PNSO To Introduce a Machairoceratops Model

PNSO are to add another dinosaur figure to the mid-size range of models.  A replica of the horned dinosaur Machairoceratops will be available from Everything Dinosaur in early 2021.  Everything Dinosaur and PNSO have collaborated on a number of new model announcements in recent weeks.  Perez the Machairoceratops is just the latest in a long line of exciting new figures.

New from PNSO and Available from Everything Dinosaur in Early 2021 – Perez the Machairoceratops

Machairoceratops – Soldier with Bent Swords

PNSO have called their new dinosaur model Perez.  The soldier with the “bent swords” is a reference to the curved parietals (bent horns on top of the neck frill), after which, this dinosaur was named.  Machairoceratops is pronounced Mak-air-oh-sera-tops and the name translates as “bent sword horned face”.

The Stunning Perez the Machairoceratops from PNSO

Machairoceratops – Plugging a Gap in the Horned Dinosaur Fossil Record

Fossils of this spectacular-looking horned dinosaur were recovered from strata in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument area of southern Utah (Wahweap Formation).  Palaeontologists calculate that this six-metre-long herbivore roamed the landmass known as Laramidia around 77 million years ago.  Its discovery has helped fill a four-million-year gap in the centrosaurine fossil record.

A Close-up View of the Spectacular Horns on the New PNSO Ceratopsian Model

Fossils of an earlier centrosaurine called Diabloceratops eatoni have been found in rocks that date to around 80 million years ago. The fossil material related to Machairoceratops plugs the gap between Diabloceratops and the later, centrosaurine Nasutoceratops titusi, whose fossils are associated with the overlying Kaiparowits Formation and date to approximately 75 million years ago.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s blog post from 2016 about the naming and scientific description of Machairoceratops: Plugging a Four Million Year Gap in the Centrosaurinae.

PNSO Machairoceratops Model Measurements

This new PNSO dinosaur model measures 15.7 cm long and those curved parietals are around 7.9 cm off the ground.  Several models from PNSO are currently in production and Everything Dinosaur will be making more new model announcements from this fascinating series in the near future.

PNSO Machairoceratops Model Measurements

Hinting About Future Model Announcements

Sharp-eyed readers might spot the figure of A-Qi the Sinoceratops (top left in the picture below), this is an image of a new PNSO replica that has yet to be officially announced.  At least one more member of the Ceratopsidae can be expected from PNSO.

Hinting About Future Model Announcements

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

The spectacular Perez the Machairoceratops model is likely to be in stock at Everything Dinosaur in early 2021.

To see the existing range of PNSO Age of Dinosaurs models available from Everything Dinosaur: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs.

New CollectA Models for 2021 (Fourth and Final Part)

Today, we complete our look at the new for 2021 prehistoric animal models that are coming out from CollectA.  In collaboration with CollectA Everything Dinosaur announces a further three new figures, they are an iconic prehistoric mammal, an updated version of perhaps the most extensively studied Early Jurassic theropod and an amazing Late Cretaceous ammonite with an incredible shell.

• A CollectA Deluxe 1:20 scale Doedicurus – a wonderful replica of a prehistoric mammal.
• CollectA Deluxe 1:40 scale Dilophosaurus – a model of an Early Jurassic theropod.
• A CollectA Pravitoceras model – a stunning replica of a heteromorph ammonoid known from the Late Cretaceous of Japan.

All three figures will be available from Everything Dinosaur around the middle of 2021.

The New for 2021 CollectA Deluxe Doedicurus Replica

CollectA Deluxe Doedicurus Model

This is a stunning replica of the South American giant, distantly related to sloths and anteaters.  First described by the famous English anatomist Richard Owen in 1847.  Once assigned to the genus Glyptodon, Doedicurus was placed in its own separate genus in 1874 following an extensive revision of glyptodont fossil material.

Model designer Anthony Beeson commented:

“I wanted to get away from the rather cartoonish appearance of some of the Doedicurus models on the market.  I have rejected the idea of long spikes on the club as these would be in danger of snapping and not so practical in what was probably its main purpose in mating conflicts between males where the idea is to show strength and not to kill rivals.  One can give a harder blow with a knobbly club. although no doubt used as well in defence, the limited movement afforded to the head would rather limit the animal’s ability to use the club effectively against an attacker.”

The CollectA Deluxe 1:40 Scale Dilophosaurus

CollectA Deluxe 1:40 Scale Dilophosaurus Dinosaur Model

The last new for 2021 dinosaur figure to be announced by CollectA is a colourful, updated version of this Early Jurassic carnivore.  A recently published paper (Marsh and Rowe 2020), revised how scientists viewed this theropod.  The shape of those famous double crests changed and Dilophosaurus was depicted as a much more robust and powerful predator.  The perception that this was a weak-jawed scavenger was replaced with the view that Dilophosaurus represents the largest terrestrial vertebrate known from the Early Jurassic of North America. 

Our congratulations to CollectA for producing a new Dilophosaurus replica so quickly after the publication of the research.

With the introduction of this Dilophosaurus scale model, the Age of Dinosaurs Popular Dilophosaurus figure will be retired.

The CollectA Pravitoceras Model

CollectA Prehistoric Animal Figures

The final new for 2021 CollectA figure is this spectacular model of the Late Cretaceous heteromorph ammonite Pravitoceras.  This colourful model extends the number of invertebrates featured in the CollectA range following the introduction of a horseshoe crab, Orthoceras, a belemnite, a trilobite, the nautilus (N. pompilius) and an ammonite with a regularly coiled shell – Pleuroceras, in 2020.

Whilst members of the public might be quite familiar with those types of ammonites with tightly coiled shells, as epitomised by the CollectA Pleuroceras (an example of a homomorph shell), in the Late Jurassic a number of new types of marine cephalopod began to appear in the fossil record with varying degrees of uncoiled shells.

We congratulate CollectA for their new ammonite model.

These ammonites became increasingly abundant during the Cretaceous. By the Late Cretaceous they were widespread and extremely diverse with a myriad of different types of shell.  So numerous were these ammonites, that just like their coiled relatives, many genera have become important zonal fossils assisting with the relative dating of strata.

A Heteromorph Ammonite Fossil

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Bizarre Shells

Unlike some of the more bizarre shells of other heteromorphic ammonites, the final shell coil of Pravitoceras forms a distinctive “S” shape and the body chamber is folded back on itself to form a retroversal hook.  Pravitoceras would have been able to swim with a minimal amount of drag due to its shell shape, whereas other more irregularly coiled ammonites with much more complicated shell configurations would have been encumbered by their shells when attempting to swim.

Palaeontologists speculate that these types of ammonites were either entirely epifaunal (dwelling on the sea floor), perhaps scavenging or hunting slow moving animals such as bivalves or snails, or they floated passively in the water column, like many types of extant jellyfish, feeding on zooplankton.

Whatever, part of the Cretaceous marine ecosystem Pravitoceras occupied it makes a great addition to the CollectA portfolio.

Model Measurements

• A CollectA Deluxe 1:20 scale Doedicurus – length 18 cm, height of the carapace 7.6 cm, width 7.6 cm.
• CollectA Deluxe 1:40 scale Dilophosaurus – length 18.4 cm, height 7.1 cm.
• A CollectA Pravitoceras model – length 11 cm, height of shell 8.6 cm and width 7.1 cm.

All of these models will be available from Everything Dinosaur in the middle of 2021 or thereabouts.

Links to the CollectA Model Range at Everything Dinosaur

To view the existing range of CollectA Deluxe models: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Models.

CollectA models and figures: CollectA Prehistoric Life Models and Figures.

Links to the Previous Everything Dinosaur Articles (Parts 1-3) About New for 2021 CollectA Figures

New CollectA Models (Part 1) 1:40 scale Mamenchisaurus, Kamuysaurus, Brontosaurus prey: New CollectA Models for 2021 – Part 1.

Our blog post about the new CollectA Models (Part 2): Megalosaurus, Neovenator and the 1:15 Deluxe Pteranodon: New CollectA Models for 2021 – Part 2.

New CollectA Models (Part 3) – Elasmosaurus, 1:40 scale Xiphactinus and the new mini prehistoric animals: New CollectA Models for 2021 – Part 3.

All three of these figures will be available from Everything Dinosaur around the middle of 2021.

New CollectA Models 2021 (Part 3)

Everything Dinosaur in collaboration with CollectA announce further additions to the CollectA range of prehistoric animal models for 2021.  Today, we highlight the introduction of an Age of Dinosaurs Elasmosaurus marine reptile model, along with a contemporary of this elasmosaurid, a 1:40 scale replica of the fearsome prehistoric fish Xiphactinus.  Furthermore, a third set of mini dinosaur and prehistoric animal models will be added to the CollectA portfolio.

• CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Elasmosaurus – a Late Cretaceous marine reptile.
• CollectA Deluxe 1:40 scale Xiphactinus – a Late Cretaceous, predatory fish which was geographically widespread.
• A CollectA box of mini dinosaurs (set 3) – contains 10 mini prehistoric animal models.

The CollectA Elasmosaurus, the 1:40 scale Xiphactinus and the CollectA mini prehistoric animal set will be in stock at Everything Dinosaur around the middle of 2021.

The New for 2021 CollectA Elasmosaurus Marine Reptile Model

CollectA Elasmosaurus

The CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Elasmosaurus joins a growing number of marine reptile figures under the CollectA brand.  For example, in 2017 a model of the ichthyosaur Excalibosaurus was added to the range along with a 1:40 scale CollectA Deluxe Kronosaurus.  The famous American palaeontologist Edward Drinker Cope named and described Elasmosaurus in 1869, he based his study on fossils that had been discovered in Wyoming.  One of the larger members of the Plesiosauria, this marine reptile reached a length of around 14 metres and it is estimated to have weighed 2,000 kilograms when fully grown.

The CollectA model depicts Elasmosaurus in the act of turning to attack its prey, with its mouth open ready to grab an unsuspecting fish.

On the subject of fish, the next CollectA figure we discuss is a replica of a monstrous predatory fish with a reputation for being particularly aggressive.

The New for 2021 CollectA Deluxe 1:40 Scale Xiphactinus Model

CollectA Deluxe Xiphactinus

A swift and powerful hunter, a number of species have been described from Cretaceous-aged deposits of North America, Europe and Australia.  Xiphactinus (pronounced Zee-fak-tin-us), swallowed its victims whole.  It had a varied diet, mostly fish and occasionally seabirds such as Hesperornis.  Its reputation for being particularly aggressive is well-founded, a Canadian specimen was recently discovered with the remains of a mosasaur flipper trapped in its jaws.

The aggressive nature of this bony fish sometimes was its undoing.  A famous fossil specimen collected by George F. Sternberg and on display at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History (Kansas, USA) shows a 4-metre-long Xiphactinus with a near perfect specimen of a ichthyodectid Gillicus arcuatus located in the stomach cavity.  It is likely that during the swallowing of the 1.8-metre-long Gillicus, the Xiphactinus was fatally injured.

A Famous Fossil of a Fish within a Fish

With a model length of a fraction over 16 cm, the 1/40th scale rating for this figure is around the right ballpark.  Fans of Everything Dinosaur on Facebook will recall that a poll was posted earlier this year asking for views and opinions about the prospects of a Xiphactinus model being produced.  The overwhelmingly positive response received encouraged the design team at CollectA to bring out a Xiphactinus figure.

CollectA Set of Mini Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models (Set 3)

The third new item Everything Dinosaur announces today is a third set of CollectA dinosaur and prehistoric animal models.   These sets have proved to be very popular with dinosaur fans and model collectors, the mini models measure around six to ten centimetres in length and this new set features eight dinosaurs along with a pterosaur and a miniature marine reptile model.

The CollectA Mini Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models Set 3

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website for more prehistoric animal models: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Toys.

This CollectA mini dinosaurs and prehistoric animals set features replicas of:

Dinosaurs – Alamosaurus, Argentinosaurus, Iguanodon, Mapusaurus, Mercuriceratops, Oviraptor, Therizinosaurus and Utahraptor.

Pterosaurs – Guidraco

Marine Reptiles – Pliosaurus (the replica that features in the CollectA mini prehistoric marine animals set).

Model Measurements

• CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Elasmosaurus – length 24 cm, width across the flippers 8 cm.
• The CollectA Deluxe 1:40 scale Xiphactinus – length 16.2 cm with a height of around 5.6 cm.
• CollectA Mini Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Set 3 – average model size ranges between 6 cm and 10 cm approximately.

All three of these items will be in stock at Everything Dinosaur around the middle of 2021.

To see the existing range of CollectA Deluxe models: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Models.

CollectA models and figures: CollectA Prehistoric Life Models and Figures.

For our blog post on the first of the new for 2021 CollectA models to be announced: New CollectA Models for 2021 (Part 1).

For our blog post on the second batch of new CollectA figures: New CollectA Models (Part 2).

Customer from Portugal Provides Feedback

Praise from Portugal from Everything Dinosaur.  The UK-based company has many customers in Europe including numerous fans of dinosaur models in Portugal.  We enjoy getting feedback about our customer service and the prehistoric animal models that we supply.  Take for example, Adriano from Portugal who recently sent Everything Dinosaur some feedback on the Beasts of the Mesozoic “raptor” models that they had purchased.  One of the items that Adriano had bought was the fabulous Linheraptor (L. exquisitus), adding to their collection of Beasts of the Mesozoic Figures.

Purchased by a Portuguese Model Collector

The exquisite Beasts of the Mesozoic Linheraptor exquisitus figure.  A model collector from Portugal praised Everything Dinosaur’s customer service and awarded the company 5-stars.

Picture credit: JurassicCollectables

View the Beasts of the Mesozoic model range: Beasts of the Mesozoic Figures.

Praise and Feedback from Portugal

Dinosaur model fan Adriano from Portugal wrote:

“Items arrived on time and in excellent condition.  Would do business again!  Fast shipping in a well-conditioned box and for a fair rate.”

With regards to the Linheraptor figure, Adriano praised the model commenting:

“Beautiful design from the great David Silva.  Love the paint application and the articulation of the figure.”

The Beasts of the Mesozoic Raptor Series Linheraptor exquisitus along with the Beasts of the Mesozoic Desert Accessory Pack with the Mononykus figure were given 5-stars by the reviewer. Everything Dinosaur’s customer service was also given 5-stars by Adriano.

This 5-star review is just one of hundreds of reviews received and collated by Feefo the independent ratings company.  This year (2020), has been extremely difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Everything Dinosaur’s dedicated and hard-working staff have been able to maintain the very highest level of customer service and top marks from Feefo.

Top Marks for Everything Dinosaur from Feefo

Everything Dinosaur has been awarded the Platinum Trusted Service award from Feefo.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“Our thanks to Adriano and all the hundreds of other Everything Dinosaur customers who have provided feedback on our products and customer service.  We are grateful for the feedback from Portugal.  Each and every one of the reviews we receive is read and we greatly appreciate all the kind words.”

To visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Buy Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models Here.