Creative Beast, purveyor of the jaw-droppingly accurate Beasts of the Mesozoic dino action figure line is back with everyone’s favorite horned, frilled dinosaurs. Having brought 35 raptor species to life with their first campaign, 25 species of ceratopsians are ready to have their day in the sun.

Left to right: Triceratops, Monoclonius, Styracocaurus, and Pachyrhinosaurus

The four dinos featured in the initial launch are Styracosaurus albertensis, Triceratops horridus (sub-adult), Monoclonius crassus (a Kickstarter exclusive), and Zuniceratops christopheri. But, as you can tell from the image above, sculpting has already been done for an even larger Pachyrhinosaurus.

Zuniceratops (front)

The sculpts are the most accurate ever done for a figure this scale, based on the most recent scientific information available. And the coloration is, in a word, spectacular. The patterns and coloration are based on modern-day reptiles from similar habitats. The result is a prehistoric polychromal cacophony not seen since Dino-Riders were on the shelves.

Monoclonius art by Ezra Tucker

Speaking of, Kickstarter, backers will see a familiar face with some familiar box art. The Monoclonius crassus deco is inspired by the Dino-Riders toy and will have accompanying box art created by Ezra Tucker, who was one of the original artists for the toy packaging.

Monoclonius with original Dino-Rider

As you can see, Beasts of the Mesozoic do for dinosaur toys what current Transformers do for the original 80s toys – they make real our remembered perceptions of what our toys were, rather than slavishly recreating them. What was, at one time, the pinnacle of accuracy, pales in comparison to these new sculpts.

Styracosaurus

I’m excited to see what additional frilled, horned dinos are added to the mix. There are a stunning amount of ceratopsian species recorded, after all.

Triceratops

Even if you only have a passing interest in dinosaurs, it’s well worth it to chip in at the $8 enamel pin tier to get regular updates on the campaign. The art will be amazing and you’ll discover ceratopsian species that you didn’t even know existed. When I backed the first campaign, it was like getting a daily archaeology lesson in my inbox.

Package art

The Kickstarter is under way now and you can get a Zuniceratops for as little as $25. I know I’ll be grabbing a Monoclonius at $50 since he’s the Kickstarter exclusive, but it’s going to be hard to not pledge more. Indeed, that $180 for all four starting dinos is quite attractive. These hyper-articulated beasts are gorgeous and well worth a place in your collection.