David Silva’s Cyberzoic Series

[Sim]

I really wish there'll be a 1:35 scale version of the Allosaurus... At 1:18 scale and 20" long, I'm assuming it will cost 140 USD, same price as the BotM tyrannosaurs of that size range (200 €+ when shipped to my country). Very big and expensive.

Since there are 1:35 scale versions of Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, it would also be neat to have at least the Allosaurus and the Stegosaurus in 1:35 scale too, so the classic Jurassic duo can be displayed together at both scales. It also helps they're some of the most famous dinosaurs of all times and that 1:35 is (probably) the most requested scale.

On another note, a Giganotosaurus may be unavoidable at some point, but in my case, I'm not interested in one. Not only would it be ginormous, but also super expensive. And there are good Giganotosaurus figures already, instead of an umpteen Giga, why not a Meraxes instead? For a carcharodontosaurid, it has pretty good remains.

Allosaurus and Stegosaurus seem like the best choices for what should be made in 1:35 scale next.  Do you have a preference on which Allosaurus species to make in that scale?  Allosaurus and Stegosaurus are also among the most popular dinosaurs, for Allosaurus I'd add that a friend of mine from my climbing club knew about it and even I like Allosaurus, me being someone who doesn't much like allosauroids.

I like your assessment of the Giganotosaurus situation!   I think it being made is unavoidable, same for the other searched for species which are Spinosaurus, Dakotaraptor and Deinonychus.  I would say though that there isn't yet a good Giganotosaurus figure with a correct skull.  Although I saw that Mesozoic Life looks like they will be making one, so I think there will be one in the future.  As for Meraxes, wouldn't it be about the same size or bigger than the BotM Allosaurus?

[Concavenator]

@Sim I actually wrote to David before asking if would it be possible to have 1:35 scale versions of Allosaurus and Stegosaurus, because like I said, if he made 1:35 versions of Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops is only because of their popularity, because 1:35 scale is a different scale to 1:18 which seems to be the usual scale he works with. And since Allosaurus and Stegosaurus are also among the most famous dinosaurs...why not giving them a shot at 1:35? I'm sure there are people interested in smaller scale versions of those 2. On to which species of Allosaurus I prefer... I love both, but if I had to choose I would probably go with A.jimmadseni. Big Al is one of those and it's a surprisingly well preserved specimen. And it's so famous it even has a documentary after it!

A Meraxes figure should be a little bit bigger than an Allosaurus', at the same scale. And for that reason, I wouldn't be interested in a BotM Meraxes, as I'm assuming it would be scaled at 1:18. If he made a 1:35 version that would be a different story, but that doesn't seem too likely. In any case, I was wondering about the possibility of giving the BotM 1:18 Allosaurus a try but unless David releases a 1:35 version I think I will have to pass and get the PNSO instead. Not only it's going to be very expensive at said scale, it will also be very big and take a lot of room, and I want to save space when possible.

[suspsy]

I really don't see David picking Meraxes over Carcharodontosaurus as the Desert Clan powerhouse. The latter has way better name recognition, which really is essential for Cyberzoic to succeed. I think if he did choose Meraxes, he'd receive way more complaints about Carcharodontosaurus getting the shaft than vice versa.

[Sim]

Interesting point there suspsy.  But what about Giganotosaurus?  I get the impression it has just as much if not more name recognition than Carcharodontosaurus and a BotM figure of it has even been searched for enough to be a search suggestion on YouTube, something that can't be said for Carch.  It also seems to be more popular than Carcharodontosaurus.

[Sim]

Also, a carcharodontosaurid is already the powerhouse for the Fire clan.  I'd find it a bit boring if another one is the powerhouse for another clan.  Maybe the Desert clan's powerhouse could be a sauropod?  Although to me it looks like if Cyberzoic continues long enough, each clan will have more than one powerhouse.  I think it's only a matter of time until Spinosaurus and Giganotosaurus get added to Cyberzoic.

[suspsy]

Well, Carcharodontosaurus simply strikes me as slightly more desert-themed than Giganotosaurus. But who knows? Perhaps the Desert Clan's heavyweight will turn out to be Deinocheirus. That would be pretty damned sweet. I'd much rather see that than any carcharodontosaurid.

The problem with sauropods is the same as always: the only ones that can be done at 1/18 scale without breaking the bank or breaking shelf space are the small ones.

[Sim]

I too would prefer to see Deinocheirus instead of another carcharodontosaurid.  I had completely forgotton about it.  There's Therizinosaurus, Iguanodon and Ankylosaurus too as other possible powerhouses.  The more I think about it, the more it's looking like each clan will have more than one powerhouse.  The Tech clan actually has three I think: Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops and Stegosaurus.

Regarding sauropods, it's true that big ones would be very expensive and space-consuming.  However David said that the arctic dragon will cost around $200 if I remember right, and that bigger dragons are planned.  So 1:18 large sauropods don't seem unrealistic to me.

[GojiraGuy1954]

I think Theri makes more sense than Deino for Deserts

[Eocarcharia]

On this Cyberzoic Friday, the alternate modes for the Achillobator and Utahraptor armors are shown for the first time at Power-Con!

Spoiler

[close]

[KrazyKaprosuchus]

I'd prefer therizinosaurus over deinocheirus. It may be quite fragmentary, but I do rather want a figure of it to my liking.

[GojiraGuy1954]

I'd prefer therizinosaurus over deinocheirus. It may be quite fragmentary, but I do rather want a figure of it to my liking.

Just chuck Deino into Water and Theri into Desert

[suspsy]

The Tyrannosaurus rex already costs over $200 as it is. The only sauropods that can be done at 1/18 scale and not exceed $250 are the smaller ones like Dicraeosaurus, Amargasaurus, Europasaurus, and Nigersaurus. A Diplodocus or a Brontosaurus would likely end up costing around $400 if we were lucky.

Therizinosaurus as the Desert Clan heavyweight would be nice, but it's still only known from part of its arm. Whereas Deinocheirus is fully known.

[Darko2300]

I'm starting to feel like we need a separate 'wishlist/hopes/dreams' thread for this topic... 😒

[Halichoeres]

I'm starting to feel like we need a separate 'wishlist/hopes/dreams' thread for this topic... 😒

@Darko2300 I have good news for you https://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=10198

[Sim]

Therizinosaurus as the Desert Clan heavyweight would be nice, but it's still only known from part of its arm. Whereas Deinocheirus is fully known.

Good point that Therizinosaurus is very fragmentary and that Deinocheirus would be a better choice because of its completeness.  This doesn't mean no therizinosaur, instead Beipiaosaurus and Falcarius could be made!  They are both very interesting animals that lack a good figure and will probably be quite affordable while Therizinosaurus would be huge and probably cost over $200.

[Sim]

Following on from my previous post, I wonder if David were to produce Deinocheirus and Therizinosaurus for Cyberzoic, would they be featherless?  Getting feathered therizinosaurs or ornithomimosaurus might only happen if the smaller ones were made.

[suspsy]

Nearly all artistic depictions of Deinocheirus have shown it with feathers, including the one in Prehistoric Planet. More importantly, the tail indicates a pygostyle, which is good evidence that it was indeed feathered like other ornithomimosaurs. So if David were to do a non-feathered Deinocheirus for BotM and Cyberzoic, he'd undoubtedly receive a lot of negative feedback.

My bet is that it would be feathered.

[Sim]

The "pygostyle" of Deinocheirus is just a couple of fused vertebrae.  It isn't evidence of feathers as Beipiaosaurus shows its own "pygostyle" wasn't a support for feathers, and plesiosaurs also have "pygostyles" yet no-one thinks they had feathers.

[suspsy]

If you wish to interpret it that way, go right ahead. Nevertheless, there are far more depictions of Deinocheirus with feathers than without. I don't know of any paleontologists who seriously argue that it didn't have them.

[Sim]

@suspsy, Mark Witton made a case for bare giant animals, including Deinocheirus which he made a restoration for, here: http://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2019/10/megafuzz-under-microscope-how-credible.html

Mark's Deinocheirus is almost entirely featherless, and he mentions how it's possible Deinocheirus was featherless.  Personally, I've grown used to feathered Deinocheirus and Therizinosaurus and I'm not sure how I feel towards featherless versions of them, besides that I feel a stronger argument has been made for them than feathered versions.  I guess that if large tyrannosaurids could be featherless, then the same could be true for large therizinosaurs and ornithomimosaurs, which is paraphrasing what Mark Witton said.