The Lost World Series 1: Carnotaurus

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Seven pieces of capture gear

-Dino damage piece

Description: this rather odd carnivore stands in a neutral pose, tall on its hind legs with its tail raised high above the ground. The last few centimetres of the tail are curved upward, making the tail resembling a hook of sorts. The figure has a very strange looking short head, with large nostrils and small horns above the eyes, resembling a bull (hence the name Carnotaurus, ‘meat bull’). The head is positioned in such a way that the animal spends its days looking down, as if ogling potential prey. This dinosaur comes with a chomping action: pulling the right leg back causes the upper jaw to move upwards, making the mouth open very wide. Pushing the leg back makes the mouth close again. The creature carries a dino damage wound on its belly: removing the skin patch reveals white ribs and red muscle tissue.

The figure’s predominant colour is dark red, which is found on almost the entire head, its back and flanks, the arms and legs and the upper part of the tail. Black stripes adorn this red paint job in a chaotic pattern, running over the back and upper legs as well as the head and tail. Its claws too are black, except the ones on the sides of the lower legs (notice he has two of these on each leg, instead of the usual one). The underside of the beast (its belly, inner part of the limbs, lower part of the tail and throat) sports a sickly green paint job. It has very bright green, cat like, eyes. On its right upper leg a dark yellow JP: Site B logo is found, along with the number .26.

This dinosaur comes with no less than seven pieces of capture gear, all coloured shiny metallic reddish brown. Two of these are used to restrain the legs of the creature, while the other five form an elaborate harness around the monster’s head. This requires the figure to bend forward with its tail in the air and its face almost to the ground, making it look rather silly and not able to stand. Pulling the Carnotaurus’ leg back now makes the animal break free of its restraints.

Analysis: like the JPS2 toy line, this line features a flawed Carnotaurus figure. However, the JPS2 Carno was still a very cool figure to behold, despite its shortcomings. This Carnotaurus however, is not even really cool, and certainly no improvement over its JPS2 predecessor. It’s just too much of a disappointment.

The main problem is the overall look of this dinosaur. It’s not the paint job’s fault. Though the colouring isn’t totally imaginative it still looks fine on the figure. It’s more the odd posture this figure assumes, tall on its legs, resembling the way dinosaurs used to be depicted, as walking tightly upright, looking down at their helpless victims (at least in the carnivores’ case). The weird angle of the end of the tail also doesn’t help. The dino damage wound is located at a rather unusual spot, though it may also be considered original.

The cause of the annoying stance of this figure is the inconvenient attack action, which doesn’t really work. Though pulling the right leg back does open and close the mouth easily, the mouth doesn’t have enough force to clamp stuff between the jaws, mostly because the upper jaw hangs a bit loose. So anything it manages to grasp with its mouth, immediately slips out. Also, when the mouth is widely opened, the figure looks plain ridiculous, like it severely dislocated its upper jaw, with its tongue hanging out. Additionally, the figure is out of balance and falls over easily, unless it stands in a very upright pose. This too can be blamed on the design of the chomping action.

The capture gear doesn’t help much either. In order to properly apply the gear, the dinosaur must bend over, which it can’t without falling down, despite the leg restraints. The dinosaur-breaks-free action doesn’t really work either, since the gear doesn’t stick much to the animal.

Apart from the decent paint job, there’s very few good qualities this figure has. The savage and demonic design of the upper jaw, even though the horns are a bit tiny, as well as the bumpy and scaly body give this creature a little extra creepy character. The design of the arms, though incorrect, makes them look eerie. Overall speaking, the lousy action and annoying posture ruin an otherwise nasty looking predator.

Playability: not all that high. The creature has poseable arms and legs, though the right leg supports the chomping action and moves less smoothly, limiting options a bit. The mouth is also moveable, but is under influence of the attack option as well, and moves right back when posed separately. The dino damage wound is located at a bit of an inconvenient place, making it somewhat harder to remove, also because the arms tend to get in the way. And the capture gear adds almost nothing in this figure’s case.

Realism: Carnotaurus was not featured in the TLW movie, though it did have a memorable role as a vicious carnivore with camouflage ability in Michael Crichton’s TLW novel. It doesn’t show on this figure. It also hardly resembles the JPS2 Carnotaurus, being a clearly different take on this species of dinosaur on the designers’ part (the same thing happened to the Baryonyx). From a scientific view point, this figure isn’t accurate. Its arms are way too long and sport three fingers instead of four. The design of the head also lacks in correctness, and its horns are a bit on the small side. Still, compared to human figures, this creature’s size is more or less realistic.

Repaint: no. This figure would not be repainted for following toy lines either.

Overall rating: 4/10. A missed opportunity to improve on one of the most infamous and popular predatory dinosaurs, sporting a lame attack option, lousy capture gear and an irritating posture. To make things worse, it’s quite rare (especially in complete condition because it comes with so many small pieces), so even though it’s not a very good figure, competition to get one is pretty high, as are the prices it fetches. Be sure you really want this one before spending loads of cash on it, because you may find it’s not worth it in hindsight.

Jurassic Park Series 2: Carnotaurus

Year of release: 1993-1994

Accessories:

-Removable Dino Damage wound patch

-Three pieces of capture gear

-Collector’s Card # 31

Description: Carnotaurus is one of the bigger dinosaur sculpts of the JPS2 toy line, measuring a good 25 centimetres in length and standing about 15 centimetres tall. It stands in a stalking posture, with its head turned left as if checking out a potential target, and its right leg moved forward, with its arms, particularly its right arm, ready to slash at a nearby victim. Carnotaurus looks very different from other predatory bipedal dinosaurs because of its unusual head, which has very short jaws and sports an overall 'round' quality to it. Above each eye, this creature carries a small triangular horn, which is where it got its name from ('Carnotaurus' meaning 'meat bull', 'meat' referring to its diet, and 'bull' to its horns). The back and head of this beast are covered in rows of lumps, the row in the middle running from its snout to the end of the tail sporting the biggest of these, giving this monster a rather edgy and aggressive look. The teeth work accordingly, and stick out in a rather odd fashion, as if they were deformed. This figure definitely earns its nickname, 'Demon', with a body so bizarre as this!

Not only the shape of the body enhances its demonic quality, so does its paint scheme. Most of the body is black, except for the underside (belly and lower part of the tail) which is coloured ghostly beige, while the upper parts of the beast (top of the head, neck, back and upper part of the tail) are red. This red colouring runs over the top black paint in triangular stripes and randomly shaped spots on its back. The big horns on its head are black, while the claws on both hands and feet are grey. The creature has small light green eyes with black pupils and tiny white irises. The inside parts of the mouth are all pink. On its left leg the figure sports a white JP logo, with the number .19 next to it.

Like most bigger dinosaur figures, especially the ones whose bodies are composed of softer “real feel dinosaur skin” like this Carnotaurus' body is, this figure carries a removable dino damage wound patch. It's located at a rather unusual place, not on the flanks as is most often the case, but on the left side of the base of the tail. It has a very random quality to it and is much less symmetrical than the wound patches of some other dinosaurs (like the JPS1/2 Young T-Rex), revealing white bones and red muscle tissue underneath. This dinosaur also features 'attacking jaws': squeezing the neck makes its jaws open as if the creature is biting.

This dinosaur comes with three pieces of capture gear. There is the typical cuff like tag, big enough to at least partially fit around the creature's neck, but thicker than usual (which helps to tell its apart from the tags of the Young T-Rex and Utahraptor figures of this toy line). There is also a leg piece which restrains both legs, but is somewhat too long to really fit between them, forcing the legs apart. Lastly, there's a head piece, much bigger than on the other JPS2 dinosaur figures, which is designed to fit all over the figure's head, almost like a helmet, with only the horns sticking out on top and the area around the nostrils open. This piece is particularly difficult to apply and remove.

Analysis: Kenner felt daring enough while producing the JPS2 toy line to introduce various rather unknown creatures, including this Carnotaurus (which at the time was at least unknown to the general public, though it's better known nowadays, thanks in part to Disney's Dinosaur which featured Carnotaurus as its main bad guy). With the absence of a huge T-Rex figure, this figure is one of the biggest sculpts of this line (second only to the Utahraptor) and as such got a chance to shine as the new terror on the block, and did a pretty good job despite its rarity and several design flaws. Thanks to its highly unusual appearance Carnotaurus has been a favourite among dinosaur aficionados since its discovery, and this figure definitely did its looks justice, even though it wasn't entirely accurate. It has a very aggressive but appealing look, certainly not a creature you would want to mess with. This feeling is only enhanced by its fiendish paint job, demonic for sure. Yet still something managed to hurt this beastie, looking at its nasty dino damage wound, which looks much more realistic and gritty than that of most other dinosaur figures.

The dino damage wound is the most interesting aspect of this figure when judging it from a playability perspective, considering the 'attacking jaws' are pretty lousy by comparison. They work in the same capacity as those of the Young T-Rex figure, in that you have to squeeze the neck to open them, thanks to the soft material the figure's skin is made of. However, they do an even less impressive job than the Rex's jaws did, because these jaws are so stupendously short, so they can only grab smaller prey. They are hardly big or strong enough to lift human figures. An alternative biting mechanism would have been preferable, something the Kenner toy designers probably realized themselves when they designed the TLWS1 Carnotaurus, which had jaws that opened by pulling its leg: even though this system was flawed as well, it was less cheap than this one. This Carnotaurus obviously has better looks than it has action options.

The capture gear that comes with this figure strangely enough has the exact opposite problem: it works too well. The head piece almost fully covers the head, and certainly subdues this monster's jaws. However, it's difficult to put it on, and even harder to remove it because it is such a tight fit. When forcing it too much it might cause paint wear on the figure's head, something you shouldn't want to happen because the paint job is one of the best things about this figure. Similarly, the leg piece is too long and forces the legs apart to some extent, which may cause the skin around the legs to crack if you're not careful. Basically, the capture gear is 'too eager' to restrain this figure, so it's better not to use it too much.

Playability: limited. The only poseable body parts of this sculpt are the arms. The biting jaws, which are this figure's main attack feature, aren't very impressive because they're so short and can only bite smaller prey. The dino damage wound is of better quality, and looks more realistic and gritty than on most other bigger dinosaur sculpts, while it's still easy to remove and put back. The stance this figure assumes, particularly its head which is turned leftwards, hinders playability to a minor extent. The capture gear adds some more options, though it's only compatible with this figure. However, because they're such a tight fit (especially the head piece), they might cause paint wear when used too often or too carelessly.

Realism: Carnotaurus was not featured in the first JP movie, nor in its sequels. It did play a part in Michael Crichton's The Lost World novel, as a lethal predator with camouflage abilities. With its noticeable black and red paint job, this figure obviously isn't a camouflaged killer. However, it is instantly recognizable as a Carnotaurus by its bizarre head, with its short jaws and horns above the eyes. It also looks very similar to the Carnotaurus hatchling of the JPS2 toy line, both in shape and colour scheme, adding some consistency to the line. It's not entirely accurate though: the arms are way too long, since Carnotaurus was equipped with the tiniest arms imaginable (no more than stumps really), which also came with four fingers instead of the three this figure sports. Also, its tail is a bit too short. But in comparison to human figures its overall size is about right.

Repaint: no, this is a totally new figure. It would not get repainted for later toy lines, even though Kenner added a Carnotaurus figure to its TLW line in 1997 (which was a completely new sculpt). The capture gear also would not be repainted, but the leg piece of this Carnotaurus is identical to that of the JPS2 Utahraptor figure.

Overall rating: 7/10. This Carnotaurus looks very cool and is just a plain butch figure with a nasty wound to match, but it has limited playability and comes with a very disappointing biting action. Still, if you can get one you shouldn't hesitate, especially due to the fact that this is quite a rare figure that almost always fetches high prices, even for loose and incomplete figures because it is highly sought after. Whether this is justified is a good question, but apparently most JP collectors think so. But be sure to decide for yourself whether this figure is worth spending loads of money on, because it's very likely you will have to do just that if you want to get one for yourself.

Jurassic Park Series 2: Dr. Snare

Year of release: 1993-1994

Accessories:

-Dino Stun Gun, including blade and capture claw

-Dino Damage patch

-Carnotaurus hatchling

-Collector’s Card # 33

Description: Like Skinner, the other (released) Evil Raider, Dr. Snare, is a very tall and muscular character, sporting a very unusual outfit for a Jurassic Park figure. Most notable is his big grey trench coat, the top part of which is removable, revealing a dino damage wound underneath. The coat itself is not removable but is attached to the figure, though it hangs loose around his lower body, almost like a cape. On the right back part of the coat there's some beige rope (just for detail, it can't be removed). Snare reveals his naked torso underneath his coat, showing an impressive six pack, as well as a golden ammo belt. He wears dark brown pants, with a second golden ammo belt on his left leg. Around his waist he carries a belt of a lighter brown colour, adorned with a shiny red plate showing a dinosaur skull (similar to the JP T-Rex skull logo). A pair of green boots, covered in orange spots and made out of reptile skin (so it appears by their scaly looks), complete his outfit, along with a big dark green cowboy hat on his head with a black band on it. Snare has quite an ugly face, including an arrogant grin and tiny demonic red eyes, and blond hair and eyebrows. He stands in a largely neutral pose, with his right leg posed forwards. Snare's wound is quite extensive, running from the left part of his chest over his shoulder and covering most of the visible parts of his back. The removable part of his coat barely manages to hide it all.

Dr. Snare comes with three different accessories, all painted in the same brown colour, which can be attached to each other so Snare can carry the whole bunch in one hand. Most notably, there's the big stun gun, with a big aiming visor on top. It has two small holes in it, to accommodate the blade which can be stuck on its side. The blade is basically a stick with a big triangular knife on it, along with sharp edges. Additionally, there's the capture claw, which can be attached to the blade (it has a hole on top). It looks much like the tags (or cuffs) that come with the JPS2 dinosaur figures, except there's no JP logo on it and it has a long black piece of string attached to it, which is hooked on a smaller claw which Snare can put around his arm.

The baby Carnotaurus stands in a walking posture, its right leg posed forwards and its left leg backwards. Its arms are held pretty close to its body, while its head is slightly turned to its left as if it's looking at something in that direction, while its small tail is raised upwards. It has several rows of tiny bumps on its snout, neck, back and tail, but its most obvious features are the black horns above the eyes. Its boxy head is almost as big as its torso, and sports green eyes with cat like brown irises, as well as small white teeth. The animal is coloured entirely dark grey, except for a big red stripe running from its snout all the way to the end of the tail. On its left upper leg this critter carries a white JP logo.

Analysis: if you think the toy designers let their imagination run wild while designing Skinner, you haven't seen how far they went with his hunting buddy Dr. Snare (despite his title, you wouldn't want this guy to be your physician). He looks like a cross between a professional wrestler and a cowboy, even bulkier and meaner than Skinner, and showing off more skin despite wearing such a big trench coat. His coat is really the coolest part of his costume, made out of a separate soft material and only attached to his upper torso, allowing for some flexibility. An outfit like this is definitely original, and has never been featured on a JP figure later on, making Snare stand out and impossible to mix up with any other human figures. It's also quite neat the top piece of the coat can be taken off (and even used by other figures to some extent), revealing extensive scarring (but not blood or bone, even a figure as badass as this one doesn't come with such graphic a wound). Apparently Snare once had an unfortunate encounter with some ferocious carnivore that felt brave enough to turn on him, damaging his entire left upper torso (but oddly enough missing Snare's head, luckily for him). Obviously Snare got out alive, and we can only wonder what happened to his aggressor (maybe that's where Snare got the material for his funky boots).

Snare comes with some accessories that really fit his character's way of handling dinosaurs he feels like “ensnaring” (hence the name). There's the stun gun for, well, stunning dinosaurs from a distance (though it doesn't feature any missile firing like several other JP figures, since this weapon doesn't come with such an action feature). When Snare hits his target, he closes in for the kill, either using his blade to finish off his prey and make fashionable clothes out of it, or trapping it with the claw and rope. The claw fits around most smaller dinosaur figures (like the JPS1 Velociraptor) while the rope can be wrapped around the creature's limbs so he's properly restrained, and Snare can use the smaller claw to do just this. It's an interesting combination, something not seen with other figures' accessories.

Snare himself may look butch, but so does his hatchling, which makes for a perfect combination of hunter and prey. The little Carnotaurus, though not featuring as vicious and dangerous a look as the big Carnotaurus figure of this toy line, does appear pretty rugged (though still also cute enough, considering it's only a baby), because of his dark paint job with the big red stripe signalling danger, and the little horns for attacking anyone it doesn't like. Though this critter is quite cool, the paint job could have been better by adding some black to the now overused dark grey. But this is a minor complaint, since this is otherwise one of the most appealing hatchlings Kenner produced.

Playability: pretty good. Snare has the usual range of poseable body parts, namely arms, legs and head. The removable dino damage patch sure adds options to this figure (and can even be put on other figures, though that often looks silly and is never a perfect fit). Though the stun gun has no solid action features (in fact, the only real action of this set is supplied by Snare's wound), the fact it consists of three separate pieces that can be used in various ways and in accordance with each other, also helps the overall playability. The baby Carnotaurus has no poseable body parts, as is usual for hatchling figures.

Realism: Dr. Snare was an invention by Kenner's designers (and quite a neat one), and he wasn't featured in any of the JP movies so he's not supposed to look like anyone we know. His rather imaginative look doesn't make him the most realistic human figure (quite the opposite actually), but it makes for a smashing toy. His weapons aren't much unlike anything that might very well be used in Jurassic Park (apart from the blade perhaps), but also weren't specifically seen in the films. The Carnotaurus is very similar to the adult dinosaur figure of the JPS2 toy line, both in shape (especially the boxy head sculpt and the little horns) and in paint job. Like its adult counterpart, however, this figure shares the mistake of having overly long arms and three fingers instead of four.

Repaint: no, this figure was all-new. None of the parts in this set would be repainted for any future toy lines either, making this figure unique (and also a factor contributing to its popularity).

Overall rating: 9/10. Despite his completely fictional and somewhat ridiculous design, this is one of the coolest human figures of all the toy lines, featuring a very nasty dino damage wound, pretty good accessories and a terrific hatchling. Not surprisingly, this figure is also one of the rarest and most sought after human figures and can be difficult to find, having  only been released in the USA and (in very small numbers) in Europe. When you find one it may not be cheap, but it's likely it'll prove to be totally worth your money.