Described in 1978, Yangchuanosaurus shangyouensis was a large metriacanthosaurid from the Middle to Late Jurassic of what is now China. It was an apex predator and likely shared its realm with the stegosaur Chungkingosaurus, the sauropod Mamenchisaurus, and others. In 1983, Y. magnus was also described from China. However, in 2012 it was suggested that the two species are conspecific, with the type of Y. magnus representing a full-grown adult and the type of Y. shangyouensis representing a sub-adult. Yangchuanosaurus has been getting quite a bit of attention in recent years in our hobby, with four figures by PNSO and a handful by Mattel for various JP/JW lines. This genus has also received decent attention on the Blog to-date so let’s get right into the figure. Today we will be looking at the 2026 model by Papo, which was originally slated for 2025 but had some production delay issues.
I must admit, I am somewhat surprised I got this figure. Large theropods aren’t really my thing, and I have never really liked the aesthetics of Papo dinosaurs. Sure, they have come in dynamic poses with all of the bells and whistles, but to me they all look like movie monsters (and some of them clearly were inspired by JP/JW designs). But Papo has surprised us with some nice models in the last year or two, including an Edmontosaurus and forthcoming Anhanguera, the latter of which I also plan on getting.
This Papo Yangchuanosaurus is in a dynamic pose and about 22 centimeters across its widest points. The skull is about 3.8 cm for a scale of 1:22 for the type of Y. shangyouensis and 1:29 for the type of Y. magnus. I cannot tell from the nasal crest which specimen this figure was based on.
As mentioned previously, the dino is sculpted in a rather dynamic pose, hunched over and looking to its left as if something behind it has captured its attention. Possible prey? A rival? A mate? The possibilities are endless. The proportions seem good all around and its posture allows it to just barely rest on its right forearm, providing extra stability.
The head is nicely detailed. It does still have a JP/JW T. rex-like expression, though, but it’s not distracting. The jaw is articulated and on my figure, closes nearly completely and smoothly, almost completely concealing all teeth. And speaking of teeth, look in that mouth! The teeth are fine and sharp! And the tongue isn’t flat against the bottom of the mouth, either!
There are dorsal spines (scales) running down its back and some large osteoderms running parallel to them. To my knowledge, these features are speculative but not out of the realm of possibility. Otherwise, the tegument is mostly finely pebbled with small scales and finely wrinkled where appropriate. The color is a wash of various red-browns without well-defined stripes or other maculae. From a distance what looks like a drab brown toy shows a lot of subtle variation up close!
Overall this is a pretty nice representation of Yangchuanosaurus, and provides an option outside of China or Japan, and may be readily available wherever Papo figures are sold. For those out there that have more refined tastes for your theropods, either the shangyouensis or magnus morphotypes by PNSO may be more to your liking. For me personally, this Papo model satisfies my needs just fine.
With the CollectA Mamenchisaurus (I didn’t calculate the scale on the sauropod but looking at others’ calculations, they may scale well together):
All articles on the Dinosaur Toy Blog are written without the use of ‘AI’
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