The last decade has seen the discovery of several new and charismatic species of ceratopsians and as fast as science describes them the toy companies start pumping them out. This is great for collectors who wish to display the diversity of this fascinating dinosaur group but while these new dinosaurs get all the attention there are several genera described in previous decades that seem to get forgotten about. Toy companies have neglected genera as iconic as the Centrosaurus, or as bizarre as the Einiosaurus. For at least one of these though its time in the limelight has come. Einiosaurus has finally gotten the toy treatment from the newly emerged Chinese company, PNSO. It is also slated for release later this month by Safari Ltd. Einiosaurus has long been one of my favorite horned dinosaurs and for me at least I’m glad the wait is finally over and it can join the ranks of my ceratopsian collection.
Like most of the ceratopsians, Einiosaurus is instantly recognizable by its unique horn arrangement with the horn on this genus being bent forward, often compared to a can opener. Horn anatomy like this lends great credence to the hypothesis that these horns were used for display primarily, not defense.
The PNSO Einiosaurus is one of their smaller figures, comparable in size to the Kaiyodo Dinotales or Safari Toob figures. It only measures about 3” in length and stands 1” at the shoulder. Fine details are not sacrificed at this size and this figure is very lifelike, accurate, and well detailed with a convincing color scheme.
The only complaint one may find is that this is a slimmed down rendition. The belly might be too shallow on an herbivore that would need an efficient processor for plant material. Still, it’s a lively and elegant looking model. The characteristic features of the head and frill are faithfully reconstructed. The hands and feet possess the correct number of digits with the last two tiny digits of the hands being visible.
Finer details here are truly commendable. Small scutes run down the back of the animal. Tiny epoccipital bones are clearly lining the frill with additional bits running down the center of the frill towards the curved nose horn. Although the figurine is generally lacking in scales there are some really tiny scales sculpted around the nasal opening. Creases and skin folds are in appropriate places on the limbs and where they join the body and the hip bones can be seen protruding from under the skin.
The paint choices are appropriate and application clean. The body is tan colored with faint green bars running down the back and dark brown spots scattered along the body. The frill and head are painted various shades of orange and brown blended into each other, the eyes are orange with small black pupils. Although I prefer my ceratopsians with a bit more colorful flair this color scheme is quite believable and would appear to provide good camouflage in a forested environment. The figure is nicely posed with its left leg lifted high in the air as it looks towards the right.
Although Safari is due to release a larger and probably more accessible rendition of Einiosaurus I must still recommend this little figurine. Einiosaurus has been overdue for a long time and this small offering from PNSO breaks that trend with a beautiful, affordable figurine that won’t take up too much space on the shelf. You can find the PNSO Einiosaurus on amazon.com
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[…] for whatever reason, three of them have popped up within the span of a year. One by PNSO which I reviewed recently, this one by Safari, and another upcoming one by CollectA which I won’t be reviewing […]
What a neat little toy!