314: Haolonggood (好龙谷) Camarasaurus Review 2024

[@JL-ux9dk]

Another must have sauropod ,excelent review!

[@DinosDragons]

You are most welcome! HLG has become one of those rare companies where almost everything they have released is worth having! And their herbivores are their biggest gift to us!

[@drjre77]

Thanks for sharing the skull! I'm glad you like it!

[@DinosDragons]

I love it mate! Keep me updated on upcoming projects of yours! Wouldn't mind another good quality skull especially of a sauropod! 😃🙏

[@sumanmajumder459]

Wooow what a breathtaking 😍 ✨️ 💖 💓 model frm haolonggood especially the green version

[@DinosDragons]

The green is a special divine green! They used it in their Edmontosaurus too!

[@MrRajithasandaruwan]

Wow, this figure looks massive and beautiful. I was worried at first because I thought that the same fate had happened to this Camarasaurus too. But now I'm glad to see that this amazing figure is safe in your dungeon. I always wanted to have that Safari Camarasaurus, but I never had the money. So hopefully, one day, I'll be able to buy this. Thank you for this wonderful review, my dear sir. I wish you all the best. 🖤🖤

[@DinosDragons]

Yes thank God! I have never been so IMPATIENT to get rid of a work project! I can't believe how many days of looking at PowerPoint I survived while this beautiful fellow was on my desk! 🤣🤣 As you can see, this is an absolutely beautiful stunner! And my PNSO review just dropped, so it would be interesting to see what your reaction to that will be!

[@The_PokeSaurus]

A coworker of mine got to work on some fossils from one of these animals from Como Bluffs of Wyoming.

[@DinosDragons]

I am incredibly envious of the opportunities you and your colleagues have to get close to fossils! I can only imagine how much more I would appreciate and learn about anatomy if I actually got access to them!

[@firegator6853]

as my favorite dinosaur of course i could pass up this offering, i ordered it as soon as it was released

[@DinosDragons]

Wow! I am sure you love it! Whichever colour you got, this is a real stunner!

[@ViperAnton]

As you mentioned, we already got a surprise Triceratops and the upcoming Argentinosaurus.

[@DinosDragons]

Haha yes, I was sure that they would have a surprise in store for us. I'm only surprised they are going to release the Argentinosaurus first, ahead of the brachiosaurid!

[@MahmWithThePlan]

Fantastic figure, my sauropod shelf is growing thanks to HLG!

[@DinosDragons]

Definitely no argument from me there! HLG's biggest gift to me has been their line of excellent 1:35 sauropods!

[@thomaswagner1135]

I have read up a bit more about the species assignment of Camarasaurus. Most helpful was the book by John Foster: Jurassic West which has a neat description of all the dinosaur genera and species of the Morrison. It appears that Camarasaurus lentus, Camarasaurus grandis and Camarasaurus lewisi have a fairly similar size and can only be distinguished based on characters on the vertebrae and differences of the neural spines and transverse processes along the spinal column, mainly in the dorsal, sacral and caudal region. There are no distinguishing features of these three species that would be recognizable from the outside. Camarasaurus supremus however is distinctly larger and has more robust bones. In conclusion, the Haolonggood model can represent any of the species C. lentus, C. grandis or C. lewisi, but not C. supremus.

[@DinosDragons]

Ah you have done your reading! 🙌 Yes indeed. I had intended to talk about special differences in my Part 2, but realised it would be of interest to only a few people, since some of those differences really cannot be expressed in the outward morphology of the animal. Interestingly, as I just dropped Part 2 of the PNSO, for the same through-centra length, Zhao Chuang based theirs on the _supremus_ but taken by what appears to be a 20m horizontal length

[@michaelkawano1951]

A real shame about the shrink wrapped and inaccurate skull, but for me, still a must buy. Thanks for the great video!

[@DinosDragons]

If you have received yours by now, I think you will find that shrinkwrapped skull or not, everything good about this model blows that completely out of mind! This model is beatiful!

[@soreal091987]

Thanks

[@DinosDragons]

You are most welcome!

[@thomaswagner1135]

Nice and insightful review as always. I particularly liked the section about beaks. Some comment about the size and species assignment. In a graph shown on Wikipedia, there a the three species depicted Camarasaurus lentus, Camarasaurus grandis and Camarasaurus supremus. They are assigned a length of 15 meters, 18 meters and 23 meters, respectively. Judging from the graph this appears to be the horizontal length, not the length through the centra. It is not clear if this length is an average or a maximum length. In any case, when length estimates are reported they should include minimum and maximum and ideally also an average. Now the sauropod book by Molina-Perez and Larramendi reports different lengths for the three species, namely 16 meters for C. lentus, 14.9 meters for C. grandis and 20 meters for C. supremus. These values are the length through the centra and as far as I understand an estimate of the maximum length. So based on the values in the book by Molina-Perez and Larramendi, I would conclude that one cannot distinguish between C. lentus and C. gradis based on length. Accounting for some reasonable natural variation, the size of the Haolonggood model would seem compatible with C. lentus and C. grandis in my view, but I think C. supremus appears unlikely.

[@DinosDragons]

Thank you for another thoughtful comment! Yes indeed, that differentiation based on species become even more spurious when you consider intraspecies variations in size, differences in ontogeny of each species type fossil, and the fact that actual comparisons really make sense only if you have enough material of each. It's nice to speculate about on a rainy afternoon as a fun and intellectually stimulating thought exercise, but in real terms, I wouldn't dare to make any definite claim on this. I think it's natural tendency, especially when authors publish a paper on their 'own' sauropod, to go with greater size estimates 😊 And even if they were to publish min/average/ max, most collectors will likely just fixate on the "max" part of that! In a way I think this number of species, plus possible scales depending on what a collector considers, means more flexibility, and less argument 😁 Just compare what would have happened in terms of size estimate argument if this was a T Rex or a Spinosaurus! 🤣

[@paleo-logica]

Admito que me hizo reír ese plano frontal deforme de la figura 😂 Una pena que la figura pierda seriedad por ese punto. Especialmente cuando hay detalles tan buenos como la mejora del pintado y las irregularidades en texturas, pliegues de la piel y en las "púas" del dorso del animal. Una figura de gran calidad a un precio más que aceptable. La mejora de la marca es lenta, pero no dejan de avanzar. Tengo muchas ganas de ver de lo que serán capaces en un año o dos. Sobre el tema de la ranfoteca en saurópodos, ojalá se vieran representadas estas estructuras de forma menos "carnosa" en las figuras. Un gran contenido, amigo, un grandísimo y buen contenido 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@DinosDragons]

Es extraño que los saurópodos tiendan a tener caras extrañas. Por ejemplo, incluso en los primeros días de los modelos del Museo Carnegie, se ven extraños rostros en sus saurópodos. La ramfoteca parece haber llegado para quedarse, al menos con HLG. Si miras la imagen teaser del próximo Argentinosaurus, verás un pico muy distintivo allí. No estoy seguro de si eso será suficiente para convencerte de no comprarlo... ¡además del precio de envío!

[@thomasmonroe7947]

Looking forward to the PNSO Camarasaurus. They’ve chosen to go small, again-think it’s 5-6 inches shorter than HLG’s but the sculpt and paint are looking good.

[@DinosDragons]

From the images I can see, it's not possible to tell definitely what the through-centra measurement is. We will have to wait till it's in-hand to judge.

[@thomaswagner1135]

@@DinosDragons Actually you can obtain a minimum estimate which I actually did. I took the one image with the scale bar (labelled as 35 cm horizontal length) and then measured the length through the centra as a series of straight line segments using a series of points marked on the image. The larger feature scales can be nicely used for that purpose. The sum of these line segments give a lower estimate of the length through the centra. Then you measure the length of the scale bar in the same image. Finally, you use the rule of three to convert length in the image to true length. I did this two times and arrived at estimates of 45 and 46 cm, respectively. This is an underestimate because 1) we approximate a curve by line segments and 2) the neck and tail curve quite a bit in the third dimension. So the PNSO Camarasaurus is barely a few cm shorter than the Haolonggood one, if it is shorted at all. It is definitely in 1:35 scale.

[@DinosDragons]

@@thomaswagner1135 That really shows great dedication on your part! However, as you noted, that does not account for the angle of rotation and the variable of foreshortening that entails. Your method would work great only if the image you are using shows a direct side on profile for sure. Thanks for another interesting comment! 😁

[@oscarvaldes5621]

so seems like there's just some minor scientific accuracies with the head, I don't think this figure is as nice as their mamenchi but I will say it is still a very nice figure and ill most likely get it. also thank your not skipping this review, we don't care if its late

[@DinosDragons]

Haha thank you for your support always! But I don't think I can ever be later than my latest Triceratops Comparison one 🤣🤣 I wonder how much of the head might be due to interpretations of soft tissue coverage as well. The thing is, Camarasaurus is one of the very few well-known skulls, so I find it hard to believe they would not have used references for the head.

[@멀더fox]

예쁘다 녹색으로살지 갈색으로살지 고민된다😂

[@DinosDragons]

I got the green here, and I'm saving up to get the brown as well. Both are beautiful!

[@nonono-f6y]

Safari's Camarasaurus is specifically C. lentus, so since HLG did not specify which species their Camarasaurus is, maybe it can represent the larger C. grandis or C. supremus.

[@DinosDragons]

I agree! Given the differences are really not significant enough to be expressed outwardly in any obvious way, and if we account for variability in size range, this could be a number of possibilities!

[@joseluiscalixto5651]

Good review on the Camarasaurus figure and information. By chance, do you know which brand of scientifically reconstructed dinosaur figures is most advisable to purchase?

[@DinosDragons]

Thank you! I love sauropods! When you said "advisable to purchase", what did you mean? Based on scientific accuracy, I would go for PNSO in general, HLG for herbivores, and Wild Safari if it is a model sculpted by Doug Watson. CollectA is a viable option, but their scales tend to be all over the place.

[@joseluiscalixto5651]

@@DinosDragons I mean, what good quality article and scientifically reconstructed dinosaur can I buy?

[@turtlesoup8134]

What will be the last sauropod that HLG will release this year?

[@DinosDragons]

I'm guessing it's the brachiosaurid. I don't see them doing Argentinosaurus this year...unless they are confident all of us have plenty of money to throw around! I wouldn't mind the breathing room to have that monster next year!

[@turtlesoup8134]

@@DinosDragons If only HLG can make PNSO quality....and if only PNSO make 1:35 sauropods the world would be perfect for Dino miniature collector.

[@marcoponce85]

HLG IS KING OF SAUROPODS

[@MahmWithThePlan]

@@marcoponce85 no lies detected. Really hope they have a Brachiosaurus in the pipeline!

[@DinosDragons]

No arguments here!!

[@richardparrott7192]

Haolonggood are really making my wallet nervous...

[@DinosDragons]

My wallet is not nervous at all. Because it is half dead already 😣

[@grandiosa86]

Now this one will be hard to beat when it comes to a Camarasaurus.

[@marcoponce85]

Linghu has best sculpt but this is cheaper price

[@donteto]

It's sadly sold out on the known eshops ​@@marcoponce85, right?

[@RLMemeLord]

​@@marcoponce85pvc vs resin

[@DinosDragons]

@grandiosa86 Interestingly, PNSO just announced a Camarasaurus themselves. Have a look at that one! 😁

[@grandiosa86]

@@DinosDragons That looks good, but I think I prefer Haolonggood's headsculpt. PNSO nailed the pose tho. I see some people questioning the scale/size.

[@ultimulcretin5795]

What species of Camarasaurus is this figure representing?

[@antoniorocha3967]

Camarasaurus Lentus.

[@ultimulcretin5795]

​@@antoniorocha3967 How sure are you on this? The thing is, I saw the review by @DinoScreamReviews, in which he confidently concluded on this figure being a 1 : 35 Camarasaurus grandis. This is why I'm skeptical.

[@antoniorocha3967]

@@ultimulcretin5795 In fact, it's in the beginnig of this video, when the three species are named. 1/35 for a 16 meters individual. Check it out.

[@DinosDragons]

@ultimulcretin5795 I believe this to be closest to _lentus_ . I take the through centra measure of 16m from Molina-Pérez and Larramendi's book. The actual differences between the species are very minute at an an anatomical scale that would make minimal differences in the external morphology. Unless a model shows clear attempt to follow all known anatomical details, or state a specific species which I would then try to compare to known fossils, it is often pointless to try to nominate which species a model is on such close differences.

[@ChuckMusicDinoLover]

I love my two Camarasaurus figures (I did end up getting both)! Because I knew they'd be a little smaller than some of the other HLG sauropods, these two chunkers pleasantly surprised me with their hefty weight! I also have the Safari Ltd. and the Carnegie figures. I'm debating whether I want to sacrifice their original colors and repaint them in similar schemes like the HLG. I think they'd look great as a family on my shelf. But I'll probably chicken-out! I do like to keep the original colors for their representations for my collection. Question for anybody... There's a blackish round paint blotch towards the end of the brown figure's tail. It's looks to be the same dark paint used for the stripes on the tail. Does anybody have any idea how I can get just that black blotch off without taking off any of the blue that's under it, or at least diminish its blackness? Thanks! ~ Chuck

[@thomaswagner1135]

I am not sure if this will work in your case, but I have fixed few paint defects mostly missing paint on some of my Haolonggood models in a rather simple way. In my case these were areas with partly missing paint and digits of ceratopsians which were highlighted in black but which should not be highlighted. Luckily the base color was homogeneous and from what you write this seems to be the same in your case. So what I did was to mix a matching paint for the base color on a wet palette and then using a thin dry brush. I made the paint on the dry brush just a little bit dry and then painted over the areas in question. This worked quite well. So maybe you can do the same. Just mix a matching blue and paint over the black blotch.

[@ChuckMusicDinoLover]

@@thomaswagner1135 Thanks Thomas! I have dry-brushed over some spots on other figures before, but not on HLG yet. Did you use a primer first? And what type of paint did you use? A water or oil based? I think my paints are more the acrylic type. But I was still wondering if there might be some kind of mild solution that might just soften the paint blotch, since it is the color they used for the stripes. So I thought maybe I could just blend it in a bit. But I'm also afraid that it might take off some of the blue paint underneath it. Hmm. It's funny. I also had a dark paint blotch on the side of my green HLG Mamenchi. It wasn't as solid/thick of a paint mark as the Camara's, though. But what actually worked on that one was a wooden toothpick! I just kept lightly picking at it and most of it came off! Lol!

[@thomaswagner1135]

@@ChuckMusicDinoLover I did not prime, just painted with the partly dry (but not completely dry) paint over the paint defects. I used Vallejo model paints which are acrylic paints. It really needs quite some time to mix the right matching tone, so the wet palette is really essential. I have done a fix like this also on one PNSO figure which was quite a stressful exercise. But it worked out well. Key point is that this simple fix only works in areas which are fairly homogeneously painted. As soon as you get into areas with gradients it is not possible any more. This then becomes a job for a professional.

[@DinosDragons]

Chuck, I personally would leave all three in their own style, as part of the allure for me is to have distinct brands and eras as a point for comparison. Of course, the idea of making them all the same famiy has its own appeal. I have nothing to add to what Thomas has advised, as I know nothing about repainting! Zero talent in that area lol.

[@tyrannotherium7873]

I thought it already been debunked that sauropods do not have beaks

[@DinosDragons]

It's still in the air, with nothing definitive AFAIK. Which study were you referencing?

[@catlove6332]

There is a terrible mold line on its chest.

[@DinosDragons]

Unfortunately this is a problem for these models in general. I have somehow managed to unsee it every time, which is why I no longer mention it unless it is really egregious. I wish they could cast it them in one piece somehow, which would make them even better.

[@catlove6332]

@@DinosDragons Actually, I just couldn't resist the beauty of it, I ordered the green one like yours. The model is very detailed, better than PNSO Camarasaurus in my opinion. If there is no mold line, it will be perfect, I really wish Haolonggood can improve their quality.

[@thomasmonroe7947]

I was very pleased when HLG presented their releases for this year especially in the case of the Camarasaurus. This has been a long time coming for an animal that is well represented in the fossil record but as rare as Sasquatch in the figure collector market. I was a little concerned about the paint scheme as both PNSO and HLG have fallen into a rut of same old same old with only an occasional break out from the pack color variety. Both the brown and green version photos had me convinced I’d be doing a repaint. It’s getting to the point where I need a mathematical logarithm to work out my best buying option as my collection becomes too lopsided color wise. Displaying the figures becomes an exercise in placement so they don’t look like a big green forest or brown desert with blue or orange eyes peering out. I ordered the green Camarasaurus resigned to repainting. Still, I was looking forward to its arrival. I’d seen Andy’s review and, sure enough, the green was definitely there and the standard HLG squiggles were ominously present. I received my Camarasaurus two days ago and was pleasantly surprised that there seemed to have been a heavy handed over spray of a charcoal/olive drab application that blended everything together quite well and looked pretty similar to yours. The green is still dominant but subdued with the welcome overspray. In my lighting, there’s no garishness or “thud” of the squiggles that, to me, are a little cringy. My opinion. Overall, though, I am very happy to have this beautiful sauropod added to my collection. Whatever missteps in the sculpting or skull shape, this is still another HLG winner. Thanks for another great review.

[@DinosDragons]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Indeed, HLG keeps giving us amazing paint applications, which has been their _modus operandi_ even since their first collab with GR Toys. Even with their first Nasutoceratops we see this, and it was even different patterns instead of the photocopied ones we see these days. Still, there's no arguing that taken individually, they are mostly worthy models. I find myself making a similar decision to yours, as I am thinking not of individual players, but how they would look in a team of display pieces. For that reason, my HLG Argentinosaurus variant was chosen in context of what I intend with it, which I will explain when that monster comes out!