Pachyrhinosaurus (Age of the Dinosaurs by PNSO)

Pachyrhinosaurus was one of the largest centrosaurines, those ceratopsians that tended to have relatively short frills and either large nasal horns or thick snouts. It is also the largest known ceratopsian to not possess horns on its nose or its brow, the most speciose, with P. canadensis and P. lakustai from Canada and P. perotorum from Alaska, and the only ceratopsian thus far to have been the main star in a major motion picture: 2013’s Walking With Dinosaurs. I’m afraid I really can’t recommend that film; the voiceovers utterly ruin it.

Meet Alger, the little Pachyrhinosaurus from PNSO. Measuring 8 cm long and a little under 4 cm high, he is posed in a walking stance, strutting along confidently with his massive head turned to look to his right, and his tail swaying to the right as well. The round shape of the boss on his nose, the row of horns sprouting out from the middle of his frill, and the two curving horns along the edge of his frill make him immediately recognizable as a specimen of P. lakustai. Every single Pachyrhinosaurus toy appears to be P. lakustai, probably because it is the most ornate of the three species. Still, I think it would’ve been neat if Alger was one of the other two.

Alger’s main colour is a rather dull greyish-brown with sandy yellow on the tip of his tail and blackened feet. A row of thin black and white V-shaped stripes runs down the length of his spine. His face is decorated with darker shades of brown, including the bosses on his head and the horns on his frill. His eyes are black and the narrow eye spots on his frill are pale yellow and bright green. Alger also features pale yellow wash on his body, which frankly doesn’t look all that good.

But what definitely looks good is Alger’s sculpting. His skin texture is virtually identical to Brown’s, and every bit as meticulously detailed. The thick bosses on his nose and above his eyes, combined with the deepness of his skull, give him a strong, rugged appearance and the horns on his frill look sharp and intimidating, even though they’re actually made of soft plastic and easily bendable. His musculature is well-defined and while his pose could be interpreted as casual, it can just as easily be seen as Alger stepping forward to confront a rival or a predator. Herbivore though he may be, he is not to be toyed with.

Overall then, Alger the Pachyrhinosaurus is yet another impressive and pleasing miniature. And if you’re in the market for something larger, there’s always Alger’s big brother!