The Dinosaur Toy Blog

What’s this – the Carnegie Dilong again? Haven’t we seen it around these parts before? Well, yes, we have. Unfortunately, the original reviewer left the blog some time ago and, for whatever reason, deleted all his posts upon departure. As such, what you are reading now is a replacement – written by me, I’m afraid. So, without further delay, let’s take a good gander at the Carnegie Dilong from 2005. Again.

Dilong paradoxus lived in China in the Early Cretaceous, as did Caudipteryx and Beipiaosaurus (although perhaps not at exactly the same time), both of which have also subsequently made it into the Carnegie Collection. While it’s definitely a plus that this Dilong and the Beipiaosaurus are sculpted at roughly the same scale, Dilong was a somewhat more diminutive creature than Beipiaosaurus (or at least, the type specimen was). As such, fine details are a little more fudged than on the therizinosaur, particularly around the head; the teeth are indistinct while the eyes, apart from probably being a little too large, have asymmetrical splodgy pupils.

Of course, Dilong is most famous for having been preserved with evidence of a fuzzy ‘protofeather’ covering, and fortunately this is far more attractively rendered. The details remain very crisp up close, giving a pleasing impression of a ‘furry’ fluffiness. While the colours could be considered a little conservative, in this case it’s probably actually a good thing – a bright blue (for example) Dilong would actually have been incredibly unlikely, as the nature of ‘protofeathers’ all but prevents this colouration from being physically possible.

Anatomically, this model is very good even if it’s not perfect, and certainly excellent given its very cheap price tag. Perhaps most obviously, the hands do not match up especially well, the real Dilong having quite long hands and fingers of more differing lengths. The tail is also rather thin where it joins the body (not allowing room for muscles), although this was common in palaeoart until fairly recently. Other than that, the proportions are good – the legs are nice and long and the head is deep and narrow, with the characteristic low Y-shaped crest evident.

The Carnegie Collection has, since 2005, been so far ahead of the pack as regards feathered (nonavian) dinosaurs that it’s been a little embarrassing  (although that naked Velociraptor is a very unfortunate black mark), with Collecta only now catching up. Although certain aspects of the sculpt could use a little more finesse, this Dilong is certainly a worthy addition to a lineup that now also includes Microraptor, Oviraptor and of course the aforementioned Beipiaosaurus and Caudipteryx. Hopefully we’ll be seeing a lot more of them – starting with a Velociraptor resculpt!

We’re joining this particular party late as the following Safari Ltd photos have been circulating the interwebs for months now, so it’s about time we posted them here to complete (more-or-less) our round up of new dinosaur figures for 2012. So, here’s a preview of Safari Ltd’s offerings for this year. Five new figures will be released including a single addition to the Carnegie collection, a humongous Brachiosaurus, that will put the old version to shame. In the Wild Safari line, four new figures will be added. When we factor in all the new releases from Safari Ltd, Papo, CollectA, and Bullyland, we certainly have a lot to look forward to in 2012.

From top to bottom: Carnegie Collection Brachiosaurus, and Wild Safari Vagaceratops, Dracorex, Ceratosaurus, and Acrocanthosaurus.

Review by forum member Gwangi
The year 1993 was a big year for dinosaur fanatics, the most obvious reason being the release of Jurassic Park in June of that year. It is difficult for me and likely others of my generation to grasp just how long ago that was and how much has changed since. Dino-mania swept the country and no matter where you looked they were there. I was totally engrossed in it before the movie was even released. Not able to get enough dinosaurs I grabbed up any magazine or periodical that featured the prehistoric animals or Jurassic Park. In the back of one of those magazines were advertisements featuring different collectables that would appeal to nerds such as me with a love for dinosaurs and movies. Among them were the advertisements for Safari’s “Dinosaurs of China” collection. The collection included famous dinosaurs of the region such as mamenchisaurus, yangchuanosaurus, velociraptor and therzinosaurus. Some came along with skeletal representations sculpted on display stands on which to place the figure. I fell it love with the pictures of these models, they looked fantastic and to my young eyes were a far cry from your average dino-toy. Now finally after nearly 20 years I’ve gotten my hands on some of these and I gotta say…it’s about time!

Discovered in the 1940’s the true nature of therizinosaurs was a paleontological mystery and it wasn’t until the early 90’s that people finally started to realize what we were dealing with. I won’t get into too much depth on the subject as I already touched on it with my review of Safari’s “Great Dinos Collection” version of the creature and I’m sure most readers are familiar with the story, safe to say Safari was pretty quick to jump on producing one of these bizarre creatures.

Being nearly two decades old the figure stands up quite well in terms of accuracy and for a figure rarely produced stands out as a gem in any collection. The figure measures about 6” in length and stands 3” high at the top of its curved neck. The figure is supposed to be 1/40 in scale but the size estimates for therizinosaurus vary from 20-40 ft due to insufficient material on which to estimate a size. If therizinosaurus was 20’ long than this scale is correct.

The figure was sculpted by dinosaur artist Ely Kish as are the rest of the collection and certainly looks like a piece of art. One of the striking features of this figure is the color and pattern choice which can also be seen in her painting of the animal. Overall the body is a light green color with white on the underside. Dark green spots dot the entire body and fade to an aqua color on the limbs. The hands, feet and portions of the underside are also lined in brown. When I first saw this I thought the previous owner had painted the brown on but this is not the case. The body is covered in wrinkles and small scales with more of the former but the level of detail is pretty good considering the small size.

One feature I really like is that you can see and feel the vertebra all the way down the neck. Where accuracy is concerned this therizinosaur looks pretty good for its age. It stands correctly on two four toed feet, balance is aided by the tips of the claws. How this animal got around exactly is unknown, some think it may have walked on its knuckles similar to the extinct ground sloth but it is typically reproduced as a biped. The head is appropriately small and the neck long, the backward pointing pelvis is quite accurate but the gut region could probably be a bit more wide and robust. The hands are correctly positioned and not pronated. If one were to find something seriously wrong with the figure I suppose a lack of feathers would be it given this dinosaur’s relation to the feathered beipiaosaurus and coelurosaurs as a whole. I’m not going to get too nit picky about that as the figure was produced in 1993 before the discovery of feathered dinosaurs and represents a group that was up until that time poorly known and still is. Perhaps the biggest complaint is in regards to the head which is asymmetrical in appearance; I guess you should just try to avoid looking at it head on. This may not be a problem with all the models but it sure is with mine!

Overall what we have is a nicely sculpted, fairly accurate and striking to look at figure of an obscure theropod that even today is rarely produced, this could very well be the first figure produced of the animal and if not it was and is certainly one of the best. If you would like to acquire one of these, eBay may be your best bet but I have yet to see one aside from this one I got in a lot. If you’re fortunate you may even get the fossil background that I was unable to obtain.

Review and photos by forum member Gwangi, edited by DinoLord

Everyone familiar with dinosaurs knows the name Apatosaurus, and those not familiar with dinosaurs probably are familiar with it but still call it Brontosaurus despite a name change over 100 years ago. I won’t bother getting into any of that as anyone reading this review most likely already knows the story. Let’s just say that whenever I talk about dinosaurs with the average person I’m forced to describe any sauropod as “you know… like Brontosaurus.” I’ll admit, I prefer the former name over the current but it is what it is and ultimately has little to do with the figure I’m reviewing.

It was the year 1988: I was four years old, the “Dinosaur Renaissance” was about two decades in and the book “Jurassic Park” was two years away from publication. Dinosaurs were still frequently depicted as they were in days past. Only a year previously Invicta released it’s rendition of the famous Apatosaurus, tail dragger and all but a new brand of dinosaur figures was about to be released, one that would reflect the knowledge of the time and ultimately out compete Invicta. Though outdated by today’s standards, the original Carnegie Collection was unlike any other toy dinosaurs at the time and their Apatosaurus was one of those toys.

The Carnegie Apatosaurus is a big one and depending on which version you own would measure 5” in height and 21-23” in length if not for the bend in the neck and tail, this
length puts the figure at about 1/40 in scale. It is also quite heavy weighing in between 1-2 lbs again depending on the version you own. Mine is the smaller 1996 version but was pre-dated by another in 1994 and as said the original in 1988. The colors also vary depending on which year the model came from. The two later versions are the Carnegie
standard greens with a darker pattern dorsally. The original was grey and tan and where color is concerned honestly better looking in my opinion. The figure is well textured with
many wrinkles and scales with more of the former as seems to be the Carnegie tradition.

The original 1988 version of the Carnegie Apatosaurus (with the baby Carnegie Apatosaurus figure). Note the different color scheme, more "humped" back, and different tail. Photo by forum member webdragon.

The overall stance of the figure is quite dynamic. The newer model strides forward with a low slung tail that curves up. It is important to note that the tail does not drag on the
newer models but in the older the tip does touch the ground. The neck curves up and back down with the head veering towards the left. It gives the appearance that the animal is
looking for food or at some unseen predator or perhaps its offspring; a baby Apatosaurus was also released with this model but will not be reviewed here.

The model has a lot of bulk to it, though small compared to the real thing you get a sense of size with this figure. The proportions are fairly good, but I think the figure could stand
a bit taller. The front legs are shorter than the back as should be but the feet are huge and inaccurate, but given the release date it is forgivable. The current consensus is that with
sauropod feet only the thumb claw could be seen on the front and the first three in the back. These large inaccurate feet are common with the older Carnegie sauropods; I can
understand the number of toe nails but why the large feet I can only guess. All the toe nails are painted grey.

The head is appropriately small but could probably be smaller; the neck is beefy but could probably be beefier and a bit longer. The head is the right shape. No Camarasaurus
skull on this guy. However, the paint job leaves a lot to be desired. The mouth is a sloppy pink line and the teeth merely white spots painted on randomly. The nostrils are high up on
the head as was the mindset of the time. Currently it is thought that they were closer to the front of the snout. The eyes are yellow with black pupils. Along the back and tail
a prominent ridge has been sculpted which accurately reflects the tall spines the actual Apatosaurus had. The tail comes close to the ground or touches it in older models when
it should be held higher but the figure still looks good regardless. The tail is a bit on the short side and lacks the long thin tip but being a toy this should come as no surprise.

Overall what we’re left with is a well made but dated Apatosaurus that seems to walk the line between the old school and new school way of thinking in terms of what dinosaurs
were like. It is still a handsome figure essential to any sauropod collection unless you’re the type who only wants the most accurate figures, but keep in mind that what is accurate
now may not be in a matter of years or even days. If you’re a Carnegie collector this one will have to do as they have yet to release an updated version.