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

Man, so many superb new additions! I love the elephant most. The spino is great albeit "goofy" as you mentioned. Thats part of the charm though. The loris and cougar and nice too! All together, great haul and congratulations!

Many great additions and helpful comparison pictures!

Really appreciated getting all the feedback about the last set of figures, thanks, everyone. I definitely find hearing what you guys have to be a big part of the hobby, as it would otherwise just be me buying figures at random and that's fun, but not that fun.

Also, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I would love to get you that other shot, but I've already given the Papo figure to my niece, who gets most of my extra figures.

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"Ugh, another stupidly expensive Triceratops figure? What are you doing, Loon?"
"No idea."
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I've made it no secret that Jurassic Park is my favorite movie of all time. Being a dinosaur-obsessed kid, I kind of knew what it sorta was through sheer cultural osmosis, but it wasn't until I saw a clip from the scene where Tyrannosaurus roars triumphantly in the rotunda on an Animal Planet show called Whoa! Sunday, that 8-year-old me knew it had to be the greatest thing ever created by human hands. To kid me, this was the first time I realized that dinosaurs were real, which sounds silly, but it's true.
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My brother (left) and I (right) around said time.

Having grown up considerably since my first exposure to the film, I've come to enjoy different facets of it. Notably, I am obsessed with behind-the-scenes material for this movie, as it shows exactly how this huge group of talented people was able to accomplish something as daunting as bringing dinosaurs back to life (metaphorically). I rarely really care much about this sort of information for other live-action films, but I love dinosaur puppets and animatronics (even those terrible ones you see at fairs) so I could watch things like the Stan Winston Studios youtube channel all day long. That very youtube channel made me fall in love with, arguably, the least active dinosaur in the whole film, the Triceratops.

I'll admit it, I had never really cared for this design, as I think it has to be the weirdest of any dinosaur in that first film (yes, I am even counting the tiny Dilophosaurus with frilled lizard....well, frills). The face is weird and wrinkly, the shoulder is way too high up, the legs are somehow both stumpy and too long, and the tail looks like a potato wedge. But, still, and I'm sure this is entirely biased because it's my favorite movie, but I kinda like it. If you watch that Stan Winston video, you'll see the incredible amount of work that went into bringing this thing to life. Fun fact: the triceratops prop was actually given a black and green color scheme, but the crew felt the animal would be covered in a lot of dirt as it had been lying around for so long, so the brown coloration is just dirt covering the real skin color.
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Honestly, even though the Triceratops does nothing much in the film, I also feel that it wouldn't be the same if that scene was missing. Dare I say, I think that scene does more to set up the whole "magic of dinosaurs" theme than the Brachiosaurus scene? Yes, the Brachiosaurus standing up to get those leaves and the pan over the lake with all of the mysterious 1993 Parasaurolophus is beautiful and iconic, of course; but, our main characters never touch them, let alone even get up close to them. Alan Grant literally turns back into a child seeing the Triceratops going up and giving the closest thing he can to a hug, and if that doesn't encapsulate my feelings about that movie, I don't know what does.



Oh...yeah... This is about a figure... Um, yeah. I don't own any Nanmu figures besides this, as, for the most part, I'm perfectly happy with what Mattel has been releasing with their Jurassic World Legacy Collection line. I think the defining characteristic of the Jurassic franchise is the interaction between people and dinosaurs, and those Montone miniatures Nanmu provides with many of their releases don't really cut it for me in that respect. That combined with the high price are also big turn-offs in terms of me even considering most of them. They're all super nice, don't get me wrong, but just not my speed, really. That being said, I was immediately drawn to this Triceratops, as I love to recreate scenes from the film with my figures, and unfortunately, all of the official releases are either far too expensive or lack the articulation to adequately recreate the pose.        
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I'm not going to go over every scale and line of this thing, so, I'll just say that this is a really nice-looking figure. It better be, considering what it goes for. However, unlike some other expensive "high-end" Triceratops models, I feel like this one fills out its price point far more meaningfully. It's heavy as anything, so much so, I could imagine it doing some serious damage if it fell on you from a shelf or someone threw it at you for some reason. The base is also really nice, and while I somewhat question the inclusion of a base with a non-standing figure, seeing the final result really sets the scene, so I appreciate it.
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Funny story about the base, I almost threw it away, as I initially forgot it came with the figure (I only got the foam packaging insert, bot the full box) and didn't release it was packed separately. Luckily, I foolishly kicked the foam insert to clear some space on my room's floor. When I noticed it was kinda heavy and that kinda hurt, I took a second look.  

Alright, time to let the figure do the talking, here are some silly shots.
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I absolutely LOVE both Nanmu studios & Jurassic Park! The original movie is by far the best but I always loved the design of the raptors and the spinosaurus in JP3. And I don't care if the T-Rex and Spinosaurus fight is cheesy and unrealistic, seeing it as a kid really is amazing.

Because of Nanmu's prices, I sadly only have their Behemoth Giganotosaurus. Although like you mentioned, for the level of detail Nanmu produces (especially their releases in the past few years) I think they actually are well priced. They look almost as good as sideshow figures which are easily a couple hundred dollars

I wish they used more animatronics in movies, cgi just never looks right to me and seeing the JP cast right there with the trike really makes it look real.

I've been wanting Nanmu's JP3 spinosaurus for a long time now, maybe I'll soon have to get it.

Congrats on this amazing model! I'm glad you're a big Jurassic Park fan too

First the loris, now the Triceratops base, you gotta be more careful before you throw the boxes out haha.
But gosh yeah, that is so beautiful, the base also completes the scene in a way.
The seam at the neck looks a little strange but not too distracting.
I said this already on Facebook Messenger but it's funny to me how that last photo looks like Michelangelo's Creazione di Adamo, and I guess it is fitting as he fought alongside his turtle brothers the mighty Triceratons from space.
The shot where you recrate the film scene is my favourite however, followed closely by the one where it is displayed as Roberta's brunch.

Oh, that's a passionate post with beautiful pictures. You're really deep into this subject.

Loon wrote:

,  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I would love to get you that other shot, but I've already given the Papo figure to my niece, who gets most of my extra figures.]

That's fine, the picture you provided is already very helpful.

What a great model! Congratulations! The shot with the PNSO trike however looks a bit like the grim reaper of triceratops coming for that poor girl.

This Tric is for sure a beloved one, absolute icon of JPI, I have ni place here for one but I understand you felt in love for it. 

Thank you for the Irritator comparison pic. It is indeed pricey but not so much, I thought it would be worse... It is even more tempting for me now  

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Thank you! I also have a huge fondness for the 3rd movie (I personally like it more than TLW). It's also the only JP film I really saw a lot as a kid. When I was in elementary school, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house, where they only really had two VHS my brother and I would watch. So if we weren't watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas, it was Jurassic Park 3.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Thanks. I'm just waiting for the day it finally happens, and I throw away a figure. I'm sure it'll come sooner than later.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Thank you! I like to infuse a bit of history into my posts, as I feel it helps me appreciate the figures more.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Thank you. I guess that PNSO trike's crooked grin doesn't help it look benevolent.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I appreciate the kind words. I hope you can get a hold of one. It definitely feels more worth the price than many other similarly priced figures.

Carnegie Collection Tanystropheus
I think, when you collect long enough, you begin to form "rules" about what you buy. For a long time, mine was strict anatomical accuracy. While I like having great, up-to-date representations of species, there is also part of me that loves creating displays. This tanystropheus is represents one of those compromises.
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I don't like calling it that, honestly, since I really appreciate this figure. Of course, it has its issues, such as how the legs are posed, but I can forgive those (it's over 20 years old now). Forest Rogers' sculpting is always so nice to look at. I think it manages to tread the line between under and over-detailed, which a lot of lines can fall into. There's a nice skin texture, but every single scale hasn't been picked out and render at a massive size; it's just right for the size. The paint too is so interesting. It's nothing fancy, but it executes a flashy color scheme better than most by actually making it look appealing.
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Unfortunately, this figure, despite coming with the tag (which actually had information about the animal, which I wish was still the case), has some sufficient wear on the body, particularly on the underside. Oh well.
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I'm just happy to have a figure of this bizarre and interesting animal. It's one of the many species I was first introduced to when I got back into prehistoric animals, and that uniqueness got my imagination flowing in a big way.
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With a heron, which Tanystropheus may share a similar hunting style with.

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Weirdos gotta stick together.

And finally, here it sits on the weird and wonderful Triassic shelf. As few figures get release from this timer period, I have to say they all have some charm. I'm just happy my favorite animal from this period is finally among them.
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Our collecting taste also developes and it doesn't mean exactly we get obsessed with what is more accurate. I have a lot of fun finding the nicest representative of a certain animal but I also love models that have a special charm, a particular meaning to this hobby or any other feature. The most important is that we enjoy them. This one is very appealing and also a piece of history.

I still find it funny that you had this one briefly before, sold it to me, then went back to it again, after all it is simply such a beautiful figure, when you had one once and gave it away, you just feel like something is missing, it merges a beautiful elegant sculpt as we are used to it from the Carnegie Collection with a striking iconic paint job and a fun poseable neck, a winning combination.
I'm happy to have both paint variants thanks to you, no other figure of this genus comes close to it.

We have to collect whatever makes us happy, and happiness isn't always directly proportional to realism or being up to date! Charm or nostalgia or weirdness or rarity or filling gaps are all be equally valid reasons to want and enjoy something, and there's loads of room for all that variety in this hobby

Taste can certainly change! I said I would never get a Safari ltd dinosaur because I used to think they were too colorful and not detailed enough. I preferred the "Jurassic Park" Spinosaurus, T-rex, velociraptors, and others from Papo. Now I really appreciate the older Safari Carnegie models and I have a handful of them

I don't know if this was the model I had, but I had a similar brownish Safari figure with a long neck like this. Although the wire in the neck rusted and the head broke off

I've thought about hunting down the Carnegie Tanystropheus!

I have that Tanystropheus, it was a flea market find for a quarter years ago and is one of my favorite figures too. Yours looks great on your Triassic shelf, you have some real gems.

I have one of the Adventure Force figures- the Allosaurus. I might break down and get the Carnotosaur too.
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Now THAT is a shelf to be jealous of! Gorgeous selection of unpopular species. And that Tanystropheus is no exception! Congratulations!

The Tanystropheus certainly is a great figure.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Same, it's just irresistible.
Not posting images here to not derail Loon's collection thread but it's the exact one that got reviewed on the Dinosaur Toy Blog by my partner.

Appreciate all the kind and affirming words. As I've said before, a big part of collecting is the community, and to hear everyone's perspectives is a real treat.

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I went to Wal-Mart to get some food the other day, and of course I had to snoop by the toy section and see if they had any new Transformers. Aside from the aforementioned robots, I came across more of these cool Adventure Force dinosaurs.

Firstly, the Tyrannosaurus is a pretty nice figure. It may be similar source material in the Jurassic Park Tyrannosaurus, but I can't help but feel that this one has a remarkably similar pose to the old Schliech green Tyrannosaurus. I also love the colors; very rarely does anyone get the bull Tyrannosaurus' colors right, so I'm happy to see them so vividly here.
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The Dilophosaurus is probably my least favorite of the 3 I own. I think between the paint and the gnarly head, it comes across as a "cheaper" figure more than the other two. Still, I can find some fun with it.
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"I thought you were one of your big brothers. You're not so bad..."

Finally, and most surprisingly, PNSO's Machairoceratops arrived in the mail a few days ago, despite me not having ordered it. Turns out, my mom had bought it off my Amazon wishlist for Christmas and it only just got here. Happy to have this little guy again, especially since I didn't have to pay for it this time.
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Very kind from your mother getting such a nice model for you. Dilophosaurus is quite crazy, it looks like a frilled dragon.
I find the Rex design very conventional, I think those strong lower mandibles makes them look more dangerous.

Stunning new models!

Great additions!!!

Many beautiful models!  
Do you know Starlux had released a Tanystropheus more than 40 years ago?..

Congrats on all the new additions! One comment on the Macharioceratops in particular... for me anyway, the mouth is less odd to me on this model. And as I suspected for the trike, I think its because the gape and point of articulation isn't quite as wide. Again, beautiful models all!