Like its close relative Alioramus, Qianzhousaurus was relatively small for a tyrannosaurid, measuring only around six metres long and weighing an estimated 757 kg. It is also one of the strangest-looking members of its family due to its very narrow, elongated snout. Such gracile anatomy meant that Qianzhousaurus lacked the brutal bite strength of its fellow Asians Tarbosaurus and Zhuchengtyrannus, not to mention its North American sovereign Tyrannosaurus rex. Instead, it may have pursued smaller, swifter game like the many oviraptorids that shared its realm in China.
PNSO previously released a very nice miniature Qianzhousaurus named Trike in 2019; now meet the much larger and much more imposing A-Shu! He is posed in a realistic walking stance with his left foot forward, right foot extended back, tail held high and swaying to the right, and head turned sharply to look to the right. Presumably, A-Shu is on the hunt for prey, perhaps even sneaking up on some unsuspecting herbivore. A-Shu measures slightly over 9 cm tall at the head and 24 cm in length. While he stands up very well on his own (thus far), PNSO has included a clear support rod similar to the one that came with the most recent incarnation of Wilson. Probably a good idea in the long run.
A-Shu’s main colour is a very pale blue with a pinkish underbelly and medium brown stripes. His feet and hands are painted over with dark grey and tipped with dull grey claws. A-Shu’s muzzle and brow are adorned with brownish-orange and his beady eyes are light orange surrounded by dark brown. Glossy salmon and light pink are used for the inside of his mouth and his teeth are off-white. There are also airbrushed dark grey markings on A-Shu’s head that give him an even more intimidating appearance. Overall, this is a fairly vivid colour scheme by PNSO’s standards, and quite a plausible one as well.
Unlike Trike, A-Shu is entirely devoid of integument. Instead, his skin is covered in fine round scales of varying size, even on the soles of his feet. The largest scales are to be found on his upper jaw near the tip of his snout. His hands and feet are covered in rows of overlapping scales, which have long been a mainstay in theropod depictions. There are also plenty of (but not too many) wrinkles, most noticeably on his neck and flanks. And despite being much smaller and slimmer than Wilson, A-Shu is still one powerful-looking tyrannosaur. His neck is thick, his rib cage swells like a barrel, and his legs are bulging with muscles. It would not be difficult to envision a beefy therizinosaur like Nanshiungosaurus falling victim to this ‘Pinocchio Rex.’
Like many of PNSO’s Mesozoic meat eaters, A-Shu features an articulated lower jaw that can either shut completely or open wide to about a 40 degree angle. And unlike last year’s Wild Safari figure, this Qianzhousaurus lacks lips. Personally, I am fully in favour of lips on theropods, but I acknowledge that it’s a topic of ongoing debate and the absence of lips doesn’t turn me off from a figure. The inside of A-Shu’s mouth is meticulously detailed, including visible nostril cavities on the palate. The many teeth lining the jaws are notably sharp, as are the curved claws on the hands and feet. A-Shu definitely feels more like a figure for older collectors than a toy to be played with by children.
Although no remains of Qianzhousaurus‘ arms have been discovered yet, it is reasonable to assume that they were very small and terminated in only two fingers just like on other tyrannosaurids. A-Shu certainly reflects this; indeed, his arms may well end up proving to be a little too small. More importantly, his skull is quite unmistakable, with a long and narrow snout, a row of triangular bumps on top of the premaxilla, and a pair of large triangular ridges in front of the eyes.
A-Shu the Qianzhousaurus represents yet another triumph for PNSO. Superb sculpting detail, nice colouration, fearsome appearance, fun chomping action, and careful attention to accuracy. A must-have for any tyrannosaur collection in my book!
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Is the lips debate already concluded? i’m really curious, i’ve read articles about it and listen to some podcast but they still can’t make conclusion about this (i’m sold toward dino’s with lips though). So really interested for more sources. For me Safari done a very good job especially for the price they ask. But personally i go for PNSO for already mentioned pro’s.
No, the debate over theropod lips is still ongoing. Like I said, I personally am in favour of lips, based on the arguments I’ve read, but at the same time, I’m not going to fault any toy that doesn’t feature them.
The figure is beautifully sculpted but it has a defect that I do not like, its gaunt jaws without lips I would have liked an animal with such rare and outstanding characteristics that was scientifically correct with lips. PNSO’s qianzhousaurus painting is superior to its Safari counterpart, but from my honest point of view the figure of Safari is scientifically superior to PNSO in terms of its sculpture even though it is not as detailed as it is. the qianzhousaurus from PNSO.
It’s hard for me to understand what’s going on with the front of this figure’s face. Is it a paint thing? All the teeth look kinda fused together on one big piece.
I have this figure and I like it a lot. I have to admit I customized its upper jaw though and moved the teeth to the inside as to give the figure lips without adding any material. Around the eyes the head may be shrinkwrapped, but apart from that, the level of detailing in this PVC figure rivals any resin figure. Waht I like most about it is the tiny and sharp clawed arms.
Did you post any images of your work in the forum? I’d be curious to see it!
Great review of this amazing figure. I love this model, it’s very well executed and the colors are very pleasing.
I’m glad PNSO released one so now I can replace the Safari one, that figure I never really warmed up to so glad to replace it.
My problem with this one is not the missing lips per se but that it looks like the teeth are sliding out of their sockets. On the flip side, the Safari figure looks like it has no teeth at all. So for the time being I don’t have Qianzhousaurus and if hard pressed I’m not sure which one I would pick. I like the coloration on this one a lot more. Great review, as always.
The teeth on this PNSO model do look really weird to me, too. I have the Safari one and like it very much.
The Safari Ltd one looks nicer to me. Though I like the bulk of the A-Shu and that his jaws can be closed, but other than that. If he had been an Alioramus I would have bought him, even though it would be bigger than 1:20 scale for an Alioramus.