What is the most accurate Spinosaurus model on the market?

[suspsy]

I think the Wild Safari version is the most accurate. All that's needed really is a new tail, and Doug has already stated that he'd be happy to make one if Safari directed him to do so.

Perhaps a new colour scheme would be in order as well, something more marine-themed?

[Shonisaurus]

@suspsy I would like a spinosaurus from Safari by Doug with some painting details as realistic as possible but if they could be with less conservative paint tones as his previous figure was it would be great. Of course without war paintings, but it was not so monochrome.

[SidB]

For those of us who have invested in the latest round of Spinosaurus releases  (for myself, that's the offerings of Safari, Schleich and PNSO), the new finds may seem like being drenched with a bucket of ice cold water, though the findings themselves are absolutely fascinating. Suddenly, with a single swipe, this generation has become obsolete.

I won't argue the point - they have been superceded and we now have to wait on the next up-to -date release. My money is on CollectA. However, I don't think that the now "obsolete" generation has to be jettisoned. Even though they are no longer current, they still can serve as exemplars of the progression in our rapidly developing knowledge of the species, especially if one has the past generations in the series.

Also, consider the new fin-tailed form that is now our understanding of what constitutes Spinosaurus aegyptiacus. Did it magically appear out of nowhere? No, it evolved from ancestral forms of which we simply have no present knowledge.The antepenultimate or penultimate species prior to it must have been rather close to Safari's, etc. Spinosaurus - webbed hind feet, powerful, somewhat vertically flatted tail, jaws and dentition adapted for a piscivorous diet, etc. In other words NOT QUITE the new Spinosaurus, BUT GETTING THERE. So, what I'm suggesting is that my three fine figures are still "valid". just not for Spinosaurus aegyptiacus  - they're just waiting for new unearthings and hence a new name.

[Gwangi]

This new study on Spinosaurus is exactly why I've been holding off on Spinosaurus figures for the last several years. My collection only has two Spinosaurus, the Papo and the Favorite V.1. I desperately want an updated Spinosaurus but have kept telling myself "not yet, give it more time". Well, here we go.

[Shonisaurus]

I also want an updated spinosaurus from Collecta, PNSO, Rebor and even Schleich. Recent scientific discoveries are changing our perspective of seeing certain prehistoric animals and as prominent members are the dinosaurs and prehistoric animals of their time (pterosaurs and prehistoric marine reptiles).

Paleontology like medicine or legal laws among other subjects is a subject in constant change.

[Halichoeres]

Not to beat a dead horse, but let's say we didn't know dromaeosaurs had feathers and full wings, but at some point Papo had made one with bat wings. Then a specimen with feathery wings is published, do we then declare Papo's the most accurate because it has wings? The figure gives it a fish tail, sure, but it bears only the most superficial, squint-and-you-can-kinda-see-it resemblance to the one implied by the new tail material.

(edited for ambiguous antecedent)

[suspsy]

Not to beat a dead horse, but let's say we didn't know dromaeosaurs had feathers and full wings, but at some point Papo had made one with bat wings. Then a specimen with feathery wings is published, do we then declare Papo's the most accurate because it has wings? The new reconstruction gives it a fish tail, sure, but it shares only the most superficial, squint-and-you-can-kinda-see-it resemblance to the one implied by the new tail material.

This is one of the best summations of the situation I've read. Well done.

[Sarapaurolophus]

Not to beat a dead horse, but let's say we didn't know dromaeosaurs had feathers and full wings, but at some point Papo had made one with bat wings. Then a specimen with feathery wings is published, do we then declare Papo's the most accurate because it has wings? The new reconstruction gives it a fish tail, sure, but it shares only the most superficial, squint-and-you-can-kinda-see-it resemblance to the one implied by the new tail material.

To a regular dinofan it's not as noticeable as feathers vs skin, tho. I think a fairer comparison would be dromaeo without feathers vs the same dromaeo but with one weird bushel of feathers on its tail - when no other company had released a feathered dromaeo before. And in that case the latter would be the most accurate, yes. At that moment in time.

Edit: And I just made myself laugh because that means that Pixar's hillbilly velociraptors are possibly the most accurate we have seen in Hollywood movies so far

[tanystropheus]

Papo Spinosaurus as per the information regarding the "fish-tail" revealed April 2020.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/first-spinosaurus-tail-found-confirms-dinosaur-was-swimming/?

[stargatedalek]

Papo Spinosaurus as per the information regarding the "fish-tail" revealed April 2020.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/first-spinosaurus-tail-found-confirms-dinosaur-was-swimming/?

It gets the feet wrong, which was a known detail at the time the figure was made.

[Shonisaurus]

As for the eel-shaped tail, Papo's spinosaurus and even Schleich's seem more precise. When it comes to webbed feet, Safari seems more accurate. In my case there is a dichotomy of tastes, although the one that most seduces me with its flaws (which will have them like all toy or resin figures) is undoubtedly Papo's spinosaurus.

[tanystropheus]

Papo Spinosaurus as per the information regarding the "fish-tail" revealed April 2020.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/first-spinosaurus-tail-found-confirms-dinosaur-was-swimming/?

It gets the feet wrong, which was a known detail at the time the figure was made.

The question isn't asking about which Spino is 100% accurate (rather, it is asking for the most accurate Spino). Undoubtedly, the Papo is the most accurate Spino model (unless REBOR decides to delay their Spino to add the fluke). As another poster stated elsewhere, the Papo was even featured in the National Geographic interview video illustrating the new findings. And, there's even a Reddit thread called, "Papo predicted the future."

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dinosaurs/comments/gayyqk/papo_predicted_the_future/

I do agree that there's an issue with the feet but it's likely a production error because the Papo Spino has a dew claw on the the left foot but there's no visible dew claw on the right.

[stargatedalek]

Papo Spinosaurus as per the information regarding the "fish-tail" revealed April 2020.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/first-spinosaurus-tail-found-confirms-dinosaur-was-swimming/?

It gets the feet wrong, which was a known detail at the time the figure was made.

The question isn't asking about which Spino is 100% accurate (rather, it is asking for the most accurate Spino). Undoubtedly, the Papo is the most accurate Spino model (unless REBOR decides to delay their Spino to add the fluke). As another poster stated elsewhere, the Papo was even featured in the National Geographic interview video illustrating the new findings. And, there's even a Reddit thread called, "Papo predicted the future."

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dinosaurs/comments/gayyqk/papo_predicted_the_future/

I do agree that there's an issue with the feet but it's likely a production error because the Papo Spino has a dew claw on the the left foot but there's no visible dew claw on the right.

But it gets the tail fin wrong. Just as wrong as Schleich and PNSO did. So also getting anatomy that was known at the time wrong means it can't be more accurate than ones that got that anatomy right.

[tanystropheus]

Papo Spinosaurus as per the information regarding the "fish-tail" revealed April 2020.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/first-spinosaurus-tail-found-confirms-dinosaur-was-swimming/?

It gets the feet wrong, which was a known detail at the time the figure was made.

The question isn't asking about which Spino is 100% accurate (rather, it is asking for the most accurate Spino). Undoubtedly, the Papo is the most accurate Spino model (unless REBOR decides to delay their Spino to add the fluke). As another poster stated elsewhere, the Papo was even featured in the National Geographic interview video illustrating the new findings. And, there's even a Reddit thread called, "Papo predicted the future."

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dinosaurs/comments/gayyqk/papo_predicted_the_future/

I do agree that there's an issue with the feet but it's likely a production error because the Papo Spino has a dew claw on the the left foot but there's no visible dew claw on the right.

But it gets the tail fin wrong. Just as wrong as Schleich and PNSO did. So also getting anatomy that was known at the time wrong means it can't be more accurate than ones that got that anatomy right.

How would it get the tail fin absolutely right when there was no scientific evidence for a tail fin? Papo and PNSO were moving in the right direction (especially the Papo as it has a more pronounced fluke than the PNSO). And, you were clearly wrong about your statement that the Schleich had a fin  tail. It absolutely doesn't.

[stargatedalek]

How would it get the tail fin absolutely right when there was no scientific evidence for a tail fin? Papo and PNSO were moving in the right direction (especially the Papo as it has a more pronounced fluke than the PNSO). And, you were clearly wrong about your statement that the Schleich had a fin  tail. It absolutely doesn't.

A)
Why does including a tail fin, whether that fin is right or wrong, matter more than getting the skeletal anatomy of the feet correct? You're entire assertion that the Papo Spinosaurus is the bestest best most accurate ever yet is reliant on that idea, so please, why does that matter more?

B)
I would argue the Papo version has a less pronounced fin than the PNSO model, though how pronounced it is is completely irrelevant anyway. The Papo's tail is more visually distinct sure, because they depicted it as being a different kind of surface, but depicting it that way is part of its inaccuracy. PNSO depicts a tail fin as part of the animals natural tissues extending vertically, which is the accurate way to depict it. So I fail to see how the Papo is more accurate than the PNSO, even just going off of the tail.

Spoiler

Thanks to Bokisaurus for the lovely photos of the PNSO Spinosaurus from the blogs review, as the product photos really didn't show the tail very well.
https://dinotoyblog.com/2019/04/22/spinosaurus-pnso-scientific-art-model/

[close]

C)
The Schleich Spinosaurus definitely has a fin. When I say "fin", I'm not referring to a section of skin held up by spines, I'm referring to a flattened structure used for underwater propulsion or stability. Sharks and dolphins have fins too, just because something is a "fin" doesn't mean it's going to look like it's made of fin rays like on a traditional fish. So I wasn't talking about the little spines coming off of the end of the tail, I'm talking about how enlarged it is vertically. This Spinosaurus has a fin on its tail, a big thick one that's largely uniform along its length and looks almost like a beavers tail flipped sideways.

Which, I stress again, is also closer to the new tail we see on Spinosaurus than giving it fin rays like a fish, which it decidedly did not have.

Spoiler

[close]

[Loon]

The Carnegie Spinosaurus, it got the square sail right decades before anyone else. Frankly, I think everyone on this forum owes it an apology.

[stargatedalek]

The Carnegie Spinosaurus, it got the square sail right decades before anyone else. Frankly, I think everyone on this forum owes it an apology.

Let's not forget the old Wild Safari Spinosaurus, which got the square sail even closer and is leaning on its hands! They definitely most have had insider information.

[Loon]

@stargatedalek definitely, how else would they get it right so far in advance?

Also, that old Safari Spinosaurus is so nostalgic to me. It was a holy grail of mine when I was in elementary school.

[tanystropheus]

Not sure about the Carnegie Spinosaurus as it looks like an asymmetrical "chinasaurus" (before the term ended up with positive connotations thanks to PNSO) but the Wild Safari should probably be credited for having the square sail.

[tanystropheus]

How would it get the tail fin absolutely right when there was no scientific evidence for a tail fin? Papo and PNSO were moving in the right direction (especially the Papo as it has a more pronounced fluke than the PNSO). And, you were clearly wrong about your statement that the Schleich had a fin  tail. It absolutely doesn't.

A)
Why does including a tail fin, whether that fin is right or wrong, matter more than getting the skeletal anatomy of the feet correct? You're entire assertion that the Papo Spinosaurus is the bestest best most accurate ever yet is reliant on that idea, so please, why does that matter more?

It can be argued that almost half of all dinosaur models have inaccurate feet...