Best PNSO?

[Duck]

I've been hearing a lot of good things about PNSO lately. What are some of their best and worst figures? I'm thinking about buying a few, but since they are expensive, I want to hear from you guys before making a decision.
Think of this as a PNSO buying guide.
P @paleochris  I'd love to hear from you about this topic as well.

[Dusty Wren]

I saw that you've already gotten the Olorotitan (good choice!), so I want to say that the Parasaurolophus is worth picking up as well. It's a beautiful figure, and one of my favorites in my collection.

I'm also fond of the Yutyrannus and the Miragaia (if you don't mind the large scales).

[paleochris]

It already depends on what kind of dinosaurs you like.

For the theropods, Gamba the Carcharodontosaurus is for me their best model so far.

Don't forget that you have reviews available on the dinotoyblog website, like here : http://dinotoyblog.com/2021/06/27/carcharodontosaurus-gamba-prehistoric-animal-models-by-pnso/

Caroline the Corythosaurus is for me their best herbivore, with the last triceratops.

For marine animals, the Helicoprion is a must have because it is very well made (fantastic paint work) and is a rare model among other brands

However, saying which one is the best remains a very subjective choice!

[Gwangi]

I would also recommend reading blog reviews, that's what they're there for after all! There are some good video reviews out there too. My favorite PNSO theropod is the Tarbosaurus, followed by the Carcharodontosaurus. My favorite ornithopod would be the Corythosaurus, my favorite ceratopsian is the Sinoceratops.

Other favorites for me that I own include...

Lambeosaurus
Pachycephalosaurus
Helicoprion

There are others I'll get in time, like the Olorotitan. I suggest starting off with some of the $20-40 figures first, then moving onto the more expensive ones if you wish. For me, price is a big factor, so although I love the Triceratops, Parasaurolophus, and Iguanodon, I'm unlikely to purchase them unless they go on sale or something. Hope this helps!

[Duck]

Is anyone bugged by the repetitive tiger stripe paint schemes on the Allosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus?
What about the massive head on the Corythosaurus?
And that wacko paint job on the Lambeosaurus?

(I'm just wondering what people think about all these flaws, but most of the things I've pointed out here are nitpicks)

[John]

My favorite PNSO models so far include
The big Ceratosaurus
Tarbosaurus
Miragaia
Lambeosaurus
Parasaurolophus
Tuojiangosaurus
Pinacosaurus
Pachycephalosaurus

[stargatedalek]

Atopodentatus best.

Second version Tyrannosaurus "original Wilson", worst.

[Gwangi]

Is anyone bugged by the repetitive tiger stripe paint schemes on the Allosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus?
What about the massive head on the Corythosaurus?
And that wacko paint job on the Lambeosaurus?

(I'm just wondering what people think about all these flaws, but most of the things I've pointed out here are nitpicks)

Yes, I am bugged out by repetitive paintjobs. Tiger stripes being one of them. The similarity between the Miragaia and Machairoceratops is another one that annoys me.

I'm not at all bothered by the Corythosaurus head, and I think when viewed in person it looks better proportioned than in 2D photographs.

I love the paintjob of the Lambeosaurus!

I didn't mention which figures I thought were PNSO's worst but the original Wilson that stargate mentioned is pretty rough. Also, I don't like their saggy skinned marine animals, like the Ophthalmosaurus. The Dakosaurus has an atrocious paintjob on all the copies I've seen of it. And lastly, I'm also not a fan of their over textured theropods with teeth hanging out of the sockets (Carnotaurus, Winter Wilson).

[Bread]

Is anyone bugged by the repetitive tiger stripe paint schemes on the Allosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus?
What about the massive head on the Corythosaurus?
And that wacko paint job on the Lambeosaurus?

(I'm just wondering what people think about all these flaws, but most of the things I've pointed out here are nitpicks)

Tiger striping on therapods is just about repetitive with every company, but yeah it is bothersome. Honestly I would say its worse on the Carnotaurus out of them all.

Similar to what @Gwangi mentioned, photos really don't do the Corythosaurus justice. It is a beautiful figure and really needs to be seen in person, again certain photo angles really make it seem unpleasant to the eye.

Lambeosaurus is beautiful, but has a somewhat unnatural color scheme. I can understand why there is a dislike for it, but in my opinion and a lot others agree that it is beautiful.

So for me, my favorite PNSO figures released these year in no particular order are the Tarbosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Dunkleosteus, and Olorotitan. Yutyrannus is an honorable mention, seems like that figure I am really back and forth on.

Last year's releases would include the Borealopelta and Tuojiangosaurus. I feel like with all the recent releases these are now being forgotten.

@Duck I really recommend deciding what prehistoric animals you are in the need or want first. Whether they are dinosaurs or not, therapods or herbivores, etc. Really will help you prioritize future purchases.

I also recommend if there is a PNSO 2020 figure you are adding to the purchase list that you just bite the bullet and buy it. Sometimes the paint applications may change after first batch.

[SRF]

Atopodentatus best.

Second version Tyrannosaurus "original Wilson", worst.

There are actually three versions of the original Wilson. The first two came with a base, the third one came without. So now I'm curious which one you are referring to. I have the very first version, but I actually think the second one is better. I do like the extras that came with the first one though, so no regrets purchasing that one. The third one seems to have a more simplistic paintjob than the first two.

@Duck if you're looking for a PNSO buying guide, you can also look up the ratings of the different PNSO figures at https://www.dinotoycollector.com/Browse/Browse.php?Company=PNSO. Simply sort the list by "Rating" and you can see which figures are rated best among collectors. I think a lot of people that are active on this forum are also using this website. Newer figures that haven't got a lot of votes yet tend to come up first with a rating of 5.0, but you'll see that there are a lot of figures with a rating of 4.9 to 4.7 with 10 to 20 votes. I tend to agree with most of the average ratings that PNSO figures get on this website.

[Psittacoraptor]

This would obviously be very subjective, depending on what genera or species you like the most. Objectively, I think the Parasaurolophus, the Miragaia, and the Yutyrannus are the best in terms of how the final product remains faithful to or even exceeds what's advertised in promotional images. The Nemicolopterus mini is also wonderful, although very difficult to find at this point. If you're into marine critters, the Dunkleosteus and Helicoprion are worth a look.

I'd agree with Bread in that you shouldn't wait too long if a figure you like has been out for a while. Sadly, PNSO tends to simplify and downgrade paint jobs with additional production batches.

[SidB]

That's good advice, to buy the one (s) you want as soon as is practical, because of the apparently inevitable decline in the quality of paint application that most, if not all companies participate in. D @Dinoguy2 goes into considerable detail on his website (Carnegie Collection) explaining the market forces behind this phenomenon.

[SenSx]

That's good advice, to buy the one (s) you want as soon as is practical, because of the apparently inevitable decline in the quality of paint application that most, if not all companies participate in. D @Dinoguy2 goes into considerable detail on his website (Carnegie Collection) explaining the market forces behind this phenomenon.

Yes I can confirme that, it's not only PNSO.
I just bought the Nanmu Spinosaurus (not scientifically accurate and based on JP I know, but that's not the point, they have the same behaviour as a company concerning that matter it seems),
and it just does not have the color contrast of the previous models, it is even lacking the subtile blue on the sail, which is just grey on mine.
I checked the latest reviews on the net, and they are similar to my copy.
So yes, these company tends to make the best of their models first, as an advertisement for their products, and their later batchs have a drop in quality.

[Sim]

The Dakosaurus has an atrocious paintjob on all the copies I've seen of it.

@Gwangi, I'm guessing you're talking about the medium sized Dakosaurus, newer versions of it actually have a better paintjob e.g.:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPYFj-2gYiI

[Gwangi]

Yes @Sim, that's the one. Glad to hear the paint apps have been improving, thanks for the info.

[Fembrogon]

I can also confirm improvement on Dakosaurus; my copy is pretty much free of slop.

[CARN0TAURUS]

Gamba the Carcharodontosaurus Is a masterpiece!  I've probably posted this 4-5 times already and folks are probably sick of reading it, LOl, but it's the closest I've ever felt to having a real live dinosaur in my hands.  Probably because of it's size and name it gets talked about less.  If PNSO had made it 7-8% larger and said it was Giganotosaurus everyone would be talking about it as one of the best theropod figures of all time.  Another thing that PNSO didn't help it with was the generic striping along the back, imagine Gamba with Connor's awesome camoflauge patterns and wilson's size. 

But if you look at it strictly from proportions, delicacy of the details, pose, and overall finish Gamba is still a powerhouse of a piece.  A couple of their hadrosaurs have also caught my eye including Ivan but until I own one I can't comment on them.

[Lynx]

I don't know if it's just me, but the PNSO Yutyrannus was way smaller in real life than I expected. So if you don't like small-scaled dinos, don't get low-leaning ones like this one. Same for Wilson. Great figures but the posture make them seem smaller. If you don't mind this unlike nit-picky me, then I recommend it!

My personal favorite is currently the Pinacosaurus, which came with a nearly perfect paint job for me. However, please be aware some copies paint-jobs are occasionally sloppy, or very dull compared to the promo pics. If you dislike paint-jobs being far from the promo pics, I recommend E-bay, as you can sometimes see in real-life pictures of the figure.
And I swear... it looks like a real dinosaur! The detail is just splendid and if I were to put it in my pet's terrarium, people would think it was real. The promo pics do it no justice on the detailing!

The figure, if you have not seen pictures already, is very short and flat unlike the Nodosaurs PNSO released. Because of this, I advise keeping it near the front of your collection if you like the figure, as it can easily get overlooked if something is in front of it.

[Bread]

My personal favorite is currently the Pinacosaurus, which came with a nearly perfect paint job for me. However, please be aware some copies paint-jobs are occasionally sloppy, or very dull compared to the promo pics. If you dislike paint-jobs being far from the promo pics, I recommend E-bay, as you can sometimes see in real-life pictures of the figure.
And I swear... it looks like a real dinosaur! The detail is just splendid and if I were to put it in my pet's terrarium, people would think it was real. The promo pics do it no justice on the detailing!

Gotta agree with @Lynx here about the Pinacosaurus. I forgot about this figure mainly due to my unfortunate bad luck with getting one with a bad paint application. However, I've seen some good ones and bad ones so this figure suffers from quality control issues, plus with price in mind this figure kind of suffered backlash. It was the first figure to receive the higher pricing for the mid-size line. Other than that, I've seen online images of this beauty and I can second that this one is underrated and unique.

[stargatedalek]

Atopodentatus best.

Second version Tyrannosaurus "original Wilson", worst.

There are actually three versions of the original Wilson. The first two came with a base, the third one came without. So now I'm curious which one you are referring to. I have the very first version, but I actually think the second one is better. I do like the extras that came with the first one though, so no regrets purchasing that one. The third one seems to have a more simplistic paintjob than the first two.

I meant all of them. By "second version Tyrannosaurus" I meant not the original vinyl Tyrannosaurus.

No amount of paint or accessories could have saved Wilson for me, it needed a complete resculpt. Or re-marketing as a zombie Tyrannosaurus.