PNSO: New For 2021

[Faelrin]

B @bone crusher Well there is the Mesozoic Life one, if it can successfully get out there. Need to wait and see where it goes from here however.

Of the three you mentioned the GR Toys has the updated tail but anatomical issues such as the feet and head, etc. PNSO's 2019 one has four digits, shrinkwrapping, and other proportion issues aside predating the tail info. Papo's 2019 has some issues with the feet, teeth, and obviously the tail. Safari Ltd's is okay but small, is shrinkwrapped and gets the feet wrong. PNSO's 2020 one is about a 1/35 scale version of the FSAC-KK 11888 specimen, but has an outdated posture and maybe other issues (head?).

[bone crusher]

OK thanks guys, looks like I'll probably wait a bit longer for the definitive Spino then. But man if it's not for the short neck and tail of Papo's I would definitely go for that one since I really like its bulk, paint app and dynamic pose.

[Stegotyranno420]

So I'm on the hunt for a fully gown version of a scientific accurate Spinosaurus, kinda torn between Essien 2019, Pappo and GR Toys. Which would you say is the most definitive Spino right now?

I will be torn between papo and gr. The papo got proper bulk and better frontal proportions, whilst the gr one is better with the legs and tail, and while it is not shrink wrapped, it is very skinny. Not sure about the actual spine. While the GR has the better tail, I honestly will go for the papo, mainly because it got the bulk, and it kind of "predicted" the new tail, even though its inaccurate. Correct me if I'm wrong but the papo tail is more like a short tail with a thin fin rather than a big beefy tail which is what you see on recent depictions. Honestly , now with mesozoic lifestyle out. I believe that's the best one out there. Hopefully the team can get it to Amazon prime

[microraptorgui]

Hey guys,

How do you all buy PNSO models? Do you pay full price? Get them on ebay for a reduced price? Some other method? I have a hard time shelling out the cash for $60+ models, though they are quite nice. If you all have a way to get them cheaper, I'd love to hear about it!

[Flaffy]

Hey guys,

How do you all buy PNSO models? Do you pay full price? Get them on ebay for a reduced price? Some other method? I have a hard time shelling out the cash for $60+ models, though they are quite nice. If you all have a way to get them cheaper, I'd love to hear about it!

I've heard a lot of people use Alexipress, which is sometimes slightly cheaper than Amazon. But if you want to access the mainland China prices, commissioning a proxy service  to help you order on chinese websites like TaoBao and Tmall.

[sauroid]

yes getting stuff directly from China sellers is way cheaper. the Nano i got for only $20 and the Torvo, Tarbo and Carcharo at around $30 each (all incl shipping)

[Prehistory Resurrection]

Nice Dunkleosteus figure to go along with the ones from Favorite Co., Safari Ltd, Schleich, Mojo and CollectA. It's honestly hard to choose one among these.

[microraptorgui]

Hey guys,

How do you all buy PNSO models? Do you pay full price? Get them on ebay for a reduced price? Some other method? I have a hard time shelling out the cash for $60+ models, though they are quite nice. If you all have a way to get them cheaper, I'd love to hear about it!

I've heard a lot of people use Alexipress, which is sometimes slightly cheaper than Amazon. But if you want to access the mainland China prices, commissioning a proxy service  to help you order on chinese websites like TaoBao and Tmall.

Thanks for the reply! I just took a look at those two websites. How do you commission a proxy service to order on them?

[microraptorgui]

yes getting stuff directly from China sellers is way cheaper. the Nano i got for only $20 and the Torvo, Tarbo and Carcharo at around $30 each (all incl shipping)

Wow, that's awesome! How do you get stuff directly from China sellers?

[sauroid]

yes getting stuff directly from China sellers is way cheaper. the Nano i got for only $20 and the Torvo, Tarbo and Carcharo at around $30 each (all incl shipping)

Wow, that's awesome! How do you get stuff directly from China sellers?

i live in East Asia so Chinese sellers are accessible via AliExpress/Taobao/other platforms

[Flaffy]

Hey guys,

How do you all buy PNSO models? Do you pay full price? Get them on ebay for a reduced price? Some other method? I have a hard time shelling out the cash for $60+ models, though they are quite nice. If you all have a way to get them cheaper, I'd love to hear about it!

I've heard a lot of people use Alexipress, which is sometimes slightly cheaper than Amazon. But if you want to access the mainland China prices, commissioning a proxy service  to help you order on chinese websites like TaoBao and Tmall.

Thanks for the reply! I just took a look at those two websites. How do you commission a proxy service to order on them?

The agent I've used myself is Superbuy for something on Xianyu. Not the cheapest in terms of fees to my knowledge, but pretty reliable. Of course, services like Superbuy are only necessary if you don't know how to use sites like TaoBao itself.

I'm bad at explaining, so I'll provide a link to a guide below. This guide below seems pretty comprehensive on explaining what a Taobao agent is, and how to use them. Keep in mind to account for overseas shipping costs from China; depending on where you reside, the total cost of the product + shipping may not be significantly cheaper than simply ordering from Amazon / Alexipress.
https://www.reddit.com/r/FashionReps/comments/bmt2mb/guide_50_the_biggest_best_full_superbuy_agent/

[bone crusher]

So I'm on the hunt for a fully gown version of a scientific accurate Spinosaurus, kinda torn between Essien 2019, Pappo and GR Toys. Which would you say is the most definitive Spino right now?

I will be torn between papo and gr. The papo got proper bulk and better frontal proportions, whilst the gr one is better with the legs and tail, and while it is not shrink wrapped, it is very skinny. Not sure about the actual spine. While the GR has the better tail, I honestly will go for the papo, mainly because it got the bulk, and it kind of "predicted" the new tail, even though its inaccurate. Correct me if I'm wrong but the papo tail is more like a short tail with a thin fin rather than a big beefy tail which is what you see on recent depictions. Honestly , now with mesozoic lifestyle out. I believe that's the best one out there. Hopefully the team can get it to Amazon prime

Yeah I really dig Papo's bulk and kinda thinking of pulling the trigger now. I would surely get Mesozoic's Spino once they are confirmed to relaunch the product again.

[Leyster]

If you look at Tufts-Love Rex and Mor 555, who were about 11,5 meters at 15 to 17 years old, that does require quite a growth spurt when looking at the supposed Nanotyrannus.

Yes, but the fossils shows there WAS a fast growth spurt.

[suspsy]

If you look at Tufts-Love Rex and Mor 555, who were about 11,5 meters at 15 to 17 years old, that does require quite a growth spurt when looking at the supposed Nanotyrannus.

Yes, but the fossils shows there WAS a fast growth spurt.

Absolutely correct. Way, way faster than other giant theropods.

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/1/eaax6250

[Prehistory Resurrection]

https://youtu.be/V3Hxxhq_Qmo

[Faelrin]

Okay after watching that review on this figure...

Spoiler

[close]

The execution on the jaw articulation is far cooler then I thought it would be (with separate lower and upper jaw joints). That Jurassic Park clip at 5:16 also sums up my thoughts as well, lol. I mean while it's not like I haven't seen such a feature like that before (such as the many action gimmicks the Mattel figures often have, like the Postosuchus for example, and if they ever were to do a Dunkleosteus I would hope they carry it over there as well), this is however far and away the best its been implemented for any Dunkleosteus figure thus far (that has articulation, which is a minimal number of to begin with, such as Schleich's or the recent Takara Tomy, or even the Kaiyodo Great Leaps skull. Edit: CollectA's Deluxe one as well, that I forgot about earlier).

I can definitely see it has retained the iridescence, like with the Helicoprion, but does lose a bit of the color it had in the promo pics, but I wonder if some of that could have been from the lighting. Either way its still a beautiful coloration.

I also really like how in depth his reviews are in regards to the research and covering the technicalities of things. Granted most of what he covered here is what @Halichoeres also covered in said Dunkleosteus thread, but it's nice to see it presented here as well.

[Carnoking]

Bravo, very satisfying to see that in action. Still not something I need for my collection but objectively cool that PNSO pulled that off.

[Sim]

I knew Ichthyovenator would be as fragmented as any Spinosaurid. Again, I wouldn't mind a figure of this genus, compared to another Spinosaurus which has countless amount of figures.

Baryonyx and Suchomimus are less fragmentary than Ichthyovenator.

So, T-rex still being a small juvenile halfway through its life seems very strange to me. Especially when you take sexual maturity and reproduction into account, they would basically have very little time to make baby rexes in relation to their lifespan. Is there an animal that has such an odd growth pattern? Is the late 20s estimate way too short for a T-rex lifespan, or did Eons get the estimate wrong?

This is NOT me arguing for Nanotyrannus btw, I personally do not care if it's a valid species or not. I just find this to be a rather large hole in the explanation of the video.

I've read how some insects spend most of their life as larvae and their adult stage doesn't last long.

I'd never heard late 20's before either, always "around 30". If we assume "late 20's" means 27+, 13 is closer to a third into the lifespan.

Er, 13 would be around half of the lifespan.  13 x 2 = 26...

B @bone crusher Well there is the Mesozoic Life one, if it can successfully get out there. Need to wait and see where it goes from here however.

Of the three you mentioned the GR Toys has the updated tail but anatomical issues such as the feet and head, etc. PNSO's 2019 one has four digits, shrinkwrapping, and other proportion issues aside predating the tail info. Papo's 2019 has some issues with the feet, teeth, and obviously the tail. Safari Ltd's is okay but small, is shrinkwrapped and gets the feet wrong. PNSO's 2020 one is about a 1/35 scale version of the FSAC-KK 11888 specimen, but has an outdated posture and maybe other issues (head?).

@Faelrin, can I ask you what's wrong with a couple of the things you mentioned?:
1. The feet of the GR Toys.
2. Four digits on the 2019 PNSO.
3. The feet of the 2019 Papo.
4. The head of the 2020 PNSO.
Regarding the posture of the 2020 PNSO being outdated, I'm not sure that's correct.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, Andrea Cau suggested the finger of Spinosaurus might support that it was a quadrupedal animal.  And this is coming from me, someone who dislikes quadrupedal Spinosaurus.  I also want to add that the teeth of the 2021 Safari Spino point too far forward; and the Mesozoic Life Spino, which to me looks like the best Spinosaurus model so far, doesn't have flat-bottomed claws.  I wonder though if the growth of keratin would allow the Mesozoic Life figure's claws to be within the possible?  Finally, there's also the Mesozoo Spinosaurus.

[microraptorgui]

Hey guys,

How do you all buy PNSO models? Do you pay full price? Get them on ebay for a reduced price? Some other method? I have a hard time shelling out the cash for $60+ models, though they are quite nice. If you all have a way to get them cheaper, I'd love to hear about it!

I've heard a lot of people use Alexipress, which is sometimes slightly cheaper than Amazon. But if you want to access the mainland China prices, commissioning a proxy service  to help you order on chinese websites like TaoBao and Tmall.

Thanks for the reply! I just took a look at those two websites. How do you commission a proxy service to order on them?

The agent I've used myself is Superbuy for something on Xianyu. Not the cheapest in terms of fees to my knowledge, but pretty reliable. Of course, services like Superbuy are only necessary if you don't know how to use sites like TaoBao itself.

I'm bad at explaining, so I'll provide a link to a guide below. This guide below seems pretty comprehensive on explaining what a Taobao agent is, and how to use them. Keep in mind to account for overseas shipping costs from China; depending on where you reside, the total cost of the product + shipping may not be significantly cheaper than simply ordering from Amazon / Alexipress.
https://www.reddit.com/r/FashionReps/comments/bmt2mb/guide_50_the_biggest_best_full_superbuy_agent/

Thanks so much for that link! A lot to read through, but I'll try to figure it out. Really appreciate your help!

[Faelrin]

Sure @Sim.

Okay it appears I was incorrect and misremembered the anatomy of the GR Toys figure's feet. They don't appear to have a raised first digit on the feet, like seen on most other theropods. I don't have that figure, so can't study it in person, and only just going off of what I had recalled seeing with pics and videos in the past. I think I get where my confusion originated from however, from one of the feet that are raised from walking or some such. I do recall there being discussion of there being other issues in the thread discussing it (such as the head shape I think), that may be worth looking into. I do however have the Papo 2019 one, and while I can't get to it right now, it does have that issue, as do many others like Schleich's 2019 one. Though I suppose it could have been possible it looked this way because of the pose it is in, but I'll look it over again once I get the chance.

This image here should show how the feet on it are:



It's an often overlooked feature of the animal, much like how some companies ignore that modern crocodilians do not have claws on the fourth and fifth digits (and on dinosaurs as well). The Safari Ltd 2021 figure also appears to have this issue (alongside shrinkwrapping), but again I don't have this figure either. It does seem pretty clear in the promo images on their website however.

Looking into it further, I have also erroneously recalled that the 2019 PNSO Spinosaurus had four digits on its hand, however they do oddly have what appear to be opposable thumbs (I don't know if this is or was possible, at least among its closest relatives since hand material among Spinosaurus is too limited). Maybe I was attributing that from another figure or I mis-remembered the opposable thumb thing. My bad. In any case it can be seen in B @Bokisaurus review of the figure. Case in point I probably should have double checked on all this instead of relying solely on my rather terrible memory (which has been made worse from a vitamin D deficit and depression surely if not other factors). But at least you came along and questioned it all, at least, so uh thanks. Surprised no one has called me out on any of this in the meantime though, but oh well. Tagging B @bone crusher to see all this. The 2019 Spinosaurus is also heavily shrinkwrapped however, and aside from being behind on the tail, it otherwise does get the feet right, and maybe other things. Also Sim, thanks for pointing out the lack of flattened claws on the Mesozoic Life Spinosaurus, considering everything else that is done rather well on it, seems like an odd mistake to make, but well nearly all companies have gotten that aspect incorrect as well. I think Doug Watson, in regards to his 2019 sculpt, was one of the few to pay attention to that detail, as it was him that brought that bit of anatomy to my attention in the first place in one of the old threads on the subject matter. But your speculation about the growth of keratin may be right. Perhaps worth asking or discussing in the Mesozoic Life thread?

I think the head of the 2020 Spinosaurus might be too wide from the front, maybe other issues? I believe there was discussion of this in the 2020 thread though. I'll take a look into it, but that's a lot of pages to dig through as well. But if I find the relevant info, I'll edit it back here, or make a new post for it.

I haven't had the chance to look into that yet, but I'll give it a go in the near future. But my understanding of the posture is coming from the 2020 paper that showcased it with a bipedal posture, along with going into the bio-mechanics, justifying the finding of the tail changing its center of gravity. This seems to have been carried over into the Mesozoic Life figure for example. Granted I see that some here have raised valid concerns about it (such as @stargatedalek in regards to the lack of tissue of the reconstruction which could shift the center of gravity, etc), which is worth delving into more, since my understanding of the anatomy comes mostly from the 2014 and 2020 papers on it (at least in regards to the FSAC-KK 11888 specimen which currently has the best remains for any particular specimen, short of the original specimens that were destroyed in WWII). I wonder if there's any paleontologists, etc (other then the one you mentioned), who have raised concerns, regarding this topic. I only really visit this forum, and few other places on the internet so I'm easily able to miss stuff that may show on social media and whatnot if it isn't carried over here.

This reminds me I really ought to update my thread as it is behind on all these releases (including the as of yet released Mesozoic Life one).