Jurassic Park 2009: Dino Trackers: Dino Diver VS Spinosaurus

Year of release: 2009

Accessories:

-Hydraulic Impulse Dino-“Tranquilizer” Speargun

Description: the Diver wears an all black suit (including black flippers), covered in light blue stripes and (mostly triangular) shapes, with an orange vest over it, as well as several black belts and orange highlights. On his right leg he has a knife holder with a knife in it (non removable), not coloured differently so a bit hard to notice. His face is partially covered with breathing equipment (with orange filters), though he’s got nothing covering his eyes (brown eyes and eye brows). He’s got a black air tank on his back. He shows signs of a dinosaur attack on his left leg and right arm, revealing bare skin. His weapon appears to be some sort of missile launcher (though its title, as stated above based on the information on the figure's packaging, is a bit longer than that). It’s coloured in a slightly metallic dark blue paint job, with a dark pink missile sticking out of it on both ends. Pushing the end of the missile sort of launches it, though it doesn’t work very well.

The Spinosaurus is positioned in a crouching move, its right arm resting on the ground, possibly stalking potential prey. Its left arm is raised upwards and its mouth is opened wide. Except for its top body parts (top of the head, neck, uppermost part of the back, sail and top of the tail), which are coloured purple, the figure's body is all pink. However, a lighter shade of purple is mixed in with the pink on the side of the neck and tail, the flanks and the arms, making those body parts look darker then they are. A row of small dark purple spots runs on either side of the creature's body from the neck over the flanks to about half way the tail. The Spinosaurus has white teeth and a red tongue and inside of the mouth, small yellow eyes with black pupils and a black JP logo on both upper legs. Its claws are not painted.

Analysis: JP 2009, like the JP III and JPD2 lines, features some aquatic action with this Diver figure and its buddy of old, the not-so-often-used-as-some-other-sculpts crouching Spinosaurus. The Diver himself differs little from its last incarnation, except for the blue stripes and less detailed paint job. Also, the American flag which graced his left arm the previous times is now absent, leaving his affiliations unknown: maybe he's gone AWOL, or he's turned mercenary. His trusty weapon, a sort of missile launcher, unfortunately is still by his side and continues to leave much to be desired, being neither very effective nor good looking or easy for this figure to handle. The rocket this time is purple, which also makes it look a bit goofy.

His Spinosaurus companion got it worse though, and features a completely wacky pink paint job, like some sort of bizarre prehistoric variation on the 'My Little Pony' theme. Whatever the designer who painted this fellow was smoking, stay away from it for your own good. Pink and purple just aren't good choices for big carnivore figures, or even their miniature counterparts, as this figure proves by looking just totally stupid. Also, the lack of detailing, particularly the unpainted claws, is a bit of a bummer. It would come as no surprise if it turned out this Spinosaurus is crouching down because it offers itself up for a mercy shot from the Diver's gun to put it out of its overly festive misery. If only Hasbro had done the same beforehand to the toy designer who came up with these idiotically brightly coloured dinosaur paint jobs for the JP 2009 toy line...

Repaint: yes. This set is identical to the Military Diver set of the JP III line (Wave 2). The Diver has been repainted once for JPD2 (along with his missile launcher), while the Spinosaurus has already been repainted several times for Camo-Xtreme, and JPD2 and would be used twice for this toy line. The missile launcher was also used for the Deluxe Electronic T-Rex set of this toy line.

Overall rating: 4/10. The Diver is okay, but not very different from its predecessors and sadly less detailed. His weapon is still lame. The Spinosaurus is a fairly decent sculpt but features an absolutely awful silly paint job. This set is not rare and can still be found with little effort. Since this set was a Toys'R'Us exclusive that could change over time, but probably not for the next decade or so.

Jurassic Park 2009: Dino Battlers: Spinosaurus VS Velociraptor

Year of release: 2009

Description: the Velociraptor stands in a stalking posture, its right arm and leg stretched outward and its head raised upwards with its mouth open, as if it means to jump on something. The tail is raised upwards and bent at the tip. All of this creature's body is coloured orange, except for its underside (lower jaw, throat, belly, most of the lower part of the tail, underside of the arms and fingers and inner parts of the legs and feet) which is beige instead. A large part of the face around the eyes on either side of the Raptor's head is also beige. On its back, the Raptor features six yellowish beige (a different shade of beige than mentioned before) stripes, with smaller yellow stripes of the same shape in the centre of each of these stripes. The figure has yellow eye sockets, housing cat like orange eyes with black pupils. It has white teeth and a red inside of the mouth, as well as black claws on the feet (but not on the fingers). A white JP logo is found on each upper leg.

The Spinosaurus is positioned in a crouching move, its right arm resting on the ground, possibly stalking potential prey. Its left arm is raised upwards and its mouth is opened wide. It's a very green figure, this colour being found on all of the body, except for its underside (lower jaw, throat, belly, most of the lower part of the tail, inner parts of the arms and legs) which is coloured dark beige. The upper jaw and face, the feet and the sail are coloured dark green with the tip of the tail and three stripes running around the tail full circle sporting the same colour. On both flanks it carries a few beige spots. The figure has small yellow eyes with black pupils. It also has white teeth and a red inside of the mouth and tongue. The claws on both hands and feet are not painted. A white JP logo is found on each upper leg.

Analysis: Hasbro yet again went for a very colourful set of new paint jobs in this two-pack, but again failed to deliver on making these paint jobs look actually good, except maybe for kids who like their dinosaurs overly brightly coloured. Both paint schemes are otherwise not very inspired. In fact, the Spinosaurus' paint job is very similar to the green paint job of its Camo-Xtreme Swamp predecessor, making it a poor copy of that particular release. Both figures lack a sense of detailing, as illustrated by the lack of painted claws (except for those on the Raptor's feet, but in this case the small claws on the back of the feet have been neglected). It is good to see the alternative Spinosaurus sculpt used for a change (though of course a new sculpt would have made us much happier!), since we haven't seen it since JPD2. The same can't be said for this Raptor sculpt, which has overstayed its welcome for far too long.

The Raptor, which in normal circumstances would be more or less in perfect scale with Hasbro's human figures (though not in the standard JP situation where Velociraptors are hugely oversized), is lucky he's about equal size as the Spinosaurus. In reality any Spinosaurus would just bite the Raptor in half, being considerably taller. In a fight between these particular two dinosaurs, the Raptor with its lethal sickle shaped claws would probably win the day. The Spinosaurus already seems to have fallen to its knees accordingly.

Repaint: yes. The Spinosaurus originally came with the Military Diver for the JP III line (Wave 2) and has been repainted before a few times for Camo-Xtreme and JPD2 and would be used twice for this toy line. The Velociraptor sculpt was paired with Alan Grant for the JP III line (Wave 1 instead) and has been repainted many times for Camo-Xtreme, JPD2 and JPD3 and would also be featured in various JP 2009 sets. 

 

Overall rating: 3/10. Funky use of colours here, but these new paint schemes aren't particularly imaginative or appealing. Besides, there's just nothing of particular interest in this set, unless you don't own either one of these sculpts yet. This set is not rare and can still be found with little effort. Since this two-pack was a Toys'R'Us exclusive that could change some day, but probably not for the next few years.

Jurassic Park 2009: Dino Battlers: Spinosaurus VS Tyrannosaurus Rex

Year of release: 2009

Description: the small Spinosaurus figure stands in a walking posture, with its left leg posed forward and the left arm raised, its mouth opened as if roaring and the end of the tail bent pointing to the right. It sports a typical three-way paint job. Its underside (throat, belly and most of the lower part of the tail) is painted greenish beige. Most of the head, the sides of the neck and tail, the flanks, the tip of the tail and the limbs are coloured brown. The back of the head, neck, back, sail and most of the upper part of the tail is painted green. It features several greenish beige stripes on the head, neck, back (including the sail) and tail. The claws on the hands and feet are not painted. The inside of the mouth is painted red, while the creature carries white teeth and has small red eyes with black pupils. The Spinosaurus carries a white JP logo on both upper legs.

The T-Rex stands in an active posture, its head curved to the left and its arms outstretched as if attacking something. The tip of the tail is bent pointing upwards and to the left. It has small pads on its feet to give it extra support. Its predominant colour is grey, which is found not only on all of its underside (lower jaw, throat, belly, limbs, lower part and tip of the tail) but also on most of its back and on the upper legs. The rest of the body (the rest of the head, the neck, the flanks and the rest of the tail) is orange. It features several dark grey stripes and spots on its head (around the eyes), the back, the forearms, the lower legs and the front half of the tail. The claws on the hands and feet are not painted, nor are the pads under the feet. The tongue and inside of the mouth is painted red, while the creature carries white teeth and has small green eyes with black pupils. The Tyrannosaurus carries a white JP logo on each upper leg.

Analysis: good idea, Hasbro! Let's pack the same two miniature big predator figures together... again! It's only been done a bunch of times before so who will know or care? Of course us JP fans care, but apparently we don't really count when there's the potential of making money off kids around. So we are cursed with yet another crappy set of repaints, once again with totally unappealing paint jobs. The used combination of colours is ugly on both figures, though it's definitely worst on the Rex. Grey and orange are just not meant to be used together as this figure successfully demonstrates. Also, the lack of painted details is appalling. Neither figures have their claws painted and the pads on the Rex's feet are woefully neglected. There's just nothing in this set a collector could want, except to add the set to his/her collection to make it complete.

So, assuming anybody cared, who would win this conflict? The Rex is the likely choice. Not because it is the dinosaur king as some zealous fanboys keep reminding us, but simply because it is a much heavier figure and easily knocks over its opponent.

Repaint: yes. The T-Rex originally came with the Military General for the JP III line and has already been repainted over and over again for Camo-Xtreme, JPD2 and JPD3 and would be used several times again for this toy line. This Spinosaurus sculpt was paired with Amanda Kirby for the JP III line and has likewise been repainted often enough for Camo-Xtreme, JPD2 and JPD3. In JP 2009, this would be its only appearance though.

Overall rating: 2/10. Same old same old. Not very impressive sculpts repainted and packaged together too often already, and these paint jobs aren't great. There's just nothing of particular interest in this set, unless you don't own either one of these sculpts yet. This set is not rare and can still be found rather easily. Since this set was a Toys'R'Us exclusive that might change some day, but probably not for the next decade.

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 3: Spinosaurus/Tyrannosaurus 2-pack

Year of release: 2005

Description: the small Spinosaurus figure stands in a walking posture, with its left leg posed forward and the left arm raised, its mouth opened as if roaring and the end of the tail bent pointing to the right. Its paint job is a combination of greys and greens, the former being found on its underside (throat and belly) and top parts (most of the facial area, neck, back and upper part of the tail), the latter being located on the limbs, flanks, underside of the tail, parts of the upper jaw and all of the lower jaw. The grey and green gradually morph into each other on the parts where there would otherwise be simple overlap between both colours. The sail is dark brown (almost black on first sight). The creature's claws have not been painted. The Spinosaurus has small yellow eyes with black pupils, white teeth, a pinkish beige tongue and the rest of the mouth is all black. A black JP logo is found on both upper legs.

The T-Rex stands in an active posture, its head curved to the left and its arms outstretched as if attacking something. The tip of the tail is bent pointing upwards and to the left. It has small pads on its feet to give it extra support. The animal is all coloured dark brown, except for the throat and belly which is greyish brown instead. A large number of small grey spots is found on the figure's back of the head, neck, back, very upper legs and front half of the tail. The figure's claws have not been painted. The Rex has small red eyes with black pupils, white teeth, a pink tongue and the rest of the mouth is all black. A white JP logo is found on both upper legs.

Analysis: 'Haven't we seen these guys before?'

'Well yes, they've been repainted often enough already.'

'But also these two paired together?'

'Erm... yeah, they've been released together only last year.'

'So what makes this second T-Rex and Spinosaurus two-pack so special?'

Truth is, nothing does. This is total 'been there, done that' territory. Same old figures, typical super predator versus super predator in miniature mind-set, not very appealing new paint jobs. Little focus on details: unpainted claws, ugly black inside of the mouth, too little interesting skin detailing (except for the spots on the Rex maybe). It's basically a big bore, as was the previous T-Rex and Spino pairing, meaning there's also zero progress. The sculpts are still averagely decent, so you might be interested if these are new to you, but the chances of that being the case are very slim considering how often we've seen these dinosaurs already.

Of all four JPD3 dinosaur two-packs, this is the least successful, considering the other sets featured previously unrepainted figures, interesting species combinations, and in one extreme case, a whole new sculpt. But hey, the kids will probably love more Rexes and Spinosaurs because they're big and badass and butch! That's probably the thought that went through Hasbro's mind. Cases like these make it shockingly obvious that real JP fans and collectors just aren't of any real interest to Hasbro execs. Oh well, there's still the new Triceratops sculpt in the other two-pack...

Repaint: yes. Both figures are repaints of dinosaurs that originally came with human figures for the JP III line. The T-Rex teamed up with the Military General, while the Spinosaurus came with Amanda Kirby. Both figures have been repainted before for JP III Camo-Xtreme and JPD2, and would be repainted again for this line and JP 2009.

Overall rating: 3/10. There's nothing new to both sculpts, nor are these paint jobs at all interesting. Like most dinosaur two-packs from JPD2 and JPD3, this is one of the more common releases and it can still be found with little effort, usually for low prices – not surprisingly – because they're just not in high demand.

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 2: Velociraptor/Spinosaurus 2-pack

Year of release: 2004

Description: the small Spinosaurus figure stands in a walking posture, with its left leg posed forward and the left arm raised, its mouth opened as if roaring and the end of the tail bent pointing to the right. Its underside (throat, belly and inward part of the upper legs) is painted light brown, while the same colour is found on its back below the sail and the front top half of the tail, as well as above the eyes (like eye brows) and on the snout. The rest of the body is coloured regular brown, while the sail is painted dark brown. On either side of the creature, two pairs of black stripes are found, one pair on the flanks and another on the upper legs. The claws on the feet are painted black, but the claws on the hands are unpainted. The edges of the mouth are black, while the animal has white teeth and a dark pink (almost brown in fact) tongue and inside of the mouth. The figure has very small yellow eyes with black pupils, and carries a white JP logo on its right upper leg.

The Velociraptor stands in a stalking pose, its right arm and leg stretched outward and its head raised upwards with its mouth open, as if it means to jump on something. The tail is raised upwards and bent at the tip. Most of the body is coloured very light green (almost beige) except for the lower legs and feet, most of the head (except for the ocular area and underside of the lower jaw) and the back, which are coloured reddish brown. On its back, this brown colouring runs over the upper arms and legs and flanks in triangular shapes. The very middle of the brown section on the back is painted yellow, which also forms similar shapes running over the brown triangular colouring. The claws on the feet are painted in the same yellow, but the claws on its hands are not painted. The figure's underside (throat and belly) is coloured in a very vague different hue of light green, and may actually be called beige when inspecting it very closely. The Raptor has yellow eyes with cat like black pupils and black eye liner, while the edges around its mouth are also black, and the creature sports white teeth and a dark pink tongue and inside of the mouth. The figure carries a black JP logo on its left upper leg.

Analysis: and so the infinite repainting of smaller dinosaur figures kicks into full gear, after having been introduced moderately in JP III Camo-Xtreme. These dinosaur 2-packs offer very little besides the occasional imaginative paint jobs, except for the chance to create huge armies of identical dinosaur sculpts. Why anyone would want that is a good question. Creating armies of Imperial troops from Hasbro's Star Wars lines is not unusual, since such figures usually stand in a neutral pose and they all look alike any way. But having twenty figures of the same species in the exact same attack posture, except with totally different paint jobs, makes little sense at all.

In the case of the Velociraptor/Spinosaurus 2-pack the paint jobs are at least okay. In fact, the Raptor paint job is actually quite good. The double claw like pattern on its back underscores its aggressive nature, attack posture and its own big claws. Such appeal is not to be found in the Spinosaurus, which looks a bit dull by comparison, but not a total loss either. Something more original for the sail would have been welcome. Also a real shame the claws on the hands of both creatures have been omitted, since the detailing of both figures is otherwise fairly good.

The Raptor, which in normal circumstances would be more or less in scale with Hasbro's human figures (though not in the standard JP situation where Velociraptors are hugely oversized), is lucky he's almost as big as the Spinosaurus. In reality any Spinosaurus would just bite the Raptor in half. In a fight between these two dinosaurs, the Raptor with its lethal sickle shaped claws would probably win the day.

Repaint: yes. Both figures are repaints of dinosaurs that originally came with human figures for the JP III line. The Velociraptor was paired with Alan Grant, while the Spinosaurus belonged to Amanda Kirby. Both figures have been repainted before for JP III Camo-Xtreme, and would be repainted several times again for this line, JPD3 and JP 2009.

Overall rating: 6/10. There's nothing novel to both sculpts, but these new paint jobs are adequate and certainly not as bad as some of the repaints to follow. Like most dinosaur two-packs from JPD2 and JPD3, this is one of the more common releases and it can still be found without trouble, usually for low prices because they're not in high demand (for obvious reasons).

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 2: Spinosaurus/Tyrannosaurus 2-pack

Year of release: 2004

Description: the small Spinosaurus figure stands in a walking posture, with its left leg posed forward and the left arm raised, its mouth opened as if roaring and the end of the tail bent pointing to the right. The entire animal is painted bright blue, save for the belly which is coloured beige instead. Also, a red stripe runs from the back of the head over the neck and back to about half way of the tail: the sail, which is positioned right in the middle of this stripe, is also red. On either side of the figure, another red stripe runs from the neck over the flank to the very top part of the upper leg. Both of these red stripes contain a very thin black stripe within them. This Spinosaurus has white teeth, a dark pink tongue and inside of its mouth, black edges around the mouth, small black eyes, black claws on its feet (not on its hands) and a black JP logo on its right upper leg.

The T-Rex stands in an aggressive posture, its head curved to the left and its arms outstretched as if attacking something. The tip of the tail is bent pointing upwards and to the left. It has small pads on its feet to give it extra support. It's mainly coloured dark beige (or very light brown), except for its underside (throat and belly) which is light yellow instead. A thick red stripe runs from the nostrils over the head, neck and back to the front upper part of the tail, while on its head, neck and back various smaller red stripes run out of this main stripe. Additional red stripes are found on both upper legs and the lower jaw. The T-Rex has white teeth, a dark pink tongue and inside of its mouth, black edges around its mouth, small yellow eyes (with black pupils and black eye liner), black claws on its feet and hands and a black JP logo on its left upper leg.

Analysis: an obvious combination of dinosaur figures for Hasbro's dinosaur two-packs for this line (as well as all of the following lines) is this pairing of a T-Rex with a Spinosaurus, so kids (and playful/bored collectors) can re-enact the infamous battle between both super predators from JP III in miniature. That would be pretty dull considering neither figure has any moveable parts, so all you can basically do is bash them against each other. The paint jobs are not the most impressive shows of Hasbro talent of this line. The Rex is downright ugly, and while the Spinosaurus' original colour scheme has some appeal, it's rather monochromatic. More effort should have been given in both cases, and judging from the identical Rex/Spinosaurus pairings still to come, this was never tried since these successors were also a big let-down.

So who would win this fight? Why, the T-Rex of course. Not because it is the king of dinosaurs as some avid fanboys keep reminding us, but simply because it is by far the heaviest of both sculpts and easily knocks over its rival.

Repaint: yes. Both figures are repaints of dinosaurs that originally came with human figures for the JP III line. The T-Rex teamed up with the Military General, while the Spinosaurus came with Amanda Kirby. Both figures have been repainted before for JP III Camo-Xtreme, and would be repainted several times again for this line, JPD3 and JP 2009.

Overall rating: 4/10. There's nothing new to both sculpts, nor are these paint jobs especially appealing. Like most dinosaur two-packs from JPD2 and JPD3, this is one of the more common releases and it can still be found with little effort, usually for low prices – not surprisingly – because they're just not in high demand.

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 2: Spinosaurus and Stegosaurus two-pack

Year of release: 2004

Description: the Stegosaurus stands in an active posture, with its body bent, its head and tail pointing towards the left, like it’s defending itself from an aggressor. Its dominating colour is green, which is found on its head, neck, flanks, all of the limbs and both sides of the tail. Its underside (throat, belly and most of the lower part of the tail) is coloured yellowish beige. The top parts of the animal (top of the head and neck, the back and upper part of the tail, as well as all the back plates) is painted dark brown. On either side of the figure several brown stripes stick out of the main brown colouring, running over the flanks and tail. On all but the really small back plates a thin reddish brown stripe is located in a triangular pattern. The tail spikes are coloured black, while the figure's claws are not painted and it sports small yellow eyes (no pupils) with black eye liner and a black JP logo on its left upper leg.

The Spinosaurus is positioned in a crouching move, its right arm resting on the ground, possibly stalking potential prey. Its left arm is raised upwards and its mouth is opened wide. Like the Stegosaurus it features a three-way paint job. The underside (belly, front part of the lower tail section and top parts of the inside of the limbs) is painted beige. Almost all of the head, the sides of the neck, the flanks, the rest of the limbs and most of the tail is coloured very light greyish brown. Lastly a thick light blue stripe runs from the neck over the back very close towards the end of the tail and also covers the back sail. On each upper limb, an additional pair of small blue stripes is found. The dinosaur has black claws on its feet, but the claws on the hands are not painted. The tongue and inside of the mouth are coloured dark pink, the teeth are white, and the space between the teeth and the edges of the mouth are black. The animal has small black eyes and a black JP logo on its left upper leg.

Analysis: finally, some other figures repainted! We've seen repaints of both this Stegosaurus and Spinosaurus before, but not nearly as often as some of the other JP III miniature figures. It's a welcome change, but a far cry from new figures of course. Both figures feature okay new paint jobs. In fact, in the case of the Stegosaurus, the paint job might actually be more interesting than on its first try (JP III Wave 2 if you recall), but not as daring as the one seen on its Camo-Xtreme counterpart. Green works well on Stegosaurs as we've observed before. The differently coloured tail spikes and the adorning of the bigger back plates are also a nice touch. Too bad the claws are not painted though, and the lack of pupils looks kinda creepy (for some reason such an effect works much better on carnivores than it does on innocent herbivores).

The Spinosaurus is less successful on the paint job front and has been done more justice on the previous two specimens. It's not necessarily bad, but the combination of light brown and blue feels too soft for a super predator and lacks the feel of menace which would suit it better. More use could have been made of the sail, since this is the figure's most distinctive feature. The little blue stripes add a bit of diversity in the paint job though. The lack of pupils, as stated above, works much better on a carnivore like this and gives it an eerie, slightly twisted feel. A shame the claws on the fingers are not painted while those on the feet are, this feels rather sloppy!

In a battle between both figures my money would be on the Stegosaurus. It's bigger, bulkier and has those nasty tail spikes to slap opponents in the face with. And because of the abundance of plates the Spinosaurus has a hard time finding a good place to sink its teeth into this herbivore. Apparently, the Spino is aiming for a low angle attack. Or the Stegosaurus has already brought the Spinosaurus to its knees... your interpretation really.

Repaint: yes. Both figures are repaints of dinosaurs that originally came with human figures for the JP III line (second wave in both figure's cases). The Spinosaurus teamed up with the Military Diver, while the Stegosaurus was paired with Paul Kirby. Both figures have been repainted once before for JP III Camo-Xtreme: the Stegosaurus would make a second appearance in this line, as well as a final appearance in JPD3. The Spinosaurus had to wait until 2009 to be featured again in a JP toy line (the aptly named JP 2009).

Overall rating: 6/10. There's nothing new to both sculpts, unless you don't own the previous releases yet. These new paint jobs are pretty nice, though nothing really special or appealing. It's good to see some of the less often repainted figures for a change. Like most dinosaur two-packs from JPD2 and JPD3, this is not an uncommon release (though not as common as the rest of them, it appears). It can still be found fairly easily, usually for low prices because it's just not a very popular set.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Electronic Spinosaurus

Year of release: 1999

Description: this medium sized bipedal carnivore sports an elaborate paint job, though brown is the dominant colour, as it is found on the arms, most of the legs, underside of the tail, belly, most of the flanks, throat and most of the head of the figure. A dark green paint job covers the top of the head, neck, very upper part of the legs, topside of the tail and back of the creature, which runs out over the flanks, neck and tail in rounded shapes. Additional green spots are found on the animal’s head, flanks, upper legs and sides of the tail. The same shade of green adorns the otherwise mostly yellow sail in three stripes as well as three rows of tiny spots on each side of the sail. In between the brown and green colouring on the creature's body, a vague line of beige is located, running from the snout to the tip of the tail, though occasionally being interrupted by larger green shapes running out of the colouring on its back. A black JP logo is found on the left leg. The claws on the feet are painted white, but those on the hands are not coloured in a different paint job. The Spinosaurus has beige eyes with black pupils, small white teeth and the inside of the mouth, including the tongue, is coloured pink.

The creature assumes a walking stance, with the right leg posed in a backward move. This position causes problems: the sculpt can’t easily stand on its own accord (despite its large flat feet) and quite often must lean on something to stand up (though this tends to differ for each specimen: some have it worse than others). This dinosaur features an attack action: pull the left arm down so the mouth will open, revealing a snake like split tongue, as well as a not very impressive set of teeth. This also produces a roar, which is relatively high pitched, at least more than you might expect of a fair sized predator like this.

Analysis: the TLW line got some of its electronic dinosaurs repainted too, starting with this Spinosaurus figure. It was never the most successful TLW sculpt, though it was an interesting take on this species before JP III came along. The sculpt remains unchanged, meaning it still has balance issues and a rather unappealing and uninspired biting feature (in fact, identical to the one of the Electronic Dilophosaurus already repainted for this line). The sound is not as much improved as those of the JPS1 electronic repaints of JPD1, but still loud enough to make some impression. Unlike the Wave 1 electronic dinosaur figures, this dinosaur does not come with any capture gear, probably because it's already a bigger sculpt than its Wave 1 counterparts, so cost wise it didn't warrant any. As for size, it seems the reason the electronic Velociraptor and Parasaurolophus sculpts from the TLWS1 line didn't get repainted for this line because they were too big to fit in the designed packaging for the electronic figures of the JPD1 line. Too bad, since those were seriously the better electronic sculpts, but it's interesting to see a new take on this Spinosaurus too.

The paint job is really a fifty-fifty situation. On the one hand, the paint scheme is largely identical to the one from the TLWS1 Spinosaurus. On the other, the colours used this time around make you totally forget this. Its predecessor already had an appealing and interesting paint job, and fortunately this sculpt continues the trend with this new colour scheme. Brown and dark green fit well together, giving the beast a murky, earthy look, while the minimalistic use of beige is a good little addition. The yellow sail with the green specks and stripes makes it totally distinct from the light green with purple variation seen last time. It's good to see the claws on the feet are painted this time around, though it's a real shame the same can't be said for the claws on the hands. The beige eyes are a bit of a downer though, a brighter colour would have made them stand out more. So while it's still far from a perfect sculpt, the new paint job at least adds to its appeal, rather than bring it down ever further like we've seen on some other repaints of this first JP: Dinosaurs line.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the TLWS1 Electronic Spinosaurus. The figure would not be repainted again.

Overall rating: 6/10. Not the best Spinosaurus sculpt around (though very different from Hasbro's later Spinosaurs), but it's decent enough. The paint scheme doesn't score high on originality, but at least the colours are different enough to avoid it being a total copy-cat. This Wave 2 electronic dinosaur is not the easiest find of this line and can fetch relatively high prices, but loose samples can occasionally be acquired at low cost.

Jurassic Park III CamoXtreme: Jungle Spinosaurus

Year of release: 2002

Description: this Spinosaurus features an overall reddish brown paint job with black stripes and shapes all over its body (most notably on the legs), while its underside (belly, base of the tail and throat) is painted beige. On the legs, especially around the feet, a darker shade of brown is mixed in, giving those parts of the animal a muddy feel. Most of the upper jaw and facial area, as well as the neck, tip of the tail and sail are coloured black. On the head, around the eyes and mouth, as well as on the sail, blue lines are found in a symmetrical pattern. The creature has small yellow eyes, white teeth and the inside of the mouth is painted pink. Its claws on both hands and feet are black, while a white JP III logo can be found on its left upper leg. A dino damage wound is located on the left flank, showing white bones and red muscle tissue. A small button is found in this wound: when pressed, the figure emits a high pitched shrieking snarl. Another button is located in the throat: pushing this button makes the mouth of the creature open and produces a vicious attack roar.

The Spinosaurus stands in a bent pose, as if stalking prey, or waiting to jump on its victim. The tail, which is rather short, is bent to the left, as is the head. The animal has large arms with very nasty big claws. The snout is quite elongated and resembles a crocodile’s head. The figure is very thin and has little body mass. It’s also out of proportion: the head and especially the arms are too big compared to the body.

Analysis: another medium sized electronic dinosaur figure that benefited from Hasbro's creative juices and wild paint schemes in the CamoXtreme line is the Spinosaurus, which, like the Rex and Raptor figures of the line, makes for a vast improvement over its predecessor, which featured a rather bland paint job by comparison. Though the original disappointing features of the sculpt remain (i.e. the dino damage wound, its awkward tiny body and silly short tail compared to its huge arms, and its impractical button to activate the attack roar), at least the figure looks great this time around.

It has a much more 'natural' paint scheme; the muddy feeling the legs give and the successful interplay between brown and black makes for 'butch' predator. Details like claws have not been omitted. The blue lines, which do add some colour and diversity within this paint scheme, do seem out of place on a jungle figure where blue isn't that common a colour: green would have seem more logical, but it's a nice touch regardless. The one thing that feels awfully out of place is the white JP III logo, but considering the more usual black version would have been hard to spot this is an understandable though unfortunate addition to the overall fantastic paint job. Incidentally, this figure could also have worked as a Lava Spinosaurus: the black and reddish brown paint job does also have a bit of a 'lava flow' feeling to them.

Repaint: yes. This figure was originally featured in the JP III toy line. Surprisingly, it would not be repainted again, despite Spinosaurus' rising popularity.

Overall rating: 7/10. This figure proves that a great paint job can make an otherwise lousy figure much more appealing. Despite its many shortcomings, this Spinosaurus got a nice makeover making it seemingly more impressive than its rather dull coloured predecessor. The CamoXtreme Jungle Spinosaurus is not always an easy find. You can still find them at times on eBay for various prices. This figure was also imported in the Benelux in decent quantities, making it easier to find there.

Jurassic Park III CamoXtreme: Swamp Spinosaurus & Tyrannosaurus Rex

Year of release: 2002

Accessories:

-'Swamp' Collector's Card (no number)

Description: the T-Rex stands in an aggressive posture, its head curved to the left and its arms outstretched as if attacking something. The tip of the tail is bent pointing upwards and to the left. The majority of this Tyrannosaurus figure is painted basic green, while the belly, throat and base of the tail are coloured beige. A series of thick dark green spots and dots are found all over its body in a seemingly random and asymmetrical pattern. On its snout and above the eyes the Rex sports red colouring. It has small yellow eyes and white teeth (inside of the mouth not painted), as well as black claws on both arms and feet and a white JP III logo on its left upper leg. Its feet are supported by extra small plastic bases in the same dominant green colour, so it can stand on its legs more easily.

The Spinosaurus is positioned in a crouching move, its right arm resting on the ground, possibly stalking potential prey. Its left arm is raised upwards and its mouth is opened wide. It too sports a paint job dominated by a single shade of green, while its sail features a darker green colour, which ends in a stripe running over its tail as well as smaller stripes running over the flanks and dots on the side of the upper part of its tail. Additionally this Spinosaurus has similar dark stripes on its lower arms and legs and the same colour is also found all over the head. Yellow colouring adorns the back of the head, while a single yellow stripe is found on each flank. The figure has white teeth (inside of the mouth not painted), small red eyes with yellow eye lids and a white JP III logo on its left upper leg. Its claws are not painted.

Analysis: the most obvious type of camouflage is the one featuring different hues of green to avoid detection in a forest environment featuring heavy plant growth. A swamp usually qualifies as such, so it's no surprise to see this duo of carnivores adapted to a green environment. This swamp 2-pack is probably the least original of the CamoXtreme sets and also doesn't feature the most appealing paint schemes.

Both paint jobs are far from wildly imaginative. The Rex's especially is rather dull, except for the red colouring on its snout which hints to its bloodthirsty nature. Though Hasbro didn't forget to paint its claws, like they did on the Spinosaurus, the inside of the mouth is sadly forgotten (also on the Spino). The pads on its feet are still more of a nuisance than a useful tool and plenty of Rexes keep falling over despite them. On both figures, the white JP III logo looks totally out of place: a black logo would have made more sense, even though it would be harder to spot.

Spinosaurus has a more intricate paint job, but only on the top half of its body. Its underside has been totally neglected, apart from the cute little dark green stripes on the lower arms and legs. The two shades of green work well together but that doesn't apply to the yellow colouring which would more easily reveal this creature in a swampy setting. The coloured eye lids are a nice surprise though, since those are usually ignored on dinosaur paint jobs. This is the lesser of the two small JP III Spinosaurus figures Hasbro produced (the whole crouching pose just feels un-Spinosaur like), but its addition to the CamoXtreme line instead of repainting the other Spino figure again does add a little more diversity.

Incidentally, every once in a while a Swamp Raptor figure is mentioned. This refers to the unreleased CamoXtreme Tropical Velociraptor, a JP III Wave 2 Pack Raptor repaint which featured a similar paint job to this set (as far as we could tell from the only known picture), but was never actually named a Swamp Raptor, so technically - and literally - this figure does not exist.

Repaint: yes. Both figures were originally featured in the JP III toy line. The Tyrannosaurus came with the Military General figure in Wave I of that line, while the Spinosaurus was released later on along with the Military Diver figure for Wave II. Both dinosaur figures would be repainted again for JP Dinosaurs 2/3 and JP 2009, the Spinosaurus not nearly as frequently as the T-Rex though (in fact, it was altogether absent from JPD3).

Overall rating: 5/10. If you don't own the original JP III sculpts yet this set might be interesting for you: if not, it's really nothing special, except for the new collector's card completing this set. The CamoXtreme 2-packs are a bit harder to find than most other Hasbro JP dinosaur 2-packs, but not (yet) excessively so. You can still find them irregularly on eBay for a fair price. These 2-packs were imported in the Benelux in decent quantities, making them also fairly easy to find there.

Jurassic Park III CamoXtreme: Desert Spinosaurus & Velociraptor

Year of release: 2002

Accessories:

-'Desert' Collector's Card (no number)

Description: the Spinosaurus stands in a walking posture, with its left leg posed forward and the left arm raised, its mouth opened as if roaring and the end of the tail bent pointing to the right. It sports a mostly tan or beige paint job, which covers practically the entire underside of the figure, except for the second half of the tail, which is black, while the tan covers the upper part of the tail. The other top parts of the figure (back, neck, upper jaw, part of the sail) reverse this paint scheme and are black instead. This black colouring ends in bent triangular stripes over the figure's flanks. The sail is festively adorned with white and orange stripes: additional orange highlights are found on the creature's head around the eyes and nostrils, while the lower part of the eye sockets is white, with small yellow eyes. A black stripe runs around the lower jaw from one side of the jaw to the other, while the Spinosaurus has white teeth and the inside of its mouth is dark pink. A black JP III logo is found on its right upper leg. Its claws on both hands and feet are not painted.

The Velociraptor stands in a stalking pose, its right arm and leg stretched outward and its head raised upwards with its mouth open, as if it means to jump onto something. The tail is raised upwards and bent at the tip. Most of this figure is coloured bright yellow, while its back, most of its head, the larger part of the upper tail section and the claws on its feet are painted black. The claws on its hands remain unpainted though. A yellow stripe runs on each side of its face, while blue stripes run around the jaws. Its throat is also coloured blue. A series of six white spots runs over its back. The eye sockets are white, with fairly large orange eyes and cat like black pupils. The inside of its mouth is simply painted black but has white teeth, while a black JP III logo is located on its left upper leg.

Analysis: Hasbro's fascinating take on camouflage paint jobs continues in this 'desert' themed 2-pack. It must be said, the previously fairly dull coloured Spinosaurus steals the show in this pack and looks remarkably good. Its intricate zebra or tiger like paint job makes an excellent addition to the CamoXtreme line. This little Spinosaurus might very well disappear in savannah grass (which is not the same thing as a desert environment though): it would have to be pretty tall grass to hide an adult Spinosaurus though, which is probably why the unreleased adult Desert Spinosaurus of this line featured a totally different paint job. At least it would work on a juvenile, though this Spino figure, despite its size, has too many adult features to ever have worked as a baby figure. Despite its inventive new paint job, Hasbro got lazy and ignored the claws, but that's a small oversight considering the paint scheme is still highly attractive.

The Raptor has a less successful paint job, though still much more original than its predecessor. Compared to the Spinosaurus it looks rather boring. At least it has painted claws on its feet, though the claws on its hands also were left unattended. Like the Spinosaurus, its paint job would work well in a dry grassy setting - which isn't a hallmark of most deserts: this 2-pack could have used a different name - but the blue colouring around its mouth might give it away. The way this blue is used looks silly anyway, like the Raptor had something with blue blood for dessert (get it?) and forgot to wipe its jaws clean. Also, the inside of its mouth definitely needed more work.

Aside from the paint jobs, there is little else to warrant attention to this pack. Both figures are nothing new and have zero playability options. The Spinosaurus is still a decently realistic miniature figure while the Raptor is about adequate but not particularly attractive. It must be noted, as it was above, that Hasbro planned to release a larger Desert Spinosaurus (which was a repaint of the JP III Wave II Aqua Attack Spinosaurus) for the CamoXtreme line, but it got scrapped. A single specimen appeared and got people speculating quite a bit, so when you read or hear something about a rare and valuable Desert Spinosaurus, it usually concerns that figure instead of this not so rare smaller Desert Spinosaurus, even though this one has a better paint job - by far.

Repaint: yes. Both figures were originally featured in the JP III toy line. The Spinosaurus came with Amanda Kirby in Wave I of that line, while the Velociraptor teamed up with Alan Grant, also for Wave I. Both dinosaur figures would be repainted several times again for JP Dinosaurs 2/3 and JP 2009.

Overall rating: 7/10. One excellent paint job, one decent enough, plus a nice collector's card are the only interesting things in this set, unless you don't own the original JP III sculpts yet. The CamoXtreme 2-packs are a bit harder to find than most other Hasbro JP dinosaur 2-packs, but not (yet) excessively so. You can still find them irregularly on eBay for a fair price. These 2-packs were imported in the Benelux in decent quantities, making them also fairly easy to find there.

Jurassic Park III CamoXtreme Arctic Spinosaurus & Stegosaurus

Year of release: 2002

Accessories:

-'Arctic' Collector's Card (no number)

Description: the miniature Stegosaurus is basically coloured in four layers. The lowest layer (the belly, throat, most of the lower jaw and underside of the tail) is painted light grey. Above that, the second layer is white, covering the legs, flanks and both sides of the tail. A number of grey spots and stripes adorns the white parts of the figure. The top layer is coloured black, covering the creature's back, upper jaw, top of the tail, and most notably, the plates and tail spikes. In-between the white and black parts of the Stegosaurus there's the final layer, an orange line on either flank of the figure, running from the neck to the end of the tail, ending just under the last set of plates. The eyes are yellow with black pupils and a black JP III logo can be found on its left back leg. The animal stands in an active posture, with its body bent and its tail dangerously sticking out, like it’s defending itself from an aggressor.

That aggressor could be the Spinosaurus that completes this 2-pack. It stands in a walking posture, with its left leg posed forward and the left arm raised, its mouth opened as if roaring and the end of the tail bent pointing to the right. It sports a mostly light blue paint job, which gradually turns into black on the animal's back, neck and upper parts of the tail and head, and dark grey on its belly, throat, inner side of the legs and lower part of the tail. It has a row of orange stripes on either side of its sail. Its claws are painted black (something they did not bother to do with the Stegosaurus), and it has yellow eyes with black pupils, white teeth and the inside of the mouth is coloured bloody red. A black JP III logo is found on its right upper leg.

Analysis: Hasbro's long time affinity with dinosaur 2-packs started with the CamoXtreme line, which delivered some of the very few actually appealing 2-packs ever produced. This Arctic 2-pack is among those. Though the Stegosaurus lacks some detail (unpainted claws, spikes and even plates), both figures sport an interesting paint job which very well might help them blend in in an icy environment (except for the orange highlights maybe). Aside from the paint jobs, there is little else to warrant attention to this pack. Both figures are nothing new and have zero playability options. The Spinosaurus is still a decently realistic miniature figure, which in a lesser regard applies to the Stegosaurus as well, though its front legs are still overly long compared to its hind legs and it has a rather goofy expression on its face.

Repaint: yes. Both figures were originally featured in the JP III toy line. The Spinosaurus came with Amanda Kirby in Wave I of that line, while the Stegosaurus had to wait for release until Wave II when it was paired with Amanda's (ex-)husband Paul Kirby. The Spinosaurus would be repainted several times again for JP Dinosaurs 2/3 and JP 2009. The Stegosaurus would only be repainted for JP Dinosaurs 2/3: interestingly enough, this Arctic Stegosaurus would be reused in its entirety (so no additional paint work at all) for the JP Dinosaurs 2 'Electronic Brachiosaurus with Micro Stegosaurus' set.

Overall rating: 7/10. Nice paint jobs and a funky collector's card are the only attraction in this set, unless you don't own the original JP III sculpts yet. The CamoXtreme 2-packs are a bit harder to find than most other Hasbro JP dinosaur 2-packs, but not (yet) excessively so. You can still find them irregularly on eBay for a fair price. These 2-packs were imported in the Benelux in decent quantities, making them also fairly easy to find there.

Jurassic Park III: Aqua Attack Spinosaurus

Year of release: 2002

Description: this figure stands in an attack posture, with its mouth opened, its head panned to the right, its long arms ferociously stretched forward, and its tail bent downwards. The mouth cannot be closed. Like all Hasbro sculpts it has a dino damage wound, located on the right flank: it shows some ribs and muscle tissue. The upper part of the middle rib is actually a button and activates a shrieking roar as if the creature is yelping in pain. The front part of the sail, next to its neck, is also a button which can be pressed downwards: when doing so, the Spino moves its arms up and down, as if making a slicing strike movement. It also causes an attack roar to be heard. The sounds are the same noises the Wave 1 Spino produced.

The bottom part of this animal is painted in a greyish white colour with some vague brown stripes mixed in. The upper part of the creature (upper jaw, neck, sail, back and upper tail) is mostly covered in a dark reddish brown paint job, with a slightly shiny look at some parts (mostly the sail). The sail is adorned with a row of 19 shiny blue stripes on each side. The dinosaur has black claws, and a black JP III logo is found on its right upper leg.

Analysis: this figure is an improvement over the Wave 1 Spino figure, but only slightly so. It still leaves some things to be desired and looks less impressive than the Animatronic Spinosaurus. The paint job is done well enough, but not great: especially the underside of the animal sports a somewhat dull colour and could have used more detail. It’s odd this paint job is so much different than the one the other Spinosaur toys (except for the Military Diver’s small Spino figure) featured: does Spinosaurus changes colour in water or something?

Like the Wave 1 Spino, this sculpt has almost no body mass, and consists mostly of limbs, sail and head. It’s very skinny, and naturally sports one of those irritating wounds Hasbro is so fond of. The position of the tail and the fact the mouth can’t be closed are also downsides. However, the figure has some good points too. For one thing, the sail is bigger and looks cooler, and the tail is also longer, and thus more realistic, than that of its predecessor. The dino strike action works well enough: it’s a shame it’s copied from the Wave 1 Alpha Raptor and Dilophosaurus actions though. The sounds are the same as those of the Wave 1 Spino, except the sound quality has been improved, making the roars louder and more imposing. Overall, this figure evokes mixed feelings.

Playability: not very good. The limbs are poseable, but the figure’s tail is bent in a very weird angle and also hinders movement of the right leg. The mouth is permanently opened (unless one customizes the figure): it wouldn’t have been so much trouble applying a way to open and close it at will? The figure is electronic, so if you wish to keep the roars in working order, don’t go playing to wild with this toy.

Realism: this figure resembles the Spinosaurus seen in JP III more than the Wave 1 Spino did, mostly because of the bigger sail and longer tail. There are still differences though: the paint job is again not the same as the JP III Spino sported, and the body is disproportionably small. Other than that it’s instantly recognizable as a Spinosaurus, mostly because of the sail and the unmistakably crocodilian head.

Repaint: no. This figure would not be repainted either, though a repaint was scheduled for the JP III Camo-Xtreme line (the infamous Desert Spinosaurus; only one of them is known to have ended up on the market. This means that technically this scuplt has been repainted, but since there’s only one it should be classified as unreleased and thus doesn’t count.).

Overall rating: 6/10. It’s not the best Spinosaur sculpt – that honour is still bestowed on the Animatronic Spinosaurus I’d say – but it’s better than the Wave 1 Spino figure and not all that bad to own. It’s a bit rarer than the Wave 1 figures, but not impossible to find, if you should want one.

Jurassic Park III: Military Diver & Spinosaurus

Year of release: 2002

Accessories:

-Spinosaurus figure

-Missile launcher (with missile)

Description: this figure wears an all black suit, including black flippers, with a yellow vest over it, as well as several blue belts and dark grey highlights. On his right leg he wears a yellow knife holder with a knife in it (non removable). On his left upper arm an American flag (or something like it) is found, so this guy is part of the US military alright. His face is partially covered with breathing equipment, though he’s got nothing covering his eyes. He’s got a black air tank with more dark grey detailing on his back. He shows signs of a dinosaur attack on his left leg and right arm, showing skin. His weapon appears to be some sort of missile launcher. It’s coloured in a slightly metallic dark grey 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.

The Spinosaurus is positioned in a crouching move, possibly stalking potential prey. Its left arm is raised upwards and its mouth is opened wide. The figure sports a grey paint job, with some shiny blue stripes on every part of its body, including the sail. A large red stripe, also in a shiny paint job, runs from its snout all the way to the end of its tail, including all over the sail. Its claws are painted black, its eyes are yellow and a black JP III logo is located on its left leg.

Analysis: this is a fairly decent figure. The diver sure looks like a diver, though not necessarily military, were it not for the flag on his arm. The figure stands in a rather neutral pose, except for his left leg, which is positioned in a forward move. The paint job is pretty good, with a fair amount of details. I’m not an expert on diving equipment, so I don’t know whether his gear is realistic, but it looks good enough to me.

The same can’t be said for the weapon. Once again Hasbro uses its own launching mechanism, with the push-the-end-of-the-missile system. It’s a rather lousy system anyway, but in this case it just doesn’t work right. The missile hardly flies in a straight line to its target but gets off course easily. It also does little damage if it hits anything at all, it just lacks the necessary impact force. That, and the fact it has a lame paint job, makes it a very disappointing gun.

The Spinosaurus is better by comparison, but nothing great in itself. It sits in a bit of an odd position and tends to fall over because it’s slightly out of balance with its left arm raised like that. The paint job is quite original, but doesn’t remind us of the colours the Spino in JP III had (though it is similar to the paint job of the Aqua Attack Spinosaurus of this toy line). It’s not the best JP III Spino figure by far, but decently enough.

Playability: not great. The diver’s limbs are all poseable, and the more or less neutral pose also helps. The weapon however is a lost cause, and one of the lamest weapons of all the Hasbro JP figures. The Spino is not poseable in any way and also doesn’t take on a neutral pose, so it doesn’t help the playability much.

Realism: there was no Military Diver in JP III. There were marines and military craft, but no divers. Hasbro just made the figure up. I think it would have been better if they had made soldiers like seen in the movie: instead they just made something up, but the result in this case is adequate enough. The weapon also wasn’t featured in the movie, and thank heaven for that!

The Spino certainly is recognizable as such, with its crocodilian jaws, sail and long arms, but other than that it doesn’t resemble the Spino from JP III much: the most noticeable difference is the odd paint job this figure sports which is in no way reminiscent of the colours Spino sported in the movie.

Repaint: no. However, the Diver and his weapon would be repainted for JP Dinosaurs 2 (Dimetrodon & Military Diver) and JP 2009 (while the repainted weapon was also found on the big Deluxe Electronic T-Rex set, paired with a repaint of the Military General instead).The Spinosaurus would be repainted four times, once for JP Camo-Xtreme, once more for JP Dinosaurs 2, and twice for JP 2009.

Overall rating: 6/10. The figure is okay, though the weapon sucks. The dinosaur is decent enough, but nothing too special. This set is not very hard to find in the USA, so if you want one you could probably get it relatively cheap and not have much trouble finding it. It’s a bit harder to get your hands on in some other territories, but still far from impossible to find.

Jurassic Park III: Poseable Spinosaurus

Year of release: 2001

Description: this other large Spinosaurus toy sports yet again a typical Hasbro Spino paint job, being mostly brown. This time however, almost the entire animal is coloured in the same type of brown instead of some extra tints of brown being mixed in. The underside of the creature is mostly grey, except for some parts of its limbs: more grey is located on the flanks and upper legs of this animal. The sail on its back sports a somewhat different paint job this time round: a shiny reddish brown colour adorns the top and also runs over most of the top part of the tail, while white and shiny blue stripes run over both sides of the sail. At the base of this sail a pattern of white stripes, somewhat reminiscent of lightning, is found. The head sports a mostly grey and brown paint job with some gold on top. This creature has tiny green eyes, as well as a black JP III logo on its left leg.

The “skin” of this creature is made out of a material resembling rubber (though I’m not sure whether it is rubber or not). This Spinosaurus’ proportions are off unfortunately: the tail is too short, the arms are way too long and thin (with the characteristic large sickle like claw on each hand missing), and the legs are positioned to far towards the end of the creature’s body and its feet are also too small: the arms however are positioned too much near the base of the neck. The head is quite duck like, with a large flat upper jaw. The mouth can’t be closed. The creature is not in any way poseable either.

Interesting side comment: it’s not generally accepted this toy is an actual part of the regular JP III action figure line. Though it is clearly a Jurassic Park III toy, it does look somewhat out of place next to the other JP III Wave I figures. Some collectors consider it to be non canonical in regard to being an official JP III action figure. Another aspect which supports this is the fact that no other JP III figures are portrayed on the back of this model’s box, unlike with the other figures. And of course there is another “poseable” toy, a Raptor, which is certainly not a part of the JP III action figure line, because it is much too big. However, since this Spino’s size is relatively accurate compared to the human figures, and given the fact that this toy is less fragile than the Animatronic Spinosaurus, it is often used to play alongside canonical JP action figures. Therefore it gets a review.

Analysis: don’t get your hopes up with the “poseable” part of this sculpt, because it’s nonexistent. This Spinosaurus is not poseable at all. It hasn’t got bendable limbs or body parts if that’s what you’re expecting. That is, the arms are somewhat bendable, but they move right back. The jaws can’t even be closed, though you can clamp figures between them. The model is largely anatomically incorrect: like noted above, many of his body parts are either too small or too large, with the most notable example being the arms. They look nothing like the arms of the JP III Spinosaurus we’re familiar with, and even have a bit of a humanoid appearance to them.

The paint job is very unimaginative, and largely the same as with the other JP III Spinosaurus figures. The only positive part of the paint job is the sail, which is coloured somewhat differently this time. If you believe in the theory that Spino’s sail was used to attract mates during mating season you might say this one is doing a good job. Or it’s of a different gender, you decide for yourself. The figure stands in a neutral position, which is a good thing because it increases playability options. However, this sculpt has so many downsides that it doesn’t really matter much. This Spinosaurus is about 30 centimetres in length and stands almost 20 centimetres tall, making it the second largest figure of the JP III toy line: it’s smaller than its animatronic counterpart, yet slightly bigger than the Ultra Rex.

Playability: very limited, though its name suggests otherwise. But like stated above, it’s not poseable at all, and I think it’s very devious of Hasbro to suggest otherwise. The figure does stand in a neutral pose though, and not in some crazy attack mode like most of Hasbro’s smaller dinosaur models. This model does have one advantage over the Animatronic Spinosaurus (which is superior is almost all other respects though): it doesn’t feature electronics and thus is less fragile. Since it can take quite a beating, this model is good to play rough with (or at least more rough than with the other JP III dinosaurs). But other than that it’s just not a very good figure.

Realism: due to the disproportionate body parts of this toy it certainly isn’t paleontologically correct, that’s for sure. It is however unmistakably a Spinosaurus, if we look at the sail and crocodile like jaws. But the Spinosaurus in JP III also didn’t have such a short tail, long arms, etc. And the paint job also differs from its movie counterpart.

Repaint: no. This model would not be repainted either.

Overall rating: 4/10. It’s not a very good figure. I’m particularly vexed about the lack of poseability, when it’s clearly labelled a ‘poseable’ Spinosaurus. However, since it does fit in a bit with other JP toys in regard to size and can hold figures between it’s jaws it’s not a complete loss. The fact that it isn’t as fragile as the Animatronic Spinosaurus also helps. You may consider getting this figure if you don’t dare play with your Animatronic Spino, but do want to own a large Spino model to play with. However, it’s not that easy to find, so if you really want one you’ll definitely have to search for it: if you aren’t willing to do so, or if it turns out to be on the expensive side, don’t bother.

Jurassic Park III: Animatronic Spinosaurus

Year of release: 2001

Description: this large carnivore, the biggest dinosaur sculpt in Hasbro’s toy line, measures a good 40 centimetres in length and stands about 20 centimetres tall. As far as the paint job is concerned, this dinosaur looks the same as the smaller Spinosaurus figure from this toy line. The overall colour is brown, with some darker tones mixed in to give it texture. A large white stripe runs across each flank from the back of the head to the upper legs. A smaller curly white stripe runs under the sail on his back, also on both sides of its body. From the nostrils to the very end of the tail (and over the top of the sail) a semi-golden stripe is found, most notably on the head and neck. Seven purple stripes adorn each side of the sail, along with small white specks. All of its claws are black, while the (somewhat small) teeth strangely enough sport a golden paint job (though an irregular variation with regular white teeth also exists). The throat and upper part of the belly are greyish blue and its eyes are green. A yellow JP III logo can be located at the base of the tail on its right side.

This creature’s skin is largely made out of rubber, including the head and the sail. This is done to accommodate the animatronics. Only the legs and arms are made of the regular plastic material the other Hasbro toys are composed of: these limbs are also moveable. The animatronics’ functions can be activated by pressing three buttons under the rubber skin, all on the right flank of this model. The first is located under the JP III logo, and produces an attack roar. The other two buttons are concealed under the exposed dino damage wounds (no larger Hasbro dinosaur would be complete without them unfortunately), either the large wound on the belly with the ribs sticking out, or the smaller one on the neck which shows muscle tissue only. Both of these produce a shrieking roar, as if the animal yelps in pain. Pressing any of these buttons activates the animatronic features, which make the creature move his head either up or down and open its mouth. While doing so, the inner mechanisms unfortunately make a rather annoying sound. (Note: the particular model used by the reviewer isn’t in the best condition. The reviewer isn’t sure whether the tail is also meant to move: in his case it doesn’t.)

Analysis: this model looks impressive, especially for Hasbro standards, but has some downsides unfortunately. The paint job is nothing special, and of course very similar to that of the smaller Spinosaurus figure, so not much points for originality can be given either. The green eyes and gold teeth, something the smaller Spino didn’t have, aren’t an improvement. It’s a good thing this sculpt has a formidable body mass and doesn’t appear skinny like that model though. The body proportions of this model are quite good, though the tail might have been a tad longer. This Spino also suffers from Hasbro’s dino damage curse, with a wound that can’t be covered up and looks quite fake. Also a shame is the fact that the underside of the feet are plain smooth, like they forgot to make it have a dinosaur feel.

The most promising aspect of this model are supposed to be the animatronics. They are an interesting new feature and original as well, since no other JP dinosaurs had animatronic components. Unfortunately they don’t work all that well: the movements the animal makes are pretty slow and artificial, and the mechanism inside the model makes a rather irritating sound when the animatronics are in use. The worst part however is that these animatronics are quite fragile and break easily; if you want to keep the animal in working order, it’s better not to play with it at all. That’s really a shame, because this is the only large carnivore toy of all toy lines that isn’t a Tyrannosaurus and thus would make a worthy opponent for a large sculpt of one of those. But having a neat dinosaur battle with this Spinosaurus is definitely out of the question if you want to keep it intact. This model is better for dioramas than it is for actually playing with it. And that’s a real waste for such an impressive looking model. Overall, it looks better than it is.

Playability: depends on what you intend to do with it. Like stated above, it’s not done playing with it if you want to keep the animatronics working. Still, the animal stands in a neutral position and has poseable limbs, which would make it superior to most of the other Hasbro toys qua playability. Since it’s such a cool looking toy I reckon most people are very tempted to play with it. Best solution for the collector seems to buy two of these: one to keep mint in box and thus in perfect condition, and one to play rough with it like everyone wants to.

Realism: it would be hard to mistake this creature for something other than a Spinosaurus. The sail and crocodilian jaws are a dead giveaway. It looks a lot like the main carnivore in JP III, thought the paint job is somewhat different. For one thing, the Spino in the movie didn’t have gold teeth (and the teeth he did have were a good deal bigger and sharper as well).

On a paleontological level this sculpt looks a lot like an anatomically correct Spinosaurus (thinking pre 2014 at least, considering the current radical change in scientifically accurate Spinosaur depictions) as well, though the tail was a little longer in reality. In comparison to the human figures from this toy line, the size is more or less accurate.

Repaint: no. This model wouldn’t be repainted either.

Overall rating: 7/10. Granted, the animatronics aren’t very appealing (at least in my case, maybe they look better with a mint model). But it’s still one of Hasbro’s better models, especially because of its unique size (at least unique for this toy line and particular species). Even though it sucks the animatronics are so fragile which makes playing with it hard, and despite minor paint job flaws, it looks great and shouldn’t be excluded from any JP fan’s collection. It’s not always easy to find though: it’s relatively common in the USA, but in some other territories (like my native country Holland, where this particular model remains unreleased and is much sought after, often fetching high prices) it can be a real challenge to get your hands on one. Nevertheless, I suggest you give it a try.