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

Nice dinosaur collection

Loon wrote:

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they all look great!

but if it were my dinosaurs then I would try it out this way -

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I would have the large colourful and spiky types on the top, and centered together.

I don't know their names, so I have numbered them, 1 to 11

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on platform
1 in top centre
2 right hand side of 1
3 left hand side of 1, head facing in centre, tail pointed to the left

4 as is

5 moves to front of 4 face (5 is an f on the pic), same angle

6 moves up and in front of 2, same angle
7 moves up and to right of 6, same angle
.............
on shelf
8 moves to centre, same angle
9 moves down from top shelf, to right hand side of 8, same angle
10 moves over to left hand side, head facing to the left, tail in to the centre

11 stays as is


this makes the display high in the top centre with the bright colours
and a little lower below, with plain colourways

models are moved closer together, yet the eye flows over them easily

I appreciate the feedback everyone. I haven't gotten as far along as I'd like, but have experimented with your suggestions; though, I have nothing I'd want to share just yet.

For the past fee years, I've tried to practice restraint when it comes to getting new releases right when they come out. It never happens. I guess that's just FOMO.

No joke, as soon as I got the notification that MiniZoo had the first wave in stock, I bought them. So, here they are:
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I actually got these last week, but strangely haven't felt too rushed to talk about them. I finally got to evaluate them more, and here are my thoughts.

Cooperoceras
I like this one, even though I don't have much interest in these large scale marine figures from the past few years. They're just no something I collect; but, I do make a point to at least check them out. I think, like a lot of those other figures, CollectA really excels with the paint. I love the pearlescent finish.
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Pteranodon sternbergii
As someone who thinks Geosternbergia is a cooler name, I don't completely understand the name choice. But, I know/care little about taxonomic debates, so whatever. Regardless, this is a stunning pterosaur. I've always been a fan of Geosternbergia; that crest and curved beak are just so impressive. I think they really nailed it on the head with this one. Usually, I'm a little put off by CollectA's color schemes, but here, I love it. I remember getting some early reader book about pterosaurs from my mom when I was little and it featured some brightly colored pterosaurs. I loved the art, and really enjoy CollectA's pterosaur figures because they remind me so much of it.
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With Safari's Pteranodon

Smok
I wasn't too sure about this one at first. I didn't really know Smok, and the fragmentary nature of the remains combined with the uncertainty of it's phylogeny didn't help. But, I'm an absolute glutton for the Triassic. It's just the Mesozoic's first years of college where it blasts through 3 different majors before it decided to be boring and give up. Jokes aside, I grew to love the look of this figure and when it got here... Wow. It's big. I'm happy that between this and its contemporary Lisowicia, CollectA has been showing that the Triassic had some decently large animals. Cymbospondylus when?
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Torn between two worlds.

Edmontosaurus
Speaking of big, yeesh. This one's massive. It definitely pushes the limits of Edmontosaurus sizes of you want it to be 1:35ish, but it I can't say that bothers me too much. I love this figure. As much as I like Safari's, something about the head was just off; almost a little droopy? Maybe I'm nuts (it's highly possible), but I just find the sculpt is more recognizable here. Of course, the elephant in the room is the bizarre color scheme. I think dinosaur companies need to learn that throwing green and brown on a figure doesn't look good. *cough*PNSO*cough"
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With Safari's Edmontosaurus.
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Just to show how big this figure is, here's the PNSO Shantungosaurus. Interestingly, this figure also suffered from a bland color scheme initially, I think the Edmontosaurus may have asked where they got their makeover.

Spinosaurus
To think that I have gone so long without a Spinosaurus. I think I've had at least one of every company's post-2014 takes. But, CollectA has that history with this species that makes this something special. Those 2015 figures are still very exciting to someone who got into paleontology again at that time. They represent a fun and exciting period of dinosaur science that I feel gets forgotten or pushed to the side in all the online debates. The big feature hear is that tail, and I have to say I love it. It's so weird feeling, but I like it. I'm not so in love with the spikes. I may be wrong, but they don't seem to mesh well with the aquatic look CollectA's going for. I guess you could say they're analogous to the spikes on a crocodile, but those seem more "aquadynamic." I don't know. Still, tiny nitpicks aside, there's a real motion and presence to this figure that I can't deny. Plus, any species from Cretaceous Africa is welcome in my eyes.
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With PNSO's Carcharodontosaurus.
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Attack from below.

WOW !!!

Holy Smoks!

My Smok is enroute. It's been sitting in some Chicago International Distribution Center for 10 days but looks like it's finally moving again.

I wonder if the Smok was influenced by the Gabriel Ugueto painting that shows it hunting Lisowia? The color is similar and they both have adopted the prestosuchid interpretation of its posture.

Wow!..the Safari Edmontosaurus could be the ancestor of the Okapi?!

Wonderful Spinosaurus!

Really great additions! Its always the most exciting time of the year when new models are released

I love that spino and I can just imagine an underwater shot from underneath it looking up towards the surface

Congrats!

Nice additions again

Thanks everyone and sorry for the delay. I just finished classes earlier this week, so I've been busy as heck.

Thanks. I feel you about the Stegosaurus. I still got the set because I like baby and Harding is one of the few characters from the sequel I actually really like. But, yeah, I love the TLW stegosaurus design so much, so I'm not crazy they felt slapping some different paint on that same Fallen Kingdom figure would work. Hopefully, the Stegosaurus follows the path of the triceratops and gets a decent updated figure in the Hammond Collection.

---

I was satisfied to take a break from figure collecting for a bit, but several companies decided to release their new figures around the same time and I, a weak-willed glutton, had to check them out.

Eofauna Konobelodon
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As far as I can tell, konobelodon isn't known from great material, so I can't speak to this model's accuracy. I think Eofauna know what they're doing in that department, though, so I'm sure it does a good job of recreating this animal or at least closely related species. I especially love the crazy tusks, which are such a welcome bit of weirdness to my collection.
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It's also really nice to see the Neogene get some love. When I put it next to its somewhat close relative, CollectA's Gomphotherium, I liked that they had such differing styles. While I'm not crazy about the red fur on the Gomphothere, I think it goes well alongside the Konobelodon's smooth hide.
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I have to give Eofauna credit for making all of these figures so distinct. Obviously, they're different species, and things like body shape and their heads are different. Still, beyond that, I love that they're all different colors. I honestly enjoy the Konobelodon's pain the most, but they all bring something different to the table.

Eofauna Diplodocus
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God, is this thing long. Sauropods have a habit of being a pain to display. They're either too long or too tall, and this one is no exception. Such a slight indiscretion has often led to figures being chucked by my fickle hands into the sales pile, but the difference here is that this figure is actually really good.
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Eofauna make a good figure? Shocking, I know. They've definitely stood out as the most consistent of the more expensive companies, and while their choices don't always excite me, I can at least count on them to do a great job.
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I was also stoked about the novelty of this figure being modeled after an accurate reconstruction of the musculature and skeleton. I don't think that's been done before, really. It does look like there is something going on under the skin and that different parts are moving as the animal does.
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More expensive figures often have a bad habit looking bland with muddled colors (we'll talk about that more in a bit, trust me). Luckily, this Diplodocus escapes that. The colors are toned down, but striking; they honestly remind me an awful lot of the proposed color scheme for the unreleased Terra version of the Battat Styracosaurus.
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I wasn't thrilled to get this figure because I already had my Safari version and thought it worked perfectly well.
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I actually quite enjoy the blue paint job and thought the musculature and heft, especially around the neck, were more convincing. I can appreciate both, however, as they come off as equally realistic reconstructions in my opinion.

PNSO Acrocanthosaurus
I've made it no secret that I don't get the hype behind the giant Allosauroids. I think they're neat, for the most part, but Carcharodontosaurus and Giganotosaurus don't truly excite me like some other species. That being said, I stan hard for Acrocanthosaurus. So, when I saw PNSO had announced one, I hoped it would be as good as their Carcharodontosaurus.
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That's pretty much the case here. I think, overall, there's a lot of nice things with this figure, but those are by virtue of it being Acrocanthosaurus. That's not to say that PNSO didn't do a good job, as always the body of the animal is very nice and has a good hefty look. Something about the way PNSO rendered the chest muscles and forearms always looks so cool. And that hump. Finally, someone did it right. I love acrocanthosaurus for the intimidating presence the hump gives it; it looks like a very intimidating henchman.
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I love the shape of the skull. Acrocanthosaurus has such a cool head shape, and I think they did a good job with it. My love for PNSO theropods doesn't usually extend to the head, but that's not the case here. I even like the scales above the teeth. I'm a fan of lips on theropods, but I can admit that the crocodile-lile integument is done well, much better than most other attempts and even later attempts by the same company *cough*sinraptor*cough*. While I'm talking about the mouth, I want to mention that the lower jaw on mine doesn't close at what you would think is the natural stopping point, but goes up into the upper jaw making for a bit of a overbite. It's nothing terrible, but odd, for sure.
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To me, the only place this figure falls short is the paint, which is overwhelmingly...ok. There's obviously some intent here, but the final  product is so watered-down that I find it hard to point out anything I like. It's not terrible, obviously, but there's nothing too interesting. I like the hints of brown, and honestly, wish they were the primary color over this green and brown mush. I really hope this is something PNSO start working on, since I often worry buying more of these figures is gonna leave my shelves full of figures the color of vomit.
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Compared to my Papo Acrocanthosaurus, who, ironically, is almost the exact opposite of this figure in every way. The PNSO is way more accurate but has a weaker paint scheme, while the Papo is more fantastical with odd proportions but has a great paint job. I love the colors and the patterns on the Papo so much; heck, it even has nicer jaw articulation.
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Still, PNSO's Acrocanthosaurus does what I want every figure in my collection to do: remind me what I like about an animal. Between the skull and the hump and that imposing stance, it gives off all the right vibes.

Safari LTD. Patagotitan
And finally, the most exciting new Safari LTD. figure of the year (until they revealed Zuul), the Patagotitan!!!
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Patagotitan is one of those big names that became really big when I first started getting back into this stuff. While the reason for its fame may have been somewhat exaggerated, that doesn't make it any less interesting to me. I gulped up all the images, videos, and even that David Attenborough documentary about it back in the day because I just that it was neat. Also, even though Patagotitan probably wasn't as big as Argentinosaurus, it just has a better name.
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When Safari revealed this figure, I was stoked. Titanosaurs don't get nearly as much love in figure form as diplodocus or brachiosaurids, so it's always cool to get one. I was a bit wary of it having basically the exact colors of Safari's Baryonyx (aka The PNSO Effect), but it just looked so well-done.
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As always, Doug Watson does a great job of creating a figure that looks alive without relying on cheap tricks. There's a real sense of this being such a big creature that it looks like it's being actively forced down by gravity and only barely holding its own.
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I'm also a big fan of the pose, which isn't something I say often. Poses are usually take it or leave it for me, but this figure seems to be directly homaging the bizarre way the skeleton was displayed at the American Museum of Natural History for a time. That is such an iconic image to me, I can't help but love this figure for that.
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Again, two very different styles on display here. There are a lot of things I can appreciate about both figures when put side by side. If anything, I think the Safari figure could take note from Eofauna about the feet, especially the back toes. I don't think the Safari having the back outer toes exposed bothers me a ton, but it is the only real gripe I have with it. Also, both these figures have thoroughly beat the notion that sauropod figures need to be any bigger out of me. They're huge! I can barely fit them on the shelf; makes me sympathize with those museum workers who actually have to store the real things.
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With the only other Titanosaur I own, Malawisaurus. I love the diversity these two show, even within such a relatively small group of animals.

So many fantastic giants! Congratulations and welcome back!

Nice figures

my Patagotitan came in yesterday! Lovely model!

Oh, walking with giants! I love all your new additions. Those sauropods are magnificent
While receiving my Konobelodon, I commmented that two Euofauna proboscidians were enough for me since I also have the straight-tusked elephant.
Then, you show me this picture to tell me clearly that I'm probably missing something.
I agree with you, the fact these proboscidians are so distinct makes everything much more appealing, realistic and less boring. These animals are not only elephants with differently shaped tusks and Eofauna tries to get correctly all the differences. I also enjoyed to see the comparisong with the CollectA gomphotherium, it is almost impossible to see that it is a 1:20 scale figure. At least it is what the brand is announcing.

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Stunning additions! Congrats!!

Sorry for the delay everyone, but thank you all for posting here. I plan on doing another update soon enough, but again, I appreciate the kind words.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Yeah, they no how to get people, that's for sure. Not that I mind, all of the proboscideans have been home runs, though, I wouldn't mind if they branched out a bit in terms of mammals. As for the Gomphotherium, I've learned to never trust CollectA's measurements, as it seems to be closer to 1:30 than anything.

A nice haul from MiniZoo arrived the other day. Among its contents were some of the new Mojo Fun figures.
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I don’t want to fill this thread with info about figures you’ve seen before, so I’m just going to talk about the new Mojo toys that I haven’t seen shared here yet.

Coelacanth
I wasn’t sure about grabbing the Coelacanth. I think it’s one of those animals were there is an interesting fact about it, but you only ever hear about that one aspect and become kind of bored of it. It’s like the Meerkat of fish. I even remember reading the exact “thought extinct, now isn’t” story in a Pokemon fan magazine I read as a kid. After doing a bit of research, it turns out Coelacanths are quite interesting and really quite pretty to look at. They live in the deep sea, so, that’s more than enough reason for me to like them. In terms of ecology, they also turn out to be quite interesting, as they’re  an example of a “dead clade walking,” where genetic diversity is declining.
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Mojo’s version is such a great figure. I love the lively pose, which I prefer to Safari’s. This one also looks so much more accurate compared to Safari’s. The Safari’s body feels a bit stunted, while this one looks well proportioned. The head especially comes off as more refined. I also love how the eyes aren’t blue, but a more realistic black. I’m honestly very pleased with this one.

Barn Owl
The Mojo Barn Owl is another excellent version of this species. I’ve had almost every version of this species on the market, and I think they all offer something different. The new mojo is no exception. The coloration is quite unique, probably based on one of the many subspecies (I can’t quite tell which).
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I think it makes quite a nice partner for my CollectA figure; they’re clearly the same species, while still having a great sense of individuality.


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Woolly Mammoth
This new Mammoth is another shinning star for Mojo this year. Last year’s Smilodon was, in my opinion, the best figure from their prehistoric line, but this figure might beat it. It feels similar to the smaller Safari version, but I think it does a good job at sticking out in a sea of same-y mammoths. I love that I finally have an adult with his trunk in the air.
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Like the Barn Owl, this figure isn’t so much replacing as joining another figure. The Carnegie Mammoth is hard to beat, for sure, but I find this one has a more classic mammoth look, while the Carnegie very much reminds me of the hulking model from the Royal BC Museum. Funnily enough, I've started to feel like Terry Norton, the sculptor of some Mojo figures, has a very similar style to the Carnegie Collection sculptor, Forrest Rogers. He's very good at sculpting musculature and fur.
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This Ice Age scene that still makes me tear up.
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Coelacanths are never boring. If it was a rediscovered sardine like fish, maybe it would not be the most exciting but it is a beautiful fish with those peculiar features. Mojö model is absolutely wonderful!
I also like the mammoth, can you show it with an Eofauna model, please?
About the barn owl, I really love so much the CollectA model, I call it a little miracle but I have to be fair with Mojö because they got the proportions in a more correct way even if the final result does not look as exciting.

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I skipped on the mammoth and coelacanth because they didn't look that interesting to me, but now seeing your photos they look like the best of Mojo's 2022 figures

Especially love the mammoth, I already have a couple of others but it would be great for a herd photo

Your barn owl looks to be painted better than the one I received. Its a great sculpt, I wish it had CollectA's paintwork. Perhaps it could be repainted in the future

Congrats! The pygmy sperm whale and megamouth shark are also wonderful additions.

Great additions

Lovely additions,especially the Mammoth!

Fantastic additions! I LOVE that ceolacanth. I can't wait to get these models. Congrats!

Super models, the quality that can be achieved in plastic is outstanding!