134: ITOY Carnotaurus Statue Honest Review

This is not the review I wanted to make, or thought I would make, when I pre-ordered this.
But it is my personal and very honest opinion.
Please see and judge for yourself.

[@JB-dm5cp]

If only you could find someone near you who would be able to give it a beautiful repaint.

[@DinosDragons]

That's the only thing that will save it. Unfortunately at this size, it would probably cost as much as this itself. I will ask around, thanks for the suggestion!

[@tueferbenz7492]

You're doing a public service with this consumer warning. The final 10 years of Carnegie had better paint apps - and, of course, better sculpts - than some high end statues.

[@DinosDragons]

Thank you. If it saves just one person needless expenditure especially in these hard times where all of us are struggling, then it would have done its part. Contrary to what outsiders may believe, many collectors aren't rich. We save up and work extra hours to acquire things like this, which non dinosaur lovers could never understand. I feel really sad that Carnegie line ended. It was what I started with, and as you say, their last models were really excellent. I have sold or donated many of my CollectAs, but I will be holding on to most of Carnegies.

[@wietzefopma9098]

900 usd dam! The recent pnso figures like the tarbosaurus are 40/50 usd and 10 times better in quality. Thank you for making this review

[@janabdul9266]

900 usd!!!???!?!?! What the hell i just bought the pnso trex for €46 And from What ive heard its the most beautifull model of a trex ever Made

[@wietzefopma9098]

@@janabdul9266 yhe he said 900 for those carnotaurs. Yhea the Pnso trex is amazing

[@DinosDragons]

@Wietze Fopma You are most welcome. I really didn't want to make it, but I felt I had to. The PNSO figures are so much smaller and cheaper, yet comparatively are miles ahead. If this diorama was shrunk down to PNSO size and price and retained its paint apps, I would think it was worth buying. At this size, you expect a lot more quality in terms of the paint applications. The worst thing besides the cost for me is that I am running out of space and this is taking it up. I am also concerned because all it takes is for someone to order this for the first time, receive it, and then conclude that China-made products are awful. When this is FAR from my experience, there are many many good studios in China producting excellent stuff.

[@wietzefopma9098]

I total agree. Ofcourse you can always try to sell it with real photos of the product and get some of the money (and space) back. And yes China studios are amazing!! Im a huge fan of pnso, but also (more fantasy,movie based dinosaurs) Nanmu and Wdragon.

[@carlosgarciacontreras2842]

This is heartbreaking! What a shame! Hope the company could reconsider their business model! Thanks for the review so much!

[@DinosDragons]

I feel really stunned. They won over many hearts with their Paraceratherium, including my own. We felt if that's what they could do with a mid-price model, imagine upscaling. Well, as you can see...

[@dinoxels]

How much do you want to look different from the promotional images and let down the buyers? *yes*

[@DinosDragons]

I was absolutely stunned. But when honest online sellers started to post in hand pics as soon as they received them, I knew it had to be far off for them to feel the need to do this. When I received mine my worst fears were confirmed.

[@markhughes8643]

The eyes themself look like something from the older Monster/Kaiju movies (Godzilla, Gamera, etc). So bulbous and any remote wash, or touch ups on them

[@DinosDragons]

You are exactly right. As you could tell from the video, I didn't really bother about critiquing the anatomy of it. I actually saw a few inaccuracies even in the prototype image, and the pose, colouration and meaning behind the diorama won me over.

[@Rawill]

Thnx for review! I planned to buy this and thnx to you I'll save money for something better) Also those woods on the base looks like big poops:DDD

[@DinosDragons]

@Ra' You have written down what I didn't want to say on video! But yes. I can't understand the colour choice they made on what would otherwise be an excellent base. It looks exactly like what you say. I'm glad that you didn't get this. I think it would be really painful, and even worse, cause you to have a bad impression of Chinese dinosaur studios. This is completely an outlier in my experience with Chinese companies.

[@petitjeanyves6461]

You are perfectly right!

[@lsean2950]

Thank you for the review! It costs like $350 in China now.

[@DinosDragons]

You're most welcome! So the price has actually fallen? Just wanted to warn people. This is really 挂羊头买狗肉。

[@HSPGelton2]

Wow, that bites... I can tell just from your videos that you're a nice guy, DinosDragons. I bet you spend most of your day with a smile on your face! That there is the crime - that ITOY made you unhappy :( I hope you can find someone to touch-up or fully repaint it for you. If I had the skill, I'd do it for free! I really feel for you, what a shame.

[@DinosDragons]

Thank you for your kind words Lee! I think there's nothing that can be done except a repaint as you say, and the extensive nature of the work that would be involved I would never accept anyone's offer to paint for free! From what I understand, this would require completely stripping off paint, priming, and painting from scratch. I only hope that people can save their money, and understand that other Chinese studios are still producing excellent work.

[@mynickisalreadytaken]

This is really unacceptable. Thank you for the Video. I think everyone can absolutely understand your opinion. I would never be able to buy something in this Pricerange but wow. This really has a Bootlegfeeling to it. This has nothing to do with a bit of Downgrade. As others said, I hope you find a solution for this Situation.

[@DinosDragons]

You used the right word I should have thought of... "bootleg"! It's really like a bootleg version of the prototype image. I hope that this video can help those who might think of getting this make their decision. Even in cases where they would have to forfeit the deposit, given a choice I would gladly have let go of my deposit.

[@jefflangdon3540]

Thanks bro, you just saved me a heap of money!

[@DinosDragons]

Thanks my friend, you've just added one more consolation to this horrible experience! That's what I wanted to let people know about before they sprung for prices that are better spent on far more worthy models or statues. Wise men learn from other's mistakes, fools from their own 🤣🤣

[@Stormtrooperfan219]

Thank you DinosDragons! You just saved my $1000 from buying this! Maybe id just purchase the sideshow. Dunno how much its worth but probably more than this itoy one hahahaha

[@DinosDragons]

You're _absolutely_ welcome! It's why I decided I had to do this fast at the time, because many people especially in the West had already put a deposit or order in, so they can decide if this is really something they want to spend almost $1k on! In China some stores actually seem to have reduced the price modestly, and I'm surprised they still dare sell this for $1k. Yes, consider getting the Sideshow. I would absolutely pay the same money saved from this disappointment for the Sideshow.

[@Stormtrooperfan219]

@@DinosDragons A little update: Found and bought myself a green Sideshow carnotaurus for approx USD 500. Hope im not overspending for that amount, but mostly im hoping the statue is actually good and able to represent Sideshow Dinosauria as a whole. Again, thanks for saving my 1000 USD hahaha.

[@kwaziness]

heres to hoping IToy doesnt send you a cease and desist 🥂

[@jhonjeromesatairapan6435]

The paint scheme looks like on some unbranded large rubber dinosaurs.

[@DinosDragons]

Tell me about it! Looks like rubber or plastic. Compare it to the Sideshow Carnotaurus which was 1/4 the price and came out like 11years ago!

[@jefflangdon3540]

Hi everyone. I would like to start my own collection - looking at higher end stuff any advice on brands I should be looking at would be appreciated.

[@DinosDragons]

What are your criteria? For example, space, anatomical accuracy, paint work, scale, and so on. Have a look at my W-Dragon vs Nanmu Allosaurus video for an idea of some criteria you might want to consider. Then go onto Facebook and look for some good collector groups. For example there's a group called Dinosaur Model Collectors. You will get a lot more responses there, and even see other collections that might inspire you. For higher end stuff on KZbin, one of my viewers has a channel called Titans_of_the_Earth which features only high end models. Have a look for ideas, and maybe write him. I'm sure he will have many suggestions for you!

[@jefflangdon3540]

@@DinosDragons thanks so much for the reply. Great help.

[@sirisirisakdiwan8303]

i Toy once had color issue on brown t-rex model... know I'm sacred and worried whether I should preorder the new dilophosaurus from i Toy

[@DinosDragons]

I understand your feeling. 1. The Dilophosaurus is a much smaller and cheaper figure than this, so chances are the chance for a shockingly bad in-hand model will be lower. Their Paraceratherium for example, is still very good. 2. The Dilophosaurus should cost a lot less to repaint if you really don't like the colour. 3. Learning from my lesson here, I personally would never ever do any preorder for IToy again. I would rather wait till it actually came out, and see the reviews first before deciding. I believe it's actually out for sale now, and you could try writing some of these shops to ask. Lanatimeshop for example, is one of the very few sellers who posted inhand models of the iToy Carnotaurus as soon as they received it, so I think they are a good and honest source to ask. Good luck!

[@Maximus_12ST]

I was thinking about getting it even though it is so expensive I thought it would look amazing but I saw your video, and I did not buy it and I will never buy it

[@DinosDragons]

I am glad I could contribute to your decision making. I have never supported bashing or cancel culture, but this situation was such I felt compelled to let people know exactly what they would be getting. It's unconscionable to sell people this at USD$900. Perhaps one of the worst things about this that I didn't mention in the video is that the huge monster box this comes in, still depicts the _prototype_ images all over! So you get increasingly excited as you cut through boxes and tape, remove polystyrene inserts, and get... this.

[@Maximus_12ST]

@@DinosDragons yeah thank you and I also don’t like hating oke brands but this one got on my nerves because like you can see that it is cheap plastic and the paint is completely off to what it shows you on the box and when your buying it

[@blooky102]

If I were you , I would ask someone to repaint it to be more accurate to the release pictures if I knew anyone that could do it I mean.

[@DinosDragons]

Unfortunately the people who are nearest to me would also charge an arm and a leg for this due to the size of this diorama. And the models themselves aren't actually that inspiring now that I look at them again, though maybe my taste has just soured because of this experience. Either way, that's also greatly reduced my motivation to have this repainted or even to give them precious real estate on my shelves again.

[@TITANSofTheEARTH]

To be honest. The preview pictures look like the carnotaurus where not only painted far better...it looks like they where made of another material! Preview - polystone What you get - plastic For me the paint looks not so good because of the material it seems...especially the head. Sculpt and Pose is nice...as you said. Around 250-300bucks like release prices from sideshow is ok. But 900 is a joke. Beside this it is disappointing that 11year old sideshow figures beat this... in the age of 3d printing and cheaper production. At 4:53 ...the head sculpt and paint. When you compare that too the smaller Nanmu T.rex or Giganotosaurus...they are levels above. I only like realistic and no JP-Dinosaurs...but the build quality of Namu figures developed incredible. They (Nanmu, Wdragon, PNSO) are capable now, to make statues like sideshow... but they don´t. Or the Damtoys Carnotaurus quality compared to this...it costs 350 at release? Much better, the mouth looked icredible good. Nevertheless you have it now ...and the diorama is nice to watch. The design is good and from a distance it looks very good. The closer you come the weakness appears. I payed 700 for my last piece Deinosuchus vs. Parasaurolophus yesterday. But it's 350 pieces sold out limited...and a sideshow classic. 11years old but was still sealed and in perfect condition.

[@DinosDragons]

I would gladly exchange what I paid for this for any old Sideshow! You are exactly right in the feeling I get when I have this. Promise: Resin Actual: Looks like PVC. This honestly looks no different next to my GR Toys Spinosaurus and GR Toys Carcharodontosaurus, or PNSO Ceratosaurus. Actually, the GR Toys Carcharodontosaurus and the PNSO Ceratosaurus look more like resin statues than this! You mention 3D printing. Actually, it is really worth while for people like me who can't paint for nuts, have it finished professionally... and it would STILL look miles better and cost way cheaper than this. Actually, your message about getting your Sideshow for $700 was a bit of a consolation. That's almost exactly how much I paid for this, and I'm happy your $700 was spent on that and not this.

[@TITANSofTheEARTH]

@@DinosDragons Hey, I made some videos of all my Sideshow Dinosauria Statues on my channel. 360 Degree 4k view, some photos and a bit atmosphere. Perhaps some of them you don´t have and want to see - greets.

[@sizzybubbles]

That's unfortunate. I get that prototype and promo images of figures always look better, but this is really messy. I like that you compare it it to much less expensive plastic and PVC figures as this iToy should have been a lot more detailed given its massive size and price.

[@DinosDragons]

Exactly right. I mean, as collectors we definitely expect some fall off from the prototype, but this is really so far away as to be incredibly out of my 25 years collecting experience. It's sad, I really loved the idea behind this.

[@TheSenSx]

Honestly they look exceptionally good...for 300/400 dollar statues ! Not 900 !!!

[@DinosDragons]

Exactly! Therein lies the rub, because when we pay for expensive statues we're also expecting a big part of that cost to the quality of the paint apps. Otherwise we could just buy a resin kit and have it finished by a master artist ourselves!

[@Nekrozed]

The sad music kills me

[@DinosDragons]

Lol I couldn't help myself! 🤣 Might as well add a subtle touch of humour to a sad situation 😁

[@ThatC0nGuy]

The base is the only thing i like so praticly you pay for the base for me

[@DinosDragons]

Sadly, even the base is let down by the choice of colour.

[@ThatC0nGuy]

@@DinosDragons true but i like the base more than the model which is ironic

[@michaelkawano1951]

So bummed for you. That paint looks really bad. I hope you can get someone to re-paint it for you. Thanks for the PSA!

[@neo-filthyfrank1347]

No way man he's gotta resell that thing ASAP. $900 is no fucking joke.

[@DinosDragons]

Thanks Michael. The problem is that this is not just a matter of layering. This is so bad that a master painter would have to completely strip off everything, put on a base, and then start from scratch. That would likely cost as much if not more than this. You're welcome but this "PSA" as you call it isn't something I wanted to do. I know it's likely to cost people some business and it's not the politically correct thing to do. But I can't let anyone pay $900 for this.

[@DinosDragons]

@Neo-Filthy Frank: Thank you Frank. That's the first thing I thought. Then I realised I couldn't in good conscience do that. Also to clarify, $900 is what collectors would have to pay for it in the US. I paid slightly over $700 for it, and it still is incredibly overpriced.

[@neo-filthyfrank1347]

@@DinosDragons Look man, I gotta tell you you're not making any sense. I'll address your main point but first of all come on. $700, and it's going for $900 elsewhere. I'm not an expert but it seems to me like you could EASILY recoup your losses. But for the love of God don't just sit there and take the beating, fight. You shouldn't just part with your money like that. You could make this channel much more healthy with that money, or use it for literally anything. I'm sure you have much better uses for it than a dinosaur figure you don't want. And to your point, the idea of it somehow not being "in good conscience" to resell this figure just makes no sense. I'll explain with an example. I saw a video of a guy buy a massive model of Bruce (the shark from jaws), the thing cost like $1600 I think and even at that price there were serious questions with the model's quality and accuracy. I frankly thought such a purchase was stupid and told him so, but he said it made him happy so he got it anyway. My point is you don't need to be dishonest, there are still people that will buy this thing. Put up a listing on ebay if you want, hell, even list at 650 or something fi you want to be more fair. But not everybody shares your same notions of quality and everyone has different tastes and tolerances. I gurantee you there are still people who like this figure enough to still buy it even after seeing your review. Use images of your actual figures if you wish. Explain the issue in the listing if you wish. If you get a buyer it'll definitely be someone who understands what they're getting, just that their priorities in a dino figure are different from yours. TBH in my opinion this is definitely the intelligent move in this situation.

[@DinosDragons]

@@neo-filthyfrank1347 Hey thanks for taking such an interest in this! No rest assured that I'm trying a few things with some connections to try to recoup at least some of the cost of this. But it's still in the process so too early to say anything, and it's likely to be a long drawn out one. If it doesn't work out, then your suggestion would be the way to go: put it up for sale with actual pictures. In fact, I notice that a few reputable sellers like Lanatimeshop are actually putting out actual model photos with their listings. I suppose they realised immediately how far off the actual products where. Once again thanks for your support in this! 😊

[@dcpresidential2702]

I thought the ITOY Rex didn't look that great either

[@DinosDragons]

Well that one at least wasn't claiming to be scientifically accurate and at its cost and size, I would have been more lenient. But I ordered this one not based on what they did there, but what they did with their amazing Paracertherium. This is really heart breaking.

[@silverfingerthesilverstack5062]

It looks plasticky compared to the original marketing pics, the base looks more realistic than the dinosaur.

[@DinosDragons]

There is a huge problem when the base looks better than the dinosaur! It's sad. The first thought I had when I saw this was it looks like a KO!

[@cosminbryant1243]

Is he made of resin

[@DinosDragons]

Yes according to the advertisement. But you would never have thought it to see it in person. I put this next to my GR Toys Spinosaurus and they look like they belong on the same shelf. I wouldn't even compare this to the GR Toys Carcharodontosaurus because the insane paintjob on that makes that look like the resin model, not this.

[@grandiosa86]

I learned it the hard way after I bought myself a ITOY Dilophosaurus. They promo pictures is just pure lies, and got something I could paint better myself. After watching this as well, I do not wish them well. This is cheating you goddamn people.

[@DinosDragons]

Tell me about it! The worst of it is, I bought it in China. It makes me angry to think of Western collectors getting this after paying middleman charges, shipping charges, and other markups. This is really outrageous. I actually wasn't feeling too good that day, but I felt I wanted to get the word out as quickly as possible before more people made a mistake. I'm glad you got just the Dilophosaurus, and not this whopper. You would be screaming bloody blue murder. It's very disappointing after their Paraceratherium though... that model is a stunner! But as they say, your reputation takes forever to build up, and only a moment to tear down 😥

[@grandiosa86]

@@DinosDragons Feel a lot for you as it was so much more expensive. I have tried to sell the Dilophosaurus for quite some time now, and not anyone interested, ofc I have picture of the actual sculpt I got and not trying to cheat someone. It just feels so harsh, I can't even get my money back lol

[@grandiosa86]

@@DinosDragons I kinda I wish Paraceratherium was horrible as well, then you would not have purchased this.

[@acrocanthos-maxima4504]

if this had costed much less i might have understood the poor paint.

[@DinosDragons]

Exactly... like half or one third! 😑

[@stoolpigeon4285]

How disappointing for you. I know the feeling when you wait and look forward to something great, and then the sinking feeling as the you see more and more things that just arent right

[@DinosDragons]

Thank you for your condolences lol. It really sucks as there is so much more I could have bought for the money, but coming on the heels of their beautiful Paraceratherium it's all the more disppointing. As they say about reputation, it takes years to build a reputation and seconds to destroy it. The only thing I could do was make a video ASAP to hopefully help others from making a horrible mistake.

[@stoolpigeon4285]

@@DinosDragons which company do you think is consistently the provider of the most realistic, up-to-date, and detailed models, and also at a fair price. That would also make a great video. Yours are excellent

[@dynamosaurusimperious2718]

I thought even if this review was your opinion,I'm not gonna lie it hurts to hear that this statue costs 900$,and all the work you put into buy this disappointment statue,also I still your day can be great.

[@neo-filthyfrank1347]

He should probably sell that garbage ASAP and try to recuperate as much money as he can. He said it himself that's like 20 PNSOs lmao.

[@DinosDragons]

Thanks Dynamosaurus! To be fair, I paid more like over $700. $900 is what most collectors will have to pay in the US. Still that's a lot of money that could have bought me a whole year of PNSOs.

[@StackPH]

Damn completely looks like a bootleg compared to the promo images at this point lol

[@DinosDragons]

"Bootleg" is the right word I didn't think of! Or a "KO" even. That's how different it is lol!

[@jeronym894]

For me the legs are worst...

[@DinosDragons]

Absolutely. It was just one piece colour. What you see on the video is smaller than life-size, so imagine how much worse it looks like in front of you.

[@gregmounts7648]

its a shame cuz it could have ben so beautiful

[@DinosDragons]

Exactly. Paint apps truly make or break at times!

[@kreculjkreculj]

It's like a cheap knockoff of the promo images hah.

[@DinosDragons]

Exactly! 😡 "Knockoff" is the correct word!!

[@RG.147]

Aww man, I feel bad for you if you have to spend so much money on a figure that you don’t like

[@DinosDragons]

Thank you, it was completely unexpected. I paid less than what many of my fellow collectors in the States would pay, but still way more than this is worth.

[@RG.147]

Yeah definitely

[@user-np9tg3jj1v]

They look like those counterfeits or those rubber dinosaurs from aliexpress that you can buy for $ 15 !! what a great garbage !! this is a fraud, friend I am so sorry for you thank you very much for giving the alert

[@DinosDragons]

You're welcome Okami! What you describe is the sad look that this has. The sad thing is I loved the idea behind it, and the sculpting itself is still decent (though nowhere near worthy of being in the price range). But the paint apps, that is really depressing everything else.

[@horse14t]

Your poor carnos (and wallet)! This is certainly not worth $900 in any shape or form! Whoever did the quality control on these clearly wasn't doing a good job!

[@DinosDragons]

I don't even think it's quality control issue, as in they deciding from the onset that this rubbish quality is what they would offer from the getgo. That's why it stinks. This clearly isn't a mistake, but intentional. That's why I respect Lanatimeshop, although I've never ordered from them. They quickly post inhand images when they get the goods, so customers immediately know what they're getting. When this stinker came out, Lanatimeshop quickly put up images which I feel was to warn would be buyers.

[@AleksisZ]

the paint job is a disaster, its make the material look like pvc instead of resin. honestly, you can buy really really good dino statue in 1/20 scale at half of this price in china (even cheap if you buy a second-hand item). itoy is so f**k up this time. i will share this to others

[@DinosDragons]

You are absolutely right! This looks like a PVC model instead of a resin. In fact I compared it to my GR Toys Spinosaurus and they look right at home together. With the GR Toys Carcharodontosaurus and the PNSO Ceratosaurus, they can't even go together because of how superior they appear next to this. One thing I'm concerned with is any first time buyer buying this will have a bad impression of China-produced dinosaurs, and that would be completely misleading. So many Chinese studios, like Dinone, GK, Black Horse and so on produce excellent work, and I'm very excited to see what they produce each time, even if I might not be able to afford it.

[@AleksisZ]

@@DinosDragons Actually in the online stores of China, itoy call themselves a US company. LOL

[@MadailinBurnhope]

yeeeeah this is not it, very amateurish

[@MadailinBurnhope]

also I kind of hate the texture? I don't know but it reminds me of the surface of a basketball

[@DinosDragons]

I didn't make that connection but yes, it looks like that! I can't believe how amateurish this looks. I have seen some master artists show work like this... as _early stage_ pictures, after which many many more layers would be applied. This frankly looks like what I've seen friends who have just started painting post online.