Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 2: Velociraptor with Dino Trooper

Year of release: 2004

Accessories:

-Missile Launcher with missile

Description: unlike most other original Kenner dinosaur sculpts, this Raptor stands in a very active pose, with its legs in a walking mode, left arm outstretched and right arm held back, its head raised upwards and its mouth opened. The animal takes on an attack posture and looks ready to jump on an adversary with an agitated overall look. It has seemingly every right to be agitated since its body shows numerous signs of near misses with larger carnivores: it has scratches and scars all over his body, some small and hardly noticeable, others large and plain in sight. The largest scars look like claw marks and can be found on its back, its tail and both legs. Other noteworthy signs of abuse are the end of the tail, which isn’t just bent, but looks more like the bone has been broken and caused a deformity, as well as scratches on the left eye. Also a point of interest, this figure has rather large feet to keep it from falling over (though it often does so regardless when not leaning on the left arm). Its sickle like claws are a bit small and the toe they’re on is stuck way too much towards the back of the foot. This Velociraptor has a very simple attack action which has little to do with its attack posture. When the tail is moved from side to side, the head swings along as if the animal is making snapping movements.

This Raptor sports a rather intricate paint job. Though its underside (lower jaw, throat, belly, lower part of the tail and most of the arms and legs) is simply dull white, the top parts of the figure's body are much more detailed. The dominant colour is light green, which is most notable on the back, top parts of the limbs and the tail. Darker green stripes run over this lighter shade of green: a pair of them runs from the snout over the neck and back all the way to the end of the tail on each flank of the figure. Additional dark green stripes are found on the upper arms, while on the legs they from a big 'pear' shaped form. Small black stripes in random patterns are seen on the neck, back, upper legs and front half of the tail. The various gaping wounds on the figure's legs, left eye, back and tail are coloured bright red, giving the figure a definitely bloodied look. The eyes themselves are also coloured red, with black pupils and black eye liners. The sides of the mouth are coloured black, while the inside of the mouth is pink (and seems to be missing a clearly definable tongue!), and the figure sports white teeth. The Raptor also has black claws on its hands and feet, and a white JP logo on its left upper leg.

The Dino Trooper figure wears an orange (or light brown) jacket with dark brown spots and shapes on it and revealing a grey shirt underneath, as well as silver tags around his neck and golden insignia on his chest. He also sports a black utility belt with a silver clip, dark brown trousers (with black specks mixed in) and black boots. His trousers and shirt sport some slight tears, like he’s had a conflict with an unpleasant dinosaur. He has black hair and eye brows, small green eyes and a rather grim look on his face. He stands in a very odd pose, left leg stretched forwards and right leg bracing backwards, left arm reaching up and right arm pointing down, as if he's very startled by some prehistoric monster in front of him. His missile launcher is painted in a light brown colour: it can be loaded with a red missile, which is basically a stick with a large oval shape with two round holes in it at one end. Pushing the end of the stick makes the weapon being fired, sort of.

Analysis: Another often repainted TLWS1 figure used for JP: Dinosaurs 2 is this Cyclops Raptor, which doesn't live up to that original name because both eyes seem to be working fine, despite the heavy damage inflicted on this poor dinosaur. The package calls him simply Velociraptor, but Battle Scarred Raptor would suit him better. The scratches and huge scars have been present on this sculpt since day one, but this is the first time the toy designers actually make good use of them and paint them differently to enhance the poor health status of this Raptor. It works to great effect and makes this figure stand out excellently compared to its previous incarnations. The rest of the paint job works fairly good too, thanks to the different shades of green on top of each other and the various details like the black stripes, eyes and claws. The only real downside is the undetailed underside of the figure, which just seems like it was never painted at all and remained dull factory white. This white itself conflicts with the green and causes an ugly interplay between both colours, but because of the figure's stance most of this bad colouring remains unseen, except for its use on the limbs (and on the JP logo), so it causes only a minor grievance for the paint job as a whole. This Raptor still features a wiggly head attack option. It works okay, but it seems like the tail won't move as far as before, making the action a little less effective.

The Dino Trooper looks largely unappealing compared to the Raptor's cool paint job. His paint job, though still featuring nice little details like the tags, insignia and specks on the pants making them look muddy, is overall rather boring. Unfortunately the idiotic pose he assumes has also been left unchanged, making him topple over easily. His weapon is crappy like ever: not only is the firing mechanism a real let-down, because of the missile's odd shape it's also hard to hit a target. Even a sculpts standing as unstable as the Raptor (when not leaning on its left arm) will be hard pressed to be knocked over by this missile launcher. At least the Raptor's attack action can knock over the Trooper, so it's clear who would win this fight, heavy battle scarring or not...

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the TLWS1 Cyclops Raptor, which was repainted twice before for JPD1 and as a JP III Exclusive. The Dino Trooper is a JP III Military General repaint with repainted missile launcher. The Trooper would be repainted again for JP 2009 (sans weapon), but this would be the last time this Raptor sculpt got released.

Overall rating: 7/10. This Raptor sports quite a cool and detailed paint job, finally making full use of all the scarring and wounds on this sculpt, but the figure itself is still not great. The Trooper is a not very impressive repaint of a lousy figure with a boring weapon, which does do some damage to the set's overall appeal. Like all four dino/human two-packs, this is one of the more common JPD2 releases, and it can still be found without little trouble, usually (but not always) for decent prices.

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 2: Tyrannosaurus with Dino Tracker

Year of release: 2004

Accessories:

-Muzzle

-Leg cast

-Hang glider

Description: this Tyrannosaurus has long slender legs, tiny teeth and a small head compared to adult Rexes, which is caused by the fact is was originally designed to be a juvenile figure. It does have the odd little two fingered arms seen on larger Rexes though. This figure stands in a neutral pose except for its tail, which is bent to the left somewhat. Its lower right leg hangs a little loose (though still attached) and can be twisted around, as if it’s broken or damaged in some way. The leg cast can be applied to the leg by sticking the pin on its inside in the little hole in the figure’s upper right leg. That way the twisted leg will “switch” back and the animal’s leg is healed; at least, that's the general idea. The Rex’s mouth can also be opened and closed. This animal comes with one piece of capture gear which can cover its head, like a muzzle. It’s coloured shiny metallic grey, as is the leg cast.

The Rex itself sports a rather blue look. Except for its underside (throat, belly and lower parts of the tail), which are painted greyish white, and a thick black stripe running from the back of the head over the neck and back all the way to the tip of the tail (and being thickest in the middle where it also runs over the top of both legs), this animal is all light blue, most notably on the head, flanks and limbs. The little Rex is adorned with various grey stripes: these are found on the flanks (two on each flank), the upper legs (three each) and the back (two stripes running from the back of the head to about half way of the tail). The claws on both hands and feet are painted black, while the ridges on these limbs are also black. The eye socket is black as well and harbours red eyes with cat like black pupils. The figure has white teeth. A white JP logo is found on the right upper leg.

The Dino Tracker wears a white sleeveless shirt, green trousers with tears on them, and black shoes. He has blond hair, blond eye brows and very bright blue eyes. He has some asymmetric details, including belts around his torso, wristband (right arm), glove (left arm), shoulder patch (left arm) and a backpack with a hole in it so the glider can be attached to the figure: all this detailing is coloured dark brown. Most notably, his left arm can move differently from the average human figure, not only forward and backward, but also up and down. The figure stands in an odd position with its legs wide apart and appears to be looking down. The glider is coloured dark red with silver highlights. It basically resembles a red triangle. The Tracker can carry it on his back, so it appears he's hanging onto it.

Analysis: the second JP: Dinosaurs line saw the unusual move on Hasbro's part of pairing its human figures from their JP III line with dinosaur figures from the old Kenner lines. This of course spawned some incompatibility issues, since the style of the human figures differs so much from the style used for the dinosaurs. This T-Rex with Dino Tracker set is a prime example of this: the Rex is the old TLWS1 baby T-Rex repainted, but compared to the Tracker it's hardly a baby at all (which is why there's no 'baby', 'junior' or 'young' in the set's title on the package. However, the figure retains its juvenile attributes (long legs, skinny body and overall cute look) which doesn't make it a very successful T-Rex choice for this set. Also, why would the Dino Tracker come with a hang glider when it's primordial companion is a land locked creature? Is he like the Jurassic Park equivalent of the Flying Doctors, scouting things out from the air looking for injured animals? A Pterosaur figure would have seemed a more obvious choice here, or a different human figure.

Aside from these issues, this set features decent repaints. The Young T-Rex (that's what it really is after all!) has been given a very interesting and imaginative new paint job, much different from any Rex paint job seen before. Blue hasn't been used all too often for JP dinosaur figures anyway, making this figure stand out amongst its fellow Kenner figures. It's also fairly detailed: claws have been painted, while eye sockets, fingers and toes have not been forgotten. The stripes on its body also add some diversity to this paint job. The only nuisance is the white JP logo which looks hideously out of place. Apart from the paint job, there's nothing new to this figure. It's still the same good old Junior T-Rex with its previous pros and cons.

The Dino Tracker is less of a success. It's nice to see him as a blonde this time around, but the white shirt looks ugly. The green pants, with the scratches and the various shades of green mixed in so it looks more detailed, make up for it somewhat. It's a good thing the alternatively poseable arm has been retained, since this feature makes the figure unique among JP human figures. Unfortunately, the figure stands in the same odd pose as before, which makes it look silly when it's attached to the glider. The glider itself sports a rather boring paint job, also very similar to its previous incarnation. It wasn't until JP 2009 until a Hasbro designer had some fun with it and made it look much more different, as well as way cooler.

All in all, it's clearly the T-Rex is the main draw of this set. The Tracker has some minor redeeming features but is little more than an accessory. Luckily the Rex has a rather small mouth and isn't in pristine physical condition so his human counterpart won't get chewed on too much... At least he can take to the air for refuge.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the TLWS1 Junior T-Rex, with repainted accessories from that same figure. It was repainted twice before for JPD1. The Dino Tracker is a JP III Billy Brennan repaint with repainted glider, a first time repaint. Brennan would be repainted again (with glider) for JP 2009, but this would be the last time this T-Rex figure got released.

Overall rating: 7/10. This Young T-Rex sports a rather original, appealing and detailed paint job and remains one of the most movie accurate sculpts. The Tracker is a half decent repaint of an imperfect figure with an unimaginatively painted glider. Like all four dino/human 2-packs, this is one of the more common JPD2 releases, and it can still be found without too much difficulty, though these days prices tend to vary.

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 2: Dimetrodon with Military Diver

Year of release: 2004

Accessories:

-Rocket Launcher with rocket

Description: this four legged creature doesn’t look much unlike modern day monitor lizards or iguanas, except for the large “sail” on its back. Dimetrodon also features two pairs of tiny legs (almost dragging its belly over the ground), a “segmented” tail and a big boxy head. It comes with a biting action feature: pushing its left hind leg back makes the jaws open wide, while releasing them makes them close with a powerful snap. The figure measures some 15 centimetres in length and 8 centimetres in height. It stands in a walking posture, with its left hind leg and right front leg posed backward and the other legs posed in a forward move.

The prehistoric critter has a mostly light blue paint job. Aside from its underside (throat, belly, lower part of the tail and inward parts of the legs), which is painted beige, blue can be found all over its body, most noticeably on the sail, legs and flanks. The neck, back and upper part of the tail are darker in tone, and appear more greenish than the rest of the body. A thin green stripe runs from the eye socket to half way the flanks on either side of the body, while similar red stripes run from the neck to the base of the hind legs. On its back, on either side of the sail, a thin black line is found. The sail itself is all blue, with vague green and red stripes mixed in. The figure has very small red eyes, white teeth, a pink tongue and a black JP logo on its right hind leg.

The Diver wears an all black suit, including black flippers, with an orange vest over it, as well as several green belts and silver highlights. On his right leg he wears an orange knife holder with a knife in it (non removable). On his left upper arm an American flag (no stars, just stripes) is found, so this guy is undoubtedly part of the US military. His face is partially covered with breathing equipment (silver with orange filters), though he’s got nothing covering his eyes (brown eyes with brown eye brows). He’s got a black air tank with more silver detailing on his back. He shows signs of a dinosaur attack on his left leg and right arm, revealing skin. His weapon appears to be some sort of missile launcher. It’s coloured in a slightly metallic light brown paint job, with a yellow missile sticking out of it on both sides. Pushing the end of the missile sort of launches it, though it doesn’t work very well.

Analysis: Of all the old JPS1 figures, who would have thought it would be the non canonical (as in, not in the films or novels) Dimetrodon figure that would make it all the way to JP: Dinosaurs 2? And it's not even a dinosaur! This classic Synapsid sculpt remains unchanged and still has a rather nasty bite in its jaws. It's gotten yet another fairly appealing paint job, this time using mostly blue instead of green. It suits him well and gives him a sort of tropical, jungle look. The various differently coloured small lines give him a distinct look, but the sail could have been used more imaginatively, maybe coloured in another style and colour to set it apart from its body more. Also, details have been omitted: the claws have not been painted, and neither has the inside of the mouth. The eyes appear almost totally non existent, they're so small. Overall, it's a unique colour scheme all its own though, which can't be said for the Diver.

The Diver was probably paired with this creature because it had a sail and Hasbro designers therefore thought it to be aquatic. At least human/beast size relations are more or less accurate in this set, which is not the case for the other dino/human two-packs of this line. The diver features the same paint scheme as before, though some of the colours have been replaced with other, but similar, colouration. The figure is still fairly detailed for human figure standards, but not surprisingly so. Unfortunately the Diver carries the same weapon as before, a rather ugly and bulky rocket launcher with a rocket that is launched by pushing it out of the weapon instead of pressing a button. It was a lame system then and is still lame now, while it retains zero impact. If it even hits the target at all, it has no effect: the Dimetrodon is much too steady on its feet and too heavy to be knocked over by the projectile. However, the Diver's limbs look rather tasty for the creature's big mouth to chomp on... Clearly, the Dimetrodon wins the day in a fight in any way, as it is also the best part of this set.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the JPS1 Dimetrodon, a figure which had been repainted before for JPD1. The Military Diver is a repaint of the JP III figure of the same name, with repainted accessories. The Diver and his gun would be repainted again for JP 2009, but this would be the last time the Dimetrodon figure (or any JPS1 repaint for that matter) got a release.

Overall rating: 6/10. This is an okay set of repaints. The Dimetrodon has a vastly different paint job than before and still looks good and bites hard; the Diver is less interesting and his paint job is not all that different from before, while his rocket launcher still sucks. Like all four dino/human two-packs, this is one of the more common JPD2 releases, and it can still be found without too much effort.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Tyrannosaurus Rex with Dino Hunter

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Dino Damage skin piece

-Three pieces of capture gear

-Bow with two Arrows

-Backpack

Description: this repainted Young T-Rex figure is a recast of its JPS1 counterpart, comprised of much harder and less flexible material than its predecessor. At first glance it looks like an otherwise unchanged sculpt though. It stands in the same fully neutral posture, and still includes dino damage: on its right flank a piece of skin can be removed, revealing a dino damage wound underneath, showing white ribs and red muscle tissue. The wound patch itself is largely symmetrical in shape. The Rex’s small two fingered arms are its only poseable body parts.

The Tyrannosaur's paint job also looks a lot like the one from the original figure. Except for the underside (throat, belly, lowest part of the tail) which is painted white, the whole figure is coloured light brown. It features various shapes of dark grey surrounded by beige edges on various parts of its body, most notably on the tail and upper legs. Additional grey and beige stripes are found on the creature's neck and torso, while spots of both colours are located on its head. The figure has black eye sockets with white eyes (and black pupils), while the inside of the mouth, including the tongue, is painted red and sports white teeth. The claws on both hands and feet are black; it has a line of dark spots running down over each toe (so three lines on each foot). On its left upper leg, the figure is marked with a black JP logo, along with the number .22 and a small Site B logo. This is very odd, since none of the other JPD1 dinosaur figures carry these extra markings: the Site B logo was only reserved for TLW figures, and the numerical system for the Kenner system already had the JPS2 Utahraptor marked as .22.

Three pieces of capture gear come with the T-Rex. There's the required tag, which comes with many dinosaur figures and is quite big in this case: it fits well around the creature's neck. It also comes with a leg restraint, which can hold on to both legs simultaneously. Lastly, there is a big muzzle which can go around the figure's jaws, effectively disabling them, while also covering the eyes, so the Rex can't see what's going on. All three pieces are coloured in the same shiny metallic grey paint job.

The Dino Hunter stands in a somewhat unusual pose, with his left arm held back and his right arm held close to his chest. The position of the arms facilitates him holding his bow. His left leg is posed in a forward move and his right leg backwards, as if bracing himself while using his weapon. He wears a brown jacket with golden “armour” like highlights on his arms and chest. On his left upper arm he sports a JP T-Rex badge (the black Rex skull and arms in a yellow circle, most famously being part of the classic JP logo). Additionally, he wears green trousers, adorned with a brown gun holster on his right hip and a grey knife holster with a brown knife handle sticking out on his left lower leg. He has black boots, and wears a tan cowboy hat with a green band on top and the right flap turned upwards, revealing a second JP T-Rex logo. He has brown hair, ending in a short pony tail, brown eyebrows and black eyes, and carries a rather smug facial expression.

This Hunter comes with a bow and two arrows as his main action feature. The bow is a triangular, mechanical looking weapon (not the old-fashioned Robin Hood style wooden bow) with some protrusions sticking out, most notably a large tip up front and a rectangular plate right under this, sporting a handle on the left side so the hunter can hold it, and a little hole to “load” an arrow on the right side. A long transparent wire is used to launch arrows with: this wire runs over the bow in such a fashion that it appears there's actually three wires instead of one. The bow sports a silver paint job. Two different arrows come with it, a long one with a cone shaped tip and a shorter arrow with a flatter tip. Both arrows are metallic grey in colour and have a tiny incision at their ends so they can be loaded in the bow by sticking them through the small hole and pressing the incision around one of the strings. Pulling the string backwards thus launches the arrow. The figure also comes with a small black backpack for storing the arrows when not used. It's basically a hollow basket with straps on it so he can carry it on his back.

Analysis: not only smaller classic dinosaur figures return for the first JP: Dinosaur toy line, it also witnesses the return of the dinosaur prince, the former Young T-Rex from the very first Jurassic Park line (though the 'young' part is left out this time, but it's still not the size of a fully grown T-Rex). The creature appears very similar to its iconic forefather, but things are not what they seem... This is not merely a repaint, it's actually a recast. The old flexible 'real feel' dino skin has been replaced with stronger and harder material. Unfortunately, this was a bad decision on the designers' part, since it mostly kills the 'crunching' action mentioned on its box, as well as the dino damage option. Pressing the neck to make the jaws open just doesn't work any more; in fact, the jaws can't really be opened much at all. It even has trouble clutching the Dino Hunter between its jaws. So there goes this dinosaur's only attack option... Which leaves us with its most vulnerable point, the dino damage wound. The wound piece is still there, in the same spot as before. However, because of the new material the figure is made of, it's very hard to remove the wound cover, and even harder to put it back. Remember the difficulties with removing the TLWS1 Pachycephalosaurus' wound piece? Same thing here, but even worse! This sadly doesn't leave the T-Rex with much, except for being a decently sized good looking figure.

The paint job is also very similar to the one used on the old JPS1 Young T-Rex, which was also coloured light brown with a white underside and grey stripes and shapes on its back, but the additional beige colourations are new. Details like the inside of the mouth and the claws are not forgotten, while extra features like black eye sockets and spotted toes enhance it further. Still, it's not the best of paint jobs. It seems overly festive but dull at the same time, like confetti with all the happy bright colours removed. Overall, changes have been made to this T-Rex that shouldn't have been made, and the set suffers from it.

That leaves the Dino Hunter to clean up the mess a bit. Former Sgt. T-Rex Turner (this time actually paired with a T-Rex!) has been demoted to random 'dino hunter', but at least his paint job doesn't look the worse from it. His new colour scheme actually is a nice change from his rather dull original paint job. The position of his arms is still a bit of a nuisance, but works well in combination with his bow and arrows. This weapon works as it did before: it takes some practice but it can actually launch arrows, though these would do little damage to the Tyrannosaurus (though as we have established above, Rex won't bite back much any more). The backpack still comes in handy for storing unused arrows. This figure may not be the most likely dino tracker to pair up with the T-Rex, but it's nice to see an actually complete JPS2 figure return for a change, instead of just Jaws Jackson's head stuck on a TLW figure.

Repaint: yes. This is a repainted recast of the original JPS1 Young T-Rex (already repainted for JPS2 and as a TLW Exclusive), with repainted (and also recast) dino damage, and capture gear first seen on its JPS2 counterpart. The Dino Hunter is a JPS2 Sgt. T-Rex Turner repaint, with accessories from that same figure. Both figures would not be repainted again.

Overall rating: 6/10. Though this Tyrannosaurus is still a good figure, its paint job is nothing special and the new material it's composed of effectively kills both the biting action and the ease with which the dino damage could previously be applied. The rest of the set is okay, though also not particularly appealing, but at least not with butchered action features. This set is not the easiest find of this toy line, especially in MIB or complete condition. It could take a while to track it down, plus a fair amount of cash to acquire it. You might very well find it to be unworthy of the effort.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Electronic Dilophosaurus

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Removable frill

-Three pieces of capture gear

Description: this Dilophosaurus is electronic and sports a biting action. When pulling the left arm back the mouth opens and produces two short identical screeches which in no way resemble the rattling and hissing sounds this creature made in the movie. Most noticeably, this figure is equipped with a big frill, largely round in shape with serrated edges. The frill can be placed around the creature’s neck, making it look more aggressive and dangerous than it looks without. It can also be applied to various other figures, though more for fun than for realism. Like any good Dilophosaurus figure, this sculpt sports the same double crest with small spikes behind on its head. The creature stands in a largely neutral posture, though its tail is raised upwards. It has some trouble standing on its two legs since it’s not very well balanced, but making it lean on its tail in a tripod position solves that particular problem and makes it look more dominating.

This Spitter sports a fairly simple paint job despite the ample colouring possibilities the frill and crests offer. The lower parts of the sculpt (belly, most of the flanks, arms, feet, most of the legs, lower part of the tail and portions of the head, including the inward parts of the crests) are all light grey, while the rest of the figure (the back, upper part of the tail, the front sides of the upper legs, the neck and the area around the eyes) is dark green. Green shapes run out of this colouring over the flanks and sides of the tail and neck. Hardly noticeable, lighter green colouring runs around the edges of the darker shade of green on most of its body. Most of the lower jaw and throat are purple. The inside of the figure's mouth is also purple, including the tongue, while it has small white eyes with black irises and tiny white teeth. Its claws are not painted in a different colour. On its left upper leg it carries a black JP logo. The frill is also grey and is covered with green around the edges on both sides, including the aforementioned lighter green hue, as well as purple stripes and small lighter green spots on the front side.

This dinosaur comes with three pieces of capture gear. The first part is the standard tag which fits around various body parts. The second piece restrains both the arms and legs simultaneously, while the third piece covers the head, including its crests. All three pieces are painted in the same shiny metallic grey paint job.

Analysis: the classic Electronic Dilophosaurus from the very first JP toy line from 1993 also returns for the first JP: Dinosaurs line. Unfortunately, there's nothing this figure adds to the already existing sculpt. Both the paint job and paint scheme are largely identical to its predecessor, though the original white has been replaced with grey and this new release sports a darker paint job overall. Even the colour schemes on the crests and frill are practically the same, which is a real shame because body accessories like these provide great opportunities for wild colouration try-outs, but apparently no designer rose to this challenge. The only notable difference is the back of the frill, which also has coloured edges now. Furthermore, some details have been omitted, like the claws on both hands and feet, but the inside of the mouth at least is painted. The sound FX have been beefed up a few notches and sound more impressive than before. However, for some reason the mouth won't open as far as before, making for a less effective attack action. It could just be my particular specimen, but the feeling is raised that the designers tampered with its strike feature when improving the electronics.

Unlike the original JPS1 Electronic Dilophosaurus, this figure comes with capture gear. None of the three pieces were designed for it of course, but at least they fit. The limb piece works pretty well and does an adequate job of restraining arms and legs. The head piece is a near perfect fit, which is especially interesting knowing this particular part also comes with the Dimetrodon and Ornithosuchus figures of this toy line: it seems to be a fairly universal muzzle. The tag is just the standard little nuisance, the sort of thing people keep misplacing, severely irritating collectors who aim to get the figure complete when in loose condition, all the while not providing any real function but to tell people this is a Jurassic Park figure, which of course everybody can see by the JP logo on the figure's left leg.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the old JPS1 Electronic Dilophosaurus, with repainted capture gear from the JPS2 Velociraptor and TLWS2 Ornithosuchus figures, as well as the typical tag found on many dinosaur figures from various JP toy lines. The figure would not be repainted again.

Overall rating: 6/10. It's still a fairly decent Dilophosaurus sculpt with greatly enhanced sound FX and usable capture gear, but the paint job is just a terribly big let-down and the attack option has lost its impact. This is one of the more common electronic dinosaurs from this line, but still not always an easy find, especially MIB or complete.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Baryonyx and Dinosaur Tracker

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Two pieces of capture gear

-Machete

-Shot gun

-Stun prod

Description: Baryonyx assumes a walking posture, with its left leg moved forward and its right leg posed backward. Its tail is not bent as much as the other Bary figures, since this figure's card is large enough to accommodate its overall length. Its back and neck are covered in rows of small bumps, while a single small horn is found on the snout. It is equipped with a whipping action: pulling the right leg back and forth makes the head spin around, as if the creature is thrashing its head. This also features a dinosaur-breaks-free-of-restraint-gear action: when the capture gear is on, the Baryonyx can break free by thrashing its head left and right. Additionally, the beast’s lower jaw snaps back when pulled down and released, making it possible for this sculpt to clasp other figures between its jaws, though the mouth can’t open really wide so most figures won’t fit.

This dinosaur figure sports brown colouring on its back, neck, head, upper part of the tail and the very upper part of the limbs. This brown gradually shifts to green, which is located on the flanks and the underside of the creature (belly, throat, lower jaw, lower part of the tail) for the most part, as well as on the rest of the limbs. The figure carries randomly patterned black spots all over its back, neck and upper tail, and features a small black horn between its nostrils, as well as blue circles around its white eyes (with cat like black pupils). The claws on both arms and legs are black, while a black JP logo is found on the right upper leg. The figure also has white teeth and the inside of its mouth, including its tongue, is red.

This Bary comes with two pieces of capture gear, which form a sort of harness around the creature’s upper body and restrain its arms and head. However, it wouldn’t stop the creature from just walking away. Both pieces are painted in dark yellow, an unusual colour for capture gear.

The Dinosaur Tracker is a broad shouldered, butch looking figure of a man, sporting a brownish yellow field suit with numerous pockets, wearing a brown shirt underneath the suit, brown arm patches, black utility belts, an almost golden ammo belt around his torso, black boots and a pair of black sunglasses. He also has black hair and a Elvis like hairdo. He stands with his legs wide apart in a bracing pose with his left leg stretched forwards and his right leg backwards. His head is a bit too small compared to his body. Pressing his legs together makes his left arm move, so it looks like he’s making slashing moves when holding one of his weapons.

He has three different weapons, none of which are capable of action features; these weapons are mere props but they’re much more realistic than most of the weapons that come with human figures. The Tracker carries a stun prod with a cross shaped end, as well as a shot gun and a machete. All weapons are coloured dull grey.

Analysis: the first JP: Dinosaurs line introduced a new concept, namely pairing human figures and their accessories with basic dinosaurs instead of hatchlings, making for the bigger dino/human 2-packs of this line (and similar sets for JPD2). For the time this was unique, a little bit of originality in a line consisting solely of repaints. One of the first such sets was this Baryonyx with Dinosaur Tracker set. It's an interesting pairing of figures, though as far as compatibility of action features goes, not the most successful match. The Tracker is too big for the Bary to clutch between its jaws and viciously spin it around, nor is his arm chop movement sufficient to take down the carnivore with whichever of the three weapons he holds. You could say this makes it a draw.

As far as the paint jobs go, this is not a bad set. Though the Bary's paint scheme is identical to that of its TLWS2 predecessor, the colouration has improved. Green and brown fits the Baryonyx well, even being reminiscent of the paint job of the old JPS2 Baryonyx. Also, the figure's details have not been forgotten this time: the claws on both hands and feet, the horn on the snout, the inside of the mouth, it's all painted. It even got some extra detailing round the eyes, though these themselves are less pretty, being simply white. Another improvement for this figure is the fact that it's tail is more stretched out due to the bigger packaging, which means that it is better balanced this time around and can stand up on its two legs more easily, while the tail doesn't hit the ground. Unfortunately this is only the case when its capture gear is not applied. The gear itself got a yellow paint job, which makes it stand out among all JP capture gear. It also adds some extra colour to this set.

The Dino Tracker paint job is not all that different from the original colouring on TLWS1 Peter Ludlow. It's somewhat darker, but overall pretty close to that we got before. Nothing has been added to this human figure, though the JP logo on his right arm has been removed for some reason. His arm chop action is still a solid feature, though it only works on smaller prey. The tall and handsome Tracker makes for a good addition to the small team of human figures of this toy line, but otherwise there's little worth of interest to him, since the Baryonyx is definitely the biggest draw of the set. After all, this line is all about the dinosaurs, eh?

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the original TLWS2 Baryonyx, including that figure's capture gear repainted, along with a TLWS1 Peter Ludlow repaint, including all of Ludlow's accessories save for the Raptor hatchling. Neither the Bary nor Ludlow would be repainted for later toy lines (though Ludlow's head would also be seen on an Ajay repaint in the Stegosaurus with Dinosaur Hunter set of Wave 2 of this toy line, which also featured a single brown Baryonyx figure).

Overall rating: 7/10. A decent set, with an effective and appealing, though not very original, paint job. This set is definitely harder to find than most other JPD1 Wave 1 releases, especially in MOC or complete condition. It probably will require a fair amount of patience and cash to acquire it.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Ornithosuchus

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Two pieces of capture gear

-Dino damage tail

Description: this bizarre slender reptilian creature assumes a walking posture. It sports a monochromatic paint job, basically being all beige. The underside of the figure (its belly, lower part of the tail, part of the lower jaw and throat) is coloured in a darker tone of beige (almost light brown or orange), which gradually shifts in the regular hue. A large number of red stripes run over its back, tail, flanks, neck and head. The inside of its huge mouth is all red including its tongue, while the figure has white teeth, including a total of six large teeth, almost fangs; two of these stick out of the upper jaw, four out of the front of the lower jaw. The Ornithosuchus has small white eyes with black pupils and carries a black JP logo on its right upper leg. The creature’s claws are not painted in a different colour. The inside parts of the dino damage area are bright red, while the pin sticking out is also beige.

The Ornithosuchus is equipped with a thrashing action: moving the right hind leg makes the head spin round. Additionally, the beast’s lower jaw snaps back when pulled down and released, making it possible for this sculpt to clasp other figures between its jaws. Ornithosuchus also comes with dino damage: it features a removable tail section, revealing blood tissue and a pin (resembling a bone) sticking out, on which the tail can be pinned back.

The figure also comes with two pieces of capture gear, a small chain to restrain the limbs (though only two of them at the same time, not all four), as well as a large muzzle to keep the creature from biting. It doesn’t stop the beastie from thrashing its head though. Both pieces sport a shiny metallic grey paint job.

Analysis: another cool non-dinosaur figure from a past toy line returns for JP: Dinosaurs 1. Despite it not actually being a dinosaur, Ornithosuchus adds some wonderful variety to the line, while also giving people who missed it the first time round another chance to get a hold of this rather rare and quite sought after figure. The Ornithosuchus sculpt has not been changed and remains as cool as before, with a great but violent take on the classic dino damage feature and a funky head move which doesn't look like a serious attack option unless it has some prey firmly ensnared between its powerful jaws. It comes with the same capture gear as before, though with the more common silvery grey paint style.

So, as with most other JP: Dinosaurs figures, the only new thing in this set is the paint job. It's simple to say the least. It's largely a single colour, except for the red stripes, which fit the creature well, as if it's soaked in blood stripes after gnashing its way through a carcass much bigger than itself. It also has a sort of camouflage quality to it, like a tiger hiding in long grass. This new colouration might not be as appealing as the more colourful previous paint job, but it still works. However, the stripes are applied in much the same way as on its predecessor, so it scores little originality wise since it's basically the same paint scheme (which is not a first for JPD1 of course). And as is common in this toy line, some details are overlooked, like the claws. Also, white is just not a decent colour for prehistoric eyes. But overall, this is not a bad paint job despite its simplicity.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the original TLWS2 Ornithosuchus, including that figure's capture gear repainted in a more standard colouring. The figure would not be repainted again. Interestingly enough, a second Ornithosuchus repaint was originally planned for release for this line along with a Roland Tembo repaint, but it didn't happen, though small quantities of packaged samples have popped up, indicating it got at least passed the prototype stage.

Overall rating: 8/10. A minimalistic but surprisingly effective paint job, though not significantly special either: like most other JP: Dinosaurs figures, it could have used some more work. The figure itself is as good a sculpt as ever. Despite this figure being a Wave 1 release, it is definitely harder to find than some other JP: Dinosaurs figures for some reason (one thing that comes to mind is general Ornithosuchus popularity), but it's worth a try, especially if you don't own the previous incarnation of this sculpt (which is still the rarer and cooler figure of the two).

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Baryonyx

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Two pieces of capture gear

Description: Baryonyx assumes a walking posture, with its left leg moved forward and its right leg backward. Its tail is bent towards the right, mostly so this figure fits on its card. Its back and neck are covered in rows of small bumps, while a single small horn is found on the snout. It is equipped with a whipping action: pulling the right leg back and forth makes the head spin around, as if the creature is thrashing its head. This also accommodates a dinosaur-breaks-free-of-restraint-gear action: when the capture gear is on, the Baryonyx can break free by thrashing its head left and right. Additionally, the beast’s lower jaw snaps back when pulled down and released, making it possible for this sculpt to clasp other figures between its jaws, though the mouth can’t open really wide so most figures won’t fit.

This creature sports a rather intricate and detailed paint job, especially for JPD1 standards. It's mostly brown, save for its underside ( lower jaw, throat, belly and lower part of the first half of the tail) which is beige instead. The brown colouring is darker on the tail and limbs, probably because these are made of different, softer material. Around the eyes, on the back of its head and on its back and front part of the tail, a total of eight small orange stripes are located. Additionally, thin dark brown stripes and swirls are found on the back and tail of the creature, including one that runs in a full circle around the base of the tail near the anal region. On both upper legs, a series of light pink spots and shapes is found. The dinosaur has white teeth, a red tongue, yellow eyes (no pupils) and a black JP logo on its right upper leg. Its claws on both hands and feet are not painted.

This Bary comes with two pieces of capture gear, which form a sort of harness around the creature’s upper body and restrain its arms and head. However, it wouldn’t stop the creature from just running away. Both pieces are painted in a metallic dark grey colour.

Analysis: this Baryonyx seems to have gotten luckier than most other JP: Dinosaurs 1 figures and, other than them, was blessed with a more elaborate an inspired paint job by some creative designer. Though it's still far from a perfect figure (it comes with a bit of a poorly developed and unoriginal action feature and it keeps falling over), this paint job at least makes it stand out in this line. It works well on this figure and gives it a sort of murky and muddy appearance, as if it's been spending too much time fishing in swamps (which wouldn't be unusual behaviour for this particular species of dinosaur). The little details like the pink spots and vague dark brown swirls give it extra character.

Like any JPD1 figure, it does miss some minor detailing though, most notably the horn on the nose and the unpainted claws: in the case of the latter, given the big single sickle shaped claw on each hand, it would have been nice to see these painted at least, since they remain ever a Baryonyx trademark. Also, the lack of painted pupils gives the eyes a demonic touch, as if this is an especially sinister animal. Aside from these minor complaints this is certainly one of the best repaints of the line, though not necessarily one of the best figures.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the original TLWS2 Baryonyx, including that figure's capture gear. A second Baryonyx repaint was released for this line along with a Peter Ludlow repaint.

Overall rating: 7/10. An interesting paint job, missing some details but definitely more original than most other JPD1 paint jobs. The figure itself is okay but nothing special. As one of the rarer Wave 2 releases, this figure is much harder to find than most other JP: Dinosaurs 1 figures. It usually fetches rather high prices, also because this sculpt is just not very common in general so it is more sought after (even though it's certainly not the best sculpt around). You better decide for yourself whether this one is worth tracking down and spending fair amounts of cash on.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Young T-Rex

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Muzzle

-Leg cast

Description: this juvenile Tyrannosaurus has long slender legs, tiny teeth and a small head compared to adult Rexes. It does have the odd little two fingered arms seen on larger Rexes though. This figure stands in a neutral pose except for its tail, which is bent to the left somewhat. Its lower right leg hangs loose (though still attached) and can be twisted around, as if it’s broken or damaged in some way. The leg cast can be applied on the leg by sticking the pin on its inside in the little hole in the figure’s upper right leg. That way the twisted leg will “switch” back and the animal’s leg is healed; at least, that's the general idea. The Rex’s mouth can also be opened and closed. This animal comes with one piece of capture gear which can cover its head, like a muzzle. It’s coloured metallic dark brown, as is the leg cast.

The Rex itself sports a light beige or pink colour, which can be found on the tail, flanks, head and limbs of the figure, and is brightest on the upper part of the legs and the front section of the tail (it's almost white there). On the underside of the creature (belly, underside of the tail, throat, lower jaw, lower parts of the arms and legs) the colour changes from a fairly bright hue of pink to a darker tone in a gradual way. The back of the figure is painted in a brown colouring, running all the way from the snout to the tip of the tail. Stripes and spots in the same dark colour can be found on the flanks, tail, legs and head. The Rexling has small white claws on its fingers, white teeth, a red tongue and cat like white eyes with black pupils. On its upper right leg (above the dino damage feature) it has a black JP logo.

Analysis: since there are no really big T-Rex figures in this first JP: Dinosaurs line, this almost screen accurate baby T-Rex got repainted twice for it to fill the obligatory Tyrannosaurus vacancy. Unfortunately, one of these two Rexlings got a lousy paint job, and it happens to be this one. To be harsh but fair, it's just plain boring. It has little appeal, and the use of colour combinations (brown combined with a sort of reddish pink) is pretty ugly. What's worse, the paint scheme is almost identical to the one on the previous junior T-Rex figure, spots and stripes all in the same place (but on that figure, a more appealing paint job was applied), so it doesn't score in the originality department either. As has happened to a lot of JPD1 dinosaur figures, some details were left out, most notably the claws on its feet. Oddly enough, the claws on the fingers did get a different colour, simple white, but this looks just as silly as the big soulless white eyes this repaint got.

It's a damn shame the paint job is so poorly done, since this is otherwise still a pretty decent figure. It looks very close in shape to the little T-Rex seen in the TLW movie, and such a likeness hasn't been seen all too often in JP dinosaur action figures. The leg action is a fun option, and also nigh on movie accurate, though it has its downsides (leg cast covers only half the leg and looks silly, leg often swivels back on its own accord, leg is somewhat fragile, etc.). Basically this is a good figure ruined by an ugly paint job. Fortunately the second Junior T-Rex repaint of this line fared better.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the TLWS1 Junior T-Rex, with repainted accessories from that same figure. The figure would be repainted again for JPD2, and would also be featured a second time in this first JP: Dinosaurs line in a dinosaur/human 2-pack.

Overall rating: 5/10. It's still a good, largely movie accurate sculpt, but the colouring is very dull and uninspired, and the paint scheme is so similar to its predecessor that it also fails as an original paint job, since it just isn't. This is one of the more common JPD1 figures and it can still be found more easily than most of the other figures from the same line, not surprisingly often for lower prices.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Velociraptor

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-One piece of capture gear

Description: this dinosaur stands in a very active pose, with its legs in a walking mode, left arm outstretched and right arm held back, its head raised upwards and its mouth opened, and the end of its tail bent to the left. The animal takes an attack posture and looks ready to jump on unsuspecting prey with an agitated look. It has seemingly every right to be in that state of mind since its body shows numerous signs of near misses with larger carnivores: it has scratches and scars all over its body, some small and hardly noticeable, others large and plain in sight. The largest scars look like claw marks and can be found on its back, its tail and its upper legs. Another noteworthy sign of abuse is the end of the tail, which isn’t just bent, but looks more like the bone has been broken and caused a deformity. Additionally, this figure has rather large feet to keep it from falling over (though it often does so regardless). Its sickle like claws are a bit small and the toe they’re on is stuck too much towards the back of the foot.

This Velociraptor has a very simple attack action. When the tail is moved from side to side, the head swings along (as well as the other way around) as if the animal is making thrashing movements. The figure comes with a single long piece of capture gear, coloured silvery metallic grey, which can be attached to the right leg on one side and applied around the jaws on the other. Swinging the tail back and forth should cause the creature trashing off its capture gear, though it’s harder to accomplish than one might think at first.

This particular Raptor repaint sports a rather simple paint job. It's largely grey, except for the top parts of the figure (upper parts of the head and tail, neck and back), which are coloured dark green instead, with triangular shapes extending from this colouration. The side edges of the upper legs are also painted green in a circular fashion with the same shapes on it, extending inwards. The creature has beige eyes with cat like black pupils, a red tongue and white teeth, as well as a black JP logo on its right upper leg.

Analysis: this Raptor repaint is cursed with one lousy paint job. It wasn't the greatest Raptor sculpt to begin with, considering its overly active pose which diminishes playability, its rather boring (though original) attack option and an ineffective creature-breaks-free-of-restraints feature. All of these downsides remain, and this time the boring paint job only makes it worse. Green and grey just don't mix well and this figure proves it. Also, there's little originality in it, just one colour on top of the other and not bothering with any details. Plus the fact this paint scheme is largely copying that of the previous Cyclops Raptor sculpt, except that one had less awful colouring and more attention on details. Considering the awful scarring on this sculpt, you'd think some toy designer would do something with that, but apparently it wasn't until JPD2 someone finally noticed the paint scheme opportunity this “dino damage” offered. The lack of detail here is also shocking. A creature that has its mouth opened so wide should at least have the inside of its mouth painted with greater care. Also, the claws are totally ignored, which makes the huge feet feel even more wrong than they already are. To sum up, this figure is just a big failure and a missed opportunity on Hasbro's part to actually improve an existing sculpt by elaborating on its skin features by applying the right paint job.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the TLWS1 Cyclops Velociraptor, with the same capture gear as that figure had. The figure would be repainted again for JPD2 and for the JP III Exclusive Dinosaur Tracking Set.

Overall rating: 3/10. It never was the best Raptor sculpt around and its new paint job is very dull, severely lacking detail and originality and easily the worst of this toy line. This is one of the more common JPD1 figures and it can still be found more easily than most of the other figures from the same line, usually for fairly low prices, which shouldn't come as a total surprise.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Triceratops

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Two pieces of capture gear

Description: this four legged dinosaur sports a predominantly lime green paint job. Most of the animal (flanks, head including neck crest, limbs, parts of the tail) is covered in this type of green. On its back and top of the tail the figure features greenish brown shapes, with small additional spots of this colour on its flanks and the tip of the tail. The underside of its tail, throat and belly are coloured beige. On its face, the parrot like beak and spikes are coloured white, as are the eyes (with black pupils). The claws on its feet are not coloured. On its right hind leg a black JP logo is found.

This figure stands in a relatively neutral pose, though one might also say it stands in a defensive posture with its head lowered and legs braced for attack. The end of its tail is bent slightly to the left. The animal has a single attack action: when its right hind leg is moved back, its head raises considerably upwards, as if the animal is giving a head butt with its spiky head. The figure comes with two shiny grey pieces of capture gear which can be clicked together forming one head piece that can go around the Trike’s head yet stands on the ground, as if holding the animal’s head down.

Analysis: as was the case for the TLW Junior T-Rex and Cyclops Raptor sculpts, JP: Dinosaurs 1 also marks the first (but not the last) repaint of the small TLWS1 Triceratops figure. It too got a paint job that is not much of an improvement over its predecessor, but fortunately not as bad as on both other repainted TLW figures. It doesn't score high on originality, considering it uses the same paint scheme as before for the most part. At least it has a painted underside unlike most other JPD1 figures. The lime green and light brown colours go fairly well together, but the use of bright white on its head is a let-down; it just looks way too artificial, and it also makes the eyes look rather dead. Also, the figure severely lacks paint details. The unpainted claws can be forgiven, but the neglect of any different kind of colouring on its crest, or even the other bony head features apart from the three horns and beak is a damn shame. The original figure, though also a far cry from perfect, did a better job in these regards.

Aside from the paint job being a mixed bag, this figure is otherwise still pretty solid. It carries the same range of poseable body parts as before and retains its funky head butt option, which is always a predictable but fun-to-use action feature. The capture gear has not been changed in any way and does what it did before: not restrain the Trike in any way (it's just a loose piece around its head when applied) but make for a neat little creature-breaks-free-from-restraints option. All in all, this remains a fine figure with a not completely messed up new paint job.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the TLWS1 Triceratops figure, with the same capture gear as that figure came with. The figure would be repainted again for JPD2 and for the JP III Exclusive Dinosaur Tracking Set.

Overall rating: 6/10. Not its finest paint job, but certainly not as bad as some of the other paint jobs of this line. And still a decent figure. This Wave 1 release is easier to find than most of the other figures of this line, usually for quite affordable prices.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Tanystropheus

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Two pieces of capture gear

Description: this bizarre animal looks like a snake with four small legs, since it has an excessively long neck and a somewhat shorter tail sticking out of a relatively small body. When neck and tail are stretched to their fullest extent the Tanystropheus measures a good 30 centimetres in length. The creature stands in a walking posture, with its left hind leg and front right leg moved forward and the other legs posed in a backward stance. Its mouth is opened, revealing two sets of grizzly fangs and rows of smaller white teeth. The body and legs are made out of hard plastic, while the tail and neck are composed of softer material to accommodate the figure's flexibility for its constricting action.

Tany's top side is mostly green. While its underside (belly, lower part of the neck, lower jaw and tail) is painted black, the rest of this figure sports a murky, swampy green paint job, most notably on the torso and legs. A series of elongated yellow spots or shapes runs from the snout over the neck and back to the end of the tail, twelve spots in total. Around its small yellow eyes (no pupils) its facial area is coloured black, while additional clusters of small black specks are found between each yellow stripe on its neck, back and tail in seemingly random patterns. The claws remain unpainted. A black JP logo is located on its right hind leg.

This Tanystropheus comes with two pieces of capture gear, both coloured shiny bright blue. The smallest of the two is your average “cuff” piece, which can be attached to various body parts, like the neck, tail, or any of the legs. The other piece is substantially bigger and consists of a long piece of “wire” with a cuff at one end and second one in the middle, and a large muzzle on the other end. The muzzle fits over the creature’s head, while the two cuffs can be put around the midsection of the neck and tail respectively, provided the figure is bent in the right position.

Analysis: another old fan favourite figure is seen once more! The unusual Tanystropheus, though not actually a species of dinosaur, makes its third appearance in the first JP: Dinosaurs line, where it fits in easily. Its neck is flexible as ever, its tail a little less so (since the wire inside doesn't go all the way to the tip of the tail) and it features the same capture gear it was released with previously, in the blue Chaos Effect paint style, which does look odd on this figure; the traditional metallic grey paint job would have been preferable, considering it was used for most other JP: Dinosaurs figures too.

Tany's latest paint job is somewhat more intricate than on most other dinosaur of this line. Though it lacks some details, like the inside of the mouth and the claws, it at least has a differently painted underside. The yellow interacts fairly well with the green, while the groups of small black spots are an interesting and original addition, giving the figure a unique touch. The head could have used more work though. The lack of pupils gives this creature an overly sinister look, which it doesn't really need considering it's totally bizarre already. Because the tongue and mouth remain unpainted, the teeth (not counting the fangs) seem rather random, more like a row of white spots floating around the jaws. On close inspection, some of the teeth aren't even painted at all. A bit lazy, but only when you look really close which most people probably won't be doing. Other than that, this paint job differs enough from the ones seen on the previous Tanystropheus figures to make it stand on its own.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the original JPS2 Tanystropheus, including its capture gear repainted in the same colour as the Chaos Effect Tanaconda's gear. The figure would not be repainted again.

Overall rating: 7/10. This is not a bad paint job, but not significantly special either and like most other JP: Dinosaurs figures, it could have used some more work. The figure itself is as good as ever, though the capture gear is still not the easiest to apply. Since this figure is a Wave 2 release, it is definitely harder to find than some other JP: Dinosaurs 1 figures, but it's worth a try, especially if you don't own any of the previous incarnations of this sculpt.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Lynx

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Three pieces of capture gear

Description: this muscular carnivorous quadruped stands in a rather active posture, with its right hind leg and front left leg posed forward and its other legs positioned backward, as if walking. The rest of the figure’s body assumes a neutral pose. Lynx comes with biting jaws: pulling the right hind leg back causes the upper jaw, equipped with four ferocious dagger like fangs, to raise upwards as if the creature is opening its maul, ready to close those jaws around an unfortunate victim’s body. An interesting detail: the beast’s tongue sticks out when it opens its mouth. Releasing the leg makes the jaws close with a powerful snap.

The figure sports a paint job much different from its predecessors. It's coloured completely dark grey, with subtle swampy green stripes running over the neck, torso, tail and legs. The facial area is also coloured mostly green. On its neck, back and front half of the tail small black specks are found. The Lynx has big white teeth, also inside its mouth, a red tongue and black eyes. A black JP logo is located on the right hind leg.

The Lynx comes with three pieces of capture gear, all painted blue. There’s the required tag, in this case large enough to fit around the monster’s muscled neck, as well as some leg shackles shaped like a cross to fit the figure's leg positions and to keep it from walking away. Third, there’s a head piece which can go around the creature’s head, in an attempt to keep it from using those strong jaws. It doesn’t necessarily work though, since activating the biting action also makes the figure thrash the head piece off.

Analysis: the good old JPS2 Lycaenops also finds its way into the first JP: Dinosaurs line, despite not actually being a dinosaur (though that doesn't seem to stop a lot of JP figures for which the same thing counts). Once again, it gets a different name: this time it's Lynx. Why this name change is applied is a bit of a mystery, since it doesn't look much like a Lynx, being more of a dog like creature. It might be an abbreviation for Lycaenops, but certainly this name isn't harder to pronounce than Tanystropheus or Ornithosuchus and those figures kept their respective names intact. An odd decision, but there it is.

Lynx has an interesting though simple paint job. At first impression it looks rather dull, since the murky green stripes are only really abundant and appealing on closer inspection or under the right lighting. The paint job might have used some more work on details like the inside of the mouth and the claws, but it works well enough the way it is now. Apart from the green, the paint job is reminiscent of a common seal's colouration, being grey with a variety of black spots and cute big black eyes. And like a seal, Lynx bites when you get to close, hence the huge fangs. The biting action is as good as ever, a powerful chomping motion which hooks its jaws around unfortunate human figures. The extending tongue remains a nice little addition, though it could get in the way when biting bigger prey.

The Lynx features the same capture gear it was released with previously, in the blue Chaos Effect paint style, which does look odd on this figure; the traditional metallic grey paint job would have been preferable, considering it was used for most other JP: Dinosaurs figures too. It still does en effective job restraining the figure and provides for a nice creature-breaks-free-of-restraints option when the jaw movement is used.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the original JPS2 Lycaneops, including its capture gear repainted in the same colour as the Chaos Effect Tyrannonops's gear. The figure would not be repainted again.

Overall rating: 7/10. Still a nice and unusual figure, with a bit of a minimalistic but effective paint job. Since this figure is a Wave 2 release, it is definitely harder to find than some other JP: Dinosaurs 1 figures, but it's worth a try, especially if you don't own any previous incarnations of this sculpt.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Dimetrodon/Dimetradon

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Two pieces of capture gear

Description: this four legged creature doesn’t look much unlike modern day monitor lizards or iguanas, except for the large “sail” on its back. Dimetrodon, the name incorrectly spelled as 'Dimetradon' on its package, also features two pairs of tiny legs (almost dragging its belly over the floor), a “segmented” tail and a big boxy head. It comes with a biting action feature: pushing its left hind leg back makes the jaws open wide, while releasing them makes them close with a powerful snap. The figure measures some 15 centimetres in length and 8 centimetres in height. It stands in a walking posture, with its left hind leg and right front leg posed backward and the other legs posed in a forward move.

It's a rather green figure. Almost all of the body is posed in a swampy green colour, including the legs (and claws) and the head, while the neck, back and upper part of the tail sport a darker tone of green instead. On the head, around the eyes and snout, a line of this same dark green is found in a largely symmetrical fashion. The sail is painted beige, with various light green stripes and shapes on both sides. The creature has small black eyes, a pink tongue and white teeth, as well as a black JP logo on the right side of the base of the tail.

The figure also comes with two pieces of capture gear, a small chain to restrain the limbs (though only two of them at the same time, not all four), as well as a large muzzle to keep the creature from biting. Both pieces sport a shiny metallic, light brown (almost gold) paint job.

Analysis: it took a while, but the classic Dimetrodon figure from JP Series 1 finally got a repaint for the first JP: Dinosaurs line. The paint job is actually not all that different, mostly green but in different hues, but the colouration of the sail is certainly something else, opting for a lighter, more relaxed paint scheme with stripes instead of spots. The figure could have used some more work, since its underside is rather dull (no painted claws for instance), but considering the sail and head are the most striking body parts such minor oversights can be forgiven.

This time, Dimetrodon too is the victim of capture gear. It comes with two pieces, both of which originally came with the TLWS2 Ornithosuchus instead. Since they just happened to fit on this creature too it saved Hasbro the need to design new capture gear. The leg piece isn't as easy a fit for this animal as it was for its original owner, considering its legs are somewhat fatter, but it does the job well enough (though in this case too only restraining one pair of legs). The muzzle is of more use though and easily puts a stop to Dimetrodon's nasty chomping habits. As for these, the sculpt's biting action has not been changed and is still a blast to perform, gnawing on poor human figures or other unfortunate creatures. As such, Dimetrodon remains a tough critter to reckon with and a welcome addition to this repaint line.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the original JPS1 Dimetrodon, with repainted capture gear from the TLWS2 Ornithosuchus. The figure would be repainted a third time for JP Dinosaurs 2.

Overall rating: 7/10. The paint job is adequate, though nothing really special. Otherwise it's still a fine sculpt and a welcome change from actual dinosaur figures, being a Synapsid instead. As a part of the not very common second wave of the first JP: Dinosaurs line, it's not always an easy find, especially complete or MOC, so you might have to track it down to some extent if you feel you need one.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Velociraptor

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Three pieces of capture gear

Description: this small Raptor figure, measuring about 15 centimetres in length, stands in a neutral posture, except for the claws on its arms; the left one is reared upwards, while the right hangs down somewhat. It stands perfectly on its two legs and usually doesn’t slouch forward or fall down, since the long tail provides ample balance for the rest of the body. This Raptor sculpt is equipped with ‘slashing jaws’: pressing the legs together makes the head move forward and the mouth open, and when released they violently snap back. So doing, the creature makes a vicious biting move at its victims.

This Velociraptor sports a mostly lime green paint job; its entire body is painted in this colour, while a series of black stripes and dots runs from the neck to the end of the tail in a largely symmetrical fashion. The bigger dots carry yellowish green dots and stripes within them. Additional black stripes and shapes run over the legs and feet. On the head more light green stripes are found, one running from the one side of the face over the eyes to the other side of the face, and a second one around the lower jaw. On either side of the flanks a single light green and black spot are located. This Raptor has orange cat like eyes, white teeth, a pink tongue and dark green claws on its feet (the claws on the hands are not painted). On its right upper leg, a black JP logo is found.

The Raptor comes with three parts of capture gear, a small cuff like JP tag, a muzzle, and limb restraints (which can be attached to both arms and legs). All three parts are painted in a shiny, metallic, light brown paint job. When the capture gear is applied to the figure, it’s nearly totally subdued, being unable to walk, use its jaws or claws and of course, kill. The small tag is just an extra gadget with no real function except to annoy completist collectors who keep losing them.

Analysis: reviving a classic sculpt for the second wave of the first JP: Dinosaurs line, this Raptor suffers from a case of poorly inspired repainting. Green just isn't a Raptor like colour as this figure proves. It just looks too much like a vegetable salad, which is not the feeling you want for a scary predator. Apart from that, the paint job feels unfinished: more detail was definitely needed, especially on the figure's underside and arms, both of which now look rather dull.

Apart from the silly paint job, there is nothing wrong with this much loved sculpt. The biting action is still effective and spiffy, while the capture gear does what it's supposed to do and restrains the creature's most dangerous body parts. This capture gear has the same colouration as the one from the Chaos Effect Raptor Alpha figure, but the 'limbs' part is not identical to the piece used for both that figure and the JPS2 Velociraptor. It's slightly longer and the arms section is wider. This may cause some confusion and annoyance to the die-hard collectors who actively seek out the right capture gear for their loose figures.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the original JPS1/S2 Velociraptor, which was first repainted for TLWS1 and again for JP: Chaos Effect. It comes with repainted capture gear which originally came with the JPS2 Velociraptor, and looks very similar in colour and shape to the gear from the Chaos Effect Raptor Alpha, though closer inspection reveals very minor differences in regard to the latter.

Overall rating: 6/10. Though still a good, classic sculpt, the paint job this figure sports is just not very appealing and feels wrong for a Raptor. It's undoubtedly the least impressive (released) incarnation of this often repainted sculpt. It is the rarest though, being part of the not very common second wave of the first JP: Dinosaurs line, and as such usually not an easy find, especially complete or MOC. If you want one, you'll probably end up spending more cash on it than it's worth.