Our thanks to William who sent into Everything Dinosaur a detailed review of the PNSO “Yinqi” the Yutyrannus dinosaur model. William has been busy writing reviews on his recent PNSO prehistoric animal acquisitions. He is becoming an avid fan of the PNSO mid-size model range.

The Yutyrannus (Y. huali), is just one of several theropod models that have been introduced by PNSO this year.

Dinosaur Model Review

Here is William’s review of his latest PNSO acquisition:

PNSO 2021 Yutyrannus huali “Yinqi”.
1/30-1/35 scale model.
Length: 10 inches.
Height: 4.1 inches.
Box: Standard white PNSO issue with the acrylic stand and a beautiful booklet.

Looking at the Head and the Articulated Jaws

William starts his review by looking at the head and the jaws of the Yutyrannus figure. He comments on the bare snout and highlights the fine detail of the scales and the well-defined nostrils, before declaring the orange nasal crest as “a stunner”. The lacrimal horns are praised and he states:

“What a fantastic, feathered head sculpt, you will not find anywhere else, kudos to PNSO we have a Yutyrannus finally.”

William also commented on the eye colouration and the black skin folds encircling the orbits. Turning his attention to the jaw, he stated that the jaw of the dinosaur model is fully articulated and opens quite wide to show off wonderful white teeth which are displayed in a lipless mouth. The painting of the interior of the mouth was extolled and he exclaimed:

“The tongue sits flat to the bottom of the mouth and looks great with detailed nasal passages in the roof of the skull.”

Reviewing the Limbs of “Yinqi” the Yutyrannus

When compared to the reduced forelimbs of T. rex or Tarbosaurus, the arms of the tyrannosauroid Yutyrannus look powerful, each hand is armed with three robust claws and William suggests that these claws were used to hold onto or despatch prey. Even though the arms are feathered, the sculpting team at PNSO have taken care to give the impression of powerful muscles under the plumage, a point that William remarks upon. He also comments on the strong, muscular legs of the model with their large dewclaws and the padded soles of the feet.

The rough, shaggy integumentary covering providing excellent insulation for this large dinosaur in its harsh, temperate climate.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s 2012 blog post about the discovery and scientific description of Yutyrannus: One Tonne Basal Tyrannosauroid.

A Hunter Sniffing Out Prey

The review looks at the torso of the figure and the feather impressions covering the body are discussed.

William praises the pose of the figure remarking:

“The pose is that of a hunter sniffing out prey in a forward motion with the head posed to spot movement. Truly this figure is a wonder to behold.”

Painting a Prehistoric Animal

The choice of colour scheme is lauded in William’s review. He states that the tips of the jaws are black, but this colour gradually softens and lightens towards the posterior end of the jawbones. He praises the contrasting white of the jowls and the chest area of the model. The main body colour is described as “a rich golden wheat of varied shades from dark to light”.

William also highlights the dark wash that runs over the back along the spine to the end of the tail, which is painted a dun colour.

As with previous reviews, William concludes by providing some further information on the dinosaur.

Discovery and History

Temporal Period: Early Cretaceous of the Liaoning Province: 125 million years ago.
Yutyrannus huali “Beautiful Feathered Tyrant”.
The adult was 29.5 ft with a weight of 1.1 tonnes around the weight of Megalosaurus.

First described and named in 2012 by Xu Xing from a trio of nearly complete fossil remains representing an adult with a subadult and a juvenile tagging along on maybe its first hunt. All three have been captured for all time.

A great pity those that had discovered the specimens cut them into square sections for ease of transport to a dealer from the Batu Yingzi quarry. Imagine what more could have been learned from where they were unearthed.

The palaeoenvironment that Yutyrannus inhabited would have been similar to the temperate forests of the Pacific Northwest of the USA/Canada – warm and wet in summer and harsh in the winter but Yutyrannus was well-insulated thanks to its thick, saggy coat.

In concluding his review William stated:

“PNSO 2021 Yutyrannus huali “Yinqi” another great addition to their ever-expanding theropod line but a unique edition to own a fully feathered natural looking Tyrannosauroidea and presently the world largest feathered dinosaur”.

To view the range of PNSO models and figures in stock at Everything Dinosaur: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs.

The Everything Dinosaur website: Dinosaur Toys.

Our thanks to dinosaur fan and model collector William who sent in his detailed review of the PNSO “Connor” the Torvosaurus dinosaur model after his recent purchase from Everything Dinosaur.

Reviewing a Torvosaurus Dinosaur Model

Here is William’s review of the PNSO Torvosaurus:

PNSO 2021 Torvosaurus tanneri “Connor”.
1/35-1/38 scale model.
Length: 11.5 inches.
Height: 3.1 inches.
Box: Standard white PNSO issue with the plastic stand and beautiful booklet.

Looking at the Head and Jaws

William states that the head of the model is based upon Professor Scott Hartman’s reconstruction which gives the head a longer snout – a wonderful Megalosauridae head. PNSO have given “Connor” a pair of lacrimal crests these are only seen in an as yet undescribed German specimen, but they are an attractive feature of this model.

The figure has a fully articulated jaw with fantastic white teeth as is the norm no lips and the teeth indicate that this dinosaur had an overbite. Great to see a dewlap under the jaw – the head looks very natural. The pink tongue and very detailed nasal passage finish off the business end of this Megalosauridae head.

William went on to comment that the nasal ridges run from the top of the snout to the lacrimal crests and below a pair of pale-yellow eyes with eyelids and skin folds around the eye sockets. William also praised the detail associated with the ear opening. He noted no shrink wrapping on the model.

Commenting on the Limbs

As a dinosaur model fan and collector, William was able to comment that the Torvosaurus possessed a pair of powerful forelimbs, a stark contrast to tyrannosaurs. He remarked that the forelimbs on the model ended in three-fingered hands with a strong, robust grappling-hook-like thumb claw. William speculated that this large claw could have been used for holding or despatching prey.

The hind legs are commented upon, they are described as robust and anchored to an equally robust pelvis. The powerful, muscular legs would have been ideally suited for chasing herbivorous dinosaurs. William pointed out that the feet had padded soles and large dewclaws with blunted toe claws – a detail praised as in life toe claws would not have been razor-sharp, but somewhat blunted.

Admiring the Torvosaurus Trunk

When discussing the body of the Torvosaurus model William declared:

“The classical long Megalosauridae body, oh we have wait for this for a lifetime…”

The scales, textures and other details such as the skin folds are praised and described as very lifelike. The osteoderms which run from the back of the skull down to the tail are also highlighted in William’s review.

When describing the row of osteoderms that run down the model’s back, William said:

“The spinal osteoderms are not to small nor too big, just correct running from the base of skull to the tip of the tail growing slightly smaller.”

When concluding his review of the body of the Torvosaurus William exclaimed that such an eye for detail in skin and scales was rarely matched by other manufacturers.

Paint Application and Colour Scheme

William ended his review of the PNSO Torvosaurus figure by commenting on the colour scheme. He explained that the design team at PNSO had chosen a good, well-defined grey paint scheme which was broken up by broad, mottled stripes, with a delicate pinkish underside that was “very pleasing to the eye.”

The russet orange depicted on the antorbital fenestra of the model suggested to William that this was a replica of a male Torvosaurus in his prime ready to battle for territory and hunting grounds.

Discovery and History

Keen to demonstrate his knowledge of dinosaurs, William provided a brief summary of the Torvosaurus genus:

Torvosaurus tanneri “Tanner’s Savage Lizard”.

Temporal Period: Middle to Late Jurassic “Morrison Formation”
165–148 million years ago.

The year was 1979 Peter Malcolm Galton and James Alvin Jensen named and described the new type species Torvosaurus tanneri.

A second species was named and described in 2014 (Torvosaurus gurneyi), based on fossil material discovered in Portugal (Lourinhã Formation). The trivial name for this species honoured James Gurney, a world-renowned artist and creator of the “Dinotopia” book series.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s blog post about the naming of T. gurneyi: The Largest Meat-eating Dinosaur Known from Europe.

William added:

“2021 has been a very busy year for the entire team of Everything Dinosaur from the lockdowns to the move to the new premises but not for one moment have they faltered their service and stocks only grow and we you friends and loyal customers salute you all and look forward to marvels and surprises of 2022.”

To view the range of PNSO prehistoric animal models available from Everything Dinosaur: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs.

The user-friendly Everything Dinosaur website: Dinosaur Toys.