Kaiyodo - new for 2020

[Halichoeres]

Almost every company in Japan is making merch for the Doraemon movie Nobita's New Dinosaur:


Oops! All Theropods CapsuleQ set:

Acrocanthosaurus skeleton, in two color versions
Allosaurus
Spinosaurus
Tyrannosaurus

[CityRaptor]

Seems to be a big thing.

I'm actually okay with that.  Shelf space is finite, collection budget is finite and there are so many figures by other companies I'm interested in.

[Loon]

I am a little disappointed, I just started collecting Kaiyodo figures and was hoping they would reveal some new figures. Though, I might grab that pink and blue Oviraptor (?), those colors are always a winning combo in my book. Also, I have to say, these look miles better than what Takara showed off.

[SBell]

I am a little disappointed, I just started collecting Kaiyodo figures and was hoping they would reveal some new figures. Though, I might grab that pink and blue Oviraptor (?), those colors are always a winning combo in my book. Also, I have to say, these look miles better than what Takara showed off.

If you've just started with Kaiyodo you will need all your resources just to get caught up anyway! There's dozens of them, they're all long out of production, and they can be hard to find and expensive...unless you want to hit cheat mode and get a full complete set from @brettnj but I have no idea how much that costs!

(and it still wouldn't include the more recent Capsule lines...or dino expo figures...or other series' dinos...)! 

[Loon]

If you've just started with Kaiyodo you will need all your resources just to get caught up anyway! There's dozens of them, they're all long out of production, and they can be hard to find and expensive...unless you want to hit cheat mode and get a full complete set from @brettnj but I have no idea how much that costs!

(and it still wouldn't include the more recent Capsule lines...or dino expo figures...or other series' dinos...)! 

I've already got, quite a few (around 50), and that's from only buying them for the past couple of months. And, yes, I actually contacted Brett already, and let's just say, that numbers going to grow quite soon.

[Halichoeres]

I am a little disappointed, I just started collecting Kaiyodo figures and was hoping they would reveal some new figures. Though, I might grab that pink and blue Oviraptor (?), those colors are always a winning combo in my book. Also, I have to say, these look miles better than what Takara showed off.

Yeah, they definitely do look nicer, partly because they don't have all the articulations. They do look kind of Oviraptor-y, but from what I can gather this is supposed to be a brand new species the protagonists discover in-universe.

[Halichoeres]

Only slightly less disappointing (from my perspective). Theropod fans, and no one else, will be pleased:


Acrocanthosaurus skeleton, in two color versions
Allosaurus
Spinosaurus
Tyrannosaurus

[CityRaptor]

It's not too bad. Sure, I got five different Kaiyodo Rexes ( one a skeleton and one Retro )  but I have no modern Allosaurus ( only a Retro-Classic one ), Acrocanthosaurus or Spinosaurus from them so far. Indeed I am in need of a good representation of Allosaurus and the current Spinosaurus anyways. 

[sauroid]

@Halichoeres, are they made of soft pliable plastic unlike the dino tales series? and how big are they (the hand comparison isnt really reliable)?

[SBell]

@Halichoeres, are they made of soft pliable plastic unlike the dino tales series? and how big are they (the hand comparison isnt really reliable)?

We don't know much yet, just the photos from @brettnj .

They're probably similar in materials and size to recent capsule sets

I for one look forward to lining up the new Spinosaurus with the recent expo one and the Dinotales one... it's like watching the reconstruction hypotheses evolve!

[sauroid]

i just wish Kaiyodo would go beyond the tired old same species over and over again.

[brettnj]

@Halichoeres, are they made of soft pliable plastic unlike the dino tales series? and how big are they (the hand comparison isnt really reliable)?

I strongly assume Sean is right.

All of Kaiyodo's Gashapon figures of recent years--aquarium, zoo, CQM--have been of the softer plastic.

As for size, unless you're looking for exact measurements, I also strongly assume they are the size you and all of us strongly assume they are... Dinotales--and though they are CQM they are also noted as Dinotales on (at least some) advertising materials--virtually (arguably literally) never stray (unlike, say, the charm sets which suggest it in their name and a few in the Wild Rush sets) beyond the expected.

Since I'm here, of course I'm taking orders for these (and the pending Kaiyodo spider set (and this month's caterpillar set) now...

[Halichoeres]

i just wish Kaiyodo would go beyond the tired old same species over and over again.

Same. I can see the appeal of @SBell's idea to show the evolving understanding of the animal's anatomy, but personally I don't have much use for a Spino at this scale. I have a lot of Kaiyodo figures, but they haven't released anything that I saw fit to add to my collection since 2016. One yawn-fest after another.

[SBell]

i just wish Kaiyodo would go beyond the tired old same species over and over again.

Same. I can see the appeal of @SBell's idea to show the evolving understanding of the animal's anatomy, but personally I don't have much use for a Spino at this scale. I have a lot of Kaiyodo figures, but they haven't released anything that I saw fit to add to my collection since 2016. One yawn-fest after another.

Agreed, I would rather have a wider range of prehistoric animals. But once in a while they at least update things, like the recent Deinocheirus and Borealpelta. I never seem to buy full sets anymore though.

[brettnj]

While generally I agree with H (And the whole issue of it is maddening (Kaiyodo's repetition of subjects at the expense of new species--not my agreeing with H...)...), I thought there were at least improvements in many cases--including something as simple as the Dinotales series 4 tarbosaurus getting a naturalistic paint scheme. I never loved the figure, but while I'd never have displayed the series 4 versions due to the gharish paint, I might display this one once I've got more room.

But most particularly I felt that the 2019 set with the aforementioned deinocheirus was really stunning and elegant and, as I think I've mentioned elsewhere on the site, that that set's t-rex would make a really impressive front and center display piece to the entire Dinotales (including the CQMs) line.

[John]

If anyone had missed out on the 2019 Dinosaur Expo Tyrannosaurus rex,then the new one in this set should come as good news as it's the same model just reposed and repainted on a better base.

[brettnj]

My knee jerk reaction as I sit at my desk with the very figure in question in front of me for (too) immediate comparison was that you were mistaken.

But taking a moment, I get your point.

If I get bored, maybe I'll try to figure out how many rexes Kaiyodo made...

[brettnj]

Okay, I was already bored when I mentioned I'd do this if I got bored in the last post...

Others can fill in any I missed and/or offer proper names for sets... Not going near skeletons, skulls, or anything beyond Gashapon size since I don't collect them...
Maybe there were ones in the bottle cap set and/or Jurassic Park set which I also never collected?

Dinotales series 1
Dinotales series 1 secret white variant
Dinotales series 1.2 variant
Jurassic Park Tour boxed set variant

Dinotales series 3 secret classic construction x3

Dinotales series 5, two versions rearing
Dinotales series 7, two versions running, smaller than expected

first CQM set regular, feathered, and feathered variant
CQM fighting triceratops (and I've never quite understood but I think there's some smaller Mini Q version?)
2 variants from CQM set with the therizinosaurus

feathered version in 2016 Dino Expo set with the yi-qi
Sue--large, small
Study Room resin
There was one from a Wonder Fest.
the 2019 Dino Expo one in question plus the bronze version
the pending one--which would be 26 if right about the mini Q

Might not have gotten them all but when you see this number and consider how long ago the first was issued, it's not so extreme and certainly very understandable that such a massively popular subject would take such precedence from a business perspective. Perhaps without some of these pulling in money from children and more generic collectors we wouldn't have had some of our favorite rarities made...

[SBell]

That's quite the list. And, indeed, there is a Kaiyodo rex in the Coca Cola JP 3 set as well.

[brettnj]

So, 27...

What I think I can justify bothering me about this since it is not out of line with profit margins is that there are a few similarly extremely iconic species such as the smilodon and especially the mammoth whose original figures I don't think received deserved impressive sculpts that could very likely be readdressed to the same general audience response as reissues of the t-rex, but Kaiyodo hasn't done so.