Year of release: 2013
Accessories:
-Dino Damage wound
patch
-Gunner Gordon figure
-Machine gun with ammo
strip
Description: this
medium sized quadruped figure stands in a rather static posture, its
legs all neutrally posed instead of hinting at movement. All four
legs are poseable though, and pulling the right hind leg back makes
the bulky neck tilt upward, the big head along with it, as if the
creature is giving a head butt. The head is attached by a ball joint,
and is thus capable of being posed both side to side and up and down.
However, its range is limited due to the shape of the neck, but it
still makes for decent poseability. The lower jaw can also move
downwards. On the right flank a dino damage wound is located which
can be covered up by a skin patch to hide the dark red muscle tissue
underneath.
This particular
Ceratopsid figure sports a more elaborate paint job than commonly
seen on similar figures. The legs, flanks, sides of the neck, most of
the tail, back of the head frill and parts of the head are painted
simple brown, while its underside (throat, belly and front half of
the lower tail section) is coloured yellowish beige. On the flanks
this beige is suggested to gradually change into brown, and so
appears darker. The Pachyrhinosaurus sports four stripes of the same
beige on each upper leg, while most of the head and frill are painted
in the same colour. A large, thick blue stripe runs from the neck
over the back to the front part of the tail, accompanied by beige
lines on each side. On the neck these blue and beige stripes form a
swirly leaf like pattern. At the very top of the neck and back a row
of bumps is found, which is all coloured dark grey, almost black
even. Three similar rows of bumps of the same colour are located on
the frill, running down over the nose and ending on the big parrot
like beak. The middle row features a number of horns, including two
massive ones on the snout. Additional horns of a smaller size and a
more curved nature are found on the top and sides of the frill, with
one more on each chin. The head and frill are adorned with a number
of blue spots surrounded by yellow lines. The eye sockets, containing
small golden eyes with black pupils, are also blue. The creature's
tongue is brown, while the claws on the feet are painted black and a
large white JP logo is located on the right upper leg.
This Dino Showdown
set comes with a black human figure named Gunner Gordon. This
military looking character too stands in a neutral pose but is fully
poseable considering the ball jointed arms and legs and the extra
articulation provided by the upper torso, head, knees and elbows, as
well as rotatable hands and feet. Gordon's hair style is quite
rastafari, with dreadlocks and hair strings extended at the back of
his head. This hair is coloured dark brown with lighter brown
highlights. Gordon has a rather expressive, agitated look on his
face, along with a goatee and eye brows of the same colour as his
hair. He has white eyes with black pupils, and carries what appears
to be an orange ear ring in his left ear. He wears a predominantly
green jump suit, while his torso is protected by a light grey jacket,
along with extra pockets up front and a silver zipper in the middle:
this jacket hangs a little loose, suggesting it's removable, but it's
not unless you care to damage the figure. More detailing can be
spotted underneath the jacket, but it's hard to tell without removing
it. Around his knees and elbows he has black bands covered with
protective pads, light green on the knees and silver on the elbows.
He also has a grey belt around his waist, additional silver shoulder
pads and black gloves with more silver pads. He wears black boots
with light brown covering.
Gunner Gordon lives
up to his name thanks to the addition of a machine gun to this set.
It's a simple, long black gun, and it comes with a removable support
that can be attached to the front so Gordon can use the gun for
taking shots at rampaging dinosaurs when lying low. The gun comes
with a long silver strip of ammo rounds, that can be attached to its
left side, but can't be pulled clean through it. Gordon's accessories
do not come with an action feature of their own. A hole in Gordon's
back hints at this gun being able to attach to his back, but oddly
enough there's no peg located on the gun itself that fits in said
hole.
Analysis: Hasbro
pleased us all around the time of the 3D re-release of the first
Jurassic Park movie when it let loose this awesome set in TRU
stores. Not only does this Dino Showdown consists entirely of new
figures, the Pachyrhinosaurus also is a new species in terms of
Jurassic Park dinosaur toys. And it's quite a tough looking one too,
adorned with big horns on its snout and a huge intimidating neck
frill. This Ceratopsid definitely looks more aggressive and mean than
any of its herbivorous predecessors, making it a solid match for any
rampaging carnivores out for a bite of its flesh! Nevertheles, it can
be wounded, as indicated by the triumphant return of an age old, well
remembered JP toy action feature, the removable dino damage wound.
The piece fits in tightly but is easy to remove and to put back. If
the creature lets you of course, since it's equipped with a
particular powerful head butting action. Of course, this is a rather
predictable attack option for any Ceratopsian dinosaur figure, but it
works remarkably well, delivering a powerful blow to any antagonist
unlucky enough to stand in its path. It's sure to knock over many
figures and vehicles, including all human figures, like Gunner
Gordon.
Gordon is a less
impressive addition to the set but makes for a good victim for this
creature's onslaught. Sadly for him, he does not come with any
weaponry equipped with decent dinosaur repelling action features, but
at least he's fully poseable and might apply that fact to getting out
of the animal's path. Gunner's look is quite interesting, as he's one
of the few African-American human figures in all of the JP toy lines,
as well as the first with such a wild hairdo.
However, it's most
likely anyone buying this set will consider the Pachyrhinosaurus the
main part, as they ought to. It features a funky paint job, quite
colourful but not over the top, and it's more poseable than most
dinosaur figures (though not as much as its Allosaurus counterpart).
The movements of the head (including the lower jaw) are quite nifty,
though it's a shame the shape of the neck is causing the head to
almost hit the ground. It makes the animal appear to be grazing
peacecully when not in use, but it can also cause paint wear on the
beak if the head butting action makes the head swing back with force.
Nevertheless, it's a minor complaint in regard to one of the most
imaginative and original dinosaur sculpts yet. Hopefully this set
won't prove to be the last time Hasbro gave the JP toy community a
pleasant surprise in the shape of a fine new sculpt.
Playability: pretty
good for a quadruped dinosaur figure. Though the limbs are not nearly
as poseable as those of the Allosaurus of the same toy line, all four
of them can be posed. The neck can move up and down, while the head
can be posed both sidewards and upwards thanks to the ball joint,
making for a good range of movement. The lower jaw's additonal
poseability is also a blast. Though the attack option is far from
unique (basically an obligatory option for Ceratopsian figures), it
works as good or better than on any and all previous JP figures that
came with the same feature, making for a powerful head butt that can
knock down any small and medium figure in its way. As always, having
a dino damage wound that can be covered up is the best way to go, as
this figure demonstrates. Gunner Gordon also is quite poseable, more
so than any previous human figures, but the lack of action options
his weaponry provide is a bit of a downer. Against this angry
elephantine animal, Gordon would need more than just a lousy machine
gun to keep him alive.
Realism:
Pachyrhinosaurus was not present in any of the Jurassic Park
movies and has not been done as a JP figure before. Scientifically
speaking, it's fairly accurate, though its bull like neck is much too
thick and muscled. This species of Ceratopsid is notorious for its
wide range of wildly diverse takes on the shape of its head,
particularly the neck crest and horns. This figure too takes some
creative license in that regard, especially looking at the shape and
size of the crest and the big horns on the snout. However, they're
not as outrageous as some previous Pachyrhinosaurus figures around:
Tyco's Dino Riders Pachyrhino still beats them all in terms of
rampant creative freedom over established accuracy. The body's size
compared to the human figure it comes with is about right.
Repaint: no. For the
first time in many years in the history of JP toys, this is an
all-new set of figures.
Overall rating: 8/10.
A solid new sculpt of an intriguing species never done before in
previous JP toy lines. Poseability is a little less compared to its
Allosaurus counterpart, but its attack feature works a lot better and
the removable dino damage is always a welcome sight. This figure at the time of its release wasn't hard to find in the US, but was only available there. It has since become more scarce because it was so sought after. But it's still certainly worth
the effort of tracking down.
