PNSO : New for 2023

[thomasw100]

Maybe, Joel1905.  I love my sauropods and they aren't as commonly produced as theropods.  However, that said, even if conservatively coloured I'd like more hues than brown.  Not necessarily more hues on each animal, but each animal looking different in base colour from its fellows. There are other conservative colour palettes possible, e.g. based on grey. And despite my love of sauropods (and ornithischians), I still prefer to have a varied line-up.  Even if the end result is the same - for the sake of argument, let's say 5 tyrannosaurs, 5 diplodocids, 5 centrosaurines, and 5 alvarezsaurids over the space of a year - I would prefer them interspersed rather than released in discrete blocks.  There's a great deal in the saying "variety is the spice of life".

Yeah, variety is key. I've found this year's PNSO releases to date really monotonous. They're not just really similar to each other, they're also from very small clades that are already among the best-represented in the market.

To answer another question from up-thread, there's nothing so far in PNSO's lineup that I would vote for in a Top 10 poll. There's too much good stuff from CollectA, Safari Ltd, Haolonggood, Wild Past, and Creative Beast. (The latter is also mostly tyrannosaurs this year, but at least they have the excuse of parts-sharing.)

In 2021, PNSO had a really theropod-heavy first few months of the year, but then later in the year they put out a pretty interesting variety, to the point that they had the most diverse offerings of any company, by one metric. Maybe they'll manage something similar this year, but if the rumors and leaks are anything to go by, it doesn't look promising. Maybe the good stuff they released in late 2021 didn't sell well; maybe they cast their pearls before swine and the monotony of the current offerings isn't really their fault.

I would doubt that the diverse offerings of last year would not have sold well. People were quite enthusiastic about for example the Deinocheirus, the Lingwulong and the Styracosaurus. Also several other models have been very positively received. Now this year the products of Haolonggood are very well received. For example, I have only seen very excited comments about the Apatosaurus. So I am quite confident that any PNSO release of an interesting species would certainly be very much appreciated. But I believe that PNSO just works in a different way now. They have spent a few years now getting to the top position in the market and reaching probably the highest level of mass produced figures both in terms of sculpting and paintwork. They also created a large ecosystem around their products. Now they can produce what they actually want to produce because they think that these species should be represented as a model. They will anyway find enough people to buy them, as long as their models continue to be at their high level of quality.

[Lynx]

The Pinacosaurus, at least from one retailer, was a bestseller from PNSO of the entire year. I'd be shocked if products not selling well was the reason, but I don't know much about how 2022 went.

[Bread]

Were the variety in species we got towards the end of last year really selling that well?

Although I and others were enthusiastic for the variety of choices we got, but did they really sell well like therapods? Probably not. PNSO already stated that their new Cameron has sold quite well, which leads me to think therapods just have better income than the variety of herbivores we could get. This isn't even putting into the account of prices per piece.

The Pinacosaurus, at least from one retailer, was a bestseller from PNSO of the entire year. I'd be shocked if products not selling well was the reason, but I don't know much about how 2022 went.

What retailer was this? I knew this model had started at a $30 pricepoint for such a little figure.

[Lynx]

Were the variety in species we got towards the end of last year really selling that well?

Although I and others were enthusiastic for the variety of choices we got, but did they really sell well like therapods? Probably not. PNSO already stated that their new Cameron has sold quite well, which leads me to think therapods just have better income than the variety of herbivores we could get. This isn't even putting into the account of prices per piece.

The Pinacosaurus, at least from one retailer, was a bestseller from PNSO of the entire year. I'd be shocked if products not selling well was the reason, but I don't know much about how 2022 went.

What retailer was this? I knew this model had started at a $30 pricepoint for such a little figure.

I recall it being Happy Hen, but I'll have to check.

[Lynx]

I was mistaken, but it was still second to only Wilson, which is extremely impressive. https://www.happyhentoys.com/top-ten-pnso-dinosaurs-2021.html

[TheImmortalEye]

Suprised the pinacosaurus sells this well , its small , paintjob in hand is weaker, and its pricier than borealopelta and sauropelta but hey must have some reason

[Joel1905]

Anyone else think that it's a double standard that Creative Beast can release 10 members of the same family at once and nobody complains, but when PNSO do something similar, people throw the toys out their pram?

[Dusty Wren]

Creative Beast releases their figures in family groups so that the figures can share parts, bringing the overall cost of the figures down. It's an essential cost-saving measure for a start-up toy company. David's very open about that.

Part sharing isn't a concern for PNSO, and in previous years their lineups have been a lot more diverse than this. I'm not mad about all the theropods, just bored, but comparing these two companies is disingenuous because they have different business models.

[Gwangi]

Suprised the pinacosaurus sells this well , its small , paintjob in hand is weaker, and its pricier than borealopelta and sauropelta but hey must have some reason

It's because it is a Pinacosaurus, and I believe it's the only figure of one. We have other, arguably better options for Borealopelta and Sauropelta.

[Bread]

Suprised the pinacosaurus sells this well , its small , paintjob in hand is weaker, and its pricier than borealopelta and sauropelta but hey must have some reason

It's because it is a Pinacosaurus, and I believe it's the only figure of one. We have other, arguably better options for Borealopelta and Sauropelta.

This is probably the reason for such a popular model. You'd think PNSO would take this as a note...
Edit: Regarding herbivores, not therapods!

[Kaustav Bhattacharyya]

Yes!!! I want a Tyrannotitan..a carnosaur I like most. If they recast their Daspletosaurus in future, my favourite tyrannosaur apart from T. rex, I want them to make it a sturdy looking. It was really a heavily built theropod, a small version of T.rex. I don't like the Albertosaurine and most likely the juvenile vibes in the figure.

[dragon53]

[dragon53]

[SRF]

Today I finally received Cameron. Definitely a big improvement over Wilson and for me the best theropod model from PNSO in my collection thus far. Very happy with him.

Also, the teeth on mine are very carefully painted it seems, no bleeding. The way Wilson's teeth are painted is still better, but Cameron's teeth and mouth are much better painted than that of the Zhuchengtyrannus.

[Halichoeres]

I was mistaken, but it was still second to only Wilson, which is extremely impressive. https://www.happyhentoys.com/top-ten-pnso-dinosaurs-2021.html

It's great that Pinacosaurus sold well. Then again, Wilson was the best seller, which it never warranted given the many options for T. rex. And I get the impression that Helicoprion, Livyatan, and Cretoxyrhina, for example, did not sell terribly well.

Anyway, so far we're at ten theropods in a row and counting, so I propose a new acrostic for PNSO:

[postsaurischian]

 Sorry, but I'm getting a bit tired of the nagging . We all now know that some here don't like what PNSO is currently doing.
 I for one am enjoying their figures and I would say most of them are outstandingly good looking .
 Can't wait to see what's coming after the tyrannosaurids!

[mgaguilar]

Sorry, but I'm getting a bit tired of the nagging . We all now know that some here don't like what PNSO is currently doing.
 I for one am enjoying their figures and I would say most of them are outstandingly good looking .
 Can't wait to see what's coming after the tyrannosaurids!

I agree. I understand we all have differing opinions but man. This just gets me so excited for the next few years of PNSO. Imagine if they decide to just flush out an entire year's worth of sauropods, or ceratopsians, similar to what they did with Tyrannosaurs and other theropods this year. Not to mention they've barely touched raptors at all right?

[Faelrin]

@mgaguilar The only dromaeosaurid they've done at all so far was the Microraptor (small and big), which was sculpted in their earlier years. So there's plenty they could do if they had any particular interest in doing so.

That said I'm pretty satisfied with the current options through both Safari Ltd and BotM. I'm very particular about my feathered dromaeosaurids, especially when it comes to getting the wing anatomy/feather placement right. Despite the Deinocheirus from last year being one of my favorite figures from them period, I'm still unsure about if the wing anatomy is correct or not. I couldn't access the papers (paywalled) on the feathered Ornithomimus specimens to know what the feather attachment was like, etc. I went into my concerns in my recently posted review of the figure.

I know folks have chimed in about the (2020) Microraptor's incorrect wing anatomy in the past, and many of PNSO's (older) artworks of dromaeosaurids (Zhenyuanlong for example) also had incorrect wing anatomy. PNSO does seem to do diligent research on integument and skeletal remains with their recent figures for the most part, so I would expect them to get the wing anatomy correct on any potential future dromaeosaurid models hopefully.

[Leyster]

@Faelrin point is that many authors where quite skeptical on them being pennaceous feathers at all https://theropoda.blogspot.com/2012/10/cautela-sui-rachidi-ornithomimidi.html http://theropoddatabase.blogspot.com/2012/10/did-dromiceiomimus-really-have-long.html

[Psittacoraptor]

Sorry, but I'm getting a bit tired of the nagging . We all now know that some here don't like what PNSO is currently doing.
 I for one am enjoying their figures and I would say most of them are outstandingly good looking .
 Can't wait to see what's coming after the tyrannosaurids!

PNSO knows their sale numbers. Theropods are probably selling best, that's why they keep making them. Didn't they almost go bankrupt a couple of years ago? I don't blame them for sticking to what makes them money, they are a business, after all. If anything, I think their release schedule is a reminder that enthusiasts like us on this forum are probably the minority. Most people who buy dinosaur figures want those flesh-eating theropods with open mouths and sharp teeth.