Dinosaur Diorama Contest 2009 – Winners!

I’m pleased to announce the winners of the recent Dinosaur Toy Forum Diorama Contest – 2009, sponsored by Faunacasts. Thanks to everyone who entered and voted! 17 unique dioramas were entered this year and  43 members took part in the voting process. All of the entries and the results of the voting poll can still be seen here on the Dinosaur Toy Forum. But without further ado, the winners are as follows.

First place was a three way tie – but each wins first prize –  a Tyrannosaurus rex by sculpted by Malcolm Mlodoch (Dinonikes) of Faunacasts. There are also banners for all the winners to parade around on the forum if they wish! The three first place winners are:

Radman with his entry titled “Diorama in early Cretaceous Africa – Jobaria versus Afrovenators”

Pilkington with his diorama titled “Hunting Party”

and Tomhet with his diorama titled “Cretaceous Hunt”

In second place, winning a Dilophosaurus by Faunacasts, is Pangolinmoth with his diorama titled “Lonely Stego”

In third place, winning an Ophthalmosaurus by Faunacasts, is Bokisaurus with his diorama titled “Just another day at the beach”

Congratulation to all prize winners!

There are also three close runners up, who receive an honorable mention here:

“Cornered!” by Tetonbabydoll

“The Permo-Triassic” by Hyneria

“On the lookout” by Bjeast

Thanks to everyone who took part in the contest this year, and to everyone who voted. Hopefully the contest next year will be just as popular! A final ‘thank you’ goes to our kind sponsor Faunacasts for providing such amazing prizes.

Nigersaurus (Wild Safari collection by Safari Ltd)

As coincidence would have it, two separate companies (Procon and Safari) released a Nigersaurus figure this year. The current review will concentrate on the offering from Safari’s rapidly maturing and increasingly impressive Wild Safari line. I won’t be comparing the two figures directly, but it is worth noting in passing that Procon’s rival pales in comparison to this superior Safari replica.

Nigersaurus is an unusual sauropod from the Cretaceous of (it will come as no surprise) Niger, Africa. It was originally named and described in 1999, but many of the details of its anatomy were not fully understood until 2005. As sauropods go, Nigersaurus has a very short neck, but the most striking feature of this creature is its goofy looking head with its wide mouth- Nigersaurus was unflatteringly dubbed in ‘vacuum-cleaner mouth’ by the popular press.

The 21 cm long Safari Nigersaurus is depicted striding along, tail aloft, with the neck and head lowered, mouth open ready to do what sauropods did best. The unusual anatomy of the head, including the broad flat rows of teeth is very wellre produced; there is fine detailing indicating the separate teeth. Gentle black doe-like eyes even lend towards this figure appearing rather cute.

There are several lovely details In this figure. There is a ‘frill’ of tightly packed tiny spines running along the neck, back, and tail, their orientation is irregular in places and the spacing varies slightly – this feature adds lots of character to this piece. On the flanks of the torso are faint impressions of the ribs – but not at the expense of making the animal appear emaciated, in contrast it looks well nourished. The narroewtip of the tail whips around to the left. A peep inside the mouth reveals a round little tongue and the overall skin texture is moderately wrinkled; cross-hatching in the sculpt also gives the convincing impression of scales. The feet are incorrect anatomically speaking, the hands are missing distinct thumb claws for example, which is a shame.

The colour is predominantly made up of healthy shades of deep green and golden highlights, the underside of the body is pale and there is a sharp boundary running along the side of thee body. Overall this is a high quality and generally very accurate figure of an intriguing critter – combined with the reasonable price tag this should become a popular item for collectors and for creative play alike.

Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)

Deltadromeus (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd)

Fossil remains of this slenderly built and long-legged theropod are known from Late Cretaceous deposits of northern Africa. It is another quite obscure species as far as dinosaur toys go, maybe Safari picked it out to demonstrate that they are keeping up with palaeontological research, Deltadromeus was named and described in detail in 1996; the Carnegie figure was produced the following year.

Most of the body is covered with contrasting shades of grey, while the throat blushes with a deep red hue and the sides of the head look, well, it looks like it’s had an unfortunate run in with some tippex – bold and quite gaudy streaks of white run from above the eye down to the tooth row. 

The tail has the aforementioned downturn frequently seen in Carnegie Collection theropods to support the critter in a tripod pose. In this instance it has also allowed the right foot to be posed mid-stride so just the tips of the toes contact the ground. This makes a nice change to the usual flat footed stance in most figures, and in this case adds movement to the figure and justifies the tripod pose in my opinion.

Fossils of Deltadromeus indicate that it exceeded 13 meters in length, so even though Deltadromeus agilis may have been one or the longest theropod dinosaurs ever, this figure is confusingly one of the smallest dinosaurs in the Carnegie Collection, measuring just 13 cm long. Given the 1:40 scale of this figure one can only presume that it represents a young individual. Overall it is a nice little figure.

Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)

Parasaurolophus (Kleinwelka)

Review and photos by Stefan Schröder (alias Libraraptor)

Up for review today is Kleinwelka Parasaurolophus which dates back to the 70s or 80s, when the owners of the Kleinwelka dinosaur park decided to bring out some souvenir toys looking like small versions of the dinosaurs arranged in the park. Kleinwelka is a small village in the state of Sachsen in Eastern Germany. Here you can see life-size dinosaurs made of concrete, placed in a natural prehistoric surrounding. This Parasaurolophus is therefore quite an unusual and interesting animal to review. It looks like a monument. And not just the symbolized animal but also the model itself is part of a very interesting history.

We all know about Parasaurolophus, the upper Cretaceaus North American hadrosaur with its strange skull. It’s one of the more famous dinosaurs, somewhere behind T.rex, Apatosaurus, Triceratops and, nowadays, the raptors. So it’s not necessary to spend more words on the animal itself. What is interesting is its overall look and the fact it is a product from communism. The overall look can be described quickly: the Kleinwelka Parasaurolophus measures 24.5 centimetres in length and 16 cm in height. It is bipedal and of a bright brown colour. Except from the eyes, nostrils and the front of its neck, it lacks any skin pattern or further details. The material it is made from feels strange somehow. It is not as heavy as Invicta models of the same size and similar in style, but it is not made from rubber or resin either. So I can only presume the material is “Plaste”, a plastic the cars in the German Democratic Republic were made from, too. It has a strange feel, is solid yet light and probably unbreakable, although I do not want to test this.

And yes, the Kleinwelka Parasaurolophus has a history not every dinosaur toy can tell. It was produced in the German Democratic Republic, the form of government there was communism. Many people could not afford more than the things necessary for everyday life in those times. So I suppose this toy must have been a luxury then. The Kleinwelka dinosaurs, to a certain extent, and especially this Parasaurolophus, can by all means be regarded as the eastern analogues to the Sinclair Brontosaurus. In his book “The Last Dinosaur Book” W.J.D. Mitchell argues that dinosaur pictures or figures were also always a sign for their zeitgeist, the political climate and the general public feeling, the histories of man and dinosaurs are connected in many interesting ways. Like communism, this Parasaurolophus figure is bulky and not flexible, not taken in any movement but very static. And so was capitalism back in the Sinclair times – just take a quick look at its mascot.

This figure stands as a proof for Mitchells thesis and thus is very fascinating. So you can even excuse its four fingered hands with webs. I love figures like these. And I love the multi-dimensional approach they afford. They are not just souvenirs or toys but also hint at other facings of life, thus linking categories as different as dinosaurs, collecting, politics and history to each other.

Allosaurus (Desktop model by Dinostoreus)

Review and photos by Dan Liebman of Dan’s Dinosaurs

The Dinostoreus “Desktop” Allosaurus model has a generous heft to it, both in physical weight and price – as of the time this review was written, she typically sells for at least $70 before shipping.  Given the price tag, it would only be fair to ask: is it worth it?

As far as polyresin prehistoric predators go, the Dinostoreus Allosaurus is pretty impressive.  The earthy base keeps the body sturdily postured on two feet, tail balanced nicely in the air, head shifted slightly to the side.  The one adjective I would use to describe this sculpt would be “mature”.  This is clearly not some child’s plaything.  You won’t find it in a cereal box; in fact, you’ll be lucky to even find one in a museum gift shop.  Instead of the ubiquitous roaring pose with gaping jaws so often seen in theropod media, this Allosaurus keeps her jaws tightly shut.  Thought clearly in mid-stride, she is not sprinting.  Though she looks very much alive, she does not appear to be hunting.  She simply… is.

And really, why is that such a bad thing?  As a friend of mine once pointed out, the poor fellows “need to close their mouths sometimes”.  The simple truth is that these animals probably did have their jaws shut most of the time.  If you strolled up to one in its natural environment, this is exactly how you would expect it to look.  Strolling along, in a relatively neutral stance.  Some people may find this turns them off, given the considerable price.  Others may feel she makes for an outstanding collector’s piece, easily elegant enough for display in the office.

The foot-long body is extremely hard, and it stands firmly upon the separate wooden base.  The base also enhances the tasteful qualities of the sculpture, having an attractive color and golden identification tag on its display side.  Viewed at a glance, it looks less like a replica and more like a miniature Allosaurus.  The relatively relaxed posture, unhurried gait, and glossy eyes all contribute to a very pleasant piece that is both striking and soothing at the same time.

The body appears to be dry brushed in many areas, by hand, which brings out the pebbled surface of the animal’s skin.  The lacrimal crests above the eyes have also been highlighted in crimson, following the conventional “display” hypothesis.  While forelimb posture in theropods is regularly debated among paleontologists, the black-clawed arms of this Allosaurus are impressively sharp.  Naturally, handling the piece should be done with care, particularly when young children are around.

The only real problem with this sculpture is that the dry brushing appears rather rough in some spots.  The natural hues are very conservative and fitting for an ambush predator, yet it seems like the original sculpture was given far more attention than the paint job.  This discrepancy becomes problematic when one considers the cost of the item.  Few people would consider this Allosaur to be four times as impressive as the Papo Allosaurus, despite being four times the cost.  Even so, the paint problems become less noticeable if the sculpture is kept a few feet away from the viewer.  It remains one of the most pleasing pieces available for the refined theropod enthusiast.

Sinraptor (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd)

Sinraptor is a small theropod from the Late Jurassic of China, named and described in 1994. Despite the name, it is not a member of raptor family (Dromaeosauridae) and it is actually related to the allosaurs, it is considered to be close to their ancestral form.

A particularly pleasing aspect of this figure is the raised tail – the body is held horizontally and stands on two feet without requiring support from the tail. This shows that it is possible to do, so it is a shame that many recent Carnegie Collection sculpts have been seemingly restricted by a ‘tripod’ pose, in which the tip of the tail descends to contact the ground – the Carnegie Spinosaurus (both versions), Giganotosaurus, Deltadrmoeus, Velociraptor, Carnotaurus, T. rex, and it looks like the upccoming Cryolophosaurus, are all guilty as charged. But the Sinraptor (and also the Albertosaurus, to be reviewed soon), show that it should be possible to buck this trend and reconstruct theropods in a more natural pose.

This small Sinraptor figure is 17 cm long and quite slender with a long swiping tail. The staggered legs and arms and open mouth give the figure a modest energetic feel, as if it’s wandering the Jurassic landscape, on the prowl. The teeth and tongue are neatly done and the surface of the skin is rough. The colouration is quite conservative merging from dark shades of brown above to paler sandy shades and white below. There are some nice dark spots on the sides of the torso. It’s nice to see a more obscure species available and because of its small size it is also very affordable.

Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)

Dinosaur Diorama Contest 2009 Deadline

Just a short announcement to remind everyone that the deadline for the Official Dinosaur Toy Forum Diorama Contest 2009, sponsored by Fauna Casts, is fast approaching. But there is still time to submit your ‘dino-rama’! The deadline is this coming Monday (June 15th 2009), entries received after 00.00 hours GMT June 16th will be invalid. Entry is free and the prizes include some stunning replicas from the Dinosaur Toy Forum line by Fauna Casts, including the mighty T. rex (pictured below).

The rules and details of the submission process can be found here.

Also, even if you are not submitting a diorama, feel free to join the Dinosaur Toy Forum to take part in the public voting process and help decide the winners.

Postosuchus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd)

Review by Dan Liebman of Dan’s Dinosaurs

Ever since their bizarre rebirth, Safari’s growing “Wild Safari” line has seen the release of many quality dinosaur figures. The most recent addition to this line is the American archosaur Postosuchus, which featured heavily in the BBC’s Walking With Dinosaurs. Its appearance in the documentary has seemingly triggered the release of several figures from various companies. None yet compare to this release from Wild Safari, however.

While the Postosuchus may seem unimpressive compared to the theropod giants of the Cretaceous, it is worth noting that this species was considered a superpredator in its day. It didn’t need to be the size of a Tyrannosaur; it was already one of the biggest carnivores roaming the land at that time. This depiction offers an upright posture, alert and agile. Though the resemblance to early reptilians is uncanny (and appropriate), this Postosuchus is not easily mistaken for an oversized lizard. This is not some prehistoric crocodile – the golden eyes appear very much alive, and the details of the fenestrae and teeth are outstanding (even for a new Wild Safari figure). The body is tangibly familiar with reptilian scales and scutes cascading across the flanks. The tail is held parallel to the ground, further amplifying its defiant “I am not a croc” image.

The wonderous amagalm of primeval yet novel qualities has been reinforced by the figure’s charming coloration. Cast in a very natural pair of hues, the Wild Safari Postosuchus strolls through the Triassic Texan landscape in dark brown and canary colors, somewhat reminiscient of a yellowjacket. These colors provide a very natural contrast that is striking enough to look dangerous, yet simple enough to lend visual credibility. The instant impression one receives at first glance is that the animal is alive, on the prowl, and definitely not something you’d want to approach in the wild.

It is indeed difficult to find significant flaws on the Wild Safari Postosuchus. His forelimbs are appropriately leaner than his hind limbs, and he ambles along in the conservative, quadrupedal posture (the species is thought to have been capable of some bipedal travel, as the aforementioned discrepancy in limb size suggests). When viewed from a rear angle, the elevation of the tail becomes even more prominent, giving a great sense of dynamic action. In short, this Postosuchus conveys everything it should. It is primitive, tough, and maybe even just a touch arrogant.

Available from Safari.com (here) and Amazon.com (here)

Yangchuanosaurus (Dinosaurs of China by Safari Ltd)

Up for review today is the great Yangchuanosaurus by safari. Yangchuanosaurus is sorely underrepresented in dinosaur toy lines, so I’m glad safari decided to make one (and make it good!) Yangchuanosaurus was a large theropod that was like the t-rex of it’s time. It lived alongside other dinosaurs like Sinraptor and the behemoth sauropod Mamenchisaurus. 

Now back to the replica. The sculpt is very nice, it is obvious that some attention has been given to giving this guy scales all over his body. His legs aren’t deathly thin like some of Carnegie’s replicas, and they look beautiful. The head is very nice, I love the nostrils and the thick ridges going down the snout. It also has noticeable external ears. Unlike many other safari dinosaurs, this Yangchuanosaurus isn’t covered in wrinkles; The only wrinkles that are noticeable are right behind the right side of the head. The pose is fantastic. It is actually in a natural pose, not looking like “RAWR look at me I’m a dinosaur roooaar!!!”. It looks like it is wiping it’s mouth off after taking a drink from a nice prehistoric stream. This is one of the handful of safari theropods that actually has it’s mouth closed, and it looks great. At first glance, the arms seem to be of two different lengths, but when you measure them out, they are equal in length. But as with any dinosaur sculpt; this replica does have it’s faults: The left side of the head has more teeth than the right side does, the tail is very thin, and there is the absence of a dew claw on each foot. This figure is about 8 inches long.

The paint job on this figure is very nice too, and it fits the sculpt well. It is mostly a (slightly greenish) brown all over, and it is slightly more green on the head than other places on the body. The eyes are a fierce forest green with circular black pupils, and to give the illusion of sunlight hitting the eyes, there is a little white dot above each pupil. Fading black bands adorn this beast’s flanks. The ribcages are highlighted in a bright orange yellow color. The claws, unfortunately, are unpainted, and at first glance they look like part of the digits themselves. Oddly, the line of the mouth is highlighted in black– This is the only safari theropod figure that I can think of that has this feature.

Overall, this figure is a 9/10. However, since he has a very non-hunting pose with a closed mouth and docile look, he probably didn’t go over well with children too much, and thus he was discontinued. If you can find him you better get him soon, as soon I wouldn’t be surprised if he became highly sought after.

Edmontonia (Replica-Saurus by Schleich)

The burly, heavily armored, herbivorous nodosaur Edmontonia inhabited North America during the Late Cretaceous period some 70 million years ago. The name simply means “from Edmonton”, as the type specimen was discovered in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation near the city of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada by George Paterson in 1924. At roughly 22 feet in length, Edmontonia was a relatively large nodosaur which could reach a weight of 3 tons. The large spikes on its shoulders may have been used in dominance disputes between rival males, and would almost certainly have been a deterrent to predators such as Albertosaurus, which lived alongside Edmontonia.

Schleich’s Edmontonia was released in 2004 during a time when the company regularly added new and diverse prehistoric genera to its Replica-Saurus line, something which Schleich sadly has not done for many years. It is a good choice for a figure because thyreophorans are often overlooked by companies and Edmontonia’s rather unique armor and spines just look really cool. Also, the only other Edmontonia figure I know of is the Battat. This figure measures a little less than 6 inches in length and is about 2.25 inches tall, and is scaled at 1:40 along with Schleich Man for an accurate size comparison. The colors are a bit drab, with the tan plastic being highlighted with light brown paint around the joints and on its armor and head. Schleich has never been notable for producing exciting paint jobs, but in this Edmontonia’s case it is understandable because the figure is clearly based on the life-sized model of Edmontonia which is on display at the Royal Tyrell Musuem in Drumheller, Alberta, Canada, and which has a similar pose and color scheme (that model is part of a larger diorama which also includes life-size reproductions of Albertosaurus, Struthiomimus, and Stegoceras, and I do recommend visiting it if you have the chance!). Unfortunately, its nails are not painted a different color and almost look like part of the feet as a result. The only other paint is the black used on its eyes. The skin is wrinkly and folded around joints. The forelimbs both have five digits, which is one too many, but it’s excusable as the model the figure is based on does as well. The armor is exquisitely detailed and exhibits some of Schleich’s best, most accurate work, but more on that in a little bit. The head is great and exhibits well the animal’s broad, flat snout, but it is a bit crooked and the sculptors perhaps went a little overboard with the “jowls” and these, along with the expressionless black eyes, give the figure a decidedly sad, dopey expression.

Now on to the armor and spines! Schleich really did their homework on this figure and it’s a winner. They have almost perfectly reproduced the armor of the very accurate full-scale model, except perhaps on the large forward-facing shoulder spines which are split into two subspines in the full scale, but this trait is not present in all specimens of Edmontonia so their omission in the figure is excusable. The rest of the spines are placed accordingly with fossil remains. The three nuchal rings on the neck and shoulders are accurately reproduced on the figure (although there is a big gap in the largest), as are the rows of smaller osteoderms which start on the back behind the forelimbs and continue down to the end of its clubless tail. Unlike Schleich’s Sauropelta, this figure really looks like what it’s supposed to be. I think this figure is better even than Battat’s Edmontonia (GASP!) which has a disproportionately long body and an almost squashed appearance by contrast.

This fantastic figure is one of Schleich’s best and one of my favorite tyreophoran models. Aside from the drab paint scheme and rather static pose (what more can you expect from Edmontonia as far as an exciting pose anyway?), it’s an awesome piece of plastic. It’s been retired a few years now but I recently bought mine from H&H Winner’s Circle for eleven bucks, and as far as I know they still have some left, so head on over there ASAP if you’re interested.