The Lost World Series 1: D.A.R.T. With Roland Tembo

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Dino Auto Restraint Transport with capture gear and missile launcher

-Missile

-Roland Tembo figure 

 

Description: the Dino Auto Restraint Transport (i.e., D.A.R.T.) is a vehicle with bike like qualities, which features a fold-out platform on its back part equipped with capture gear for holding a dinosaur figure during transport. When the restraints are not in use, the platform can be folded in so it saves space and makes the vehicle quicker. Up front, the transport carries a small, shiny silvery painted, missile launcher which comes with a single missile, coloured in a more diffuse shade of shiny grey. When folded out, the D.A.R.T. measures about 25 centimetres in length, reduced by about 7 centimetres when folded back in. The capture gear on the platform can also be folded in somewhat when not is use instead of hideously sticking out.

Most of the “bike” part of the transport up front is painted dark green, with silver highlights including the chassis and foot supports for the driver. Additional parts are coloured black, including the steering handles and the saddle. It's adorned with various stickers, including a TLW logo and InGen logo sticker and various logos of dinosaur skulls with red X-es through their eyes, indicating kills or captured prey. The platform at the back of the vehicle sports a metallic brown paint job, with the restraints and/or their supports coloured in either a light or darker shade of metallic grey. Most noticeable are the head restraints, which look a bit like a cage (which it basically is of course). Via a smaller support this piece holds a grappling arm for subduing the torso of any prey the D.A.R.T. carries. There are also small restraints for holding creatures' arms, attached to the back part of the platform, which is adorned with yellow/black stickers carrying a red sign that says 'Caution'. The vehicle has three black tires, one up front, two on the back part of the trailer.

This set comes with an exclusive Roland Tembo figure. It stands in a neutral posture, legs spread apart somewhat to accommodate him mounting his transport without looking silly. For that reason, Tembo also features bendable knees, instead of only having poseable arms, head and legs. He sports a beige shirt under a black vest, adorned with a brown utility belt around his torso, a brown strap over his left shoulder, another brown belt around his waist, brown gloves, shorts in a darker shade of brown including a gun holster over his right upper leg, and even darker brown boots with a knife of the same colour strapped to his right lower leg. He also wears a dark brown hat with a beige band on top and an InGen logo on its right side. His facial expression is bland and emotionless, and his eyes are also coloured brown.

Analysis: this is an unusual but original new vehicle. Though it looks much like a big bike at first glance, it's more than that: it's really a fairly large single creature transport for moving captured dinosaurs around from the place where they were caught back to base camp for processing. The really neat part is the foldable platform which saves both box space and shelf space, without making the transport look less menacing. The vehicle also comes with a small gun for shooting creatures it happens to run into: there's no visible button, the firing mechanism is activated by pressing the steering handles instead. It's only a short range rocket launcher, but it works well enough.

The downside of the D.A.R.T. is the fact it can only carry a handful of dinosaur figures (not all at once I mean, but different figures). It's usually pictured carrying a young Pachycephalosaurus or Junior T-Rex, which are indeed the figures that work best with this transport. Other potential TLW figures are the Dilophosaurus and regular Raptor, but the other figures of this toy line don't fit due to either their size or their shape. Similarly, few human figures can really ride this car. The exclusive Tembo figure it comes with was definitely designed for it, judging from the bendable knees. Most other figures just don't fit on the saddle or look plain silly while riding it.

Now for the Tembo figure that completes this set. It's definitely one of the cooler and more desirable human figures of the TLW lines, which is explained by its more realistic outfit (no dinosaur skin for this Tembo!) and the rarity of having a Kenner figure with poseable knees. The knees make him look butch while sitting on the D.A.R.T., a great white hunter triumphantly carrying his prey on a big bike for all the world to see. Also, if Tembo's knees weren't poseable, the figure would ride the vehicle with legs outstretched, making him look ridiculous. Though the D.A.R.T. is a pretty decent but eventually flawed vehicle, this Roland figure is more than likely the main attraction of the set.

Playability: decent enough. The back part of the transport being able to fold in and out creates extra playability options and also saves space when needed. The various capture devices on the trailer can only hold a single dinosaur, and there's just a limited amount of creature figures that really fit, which narrows possibilities somewhat. The gun works fine but has a limited firing range (about 40 centimetres) and it's a light weight missile so the impact force isn't very great; only smaller figures, like hatchlings, will truly be knocked off their feet. The Roland Tembo figure is one of the more successful TLW figures, not only because it looks realistic and even movie accurate to some point, but also because it has bendable knees, which is something rarely seen on JP action figures (in fact, this Tembo figure is the only Kenner figure equipped with this feature) and thus only adds to playability. Tembo also has the usual range of poseable body parts, namely legs, arms and head.

Realism: the D.A.R.T. is a vehicle made up by Kenner and not seen in the actual TLW movie. Though it's a fun transport, it's not very realistic. The smaller dinosaurs being seen captured in the TLW movie were subdued and tranquillised on the spot, and carried in cages in the Humvee transports. However, since this toy line's Humvee vehicle lacks such cages, this is a decent alternative for people who want an explanation as to how the dinosaurs were transported. Roland Tembo by comparison is quite a life like figure, sporting both a realistic and movie accurate (not fully, but more so than other TLW figures) outfit and paint scheme, and also a facial sculpt quite similar to Pete Postlethwaite, who played Roland in the TLW movie.

Repaint: no. Tembo's head sculpt is identical (except for the paint job of the hat) to the head of the regular Roland Tembo figure of this toy line though (depending on which variation of the latter you have). Neither the bike nor the figure would be repainted for later toy lines, though a repaint was once planned for the unreleased Chaos Effect: Night Hunter series.

Overall rating: 7/10. It's a nice and original addition to the TLW range of vehicles, but it's nothing particularly special, except for the excellent human figure that comes with it. The D.A.R.T. got a wide release in the USA, but only a limited one, or none at all, in other territories. It can easily be found in the States and on Ebay for relatively low prices, the latter being the best shot for people who can't find one.

The Lost World Series 1: Dino-Snare Dirtbike with Carter

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Bike (detachable into four parts)

-Carter figure

-Gun

Description: Carter wears a sort of armor over his upper body, resembling scaly dinosaur skin, though I’m not sure whether it’s actually supposed to be just that. The armour sports a dark grey paint job, as do the accompanying shoulder, elbow, and knee patches, as well as his utility belt. He’s got a black shirt under his harness, and also wears black gloves and boots. His pants are reminiscent of military camouflage pants, with the same grey paint job as the armour, now adorned with white stripes. The helmet is a bit of an oddity; it certainly isn’t functional, since there’s nothing covering his eyes, so in a high speed chase his face would get rather dusty. The lower front part of the helmet sports a white spot, like a surgeon’s mouth cap. The helmet also sports thirteen red stripes in an asymmetrical pattern, making it look mean. Enhancing the figure’s toughness is a large black gun which has a pin on its right side. Carter has a hole in his back, so the gun can be pinned there and he can carry the gun on his back. The gun is pretty detailed and realistic by Kenner standards, but has no action features.

I’m not an expert on bikes, so as a layman I can skip getting all technical here and I can say this bike has quite an accurate look, again by Kenner standards. It has less of a ‘toy’ look than the good old JPS2 Strike Cycle, the only other bike of the JP toy lines at the time. The bike consists of four parts, partly because it has a blast apart dino damage action feature: there’s the front part of the bike with the front wheel, which can be clicked to the back end of the bike. Additionally, there’s a black piece that can be attached to the upper part of the front: the figure can hold this with both hands. Also, the fourth part of the bike, the dino snare, can be attached to this piece on its left side. It also has a small pin sticking out of its right side, the gun this set comes with (which has a small hole in it) can be attached here, something I expect not everyone might have noticed.

The bike sports a greenish grey paint job for the most part, with black and red highlights, in accordance with Carter’s own paint job. The driver’s seat is painted red with grey stripes. Interestingly, the lower parts of the bike (including part of both wheels) are painted in light brown tones and spots, indicating this bike has been driving through sand or mud (it’s a dirt bike after all!), giving it a little history. The very back end of the aft side of the bike is actually a button: pressing it makes the bike break down into pieces with some force, as if being attacked by a dinosaur. As mentioned, the bike comes with a snare, several inches in length, which can be attached to the bike. The snare has a noose at one end which can be wrapped around a dinosaur figure: part of the snare can be moved forward, tightening the noose, ensnaring the dinosaur. This set comes with some stickers supposed to be put on the bike: two TLW logo stickers, two InGen logo stickers (so it’s clear this bike is InGen property) and a pair of stickers with respectively two red Parasaurolophus heads and two yellow Velociraptor heads, which can be stamped on the snare, indicating its purpose.

Analysis: this is a neat bike. The paint job is rather gritty and dark, adding some realism. The snare takes some away however: when attached to the bike it looks silly. But given the limited range of options regarding the act of dinosaur catching using bikes, it’ll have to do. The ‘blast apart’ damage feature is fun, but too “clean”. The bike basically splits in two pieces (sometimes three, when the black part carrying the snare also comes loose), but the damage looks too artificial and not as chaotic as the damage a genuine creature attack would cause. Most of Kenner’s TLW vehicles sporting dino damage action suffered from this lack of realism though. At least the blasting action works properly. The snare action is basically the same as with JPS1 Tim Murphy’s snare: pull on it and the noose will tighten, thus gripping the dinosaur firmly. It’s not very imaginative, but also works.

Carter himself is a bit over the top with his “dino skin armour”, but looks butch enough to get away with it. The paint job, similar to the bike, adds some consistency within this set and makes it clear the bike and figure belong together (though of course other Kenner figures also fit on this bike). The gun, attachable to both the figure and the bike, only adds some options to the set. It suggests Carter can use the gun without using his hands, as if firing on dinosaurs in front of him during a chase.

Playability: Carter provides for the basic Kenner playability, sporting poseable limbs and head, and standing in a reasonably neutral pose. The gun adds some little extra possibilities, since it can be attached to both the figure and the bike. The bike itself is not bad, though the snare hinders playability somewhat; fortunately it’s detachable. The dino damage action, though not very extensive or realistic, is a cool additional feature. The only bothersome thing is the lack of support, so that the bike can’t stand up straight, but has to lean onto something or lie down. The overall playability of this set is good enough.

Realism: the person called Carter we saw in the TLW movie never wore an outfit like this, nor did he ride a bike (though he did drive a car). The little we get to see of this figure’s face, the eyes, eyebrows and nose, doesn’t resemble Carter’s facial features much: Carter had much heavier and darker eyebrows in the movie. This figure might as well be a regular InGen “Marlboro Man”, or another Dino Tracker, instead of the real Carter. The gun, though monotonous in colour, is pretty realistic but I’m not sure this type of weaponry was used by InGen’s personnel in the movie.

When we ignore the snare, the bike doesn’t look much unlike the bikes we saw during the dino chase scene in the movie. It’s probably not the same model, but realistic enough.

Repaint: no. Neither the bike nor the figure would be repainted for other toy lines, though a repaint was originally planned for the unreleased Chaos Effect: Night Hunter series.

Overall rating: 7/10. It may have some downsides, but it’s one of the more realistic vehicles of this toy line and comes with a badass figure, certainly a match for most prehistoric critters. It’s worth tracking down and relatively common, so it shouldn’t prove too expensive or hard to find.