Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Mattel
Jurassic Park sequels are, for the most part, turkeys. The Fallen Kingdom may disappoint in the end, but it's already got some great dinosaur toys from Mattel fueling the hype train! Mattel?! Now, I do enjoy their DC Universe toys, but they are notorious line bunglers. I guess they learned something from Hasbro's pathetic JW attempt because I dare say these rival the original JP Kenner offerings. So many different dinos of different size and features right out of the gate!
The smaller dinosaurs lack any action feature and are fairly skimpy in the articulation department. They are appropriately articulated for the price point ($7)...and like you needed the gallimimus to do anything but be in a perpetual running stance! Dimorphodon scores a bit higher with his posable wings and opening jaw. The dilophosaurus is my favorite here with his hinged frills and removable "spit."
The "Roarivores" are mid-sized dinos with button-activated jaws and electronic roars. The first wave features Triceratops, Baryonyx, Allosaurus, and the hard-to-pronounce-at-first-glance Metriacanthosaurus. They all have added articulation in their arms and their legs are able to hinge out at the hip. I kind of wish that the jaws were closed and the button opened them instead of the other way around, but that's a minor gripe. Chomping action is cool, not matter how you get it!
While triceratops is "tops" for most dino enthusiasts, especially in having a memorable poop scene in the original Jurassic Park, I'm going to say the winner here is Allosaurus. He's got my favorite paint detail of the group and has some gnarly equipment. He may not be as big as the T-Rex, but he's still top of the food chain. I read that he would ambush attack large prey and bludgeon them by using his upper jaw like a hatchet. Cool! Also, I bought a replica Allosaurus claw while on vacation to
Dinosaur National Monument in Utah once...works together as a neat display piece!
There are human characters in this line from the whole film saga. Unfortunately, the "Legacy" characters are Target exclusives. Target is my most hated of retailers and I cringe every time I hear they are getting an exclusive. It's pretty much guaranteed that I will have to pay higher prices on Ebay to complete a collection, mostly due to the poor stock at my local store. Dr. Grant is packed out the most...I've yet to see Ellie and Muldoon on the pegs, and I have little hope of seeing Ian Malcom as he wasn't in the line debut. Sigh. It's a shame, because for 3.75 inch scale figures they don't look too bad.
Grant comes with a small, rubbery Compy figure that can clip to his arms or legs. This baby T-Rex was also a Target exclusive. Ugh! Exclusive dinosaurs! I really hope this doesn't lead to trouble in getting a Spinosaurus later. Anyway, Baby Rex has a button-activated chomp action sans sound. He also has a cool muzzle accessory that fits on his head pretty snug.
The Carnotaurus, Stegosaurus, and T-Rex are a couple of the largest figures in the line and feature button-activated attacks. Carnotaurus' neck bends downward as he takes a snap forward with his jaws. He might be my favorite dino in the line because of this fun feature...okay, it might also have something to do with his reddish color and devil horns. His shrimpier-than-tyrannosaurus arm have some articulation where they join to his body, which I find hilarious. I mean, what use are they anyway to merit some extra plastics engineering there!
Like the triceratops, stegosaurus is probably one of the more popular types. Spikes and spines, and a great sculpt all around! His action feature is great as well: a multi-jointed tail swipe. This low-rider must have been a tough meal to get. Definitely don't wanna get down on his level...WHAM!
This T-rex was a Walmart exclusive, with a special "battle damage" paint job and packaged with a smaller figure, monolophosaurus. It's one of the more posable dinos, with an extra joint section in the neck for increased head movement. It's jaws open at the push of a button, and shows off a pretty long and gnarly tongue before taking a bite out if it's prey. There are several different sizes and variation of T-Rex in this line, but I feel this one might scale the best with the rest of the figures.
There are lots of Raptors to be had in this collection, with different action features, sculpts, and paint jobs. They all feature moving jaws and some leg/arm articulation. The green one here has spring-loaded legs to simulate a jumping action. The gray one is from the more basic line like the gallimimus. And Blue is from the Walmart exclusive "dino-damage" line.
We'll take a look at the "dino-damage" figures and more Jurassic World goodness in the next installment.
