The Carnegie Collection Pachycephalosaurus (1990)

Prototype

1st mold

418-01 Pachycephalosaurus
Species: Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis
First release: 1990
Retired: c. 1998
Model number: 418-01 / 4018-01
Schleich number: 15418 (retired 1993)
Size: 18.5 cm
Advertised scale: 1:40
Actual scale: 1:25
Sculptor: Forest Rogers

Mold: 1
Version: 1
Release: 1990
Status: Original
Variant type: Classic color
Material: ?
Paint: Glossy. 7 colors. Black (head, back, stripes, pupils, claws); gray (limbs, underside); white (spikes); pink (mouth); tan (base, eyes); dark purple (wash); brown (base wash).
Stamp text: Left-aligned. PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS / 26 ft (8 meters) / (C) 1990 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD, MIAMI, FL / MADE IN CHINA
CE mark: None.

The first release of the Carnegie Pachycephalosaurus had an overall darker paint job than later releases, with a dark blue-gray and black body. The base was fully painted in brown over a tan base color with a light brown wash.

 

(Photos by TerribleDactyl)

  

Mold: 1
Version: 2
Release: 1992
Status: Paint application change, material variant
Variant type: Classic color
Material: Beige vinyl.
Paint: Glossy. 6 colors. Black (back, stripes, pupils, claws); gray (head, limbs, underside); white (spikes); pink (mouth); yellow (base, eyes); dark brown (wash).
Stamp text: Left-aligned. PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS / 26 ft (8 meters) / (C) 1990 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD, MIAMI, FL / MADE IN CHINA
CE mark: None.

The second release of the Carnegie Pachycephalosaurus had an overall lighter paint job than later releases, with less black, especially on the head, which was now gray with a thin black stripe crossing the eye. The paint applications on the base were simplified, eliminating the lighter brown wash. This version was photographed for the 1992 Early Learning Centre brochure, and likely was newly produced at that time.



Mold: 1
Version: 3
Release: c. 1993
Status: Minor repaint, material variant
Variant type: Classic color
Material: Gray vinyl
Paint: Glossy. 6 colors. Black (back, stripes, pupils, claws); gray (head, limbs, underside); white (spikes); pink (mouth); yellow (base, eyes); brown (wash).
Stamp text: Left-aligned. PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS / 26 ft (8 meters) / (C) 1990 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD / CE
CE mark: Small.

This version of the Carnegie Pachycephalosaurus had an overall lighter paint job than later releases, with a lighter blue-gray body. The base was now almost entirely yellow with only a few grown smudges to indicate the texture of the rocks. A CE mark has been added and "Miami, FL" and "Made in China" have been removed from the text stamp.



The original 1990 version (right) compared to the 1992/93 version (left):




Mold: 1
Version: 4
Release: c. 1994
Status: Minor repaint
Variant type: Multicolor transitional
Material: ?
Paint: Matte. 6 colors. Black (back, stripes, pupils, claws); light blue (head, limbs, underside); orange (underside); white (spikes); pink (mouth); yellow (base, eyes).
Stamp text: Left-aligned. PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS / 26 ft (8 meters) / (C) 1990 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD / CE
CE mark: Small.

This lighter blue variant is a version I've only ever seen online, so I'm not sure where it fits in the evolution of the Pachycephalosaurus model. It has brighter colors than the original but not as gaudy as the 1996 repaint. Based on the flat yellow base, it is probably an intermediate repaint released during the preliminary line refresh in 1994-1995, alongside the new Allosaurus and resculpted Tyrannosaurus.



Mold: 1
Version: 5
Release: 1996
Status: Repaint
Variant type: Multicolor
Material: Gray vinyl
Paint: Matte. 7 colors. Blue-gray (body); black (back, stripes, feet, hands, pupils); white (spikes); pale blue (spots); lavender (spots); yellow (eyes, underside, base); red (mouth), red-brown (base top).
Stamp text: PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS / 26 feet (8 meters) / (C) 1990 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD / CE
CE mark: Small.

The color scheme was significantly livened up in this version, with almost day-glow streaks of bright blue and lavender punctuating the black back and tail. This version of the mold still retains somewhat lopsided mold line along the bottom of the base (present in all prior versions), and the CE mark is crooked.





 
As pictured in the 1998 Safari Ltd. catalog and collector guide.




Mold: 1
Version: 6
Release: c. 1996
Status: Stamp change
Variant type: Multicolor
Material: ?
Paint: Matte. 7 colors. Blue-gray (body); black (back, stripes, feet, hands, pupils); white (spikes); pale blue (spots); lavender (spots); yellow (eyes, underside, base); red (mouth), red-brown (base top).
Stamp text: PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS / 26 feet (8 meters) / (C) 1990 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD / CE ["China" written in ink, not molded]
CE mark: Small.

This is the same as the previous version, but the word "China" has been added to the imprint stamp. Curiously, it is not molded but rather stamped in ink. This was likely a placeholder done to samples produced with the "China"-free version of the mold before it could be re-added to the physical imprint.




Mold: 1
Version: 7
Release: c. 1997
Status: Imprint stamp change
Variant type: Multicolor
Material: ?
Paint: Matte. 7 colors. Blue-gray (body); black (back, stripes, feet, hands, pupils); white (spikes); pale blue (spots); lavender (spots); yellow (eyes, underside, base); red (mouth), brown (base top).
Stamp text: PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS / 26 feet (8 meters) / (C) 1990 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD / CE CHINA
CE mark: Small.

This is basically the same as the previous version, but the colors are slightly muted and the word "China" has been added after the CE mark.


2nd mold

4018-01 Pachycephalosaurus
Species: Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis
First release: c. 1998
Retired: 2002
Model number: 4018-01
Size: 17.5 cm
Advertised scale: 1:40
Actual scale: 1:25

The second mold has a straight mold line across the bottom of the base, and the bottom of the base is noticeably flatter/smoother. This mold is also significantly smaller than the original.

Above: Mold 1 and 2 comparison photos courtesy Fred Snyder.

Mold: 2
Version: 1
Release: c. 1998
Status: Retool
Variant type: Color vinyl
Material: Blue-gray vinyl
Paint: Matte. 7 colors. Black (back, stripes, feet, hands, pupils); white (spikes); pale blue (spots); lavender (spots); yellow (eyes, underside, base); red (mouth), brown (base top).
Stamp text: PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS / 26 feet (8 meters) / (C) 1990 THE CARNEGIE / SAFARI LTD / MADE IN CHINA / CE 2
CE mark: Small.

The color vinyl refresh of Pachycephalosaurus cast the model in base-color blue-gray plastic and painted additional colors over it, leaving the underside of the model unpainted.  This version of Pachycephalosaurus had the same color scheme as the previous version but a refreshed mold. The CE mark is followed a 2 in this version. The mold line is barely visible across the bottom of the base, and is now straight. The CE mark is also straightened out.




Comments

  1. I have a figure that seems to be intermediate between versions 5 and 6. It lacks the stamped 'Made in China', instead has an inked 'China'. It lacks the 2 after the CE.

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  2. No wonder they got the scale wrong if they thought it was 26 foot long

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, there was a weird time in the late '80s where for some reason, lots of popular books treated Pachycephalosaurus like it was hadrosaur sized. I think it's more of a proportional issue. The postcrania was not well known, so depictions like the Carnegie one give it a tiny head with a big body. We know now that it had a large head with a relatively small body.

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  3. I've got both versions, but the second generation is smaller than the fist generation. Why is this?

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    Replies
    1. I'm not positive, but my theory is that the second generation sculpts were made using a pantograph process, sort of 3D tracing the originals to create a new mold. This is the same process used to make mini versions of larger figures, or larger versions. It's probably very difficult to get a copy the exact same size, and most of the 2nd gen Carnegies are smaller and lighter than the first gen. This might also have been a conscious decision to reduce shipping cost.

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  4. I have a pair of these which appear to be version 3 or 4, but I would note they also have a faint yellowish tinge along their undersides.

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