Albertaceratops nesmoi by Beasts of the Mesozoic from Creative Beast Studios

At this point in my life, my reviews are all going to be somewhat personal. As collectors, we tend to form serious attachments to our toys or figures, as they often serve as memory capsules. They remind us of things such as a fun event that led to their discovery, a trip where a collector bought a figure at a gift shop, a gift given to a collector for their birthday, or by a special someone that may or may not be with them anymore, etc. That is how I view every one of my figures. A large amount of them were given to me as gifts by special people in my life. Some figures were hunted down during a particularly difficult time in my life, and some were associated with a very specific person or event. For example, my mom is who helps me plug the tails belonging to these figures. I’ll get a BOTM ceratopsian, and ask her for help. She’ll bring her hairdryer as I hold the figure up. I have delicate hands so this is better with two people, especially given how voluminous some of these figures are. It has become kind of a ritual. I am still missing 8 of the ceratopsians as of this writing, and I expect mom to help me out with that task. Last year’s events led to pure disasters that I, Emperor Dinobot, was not ready to accept. Immediately after acquiring this fine Albertaceratops, I ended up being hospitalized due to a horrible jaw infection, all while my sister convalesced at home without me. Upon my release, the problem was still very much alive, and very painful. That night, I proceeded to open up the Albertaceratops, and get it ready for photography, but the pain on my jaw was extreme, so much so that I… let’s just say I ended up in the hospital again, 2 days later after being initially released. I see this figure and I am reminded of that exact date, and the circumstances around it. But that is not the only thing this figure reminds me of. It is now bound to the chronology of my life forever.

With all of the pictures taken, including some retakes, and setback after setback, I finally declared that I would upload this review on March the second of this year; a day that ultimately became the worst day of my life, never to be contested again, or beaten. The memory is dated and etched into history within the many threads in the Dino Toy Forum. As of this writing, that was the last post on the thread about which BOTM dinosaurs we were going to review. A painful, yet comforting reminder…

I do apologize, again, as these reviews are becoming more personal. My toys are tied to my memories, good or bad, and my collection is a library of memories.

But we are not here to talk about sadness anymore. I tend to take my time with my animals, and this is one BIG animal.

The packaging is standard for all of these larger series 3 dinosaurs, showing the figures on the back, and a sleeve depicting art by the always amazing Raul Ramos, and a quick snippet about the dinosaur.

Albertaceratops nesmoi

(Alberta horned face)

Length: Up to 5.8m (19ft) long

Location: Oldman Formation of Alberta, CA

Time Period: Late Cretaceous 77.5 m.y.a.

Named By: Ryan, Michael J. 2007

With its unusually large brow horns and otherwise centrosaurine-like skull, Albertaceratops was a contemporary of its close relative, Medusaceratops, Albertaceratops is one of the most basal centrosaurines and is known from a single complete skull.

Upon reading it, I thought that this was too far off scale for an almost 6m long animal. It’s massive, and it uses the same body as the big Centrosaurus, which is 14 inches long and 7 inches tall. Centrosaurus was also 6-8m long, and that figure too is kind of oversized. They should be between the size of the Einiosaurus body (10 in. long) to the size of the Medusaceratops (12 in. long). I will show pictures in a bit of those side by side. But first, Albertaceratops.

The colors become more complex and vibrant as the series progresses. As you know from my previous posts regarding BOTM, I prefer brightly colored animals. My eyesight is in severe jeopardy, probably from being chronically online due to work/escapist reasons, and I tend to guide myself around by looking at colors on especially bad days. This dinosaur was one of the last things I saw before being hauled on an ambulance last year during an accidental overdose, so “Bertie”, as I call it, is always with me. I swear I can hear it speak to me sometimes. It was present during my hallucinations, and I see it in my dreams! That might be because it is one of the last things I see before turning off the lights, since it’s standing on my desk right next to my face. But back to the colors, just look at this thing! I cannot properly describe it. I could say it looks like a melted pizza, or that it is a complex juxtaposition of countershaded colors, which is not very far-fetched. The exquisitely preserved fossil of Psittacosaurus SMF R 4970 makes this type of coloring very plausible, even on bigger ceratopsians.

Based on the Black faced lizard (I’m assuming Acanthosaura armata), there’s white polka dots on its hindlimbs, as well as the sides, with some carmine orange dots as well. The base seems to be carmine orange, with a lot of black, and some cream under the body and tail. The horns are bone colored, as is the beak and the nasal ridge too. The hornlets on the parietals are also bone colored. There is some indigo blue under the eye, and a stripe of the same indigo blue near its tummy. Describing the colors in more detail can be rather taxing. 17 points of articulation help this Bertie strike a pose for the camera. Say cheese!

As it is known mostly from a complete skull (TMP.2001.26.1), it can be inferred that the body looked like other centrosaurines from the time, 77.5 m.y.a. Beasts of the Mesozoic has made several animals from the Judith River Group, also known as the Belly River group, which includes the Oldman Formation and the Judith River Formation. These dinosaurs are Daspletosaurus, Saurornitholestes, Chasmosaurus, Wendiceratops, Medusaceratops, Spiclypeus, Monoclonius, Dromaeosaurus, Troodon, Xenoceratops, Gorgosaurus, Avaceratops, and of course, Albertaceratops.

That ought to give you an idea on how they scale up with one another. I think that Creative Beasts Studios chose to upgrade Bertie’s kind to large size because there are a lot of mid-sized ceratopsian figures already. But Albertaceratops should be roughly the same size as Medusaceratops.

Albertaceratops is truly an interesting species, featuring centrosaur traits, as well as non-centrosaur traits, such as the long, forward facing brow horns, which were later popularized by chasmosaurs instead. Some centrosaur fossils found in the Judith River Formation were later attributed to belong to Medusaceratops instead. The clade albertaceratopsini has recently welcomed a new, strange addition in the form of Lokiceratops rangiformis, which had no nasal horn, and the parietals were bilaterally asymmetrical. This asymmetry has led to some experts doubting the validity of the genus, and that these three animals were the same, representing different stages in life, with Lokiceratops being the fully mature individual. Other concerns raised were the fact that these dinosaurs all lived at the same time, in the same place, all filling the same niche, eating the same plants. All of them competing for the same grub would lead to fierce competition in a small area of land. The frill shapes and ornamentations may have represented different variations, maybe a subspecies, and as mentioned already, different ontologenetic stages of the same animal. I can see Greg Paul lumping them all together for the next Princeton Guide volume. Maybe Creative Beasts Studios will make one someday to complete the trio! Are you reading this, Mr. Silva?

Bertie came into my life during a trying time. He is a fine addition to my collection. As of this writing, I have 8 ceratopsians left to go. Every time I stare at them I think of my sister, as she helped me pick them out, and helped me edit these reviews. The last one she picked was Xenoceratops, which will be reviewed by me very soon. It is a shame that so many beautiful toys remind me of trying times, but they also remind me of the good times, and the love my family and I share. I am lucky that my family allows me to continue with this absurd hobby of mine. But only life is precious, and making each day count. Ok I ripped that off from a deleted scene not featured in my favorite movie, which is Titanic, but you get the point. It is just difficult to deal with the before, and realize that now we are in the after. But we should strive to live our best lives, and having a hobby helps, too!

I plan to open the dinosaur park before the year ends. A mammoth task lies ahead of me. Bertie, Casper, Ava and the others will be there too, as well as upcoming additions as time goes. Bertie will have a permanent place to stay, hopefully far away from my face, and away from my dreams. I hope to get the last 8 ceratopsians before the year ends, too, and you know I will be getting them directly from the Creative Beast Studios’ store here! Maybe I will add in Daspletosaurus and Gorgosaurus too.