Our thanks to William who sent into Everything Dinosaur his comprehensive review of the Beasts of the Mesozoic Yutyrannus huali model.

William explained that he had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Beasts of the Mesozoic tyrannosaur figures. He was particularly excited about the Y. huali model. In his review, he states that the nostrils are very well sculpted with nice texture. The eyes are vivid with accurate postorbital crests and the nasal crest’s midline sweeps upwards towards the postorbital crests. The jaw is praised for its accuracy.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Commenting on the Model

The Yutyrannus was an early prototype for the large-bodied tyrannosaurs that were to evolve later. The body sculpt is carefully thought out and the model has a robust body. The articulation of the figure, the model has twenty-two points of articulation, is highlighted and praised.

William comments:

“Pose as you wish without fear of a toppling figure. You have a stable figure like the real Yutyrannus was in life.”

The reviewer explained that the fully articulated, jointed tail is easy to add to the figure. He found the fully articulated jaw complete with the tongue a delight, and stated that swapping over the feet was easy, but recommended care when making model adjustments.

Attaching the figure to the stand peg is easy.

The Feather Sculpt

The details on the model, particularly the feathers are described as “truly awe inspiring”. The reviewer exclaims that from “start to finish”, this is one of the best feathered dinosaur figures currently on the market.

William explains that as Yutyrannus was an early member of Tyrannosauroidea, the arms are powerful and equipped with strong hands and three fingers. He points out that the arms should be held downwards with palms facing inwards. William comments on the powerful legs with the toe claws blunted through wear.

The colour scheme chosen for the figure is based on Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus). The reviewer describes the model and comments that stability is 100% with either sets of lower limbs fitted.

Scale: 1/18th
Length: 16 inches
Height: 6.5 inches
Points of articulation: twenty-two

Packaging and Accessories

The model is supplied in a window box with packaging art and the data card illustration created by Shannon Beaumont. The articulated model is supplied with two sets of interchangeable feet with closed and open toe versions. There is a rock and snow display base, with a peg to secure the figure.

As with William’s other model reviews he provides some information about the dinosaur.

Time Period: Early Cretaceous (125 million years ago) from the Yixian Formation.

Location: Liaoning Province, China.

Yutyrannus huali Model (Dinosaur Details)

Three fossil specimens are representing three individual animals of different sizes. The fossil material was originally recovered from a fossil dealer. This dinosaur was formally described in 2012.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s blog post about the fossil discovery: One Tonne Basal Tyrannosauroid.

Classification

Clade: Theropoda
Superfamily: Tyrannosauroidea
Family: Proceratosauridae
Type species: Yutyrannus
Species: Y. huali

Weight: 1.2 tons
Length: 29.5 feet
Height: 9 feet

William explained that during the Early Cretaceous northern China had a climate similar to British Columbia, with coastal forests dominated by conifers. He also highlighted some of the coeval dinosaurs that shared this cold, harsh habitat. The discovery of three individual animals of different sizes found together supports the theory that these dinosaurs were social, pack animals.

In concluding his review, William exclaimed:

“For my first Beasts of the Mesozoic figure I decided upon their 1/18th Yutyrannus huali. It has great articulation, and you are purchasing the Rolls Royce of dinosaur figures.”

Our thanks to William for sending Everything Dinosaur his comprehensive review.

To view the Beasts of the Mesozoic model range: Beasts of the Mesozoic Models and Figures.

Our thanks to model collector William who sent into Everything Dinosaur a review of the recently introduced PNSO Therizinosaurus dinosaur model.

William begins his review by commenting on the model’s head. He praises its shape, the placement of the nostrils and the details shown around the eyes. The articulated lower jaw is also commented upon.

PNSO Therizinosaurus Dinosaur Model

Turning to the main body sculpt, the superb integumentary coat of feathers is praised with the reviewer awarding “100 points for this feature”. The wide pelvis is present, and the model has been given robust and powerful thighs combined with four-toed, plantigrade feet. The huge gut is highlighted and the reviewer confirms that the PNSO figure has a cloaca.

The scythe-like claws, for which this dinosaur is famous are described as “just perfection”. William comments that his figure stands unaided, but he does recommend the use of the clear, plastic display stand provided with the model for long term display.

Qingge the Therizinosaurus

PNSO selected a sloth-like colouration for their figure. There are no bright, clashing colours. The colour scheme chosen suits “Qingge”.

His eyes are a strong orange with a determined look set in them as if he means business, with a ring of green feathers around each orbit. The upper beak is pink with grey wash at the tip, with a dark wash on the mouth interior. From the back of the head down to the wrist the figure is a dark, charcoal grey which then transitions into a russet brown over the main upper body. The massive claws have a very naturalistic look.

Model Measurements

William provides details of the accessories supplied with the figure, the art poster and the clear, plastic support stand.

Scale: 1:35
Length: 7.8 inches
Height: 6 inches

He confirms that the dinosaur fossil material comes from Upper Cretaceous deposits of the Nemegt Formation (Mongolia).

Providing Information About Therizinosaurus

As with previous reviews, William provided some information about the fossil discoveries.

Three years after the end of World War II, palaeontologists and field teams were out back in the field looking for fossil bones. A joint Mongolian/USSR Academy of Sciences expedition was despatched to the Nemegt Formation exposed in the Gobi Desert. Strange, fragmented fossils were uncovered.

Renowned palaeontologist Evgeny Maleev (who also described the tyrannosaur Tarbosaurus), thought the bones represented a turtle-like animal. He erected the family Therizinosauridae. After years of research and the discovery of more complete fossil specimens, Therizinosaurus was revealed to be bizarre, herbivorous member of the Maniraptora clade of dinosaurs.

The PNSO Therizinosaurus Dinosaur Model

William described Therizinosaurus cheloniformis and provided details on taxonomy.

Classification: Theropoda
Superfamily: Therizinosauroidea
Family: Therizinosauridae
Type species: Therizinosaurus

Weight: 5.5 tons
Length: 30-33 feet
Height: 13-16 feet

William also described the Late Cretaceous environment as represented by the Nemegt Formation and mentioned the presence of large tyrannosaurs, the apex predators in the ecosystem.

He explained:

“Therizinosaurus would have been no easy meal for either Tarbosaurus bataar and the fleet-footed Alioramus remotus.”

To view the PNSO Age of Dinosaurs model range: PNSO Dinosaur Models and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

The reviewer added:

“Qingge is an example of how to execute accuracy within a scale figure. PNSO’s Therizinosaurus cheloniformis is the only version I’ll ever need to own.”

Our thanks to William for sending into Everything Dinosaur his comprehensive model review.