Styracosaurus (PNSO)

4.5 (48 votes)

In the last two decades many new and exciting discoveries have been made that added an impressive number of new ceratopsians. It seems as if each of the new species discovered and named are trying to outdo the other with each new one looking more exotic than the last.Names such as Medusaceratops, Diabloceratops, Regaliceratops and so on, all have that catchy ring to them that conures up exotic looks.As outlandish as these new ones are they still have a lot of catching up to do in the popularity department especially mainstream recognition.And when it comes to ceratopsians, two icons stand out over the rest both in popularity and recognition: Triceratops and Styracosaurus.

Both of these icons are perennial favorites that dates way back, in fact these two were the first ceratopsians to be features in a toy line making their appearance in the classic Marx prehistoric set. Since then, both have become a staple in the toy model industry with almost all of the major brands releasing a figure of this iconic dinosaur. Styracosaurus also happens to be the second ceratopsian, next only to you guess it Triceratops, to have the most figure in toy form.Today we will take a look at the newest addition, the exquisite Styracosaurus from the powerhouse PNSO new for 2022.

The most famous ceratopsians join force with PNSO.

For decades, the Battat Styracosaurus has been my favorite model of this dinosaur despite multiple options from other brands. I just love how this figure looks and felt that despite many figures that would follow through the years, it remained the one that for me captured the essence of this dinosaur which happens to be my personal favorite despite the influx of new and often exotic looking ceratopsians the last few years.So, would this new PNSO figure replace it? Let’s find out.

Joining the Battat model that. held the title as my favorite toy version of this ceratopsian for over two decades!

Styracosaurus is a medium size ceratopsian, what it lacks in size, it makes up in the head ornamentation department easily being the most recognizable of them all.Like all Ceratopsian, Styracosaurus is easily distinguished from others by its head, more specifically its shield ornamentation and horns. While most Ceratopsians have frill spikes these are often small, in Styracosaurus these parietal spikes are long giving them the most spiky looking of the bunch that make them easily identified.

The unmistakable spikes that leaves no doubt who they belong to.

When a list of rumored new modes from PNSO surfaced Styracosaurus was one of four ceratopsian on the list. It didn’t take long before PNSO delivered, and what a beauty this model is. Released as part of their standard series, this model is packed with the usual high standards we have come to expect from PNSO, and like all of them it, too, is given a name: Anthony and he is number 59 in the series.

With the standard elegant box.

Styracosaurus is a big animal that is estimated to reach 18′ feet long and stood at around 5-6′ tall, not the largest but also not the smallest, falling at the medium range. PNSO advertise this figure as 1:35 like most of their figures but it appears that it is closer to the 1:33 scale if you used the 18′ feet size estimate. The model measures 7.5″ inches long and 3″ inches high at the shoulders (4″ inches at the tip of the longest spike). This size, while appreciated, is rather unfortunate since it does not scale well with the new Museum Line Triceratops which I’m sure many would like to see. But it’s a minor thing for me after all I can always consider it as an extremely large individual.

What an amazing sight! The diversity of ceratopsian frills on full display in PNSO’s line.

The head is where all the action is as with all ceratopsians, so we will start here and move to the rest of the body. I am happy that PNSO decided to pose this model with its head slightly down. In this pose all of its impressive shield spikes are in full display. These spike are beautifully arranged as they radiate away from the head and is made with a softer material that easily bends. Styracosaurus’s frill spikes show great variation between individuals so there may be some that you may not have been used to seeing, its great that PNSO has incorporated some of these subtle differences in their model to make it a little more unique. 

With some old models from the past.

As you move down you see so many details on the shield until you reach the single nasal horn that rises up in a spectacular fashion. At the base of this nasal horn you see plenty of texturing in the form of growth rings and scratches especially at the base that really add a sense of realism. Above the eyes you see the brow ridge covered in thick knobs which is a nice touch.

My favorite Styracosaurus models strike a pose!

Moving further down the head you see the eyes beautifully sculpted and painted a rich golden color. The beak and nostrils are all nicely sculpted and surrounded by lots of detailed skin fold, scales, and wrinkles. Those of you may have strong opinions or preference for cheeks will be delighted to know that this model has one. I personally don’t have preference, I find that as long as there is a valid possibility, its nice to have a representation for both versions.

The parietal spikes lost some of their details resulting in them looking smooth wit hardly any signs of texturing.

Now, let’s circle back to those fabulous parietal spikes since this is surely one of the areas where there is an obvious shortcoming. As they are, these spikes are beautiful… and if photos of the prototype are not printed on the box it came with, you would’t know something is amiss.But there it is, and when you look at the difference you can see what we missed. In the prototype, these spike show a lot of textures in the form of groves as well as growth rings, there is even one spike that show what appears to be a damaged area. 

Here, you can see the difference between how the detail on the nose horn were nicely rendered compared to those parietal ones. Still beautiful and kept it’s pleasing colors.

Unfortunately, the final mass-produced version almost lost all of these details. Why this happened I have not a single clue, but it could be that at the last minute PNSO switched to a softer material maybe to pass some safety standards and didn’t have time to fully re-sculpt these spike to resemble the original.What we got instead are spikes that are smooth with hardly any texture in them , not bad, but if you know the PNSO standards you can tell right away.

The beautiful head of the model. PNSO models have a quality to them that are so natural that they easily fits into natural surroundings.

The smoother spikes caused an abrupt edges between the skin and the horn and lost the seamless transition we see in the prototype. Oddly the nasal horn managed to retain its original textures and details so at least we get an idea of what these could have looked and intended to look like. In the end, it’s not really distracting, far from it, but surely something to wish we could have had.

All the quality we have come to expect and love from PNSO is well represented in this beautiful model.

Now that’s out of the way, the rest of the figure is beautifully crafted with all the attention to details that we expect from PNSO models. The body is typical Ceratopsian and is rich in details all the way down to the toes. Scales and skin textures are all typical PNSO standards we have come to love, I find it always a treat to examine each of these details despite having been used to this quality level from them.

Dangerous river crossing.

PNSO use a standard color palette that consist of brown, orange, black, red, gold, green, and white. These colors form the basic tones we often see in most of their models. This model uses these same colors which may start to seem repetitive. But PNSO has mastered the art of color blending and mixing that even with these standard palette, they manage to produce colors that still show variations in tones. In the the model the dominant colors that one would notice first are the green and browns which covers the flank and legs. Mixed in are hues of orange and tints of red to highlight areas of lighter tones in the body such as the belly, underarm, and neck.

PNSO’s impressive herd! Not since CollectA have we seen a line with so much diversity of ceratopsians!A new Torosaurus is about to join the herd. Seen together, you can see there is actually a variety of colors among the figures.

Dark brown stripes run down the entire length of the back all the way down the tail before breaking into smaller spots on the flank. On the tail, these stripes slowly form short bands as it reaches the tips.The head and frill are given a darker brown color that follows the contours of the snout, eyes, and the edges of the shield. These darker color is then punctuated by a burst of gold, green, and yellow that highlights the cheeks and brings out some of the details. The frill (fenestrae) itself is given  generous splash of orange at the center which is nice, I always like it when ceratopsian frills are given some striking colors. Black stripes breaks up these patch of orange creating a nice design.

As always, the colors and how they transition and blend with each other is nicely executed..

The spikes are given a light brown/gold color which starts off darker at the base, transitioning to a lighter shades as it moves up until the last quarter of the horns turns almost a light greenish tone.Despite losing some of the brighter yellows, gold, and orange that we saw in the prototype, the final mass-produced model still managed to retails most of these colors and is pretty close to what we saw, something that can’t be said about the Centrosaurus’s final colors. It may not be the brightest colored of PNSO’s ceratopsians, but it all works well and visually pleasing.

PNSO ended 2021 with a promise of more ceratopsians and they sure delivered!

Styracosaurus was a member of the diverse fauna of the famous Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada. The rich dinosaur community here is well documented and includes some of the most iconic and famous dinosaurs such as fellow ceratopsians Centrosaurus and Chasmosaurus, the hadrosaurs Lambeosaurus, Corythosaurus, and Parasaurolophus, as well as the tyrannosaur Gorgosaurus and Daspletosaurus. It is also worth noting that the herbivorous dinosaur fauna of Dinosaur Park Formation is well represented in the PNSO line , all that is missing now are the top predators which I’m sure will make an appearance very soon. Until then, these group of herbivorous beauties can relax in peace and they do make a stunning display all together.

The beautiful ceratopsians models from PNSO strike a pose. The truly make a stunning display all together.

In closing, this is definitely one of the most beautiful figure of this amazing ceratopsian. The details are rich and beautifully executed, plus it has enough characteristics that makes it unique.Its been long overdue, but finally I have a Styracosaurus that I’m very happy about. So, did it push my long time favorite Battat figure of the pedestal? Yes and no, The Battat  figure will always have a special place and significance in my collection that will never change, after all its been with me for more than two decades now and has withstood the test of time in many ways. 

This model will be a hard act to follow.

The Battat model is a good representation of the beauty and fond memories of the past, while this new model from PNSO best represents the glossy times of our high tech modern world of today and where we are headed. In a way, these two model fits nicely as bookends to the history of this hobby.

Well, that concludes another PNSO review. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Scat enjoyed his time on the blog and hopefully I can get them back to fill in for me. Until the next review, stay safe and healthy, cheers!

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Comments 13

  • Good workBoki
    Yes Im looking forward to PNSO bringing out a Gorgosaurus or Displeto. to go with this era. Re size difference, Styrac. was about the size of a Rhino while Triceratops wize about the size of an Elephant, so I think they scale fairly realisticly,, but yes the Styrac. does look like a baby when they are put next to each other.
    Cheers
    Rob

  • They really knocked this one out of the park. Thanks as always for all the lush imagery!

  • It’s a fabulous toy to be sure, although too expensive for me to justify buying. I’ll stick with the CollectA one, butt fuzz and all.

  • Great review! Personally, the Battat is still my favorite but this one comes in at a close second, which is still pretty darn good. I like how you summed it up there in your conclusion.

  • Styracosaurus is one of my two favourite ceratopsians, and like you the Battat has been my favourite version of it for a long time. But the PNSO Styracosaurus is my new favourite version of the animal. It’s so good! I actually prefer that the frill spikes lack detail, it seemed too much detail to me on the prototype.

    “It is also worth noting that the herbivorous dinosaur fauna of Dinosaur Park Formation is well represented in the PNSO line , all that is missing now are the top predators which I’m sure will make an appearance very soon.”
    It’s true that the herbivorous fauna is well represented, but I would still like PNSO to make my other favourite ceratopsian: Chasmosaurus belli. PNSO has become so good at making ceratopsids, the Styracosaurus, 2021 Triceratops and Torosaurus are all must-haves for me!
    As for the carnivorous fauna of the Dinosaur Park Formation, I would really like it if PNSO made Gorgosaurus and the distinctive Dinosaur Park Daspletosaurus species. However it would also be nice if PNSO made Stenonychosaurus, or, if they plan to represent the Djadochta Formation Saurornithoides would be even better. Finally while talking about small dinosaurs, I think Halichoeres would be happy if PNSO made a Stegoceras. Stegoceras and Stenonychosaurus are small but iconic Dinosaur Park Formation species.

    • Thanks! I agree, we need a chasmosaurus from PNSO! I can only imagine how awesome that would be and much needed.
      I would also love to see PNSO push the museum line further by adding mini figures like they did with the babies and skull,
      But this time add some of the smaller Dino instead like some of those you mentioned, now that would really be something else!

  • Wonderful visuals. Yeah, I’m not getting rid of my Battats (regular and mini ) either, but the PNSO seems to top the list.

    • Absolutely, Battat are treasures in my book and have so many significant and fond memories associated with them. Thanks!

  • Magnificent review. I particularly like this figure’s detailed sculpting and conservative yet elegant painting, it’s a styracosaurus figure that rivals other high quality ones like Battat, Safari or Collecta on equal terms of awesomeness. PNSO and BoTM the two most comprehensive toy ceratopsid companies and the two companies that make them best.

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