Loon's Collection: PNSO Suchomimus (Jan. 16)

Huge congrats on all the great new figures! I've been avoiding PNSO because I don't have the space or budget to start with another prehistoric brand... but man those are gorgeous, I may have to cave in at some point!

Again I really really love how you hang your figures from string or display them on the clear stands (especially the whales with the breathtaking Kaiyodo blue whale WOW), it makes them look much more interesting. May I ask how you hang figures on the strings within a bookcase? I recently moved into a new place with my family and I purchased lots of bookcases and I would love to hang them from the top of the shelves but I would like to avoid screwing anything into the shelf if that makes sense. I can't tell if you have screwed in hooks or done something else.

Safari's great horned owl is in my top 5 favorite figures of all time so huge congrats on that!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Thanks! PNSO can be hit or miss here and there, and the prices are pretty prohibitive, but they do have some really decent models. I would recommend waiting for sales, which happen here and there (Amazon seems to have them for 20% off at times).

I have to agree with you on the horned owl, it is so nice. Definitely among the nicest birds on my collection, the paint work is so good.

Unfortunately, I do use screws to put up my figures. I screw in this part (the name of which I don't exactly know) that I thread the string through. I'm no expert on this kind of stuff or hardware in general, but the only thing I can think of as an alternative is strong tape, maybe wood tape?
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I would definately be tempted by some sales that's for sure!

Ah I see. Well for the shelves within the bookcase I would probably only hang birds or small sharks, so tape may work as long as the figure isn't too heavy. Thanks for the help!

Stunning new additions, the lighting goes really well with them as it captures all the amazing details in their sculpts! And I love the Christmas tree!

What I immediately find nice in these premium dinosaurs are their limbs. They're often much nicer than the cheaper counterparts. No doubts your displays and collection are impressive, I am glad you got such a positive reaction from your visitors. Though, what I like best is the fact that a humble figure, like the Safari owl, got so much enthusiasm among those vip members. I understand, I also remember my excitment when I got it. Have a nice Christmas too.

Big congrats for your diplays of hanging sea species and birds, and also for your choices with so great models. I am particulary interested in sea reptiles and I am discovering this so wonderful PNSO masasaur but I red somewhere that scales sprints have been found about mosasaurs and this so realistic model does not seem to show scales.. maybe I should change my glasses!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] You're welcome!

Bonnie wrote:

Stunning new additions, the lighting goes really well with them as it captures all the amazing details in their sculpts! And I love the Christmas tree!

Thanks Bonnie, I appreciate it. I'm happy you enjoy that tree, it's a little messy since the "pines" fall off, but I think it adds some charm.

Roger wrote:

What I immediately find nice in these premium dinosaurs are their limbs. They're often much nicer than the cheaper counterparts. No doubts your displays and collection are impressive, I am glad you got such a positive reaction from your visitors. Though, what I like best is the fact that a humble figure, like the Safari owl, got so much enthusiasm among those vip members. I understand, I also remember my excitment when I got it. Have a nice Christmas too.

Thank you for the completments. I have to agree, there is something nice about an uncompromised sculpt, but that doesn't make me take those toys for granted, they are still wonderful for what they are. Also, yeah, that owl is impressive, especially after it's hung up. It really gives off the vibe of it swooping down to catch some prey.

Caracal wrote:

Big congrats for your diplays of hanging sea species and birds, and also for your choices with so great models. I am particulary interested in sea reptiles and I am discovering this so wonderful PNSO masasaur but I red somewhere that scales sprints have been found about mosasaurs and this so realistic model does not seem to show scales.. maybe I should change my glasses!

Thanks Caracal. I had to look it up, but you're right about mosasaur scales being known. This article on Live Science covers scales found from the mosasaur, ectenosaurus. They are incredibly tiny, about 1/10th of an inch, which, if the ratio of scale size to body length was blown up to a massive tylosaurus would still result in scales considerably smaller than an inch. The scales on the PNSO tylosaurus, while small are visible. Coincidentally, I actually find that to be the weakest part of the sculpts, as I think they look far too uniform and come across as texture-stamped.

Your setup really makes that Helicoprion look good! And any tree with dinosaur ornaments is an awesome tree. Is that little pink one a Parasaurolophus?

Thank you for your reply Loon! :)

Absolutely splendid collection. :) It is always so wonderfully curated. And great Christmas tree as well!

pipsxlch wrote:

Your setup really makes that Helicoprion look good! And any tree with dinosaur ornaments is an awesome tree. Is that little pink one a Parasaurolophus?

Thank you. I would guess, in some skewed and weird way that is a Parasaurolophus, but a very strange one.

Caracal wrote:

Thank you for your reply Loon! :)

You're welcome.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Absolutely splendid collection. :) It is always so wonderfully curated. And great Christmas tree as well!

Thank you! I tend to have a bit too much of an ego with my display, and that "curated" comment really boosted that ego. It's bad, but I can't help but be a little bit proud of it.

I feel a little excessive, as I just shared a bunch of shelf shots, and it probably hasn't been too terribly long since my last display tour.

I dusted again, since my friend Nick is coming to visit for Christmas. I also updated some displays, hanging a few new figures. While I this might not be the most compelling reason to share my shelves again so soon, it's not going to be this clean or organized for a while, so here we go.
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First, I'll start with the display that I'm most proud of, my marine life shelves.
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The very roughly to scale "Cetacean Parade."
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For now, this is a "whatever" shelf. Currently, it's a bit of a Christmas/whatever I don't have space elsewhere for display.
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The first small bookcase, containing my Toothless statue, my Protoceratops and Hyena collection, and my Mesozoic (Jurassic and Cretaceous) marine life shelf.
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My Mattel Jurassic World figures.
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My main two bookcases, containing the vast majority of my prehistoric figures.

First, the Paleozoic era.
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Now, the beginning of the Mesozoic, the Triassic.
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Jurassic North America, Europe, and Asia.
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Jurassic North America (Morrison Formation).
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Early Cretaceous Asia and North America.
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Cretaceous Europe, South/Central America, Africa, and Australia.
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Cretaceous South America, North America, Africa, China, and Australia.
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Late Cretaceous Canada (Dinosaur Park Formation and such).
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Late Cretaceous China, Mongolia, and South America.
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The end of the non-avian dinosaurs, late Cretaceous North America (mostly Hell Creek Formation).
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My second small bookshelf, the top of which features some misc. figures, including miniature representations of my pets.
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This bookcase contains my extinct species from the Cenozoic, starting with the Paleogene.
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The Neogene.
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The Quaternary.
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Lastly, the most packed set of shelves, the modern wildlife display.
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And here she is, finally. My white whale, my holy grail, the one and only Safari Ltd. Opossum with Babies. As some of you may know, I have often mentioned this being I figure that I have searched for, and now, I am happy to say it's part of my collection. After saving searches and setting alerts for every conceivable name and misspelling, and after scanning through every animal listing across multiple sites on an almost daily basis, it popped up in a huge lot on Mercari. I will not mention how much that lot ran me for sake of not seeming like too much of a wasteful idiot, but oh, it was so worth it. This is such a nuanced and accurate look at this often hated animal, showing a side that never gets seen, since most opossum representations in popular culture are hissing tree demons or roadkill BBQ. As someone who is lucky enough to live in the foothills of the beautiful San Gabriel mountains, Opossums are frequent visitors to my backyard, so I have a bit of connection to them in a way I can't say I have with any other wild animal. As unassuming and as unimpressive as this figure may seem, she may well be one of, if not my favorite figure in my collection.
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Everything looks really impressive! Your collection really shines and everything is so nicely displayed. More impressive is that among all these treasures and masterpieces, your favorite model, at least at this moment, is the Safari opossum. I didn't know your connection to this animal was so strong and despite knowing you're searching for it, I thought it was just a species missing, not such a wanted figure as you demonstrated. I am glad you've found it and thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures with us.

Firstly, congratulations on the opossum! She is a stunning model and well worth any price. I myself have gone a bit overboard trying to secure "white whales" in the past... namely one white gorilla. 

But next, your shelves, as usual are just gorgeous and beautifully curated! Wobderful collection and displays. Please share them as often as you like.

Wow Loon, marvellous collection, with full organization.

Nice shelves and many animals of the famous brands.

Congratulations.

Wow wow wow! That first picture of the entire room with the lit up shelves is marvelous! Again I really love how you have your collection set up with the sea life, modern wild life, and many prehistoric figures.

I didn't see that you had the Sideshow Collectibles Toothless before, beautiful! I remember wanting it badly but I couldn't afford it at the time of Httyd 2 coming out. I'm very excited to get the Hidden World Toothless statue and night lights by Sideshow though!

Huge congrats on the opossum! A really great figure I'm also looking for. Totally get you on the big lots, I'm sure we have all done that to some extent over huge wanted figures.

If you don't mind me asking, what lights do you use for your displays? You have very tall shelves and those lights brighten up then entire shelf really nicely.

Many beautiful pictures

Wonderful collection of all the best models!

Beautiful, clean, organised displays as always! But most of all I loved reading about your opossum, and I am so glad you finally have this model in your collection! It reminded me a lot of the endless methods I use to hunt down rare dogs almost on a daily basis- but I guess that is part of being a collector!

Thanks for the comments everyone! Also, it's to know I'm not alone with obsessing over a wanted figure..

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] For lights, I use these LED strips from Onforu: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I think the beauty of your displays is compelling enough reason alone to share them, they are incredible! Like a museum! Wonderful work both curating and displaying. Congrats on the opossum as well, one of my favorite mammals and oft so under appreciated (though since the meme about them eating ticks became popular about five or six years ago, I have honestly seen an uptick in zoo guests who really appreciate the opossum these days - and I also see a rising sympathy for them in pop culture in general, as everyone can relate to the little animal that screams and passes out when stressed. )

I love that thinker pose sasquatch.

Very very nice displays, Loon!

Thanks to everyone who’s posted since my last reply.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I’m happy there’s been such a turn around for the opossum, especially since I’m such a big fan of misrepresented animals.

Hopefully everyone had a happy holidays. I did, and received some pretty cool Christmas presents. I’ve just started reading Dinopedia by Darren Naish (which I hate to admit is the first scientific dinosaur book I’ve ever really attempted) and it’s really good. I also got the PNSO Pinacosaurus, which, yes I already owned, but I found myself wanting it again without wanting to spend the money for it. So, I’m happy my family picked it from my Amazon wishlist.
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Also, perhaps my favorite present, a Dennis Nedry rubber duck by TUBBZ. I have my sister to thank for this one. It’s not something I knew I wanted, but now that I have it, I can’t imagine how I lived without it.
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My immediate family were really big on giving Amazon gift cards this year, and I’m very thankful, since I was able to get some figures I had been wanting. First, the PNSO Olorotitan, which is pretty alright. I think it’s a nicely done figure, but is missing something (I don’t know what) when compared to the other hadrosaurids in the line. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

This Papo dinosaur set was also a result of those gift cards. I’m not the biggest fan of Papo’s dinosaurs all the time, but [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] convinced me that I needed the Acrocanthosaurus. For a few bucks more, I opted for the set with the Compsognathus, but as nice as that model is in its own way, the carcharodontosaurid is the real event.
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I love the paint apps here. Somehow it makes me think of African predators like wild dogs, without the figure ripping their colors off. The early entry for Allosauroids in Dinopedia really emphasized the massive forearm claws of Acrocanthosaurus specifically, so I’m a little bummed they’re not represented, but I won’t let that get in the way of a truly wonderful figure. Also, I’m happy to have a nice figure of this species, since the skeleton at the Houston museum left such an impression on me.
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Look at that dork.

Here’s a set of figures I’ve had in the past, but sold for some reason, it’s the mini dinosaurs from Walking with Dinosaurs: the Movie. From left to right: Parksosaurus, Alphadon, and “Troodon.” I think these are actually quite nice for their size and represent some species that don’t get much recognition in toy form. Especially the “Troodon,” as Stenonychosaurus is a pretty well dinosaur that doesn’t have many nice modern figures to its name.
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Finally, some really shockers, the Safari Armored Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops. I didn’t care for these much and wasn’t planning on grabbing them, but they reminded me too much of Dinotopia to pass up. I’m happy I did, since I really enjoy them as a fun little side experiment (one that I hope continues). I personally like the triceratops more as the sculpt and paint just feel cleaner.
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Have a happy new year everyone!