Jurassic Park III: Raptor Attack Playset

Year of release: 2001

Accessories:

-Main Gate (with dino damage pieces)

-Five fence pieces

-Rocket Launcher (with two rockets)

-Net Launcher (with net)

-Alan Grant figure

-Velociraptor figure

Description: this play set consists entirely of repainted material. The fences, gate, net launcher and rocket launcher are all repainted accessories of those same sculpts found with the JPS1 Command Compound. The Grant and Raptor figure are the same as those of the Raptor Motorcycle Pursuit from this toy line, except different colours.

The fences are all painted in silver, giving them a metallic feel. This set comes with stickers, including some yellow ones that can be wrapped on the fences, so there’s a little sign saying ‘10,000 volts’, which is of course the voltage the fences in Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar had. Other than that there’s no more colour on the fences. The gate is much more detailed than the original JPS1 gate. The doors are now painted in various tones of brown, giving them a wooden feel. The pieces of dino damage have more of an orange paint job. The little flames on top of the gate aren’t just simply red this time, but have some tints of orange and yellow in them, making them slightly more realistic. The rest of the gate sports a silvery black paint job, again giving it a bit of a metallic feel. The net launcher is painted in an orange brown colour, making it feel like it’s been rusting away for some years after being abandoned and disused when Isla Sorna was vacated. It still works fine though, even better than the original one. It can fire a small net with silver weights on it over a distance of almost a metre (if lucky). The rocker launcher also does what it suggests: when loaded, pressing its button leads to the rocket being fired with force, impacting roughly on anything in its path. It comes with two dark grey rockets with slightly different shapes. The launcher itself sports a metallic dark grey look, with some brownish and black tones (again giving it a rusty feel), and an orange button.

The Alan Grant and Velociraptor figures are the same ones as those from the Raptor Motorcycle Pursuit, again with a different paint job. Grant wears a green shirt, blue bandana tan pants, black shoes and brown gloves. He stands in a neutral position, but his knees have joints in them so he can move his legs in multiple ways. The Velociraptor stands in a stalking position and has a dino damage wound. When pushing the back of his head, his jaws open. Strangely enough this Raptor sports a mostly green paint job, an odd choice considering none of the Raptors in any JP movie were green. Apart from the green his body is adorned with dark red stripes and light blue spots. His eyes are very yellow, and his claws aren’t coloured. A black JP III logo is located on his left leg.

Analysis: even though it’s all repaints, this is a good play set. People who remember the old JPS1 Command Compound can look back to that fantastic play set with nostalgic feelings when they see this play set, while the younger generation discovers parts of those good ol’ days through this new set which adds some much needed Kenner quality in the JP III Hasbro line. The paint job is no disappointment fortunately: many components even benefit from their new look. The paint jobs of the gate, rocket launcher and fences are very nicely done and have a much more realistic look to them. The net launcher also isn’t bad, though the lower parts of this particular apparatus are too orange and could have used more darker tones. The same goes for the dino damage pieces of the gate. It’s a good thing all the mechanisms work properly though: the rocket launcher still is a powerful weapon which fires missiles at objects with great speed and force, while the net launcher works even better than the original and hurls a net at unsuspecting prey, though catching its target requires precision, since it’s still hard to predict where the net will end up and whether it will hit anything because of its small size.

The Alan Grant figure is also a fine repaint. Though it still doesn’t sport the same outfit Grant wore in the movie, and the cowboy hat is ever missing, it looks good and realistic. Since it’s the best human figure Kenner produced, because of the neutral position and the extra leg movement, it’s a good thing they decided to add this particular figure to the set (though an entirely new figure would have been preferable of course). The Velociraptor is less a cause for enthusiasm though: it’s still not a great toy with all the flaws of the original version. The dino strike action still isn’t very imposing, its attack posture limits playability and makes the creature look fat, and the dino damage wound again can’t be covered up. The new paint job also isn’t helping: green just isn’t a Raptor colour. It would have been better had they made a new Raptor figure, or a different dinosaur altogether; it wouldn’t be a Raptor attack play set then, but a dinosaur attack set would also be suitable.

Playability: this set provides for some damn fine playability. All the features are functioning perfectly and the set has a fine look to it, making it seem like an old abandoned dinosaur pen which is withering away due to lack of maintenance, but still in working order, providing the humans with a place to make a stand against their ferocious prehistoric adversaries. The new paint job is great for the most part and adds some good realism. The only nuisance is the green Raptor figure, which still isn’t a great sculpt and sports a new colour which isn’t enhancing its overall look. Of course, one can argue that there is a much bigger nuisance here: it’s all repaints and none of it is original, Hasbro just ran out of ideas or didn’t bother making its own sculpts. A valid argument, but since this play set came out so well we can live with it and should be thankful they didn’t screw up Kenner’s great old work.

Realism: Grant still doesn’t look like Sam Neill or the Alan Grant in the movie, mostly because of the different outfit and the head sculpt. The Raptor’s colours are very unusual for a Raptor figure and not reminiscent of the look the Raptors sported in JP III at all. Other than that it’s not entirely paleontologically correct either: compared to the human figures it’s oversized (like all JP Raptors), its lower jaw is too long and the animal’s legs stand in such a position that this creature looks way too fat.

The other components of this set are not seen in any of the JP movies. Though the fences and gate are certainly reminiscent of the ones seen in JP and JP III, there are a lot of differences, mostly in scale and shape. There are also some notable similarities though, like the flames on top of the gate and the ’10,000 volts’ signs on the fences. One could argue they’re just typical toy versions of their movie counterparts. The rocket launcher and net launcher are totally made up though, and don’t look similar to the weaponry in any of the JP movies at all.

Repaint: yes. This set consists of repainted parts of the JPS1 Command Compound and JP III Wave I Raptor Motorcycle Pursuit only. There are no new parts whatsoever. None of these parts would be repainted a second time after the release of this toy though, at least so far.

Overall rating: 8/10. Though the Raptor is still a lousy figure, all the other parts are great and in some cases even better than the original versions. The set provides for some good playability, especially combined with other toys (from both this particular Hasbro toy line as well as Kenner’s various toy lines). It’s also a great set to have if you’re unlucky enough not to own a JPS1 Command Compound: this way you’ll have at least some parts of that magnificent old play set. It’s well worth getting, but it isn’t always easy to find. Chances are you’ll have to search for it a bit and it may not be very cheap, but it’s recommended anyway.

Jurassic Park Chaos Effect: Mobile Command Center

Year of release: 1998

Accessories:

-Missile launcher (including three missiles)

-Dino damage cab area

-Telescoping crane

-Detachable computer with electronic sounds and lights

-Fold out observation lab

-Eight fence pieces

(Note: the reviewer is not an expert on vehicles like these, so any incorrect terms, or lack of detail, should be disregarded.)

Description: this play set basically consists of two trailers, which can be attached to one another via the black leathery thingy (what exactly do you call it?). The overall colour pattern of the trailers is bright green on the lower parts and underside of both trailers (as well as all on the inside, most notably on the fold out lab of the second trailer), while it's light blue on the top parts, with a big black stripe running between both colours in an edgy and triangular pattern, seemingly random (but largely symmetrical if you compare both sides of the trailers). All eight wheels are black with bright yellow hub caps. Together, the MCC (standard abbreviation for Mobile Command Center in the JP toys community) measures a good 80 centimetres in length. Each trailer comes with its own action features.

The front trailer is the largest of the two and has two pairs of wheels. The front cab area, with the transparent orange window and grey bumpers and windshields, can be removed as if being torn off by a dinosaur (though the damage doesn’t really appear to be caused by some ferocious creature, it looks too clean for that). On top of this cab area there’s some yellow detailing, including radar dish and antenna, adding a bit of a technologically sophisticated look to the trailer. The front trailer comes with a door on each side: a small door on the right (for people to enter and exit), and a larger rectangular door on the left side (for loading cargo and stuff like that). The front trailer is more or less empty on the inside, except for the grey drivers’ seats in the cab area. (with a yellow steering wheel) It’s very handy to store equipment in, such as the fence pieces when they're not in use. On the right top side of the front trailer there’s a large grey telescoping crane on an equally grey base. This crane can rotate in a full circle, and can be extended to cover more ground. On the right end of the crane there’s a pair of yellow claws, used to clamp equipment or dinosaurs on, in order to move them around. On the left end of this crane there’s a grey basket, basically a lookout station, with the capacity of carrying a single human figure. Next to it there’s a large green missile launcher, capable of full rotation like the crane itself. It fires grey missiles and comes with three of these (at least, it should when the set is complete).

On the left top side of the front trailer, right next to the cargo door, there’s a hole which can store the computer unit. It’s basically a beige box, with a lights section on top that can move in a 90 degree angle. It comes with a pair of lights and produces three different sounds: an alarm caused by pulling on the fences when they’re attached to the trailer, a damage noise produced when removing the cab area, and a third noise made when pressing the button on the left side of the computer. The lights are activated when producing any of these sounds.

The second trailer is a bit shorter but also comes with two pairs of wheels. Additionally, it sports a pair of big green antennae on the left back end, both identical though one of them positioned somewhat lower so it seems it’s shorter than the other (but both are about 20 centimetres in length). At the very back end of this trailer there’s another cargo door, similar to the one on the left side of the front trailer. The main feature of this trailer is the observation lab: the right side of the trailer including a part of the roof section can fold out to form the observation lab, complete with a pair of little green legs to support it on the ground. When folded out the interior of the trailer is revealed, which is adorned with a large grey table with details like computers and cups on top. Additionally, a grey operating bench is located right above the right wheel, with room enough for a human figure or a smaller dinosaur. Both the bench and the computers inside the lab sport various computer console stickers and other equipment stickers for detail.

This play set comes with a total of eight fence pieces, all of them painted in a bright orange paint job. They can be attached to one another, and the smaller piece of fence can also be attached to the left side of the front trailer, in which case it makes contact with the computer so an alarm is activated when any reptilian vermin tries to break through the fences. The fences can form a protective barrier around one side of the MCC, most logically the right side to protect the observation lab. However, there’s no point on the back end of the second trailer to attach the fences too. Of course, the fences can also be used by themselves, so you can imprison animals.

Analysis: though this is “only a repaint”, it's one you wouldn't want to miss out on if you haven't got the original TLWS1 Mobile Command Center. It’s very cool and quite detailed, though its paint job is hardly appealing, considering the weird colour combinations that would certainly draw attention to hungry dinosaurs roaming the vicinity. However, it fits right in with the rest of the colourful Chaos Effect line, and at least doesn't sport the most appalling paint job in that line (though the bright orange fences certainly are more irritatingly coloured than they should be). If you look past its weird paint job, you'll find this play set is as good as ever, loaded with a variety of cool action features, definitely making this set worth any JP fan's while. Though most of these features aren’t particularly new, they make for some fine overall playability altogether. I’ll describe them separately for a general overview of this wonderful play set.

-Missile launcher (including three missiles): the typical missile launcher seems an obligatory action feature of any vehicle or play set, and the MCC is basically both so naturally it can’t miss one of these. The launcher works properly and has a decent firing range (about a metre); missiles have enough impact force to knock most smaller dinosaurs over. It’s also neat to see this particular gun being fully rotatable. And since it comes with no less than three missiles, there's spares in case you lose one.

-Dino damage cab area: also an often used action feature. The dino damage of this set isn’t very convincing though: it looks far too artificial, like it’s caused by mechanic disassembly instead of an attack by a nasty predator. However, the fact it’s hooked up to the computer so it produces noises when being removed makes it more original and a decent action option after all. It's also quite extensive: carnivores can basically chunk most of the front part of the trailer off, leaving the driver's seat fully exposed for attack.

-Telescoping crane: though the poseability of the crane is fine (it can swivel in a full circle, tilt up and down in a 180 degree radius and be extended by some 15 centimetres), it doesn't work very well, mostly because of the poor design of the grappling claws which are meant to carry stuff: they just can’t support things at all, dinosaurs or otherwise. Nothing can really be clasped between the claws without coming loose and falling down. Though the rotating and telescoping aspects of the crane are good, and the armed extra station for a human figure comes in handy, these few nuisances make it a disappointment.

-Detachable computer with electronic sounds and lights: very fun feature, though it’s a shame only three different sounds can be produced, and one of them is quite annoying. However, they enhance the realism of the action features they’re attached too, and add another level of playability. The lights are quite strong, especially in the dark: you could use them as a decent flash light if you needed to. It's an excellent idea to make the computer removable, so you can take it out if you're going to play wild with your MCC, instead of risking damage.

-Fold out observation lab: a great option, giving us a good look of the inside of the second trailer. The inside could have used some more detail though, but the various computer equipment and the few details that are there, like the mouse and key board are very neat, and overall the folding out of the lab is a useful feature which hugely advances playability and leaves more space for figures and action options.

-Eight fence pieces: easy to assemble and attach to the trailer. It’s a bit odd they can only be attached to one end of the set though, because now dinosaurs won’t have such a hard time sneaking inside the perimeter on the other end. However, the alarm that goes off when the fence is compromised provides for a good warning, as well as a fun action option.

Playability: this play set scores quite high on any playability scale. It has loads of good action features, providing for hours of fun in combination with human figures and dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, and it comes with an abundance of neat accessories. It also has funky sounds and fine lights (when in proper working order of course). Another thing that adds to the playability is the fact the electronics are easily removable, so when you feel like playing rough with it you can do so without risking damage to the sounds and lights.

Realism: this trailer play set looks very similar to the trailers seen in the TLW movie in overall shape and size (some of the details are off though – the trailers seen in the movie did not feature a crane, missile launcher or even fences – but this was obviously done for playability options: it’s a toy after all). The colouring is of course very different since this is the Chaos Effect version of the TLW trailers and has been painted to fit in with the rest of that line: bright, unrealistic colours, hinting at the absurdity and fantasy of this particular toy line.

Repaint: yes. This Mobile Command Center is a repaint of the play set of the same name from the TLWS1 toy line. It comes with all the parts of that original set, except for the Kelly Malcolm figure (nor does it come with any other human figures as replacement). This set would not be repainted for later toy lines.

Overall rating: 9/10. Though the new paint scheme of this play set is certainly less successful than the colours of the original MCC, it's still a grand toy loaded with lots of sweet action features, and it comes highly recommended (particularly if you can't get the TLWS1 MCC). It's a shame there's no bonus figure attached to this set, but given the quality of the other Chaos Effect human figures, that's hardly a loss. The Chaos Effect Mobile Command Center is very hard to find, even more difficult to obtain than its TLWS1 predecessor. It almost always goes for high prices, both loose and MIB, so be warned if you're out to get one yourself.

The Lost World Series 1: Mobile Command Center

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Missile launcher (including missiles)

-Dino damage cab area

-Telescoping crane

-Detachable computer with electronic sounds and lights

-Fold out observation lab

-Eight fence pieces

-Kelly Malcolm figure

(Note: the reviewer is not an expert on vehicles like these, so any incorrect terms, or lack of detail, should be disregarded.)

Description: this play set basically consists of two trailers, which can be attached to one another via the dark leathery thingy (what do you call it?). The overall colour pattern of the trailers is green with asymmetrical beige spots, suggesting camouflage. The wheels are black with grey hub caps. Together, the MCC (standard abbreviation for Mobile Command Center) measures a good 80 centimetres in length. Each trailer comes with its own action features.

The front trailer is the largest of the two and has two pairs of wheels. The front cab area, with the transparent orange window and grey windshields, can be removed as if being torn off by a dinosaur (though the damage doesn’t really appear to be caused by some ferocious creature). On top of this cab area there’s some grey detailing, including radar dish and antenna, adding a bit of a technological look to the trailer. The front trailer comes with a door on each side: a small door on the right (for people to enter and exit), and a larger rectangular door on the left side (for loading cargo and stuff like that). The front trailer is more or less empty on the inside, except for the grey drivers’ seats in the cab area. It’s very handy to store equipment in, including the fence pieces. On the right top side of the front trailer there’s a large white telescoping crane on a scarlet red base. This crane can rotate in a full circle, and can be extended to cover more ground. On the right end of the crane there’s a pair of grey claws, used to clamp equipment or dinosaurs on, in order to move them around. On the left end of this crane there’s a grey basket, basically a lookout station, with a capacity of carrying one human figure. Next to it there’s a large green missile launcher, capable of full rotation like the crane itself. It fires white missiles and should come with three of these.

On the left top side of the front trailer, right next to the cargo door, there’s a hole which can store the computer. It’s basically a white box with a lights section on top that can move in a 90 degree angle. It comes with a pair of lights and produces three different sounds: an alarm caused by pulling on the fences when they’re attached to the trailer, a damage noise produced when removing the cab area, and a third sound made when pressing the button on the left side of the computer. The lights are activated when producing any of these sounds.

The second trailer is a bit shorter and only comes with one pair of wheels. Additionally, it sports a pair of green antennae on the left back end, both identical though one of them positioned somewhat lower so it seems it’s shorter than the other. At the very back end of this trailer there’s another cargo door, similar to the one on the left side of the front trailer. The main feature of this trailer is the observation lab: the right side of the trailer including a part of the roof section can fold out to form the observation lab, complete with a pair of little legs to support it on the ground. When folded out the interior of the trailer is revealed, which is adorned with a large white table with computers and details like cups on top. Additionally, a white operating bench is located right above the right wheel, with room enough for a human figure or a smaller dinosaur.

This play set comes with a total of eight fence pieces, all of them painted in a shiny metallic reddish brown paint job. They can be attached to one another, and the smaller piece of fence can also be attached to the left side of the front trailer, in which case it makes contact with the computer so an alarm is activated when any reptilian vermin tries to break through the fences. The fences can form a protective barrier around one side of the MCC, most logically the right side to protect the observation lab. However, there’s no point on the back end of the second trailer to attach the fences too.

The MCC comes with an exclusive Kelly Malcolm figure, somewhat smaller than the other TLW figures; she’s supposed to be a kid after all. She stands in a mostly neutral pose, and wears a red shirt, dark blue pants and dark grey shoes. She has black hair, and looks very much like the Kelly Malcolm seen in the movie.

Analysis: this is one big play set you don’t want to be missing in your JP collection. It’s very cool and quite detailed, sporting a paint job with an abundance of green and camouflage spots not unlike what was seen on the trailers from the TLW movie. It’s a shame the interior of both trailers is a bit bland and could have used more detailing, but the MCC comes with a variety of features making the overall set worth your while. Though most of them aren’t particularly new, they make for some fine overall playability. I’ll describe them separately for a general overview of this wonderful play set.

-Missile launcher (including missiles): the typical missile launcher seems an obligatory action feature of any vehicle or play set, and the MCC is basically both so naturally it can’t miss one of these. The launcher works properly and fires missiles over a decent distance with enough force to knock most smaller dinosaurs over. It’s also neat to see this particular gun being fully rotatable.

-Dino damage cab area: also an often used action feature. The dino damage of this set isn’t very convincing though: it looks far too artificial, like it’s caused by mechanic disassembly instead of an attack by a nasty predator. However, the fact it’s hooked up to the computer so it produces noise when being removed makes it more original and a decent action option after all.

-Telescoping crane: though the crane works fine, the paint job is pretty ugly, and not very logical considering the overall camouflage look of this play set. The red and white of the crane might as well be a big sign saying ‘Get your human snacks here!’. Another irritating thing about the crane are the claws which are meant to carry stuff: they’re not designed very well, and can’t support things at all, dinosaurs or otherwise. Nothing can really be clasped between the claws without coming loose and falling down. Though the rotating and telescoping aspects of the crane are good, and the extra station for a human figure comes in handy, these few nuisances make it a disappointment.

-Detachable computer with electronic sounds and lights: very fun feature, though it’s a shame only three different sounds can be produced, and one of them is quite annoying. However, they enhance the realism of the action features they’re attached too, and add another level of playability options. The lights are quite strong, especially in the dark.

-Fold out observation lab: a great option, giving us a good look of the inside of the second trailer. The inside could have used more detail though, and like the paint job of the crane, the white colouring displayed here isn’t very appealing. Still, a very neat and useful feature.

-Eight fence pieces: easy to assemble and attach to the trailer. It’s a bit odd they can only be attached to one end of the set though, because now dinosaurs won’t have such a hard time sneaking inside the perimeter on the other end. However, the alarm that goes off when the fence is compromised provides for a good warning, as well as a fun action option.

-Kelly Malcolm figure: a very realistic figure, and a wonderful addition to this set, though Kelly wasn’t the most popular character in the TLW movie. Instead of having her do gymnastics to kill dinosaurs with, she makes a perfect victim for the Bull T-Rex…

Playability: this play set scores quite high on any playability scale. It has loads of good action features, providing for hours of fun. It also has funky sounds and fine lights (when in proper working order of course), and Kelly too enhances options, as do the fences. Another thing that adds to the playability is the fact the electronics are easily removable, so when you feel like playing rough with it you can do so without risking damage to the sounds and lights.

Realism: this trailer play set looks very similar to the trailers seen in the TLW movie. The colouring is not that different, as is the overall shape and size. Some of the details are off though – the trailers seen in the movie did not feature a crane, missile launcher or even fences – but this was obviously done for playability options: it’s a toy after all. And it’s certainly a successful toy version of the trailers from the film. Besides that, the Kelly Malcolm figure is about as movie accurate as any of the human figures from the various toy lines ever got. She sports a similar outfit and paint job, and the head sculpt looks pretty much like Vanessa Lee Chester (back in 1997 that is).

Repaint: no. However, almost all of this play set would be repainted for the JP Chaos Effect toy line, again labelled as Mobile Command Center and sporting some pretty hideous colouring. The only part of this TLW set that wouldn’t get repainted is the Kelly figure.

Overall rating: 10/10. This play set is relatively movie accurate, comes with loads of great action features and is otherwise plain cool. It’s highly recommended, but sadly, not very easy to get. It can prove hard to find, in part due to the fact it didn’t get a worldwide release. It’s difficult to find in MIB condition, and when you find one loose it’s usually incomplete. Competition for MCCs is often pretty intense on Ebay, and prices are almost always quite high. However, it’s a great set and worth the money for any serious collector.

400th Post!: The Lost World Series 1: High Hide with Nick van Owen

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Nick van Owen figure

-Backpack

-High Hide with missile launcher and missile

Description: the High Hide is basically a small dark green platform with a mechanism attached to it which allows it to be pinned to anything strong enough to hold it: most convenient thing would be the edge of a table, no more than five centimetres thick. The parts of the mechanism that clamp to the table are covered with black rubber, to make sure the structure doesn’t slip loose. Some small silvery grey fences can be pinned to the green platform, so the figure doesn’t fall off. One of these fences on the front side of the set is a door which can be opened and closed, and has a TLW logo sticker on it. A metal framework can be pinned to the fences on either side of the set, so the High Hide can also hang onto things. Additionally, this set comes with a missile launcher, sporting a paint job consisting of dark grey and silvery grey highlights and a red button on top to fire the missile, also coloured red. The missile launcher is attached to a pole standing on the green platform, allowing it to be turned 360 degrees.

The missile launcher has a hole in it. This allows the backpack, also coloured in a dark grey paint job with silvery highlights, to be attached to it via a red hook, which is attached to a piece of black string coming out of the pack. This string can be pulled out of the pack to an extent of about 20 centimetres. The backpack has a red button sticking out its right side. Pushing this button inwards makes the string get stuck so it can’t be pulled out further. Pulling the button out makes the string be yanked back inwards with force. This system allows the Nick figure to hang onto the High Hide set via the pack attached to the missile launcher; the pack can be pinned onto Nick’s back. Pulling the red button then causes Nick to shoot upwards to the platform, away from hungry predators on the ground.

Nick himself sports gloves and a sweater with the same dark grey paint job as the missile launcher and the backpack, but now adorned with dark green highlights, same colour as the platform. He does have a silver harness with a hole in it on his back so he can be pinned to his backpack. The sweater has a yellow JP: Site B logo patch on the right upper sleeve. Nick’s pants are coloured beige with a non removable yellow rope and hook on the left leg’s side. On his right upper leg he’s got a knife and a pocket coloured in the same beige so hardly noticeable. It’s simple ornamentation, you can’t do anything with it. Nick’s shoes are dark greyish brown. Nick has dark hair and eyebrows. He stands in an active pose, with his left leg positioned in a forward motion and his right leg in a slight backward stance.

Analysis: this is a great small play set and a welcome relief from small vehicles with exclusive figures. It adds some variety to the toy line. The mechanism that pins the High Hide to a surface works well, even though it has a limited range. The missile launcher is a somewhat predictable action feature, but also works fine: it’s always handy to have the option to fire missiles to ferocious creatures lurking beneath your observation post, in case they come to close. And it’s just fun to shoot at action figures with launchers like these.

The backpack with its up-and-down system is a neat feature, but unfortunately breaks easily. This is mostly due to the force by which the pack is pulled upwards, which makes the wire slip loose or even snap in half. The pack also crashes into the platform quite roughly, especially with Nick attached to it, which may cause paint wear. It’s a fun action feature, but could have used a better design. After all, nobody wants a broken backpack.

Nick himself is a decent enough figure. The paint job isn’t too exciting, but clearly sets it apart from the regular TLWS1 Nick, and as far as the colouring is concerned it’s obvious this figure and this play set belong together.

Playability: the High Hide itself provides for some great playability, though if you don’t want the backpack to break you should be careful with it, thus limiting options. Still, the various ways in which this set can be attached to things, hanging or clamping, increases playability possibilities. The set is largely detachable (otherwise it wouldn’t fit in its box). The missile launcher can also be detached from the pole, though it’s too large for Nick to handle properly. Nick himself has the usual range of poseable body parts, but the way in which his legs are positioned may hinder things a bit, though the figure would have looked silly and not at all life like dangling from the High Hide in a completely neutral pose.

Realism: Nick’s head sure looks a lot like Vince Vaughn’s, just as with the hatless variation of the regular TLWS1 Nick figure. His outfit is totally different from what Nick wore in the film, but since Nick didn’t use the High Hide anyway some poetic license is permitted. The High Hide itself is a typical action figure version of the High Hide seen in the film. It’s considerably smaller, basically a one man observation post, and not a place of refuge for a small group of people, like intended in the film. Of course the missile launcher is totally made up: the humans in the film used guns only. They also didn’t use a backpack to get up and down from this set, but a cable system instead. Still, this is a good toy version of the High Hide as seen in the TLW movie.

Repaint: no. None of the components of this set would be repainted for later toy lines either.

Overall rating: 8/10. Despite the fragility of the backpack, this is a great set with a good enough figure and several interesting action features. It’s also a good addition to the larger play sets. It’s relatively easy to find in some territories, but was never released in others, making it much harder to find there. Ebay is a good solution as always. It may not be cheap, but this set is worth every JP toy fan’s while.

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

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Bike (detachable into four parts)

-Carter figure

-Gun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jurassic Park Series 1: Electronic Command Compound

Year of release: 1993

Accessories:

-Compound building with four pieces of dino damage (including catwalk door), roof, catwalk, crow’s nest, hatchery with four eggs and electronic talking computer with computer probe

-Six pieces of fencing

-Main gate with two pieces of dino damage

-Two pieces of equipment

-Tranq missile launcher with two missiles

-Net Launcher with net

Description/Analysis/Playability:

(For convenience’s sake I will describe these three categories together to decrease repetition and redundancy, as well as to make this review as short as it needs to be.)

-Compound building: the Compound building itself sports a largely circular design save for the window sticking out of the wall. It measures some 60 centimetres in height. It features grey walls constructed on a dark green platform and includes a beige roof (removable, though only for assembly purposes). Some parts of the walls are decorated with sculpts showing dinosaur skulls and bones. On the front part there are two protrusions: the fences can be hooked to these so they’re attached to the building.

The Compound consists of three levels: first, the ground level which stores the computer and the hatchery and is basically the command centre of the play set. On the left wall (from the inside that is) it features a removable dino damage wall piece, allowing a ferocious dinosaur to burst through the wall to attack the puny humans inside. It’s randomly patterned and looks quite convincing, but it’s not always easy to put back in place. On the other side of the room there is another piece of dino damage, the window. The entire window can be removed, again looking random and chaotic, like some large carnivore just took a chunk out of the building. The window is easier to replace. The hatchery, basically a large round dark grey device with storage room for the four blue eggs it comes with, is located directly beneath the dino damage window, so when suffering a dinosaur attack the first thing to be knocked over when the window has been chewed off is the hatchery. Interesting detail: two of the four eggs sport a small Ceratopsian crawling out on top of the egg. The other two eggs show cracks only, like the eggs are about to hatch. In the middle of the room the electronic computer is located (see below).

The second level is the catwalk, which runs from one side of the building to the other, in about a 250 degree angle, giving the humans a wide vista of the environment outside. It too features dino damage, in two different places. Most obvious is the actual catwalk damage as described on the play set’s box, on the front part of the catwalk directly above the computer. A large enough dinosaur (say, the Red Rex) attacking the building is able to break off a piece of the catwalk in order to grab any human figures unlucky enough to stand there between its jaws. Fortunately for them there’s a door (dark grey with a round top sporting a JP logo sticker) directly behind them providing them with a means of escape. This door itself can also be called a piece of dino damage, though it’s not labelled as such. Since the back side of the Compound is entirely open (so kids can play with the building’s inside sections) dinosaurs can also attack human figures from the other side, thus allowing a big dinosaur to burst through the catwalk door unexpectedly and demolish both the door and the catwalk at the same time. Fortunately, the catwalk need not be totally defenceless, since it provides ample space for the missile launcher (see below).

The third level is the crow’s nest, right under the straw roof. It’s basically a lookout station, allowing the human figures to see dinosaurs coming from afar (though it’s also an obvious target for an aerial attack). It has no actual options and provides room for only a few figures.

-Electronic talking Computer: this large dark grey computer module is adorned with various computer screen stickers to make it look like the computer is keeping track of the dinosaurs in the park. The computer itself features four red buttons, the one which is located near the screens activates the computer (at which point a voice is heard stating ‘Jurassic Park Compound: secure!’). Pressing this button always causes the same sentence to be heard, while the other three buttons provide a multitude of different sentences, voices and sounds (including various dinosaurs roars and damage sounds). On the back of the computer there’s a hole: when the computer is put in its proper place inside the Compound building it allows for one of the fences to be attached to the computer. When this fence is moved (as in, attacked by a dinosaur) it also causes sounds and voices to be produced by the computer. The same applies to the computer probe (which can be placed on a small blue arm sticking out of he dark green base of the Compound) which is attached to the computer: pressing the front part of the probe (which is actually a button) activates additional phrases. The box states that the computer is capable of producing over a 100 phrases, though I for one never kept track of this. However, there’s sure a lot of them, so it might very well be true. Apart from the sounds in some instances pressing a button will activate the red light on top of the computer, which flashes three times in a row, usually paired with a somewhat annoying alarm sound. The light is quite strong and looks damn cool in the dark. When no button has been pressed for ten minutes or so, the computer says ‘Operator, please log in’, along with the red light flashing without the alarm. If no buttons are pressed, the computer shuts itself down some minutes later. Be careful playing with this computer, you wouldn’t want to ruin it as it’s one of the coolest components of this play set.

-Main Gate: the gate stands some 30 centimetres tall and sports an all black paint job. It basically consists of a small platform with two large pillars on it, each holding a door and sporting protrusions on one side so the fences can be connected to the gate, which are attached on the top side by a large plate adorned with the JP logo. It’s decorated with two small red flames on top as well as a large Jurassic Park sticker on the plate (much like in the movie). On either side of the top of the gate there’s a small platform with room for a figure or small weaponry like the missile launcher. The gate is also equipped with dino damage: it can be locked by closing it with a large black bar (sporting ridges on the front giving it a wooden look). However, when trying hard enough dinosaurs can split the bar and break through the gate. The bar can be made whole again by simply attaching the two pieces together.

-Fences: this set comes with a total of six identical dark grey fences. Each fence is made of a small platform with two large bars on each side and rods and “wires” in-between. The fences can be linked together (as well as to the Main Gate and the Compound building) via the protrusions on each side. Each fence measures some 30 centimetres wide and 20 centimetres tall. Some of them can be adorned with a small sticker which can be wrapped around a wire on the fence, thus forming a sign saying ‘Danger! 10,000 Volts’, like in the film. The fences have no actual action features of their own.

-Net Launcher: the net launcher consists of a small black platform standing on three large black legs, thus forming a tripod. On top of the platform a large grey contraption is located, with a red button on the back and a huge black arm sticking out on top. Pushing this arm down and placing the net on top of it springs the mechanism with which to fire the launcher. Pressing the button launches the net, in distances of up to half a metre. The net itself (black, with a small grey weight on each end) is quite small, and since the launching pattern is hard to predict it often misses its target (which makes hitting the target all the more worthwhile). Thanks to the tripod the net can easily be launched over the fences, and as such it’s a useful tool (though not very accurate) for capturing dinosaurs on the other side of the fence and guarding the Compound.

-Missile Launcher: the missile launcher is coloured dark grey and is placed on a blue arm (thus adding consistency with the two pieces of equipment and the computer probe, which sport a similar design). It can be rotated up and down. It comes with two different blue missiles, one with a round design and one with a star like design. It can hold one missile at a time, so the other is kept as a reserve, and is fired by pressing the red button on top of the launcher. It has a good range (up to 70 centimetres) and a decent impact force, enough to knock over most smaller dinosaur figures.

-Equipment: additionally this play set comes with two different large blue pieces of equipment. Neither has an action feature, they both serve as extra detailing of the set as a whole. One of them looks like huge syringe, while the other is labelled a diagnostic screen. Apparently these items can be used as aides in processing a captured tranquillised dinosaur.

Realism: the whole design of the building and it’s paint job make it a good toy version of various constructions seen in the JP movie, i.e. the Visitor’s Center (which is of course too big to make a more accurate toy model of), the Jurassic Park main gate and the fences found all over the park. The grey paint job with the sculpts on the walls and the beige straw roof is an obvious nod to the look of the Visitor’s Center as seen in the film, while the inside of the Compound consists of both a control room and hatchery, so two locations of this building have been joined together in this toy model for convenience. The main gate with the flames on top and the large doors is also a fine approximation of the gate seen in the film, but smaller in size (the JPS1 cars only barely fit through the gate) and with less detail (only two flames instead of the multitude seen in the film) and a darker paint job. The fences are quite different from their movie counterparts, smaller and more open (allowing smaller dinosaurs to fit through and escape!), though still recognizable as based on the fences seen in the film (the little ‘Danger! 10,000 Volts’ signs are a dead giveaway). The various pieces of weaponry and equipment this play set comes with are made up to add more playability to the set.

Overall, the design of the Command Compound seems based on the design of the Raptor Pit as seen in the film: a single building as a watchtower to keep dinosaurs locked up inside the fencing in check, with a gate for removing and adding dinosaurs to this prison and weaponry to make people feel secure while dealing with potentially dangerous dinosaurs.

Repaint: as part of the first JP toy line the Command Compound is obviously not a repaint. Some parts of it, namely five of the six fences, the main gate, the missile launcher with both missiles and the net launcher, would be repainted for Hasbro’s JP III Raptor Attack Playset, adding some much needed Kenner feel to the disappointing JP III toy line. The rest of the Command Compound play set would never be repainted for later toy lines.

Overall rating: 10/10. This play set is an absolute brilliant piece of work on Kenner’s part, sporting a great design and numerous interesting functions (though most of them not very original), loading it with enough playability to keep you busy for hours, especially when you add some human and dinosaur figures to the mix. As such, the Command Compound is a real must have for any JP fan; fortunately it’s not rare, though complete or MIB sets aren’t always easy to find. Costs may vary, but this play set is definitely worth your money.