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We have a Run-the-Set today, this time the Paleozoic Era set from the Kaiyodo CapsuleQ Museum line. This set was released as a limited run in 2015. I am not sure what exactly, but it was likely for a museum event or some kind of promotion with a Dinosaur Expo in Japan. In this instance, it was reflecting a number of Paleozoic fossil creatures that, honestly, appear to have little to connect them all. Other than being Palaeozoic and marine animals.

One thing about these sets, they almost always come in fives…sometimes with a chase or secret figure. Clearly, I only have four of this one; the fifth is Triarthrus, a trilobite. I had an opportunity to get the two fish plus two others for relatively cheap, so I went for it. The source had someone that really only wanted the trilobite, so it was win-win for all of us. Normally, I might have wanted the whole set but it turns out that every figure in the set is an updated, or at least reimagined, version of previously-released Dinotales figures. So it wasn’t like I was missing out on a species.

A major highlight of these revised figures was the bases; in all cases the Dinotales versions were just the animal, with no figure or stand. Most CapsuleQ sets come with matching bases, often with a realistic ground piece for the animal to attach to. The figures of the Paleozoic Era set all have the same brown platform with the name in Japanese and the binomial. For this set, three of the figures–the Eusthenopteron, Bothriolepis, and Pterygotus–also have the textured landscape piece, allowing them to appear more active. The Opabinia does not have that ground piece, nor does it have a peg, so it just rests on the platform; the same is true of the Triarthrus. This is part of the reason I didn’t mind not getting one; other than the paint, there wasn’t much difference.

I am always happy to get more Palaeozoic figures, and I think everyone should be. I was a little disappointed that Kaiyodo released five animals that they had done before (three out of the five, the two fish and Opabinia actually already came in two paint schemes) but I will still take them. The changes and updates are generally subtle; a little more motion in the body, some more detail in the sculpt, and the aforementioned bases. The new paint jobs are generally far more interesting though, so that is an extra plus. Even better, as is the way with the newer Kaiyodo Capsule Museum series, the material used is not quite as brittle and inflexible, so breakage is less of an issue with handling. Of course, these have been out of production for about 5 years, but I’m guessing that auction sites and Japanese resellers would have them, often still in their original capsule balls! They just might cost more than they did at the time (always jump on these things when they first come out…hunting them later is frustrating!)