The Haolonggood Huayangosaurus was a figure originally teased on the 2024 Haolonggood announcement poster and since it’s a genus for which figures are few and far between a lot of collectors were eager to acquire one, me included. But then came the bad news, the Huayangosaurus was a bonus figure included with the Argentinosaurus pre-order. Why Haolonggood chose to include a Jurassic Chinese stegosaur with a Cretaceous South American sauropod is anyone’s guess, but Haolonggood confirmed that it would not be sold by itself, claiming that its small size made it difficult to set a price for it as a standalone figure. For those without the sums and/or space for the Argentinosaurus it looked like we were SOL when it came to the Huayangosaurus.
The Huayangosaurus then became available a second time, this time included with the Brachiosaurus pre-order and in two different color options. While the first release of the figure was green these newer versions came in orange and purple. Then, quite recently, a seller on Aliexpress started selling the Huayangosaurus by itself. Model Toy Center was selling the figure for $16.99, and I jumped at the chance to own a figure I would otherwise probably never acquire. With shipping the total came to $24.24, and the figure quickly sold out, became available again, and then sold out again. Perhaps proving that the Haolonggood Huayangosaurus is quite marketable despite its small size.
Alright, with all that preamble out of the way let’s discuss Huayangosaurus itself. Huayangosaurus is a stegosaur that lived during the mid-Jurassic in China. It is the most basal stegosaur genus for which we have decent remains and possesses traits that later stegosaurs wouldn’t have, like premaxillary teeth in the front of its mouth. In addition to tail spikes there’s some speculation that it may have had a small club on the tip of its tail but that’s not included here. Huayangosaurus is known from the lower Shaximiao Formation, a formation more broadly known for a large assortment of stegosaurs including Chialingosaurus, Chungkingosaurus, Gigantspinosaurus, and Tuojiangosaurus. Huayangosaurus itself would have rubbed shoulders with Shunosaurus, Omeisaurus, and Gasosaurus. Hopefully it wasn’t rubbing shoulders too hard, what with those shoulder spikes and all.
Huayangosaurus was one of the smallest known stegosaurs with an estimated length of 13’ (4 meters). Haolonggood’s figure measures about 5.5” (14 cm) which puts it at 1/28 in scale. The figure is positioned with its head looking down, as if grazing. It brings to mind the Kaiyodo Huayangosaurus which is positioned similarly. I don’t think that’s a coincidence and it might be a homage of sorts.
The figure nicely illustrates the broad and boxy skull of Huayangosaurus. The forelimbs and hindlimbs are of similar length and the plates are small, erect, spiked, and paired. The plates towards the front of the figure are shorter and broader while the anterior plates are taller and spikier. The figure has an impressive set of shoulder spikes, but these are speculative for Huayangosaurus. The feet are anatomically accurate with five digits on each of the forelimbs and three on each of the hindlimbs. The forelimbs are orientated outwards slightly with claws on only the first three digits. Four spikes on the tail make up the thagomizer and they’re pointed up and outwards.
Despite its small size this figure possesses just as much detail as Haolonggood’s larger offerings. The figure is covered in small pebbly scales with rows of osteoderms in the space between the plates, shoulder spikes, and hips. The plates have grooves etched into their surface and organically emerge from the skin with clusters of large scales around their bases. The shoulder spikes are inserted into the sculpt and there’s a thin gap between them and the body. One side even has some excess glue coming out from between the seam but it’s all too small to take issue with. Bunches of sagging skin can be seen along the sides and underside of the neck, torso, and limb joints. The ribs and hips are slightly visible under the skin.
As mentioned, this figure has been produced in three different colors. Although I preferred the green one, I had to take what I could get and chose the orange over the purple (I have the purple Wuerhosaurus). The patterning on them is all the same and you guessed it…stripes and squiggles are the order of the day. Black stripes run down the back and are nicely aligned with the plates. Black horizontal squiggles run over the shoulders and thighs. The blending between the darker orange portions and the paler flanks and underside is well executed. The plates and spikes are darker at their bases and then lighten up toward their tan tips. The toe claws, beak, and eyes are black. The eyes are big and shiny with dark eyeshadow around them that gives the figure a peaceful cow-like appearance. The paint application is a bit sloppy on my copy though.
It should be noted that the plates and spikes are sharp and fragile, to the point where examining the figure in my hands was a delicate procedure. Some of the plates and spikes are slightly warped and I even broke off a tiny piece of one of the plates while testing its flexibility. Handle with care and don’t drop it! Issues like these might be good examples of why Haolonggood is reluctant to make small figures.
The Huayangosaurus is a fantastic figure that doesn’t sacrifice detail or paintwork for its size. It’s also not so much smaller than models like the Diabloceratops that it shouldn’t be made available as a standalone figure. That said, it is a tad brittle, and I can understand Haolonggood’s reluctance in selling it by itself. Hopefully Haolonggood catches wind of its popularity on the secondary market and reconsiders their distribution of this figure. In the meantime, it will be difficult to acquire but not impossible. In addition to possibly showing up on Aliexpress again I’m sure there are collectors willing to part with theirs, especially if they got doubles of it with the sauropods it was released with. Of course, if you purchased the large sauropods then you already have this figure.
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