Loon's Collection of Not Dead Animals

[Loon]

Thanks @bmathison1972!

Here's the next custom from paintingdinos.

The original idea for this custom was to give the CollectA Dunkleosteus a new paint scheme, as I really did not care for the original paint job.

Credit: Everything Dinosaur

But, after starting a thread to get some color references, it was pointed out to me that the CollectA figure was pretty inaccurate and that the Favorite model is far superior.   

Credit: Dan's Dinosaurs
However, the Favorite figure's paint job was also unsatisfactory in my opinion, not really looking all that much like a real fish. The biggest issue for me was how stark the paint made the difference between the head armor and the rest of the body. So, after a change in plans, I bought and sent it to paintingdinos.

A big priority for this custom was to blend the head and body in a more natural way, similar to the "Dunk" model from the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Credit: American Museum of Natural History

Another big thing that was taken into account was ecology. Several members pointed out that pelagic fish inhabit a similar niche to Dunkleosteus and after a bit of searching, I was really taken by the beautiful patterns and colors of the Tiger Shark. 

Credit: Fred Buyle

Finally, for a bit of flair, some patterns from the Alligator Gar were referenced. When you look at the custom, you'll see the inspiration in the patterns on the dorsal and tail fins, as well as around the eyes.

Credit: Zachary Randall

So, after all of those "ingredients", you get what has to be one of the most beautiful figures I own.







I don't think everyone has the base figure in their collections, at least not as many as those who have the CollectA figure; so, here's a comparison shot with some of his Devonian comrades.


"Run...or swim, I guess"

Seriously, this thing is so pretty. As usual, I fear my pictures really haven't done it justice, and I highly doubt someone who's failed as many English classes as me can better articulate its beauty in words; but, I'll try. This is just such an upgrade; paintingdinos' paint job has just transformed this figure into something completely different. Unlike so many depictions of Dunkleosteus, it doesn't look like a dead eyed killer, it's an animal, and probably closer to that than most in my collection. Heck, it's a better Tiger Shark than my Tiger Shark.


I especially love the fade from white to grey, as well as the patterns on this thing. Seriously, look how nice they look.


And the level of detail on the tail and dorsal fins is just so neat to look at.


Once again, I have to give a huge shout out to paintingdinos, she has really made some of the nicest things in my collection.

[Isidro]

Nice, but, why you consider that CollectA's model is "inaccurate" And why the difference of colour between armour and flesh is an issue for you? Why do you think that the original colour doesn't look "a real fish"? (such concept can't exist, but, if I had to choose, I would think that the original paintjob looks slightly more "real-fish" than the new one, at least concerning eyes and tooth plates)

[Loon]

Nice, but, why you consider that CollectA's model is "inaccurate" And why the difference of colour between armour and flesh is an issue for you? Why do you think that the original colour doesn't look "a real fish"? (such concept can't exist, but, if I had to choose, I would think that the original paintjob looks slightly more "real-fish" than the new one, at least concerning eyes and tooth plates)

Geez, didn't think I'd have to take a quiz after posting that, but ok.

I'm not a fish expert, so you can read the thread that I mentioned in the post if you want an answer to most of your questions.

I don't really appreciate you insulting my friend's work, so, please, don't post in my thread anymore.

[JimoAi]

What do you think of the safari ltd dunk?

[Isidro]

O_O O_O O_O
So, I don't really appreciate YOU insulting ME, so, please, don't write in my forum anymore

[Loon]

What do you think of the safari ltd dunk?

It's about the same as the CollectA, accuracy wise. It has the outdated eel-like tail and the odd dorsal fin. According to recent research, the body and tail should be more shark like. Unlike the CollectA, I really do like that figures colors.

Keep in mind I'm no self-proclaimed fish expert (unlike some people), so I mostly went off the info given to me by @Halichoeres, who really knows what he's talking about.

[bmathison1972]

What do you think of the safari ltd dunk?

It's about the same as the CollectA, accuracy wise. It has the outdated eel-like tail and the odd dorsal fin. According to recent research, the body and tail should be more shark like. Unlike the CollectA, I really do like that figures colors.

Keep in mind I'm no self-proclaimed fish expert (unlike some people), so I mostly went off the info given to me by @Halichoeres, who really knows what he's talking about.

I am also not a fish specialist, but if I remember correctly, the idea of Dunk having a shark-like tail is based on a related fish; we don't really know what Dunk's tail looked like. But, a shark-tail seams totally plausible.

The Safari and Favorite figures are the best of the larger/standard-sized figures, so depending on how much the tail is an issue for you will probably dictate which you choose. I have the Safari figure and am content with it, but you can't really go wrong with either. I may have gone with the Favorite model, but Safari is more readily available in the US, and I tend to favor Safari's prehistoric critters.

Loon - the paintjob is fantastic! It looks much better now.

P.S. my prehistoric selections are also often influenced by @Halichoeres as he usually does a thorough, scientifically-backed analysis of a figure ;-)

[Loon]

Thanks @bmathison1972 ! Yeah, I'm perfectly happy deferring to my betters when it comes to these things. Usually, I think I'm good enough to spot whether or not a figure is accurate enough to get, but the extra info is always appreciated.

[Halichoeres]

I haven't signed in for a while and didn't realized I'd been mentioned here. Rather than pick scabs, I think that I'm going to do a detailed breakdown on Dunkleosteus over on the DTF where I go through each of the major brands' figures point by point.

EDIT As promised: http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=9367.0

Now, back to your regularly scheduled Loon's collection!

[Loon]

Wow, show's how long I haven't posted. I didn't even know anyone had commented since my last post. Also, check out Halichoeres' breakdown thread, it's very informative.

Anyway, even though I haven't been posting much, I have been collecting still. I recently got this lot in from Minizoo (who I wholeheartedly recommend). 5 days to get to Cali from Australia; not the longest distance, I know, but still faster than some local sellers. That, and shipping is about the same as buying locally too.


First, the CollectA 2021 Red Kangaroo Female and Joey. To be completely honest, I don't love this figure. It's just so so, I thought it looked pretty nice in photos, but in hand it's just...off. The coloration is definitely too vibrant and you can tell it's an older sculpt. I'll definitely be looking to replace her sooner than later, so if anyone has any recommendations, please let me know. I remember the Papo one being alright.


I'd heard some criticisms of the Southlands Replicas Echidna for being inaccurate. And, while those people do have a point, I was told this is the best figure of an echidna out there, so I picked it up. I'm happy I did, I like Southlands a lot and this figure is no exception. Hopefully they come back soon, that saltwater crocodile is too gorgeous to not release.


Funnily enough, I find the CollectA 2021 Meerkat to be the complete opposite of the Kangaroo. I love this little guy. Unlike the Kangaroo, the Meerkat has a nice, subtle coloration (maybe a little too subtle?) It also has quite a bit of detail considering the sculpt came from CollectA's "awkward phase." Now, I wonder what some of those late 2000s/early 2010s figures would look like with a repaint?


Finally, my favorite of the bunch. This is a figure that I've been wanting for some time, the CollectA Secretary Bird. This is such a nice model, and big too. I was a little surprised by the size, but it's fine. I love everything about it except the base honestly, even though I understand why it's there. That, and the fact that mine is a little warped. Oh well, still a great addition to my Sub-Saharan Africa display.


I've covered the CollectA 2021 Megalosaurus over on the Dinotoyforum, so I won't go into too much detail. That being said, you should really get this thing, it looks far nicer in hand than the promo pics made it seem. Aside from that, Megalosaurus is such an important species to natural history and paleontology, I think anyone with an interest in those fields should get one of these.


Anyway, that's all for now. I have some Mojö figures I'll be posting about soon and I'm very excited to share them. One is a holy grail of mine that I'm so glad I finally found for a decent price.

[bmathison1972]

The Megalosaurus looks small next to the others (I know they are not supposed to be in scale). Is Megalosaurus a smaller species? I thought CollectA likes to make their dinos bigger these days

[Loon]

The Megalosaurus looks small next to the others (I know they are not supposed to be in scale). Is Megalosaurus a smaller species? I thought CollectA likes to make their dinos bigger these days

Based on Greg Paul's estimate it's only about 19.7 feet long. So, if I'm doing my measurements correctly, this thing's like 1:40ish scale.

[Loon]

Some more figures for my extant collection! According to the Google Sheet I keep for my figures, these make my collection 300 strong...yikes...

Bongo Antelope (CollectA)

I believe this figure represents the mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci)? Only because he's quite beefy, which seems to be a characteristic of the mountain subspecies. But, of course, my ability to distinguish subspecies is severely lacking. Still, I'm happy to finally have a good figure of what has to be one of the more beautiful mammals, other than myself of course...

King Cheetah (CollectA)

I'm not one for big cats, to be honest. In fact, I only own one other, being CollectA's African jaguar. I don't know. It's just, to me, buying toys of tigers and lions is about as exciting as owning figures of domestic cattle and pigs. Now, this isn't me being biased because I have dogs, after all, the closest thing I own to a dog figure is Safari's maned wolf. Maybe big cats just don't really excite me that much. That said, cheetahs are quite interesting to me. I love their lithe form and physicality, so I wanted to get one for my collection. Ever since I saw this figure, I knew I had to have it, particularly because it represented a rare color morph of my favorite big cat. Really, the only nitpick I have is that it does suffer a bit by looking a little squat for such a lanky species. 

Kakapo (Science and Nature)

To tell the truth, I really didn't have the highest hopes for this figure. I have owned a couple of Science and Nature figures before (Muttaburrasaurus and Serendiceratops), and...they were far from impressive. But I have a thing for weird birds, and the Kakapo is one of the weirdest, so I had to get this one. Shockingly, it turned out far nicer (and bigger) than I expected. It's not the most detailed thing in terms of paint or sculpting, but the gap is nowhere near as wide between this figure and more mainstream replicas as it was for those two dinosaurs.

Warthog (Schleich)

I think 2021 Schleich lineup, while laughable in some areas, has some quality figures. Case in point, the Warthog, which I believe is the common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), not exactly sure which subspecies. It's always hard to find something to say about a solid figures other than "they're good," so I won't say more than that.

Emu (Mojö Fun)

This figure came highly recommended in the comments section of my review of Southlands Replicas' male Emu on the Animal Toy Blog. After finally giving up on the Southlands figure (it kept leaning). Though I do like that one in terms of detail a bit more; the lack of the brown feathers higher on the neck and the lackluster blue around the head on this one is a little disappointing. Still, the overall toy is just such a good model of this bird.   

Komodo Dragon (Mojö Fun)

Like crocodilians, it seemed to me that there were very few figures that captured the look of Komodo dragons very well. The Mojö one looked to be the best overall, but the colors looked very dull. However, I saw a thread on STS, I think, about the 2020 revision. It looked way better, so I decided to buy one, hoping I'd get the newer version. Unfortunately, I got the older version at first and, after realizing the 2020 version had a different product number, I found a listing and bought one. However, I slowly started to like the older version more. I think the newer one is far too green, oddly enough. I like that this old version depicts a dirty animal, as opposed to the cleaner look of the new release.

Tamandua (Mojö Fun)

Finally. FINALLY. I have it, one of my few "holy grails" in terms of animal models, the amazing Mojö Fun tamandua! I think this figure represents the Southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla), because of the lack of the orangey coloration around the neck. This figure was a bit of a pain to find. It's not impossible, it is on Amazon for $30ish, but that's crazy high for such a little thing. Luckily, I found it along with the Komodo and the Emu on Walmart for around $8. I'm a big fan of anteaters, so I'm happy to get this guy. Hopefully someone's made or will make a silky anteater at some point.

[JimoAi]

Some more figures for my extant collection! According to the Google Sheet I keep for my figures, these make my collection 300 strong...yikes...

Bongo Antelope (CollectA)

I believe this figure represents the mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci)? Only because he's quite beefy, which seems to be a characteristic of the mountain subspecies. But, of course, my ability to distinguish subspecies is severely lacking. Still, I'm happy to finally have a good figure of what has to be one of the more beautiful mammals, other than myself of course...

King Cheetah (CollectA)

I'm not one for big cats, to be honest. In fact, I only own one other, being CollectA's African jaguar. I don't know. It's just, to me, buying toys of tigers and lions is about as exciting as owning figures of domestic cattle and pigs. Now, this isn't me being biased because I have dogs, after all, the closest thing I own to a dog figure is Safari's maned wolf. Maybe big cats just don't really excite me that much. That said, cheetahs are quite interesting to me. I love their lithe form and physicality, so I wanted to get one for my collection. Ever since I saw this figure, I knew I had to have it, particularly because it represented a rare color morph of my favorite big cat. Really, the only nitpick I have is that it does suffer a bit by looking a little squat for such a lanky species. 

Kakapo (Science and Nature)

To tell the truth, I really didn't have the highest hopes for this figure. I have owned a couple of Science and Nature figures before (Muttaburrasaurus and Serendiceratops), and...they were far from impressive. But I have a thing for weird birds, and the Kakapo is one of the weirdest, so I had to get this one. Shockingly, it turned out far nicer (and bigger) than I expected. It's not the most detailed thing in terms of paint or sculpting, but the gap is nowhere near as wide between this figure and more mainstream replicas as it was for those two dinosaurs.

Warthog (Schleich)

I think 2021 Schleich lineup, while laughable in some areas, has some quality figures. Case in point, the Warthog, which I believe is the common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), not exactly sure which subspecies. It's always hard to find something to say about a solid figures other than "they're good," so I won't say more than that.

Emu (Mojö Fun)

This figure came highly recommended in the comments section of my review of Southlands Replicas' male Emu on the Animal Toy Blog. After finally giving up on the Southlands figure (it kept leaning). Though I do like that one in terms of detail a bit more; the lack of the brown feathers higher on the neck and the lackluster blue around the head on this one is a little disappointing. Still, the overall toy is just such a good model of this bird.   

Komodo Dragon (Mojö Fun)

Like crocodilians, it seemed to me that there were very few figures that captured the look of Komodo dragons very well. The Mojö one looked to be the best overall, but the colors looked very dull. However, I saw a thread on STS, I think, about the 2020 revision. It looked way better, so I decided to buy one, hoping I'd get the newer version. Unfortunately, I got the older version at first and, after realizing the 2020 version had a different product number, I found a listing and bought one. However, I slowly started to like the older version more. I think the newer one is far too green, oddly enough. I like that this old version depicts a dirty animal, as opposed to the cleaner look of the new release.

Tamandua (Mojö Fun)

Finally. FINALLY. I have it, one of my few "holy grails" in terms of animal models, the amazing Mojö Fun tamandua! I think this figure represents the Southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla), because of the lack of the orangey coloration around the neck. This figure was a bit of a pain to find. It's not impossible, it is on Amazon for $30ish, but that's crazy high for such a little thing. Luckily, I found it along with the Komodo and the Emu on Walmart for around $8. I'm a big fan of anteaters, so I'm happy to get this guy. Hopefully someone's made or will make a silky anteater at some point.

Not a fan of big cats too. Love your run through a though

[Advicot]

@Loon the new Schleich warthog is a desert warthog, Phacochoerus aethiopicus 

[bmathison1972]

@Loon the new Schleich warthog is a desert warthog, Phacochoerus aethiopicus 

Says who? Did Schleich specifically market it as such, or is this an 'STS-Google-Search-ID'?

If Schleich said so, GREAT, if not, I don't think one can make that determination from this figure (that being said, a collector can call it what he/she chooses)

[Advicot]

Schleich did market it as a desert warthog 
Here: https://www.schleich-s.com/en/GB/wild-life/products/warthog-14843.html

[bmathison1972]

Schleich did market it as a desert warthog 
Here: https://www.schleich-s.com/en/GB/wild-life/products/warthog-14843.html

Well, thank YOU! I just ordered it!

[Advicot]

You seem really happy about this, and congrats 

[bmathison1972]

You seem really happy about this, and congrats 

It's a new species for me; the PNSO one is a common