Within the birdwatching passion there exists one thing referred to as a “spark hen”, the species that sparked your curiosity in birds and bought you into hen watching. Though I’m a birder, I wouldn’t have a spark hen, however on the subject of the dinosaur toy passion, I do have spark dinosaur figures: the feathered Carnegie Assortment toys launched in 2006. Though I wouldn’t begin gathering dinosaurs for one more 4 years these toys confirmed me simply how far dinosaur toys had come since I used to be a baby, and that firms like Safari Ltd. had been maintaining with dinosaur science. Certainly one of these figures was a Caudipteryx, which I purchased on the American Museum of Pure Historical past in 2012 and was my 18th assessment for the weblog. Fourteen years and 334 opinions later it’s my nice pleasure to be reviewing one other Caudipteryx!
Sadly, though the 2006 Carnegie releases gave the impression to be setting a brand new precedent, firms have been reluctant to launch feathered dinosaurs. They’re on the market, certain, however not within the amount you’ll count on them to be. And immediately’s main firms, PNSO and Haolonggood, appear particularly averse to producing them. That is particularly odd when you think about that each firms are Chinese language, PNSO enjoys producing Chinese language taxa, and most feathered dinosaur fossils had been present in China. However to the shock of collectors all over the place, PNSO introduced a Caudipteryx determine in 2025, and we took discover. And since PNSO produced a number of ceratopsians, carcharodontosaurids, and marine reptiles in succession of one another loads of us hoped they’d do the identical with feathered dinosaurs. They didn’t. This determine was a one-and-done deal however wow, what a determine it’s!
I believe that a part of the explanation these firms don’t produce small, feathered dinosaurs is due to the present development on this passion to solely acquire 1/35 scale figures. The good thing about this gathering technique is apparent; it permits you to higher visualize the dimensions distinction between the world’s largest dinosaurs and prehistoric animals. The issue is that loads of dinosaurs, and arguably most of the most fascinating one, are too small to realistically mass produce in 1/35 scale. I’m extra occupied with species variety than scale, however I look like a part of a rising minority of collectors and the market displays this.
Amazon advert:
PNSO’s Caudipteryx stands 5.25” (13.34 cm) tall to the highest of the top and measures 5” (12.7 cm) lengthy. The precise Caudipteryx measured 28-35” (72.5–89 cm) lengthy. Measuring from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail (not together with tail feathers) provides us a size of 4.5” (11.53 cm) and utilizing that we get a scale of 1/6-1/7. PNSO advertises the determine as being 1/6 in scale.
The determine fantastically illustrates the birdy and considerably weird Caudipteryx physique plan. The snout is small and beaked, the physique is stoutly constructed, the tail is brief, and the legs are lengthy. The determine is gracefully striding ahead with the wings barely drooped and the top angled barely upwards and to the suitable, as if in a assured strut. The determine comes with a help rod however the one place it actually works is beneath the arm, like a crutch. Regardless of solely the information of two toes on the suitable foot touching the bottom mine stands effectively with out the crutch, however I’ll use it for safety functions.
Caudipteryx was a genus of oviraptorosaurian that lived in early Cretaceous China and its fossils have been discovered within the Yixian Formation, well-known for different feathered dinosaurs similar to Dilong, Sinornithosaurus, Yutyrannus, Beipiaosaurus, and Sinosauropteryx, in addition to Psittacosaurus. Two species of Caudipteryx have been described, C. zoui (the sort species) and C. dongi. The distinction between the 2 species are minor and a few think about them to simply be variations of the identical species.
The feather particulars embody a masking of shaggy feathers over the whole physique and contour feathers over the arms. The feathers loosely observe the define of the physique and seem densely layered. Examine this to the previous Carnegie determine with its skin-tight feathers that make it seem awkward and gangly, from a time when artists had been not sure of learn how to correctly feather their dinosaurs. That is no lizard in a hen costume, it seems because it ought to, like a hen.
The birdy look signifies that the feathers are additionally precisely utilized. On the arms, main feathers proceed down the second digit, and the third digit is vastly diminished. Two followers of banded feathers are sculpted on the tip of the brief tail and there are 6 feathers on either side, which is correct. The one naked skinned parts of the determine are the beak and ft. The ft are effectively padded on the underside however are in any other case skinny with taught pores and skin and tight tendons and detailed with scutes.
Junlang is painted deep blue and darkish brown in colour with black & white banded main and tail feathers, much like the first feathers of a turkey. Many of the blue coloration is centralized alongside the flanks and arms and the brown is paler alongside the chest. The white bands transition to brown on the wings and the bases and ideas of the tail feathers are brown, step by step transitioning to white within the center. The sides of the wings are white, and the within floor of the wings and tail feathers are white with a little bit of a brown wash over them.
Junlang’s beak is vivid blue and tipped in brown and the world round his eyes is pink. The eyes themselves are brown with black pupils and shiny. The ft are brown with grey toes and black claws, and the fingers are brown with black claws. There was some concern that the paintjob on the determine wouldn’t match the implausible trying colours on the manufacturing picture, however the determine is sufficiently much like what was marketed.
As somebody that’s getting type of tired of the standard ceratopsians, predatory theropods, and gigantic sauropods, the PNSO Caudipteryx is a breath of recent air and reminder of why I’m on this passion to start with. Almost 30 years have handed because the discovery of feathered dinosaurs, and so they’re nonetheless woefully underrepresented on this passion. PNSO has launched a couple of, principally of their mini line, and Safari delivers phenomenal dromaeosaurs, however feathered dinosaur figures of this caliber are just about non-existent. Hopefully this one-off from PNSO proves common sufficient for the corporate to supply extra prefer it. That is simply my favourite dinosaur determine of 2025 and if I wasn’t already a birder and noticed this man strut by, it will in all probability be my spark hen!
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