Post by bokisaurus on Jul 23, 2010 16:13:35 GMT
Can sauropods rear up on their back legs? It’s been the source of countless scientific debate. It’s been established that at least “some” species of sauropods can indeed rear up on their hind legs. There are always going to be opposing views on the subject, thus the debate continues and unlikely to go away anytime soon. However, and no matter what your views are on the subject, I think everyone will agree that the image of these huge animals rearing up on their hind legs to fend off an attacker or to reach high up in the canopy is an impressive and dramatic one.
There are countless paleoart depicting sauropods rearing, and even a few actual fossil mount of sauropods rearing (the most famous is the barosaurus rearing up to defend its young from an attacking allosaurus at the AMNH).
With the popularity of all of these images and fossil mounts, one would assume that the toy figure market would be saturated with rearing sauropod figures inspired by such images. The trend seems to be heading that way in the 90’s. However, it would not be the case, and that trend towards rearing sarupods abruptly ended. It would be a few years before we would see rearing sauropod toy figures again. A quick inventory of all the dinosaur toy figures released by all the major toy companies, only a handful turned up. There may be more that I am not aware of, so feel free to post pics.
This brings us to the figures in my personal collection.
Battat Diplodocus:
Long held and considered by many as one of the finest toy figure ever produced, the Battat diplodocus always commands admiration. You don’t have to be a sauropod junkie like me to truly appreciate what a fine figure this one is.
Unfortunately, it is long out of production and when one does show up in auctions, can command some truly impressive price! Collectors are willing to pay top dollars for this highly sought after figure. The figure is sculpted by famed artist Dan Larruso of Dinosaur Studios. Highly detailed, this figure is a must have.
There are many new and impressively detailed figures the last few year, but to this day, a decade later, the Battat Diplodocus still remains the crown jewel of my entire collection. If I was to save just one figure out of my entire collection, it would be this beauty.
Safari Apatosaurus:
Perhaps due to the well received debut and popularity of the Battat diplodocus, Safari released their own version of a rearing sauropod, Apatosaurus, in their fledgling Wild Safari line a few years later. Much smaller than its predecessor, the figure bear a striking resemblance to the Battat figure. It was originally release in reddish- brown color; it received multiple color changes in later years. I’m not sure if it’s still in production or not.
ELC Brachiosaurus:
A wonderful figure that is not widely available in the US (unlike in Europe). Took me a while to acquire it. The giraffe-like color scheme is pleasing and is a welcome change from the typical one-tones, drab gray/brown/green color that is commonly seen in many brachiosaur figures. It’s a fairly good sized figure that is slightly out of proportion.
Kaiyodo Barosaurus:
This little figure, I believe was released by Kaiyodo. I don’t know much about its history, but I think it was inspire, if not directly related to, the AMNH mount. I came across this figure by accident. It definitely looks like the rearing specimen on display. Figure is lightweight metal.
CollectA/Procon Rhoetosaurus and Jobaria:
CollectA introduced their own versions of rearing sauropods with their 2009 rhoteosaurus and 2010 jobaria figures.
Rhoetosaurus:
The first ever toy figure of this Australian sauropod species. This figure is small by sauropod standards. It is rearing; perfectly balanced on its two hind legs! It has some nice skin details. This charming little guy can hold its own against the other, bigger figures.
Jobaria:
Another first, this figure is CollectA’s second rearing sauropod figure. Released this year, it is one of CollectA’s best figures. At 1:40 scale, it is a good sized figure with lots of heft.
The sculptors paid a lot of attention to details when they sculpted this figure. The head is full of details and closely resemble the fossil. There are also lots of skin details and the proportion is about right for the species, although the ribs are not as robust. Jobaria was good sized primitive sauropods with neck and tail that is shorter than other sauropods. This figure is impressive, and makes a great companion to the Battat Diplodocus.
Happinet Amargasaurus:
From the Happinet hallow figures comes this rearing Amargasaurus. Like all the Happinet figures, it is articulated, so you can have flexibility in what pose you like you Amarga to strike ;D
It a nice figure, wish they had more interesting coloration instead of plain yellow/brown combo. There are some good details in the body.
My herd of rearing ( more like dancing! ;D) sauropods ( ready to party! ;D) to date:
That concludes the reviews of rearing sauropods currently residing in my collection. Time will tell if this current revival of rearing sauropod is the wave of the future or just a temporary trend.
Although the Battat diplodocus is no longer alone, it continues to, and will always tower over all the other rearing sauropods.
Other known rearing sauropod figure not included in my collection:
-Mini bottle cap brachiosaurus from Kaiyodo (I'm working on this one
)
Hope you all enjoyed the show! ;D
There are countless paleoart depicting sauropods rearing, and even a few actual fossil mount of sauropods rearing (the most famous is the barosaurus rearing up to defend its young from an attacking allosaurus at the AMNH).
With the popularity of all of these images and fossil mounts, one would assume that the toy figure market would be saturated with rearing sauropod figures inspired by such images. The trend seems to be heading that way in the 90’s. However, it would not be the case, and that trend towards rearing sarupods abruptly ended. It would be a few years before we would see rearing sauropod toy figures again. A quick inventory of all the dinosaur toy figures released by all the major toy companies, only a handful turned up. There may be more that I am not aware of, so feel free to post pics.
This brings us to the figures in my personal collection.
Battat Diplodocus:
Long held and considered by many as one of the finest toy figure ever produced, the Battat diplodocus always commands admiration. You don’t have to be a sauropod junkie like me to truly appreciate what a fine figure this one is.
Unfortunately, it is long out of production and when one does show up in auctions, can command some truly impressive price! Collectors are willing to pay top dollars for this highly sought after figure. The figure is sculpted by famed artist Dan Larruso of Dinosaur Studios. Highly detailed, this figure is a must have.
There are many new and impressively detailed figures the last few year, but to this day, a decade later, the Battat Diplodocus still remains the crown jewel of my entire collection. If I was to save just one figure out of my entire collection, it would be this beauty.
Safari Apatosaurus:
Perhaps due to the well received debut and popularity of the Battat diplodocus, Safari released their own version of a rearing sauropod, Apatosaurus, in their fledgling Wild Safari line a few years later. Much smaller than its predecessor, the figure bear a striking resemblance to the Battat figure. It was originally release in reddish- brown color; it received multiple color changes in later years. I’m not sure if it’s still in production or not.
ELC Brachiosaurus:
A wonderful figure that is not widely available in the US (unlike in Europe). Took me a while to acquire it. The giraffe-like color scheme is pleasing and is a welcome change from the typical one-tones, drab gray/brown/green color that is commonly seen in many brachiosaur figures. It’s a fairly good sized figure that is slightly out of proportion.
Kaiyodo Barosaurus:
This little figure, I believe was released by Kaiyodo. I don’t know much about its history, but I think it was inspire, if not directly related to, the AMNH mount. I came across this figure by accident. It definitely looks like the rearing specimen on display. Figure is lightweight metal.
CollectA/Procon Rhoetosaurus and Jobaria:
CollectA introduced their own versions of rearing sauropods with their 2009 rhoteosaurus and 2010 jobaria figures.
Rhoetosaurus:
The first ever toy figure of this Australian sauropod species. This figure is small by sauropod standards. It is rearing; perfectly balanced on its two hind legs! It has some nice skin details. This charming little guy can hold its own against the other, bigger figures.
Jobaria:
Another first, this figure is CollectA’s second rearing sauropod figure. Released this year, it is one of CollectA’s best figures. At 1:40 scale, it is a good sized figure with lots of heft.
The sculptors paid a lot of attention to details when they sculpted this figure. The head is full of details and closely resemble the fossil. There are also lots of skin details and the proportion is about right for the species, although the ribs are not as robust. Jobaria was good sized primitive sauropods with neck and tail that is shorter than other sauropods. This figure is impressive, and makes a great companion to the Battat Diplodocus.
Happinet Amargasaurus:
From the Happinet hallow figures comes this rearing Amargasaurus. Like all the Happinet figures, it is articulated, so you can have flexibility in what pose you like you Amarga to strike ;D
It a nice figure, wish they had more interesting coloration instead of plain yellow/brown combo. There are some good details in the body.
My herd of rearing ( more like dancing! ;D) sauropods ( ready to party! ;D) to date:
That concludes the reviews of rearing sauropods currently residing in my collection. Time will tell if this current revival of rearing sauropod is the wave of the future or just a temporary trend.
Although the Battat diplodocus is no longer alone, it continues to, and will always tower over all the other rearing sauropods.
Other known rearing sauropod figure not included in my collection:
-Mini bottle cap brachiosaurus from Kaiyodo (I'm working on this one
)Hope you all enjoyed the show! ;D
;D
;D
