Review and photos by Zim, edited by Suspsy
Among theropods from the Cretaceous period, Tyrannosaurus, Giganotosaurus, and Spinosaurus instantly come to people’s minds due to their sheer size and ferocity, as well as Velociraptor for its swiftness and intelligence (which is exaggerated by Jurassic Park). Another close contender among popular theropods is Carnotaurus, a medium-sized theropod uncovered in the La Colonia Formation in the Chubut province of Argentina. This theropod attained sizes of between 750 and 900 cm (I prefer using centimeters for measurements), 300 cm tall and up to 2170 kg in weight. It was among the largest of the abelisaurs, which also includes Rugops, Majungasaurus, and the recently described Thanos (really!). It was probably outsized by its relative Ekrixinatosaurus, which lived alongside Giganotosaurus and attained lengths of 900 to 1000 cm.
Despite its size, Carnotaurus was a lightly build theropod with a slender body and long legs, and may have been one of the fastest theropods. Like other abelisaurs, it had a proportionally flat and deep skull and small vestigial four-fingered arms. The most distinguishing feature of this animal is the pair of horns present on the skull which gives it its name, “meat-eating bull.” The purpose of these horns, whether for combat or for display, is still up for debate. As of June 2021, no other dinosaur species have been found living in the same environment as Carnotaurus, but it is speculated that it may have preyed on migrating herbivores. Carnotaurus is known from a single near complete skeleton and from multiple skin impressions, which consists of non-overlapping scales approximately 5mm on diameter. It very likely had osteoderms on its back as well. Carnotaurus is also a relatively famous dinosaur, appearing in Disney’s Dinosaur, the TV cartoon Dinosaur King, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, as well as multiple toy lines, books, and games.
The 2021 PNSO Carnotaurus, which is named Domingo, measures 26.5 cm when stretched out, which will put it in the 1:27 to 1:34 scale range. This figure is posed with its neck turned to the side and like PNSO’s other theropods, it has an articulated jaw. The color scheme vaguely resembles a tiger’s; it has a rusty red main body with a off white tail tip and underbelly and black stripes running down the body and ending at the tip of the tail. The teeth are finely sculpted and are painted in off-white colors, similar to the claws. The gums, tongue, and the interior of the mouth are painted in pink and are glossed off to give them a wet look. The eyes are painted brown with black pupils. The iconic horns are sculpted and laminated in an ivory color and the toe claws are painted grey.
The skull is appropriately flat for the species, which is something that many figure companies missed. The osteoderms running down the back are finely sculpted and the arms are appropriately small. All four fingers are present on each hand and the arms are correctly tucked to the side. There are also sculpted dew claws on the feet. Unlike many other companies, PNSO has made sure that the feet are sculpted proportionally to the body and not oversized. But that leaves us with a burning question: what about stability and warping? Well, PNSO has included a transparent acrylic stand for their Carnotaurus, just like their other theropods.
I do have a gripe about the thickness of the tail. Carnotaurus would have had very heavy tail muscles that likely extended to more of 3/4 of the tail. Still, this is a great representation of the animal and in my opinion, the definitive figure of the species.
Overall, I think this figure is a must-have, especially for those who love Carnotaurus. It’s scientifically accurate, has a nice color scheme, and lots of nice sculpted details. But being a PNSO figure, it costs more than your typical Safari Ltd. or Schleich figure. Both Safari and CollectA have also produced accurate versions of this animal with the former’s version being overall more bulky and having lips while the latter is a more slender animal. Carnotaurus seems to be the go-to abelisaur to make and hopefully companies like PNSO will eventually make large figures of other abelisaurs like Majungasaurus, Rugops, and Ekrixinatosaurus.
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Hands down my favorite Carnotaurus. The pose is so well done and appealing.
I find this figure disappointing. Its scales are too lumpy and don’t look like those known for Carnotaurus. The scales should have been finer. I’ve also read that the front of Carnotaurus’s tail was stiffened, I would have preferred a straighter tail on the PNSO Carnotaurus. I don’t like this figure’s pose or colouration either. With PNSO redoing a number of species they’ve made e.g. Tyrannosaurus and Mamenchisaurus, maybe they will redo Carnotaurus one day resulting in a better figure of it that I’ll want to have.
Also, I forgot to mention, Spinosaurus doesn’t seem like a ferocious animal to me.
I imagine a thicker tail would also improve the balance of the figure, since it would make the figure less front-heavy in comparison.
I find this one disappointing, mostly because of the scales and texturing. The legs do appear too long as well. I have Carnotaurus figures by Carnegie, Papo, Safari, and Battat so really have no interest in getting another. I wish PNSO would have chosen a different abelisaur.
The only Carnotaurus in my collection is the 2019 Safari version, partly because of the leg proportions. I think the legs on the PNSO version are too long, although I haven’t actually measured them so I could be wrong.
It seems to me a magnificent figure, however the PNSO theropods have one important thing to polish their sustainability they should make theropods with absolute stability even if they had clown feet. The scientific rigor of PNSO is laudable and plausible but these figures, especially theropod, have very thin and delicate feet that endanger the stability of the figure, regardless of whether they have a support base.
Doesn’t at all seem like the definitive version of the species. Seems very lumpy and generally lacking in definition. CollectA’s seems way better.
I want PNSO to do Rajasaurus or Rugops.