Catalogs

Here, you will find scans of catalog pages featuring Carnegie Collection models. Examining when different variants appeared in various different catalogs can help determine the production dates of the different models and color variants. The catalog pages will be posted from oldest to newest. Click a page for a larger view.

1988 Safari Brochure (US) - Photo by Joe DeMarco from his digital book "Dinosauriana"

This is one of the earliest catalogs to feature Carnegie Collection dinosaurs, shortly after their initial release. The primary photos feature glossy, intricately detailed models which are almost certainly the original paint masters/prototypes created by Forest Rogers. They are very similar to a later set of retail-released models (see below), but have a more intricate and polished look to them which would inevitably be slightly simplified by factory production. Interestingly, the "dull wash" assortment is also here, featured in the lower right hand corner insert showing the Point of Purchase Display. This supports the notion that the dull wash were created as a very early test run of the Carnegie molds, likely before the "official" color schemes were finalized. Dull wash models were on sale in the US prior to any other versions, in at least September of 1988. It is likely the dull wash models were the first production run, possibly made and distributed by Bullyland.

1989 Schleich Catalog (Germany) - photos by stecal from STS Forum

This is one of the earliest catalogs to feature Carnegie Collection dinosaurs, shortly after their initial release. You can see a mixture of the dull wash (large image of Brachiosaurus) and prototype (everything else) versions. This is the earliest known catalog to feature an actual production sample (the dull wash version of Brachiosaurus, featured on the left hand page) as opposed to only prototype or paint master samples (featured in the diorama photography on the right).

1990 Safari Ltd. Catalog (US) - photos by Susanne at STS Forum

This catalog features both Carnegies and Authentics, as well as the first set of Vanishing Wild animal replicas sculpted by David Smith. These three lines appear to be the only ones noted as being "made for Safari" - the rest of the catalog remains dedicated to other animal replica lines which are imported by Safari for US distribution, such as Invicta, Schleich, and AAA. Note that the Carnegie photos show the so-called "twilight sands" versions of the models. This catalog seems to be the origin of the "twilight sands" diorama, with a white sand base set against a dark blue gradient background. It is similar to the original photo set, but with a darker background. The set of figures photographed with this set / diorama seem to have been specifically painted to accentuate the high contrast photo set, with more of a matte-finish, and high-contrast color schemes bordering on grayscale. Models similar to the ones pictured in this catalog were actually released, but in very limited quantities. Note that not all the figures have a unique "twilight sands" variant, and some retain their earlier "gold wash" color schemes, such as Allosaurus and Australopithecus.

 

While I do not have full scans of the actual Carnegie Collection pages, others have posted cropped versions of a few specific models. If anyone has fully scanned pages from this magazine, please let me know by emailing dactyl.terrible@gmail.com

1992 Early Learning Centre Catalog (UK)

This catalog was produced by the ELC stores, which sold Carnegie models in the UK. It was obtained by DTF user Horridus in 1993, but likely dates to 1992 as it does not feature Corythosaurus or the updated Tyrannosaurus mold. Of note, all of the 1988 figures featured here are the 2nd mold group versions, making it among the earliest documentation of those molds. Of especial interest is the fact that this is original photography not reliant on the 1989 white sand photo shoot carried forward in many of Safari's own catalogs and which heavily featured pre-production samples.

1993 Playful International Science and Nature Catalog (US)

This catalog is notable for featuring a prototype version of the 1993 Corythosaurus model alongside several older 1980s-era Carnegie variants. Note that the photos used here are older than the ELC catalog photos from 1992. They use the same Twilight Sands photography set but the lighting appears to be different and some of the models have been swapped with newer colors. It is likely that the photos with a very light blue gradient date to 1991, while the darker blue background photos all appear to be classic color versions likely from 1992. 

 

1993 Schleich Catalog (Germany)

This catalog is one of the earliest to feature the classic style Carnegies. Interestingly, the Corythosaurus which debuted this year is pictured only as a drawing. Meanwhile, the 1993 Science and Nature catalog (below) showed a prototype model, but still pictured several older versions of the other Carnegie dinosaurs.

1994 Safari Ltd. Dealers' Catalog (US)

This catalog features photos of the rare acrylic step stand, the first appearance of the Dilophosaurus figures, and the first appearance of the "pink sunset" style photography replacing the old "blue sand dunes" photos. The pink sunset photography would be used throughout the 90s, and is similar to the ELC photography featured above. Note that this seems to be the first official Safari catalog to feature the secondary sculpts that debuted in the 1992 ELC catalog, though curiously not all of them are from that set - the T. rex is the revised sculpt which had replaced the secondary mold in 1993, and the Brachiosaurus is still the original mold in classic colors. One assumes the photographers were just given whatever recent figures Safari had on hand for the photoshoot - though this might also provide evidence for the "overlap" in production between the different molds. Note that the secondary sculpt T. rex is featured in the "new packaging" section, which the newer revised sculpt is featured in the main product image.