PNSO: New For 2021

[suspsy]

That's a really nice bull. Would look perfect in a Western-themed den, even if aurochs never made it to North America!

[Bread]

I find it odd that PNSO are producing so many of these bronze statues. Is the demand really that high? Also, this is probably going to be one of their weaker sellers, I am assuming.

[SRF]

I find it odd that PNSO are producing so many of these bronze statues. Is the demand really that high? Also, this is probably going to be one of their weaker sellers, I am assuming.

The Chinese market for dinosaur models and statues is probably a lot different from Europe and the USA, so I'm not sure how high the demand for these statues is. But since most of these are sold in China (only 20 of the 99 statues of that bull are going to be sold in the rest of the world) there's probably a market for it out there. And since it the year of the bull in China, this one is probably targeted to the Chinese market more than to western markets.

[Bread]

I find it odd that PNSO are producing so many of these bronze statues. Is the demand really that high? Also, this is probably going to be one of their weaker sellers, I am assuming.

The Chinese market for dinosaur models and statues is probably a lot different from Europa and the USA, so I'm not sure how hight the demand for these statues is. But since most of these are sold in China (only 20 of the 99 statues of that bull are going to be sold in the rest of the world) there's probably a market for it out there. And since it the year of the bull in China, this one is probably targeted to the Chinese market more than to western markets.

Yeah, you are most likely right. My assumption also came from the opinions said about these when the first few statues appeared on the forum. Most of us being from U.S or Europe.

[Faelrin]

I really hope they do a PVC version of this (if not more prehistoric mammals). This looks so fantastic. The Aurochs is also lacking in figures too across the board.


Edit: Well it didn't hurt to ask them over on instagram if they could do a PVC version of this.

[Thialfi]

Maaaaan that aurochs is amazing and further proof that PNSO should really go for a bunch of prehistoric mammals in 1:20 scale!

[SRF]

The first review of the Allosaurus is now up on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7oOcQBQsZw

I'm getting mixed feelings with this one. I don't really like the darker head and the sloppiness of the paint on the teeth is a let down for me.

EDIT: Oh and I really don't like the dark blue eyes. They seem a bit unnatural if you ask me. The lighter blue eyes of the Para and Pachy are more pleasing to look at. But blue eyes on a predator, I still find it a weird feature.

[KeU]

DinosDragons always do a good job on his reviews.
Love his discussions on accuracy as well.
The sculpt as usual is really good.
And the pose looks natural, unlike the Safari figure.
It always reminds me of someone taking an extra wide stride to avoid a Lego piece on the floor.
PNSO's paint application is still bad, especially for the price.
But since I only have the PAPO Allosaurus, I will probably still pick Paul up and do some paint touch ups myself.

[SidB]

For myself, the paint application, while not optimum, is quite okay or better, except for the errors on and around the teeth, which can easy be rectified without undue problems. The absence of the large thumb IS puzzling. Nevertheless, a must have for me.

[suspsy]

I would totally buy a PVC version of Hoffman. I can't recall the last time I saw a toy of an extinct bovid.

And yes, PNSO really should branch out into Cenozoic beasts. Maybe I could finally get the Platybelodon or the Arctotherium toy I've been dreaming of for so long!

[Shadowknight1]

The first review of the Allosaurus is now up on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7oOcQBQsZw

I'm getting mixed feelings with this one. I don't really like the darker head and the sloppiness of the paint on the teeth is a let down for me.

EDIT: Oh and I really don't like the dark blue eyes. They seem a bit unnatural if you ask me. The lighter blue eyes of the Para and Pachy are more pleasing to look at. But blue eyes on a predator, I still find it a weird feature.

Honestly, I like the darker head.  The paint of the teeth is a bit disappointing, but since I won't be looking right up close to them often, I doubt I'd notice.  And why are blue eyes on predators weird?  There are extant predatory animals with blue eyes.

[Flaffy]

As reviews are popping up for the Allosaurus, I feel like we can now make a more accurate judgement of the figure's identity.

Previous analyses haven't taken skull width into account.
A. jimmadseni's skull was comparatively narrow.


While A. fragilis was far more robust. (A. fragilis by mithoskuu on deviantart.)


"Comparison of the nasals of Allosaurus. Nasals of Allosaurus jimmadseni including: MOR 693 (A), DINO 11541 (B), and SMA 0005 (C) in oblique and dorsal views illustrating the pinched nature of the nasal crest along the lateral margin of the nasal. Jugals of Allosaurus fragilis from USNM 4734 (D) and DINO 2560 (E). Photos by Mark Loewen."



Here's the PNSO Allosaurus's skull width from Dino Scream Reviews (image 1). IMO it's far too wide for any specimen of A. jimmadseni. And from DinosDragons' review, the skull seems to match up with DINO 2560 (image 2), an A. fragilis specimen.




So in conclusion, there is a basis for PNSO's claim that this sculpt is A. fragilis. Though for me, as the figure includes features from both species of allosaurus in question, I'm inclined to simply identify the sculpt as A. sp.

[Leyster]

Here's the PNSO Allosaurus's skull width from Dino Scream Reviews (image 1). IMO it's far too wide for any specimen of A. jimmadseni. And from DinosDragons' review, the skull seems to match up with DINO 2560 (image 2), an A. fragilis specimen.

The distinctive character of A.fragilis is how the jugal flails out. In the picture you posted above, the fossil obscures the head of the PNSO model. When I tried to fit DINO 2560 into the PNSO model, the jugal simply doesn't fit. And this without even accounting soft tissues.

Safari's model is based on DINO 2560 and you can see how the jugal flails out.

Also you have to keep in mind compression. SMA 0005, in example, is not as narrow as MOR 693

[SRF]

The first review of the Allosaurus is now up on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7oOcQBQsZw

I'm getting mixed feelings with this one. I don't really like the darker head and the sloppiness of the paint on the teeth is a let down for me.

EDIT: Oh and I really don't like the dark blue eyes. They seem a bit unnatural if you ask me. The lighter blue eyes of the Para and Pachy are more pleasing to look at. But blue eyes on a predator, I still find it a weird feature.

Honestly, I like the darker head.  The paint of the teeth is a bit disappointing, but since I won't be looking right up close to them often, I doubt I'd notice.  And why are blue eyes on predators weird?  There are extant predatory animals with blue eyes.

Well first of all it's mostly how dark the eyes turned out. Could be a lighting issue in the video from DinosDragons, since in DinoScreams review coloration of the whole model looks actually a lot nicer to me. And his model isn't as sloppy painted around the teeth as well.

Still, blue eyes on a predatory dinosaur wouldn't be my first choice, especially in combination with the dark colours of Paul's head. It's a matter of personal taste perhaps, but the lighter blue eyes on the lighter coloured head of the prototype were looking much better to me. If I'm correct, in the natural world light blue eyes are more common on extant predators with a light colour skin or fur as well.

[Concavenator]

I find it amusing how everyone is discussing whether it is A.jimmadseni or A.fragilis and no mention of A.lucasi which also lived in North America. I think this species just gets forgotten, as it was described in 2014. Not saying this model represents A.lucasi, just  as a reminder that A.fragilis and A.jimmadseni are not the only species of the genus. And there's also A.europaeus, from Portugal, which the Mesozoo figure is based on. Since Allosaurus is my favorite dinosaur of all time, I of course had to know all this!

[John]

I find it amusing how everyone is discussing whether it is A.jimmadseni or A.fragilis and no mention of A.lucasi which also lived in North America. I think this species just gets forgotten, as it was described in 2014. Not saying this model represents A.lucasi, just  as a reminder that A.fragilis and A.jimmadseni are not the only species of the genus. And there's also A.europaeus, from Portugal, which the Mesozoo figure is based on. Since Allosaurus is my favorite dinosaur of all time, I of course had to know all this!

Regardless of all that "discussion",the model has long been confirmed by PNSO to be Allosaurus fragilis.

[Flaffy]

I find it amusing how everyone is discussing whether it is A.jimmadseni or A.fragilis and no mention of A.lucasi which also lived in North America. I think this species just gets forgotten, as it was described in 2014. Not saying this model represents A.lucasi, just  as a reminder that A.fragilis and A.jimmadseni are not the only species of the genus. And there's also A.europaeus, from Portugal, which the Mesozoo figure is based on. Since Allosaurus is my favorite dinosaur of all time, I of course had to know all this!

From Wikipedia: "Daniel Chure and Mark Loewen in 2020 only recognized the species A. fragilis, A. europaeus, and the newly-named A. jimmadseni as being valid species."

So I guess it really depends on whether or not you agree with the conclusions of the new 2020 paper.

Regardless of all that "discussion",the model has long been confirmed by PNSO to be Allosaurus fragilis.

I've noticed your previous edits, why the hostile tone? In the end it's a harmless discussion.

[Concavenator]

I find it amusing how everyone is discussing whether it is A.jimmadseni or A.fragilis and no mention of A.lucasi which also lived in North America. I think this species just gets forgotten, as it was described in 2014. Not saying this model represents A.lucasi, just  as a reminder that A.fragilis and A.jimmadseni are not the only species of the genus. And there's also A.europaeus, from Portugal, which the Mesozoo figure is based on. Since Allosaurus is my favorite dinosaur of all time, I of course had to know all this!

I find it amusing that there is even any discussion at all about what species is represented.
The model has already been positively identified by PNSO as Allosaurus fragilis.I'm sure they know what their own sculptors are doing for them...

With all due respect, just because a random PNSO employee answers A.fragilis (and they said that when someone asked, the model itself is simply called "Allosaurus") doesn't mean much to me, to be honest. I think they said that because A.fragilis is the most famous species, and they would be like: now that someone asks, we'll say it's the most popular species.

All this situation reminds me when the CollectA Microraptor was announced, and they omitted the pair of tail twin feathers, and when someone asked, CollectA themselves replied (on social media) that "it was their interpretation". They ended up adding the pair of tail feathers afterwards.

Someone could make an Iguanodon model and positively identify it as a Spinosaurus. In that case, would it be an Iguanodon or a Spinosaurus?

[SRF]

I find it amusing how everyone is discussing whether it is A.jimmadseni or A.fragilis and no mention of A.lucasi which also lived in North America. I think this species just gets forgotten, as it was described in 2014. Not saying this model represents A.lucasi, just  as a reminder that A.fragilis and A.jimmadseni are not the only species of the genus. And there's also A.europaeus, from Portugal, which the Mesozoo figure is based on. Since Allosaurus is my favorite dinosaur of all time, I of course had to know all this!

I find it amusing that there is even any discussion at all about what species is represented.
The model has already been positively identified by PNSO as Allosaurus fragilis.I'm sure they know what their own sculptors are doing for them...

With all due respect, just because a random PNSO employee answers A.fragilis (and they said that when someone asked, the model itself is simply called "Allosaurus") doesn't mean much to me, to be honest. I think they said that because A.fragilis is the most famous species, and they would be like: now that someone asks, we'll say it's the most popular species.

All this situation reminds me when the CollectA Microraptor was announced, and they omitted the pair of tail twin feathers, and when someone asked, CollectA themselves replied (on social media) that "it was their interpretation". They ended up adding the pair of tail feathers afterwards.

Someone could make an Iguanodon model and positively identify it as a Spinosaurus. In that case, would it be an Iguanodon or a Spinosaurus?

It's the same with models being stated as 1:35 scale when they are obviously not in that scale range. Since 1:35 is probably the most popular to collect, when asked they will just mention it is indeed in that scale.

[Flaffy]

With all due respect, just because a random PNSO employee answers A.fragilis (and they said that when someone asked, the model itself is simply called "Allosaurus") doesn't mean much to me, to be honest. I think they said that because A.fragilis is the most famous species, and they would be like: now that someone asks, we'll say it's the most popular species.

I agree. While answers from a PR representative of the company may be of use in species identification, I personally do not believe it must therefore be absolute. What can be taken as absolute however is if we somehow managed to contact the sculptor directly, and acquired their perspective on the matter, e.g. how we often ask Mr Watson about size and scale of his sculpts for Safari ltd.

Moreover:

I'm sure they know what their own sculptors are doing for them...

How can you be 100% sure that the PR employee running the instagram account is directly relaying information from the sculptor?
PNSO is not a small company, and I remember reading somewhere that Zhao Chuang does not personally sculpt every single figure for the PVC line in the first place.

Someone could make an Iguanodon model and positively identify it as a Spinosaurus. In that case, would it be an Iguanodon or a Spinosaurus?

I'm sure everyone remembers this