Top 10 ceratopsoid toys (excluding Triceratops) [Poll open]

[SidB]

And then there's the Safari 2019 Styracosaurus which is an excellent figure, but doesn't seem very popular...

I can't speak for anyone else, but what bugs me about Safari's Styracosaurus is the blunted, curving frill horns. I know that Safari did that for safety reasons (this is a toy intended for children, after all), and for most figures, it wouldn't be a problem. But in this case, the bent horns change the characteristic silhouette of Styracosaurus so dramatically that I couldn't get past it.

I picked both CollectA's and PNSO's versions over Safari's. 

As far as I can remember, Safari's Styracosaurus has always been one of their lesser ceratopsian lights. Mind you, Doug Watson set that bar pretty high.

[Gwangi]

Battat Styracosaurus
Haolonggood Pachyrhinosaurus
Haolonggood Pentaceratops
Kaiyodo Diabloceratops
Mattel Jurassic World Sinoceratops (Pachyrhinosaurus)
PNSO Centrosaurus
PNSO Sinoceratops
Wild Safari Einiosaurus
Wild Safari Nasutoceratops
Wild Safari Regaliceratops

[Halichoeres]

And then there's the Safari 2019 Styracosaurus which is an excellent figure, but doesn't seem very popular...

I can't speak for anyone else, but what bugs me about Safari's Styracosaurus is the blunted, curving frill horns. I know that Safari did that for safety reasons (this is a toy intended for children, after all), and for most figures, it wouldn't be a problem. But in this case, the bent horns change the characteristic silhouette of Styracosaurus so dramatically that I couldn't get past it.

I picked both CollectA's and PNSO's versions over Safari's. 

The Safari Styracosaurus sculpt is great, but every copy I've seen has warped horns. PNSO's fancier packaging and possibly also their stiffer plastic prevent similar warping. And the blunting I'm sure is necessary as you say, but it doesn't do it any favors.

[Gwangi]

I still haven't gotten the Safari Styracosaurus. I really don't need it. I have several already, including the Battat which is still my favorite Styracosaurus. But I also feel a need to own all of Doug's ceratopsians.

[DinoToyForum]

I find it so difficult to vote in these polls! A decade or so ago it was easy, I always felt I had a reasonable handle on the range of figures available. I usually had clear favourites, and I think there was a general consensus in the community. But the dinosaur model landscape has changed so drastically since then, with such a greater breath and quality of models, it's almost impossible to keep on top of them all without doing some research, let alone pick between them.

In this poll there are 22 BOTM figures alone! They aren't that different from each other stylistically. I can't imagine there being much consensus on a top 10 of just those.

And there are 11 high-end (large size) PNSO/Haologgood models, all good enough to go on display in a natural history museum display case. It seems cruel to pit the likes of CollectA and Safari Ltd toys against them, which in previous years would be shoe-ins for the top 10s.

I know we've discussed the possibility of differentiating between toys and high-end statues in the past and maybe that's something we should discuss again in light of the new landscape. But the Chinese companies present such good value for money it could be impossible to tease this issue apart.

We're fortunate to be so spoiled, but it makes voting in polls like this tough.

[Faelrin]

Since I'm one of the three who voted for the Safari Styracosaurus, I will say I voted for it because it is my favorite Styracosaurus figure out there, aside from the BotM, and one of my favorite ceratopsian figures overall. I adore the mix of coloration and patterns it has. The warped blunted horns don't bother me as much (in fact I was more bothered when my first one arrived with chipped horn paint). I like the pose too.

With the exception of Haolonggood's ceratopsians I voted for, the rest I all own in my collection.

[Sim]

And there are 11 high-end (large size) PNSO/Haologgood models, all good enough to go on display in a natural history museum display case. It seems cruel to pit the likes of CollectA and Safari Ltd toys against them, which in previous years would be shoe-ins for the top 10s.

Although currently the first place is held by an old toy, the Battat Styracosaurus!  And the Safari Nasutoceratops is just one vote behind the top Haolonggood and PNSO figures!

[DinoToyForum]

And there are 11 high-end (large size) PNSO/Haologgood models, all good enough to go on display in a natural history museum display case. It seems cruel to pit the likes of CollectA and Safari Ltd toys against them, which in previous years would be shoe-ins for the top 10s.

Although currently the first place is held by an old toy, the Battat Styracosaurus!  And the Safari Nasutoceratops is just one vote behind the top Haolonggood and PNSO figures!

There are several factors at play aren't there. Nostalgia, recognition of a figure's historical context, ownership statistics, appreciation for specific artists, conscious or unconscious concessions for 'toys', species popularity, brand loyalty, amount of direct competition i.e. vote dilution (or not voting) for specific brands with sprawling catalogues, or voting for stand-alone one off figures.

For example, I voted for the Marx Styracosaurus, which is by all objective measures not as 'good' as many of the other figures I didn't vote for, because I'm nostalgic for monochrome figures and it tickles my brain in a way that the others do not, I regard it as historically 'important', I own it, I give it concessions because it is a true 'toy' in the sense it was designed to be played with, Styracosaurus is my favourite ceratopsian, and there's only one Marx ceratopsian so I didn't have to agonise over the decision.

On the other hand I didn't vote for a single BOTM figure. Would I have done so if there was only one of them? Probably.

The polls are still fun and there's some value to doing them but it's difficult to read much meaning into them.

[Gwangi]

I find it so difficult to vote in these polls! A decade or so ago it was easy, I always felt I had a reasonable handle on the range of figures available. I usually had clear favourites, and I think there was a general consensus in the community. But the dinosaur model landscape has changed so drastically since then, with such a greater breath and quality of models, it's almost impossible to keep on top of them all without doing some research, let alone pick between them.

In this poll there are 22 BOTM figures alone! They aren't that different from each other stylistically. I can't imagine there being much consensus on a top 10 of just those.

And there are 11 high-end (large size) PNSO/Haologgood models, all good enough to go on display in a natural history museum display case. It seems cruel to pit the likes of CollectA and Safari Ltd toys against them, which in previous years would be shoe-ins for the top 10s.

I know we've discussed the possibility of differentiating between toys and high-end statues in the past and maybe that's something we should discuss again in light of the new landscape. But the Chinese companies present such good value for money it could be impossible to tease this issue apart.

We're fortunate to be so spoiled, but it makes voting in polls like this tough.

I agree with this. But as the 2023 poll numbers show, CollectA and Safari are still able to hold their own. Even if only by breaking into the bottom five. But yeah, pitting things like vintage toys or Mattel action figures against PNSO, Rebor, and HLG seems cruel. But this is why I vote for personal favorites, not what is objectively the best. Happy to see the Battat Styracosaurus holding its own here.

I also don't vote for BOTM figures. I can't/won't vote for them all and I can't narrow it down to which one is best. I also don't own any of them. They should probably have their own poll. Same with Mattel I think, due to their high output.

[Halichoeres]

Geez, that was tough. This is one of the groups that companies most consistently do a good job on.

[Sim]

Currently, three figures are tied in first place, and three more are only one vote away from that!  Will more voting change this?

[Sim]

Thanks to everyone who has voted!  If you haven't voted, please do as each vote makes the poll worth more.  And perhaps we can break the tie for first place!

[Halichoeres]

I bet we would have fewer ties if members only got, say, three votes.

[Sim]

There's currently a tie for first place, between Battat, Haolonggood, PNSO and Safari!  This is intense!

[SidB]

Everybody loves a good horse race!

[Sim]

Let's try to get to 40 votes!  Please vote if you haven't already!  I don't think we can have six figures tied for first place!  Although if we reach 40 votes and there's a tie for first place we'll have to accept it!

[Concavenator]

Changed my votes. I now went with:

- Diabloceratops (Safari)
- Kosmoceratops (Haolonggood)
- Pachyrhinosaurus (Safari)
- Styracosaurus (PNSO)

Would've voted for Haolonggood's Chasmosaurus too. 

[Sim]

I would have voted for Haolonggood's Chasmosaurus too and I think a lot of others would have as well, but it was too late to be added to this poll.  If a second version of this poll is done after five years have passed, it can be included in that one!

I intend to make a top 10 video for this poll soon, so if you would still like to vote now is the time to do it!  Currently it looks like there will be four figures sharing first place!

[Gwangi]

Having just got the HLG Chasmosaurus I can safely say that I would have voted for it. But you can't reset a poll after every release, not these days.

[Faelrin]

+1 on the Chasmosaurus train.