Young Tyrannosaurus Aaron (PNSO)

When it comes to Tyrannosaurus rex, the first image that comes to mind is that of a snarling, blood-thirsty animal. As famous as it is, unfortunately in pop culture films and images, it is often depicted as a villain, a killer that is always on a rampage killing any helpless animal on its way. 

So, the description of being cute is not often associated with it. Even the baby versions seen in the toy figure world are already shown as nothing but a smaller, more cartoony version of the adult.

But thankfully, things are changing, after all, even the most ferocious animals started its life as small, helpless, and cute beings. PNSO’s latest version of the Tyrant king is just that; a cute little ball of fluff named Aaron! 

Despite enough evidence that shows juveniles as different looking from adults, the majority of toy brands have chosen to ignore this in how they portray baby dinosaurs… until recently.CollectA paved the way in showing a baby T. rex in toy form in a whole different light with their version released a few years ago, part of their whole feathered tyrannosaurus series.

Today, PNSO have moved that notch one step further in giving us one adorable baby rex, the subject of today’s review. Like the baby Sinoceratops that we reviewed earlier, this was also released this year and is part of the medium range figure.

This figure is slightly taller and bigger than the Sinoceratops. It is clearly a very young animal, perhaps just days after hatching.It is now believed that baby are very much unlike their parents and may be fully feathered. This figure embraced the idea of fully feathered idea which is more likely with young animals than full grown adults (This is as far as I would go, I’m not going into that whole feather debate).So, ready to meet this adorable fluffy little thing?

When I saw this figure in person for the very first time, I was really struck by those large and expressive eyes! The head is big in proportion to its body, but that is appropriate for juveniles, and it really leaves no doubt that it is a baby.

Details are on the head are incredible. Soft-looking hair-like feathering cover the majority of its head, thinning out as it reaches the snout area where it then transitions to very small scales. The nostrils are big and very detailed. The mouth is closed and there are wrinkles and bigger scales on its lips. Small sharp teeth are visible under the lips, unfortunately, they are colored the same as the snout so it’s not very visible, but easy enough to fix with a little touch-up.The cheeks are big and covered in very small and delicate scales instead of feathers.

The eyes are huge and looks up, again, the eyes look like some type of a printed sticker and carefully placed on the sockets and not just painted. This type of material used on eyes really makes the figure comes alive as it looks very realistic, it even captures and reflects natural light source!

Surrounding the eyes are what appears to be little quills of feathers, something I have never seen on any figure before and really adds to the visual effect that reads “very young animal”.The head is positioned in un upward direction as if the animal is looking up towards one of its parents. There are even small wrinkles on its neck.

The figure is posed in a sitting position that looks relaxed. The body is covered in hair-like shaggy feathers. PNSO was able to successfully translate the “softness” of these feathers in how they are sculpted. The arms are looks longer in proportion to what you would see on a fully grown animal, and this is pretty much expected. The hands are very detailed, down to the smallest wrinkles and scales. One small arm is resting on top of its knee and sculpted attached to the body instead of separate. The other arm is folded and held close to its body like a tiny “wing”.

The figure is sitting so its legs are folded underneath the body, but even in this position, they are very well defined and you can see that they long and slender, something you would expect from a young animal. You can see the theropod/bird connection by just how big the feet are, the shape, as well as the small little details such as the scales and nails. If you look under, it really looks as if you are looking at a bird’s feet. Unfortunately, the nails are painted the same colors as the feet so it sort of all blends in. But again, with a small paint touch-up, this can easily be fixed if one chooses. 

The tail is long and shaggy and curls upwards creating a nice arc over the body. It may look long and skinny, but remember, this is a very young animal that hasn’t yet started the transformation into a more adult-like proportions. Like the body, it is covered in hair-like long feathers. The sculpting is nice and you can see the individual wavy strands. On the underside of the tail there are some longer uneven feathers that hangs over. Unlike the arms and legs, the tail is sculpted freely and only attaches to the body at the base.

The color that was given is a rust-brown pretty much all over the body. This vary in darkness or shading with the underside being lightest in tone.The back is where the darker tones are concentrated with some areas of orange highlights especially on the neck area. Small white spots adorn the body with a few yellow-orange mixed in. The spots turn into more of a ring as it appears on the tail, perhaps turning into bigger tail bands once it reaches maturity.

The overall effect is simple yet believable colors and patterns for a young animal. Even being one of the top predators in the landscape, very young animal such as this one is very vulnerable to predation so an effective coloration that offers camouflage is important.The colors on the head are lighter brown with some orange and yellow highlights. There is also a big splash of white color on the side of the face.

Again, the colors seen in promo/box art photos is not going to match up exactly with the final mass-produced figure, its simply too complex to do it without adding additional production cost, so be warned! But I feel that what we got in the final product is good considering the level of details and variations despite some minor misses.

This figure definitely gives a much-needed break from the constant menacing and fearsome depiction of Tyrannosaurus we are so used to seeing in art and toy form. It’s always a welcome thing to see animals depicted in a whole differently way from the stereotypical way they are often made.

Even rare is to have a representation in toy form of a young animal that is not caricatured or made overly cartoony.In this and the accompanying Sinoceratops figure, PNSO have given us something unique and truly endearing. They managed to capture the essence and innocence of young animals in a way that is believable and almost never seen in toy form. They have succeeded in eliciting emotions in me that are beyond just admiring the sculpting skills, emotions that are akin to ones we typically feel towards a real, living pet.

So, finally, with this figure, we can finally describe the Tyrant King himself as cute, adorable, or even cuddly. Unless you’re hopelessly cynical, be ready to fall in love with this figure!

That concludes our review, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it. Until we meet again, stay safe and healthy. Cheers!