Review and photos by Levi Rawl, edited by Suspsy
This is the first unpainted resin model kit that I have purchased since I started collecting prehistoric figures. I will start off by saying that Carnotaurus was never really one of my favorite theropods. However, this figure has made me change my mind!
Alexander Belov certainly has a unique style when designing his models. They are all very muscular and remind me of Hellenistic sculptures where nearly every muscle is accentuated. His models definitely do not suffer from “shrink-wrapping” and his Carnotaurus is no exception.
The entire kit is packaged in a custom-made little wooden box with the company’s logo embossed on it. The model comes in a total of 4 pieces: the main body, the left and right lower leg, and the base. The right foot has a small rectangular peg that inserts into a footprint on the base. The left foot only has the toes making contact with the base. The effect is that the Carnotaurus is leaning to the left and getting ready to put all of its weight on that foot, almost to the point where you think the figure is going to fall over . . . but it won’t. Again, the artist designed the figure well.
The first thing one notices with this figure is that signature stubby mug of a face. Unlike most theropod figures, this one has a closed mouth. The brow horns are shorter than how they are usually depicted in this species, and there are a few scars on the muzzle to indicate some battle damage. All of these features together remind me of a particularly grumpy pit bull or bulldog. Very endearing.
As stated earlier, the entire figure (approx. 1/56 scale) is very muscular, almost to the point of being a little overweight, but not in a negative way. The most notable part of the anatomy that accents this characteristic is the tail. The base where the tail attaches to the body is nearly cylindrical in cross-section, being thicker than the neck and almost equal in girth to the torso. No laterally flattened tail here, no sir!
When I initially primed this figure for painting, I was naively concerned that dry-brushing would create an unnecessary layer of paint since the figure was smaller than other figures I had painted. I thought some detail would be lost. Mistake. After going back to dry-brush it, the result brought to life so many minute little details I didn’t realize were present. In fact, the effect was so awesome that when I posted a photo of it at that phase, a friend had assumed I was already finished with the model. So my advice is to definitely take the time and dry-brush this figure. You will not regret it.
The base itself is minimal, and is the same base that comes with other of PREY’s figures. The logo is also embossed on it as well.
PREY Collection Studios has its own Facebook page, and at this time, this is the only venue to view its products and communicate with the artist. Mr. Belov is usually pretty quick to reply to inquiries either through private message, or elsewhere on his page. This figure was about $50.00 USD plus shipping. For me, it was still definitely worth having it shipped from Russia to the U.S.
All in all, this is one of my favorite representations of the “carnivorous bull.” If it were life-sized, one may be inclined to think it was the statue of some mythological monster from a Greek tale. As soon as I can rustle up some more dough, I look forward to purchasing more of this artist’s figures.
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The good thing about dinosaurs and prehistoric animal kits in this case the unpainted Prey Collection Studios resin carnotaurus is that the ornamentation of paint creates it and you can put the colors that you like most for that figure without having to be subjected to the factory dictatorship of the figures uniformly painted in this case dinosaurs whether resin, PVC or vinyl and that you can only modify by repainting the prehistoric animal after a laborious job of eliminating the factory paint and repainting it. In this case you do not have one to do anything comes unpainted and one puts the colors to the figure that you most like.
I congratulate you on the details of painting you have been magnificent.
Nice review and gorgeous buildup!
Very well_crafted and elegant sculpture of Carnotaurus. The color scheme that you have chosen reminds me a bit of the Ceratosaurus in JP3 and at the same time, the leopard-like color scheme of the fully grown adult Dilophosaurus in Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park novel. Interesting and informative review.
Yeah, my son pointed that out to me when I was almost done painting it. I wasn’t even thinking about the JP3 Ceratosaurus. I almost wanted to get away from red & black, since it seems a lot of carnos get that color scheme (guess it goes to the “devil” look). But I have always wanted to paint a dino with Gila monster / beaded lizard markings. This got the most votes when I polled it.
Thanks.
Just to know, is Prey Collection a series that has resin kits done by a lone hobbyist? If yes, then the Prionosuchus and Parahelicoprion can go onto the USL. If not, then we can ignore those.
But it would be good if PREY Collection was available on online stores. I am a fond of the Carnotaurus color scheme. Now, let’s see if Halichoeres can publish a review of the Safari Ltd Cartnotaurus for 2019.
That review won’t be by me, but rest assured it will be in good hands. But you’ll hear from me soon here…
Cool colour scheme. Very fiery and viper-like.