant, but also many older ones), the more I think I understand why, and the poses are only a small (or large) part of what the problem is here. I think it really is just a matter of this particular sculptor, if not the company (such as marketing, etc) at large being more interested in seeing and depicting them as monsters, then animals (I suppose one example that leads to it being a result of the marketing team or whoever, is the Pentaceratops that was depicted as standing up, though clearly sculpted to stand in a traditional manner, with only the one arm off the ground).

Much like Schleich, while Papo's sculptors as a whole has never really strived for paleontological accuracy with their figures (though have never claimed to either, unlike Schleich has), unless it starts catching on in pop culture in one way or another (assuming they aren't basing their figure off of something in pop culture like Jurassic Park or Sideshow Collectibles in the first place), this trend of depicting these creatures as monsters much of the time, is no doubt the driving factor behind these often dramatic or outlandish poses (mainly making them look as if they were caught in some epic battle), and may even be why there is an apparent blatant disregard for fossil evidence at times (such as the over sized teeth on the recent Spinosaurus, or the overly monstrous reptilian heads of the Archeaopteryx and feathered Velociraptor), that is when aren't basing their figure off another's design (such as Jurassic Park, Disney's Dinosaur, Sideshow Collectibles, etc).

Additionally while stability may play a part into this, and a base may help, no doubt the articulated jaw (which I myself am guilty of being a fan of, if implemented well) itself (in an open pose) on many of these has played a part in these figures poses. Take one look at most of the promotional images of the figures with articulated jaws and no doubt the initial image seen will have the jaw opened. No doubt many of these figures poses seem to be heavily based around the jaw itself being opened, and some of the figures look particularly awkward with it closed due to their poses (Baryonyx in particular, but no doubt there are others, like the Iguanodon, which aside from the theropod Therizinosaurus, is the only herbivore with an articulated jaw so far). Even many of those without an articulated jaw still suffer from these dramatic battle like poses much of the time, such as the Styracosaurus, Ankylosaurus, or even this new Chilesaurus and Stygimoloch, and of course the Pentaceratops mentioned earlier.

That's of course not to say they haven't had a few exceptions, those being the Todd Marshall like Allosaurus, the Ceratosaurus, Dimetrodon, maybe the new Spinosaurus (as it does appear to be in a wading pose), and despite the near tripod posture of the Cyrolophosaurus, possibly that one as well. Honestly I really wish they would make more figures like the Allosaurus, and those other ones, where they are in much more naturalistic poses, not in the midst of some epic battle, where the jaw or opened or closed is only a relatively minor factor of the look of the thing on the whole.

All the same the figures with these poses are also clearly selling well, otherwise they would not keep depicting them this way. There is a market for them in some way or another, rather it be with children or adult collectors. Perhaps it might even be a win-lose (or love hate?) for some, as Papo might fill a need for a highly detailed (not just the sculpt but often the complex paint applications) figure of a particular genus, despite the anatomical issues they often have (some of which arise from the nature of the posing itself, such as the Giganotosaurus, but the recent Quetzalcoatlus and the Chilesaurus). I certainly feel this towards a few of their models that have relatively minor representation as it is, and I can either shell out for their depiction or continue to wait until another company can handle it more faithfully. I suppose the Pentaceratops and Chilesaurus are possibly being good examples of this, and in my case the new Spinosaurus, and while there is actually a plethora of models for that one, some of which are even more in line with the current fossil evidence then this is, but despite that, something about it just calls to me that the others don't, much of which is the color scheme itself I suppose, if not other things here and there.

Nonetheless that isn't to say naturalistic poses can't sell well either. Their Allosaurus is perhaps the best example of a figure (and is only partly pop culture inspired), that is without one of those dramatic poses, and that has been sold for a decade, and has now recently received a repaint, rather then a resculpt, clearly showing there is still demand for this particular sculpt, and other brands like CollectA and Safari Ltd are doing just fine as well, and have certainly earned a following of their own, if not in the past, then certainly in the recent years. Unfortunately unless figures like this new Giganotosaurus drop in sales, I'm doubtful they will stop with depicting these creatures in such a way.

[Over9K]

oof... won't need to buy the Gig then... pose reminds me a bit of the old PNSO Tyrannosaur...

[Takama]

oof... won't need to buy the Gig then... pose reminds me a bit of the old PNSO Tyrannosaur...

IMO The PNSO Tyrannosaur looks a LOT better then the Papo Giga in terms of Poseing.

[suspsy]

oof... won't need to buy the Gig then... pose reminds me a bit of the old PNSO Tyrannosaur...

The PNSO T. rex is posed way, way better than the Giganotosaurus.