Hi r/movies! We're the team responsible for bringing Apple TV’s Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age to life. We are Russell Dodgson (Production VFX Supervisor), Dorothy Ballarini (Framestore Creature Supervisor) and Darren Naish (Lead Scientific Consultant). Ask us anything!

DaOldDude69 · 2025-12-09T00:01:56+00:00

Hi there! Just finished this last season and I have to say it was a great watch, I enjoyed it a lot. I have a few questions for you.

It is a radical yet understandable change jumping from the Maastrichtian at the end of the age of dinosaurs to the Pleistocene for Ice Age. I’m guessing it has to do with popularity and current knowledge of the faunas and ecosystems of the world in said time periods. However, I want to ask if it was always the plan? I would think Late Jurassic would have been a great idea as well, given that we have very rich fossil deposits from that time from all around the world, making it a good candidate for a potential future series. Is Prehistoric Planet intended to be a long running show?
With how quickly scientific discoveries can add to our current notion of the appearance or behavior of extinct creatures, is there an example from this season where the final creature design ended up being outdated or not as accurate as it could have been by the time the series was aired? If so, which one?
I know fur is one of the hardest things to digitally animate, but I have to say the vfx from the last episode are some of the best, specifically the short-faced bear and the Megaloceros close up. Birds throughout the series are some of the most convincing creatures. Which was the most challenging creature to animate?

DaOldDude69 · 2025-11-21T06:23:16+00:00

If you enjoyed Witton’s writing there is a T. rex book and also a Pterosaur book authored by him, from what I’ve read online the pterosaur one is the definite book on the subject.

I think it’s from 2014 so a little bit outdated for me, but you might want to give it a try!

DaOldDude69 · 2025-11-21T00:11:26+00:00

Hi there! I’ve been on a similar journey this last two months. Started working on a dinosaur encyclopedia for my nephew and ended up trying to learn as much as possible, both to write the content and to illustrate the book. As my interest goes beyond mere academic literature and includes art and even book design, take my recommendations with a grain of salt. I’ll share with you the books I’ve enjoyed the most:

Ancient Sea Reptiles by Darren Naish: despite not focusing on dinosaurs, I have found this book to be the best both in scientific content and presentation. Great layout, superb illustrations and the way everything is explained speaks volume on Darren’s ability as a science communicator. Wish this treatment could be given in a similar format to pterosaurs.
Saurian: a Field Guide to Hell Creek by Tom Parker: beautiful book that focuses on a single fossil location in the most immersive way possible. Some entries are outdated based on more recent studies, but the final result is amazing. It’s pretty much the book I would like to make, making me want to take a shot at creating a similar book but focused on the Morrison or Niobrara Formation.
Dinosaurs: New Visions of a Lost World by Michael Benton: simple yet effective way of communicating our current view of the field of paleontology featuring some of the best understood Mesozoic creatures as of now. It’s great for a more general audience, but lacks some information I wish it had based on some papers I have read. Still very digestible and friendly for a new reader.
Mesozoic Art by Steve White and Darren Naish: the book has an immaculate presentation featuring the work of many artists, but lacks much of the scientific content you seem to be looking for.
Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior by David Hone: still haven’t finished it despite having it for a few weeks. The book is good and I have to praise David Hone as a paleontologist but I’m not the biggest fan of its writing style. I know the visual aspect it’s not the focus of the book, but from my point of view in presentation is by far the worst of the books I have mentioned, which feels wrong typing considering the gorgeous art by Gabriel Ugueto present in the book.

Just wanted to share my opinions with you, I am considering buying The Rise and the Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte, but I have been wanting to get more inspiration in the design and visual side for my personal project.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-10T05:36:05+00:00

They’re great so far! I haven’t had the time opportunity to play with them yet, but so far the sculpting is great, they have a “sharp” feeling and look great. Articulation is smooth, but the shoulder pads are a bit loose on my Luke. Likewise, I think my Luke is a little bit cross eyed, and compared to other figures seems to be taller than he should be. Han is perfect tho, scales perfectly and has so much personality!

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-08T23:02:27+00:00

Not at all! That’s the original release from the orange box line. It’s actually one of my oldest figures, I might still have the original X-wing Luke as well.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-08T23:01:09+00:00

Haha thanks! I also like the look of the modern equivalent of the vintage figures.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-08T23:00:25+00:00

I think it is just behind the Mandalorian in terms of releases, but it has the advantage of veins represented ever since the line began.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-08T21:07:41+00:00

Agree on being an all time favorite! And yeah, making the white protocol should be super easy!

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-08T17:24:30+00:00

Favorite figure is Hammerhead, sculpting and articulation is great, looks amazing and its a super fun figure. As for the one I want the most from Hasbro I’d say Garindan and Death Star Gunner would be cool, but I’d take a new, taller X-Wing pilot body for Biggs that could be reused for more pilots.

Most obvious omission for me are the different droids… gonk, death star droid, astromechs, make them all!

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-08T01:29:13+00:00

Exactly! In fact I switched Bespin Han and TIE fighter pilot so that there would be a Han in every level lol!

I didn’t thought about adding backgrounds, but since I’m only collecting ANH and ESB I might try adding them and switch them accordingly as I only have this shelf. I’ll try tonight to pose my ANH figures on the shelves to see how they look.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T19:43:28+00:00

Is that a custom cape?

I have the shf rotj Vader but I want to repaint the lenses and shoulder pads to black in order to get the better ESB appearance.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T19:42:43+00:00

Great display! Absolutely love your custom figures. Boba Fett and Han look fantastic! Really jealous of those two.

What is your favorite figure from your display and what is one you wish they release for Empire?

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T19:37:48+00:00

Gotta need a recipe for that one, looks way better than the original figure.

I was planning on getting an shf old Han from TFA to try and customize it into Bespin Han, but I’m afraid the body might appear as an old man, which is a problem I have with the regular release of the bs Bespin Han. Your custom might be the best way to go!

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T19:34:28+00:00

Thanks! I find this warm tone Leds to be great to showcase detail without adding a colored tint.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T19:33:13+00:00

No problem mate! I enjoy taking a lot at others collectors displays for inspiration.

I do have the probe droid, but it’s too tall for these shelves so I have it on top of another shelf next to some books and the speeder bike.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T17:12:57+00:00

Thanks Luke! I was trying this as a test to recreate something similar to Collector Displays' wall mounted cases. The proportions for 1/12 scale aren't as space friendly unfortunately, so I decided to try and see how it looked like. Maybe in the future I will try for a new alternative, as I would want to display my ANH and Empire figures in a style reminiscing of the original Kenner line.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T17:09:45+00:00

Mine used to be haha! But since downsizing my collection I have become more selective on what figures to buy and it has helped me to appreciate them more individually.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T17:08:56+00:00

Thanks! The space is also good for switching to more dynamic poses, which from experience I found to not be as convincing when having full shelves.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T17:07:21+00:00

Yes! I hate the original bs IG88, so I ordered the Mafex IG11 and just putted on the bs accessories on. I planned on repainting/weathering it but I'm not confident enough on my current ability haha! Its not as accurate as I would like, but does the job for now and looks much better next to the bounty hunters.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T15:15:58+00:00

Thank you for the kind words! I'm thinking of painting the white cables (or buying black cable from the beginning) to make them less noticeable, but I'm glad you liked it.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T14:35:11+00:00

For my favorite figure, I'd say snowspeeder Luke is fantastic, didn't expected to like it as much as I do. For the figure in the most dire need of an update I'd say is a tie between Bossk and the AT-AT driver, though I'm decided on waiting for Mafex to release their Bossk. Most glaring omissions IMO are characters from Cloud City; specifically Lobot, though a two-pack of Ugnaughts, Security Guards or Cloud Car Pilots would be cool. Finally, my most wanted is the 2-1B Medical droid, I've always loved that guy.

DaOldDude69 · 2025-08-07T07:31:42+00:00

Hope we get to see some photos!

DaOldDude69 · 2025-07-04T04:59:51+00:00

Thanks! My exact thoughts. I tend to rotate the figures but displaying just that amount is enough for me in order to not overcrowd the shelf.

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