PNSO : New for 2023

[Over9K]

Color schemes are funny... You ever see one of those cargo/semi trucks from India, with the colors and the gold and the fabric all over them?



Here we see BOTM's Styracosaurus


They're crazy, beautiful, inspiring pieces of art, and they WORK. But, this isn't how trucks really are. This is how I feel about BOTM paint schemes, beautiful, gorgeous works of art... but it IS art.

Both companies have a style. BOTM is 'take an extant animal, pull their colorway off and evolve it for a dinosaur."

PNSO only seems to take chances when the popularity of the dinosaur/product is in question. Giga and Carchar were conservtive, Meraxes was not. Is that because nobody outside the hobby knows what a Meraxes is? PNSO felt ok to take a risk on a flashy paint job, because Meraxes is lesser known? Is that why Lythronax, lesser known among the tyrannosaurs than rex, Albert, Das and Tarbo, has a feline-esque set of spots? Is that why the Quainzhousaurus was white among a set of brown/grey tyrannosaurs?

[Stegotyranno420]

Color schemes are funny... You ever see one of those cargo/semi trucks from India, with the colors and the gold and the fabric all over them?



Here we see BOTM's Styracosaurus


They're crazy, beautiful, inspiring pieces of art, and they WORK. But, this isn't how trucks really are. This is how I feel about BOTM paint schemes, beautiful, gorgeous works of art... but it IS art.

Never in my life would I thoughg I'd hear a guy comparing my uncle's neighbor's truck to a Styracosaurus but here we are

[TheCambrianCrusader]

As nice as these guys are, I'm just not terribly interested in most theropods. Especially lipless theropods.
Pnso figures are pretty pricey as far as dino models go so I got to pick and choose which ones to get. So far the only theropod Ive gotten is the Therizinosaurus (tho I've been eyeing the Meraxes for awhile now) so I guess my wallet appreciates all of these theropods lol.
As others have said I wouldn't have a problem with these releases if they were just spread out with a more diverse lineup.
Granted I'm not mad or anything I'm just a bit burnt out

[Faelrin]

@Over9K Okay that is one gorgeous truck. Never seen anything like that before. Might not be the most practical, but man I wish we had some with a bit more flair like that around these parts. You do make a good point of the BotM Styracosaurus, but boy do I love that thing (hmm, now that I think about it, perhaps I might be able to dig that out of storage tomorrow). I think Safari Ltd's takes second place for me (which I have on hand again now). PNSO's is also a nice figure, but certainly the more tame among those options.

As far as the recent wave of tyrannosaurs go, I think they are nice enough on their own, despite being on the drab side, but I do wish they had a bit more to set them apart from each other like this year's trio of carcharodontosaurids did. The Meraxes still stands out among one of their best this year for me personally. It's funny that I was never big on the Safari Ltd Gigantosaurus coloration, and despite the Meraxes similarity to it, I feel it pulls it off much better.

That said even if the Gorgosaurus is yet another brown one, I'll likely still very much want it, as there are very few options for it, and beggar's can't be chooser's. Currently there's either Papo's small (1:40 scale?) inaccurate one, or the much larger upcoming BotM one (which I do plan on getting, but to go with my BotM Styracosaurus for example, and hopefully eventually the pair of 1/18 Dromaeosaurus too). As far as this recent Albertosaurus goes, Safari Ltd's definitely wins in my book. Both a bold coloration, and it has lips. I am very curious to size how they size up to one another. If anyone is particularly taken with both figures, I'd love to see a direct comparison of the two.

[TheCambrianCrusader]

@Over9K Okay that is one gorgeous truck. Never seen anything like that before. Might not be the most practical, but man I wish we had some with a bit more flair like that around these parts. You do make a good point of the BotM Styracosaurus, but boy do I love that thing (hmm, now that I think about it, perhaps I might be able to dig that out of storage tomorrow). I think Safari Ltd's takes second place for me (which I have on hand again now). PNSO's is also a nice figure, but certainly the more tame among those options.

As far as the recent wave of tyrannosaurs go, I think they are nice enough on their own, despite being on the drab side, but I do wish they had a bit more to set them apart from each other like this year's trio of carcharodontosaurids did. The Meraxes still stands out among one of their best this year for me personally. It's funny that I was never big on the Safari Ltd Gigantosaurus coloration, and despite the Meraxes similarity to it, I feel it pulls it off much better.

That said even if the Gorgosaurus is yet another brown one, I'll likely still very much want it, as there are very few options for it, and beggar's can't be chooser's. Currently there's either Papo's small (1:40 scale?) inaccurate one, or the much larger upcoming BotM one (which I do plan on getting, but to go with my BotM Styracosaurus for example, and hopefully eventually the pair of 1/18 Dromaeosaurus too). As far as this recent Albertosaurus goes, Safari Ltd's definitely wins in my book. Both a bold coloration, and it has lips. I am very curious to size how they size up to one another. If anyone is particularly taken with both figures, I'd love to see a direct comparison of the two.

Is the papo one really inaccurate? I always thought it was one of their better figures. Aside from the posture not being everyone's cup of tea and maybe its tail being too short I can't think of many major problems with it

[Over9K]

Never in my life would I thoughg I'd hear a guy comparing my uncle's neighbor's truck to a Styracosaurus but here we are

If you've got the BOTM Styrac, hold it up to the pic... it's UNCANNY. 

[Stegotyranno420]

Never in my life would I thoughg I'd hear a guy comparing my uncle's neighbor's truck to a Styracosaurus but here we are

If you've got the BOTM Styrac, hold it up to the pic... it's UNCANNY. 

Why would I need to buy the 1:15 model when I got the real thing up close 

@TheCambrianCrusader people sometimes just pick on papo. As far as I know the gorgosaurus has no major flaws

[CARN0TAURUS]

The Lythronax is the best of the bunch, and the most visually distinctive.

I think I personally grade the actual sculpt higher than most people here in terms of importance.  We've all seen that if a sculpt is great it can be turned into a fantastic piece with some decent custom paintwork.  Perhaps I just have more realistic expectations on what can be expected from a mass produced toy in regards to painting.  Seems to me like a lot more folks should invest time painting a few figures to better understand the time commitment required.  I'm not even talking about skilled labor or cost of materials here, just the sheer amount of time that it takes to detail a piece even to a mediocre standard. 

Even strong resourceful companies like PNSO have to set realistic limitations on how long they can take to manufacture these figures.  And there is nothing mediocre or boring about the way PNSO paints its figures.  It's just that people are beginning to take it for granted.  What PNSO lack in color variation, they more than make up for in technical sophistication.  They utilize both hand held air brushing and robot controlled color blending, fading, and filtering to create realistic skin texture with depth.  There is nothing boring about that and no other company is doing anything even remotely close to that.  Was it Dinodragons that put up the Rebor Kiss figure up next to Cameron and showed everyone the difference in the complexity of the paint applications?  I don't know why PNSO has chosen to limit the colors so much, it could be cost cutting, it could be that the founder likes theropods with those Colors, kind of like he likes them without lips, IDK.  But the way the paint is applied and executed on these figures is to a very high standard. 

Then there is the sculpts, PNSO have mastered the theropod standing on two legs in a realistic way formula.  Not even Eofauna has achieved that, their Giga suffers from FDS and even their new T-rex will have a base.  From a pure pose standpoint, the figure I'm most looking forward to is the new Albertosaurus.  That running pose is PNSO flexing its engineering muscle and taking what they've learned about keeping these two legged figures standing and raising the bar even higher.  Are you kidding me?  A running figure in PVC that will probably retail for from $38.99 to $42.99.  A sculpt like that we would normally have to pay many many times more for in resin.  I can't wait to see it in person and the paint can be enhanced by adding a splash of color in a few places to help the figure stand out from the rest.  Not a repaint but just using what's already there and adding a bit of extra flavor.

[Quiversaurus]

The Lythronax is the best of the bunch, and the most visually distinctive.

I think I personally grade the actual sculpt higher than most people here in terms of importance.  We've all seen that if a sculpt is great it can be turned into a fantastic piece with some decent custom paintwork.  Perhaps I just have more realistic expectations on what can be expected from a mass produced toy in regards to painting.  Seems to me like a lot more folks should invest time painting a few figures to better understand the time commitment required.  I'm not even talking about skilled labor or cost of materials here, just the sheer amount of time that it takes to detail a piece even to a mediocre standard. 

Even strong resourceful companies like PNSO have to set realistic limitations on how long they can take to manufacture these figures.  And there is nothing mediocre or boring about the way PNSO paints its figures.  It's just that people are beginning to take it for granted.  What PNSO lack in color variation, they more than make up for in technical sophistication.  They utilize both hand held air brushing and robot controlled color blending, fading, and filtering to create realistic skin texture with depth.  There is nothing boring about that and no other company is doing anything even remotely close to that.  Was it Dinodragons that put up the Rebor Kiss figure up next to Cameron and showed everyone the difference in the complexity of the paint applications?  I don't know why PNSO has chosen to limit the colors so much, it could be cost cutting, it could be that the founder likes theropods with those Colors, kind of like he likes them without lips, IDK.  But the way the paint is applied and executed on these figures is to a very high standard. 

Then there is the sculpts, PNSO have mastered the theropod standing on two legs in a realistic way formula.  Not even Eofauna has achieved that, their Giga suffers from FDS and even their new T-rex will have a base.  From a pure pose standpoint, the figure I'm most looking forward to is the new Albertosaurus.  That running pose is PNSO flexing its engineering muscle and taking what they've learned about keeping these two legged figures standing and raising the bar even higher.  Are you kidding me?  A running figure in PVC that will probably retail for from $38.99 to $42.99.  A sculpt like that we would normally have to pay many many times more for in resin.  I can't wait to see it in person and the paint can be enhanced by adding a splash of color in a few places to help the figure stand out from the rest.  Not a repaint but just using what's already there and adding a bit of extra flavor.

Good arguments, thank you for fleshing all these thoughts out.

To me, it feels like we're living in an unprecedented time of highly accurate, well-engineered, well-painted pvc models, and should be very happy with that. Other companies see PNSO as the industry standard and are working towards meeting that standard (see Haolonggood).

If one likes the figure and it has everything going for for you, well and good. If not, just wait a while longer, perhaps another company will put their own spin on a species, and it may turn out to be much better than the initial figure.

An exercise in patience, and at the same time appreciation for each product each company puts their time and effort into making available for everyone.

[Moldovan0731]

Seeing some of the complaints about PNSO in general, I really dislike how people who on the pro-lip side of the debate want every company to go by what they're in favor of.

[thomasw100]

The Lythronax is the best of the bunch, and the most visually distinctive.

I think I personally grade the actual sculpt higher than most people here in terms of importance.  We've all seen that if a sculpt is great it can be turned into a fantastic piece with some decent custom paintwork.  Perhaps I just have more realistic expectations on what can be expected from a mass produced toy in regards to painting.  Seems to me like a lot more folks should invest time painting a few figures to better understand the time commitment required.  I'm not even talking about skilled labor or cost of materials here, just the sheer amount of time that it takes to detail a piece even to a mediocre standard. 

Even strong resourceful companies like PNSO have to set realistic limitations on how long they can take to manufacture these figures.  And there is nothing mediocre or boring about the way PNSO paints its figures.  It's just that people are beginning to take it for granted.  What PNSO lack in color variation, they more than make up for in technical sophistication.  They utilize both hand held air brushing and robot controlled color blending, fading, and filtering to create realistic skin texture with depth.  There is nothing boring about that and no other company is doing anything even remotely close to that.  Was it Dinodragons that put up the Rebor Kiss figure up next to Cameron and showed everyone the difference in the complexity of the paint applications?  I don't know why PNSO has chosen to limit the colors so much, it could be cost cutting, it could be that the founder likes theropods with those Colors, kind of like he likes them without lips, IDK.  But the way the paint is applied and executed on these figures is to a very high standard. 

Then there is the sculpts, PNSO have mastered the theropod standing on two legs in a realistic way formula.  Not even Eofauna has achieved that, their Giga suffers from FDS and even their new T-rex will have a base.  From a pure pose standpoint, the figure I'm most looking forward to is the new Albertosaurus.  That running pose is PNSO flexing its engineering muscle and taking what they've learned about keeping these two legged figures standing and raising the bar even higher.  Are you kidding me?  A running figure in PVC that will probably retail for from $38.99 to $42.99.  A sculpt like that we would normally have to pay many many times more for in resin.  I can't wait to see it in person and the paint can be enhanced by adding a splash of color in a few places to help the figure stand out from the rest.  Not a repaint but just using what's already there and adding a bit of extra flavor.

I could not agree more. The PNSO models are so nice in terms of their texturing and the realistic and subtle coloring. If I were a collector of carnivores and theropods in particular, I would happily get any of the new releases of this year. My hope rest now on the second half of the year. Maybe something will be on the menu for herbivore enthusiasts. PNSO should reward the herbivore fans for their patience by releasing some large sauropds, including at least one titanosaur. That would be amazing.

[Medzo]

...

Even strong resourceful companies like PNSO have to set realistic limitations on how long they can take to manufacture these figures.  And there is nothing mediocre or boring about the way PNSO paints its figures.  It's just that people are beginning to take it for granted.

...

Well, we are paying hard money for these. So I agree, I do take it for granted, otherwise my wallet would stay closed. I personally don't think it has to do with anything with the actual color scheme they apply for certain figures.

...
Then there is the sculpts, PNSO have mastered the theropod standing on two legs in a realistic way formula.  Not even Eofauna has achieved that, their Giga suffers from FDS and even their new T-rex will have a base.  From a pure pose standpoint, the figure I'm most looking forward to is the new Albertosaurus.  That running pose is PNSO flexing its engineering muscle and taking what they've learned about keeping these two legged figures standing and raising the bar even higher.
...

Now with this, I couldn't agree more. I don't collect any other brand now but as having the OG standing and running T-Rexes from Papo I can certainly see the genius behind PNSO's desing in mass distribution. Without support they do tend to have issues and warping but all in all they do stand on their own.

[ceratopsian]

This is the one I'm most likely to buy.

The Lythronax is the best of the bunch, and the most visually distinctive.

[TheImmortalEye]

The Lythronax is the best of the bunch, and the most visually distinctive.

I think I personally grade the actual sculpt higher than most people here in terms of importance.  We've all seen that if a sculpt is great it can be turned into a fantastic piece with some decent custom paintwork.  Perhaps I just have more realistic expectations on what can be expected from a mass produced toy in regards to painting.  Seems to me like a lot more folks should invest time painting a few figures to better understand the time commitment required.  I'm not even talking about skilled labor or cost of materials here, just the sheer amount of time that it takes to detail a piece even to a mediocre standard. 

Even strong resourceful companies like PNSO have to set realistic limitations on how long they can take to manufacture these figures.  And there is nothing mediocre or boring about the way PNSO paints its figures.  It's just that people are beginning to take it for granted.  What PNSO lack in color variation, they more than make up for in technical sophistication.  They utilize both hand held air brushing and robot controlled color blending, fading, and filtering to create realistic skin texture with depth.  There is nothing boring about that and no other company is doing anything even remotely close to that.  Was it Dinodragons that put up the Rebor Kiss figure up next to Cameron and showed everyone the difference in the complexity of the paint applications?  I don't know why PNSO has chosen to limit the colors so much, it could be cost cutting, it could be that the founder likes theropods with those Colors, kind of like he likes them without lips, IDK.  But the way the paint is applied and executed on these figures is to a very high standard. 

Then there is the sculpts, PNSO have mastered the theropod standing on two legs in a realistic way formula.  Not even Eofauna has achieved that, their Giga suffers from FDS and even their new T-rex will have a base.  From a pure pose standpoint, the figure I'm most looking forward to is the new Albertosaurus.  That running pose is PNSO flexing its engineering muscle and taking what they've learned about keeping these two legged figures standing and raising the bar even higher.  Are you kidding me?  A running figure in PVC that will probably retail for from $38.99 to $42.99.  A sculpt like that we would normally have to pay many many times more for in resin.  I can't wait to see it in person and the paint can be enhanced by adding a splash of color in a few places to help the figure stand out from the rest.  Not a repaint but just using what's already there and adding a bit of extra flavor.

can someone explain to me what FDS- full diaper syndrome mean to dino reconstruction- i cant find anything on that

[TheImmortalEye]

...

Even strong resourceful companies like PNSO have to set realistic limitations on how long they can take to manufacture these figures.  And there is nothing mediocre or boring about the way PNSO paints its figures.  It's just that people are beginning to take it for granted.

...

Well, we are paying hard money for these. So I agree, I do take it for granted, otherwise my wallet would stay closed. I personally don't think it has to do with anything with the actual color scheme they apply for certain figures.

...
Then there is the sculpts, PNSO have mastered the theropod standing on two legs in a realistic way formula.  Not even Eofauna has achieved that, their Giga suffers from FDS and even their new T-rex will have a base.  From a pure pose standpoint, the figure I'm most looking forward to is the new Albertosaurus.  That running pose is PNSO flexing its engineering muscle and taking what they've learned about keeping these two legged figures standing and raising the bar even higher.
...

Now with this, I couldn't agree more. I don't collect any other brand now but as having the OG standing and running T-Rexes from Papo I can certainly see the genius behind PNSO's desing in mass distribution. Without support they do tend to have issues and warping but all in all they do stand on their own.

mostly, the allosaurus is prob the worst example , both in bland paintjobs and being impossible to keep standing even with that weird rod they gave it, atleast when it falls its also freakin fagile and chips

[Faras]

mostly, the allosaurus is prob the worst example , both in bland paintjobs and being impossible to keep standing even with that weird rod they gave it, atleast when it falls its also freakin fagile and chips

Yep it's one of the less stable theropods, can easily fall to sides when touched, slightest fall usually chip bit of paints... Mine has been standing well with rod for two years though. Sometimes legs are slightly wrapped from packing and placing rods can be tricky, but once I adjust things they all stand for year(s).

Downside is of that is I really hate moving them, lol...

[TheImmortalEye]

mostly, the allosaurus is prob the worst example , both in bland paintjobs and being impossible to keep standing even with that weird rod they gave it, atleast when it falls its also freakin fagile and chips

Yep it's one of the less stable theropods, can easily fall to sides when touched, slightest fall usually chip bit of paints... Mine has been standing well with rod for two years though. Sometimes legs are slightly wrapped from packing and placing rods can be tricky, but once I adjust things they all stand for year(s).

Downside is of that is I really hate moving them, lol...

i know and worst part is my shelf gets dusty so i have to move him every 3 weeks, its a reaal fukin chore XD

[Faras]

i know and worst part is my shelf gets dusty so i have to move him every 3 weeks, its a reaal fukin chore XD

Ha yeah... *eyes months of dust o shelves*...

[Psittacoraptor]

As someone who's a fan of both, my two cents about "PNSO vs BOTM":

Creative Beast and PNSO are my favourite dino companies because their products are inherently different. BOTM makes action figures/toys and PSNO makes scientific models. It's not really the same type of product. Creative Beast and David Silva have a background in pop culture toys and it clearly shows. Some figures, although inspired by real animals, don't look like believable animals (to me), especially the ceratopsians. I love flashy colours but some of those are too much for me. The Chasmosaurus and Pentaceratops look like race cars turned into dinosaurs, and the Avaceratops looks radioactive. Thankfully, the tyrannosaur line is much more naturalistic looking overall. I love BOTM but the figures can be too garish. I have no nostalgia for dinosaur toys and this does bother me at times. I'm more of "dinosaur model" than "dinosaur toy" person, I guess.

And then there's the articulation. As mentioned by @TheImmortalEye, some don't care for it and find the joints and gaps an eyesore. I like both models and articulated figures, so the gaps don't bother me because and I know they're necessary. However, if we're going to judge figures by what they're supposed to be (there's more to a figure than accuracy and colours!), BOTM are not perfect as action figures, and the gaps and joints are there precisely for that reason. Some of the joints on my figures are either so stiff that I'm afraid of breaking them, or so loose that the figure can't stand without being placed on the support rod at a specific angle. The stability of the raptors with the included stands is bad, and if you want to properly pose them, you need to buy 3rd party stands. When you're making action figures, these things matter. The Yutyrannus and Dilong are better in this regard, I'll see about my other tyrannosaurs when I get them.

PNSO has a background in science, not pop culture toys, which naturally reflects in their figures and colour schemes. As models, they don't have articulation, and their paint applications are conservative. Apparently, they don't believe it's realistic for animals above a certain size to have flashy colours, unless they're feathered (see their Deinocheirus), and they prefer to stick to colourations they find believable. I do think they're being too conservative, and these new tyrannosaurs didn't need to be so similar looking. Cameron, I understand, because the T-rex colour scheme was already established and he's supposed to be Wilson's father but the others could definitely look more varied.

TLDR: different companies with different philosophies, both make wonderful figures, but neither is perfect. As for the colours, for me the perfect balance would be somewhere between the two. BOTM can be too garish and PNSO too conservative. The PNSO Deinocheirus was my first dinosaur purchase in a year, my way of telling them I want more varied colours.

[TheImmortalEye]

As someone who's a fan of both, my two cents about "PNSO vs BOTM":


And then there's the articulation. As mentioned by @TheImmortalEye, some don't care for it and find the joints and gaps an eyesore. I like both models and articulated figures, so the gaps don't bother me because and I know they're necessary. However, if we're going to judge figures by what they're supposed to be (there's more to a figure than accuracy and colours!), BOTM are not perfect as action figures, and the gaps and joints are there precisely for that reason. Some of the joints on my figures are either so stiff that I'm afraid of breaking them, or so loose that the figure can't stand without being placed on the support rod at a specific angle. The stability of the raptors with the included stands is bad, and if you want to properly pose them, you need to buy 3rd party stands. When you're making action figures, these things matter. The Yutyrannus and Dilong are better in this regard, I'll see about my other tyrannosaurs when I get them.

PNSO has a background in science, not pop culture toys, which naturally reflects in their figures and colour schemes. As models, they don't have articulation, and their paint applications are conservative. Apparently, they don't believe it's realistic for animals above a certain size to have flashy colours, unless they're feathered (see their Deinocheirus), and they prefer to stick to colourations they find believable. I do think they're being too conservative, and these new tyrannosaurs didn't need to be so similar looking. Cameron, I understand, because the T-rex colour scheme was already established and he's supposed to be Wilson's father but the others could definitely look more varied.

TLDR: different companies with different philosophies, both make wonderful figures, but neither is perfect. As for the colours, for me the perfect balance would be somewhere between the two. BOTM can be too garish and PNSO too conservative. The PNSO Deinocheirus was my first dinosaur purchase in a year, my way of telling them I want more varied colours.

i couldnt agree more and thx for putting my point realisticly , i dont hate Botm and honestly if they made solic pvc of their figures id pay the full price , i just have my collection to accompany real fossiles i collect and these feel like toys, amazing toys but toys , they just rarely fit my needs which is sad cause they do have lips and sometimes superclever paint. the utahraptor coming up with the hawk paint is so ingenios i pay any money in the world to see it, vulture one too.

pnso i love since despite no lips if i see them , i see a real animal, and i never ever had that with any dinosaur company, not even with some museum art in germany ( our museums rarely update so pronated wrist etc ) , but jeah they tend to overuse their conservatism, not every living predator has tigerstripes, yet most their dinos do, theres more varied textures or heck ,the gray of tarbosaurus is good and diff too, good colorchoice and gradient can be enough.

esp baffling is why theire so conservative on the one aspect of theropods that def had smth , the crests, if anything was bright and flashy id be the crest meant for sexual display yet at best theire given a small stripe of yellow or orange, or straight up colored over in base color like torvosaurus, mapusaurus and now all 3 new tyrannosaurs