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Diplodocus (1988) (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd.)

Posted on March 31, 2012 by gwangi | 5 Comments

Diplodocus is one of those all American sauropods every kid grew up with, right alongside Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus. Described in 1878 it is still the longest known sauropod from a complete skeleton. It is no wonder then, that the Carnegie Collection would include this animal in their original 1988 lineup of museum quality replicas. In 2008 a new and improved version would be released but this oldie is still a goodie and well worth seeking out. In fact, fans of Jurassic Park will have no doubt noticed this figure displayed in the trailer at the dig site in the beginning of the film.

At 24” in length and 9” tall this is a behemoth of a toy and truly conveys the length of these animals. The tail in particular is extremely long and accounts for about 16” of the model’s length, making the tail itself longer than Carnegie’s current representation. Though overall they match each other in scale this Diplodocus has a shorter neck than the new version and despite representing the same animal looks dramatically different. The pose is certainly a relic of another time, when dinosaurs were first leaving the swamps and we were starting to come to grips with how they looked and functioned. The tail is swung low and almost dragging on the ground while the head is held high up in a vertical position. Serious dinosaur buffs will notice inaccuracies like these. The common depiction for this animal these days is the more horizontal position with the tail held high and the head at shoulder height. They certainly may have been capable of lifting their heads higher even if not quite as high as the old Carnegie does. The head itself is fairly crude, like the other original Carnegie sauropods. The eyes are yellow with black pupils. The mouth is a simple black line. The nostrils are placed high on the head though these days we know this too was incorrect. The feet are outdated as well with five nails painted on each. Only one claw should be evident on the forelimbs and three on each of the hind limbs. This is a common mistake even among toy companies today and I must stress that the age of this figure all but justifies inaccuracies like these.

In texture the model is mostly wrinkly, with few scales. Though a more scaled texture would have felt more appropriate this is common among dinosaur toys and Carnegie in particular. In conjunction with the feet the wrinkled skin gives the dinosaur a very elephantine quality. The choice in colors is subtle but convincing with the majority of the body covered in a light sandy shade of brown, large splotches and spots of a darker drab brown form patterns down the neck, back and tail. This choice in color helps convey the image of an animal that lived in dry, dusty sun baked environments as opposed to the humid swamplands these creatures were once thought to have lived in. There are probably other versions of this toy with different paint jobs but if so I’m not aware of them. This brown one is certainly the more abundant one if that is the case.

Though outdated in nearly all its major features this figure serves as a reminder of how far we’ve come in understanding these animals and is a fantastic retro piece for any collection. It stands in nicely displayed with the other old Carnegie sauropods or displayed next to the older Invicta model and newer Carnegie. Seeing the two Carnegies next to each other, it is amazing to think these represent the same animal. Who knows what these animals will look like another 20 years from now. Though not as common as the old Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus, this Diplodocus can still be found on places like eBay from time-to-time.

How the times have changed.

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Posted in Carnegie, Safari Ltd, sauropod

Tagged Carnegie, dinosaur, Diplodocus, safari, sauropod, toy

Brachiosaurus (resculpt)(CollectA)

Posted on March 24, 2012 by plesiosauria | 9 Comments

I’ve been able to tear myself away from our sparkly new Dinosaur Toy Forum (please do register if you aren’t already a member) to dedicate a little time to our old friend The Dinosaur Toy Blog.

It isn’t easy to find a respectable range of dinosaur toys in brick and mortar establishments these days. Even museum shops can disappoint with a pitiful, and often rather embarrassing selection of figures – museum quality replicas indeed. Incidentally, I believe museums have a duty to provide accurate representations in their shops, just as they have a duty to provide accurate representations in their galleries, although I understand why this may not always be the case. Quality aside, given the overwhelming general paucity of dinosaur figures in brick and mortar stores, the vast majority of us turn to the internet to do our monthly (weekly? I hope not daily!) dino-shopping. And so it was with much surprise that I came across a healthy selection of CollectA dinosaurs in my local Sainsbury’s supermarket the other week! A healthy selection of some of the more unhealthy-looking early releases that is. So after a brief period of excitement I decided to pass. But one figure stood out against the rest of the rabble and I resolved to return the following day to re-inspect it. And yes, I bought it. And yes, I’m now going to review it. A second sculpt of Brachiosaurus for their standard-sized line.

Brachiosaurus CollectA

There are three(?) other Brachiosaurus in the CollectA range. I think this is the second standard-sized sculpt of this genus (Happy Horridus? Or do I also need to include a short aside on Giraffatitan too? ) but CollectA have produced so many figures in such a short period of time it is difficult to keep tabs on them all. There are actually enough similarities to regard this figure as a resculpt (rather than a new sculpt). It’s worth noting here that a third CollectA Brachiosaurus was produced for the Deluxe line, but it is a dreadful abomination (reviewed previously by Dan here). The first standard-sized Brachiosaurus hasn’t been reviewed here yet, but it doesn’t seem much better than the Deluxe horror (check out the photos on this external link for a comparison: http://dosfosseisaoplastico.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/brachiosaurus-procon-collecta.html). The one I’m reviewing here today is leagues apart from its two ugly sisters.

Brachiosaurus CollectA

A quick note on the packaging. The toy was attached to a cardboard base replete with fiddly plastic bits and twiddly wires that hold it in place. There is also a backing card with some graphics. Every box had identical graphics with two rotten stock photos of old CollectA toys on the front, and a dashing snap of Anthony Beeson on the back, alongside some info on Tyrannosaurus (again, on every box). As the figures were held in place, it wasn’t possible to read the names stamped on their tummies, so the uninitiated would not necessarily know what dinosaur they were looking at.

Brachiosaurus CollectA

After a brief struggle to release the figure from its restraints, I also discovered a small leaflet housed in the backing card that lists other CollectA products. Most dinosaur toys tend to be sold loose but there are several exceptions. The Toyway NHM London line have an almost identical packing strategy to the one employed here by CollectA. The bubble-packed Favorite models also come to mind. Oh, and Jurassic Park figures came in boxes didn’t they. And then there are the Safari Ltd tubes. Actually, I take it back, maybe most dinosaur toys aren’t sold loose after all! Anyway, for CollectA this is presumably a marketing strategy. The fact that they have found their way into a major chain of supermarkets in the UK is testament that the strategy seems to be working.

Brachiosaurus CollectA

Now on to the toy itself. As I’ve waffled on I won’t go into copious details, but this is a very respectable sculpt of a Brachiosaurus. The feet are rather well done and correct the anatomical mistakes present in its predecessor sculpt. The overall pose is simple but striking and realistic, it somehow imparts a sense of mass. The surface detail is very fine and the paintwork isn’t too bad.

Brachiosaurus CollectA

The head suffers from a mildly cartoon-like appearance, but overall, I highly recommend this figure. There are plenty of comparisons to draw between this figure and the similarly sized Favorite Brachiosaurus. And the CollectA beast would lose out in a head to head battle with the Wild Safari Brachiosaurus, which is another obvious figure to compare it with. But I like it. I like it a lot. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bought it for myself!

Brachiosaurus CollectA