SHOWANNA - New for 2025

[Carnoking]

Not bad but nothing so fantastic that I absolutely need it

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

"Lethal bananas" rather than blades?

Though tyrannosaur teeth are more thick they should still have somewhat of a point on them. "globular" in appearence means they look rounded off and ill defined.

If that's the production model I'm a bit disappointed. The teeth on the upper jaw are pretty globular and the paint is nowhere near as nice as the original concept.  I know sharp teeth are possible, Nanmu manages it.  We shouldn't have to worry about poorly designed teeth anymore when even Mattel makes it work.

Maybe earlier photos were from a resin statue.

PNSO has similar teeth for theropods. I don't have Haolonggood theropods but Rebor has great teeth.

I'd say it was a resin piece but there isn't a reason really why they couldn't fix it on a 70.00 model. They could have cast them separately and glued them in. The teeth paint also looks to continue past the gums?   Yeah Rebor also manages it quite well.  I've often wondered why PNSO can't when the rest of the model is so well detailed. Just look at the beak on their newest ceratopsian.

Not bad but nothing so fantastic that I absolutely need it

Unfortunately this is my opinion now..may look into canceling it. 70.00 for just ok and the shipping and possible tariff fees are probably going to make it a 100 or so.   It's a shame as I was hoping for a nice range of Showanna models that were affordable. I have a couple of their larger resins that are really great.

[Joliezac]

Not bad but nothing so fantastic that I absolutely need it

Same for me. I'm trying to decide between HLG's 2.0 rex or Eofaunas, or if I should skip both.

[Turkeysaurus]

I wonder if it's jaws can fully close. It seems like it has higher quality sculp & paintjob than Haolonggood. Haolonggood most likely will be quite cheaper but this one also has a small base.

[Turkeysaurus]

Not bad but nothing so fantastic that I absolutely need it

Same for me. I'm trying to decide between HLG's 2.0 rex or Eofaunas, or if I should skip both.

I'll wait at least until 2026. Maybe PNSO or somebody else might come up with another T.rex model.

[Flaffy]

Suffering from early PNSO syndrome... having too good promo pics!

The final model is more or less what I expected for a mass produced PVC model. Just wish they didn't raise expectations so high by having non-representative promotional material. At $70 it's still cheaper than the totally-not-overpriced PNSO 'Cameron', which was a whopping $75.

[Over9K]

If that's the production model I'm a bit disappointed. The teeth on the upper jaw are pretty globular and the paint is nowhere near as nice as the original concept.  I know sharp teeth are possible, Nanmu manages it.  We shouldn't have to worry about poorly designed teeth anymore when even Mattel makes it work.

Maybe earlier photos were from a resin statue.

PNSO has similar teeth for theropods. I don't have Haolonggood theropods but Rebor has great teeth.

REBOR and Nanmu use separate ABS teeth, while PNSO/HLG mold the teeth along with the skull and jaw. I was hoping at this price point Showanna would use REBOR/Nanmu-style teeth.

And the promo photos are the PVC figure prototype, note the jaw articulation, which the resin statues do not have.

[SidB]

"Lethal bananas" rather than blades?

Though tyrannosaur teeth are more thick they should still have somewhat of a point on them. "globular" in appearence means they look rounded off and ill defined.

If that's the production model I'm a bit disappointed. The teeth on the upper jaw are pretty globular and the paint is nowhere near as nice as the original concept.  I know sharp teeth are possible, Nanmu manages it.  We shouldn't have to worry about poorly designed teeth anymore when even Mattel makes it work.

Maybe earlier photos were from a resin statue.

PNSO has similar teeth for theropods. I don't have Haolonggood theropods but Rebor has great teeth.

I'd say it was a resin piece but there isn't a reason really why they couldn't fix it on a 70.00 model. They could have cast them separately and glued them in. The teeth paint also looks to continue past the gums?   Yeah Rebor also manages it quite well.  I've often wondered why PNSO can't when the rest of the model is so well detailed. Just look at the beak on their newest ceratopsian.

Not bad but nothing so fantastic that I absolutely need it

Unfortunately this is my opinion now..may look into canceling it. 70.00 for just ok and the shipping and possible tariff fees are probably going to make it a 100 or so.   It's a shame as I was hoping for a nice range of Showanna models that were affordable. I have a couple of their larger resins that are really great.

Well, I have one on pre-order. Hope that  it looks more like the initial pics. I'm not a fan of excessively rounded off teeth. I've never cancelled a pre-order and I'm still leaning towards "hoping for the best" or at least, good enough.

[Pliosaurking]

Too bad the dip from the promotion pics. I'll still wait to see more in hand photos to decide if I'll get one or not.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I should learn to be more cautious, especially with preorders. This is their first figure as well. They have a lot of chances for improvement later if they continue.

[Turkeysaurus]

I like it a lot , it looks comparable to PNSO Cameron imo.

[Halichoeres]

Yeah, that's a skip. I'll be interested to see what else they put out, though.

[Concavenator]

Both this and the new HLG appear to be pretty good, but I'd still rank Eofauna's over them. I'm not sure whether to get Eofauna's or wait for PNSO's lipped one.

[SidB]

Both this and the new HLG appear to be pretty good, but I'd still rank Eofauna's over them. I'm not sure whether to get Eofauna's or wait for PNSO's lipped one.

I have both Cameron, with it's hefty price, onto which I had Bravo Models add lips (which with shipping really added a substantial amount), but now is as perfect as I can imagine a rex can be, given our state of knowledge, and also Eofauna's Sue. Sue was an outstanding value for the price. I really like the unique paint work too. But two issues emerged. First, the seam at the back of her skull (excluding the jaw articulation, which is fine). I got a local artist to expertly hide and integrate the seam foe a mere 20 dollars Canadian. It's now perfect. The other is the rounding off of the teeth. A bit annoying, but I overlook it because of the price point. All told, it's a superb figure. The better one - the modified, lipped PNSO (but the total price was a formidable commitment. So, the Eofauna does represent a better value. Would a properly lipped, factory made PNSO rex be a miiddle road? Probably.

[Turkeysaurus]

Both this and the new HLG appear to be pretty good, but I'd still rank Eofauna's over them. I'm not sure whether to get Eofauna's or wait for PNSO's lipped one.

Eofauna doesn't have same fine detail & paintwork of PNSO, Haolonggood, Showanna though. Also I read somebody knowledgeable think it's muscles are wrong , it's too mammalian and not reptilian type of musculature , PNSO better at that. This person works on 3d models of Sue for a paleontologist that will publish some papers this year , probably.

I have it and i still love it though because it was more or less 30 dollars.

PNSO might do half or full lipped :

[Sim]

Frankly, I think the Showanna Tyrannosaurus doesn't have fine detail, it lacks detail.  I hate its pose too.  And I think the Tyrannosaurus with mammal musculature is REBOR's.

[Concavenator]

S @SidB Cameron is certainly a great Tyrannosaurus, but lack of lips is a dealbreaker for me, even more so with this particular genus. Add to that its, as you pointed out, real hefty price point, and I saw no reason to get it, also considering PNSO will inevitably be making their own lipped Tyrannosaurus (which has already been confirmed and we've even seen renders of it). Still a solid addition to those who get > 1 figures per genus, and/or those who are not bothered by its lack of lips/are willing to commission it getting lips added, as you did.

@Turkeysaurus Ever since they started releasing PVC figures, Eofauna has been my favorite company, if they make a figure of a species I'm interested in, I'd choose them over PNSO/Haolonggood/etc for the same animal. That said, I have a have a few quirks with their Tyrannosaurus in particular. I'm not a big fan of the color scheme (kind of shocking, because Andrey Atuchin designed it, and I usually really like his color choices). Had there been another variant, I'd probably get it. Add to that the ventriloquist-like jaw articulation^*, the big seam line, the lack of an acrylic rod (and maybe the dewclaws being placed too high, as @Sim pointed out), and I'm not sure it's for me. It's still a great figure (well, IMO, currently the best Tyrannosaurus figure). I don't even think that a lipped PNSO version would be better than Eofauna's (as a depiction of the animal, as a figure, perhaps) so to speak, but I might find it nicer than Eofauna's.

Considering Tyrannosaurus is Tyrannosaurus and there will always be new figures of it, I can be absurdly picky with this particular genus. And I have no problem waiting, since it's not that I am in a rush to get a Tyrannosaurus figure (albeit I'd still like to eventually add one to the collection).

If PNSO makes a half-lipped T. rex, that'll be another skip for me, just like this Showanna and the new HLG. If PNSO makes a fully-lipped one, as seen in the 2nd pic, I think I'd get it. It'll probably be a Museum Line figure, meaning it'll have that hefty inflated price tag, but I bet I'll be satisfied with it so as not to replace it afterwards (for the time being anyways).

^* Not that I have any objective issue with that. Eofauna provided their reasoning behind that, I just find it ugly.

And I think the Tyrannosaurus with mammal musculature is REBOR's.

Indeed, IIRC, it was L @Leyster who explained that.

[Turkeysaurus]

Frankly, I think the Showanna Tyrannosaurus doesn't have fine detail, it lacks detail.  I hate its pose too.  And I think the Tyrannosaurus with mammal musculature is REBOR's.

Indeed, IIRC, it was L @Leyster who explained that.
[/quote]

No, not somebody here and not for Rebor's Kiss. I read it on discord, somebody who is working on Sue's 3d skeletal scanning for a scientific paper wrote it. 

I think it's the painting makes scales look rougher than it should. For those who only collect new PNSO, Haolonggood , W-Dragon or REBOR models, there is a paint quality drop off with Eofauna. That's something collectors must think before buy it.

[Concavenator]

No, not somebody here and not for Rebor's Kiss.

IDK about Eofauna's Tyrannosaurus, but just for the record, Rebor's Tyrannosaurus' musculature is wrong. Here you can read why.

[Dino_W]

Rebor's musculature is probably worse than Eofauna's, as the musculature is visibly mammalian on the figure. With Eofauna, the issues are more visible on the muscular reconstruction images that Eofauna posted.

One that is apparent on the Eofauna figure itself that the researcher took issue with was the placement of the pterygoid muscles, which led to the jowls seen on Eofauna's rex. Eofauna seemingly reconstructed Sue with pterygoid muscles externally wrapped over the lower jaw rather than internally because they had difficulty fitting the muscles within the mouth. Other in depth muscular reconstructions have had no problems with internal pterygoid muscles, which is what is seen on extant archosaurs.

Overall I'm not knowledgeable enough to make any confident statements myself, but the researcher in question specializes in theropods. Additionally, he is working closely with, as well as being directly advised by, Eric Snively who is one of the world's foremost experts on theropod biomechanics.

Also side note, am I the only one who thinks that the half lipped model makes more sense than the full lipped? Maybe I'm missing some research, but it seems the half lipped model would nicely align with the lower jaw being so much shorter and narrower than the upper. A full lipped model requires the animal's mouth to have an insane amount of unsupported soft tissue which nearly doubles the width of the lower jaw.