PNSO - New for 2024

[suspsy]

I remain perplexed by the lack of dromaeosaurs, oviraptorosaurs, and ornithomimosaurs from PNSO. I'd love to just directly ask Zhao or someone else at the top what exactly the reasoning is behind that. They're obviously not afraid to tackle feathered dinosaurs seeing as they made Microraptor, Therizinosaurus, Deinocheirus, plus a bunch of miniatures. So why not make more?

[Elengassen]

I remain perplexed by the lack of dromaeosaurs, oviraptorosaurs, and ornithomimosaurs from PNSO. I'd love to just directly ask Zhao or someone else at the top what exactly the reasoning is behind that. They're obviously not afraid to tackle feathered dinosaurs seeing as they made Microraptor, Therizinosaurus, Deinocheirus, plus a bunch of miniatures. So why not make more?

To be fair, no company seems to like making any of those. Perhaps they don't sell that well.

[suspsy]

I remain perplexed by the lack of dromaeosaurs, oviraptorosaurs, and ornithomimosaurs from PNSO. I'd love to just directly ask Zhao or someone else at the top what exactly the reasoning is behind that. They're obviously not afraid to tackle feathered dinosaurs seeing as they made Microraptor, Therizinosaurus, Deinocheirus, plus a bunch of miniatures. So why not make more?

To be fair, no company seems to like making any of those. Perhaps they don't sell that well.

And yet in the past year, we've gotten Velociraptor from CollectA, Utahraptor from Safari, and Gallimimus from Schleich.

[Elengassen]

I remain perplexed by the lack of dromaeosaurs, oviraptorosaurs, and ornithomimosaurs from PNSO. I'd love to just directly ask Zhao or someone else at the top what exactly the reasoning is behind that. They're obviously not afraid to tackle feathered dinosaurs seeing as they made Microraptor, Therizinosaurus, Deinocheirus, plus a bunch of miniatures. So why not make more?

To be fair, no company seems to like making any of those. Perhaps they don't sell that well.

And yet in the past year, we've gotten Velociraptor from CollectA, Utahraptor from Safari, and Gallimimus from Schleich.

True, but if you take a broad look at most companies' offerings, there is a distinct paucity of these groups compared to other groups like ceratopsians, hadrosaurs, etc.

PNSO has only ever made one dromaeosaurid, one troodontid, one oviraptorosaur and one ornithomimosaur. Haolonggood has never made any of these. Safari have now retired all their oviraptorosaurs and their only ornithomimosaur, plus the Microraptor.

Sure, there are still some good (and not-so-good) figures of all the groups listed above, but when you look at overall numbers, it's hard not to conclude that they're relatively unpopular.

[JimoAi]

I hope that new PNSO Mosasaurus rumor is true.
I like the Collecta, but PNSO could make it even better.

Idk how it would be much different from the Tylosaurus figure. That's essentially Mosasaurus already.

I'm sorry what?!?!?!

[thomasw100]

I remain perplexed by the lack of dromaeosaurs, oviraptorosaurs, and ornithomimosaurs from PNSO. I'd love to just directly ask Zhao or someone else at the top what exactly the reasoning is behind that. They're obviously not afraid to tackle feathered dinosaurs seeing as they made Microraptor, Therizinosaurus, Deinocheirus, plus a bunch of miniatures. So why not make more?

To be fair, no company seems to like making any of those. Perhaps they don't sell that well.

And yet in the past year, we've gotten Velociraptor from CollectA, Utahraptor from Safari, and Gallimimus from Schleich.

True, but if you take a broad look at most companies' offerings, there is a distinct paucity of these groups compared to other groups like ceratopsians, hadrosaurs, etc.

PNSO has only ever made one dromaeosaurid, one troodontid, one oviraptorosaur and one ornithomimosaur. Haolonggood has never made any of these. Safari have now retired all their oviraptorosaurs and their only ornithomimosaur, plus the Microraptor.

Sure, there are still some good (and not-so-good) figures of all the groups listed above, but when you look at overall numbers, it's hard not to conclude that they're relatively unpopular.

One aspect is probably that sculpting feathers well is quite challenging, and producing feathered dinosaur figures from these sculpts that look good is also challenging. Much more difficult than figures with scaly surface.

[Elengassen]

One aspect is probably that sculpting feathers well is quite challenging, and producing feathered dinosaur figures from these sculpts that look good is also challenging. Much more difficult than figures with scaly surface.

I think PNSO have proven that they can do feathers very well with their Deinocheirus and Therizinosaurus. The feathered dinosaurs that Safari and Collecta have made also look pretty good for the most part, certainly in terms of texture. So I don't think this is a major factor.

I think one reason might be that the groups in question don't look all that distinct from each other, and so children picking them off a shelf might be less inclined to 'collect them all' as it were. If you are 6 and you have an Ornithomimus, do you really need a Struthiomimus? Let's be honest, even most adult collectors couldn't tell the two apart visually. I think this is also the reason why we rarely see any pachycephalosaurs that aren't Pachycephalosaurus. Of course the same is true for e.g. PNSO's carcharodontosaurids, but it seems the demand for megatheropods is high enough to offset this.

[Sim]

Dromaeosaurids tend to sell well.  Remember what a a massive success the Beasts of the Mesozoic raptor series was?  Additionally, the Wild Safari feathered Velociraptor and Deinonychus are some of Safari's best-sellers, Safari even made a post saying the Deinonychus was.

I remain perplexed by the lack of dromaeosaurs, oviraptorosaurs, and ornithomimosaurs from PNSO. I'd love to just directly ask Zhao or someone else at the top what exactly the reasoning is behind that. They're obviously not afraid to tackle feathered dinosaurs seeing as they made Microraptor, Therizinosaurus, Deinocheirus, plus a bunch of miniatures. So why not make more?

They made Yutyrannus as well.  I too am unsure why PNSO is prioritising more of the same (e.g. Tyrannotitan) and not making species from the groups listed above.  I would love more feathered dinosaurs from PNSO.

To be fair, no company seems to like making any of those. Perhaps they don't sell that well.

Creative Beast Studio and Safari have made many dromaeosaurids, prioritising them too.  Kaiyodo also re-issued their Deinonychus a couple of times (I would have much preferred a new sculpt for it though) and has made a number of dromaeosaurids.

True, but if you take a broad look at most companies' offerings, there is a distinct paucity of these groups compared to other groups like ceratopsians, hadrosaurs, etc.

What about cases where the opposite is true?  Safari currently has three dromaeosaurids in the Wild Safari line, but only two ceratopsians and one hadrosaurid, having retired all their other ones.  It's also important to remember how Creative Beast Studio has made so many dromaeosaurids.

I think PNSO have proven that they can do feathers very well with their Deinocheirus and Therizinosaurus. The feathered dinosaurs that Safari and Collecta have made also look pretty good for the most part, certainly in terms of texture. So I don't think this is a major factor.

I agree with this, and will add that Papo and Creative Beast Studio also do feathers well.  I do think that feathers are harder to sculpt than scales, but that a feathered dinosaur is as difficult to make as thyreophorans that aren't stegosaurians, with all their armour.  I think ultimately sculpting feathers (or armour) isn't an obstacle.

I think one reason might be that the groups in question don't look all that distinct from each other, and so children picking them off a shelf might be less inclined to 'collect them all' as it were. If you are 6 and you have an Ornithomimus, do you really need a Struthiomimus? Let's be honest, even most adult collectors couldn't tell the two apart visually. I think this is also the reason why we rarely see any pachycephalosaurs that aren't Pachycephalosaurus. Of course the same is true for e.g. PNSO's carcharodontosaurids, but it seems the demand for megatheropods is high enough to offset this.

I agree that ornithomimosaurs, oviraptorosaurs and troodontids tend to look alike, but dromaeosaurids definitely don't.  I agree pachycehpalosaurians do.

[suspsy]

*looks at the PNSO Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, Meraxes, Tyrannotitan, and Carcharodontosaurus.*

What was that again about ornithomimosaurs and dromaeosaurs looking too much alike?

[Turkeysaurus]

Most dinosaurs within family look like eachothers. I think releasing them all in a short time takes attetion to that.

[GojiraGuy1954]

I hope that new PNSO Mosasaurus rumor is true.
I like the Collecta, but PNSO could make it even better.

Idk how it would be much different from the Tylosaurus figure. That's essentially Mosasaurus already.

I'm sorry what?!?!?!

The PNSO Tylosaurus doesn't even have the "knob" on the snout that Tylosaurus is named for. It's also bulkier like Mosasaurus, rather than the sleeker Tylo.

[Elengassen]

Creative Beast Studio and Safari have made many dromaeosaurids, prioritising them too.  Kaiyodo also re-issued their Deinonychus a couple of times (I would have much preferred a new sculpt for it though) and has made a number of dromaeosaurids.

Safari has made the 'big 3' species in terms of name recognition, plus Microraptor which is now retired. They've never made any others AFAIK, except in the feathered dinos toob. Creative Beast is a different matter IMO, as they are pretty much only marketed to serious collectors. Kaiyodo makes all sorts of things that other companies rarely make (or they used to, at least  ).

What about cases where the opposite is true?  Safari currently has three dromaeosaurids in the Wild Safari line, but only two ceratopsians and one hadrosaurid, having retired all their other ones.  It's also important to remember how Creative Beast Studio has made so many dromaeosaurids.

That's a fair point. Sadly I am getting the feeling Safari isn't doing too well financially, which would explain why they've been retiring so many figures and been slow on releasing new ones. I would speculate part of the reason their dromaeosaurids are selling better is precisely because PNSO and HLG aren't making any. I do think that if PNSO or HLG made the popular dromaeosaur species, they would sell well.

I agree that ornithomimosaurs, oviraptorosaurs and troodontids tend to look alike, but dromaeosaurids definitely don't.  I agree pachycehpalosaurians do.

Some do have a distinctive appearance. But a lot of them do tend to look similar. If you put all the Creative Beast raptors in front of me and didn't tell me which was which, I doubt I'd be able to guess many correctly.

*looks at the PNSO Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, Meraxes, Tyrannotitan, and Carcharodontosaurus.*

What was that again about ornithomimosaurs and dromaeosaurs looking too much alike?

I did address this in my post. Also just to clarify, I'm not saying I wouldn't buy different species just because they look alike – I definitely would. However I do think this might be a factor for children or their parents when buying dinosaur toys.

[Sim]

Safari has made the 'big 3' species in terms of name recognition, plus Microraptor which is now retired. They've never made any others AFAIK, except in the feathered dinos toob.

Hopefully Safari will make more dromaeosaurids!  I think an unelagiine and Zhenyuanlong/Tianyuraptor would stand out!

That's a fair point. Sadly I am getting the feeling Safari isn't doing too well financially, which would explain why they've been retiring so many figures and been slow on releasing new ones. I would speculate part of the reason their dromaeosaurids are selling better is precisely because PNSO and HLG aren't making any. I do think that if PNSO or HLG made the popular dromaeosaur species, they would sell well.

Safari has said the reason their new releases are handled the way they are now is because their production of new figures is still affected by the coronavirus situation.  However I do remember that earlier on in the pandemic they encouraged customers to buy from them as they were negatively affected by the pandemic.  So maybe Safari isn't doing very well financially.  I hope not, they are my favourite company, but as you said there is things to suggest that.  I too think the popular dromaeosaurid species would sell well if PNSO or Haolonggood made them.  They don't know how well they would sell if they don't make them!

Some do have a distinctive appearance. But a lot of them do tend to look similar. If you put all the Creative Beast raptors in front of me and didn't tell me which was which, I doubt I'd be able to guess many correctly.

With regards to the Creative Beast dromaeosaurids, there are several factors to consider.  The ones with a known appearance are either closely-related velociraptorines (Velociraptor, Linheraptor, Tsaagan) or were not handled well with regards to shared vs unique parts that made them look generic (Saurornitholestes, Zhenyuanlong).  This is excluding the Microraptor and Buitreraptor, which look unique.  I'm also excluding the upcoming Deinonychus which looks unique, and Utahraptor and Achillobator which look like each other and probably did when they were alive.  The other dromaeosaurids (well, Achillobator too) are all known from fragmentary remains and so reconstructing them they end up looking quite generic, which isn't helped by the parts sharing making them look more like each other.
I would summarise the following as the main types of dromaeosaurids with regards to appearance:
1. Waterfowl-like: Halszkaraptor, Natovenator
2. Extremely long-snouted and long-armed: Buitreraptor
3. Almost spinosaurid-like long-snouted and tiny-armed: Austroraptor
4. Four-winged and short-snouted: Microraptor, Changyuraptor, Wulong
5. Probably four-winged and long-snouted: Sinornithosaurus
6. Short-snouted and long-legged: Zhenyuanlong/Tianyuraptor, Saurornitholestes/Bambiraptor, Dromaeosaurus, Daurlong
7. Extremely robust: Utahraptor, Achillobator
8. Intermediate between powerfully and lightly built: Deinonychus
9. Lighly built "shovel"-snouted: Velociraptor, Linheraptor, Tsaagan
So some do look like each other, but I think there's a lot of different "types" of dromaeosaurids, with the various types summarised above.

[Elengassen]

Hopefully Safari will make more dromaeosaurids!  I think an unelagiine and Zhenyuanlong/Tianyuraptor would stand out!
toob.

Would be cool, but I don't think they will for the reasons already mentioned.

I too think the popular dromaeosaurid species would sell well if PNSO or Haolonggood made them.  They don't know how well they would sell if they don't make them!

The only possible reason I can perceive that they haven't been making them is because of scale. HLG seems to be sticking religiously to 1:35 scale. PNSO are slightly less rigid, but they have also been sticking to around 1:25-1:35 scale. I think it's been several years since they released anything in a larger scale. This makes it very hard to do small animals.
That being said, there are still plenty of species they could make that would work well in this scale range (Gigantoraptor, Utahraptor, Gallimimus etc.) and I hope they eventually get around to doing them.

With regards to the Creative Beast dromaeosaurids, there are several factors to consider.  The ones with a known appearance are either closely-related velociraptorines (Velociraptor, Linheraptor, Tsaagan) or were not handled well with regards to shared vs unique parts that made them look generic (Saurornitholestes, Zhenyuanlong).  This is excluding the Microraptor and Buitreraptor, which look unique.  I'm also excluding the upcoming Deinonychus which looks unique, and Utahraptor and Achillobator which look like each other and probably did when they were alive.  The other dromaeosaurids (well, Achillobator too) are all known from fragmentary remains and so reconstructing them they end up looking quite generic, which isn't helped by the parts sharing making them look more like each other.
I would summarise the following as the main types of dromaeosaurids with regards to appearance:
1. Waterfowl-like: Halszkaraptor, Natovenator
2. Extremely long-snouted and long-armed: Buitreraptor
3. Almost spinosaurid-like long-snouted and tiny-armed: Austroraptor
4. Four-winged and short-snouted: Microraptor, Changyuraptor, Wulong
5. Probably four-winged and long-snouted: Sinornithosaurus
6. Short-snouted and long-legged: Zhenyuanlong/Tianyuraptor, Saurornitholestes/Bambiraptor, Dromaeosaurus, Daurlong
7. Extremely robust: Utahraptor, Achillobator
8. Intermediate between powerfully and lightly built: Deinonychus
9. Lighly built "shovel"-snouted: Velociraptor, Linheraptor, Tsaagan
So some do look like each other, but I think there's a lot of different "types" of dromaeosaurids, with the various types summarised above.

These are all valid points, but I still think many dromaeosaurs look relatively similar. They may have different proportions, snout shapes etc., but I don't think these are things that would be very noticeable to the casual dinosaur enthusiast, unlike e.g. ceratopsian headgear or hadrosaur crests that are markedly different.

I do think it's high time for Austroraptor and Halszkaraptor figures! To me they are among the most morphologically distinct and interesting dromaeosaurs.

[Joel1905]

It's quite simple. Size and scale are why certain groups of Dinosaurs aren't made into models much.

The exceptions being Pachycephalosaurus, Dinocheirus etc are exceptions because they're big enough to make into figures that are between 1:25-1:35.

Gallimimus was quite big though so I'm surprised there aren't more models of it.

[Turkeysaurus]

Just got my Tyrannotitan & Therizinosaurus. Both are amazing. Tyrannotitan is mostly purple, more than I expected. Also it has higher neural spines than mapu,giga,meraxes. It has small feet & they are near eachothers so it doesn't have good balance.

Paintjob & fine details are amazinghole another level. PNSO still on the throne. 

[Elengassen]

It's quite simple. Size and scale are why certain groups of Dinosaurs aren't made into models much.

The exceptions being Pachycephalosaurus, Dinocheirus etc are exceptions because they're big enough to make into figures that are between 1:25-1:35.

Gallimimus was quite big though so I'm surprised there aren't more models of it.

Ornithomimids are perhaps the least represented of all the groups in question (apart from maybe troodontids). However, Gallimimus is not only large but was in Jurassic Park, so you'd think more companies would have had a crack at it by now. I am genuinely surprised Collecta hasn't made it yet.

[Sim]

Ornithomimids are perhaps the least represented of all the groups in question (apart from maybe troodontids). However, Gallimimus is not only large but was in Jurassic Park, so you'd think more companies would have had a crack at it by now. I am genuinely surprised Collecta hasn't made it yet.

Regarding Gallimimus, it was once disclosed that there was reluctance to make it and Coelophysis due to how thin the animals are.  However, Coelophysis and Gallimimus have subsequently been made without having structural problems, so it appears that concern about thinness has been overcome.  I also remember Anthony Beeson of CollectA saying he prefers Struthiomimus being made to Gallimimus which is why they made that genus and not G.  I too am surprised there isn't a good Gallimimus figure though.
As for which groups are the leas represented, if you look at ornithomimosaurs as a whole, their representation is better than one might expect.  If you limit it to ornithomimids, then there's only two good figures by my count, the CollectA Horseshoe Canyon Struthiomimus and the Kaiyodo Struthiomimus sedens (labelled Ornithomimus).  These two Struthiomimus figures represent different species for those interested in that...  Troodontids have less satisfactory representation in my opinion, the only good figures of them being an action figure of a juvenile and the sleeping PNSO Mei.  I hate this, I wish there was a good "standard" troodontid figure.  I do think it would be good to have more satisfactory ornithomimosaur figures too though.

[Elengassen]

Regarding Gallimimus, it was once disclosed that there was reluctance to make it and Coelophysis due to how thin the animals are.  However, Coelophysis and Gallimimus have subsequently been made without having structural problems, so it appears that concern about thinness has been overcome.  I also remember Anthony Beeson of CollectA saying he prefers Struthiomimus being made to Gallimimus which is why they made that genus and not G.  I too am surprised there isn't a good Gallimimus figure though.
As for which groups are the leas represented, if you look at ornithomimosaurs as a whole, their representation is better than one might expect.  If you limit it to ornithomimids, then there's only two good figures by my count, the CollectA Horseshoe Canyon Struthiomimus and the Kaiyodo Struthiomimus sedens (labelled Ornithomimus).  These two Struthiomimus figures represent different species for those interested in that...  Troodontids have less satisfactory representation in my opinion, the only good figures of them being an action figure of a juvenile and the sleeping PNSO Mei.  I hate this, I wish there was a good "standard" troodontid figure.  I do think it would be good to have more satisfactory ornithomimosaur figures too though.

I still think ornithomimosaurs are poorly represented overall, unless they are Deinocheirus. I agree that they're better off than troodontids, though.

In addition to the ones you mentioned there is the Geoworld Troodon which isn't too bad (even if it is a ripoff of someone's artwork) and the WWD minifigure by Vivid, although I personally don't like that one.

There's also the 3D printed Stenonychosaurus that was available on the Wild Past website, which is significantly better than all the above. I'm aware that not everyone is into 3D prints though (and anyway it's sold out now, go figure  . I think I actually bought the last one.)

[Turkeysaurus]

Gallimimus was a 90's icon. Monica Lewinsky of Mesozoic.