Chasmosaurus is by no means the largest ceratopsian, reaching only around 4.8 metres in length and 2.2 tons in mass. Nor does it boast a particularly intimidating or bizarre array of horns like its fellow Canadians Regaliceratops, Styracosaurus, and Triceratops. Nevertheless, it was one of the most successful ceratopsians of its time, and one of the very best known thanks to multiple fossil specimens. As such, it enjoys the honour of having an entire subfamily named after it: Chasmosaurinae.
Here we have Brown the Chasmosaurus, courtesy of the good folk at PNSO. He is sculpted standing tall and proud with his big head turned slightly to the right and his short but sturdy tail swaying to the left. This makes him 8.5 cm long and 4.5 cm high at the top of his frill.
As his name suggests, this ceratopsian’s main colour is light brown with a white underbelly and thin grey-blue stripes on his back. His head is a slightly darker shade of brown with even darker brown on his beak, nasal horn, and the front of his frill. His tiny eyes are black. And then there are the large “eyes” adorning his frill, which are comprised of alternating black and pale orange stripes with teal for the two “pupils.” I’ve lamented some of PNSO’s colour schemes in the past, but I really do like this one.
Brown’s sculpting is similarly pleasing. His skin has a nice bumpy texture with heavy wrinkles on the bottom of his neck and along his flanks. His tail, limbs, and neck are muscular, but not overly so. And most important of all, his head has the correct shape and proportions, including a fairly large beak and nasal horn and a frill that widens near the top with small epoccipitals lining the edges. The near-complete lack of brow horns makes Brown recognizable as a Chasmosaurus belli as opposed to C. russelli. Mind, some experts argue that C. belli and C. russelli are the same animal and that the difference in horns represents sexual dimorphism.
Brown boasts such a level of sculpting and accuracy that, if he were to be scaled up to a larger size, there wouldn’t be much more to add to him. He looks and feels more refined than the earlier PNSO miniature ceratopsians Einiosaurus and Kosmoceratops and is definitely one of the finest Chasmosaurus toys I’ve come across. Highly recommended.
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The PNSO chasmosaurus is a nice figure, I just hope that PNSO makes a version a little bigger than those shown by that brand and with the quality that collectors have accustomed us to. I hope that one day Chasmosaurus ruselli will become popular among toy dinosaur brands as some brands like JW already do.
This review reminds me of how much I miss new releases from PNSO. I’m so fond of this little figure that it still hasn’t made it from my study to the model room!
Yes, I’m dying to hear word about another series of miniatures from PNSO.