David Silva’s Cyberzoic Series

[Eocarcharia]

It's Cyberzoic Friday and today we have a look at the Utahraptor Pilot design and action figure layout!
'The Utahraptor units make up the bulk of the Tech Clan's ground forces. All Dino Pilots go through rigorous training, required to master their dinosaur transport as well as hand-hand combat. With their advanced battle suits, the pilots can form a mental link with their steed and control the dinosaur's movements as well as its mounted weapons, thus the term 'pilot' is more apt in this case than 'rider'. The Utahraptor pilots are the most adaptable of the Tech Clan troops able to execute a wide variety of missions, but they are also the most expendable.'
Concept art by Ross Persichetti. Utahraptor sculpt by Jake Baardse.

[Eocarcharia]

It's time for the latest installment of Cyberzoic Friday, and today we we have a look at the Yutyrannus armor design!
'More accustomed to the Arctic climate, the Yutyrannus is an unusual species for the Tech Clan army, which mainly occupy more temperate lands. Its rider, Daughter of the Tech Church and military general Qi'Lara, is no less an anomaly. Yutyrannus is one of the few Tech Clan dinosaurs with a true owner and not simply military property assigned to a 'pilot'. While this arrangement goes against the traditions of the Tech Clan, the duo's effectiveness in battle is legendary, thus their unconventional methods are often allowed.'
There'll be plenty more on General Qi'Lara and her loyal Yutyrannus as this story unfolds!
Concept art by Ross Persichetti.

Also, on the subject of if the armor can be purchased separately:

Yes, this being a deluxe armor set it'll likely be sold separately from the dinosaur.

[suspsy]

I've finally updated the OP. Thanks to @Eocarcharia for all the images.

[Faelrin]

Hmm, Tech clan has both Utahraptor and Yutyrannus, and Fire Clan has Achillbator and Dryptosaurus. I wonder if there's a trend going on here? Makes me wonder which team is getting dibs on the Cryolophosaurus, Acrocanthosaurus, etc.

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

Aren't they all tech though?

[Sim]

My feelings towards David's dinosaur action figures has changed, I'm now interested in them!  I sent an email to David recently, expressing my interest in his products and acknowledging that we had good interactions in the past.  I also asked if we could move on from our last interaction which wasn't good.  As I said in my email, if we can have good interactions again I hope he would unblock me from the Creative Beast Studio Facebook page.  I haven't received a reply, and I don't know if he will reply to me.  I hope he does, but in any case I intend to buy some of the Beasts of the Mesozoic figures and get involved with his lines again.  After all, my involvement in the BotM Raptor series led to a number of things in that line: Buitreraptor being made, all the raptor series figures having lips, the alula and correct tail fan shape on the Microraptor, the Dromaeosaurus getting an accurate lower jaw, possibly more too.  It would be a shame to abandon all that and the other wonderful things David's dinosaur lines have.

[suspsy]

Aren't they all tech though?

Some of them appear to be splinter factions based on the descriptions. I often wonder which dinosaurs will end up belonging to which clan.

[Eocarcharia]

Prepare for thagomization.

For today's Cyberzoic Friday, we take our first look at the designs for the Tech Clan Stegosaurus!
'Stegosaurus is a species commonly used by the Tech Clan as a mobile power unit due to its dorsal plates providing ample surface area to be modified into solar energy panels. These Stegosaurus units carry a sizable electric charge to replenish nearby Tech Clan armor units and weaponry, but are rarely used for their battle capabilities. However, for the Tech Knight Stegotronus, this is the species of choice, piloting his Stegosaurus with specially modified armor for offensive and alternate vehicle functions. The Stegosaurus is the slowest of the five Tech Knight dinosaurs, but it wields the strongest overall weaponry including an array of long and short-range laser blasters, retractable energy blades, and of course its effective natural defense tail spikes, a weapon mimicked by Stegotronus' thagomizer flail.'
What is a Tech Knight and who are the other four? When will the Stegosaurus figure be shown? Stay tuned... and in the meantime, have a fantastic weekend!
Concept art by Ross Persichetti.

[KrazyKaprosuchus]

I hope that the figure itself won't look like that... bit too retro for my tastes.

[Carnoking]

I think these are really meant to showcase the armor/weapons/drivers while establishing the lore of the world. Some sculpts already exist, so we get a more accurate idea of what to expect for the dinosaur but for ones yet to be done, I think they're just using very general sketches to show how the armor will work on the animal (I think I actually see a JW stegosaurus render in there).
I'm sure we'll be seeing more official designs focusing on the yet to be made dinosaurs down the road.

[Sim]

I really like the species chosen for Cyberzoic!  I have no interest in the armour or humans so I'll only get figures for the dinosaurs.  Since each Cyberzoic dinosaur will have a BotM counterpart I'll have to wait to see both versions to decide which I want.  I plan to get all of the new Cyberzoic species except for Achillobator as I don't like the bare head and neck, and Pachycephalosaurus as it doesn't appeal much to me.  I'm planning to buy some existing Beasts of the Mesozoic figures so I hope David would show the Cyberzoic repaints for them soon so I can decided whether to get the BotM version or wait for the Cyberzoic version.

David has confirmed that Allosaurus and Kentrosaurus will be included in Cyberzoic, although I certainly wouldn't count those as obscure. I think the prehistoric cast of Cyberzoic will be determined based on their perceived battle prowess. Those two above are definitely considered "warriors," along with Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops, naturally. Ankylosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Pachycephalosaurus would also make that cut. But I wouldn't count on say, Dryosaurus or Plateosaurus or Struthiomimus being in Cyberzoic.

But hey, Dino-Riders had Saurolophus among the bad guys and its battle armour was awesome, so I wouldn't count out the possibility of a Cyberzoic hadrosaur. Could be really cool to see a Parasaurolophus with bladed gauntlets attached to its forearms and a giant chainsaw over its crest!

Plateosaurus would have actually been a great choice for Cyberzoic as it was fast, had very powerful forelimbs with large claws on its fingers, was large and had a strong tail.  Maybe in the next Cyberzoic series it will appear.

[suspsy]

Yeah, that Stegosaurus is clearly just a placeholder. The true design will undoubtedly reflect our current understanding of the roofed lizard, just like all the previous CB dinosaurs.

[Sim]

I forgot to mention I'm happy there will be an Allosaurus jimmadseni in BotM.  I'd like to have both A. fragilis and A. jimmadseni from BotM.

[Flaffy]

Yeah the Stegosaurus, like the Triceratops from before, is a placeholder trace of a JW design.

[suspsy]

I wonder if it will be possible to pass off the Edmontonia as Denversaurus? Then I could pit it against the T. rex. Although given that some experts still classify Denversaurus as a species of Edmontonia, I guess it will be perfectly fine.

[Creature]

I've been exited about this from the start, but the transforming armor and the stegosaurus just make me so happy. He's doing a great job to make this line appeal to a bunch of different collector types, and yet still mesh pretty seamlessly as one property.

[suspsy]

I wonder how interchangeable the armour for the ceratopsians and tyrannosaurs will be. Obviously the T. rex's armour will only fit itself, and the Dryptosaurus and Yutyrannus are the only two which share that particular body mould. But perhaps the Triceratops' armour will fit on the Torosaurus as well, and the Diabloceratops/Styracosaurus armour might work with the other ceratopsians in their size class.

[suspsy]

David Silva recently revealed that the Carnotaurus' armour will also convert into a mechanoid creature. Plus he confirmed that the armour for the larger dinosaurs will be available separately, so I'm excited to deck out my DR T. rex with those vestments!

[Faelrin]

So this is like a mix of Dino-Riders, Transformers, maybe other franchises like Zoids? Unintentional but it still reminds me a bit of Ark (though I wonder if Ark also was inspired by Dino-Riders). I dig the direction anyways. I'm glad the armor will be available separately. At least I'm hoping that will be the case for the Yutyrannus. I might like to pick up some for the one I backed from the BotM Tyrannosaur series down the road. I know there's a lot of emphasis on the future tech stuff here, but I would also like to see some primitive styled armor or saddles as well, with like bones, fur, etc, to change it up a bit.

[Eocarcharia]

A bit late, but here's last week's Cyberzoic Friday update:

For Cyberzoic Friday today, we take a look at the exploded parts design for the Achillobator A.I. Converting Armor unit, plus the first look at the rider figure for this release. Both the armor and the rider are being sculpted now!

I'm glad the armor will be available separately. At least I'm hoping that will be the case for the Yutyrannus. I might like to pick up some for the one I backed from the BotM Tyrannosaur series down the road.

It is, he said so in the comments from the Yutyrannus update a few weeks ago.