Pinacosaurus (Unknown Company)

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Review and photos by Takama, edited by Suspsy

Today’s figure was bought at a Mexican Fiesta back in 2014. It is from the same unknown line as this T. rex reviewed back in 2011, and it is a pretty sizable piece of plastic. At first glance, it is apparent that they intended to make a generic Ankylosaurus modelled after Euoplocephalus, but it has the name Pinacosaurus stamped in all caps along with “Made in China” on its belly. Throughout this review I will be treating this model as if it’s a replica of Pinacosaurus because that is the name that was printed on it (though there are some websites that list it as an Ankylosaurus instead).

Pinacosaurus was an ankylosaur that lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous period, and it was a close relative of other spiky Asian dinosaurs such as Saichania and Tarchia. It is known from a decent amount of remains, and there are even nests full of babies that may represent the youngest of this species. When it comes to collectibles and toys of this creature, only two come to mind, and neither are not collector quality. The first is a common one made by Boley(which can be found at Wal-Mart). And the second is this one here whose company name I am unsure of. All I know is that this big toy is often associated with the T. rex I mentioned earlier, and if you go to the DTB Amazon Store, you will find a page called Great Dinos By Great Dinos where it is listed as a Ankylosaurus(and is currently unavailable).

When it comes to first impressions, one must know that this is a BIG toy made more for the sandbox than someone’s shelf. Despite this, an awful lot of detail has been packed into the sculpting of this figure. The back and legs are completely covered in scales and wrinkles while large spikes make up the armour. The pattern of the spikes make the model look like it was based off the Euoplocephalus mount at the London Museum of Natural History, (which would actually make this model a Scolosaurus instead of Euoplocephalus.) With that in mind, the armour is completely wrong to be a Pinacosaurus or an Ankylosaurus like the website says. The head is nothing special: just a generic ankylosaur head with its mouth wide open to show off its blunt teeth, and there is no added sheen in the mouth to make it look more realistic.

The toy is roughly around 16 inches long and cost me around $20 to obtain. Considering the fact that I bought this guy at a game booth that was trying to use it as a prize, I imagine that I may have spent a little more then I needed to. When I walked around the Fiesta with this model in hand, everyone was amazed because they thought I had actually won it, when in reality I spent the rest of my money on it just so I could have something that I knew I would enjoy from that event.

As I said earlier in the review, this toy was made more for the sand box than someone’s shelf. And it is not really accurate for Pinacosaurus or Ankylosaurus. However, the detailing on it is great, and if given to the right hands, it can be repainted to look like something that is on par with Papo or dare I say, Rebor. The colours that the company painted it in are blander than the old Replicasaurus model made by Schleich, The whole top half of the figure is mud-coloured and the whole bottom half is light brown. The only other colours on this figure are red for the eyes and tongue and white for the teeth.

In the end, I can’t recommend this for anyone who is into serious reconstructions, but if you absolutely need a dinosaur model that’s labelled Pinacosaurus, then this is the best one available until someone makes one that is more accurate.