Ceratosaurus (Scientific Art Sculpture by PNSO)

Review and photos by Dino Scream3232, edited by Suspsy

Well, here we are in mid-February 2019 and we have much to be grateful for (dinosaur model-wise). PNSO is back in a big way and I do mean big. After almost a year of no communication and the feeling of dread among the community that PNSO was truly done, they finally got the company back on track. Following a slew of mini-figures, PNSO said that their large scale models would be back at the beginning of the year. They have kept their promise and not disappointed. After all, PNSO became known to the community for their large hollow vinyl models. Many collectors wondered if they would ever come back since the last couple of models were solid, smaller scale PVC. Well, they are back and the subject of today’s review is their highly anticipated Nick the Ceratosaurus. 

Oh boy, is Nick a glorious and huge model. He is 12 inches tall at the nose horn and just about 23 inches long from snout to tail tip. The sculpting on him is fantastic. It really looks like this Jurassic predator is stalking around your living room. He’s in a mid-walk pose with his jaws agape. Looks like he’s strolling around calling for a mate. There are seam lines on this model, but PNSO has done a much better job hiding them. They are only noticeable if looking closely. The colour scheme is mostly a yellowish brown with light green markings down the top of the back. The sides and legs have black splotches that continue down the tail. The underside is a light cream color and yes, there is a faint cloaca slit.

The head sculpt is fantastic. It is slightly shrink-wrapped, though. The fenestrae are just slightly visible (the photos didn’t pick up on it). And the orbits are clearly visible as well. The teeth are beautifully sculpted. On a mode this size, you can really appreciate just how big Ceratosaurus teeth are relative to the skull. There are no lips. Don’t know where everyone falls on the lips or no lips debate, but here the teeth are growing right of the jaw line. The horn and brow ridges have a keratinous sheathe sculpted over them, and are highlighted by red and blue accents. The head paint does vary from the box art. On the box, Nick has bright purple markings just above the nostrils, but the finished product does not. It’s a not a vastly different paint scheme like the box art of Doyle vs the finished product.

The inside of the mouth is really well done. The tongue is well textured with a glossy coat to give it that wet look. Looking at the skull head on gives you a great perspective of how narrow it is. In my opinion, this is one of the best Ceratosaurus head sculpts around. 

The body is covered in rows of osteoderms that extend all the way to the tip of the tail. The legs are thick and powerful looking. The base of the tail is extremely thick, as it should be to house the legs’ muscle attachments. And I do mean thick! I have above average-sized hands and I can’t get my fingers to touch with my hand wrapped around the base. 

The hands have the trademark Ceratosaurus four-clawed fingers. Each of these fingers are the appropriate size. You can see the arm muscles are beautifully molded and show how strong this predator’s arms were.

We move on now to the feet. When I first saw pics of this model, I wondered how well it would stand. There was no images of a display base in any the promotional shots. Luckily, Nick does come with one. The base reminds me of the modern look of the displays at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. There are two clear rods that screw into the base. One supports the chest and the other the base of the tail. Having the base really helped with the pose of the legs and feet. The legs are angled towards the center on the body as they would be in life and it wouldn’t be possible to have them in this position without the base. It reminds me of the pose of the Wild Safari Giganotosaurus (how the legs are angled towards the center of the body).

In closing, this is a absolutely fantastic model from PNSO. For the size, quality, and price, it challenges some of the high end resin models out there. Actually, when the first images leaked, I though it might be part of PNSO’s resin model line. It’s that good. It is absolutely the best out of their large vinyl models so far. Nick is available on Amazon currently for $69.99 with free shipping (for the USA). I also did a video review if anyone wants to see me fumble around with this beast. I’m very happy PNSO is back and can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next.