Jurassic Park 2009: Battle Growlers: Triceratops

Year of release: 2009

Description: this four legged rhinoceros like dinosaur is easily recognizable by its large head with the round crest around it and three horns on its face, two large ones above the eyes, and a smaller one on the snout. It has a beak resembling a parrot's. The crest is adorned with small orange spikes sticking out of it (sixteen in total). It has a sturdy body, about twice the length of the head, ending in a short thick tail. Very noticeable, this figure sports a dino damage wound on its left flank, showing white ribs and red muscle tissue. A small button can be found in this wound, which when pressed produces a low howling growl. A second sound can be made by pushing the tail upwards (though in this release's case, the package suggests pressing the head frill instead), which also causes the head to rise upwards, as if attacking a carnivore with its horns. This second sound is more aggressive, like a hissing growl.

This Trike sports a rather diversified and elaborate paint job. Its underside (lower jaw, throat, belly, lower part of the tail), upper legs and parts on the back and upper part of the tail are coloured light grey. The facial area is mostly black, as is the back (with little triangular shapes sticking out of the main black colouring) and uppermost part of the tail. A black stripe runs from the mouth over the neck and back almost fully to the end of the tail on each side of the creature, interrupted only by the upper legs. A second black stripe runs from the base of the neck, also over the flanks toward the end of the tail, but not over the legs, again on both sides of the Triceratops (but on the left flank also interrupted by the wound). The body areas on the flanks and tail between both sets of black stripes are painted green. The lower legs are equally green, separated in colour from the upper legs by black bands around the knees. The small claws on all four legs are coloured dark green. The head frill is painted shiny dark blue, with short orange stripes on its edges running to and over the little frill spikes. The back of the frill is just plain black. The Ceratopsian carries a green stripe on each cheek, while the eye sockets are also green, with small blue eyes (and black pupils). Its beak and the three horns on the face are painted beige. It also has a pink tongue, and white JP logos on both upper hind legs.

Analysis: also making a return for the latest JP toy line is Hasbro's Triceratops sculpt, which remains a rather accurate and appealing figure, unhindered by some weird attack posture like most other electronic Hasbro dinosaurs are, though it too sadly retains its gaping wound. It comes with the same head butt action as before (and the same two sounds), though apparently the Hasbro team forgot this action feature was supposed to be activated by pushing its tail upwards, which is not mentioned at all on this figure's package. Instead, pressing the frill releases a 'combat roar', meaning, there is no distinct action feature specified on the figure's box. Luckily, us JP fans know this sculpt better than its creators it seems, and it's safe to say the original attack option is still present.

So the only really new thing (Hasbro's ignorance doesn't count since it was always there, it just seems to have gotten worse over the years) for this sculpt is the paint job, and oh my, did they went all out for this one! First impression with the abundance of green and the black bands would be of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, which is a whole different animal altogether. The new paint scheme is quite bizarre, but also rather imaginative. The fact the frill is coloured differently from the head and slightly adorned with stripes and such is a real improvement over this sculpt's previous incarnations, though it could still have used some more work, since it's a bit bland at present. The colouring on the rest of the body is a bit over the top though. The stripes all coming together on the end of the tail is a nice touch, but the lower legs being painted so differently makes it look like the Triceratops is wearing socks. It would have been preferable if the lower legs had been painted regular elephantine grey, and the black stripes and green colouring had continued over the upper legs instead. It's good to see details have been taken care of though, as illustrated by the claws, the eye sockets and the beak. The horns could have used more details though, they look a little too artificially pristine the way they are now.

Overall, still a good figure, but the paint job is a little too much. For some reason overly festive and elaborate paint jobs just don't cut it on thick hide quadruped dinosaurs like this one, as this case shows. A good try though.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the JP III Triceratops figure (Wave 1). It has been repainted once before for JPD3.

Overall rating: 6/10. Still one of the better original Hasbro sculpts (and surely one of the best sculpts of this line), but, despite its originality, the paint job is just really over the top and tends to feel somewhat silly. This dinosaur figure is not at all rare and can still be found without difficulty. Since this set was a Toys'R'Us exclusive that could change eventually, but for the next few years, we're good.

Jurassic Park 2009: Dino Battlers: Triceratops VS Tyrannosaurus Rex

Year of release: 2009

Note: this particular set comes in two variations, both more or less equally common. This review concerns the set with the darker coloured dinosaurs, which is generally regarded to be the original, while the set with the brighter coloured figures is usually seen as 'the variation' of the two.

Description: the T-Rex stands in an aggressive posture, its head curved to the left and its arms stretched out. 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. While the underside (lower jaw, throat, belly and lower part of the tail) of the Rex is coloured white, the rest of the figure is painted light brown. The creature features two big dark brown stripes on its back, and a third at the base of the tail. Additionally, brown bands are found on the figure's lower legs (two each), arms (one each) and tail (three near the tip). The pads under the feet are painted in this same dark brown colour, as are the claws on both fingers and toes. The tongue and inside of the mouth are coloured red, while the teeth are white and the Rex sports small cat like yellow eyes with black pupils. It has a white JP logo on each upper leg.

The Triceratops appears to stand in a brace-for-impact posture, its head (almost as big as its torso) held low to the ground (and slightly posed to its right), the front legs more or less in the same position, while the left upper leg is stretched backwards. The tail curves to the right. Most of this creature's body, including the head, is painted grey, while its underside (throat, belly and the first half of the lower part of the tail) is light blue instead. On its back and tail the figure sports some vague green spots, while a trio of red spots covers most of the head crest. The beak and the horns (including those on its cheeks) are painted beige. The Trike has small green eyes with black pupils and a white JP logo on each upper leg.

Analysis: Dear Lord, not this T-Rex again! As if we haven't seen this sucker enough in the previous repaint lines, Hasbro thought it a good idea (or they likely just didn't care at all) to present us with this particular sculpt four more times in their JP 2009 line. This is one of them, and compared to some of its more zany repaints out there, its paint job is rather conservative, being a typical brown on top, white below and some dark stripes to complete it all. It's just not a very interesting or imaginative paint job. Also, it's a shame to see the claws on the feet painted in the same colour as the feet pads, since now it looks as if the two have melted together. The Triceratops also isn't a very successful release. After its surprising first appearance in JPD3, the shock of this most recently released sculpt has disappeared and it's now as conventional as the rest of these repaints. Its paint job is rather dull, though it uses much more very different colours than you might think at first glance (grey, blue, red, beige and two different shades of green). But the result just isn't very appealing.

In combat between these two, the Triceratops would probably emerge victorious considering those nasty spikes which it could use to stake the Rex to death. The Rex just isn't much bigger and would have a hard time getting a good bite out of the Trike unless it took it by surprise. Whoever wins, as far as the quality of this two-pack goes, we lose.

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. The Triceratops first popped up in JPD3 for which it was used twice. Its appearance on JP 2009 remained limited to this two-pack.

Overall rating: 4/10. Not a very appealing set of paint jobs. The sense of 'newness' experienced for the Triceratops when it first appeared in JPD3 has waned, and by now everybody is really sick of this damn T-Rex. There's just nothing of particular interest in this set, unless you don't own either one of these sculpts yet (which in the Rex's case seems unlikely by now). This set is not rare (in either variation) and can still be found rather easily. Since this set was a Toys'R'Us exclusive that might change some day, but surely not for the next few years or so.

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 3: Electronic Triceratops with Micro Velociraptor

Year of release: 2005

Description: this four legged rhino like dinosaur is easily recognizable by its large head with the round crest around it and three horns on its face, two large ones above the eyes, and a smaller one on the snout. It has a beak resembling a parrot's. The crest is adorned with small black spikes sticking out of it (16 in total). It has a sturdy body, about twice the length of the head, ending in a short thick tail. Very noticeable, this figure sports a dino damage wound on its left flank, showing white ribs and red muscle tissue. A small button can be found in this wound, which when pressed produces a low howling growl. A second sound can be made by pushing the tail upwards, which also causes the head to rise upwards, as if attacking something with its horns. This second sound is more aggressive, like a hissing growl.

This Triceratops has a rather dark paint job. Its body is mostly coloured grey, covered with thick dark grey spots and stripes on its back, legs and tip of the tail. Its underside (throat, belly and lower part of the tail) is painted bright beige. Its head is coloured in a much lighter shade of grey, except for most of the lower jaw section, the areas around the horns, and the outer most parts of the crest, which are also coloured in a darker grey. The creature has small red eyes in dark grey eye sockets, while the horns and beak are light beige. The figure has a pink tongue, but the inside of the mouth isn't painted. White JP logos are located on both upper hind legs.

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. Its underside (throat, belly and front half of the lower tail) is painted white, while the rest of the body sports an orange paint job, except for a thick dark red stripe running from the snout over the head, neck and back to about half way the tail. On either side of the figure, three smaller red stripes run out of the main red colouring over the flanks. The hands are also painted in this red colouring. The figure has white teeth, a very light pink tongue and inside of the mouth, cat like yellow eyes with black pupils and black JP logos on both upper legs.

Analysis: if a repaint is ever long over due, that would be the case for this particular sculpt. Triceratops is one of the most famous dinosaurs ever, yet the JP III Triceratops sculpt has been oddly neglected in the previous repaint lines, which is all the more shocking considering this is one of Hasbro's most accurate and appealing sculpts. JPD3 finally corrects this mistake and gives the figure a decent new paint job, kinda reminiscent of a rhinoceros, which would already be the first contemporary animal this creature would be compared with. The new paint scheme is not overly imaginative or exciting, but suits the beastie pretty well. It could have used more details on the crest, as well as painted horns, but it's a fine paint job as it is. Otherwise this figure remains the same: predictable but adequate head butting action, some nice dinosaur sounds and the typical uncoverable dino damage wound.

The Micro Raptor is of less interest, mostly because we've seen this sculpt all too often already and it's still boring. It also lacks details, most notably the claws. The only possible redemption this figure offers is the overall paint and colour scheme, which is remarkably similar to the scheme seen on the classic JPS1 Electronic Velociraptor figure. It may not have been done deliberately (knowing Hasbro that seems unlikely), but it does give a little shock of recognition to older JP toy fans who fondly remember that particular Raptor figure. Were it not for this particular point of interest, this paint job would rank right up there with the most forgetful Hasbro paint jobs in existence.

By the way, the Triceratops would either trample or skewer the Raptor to death in a fight between the two. The Raptor better ignore this herbivore if it knows what's best for it.

Repaint: yes. The Triceratops is a repaint of the JP III Triceratops sculpt. The Micro Raptor originally came with the JP III Alan Grant figure. The Triceratops is a first time repaint, and would be repainted again for JP 2009. The little Raptor has been used for Camo-Xtreme and JPD2, one other set in this line, and would also be used for JP 2009, making it one of the most often repainted Hasbro sculpts.

Overall rating: 7/10. The Triceratops is a fine repaint of one of Hasbro's more successful sculpts. The Raptor is nothing special, though its paint job could be seen as an homage to JPS1. Like the other JPD2/3 electronic dinosaur figures, this two-pack was very common a few years ago, but has since become harder to find, though this set is probably the easiest to find of the six JPD2/3 electronic/micro two-packs. If you want one, you might need to practice patience a bit, but it shouldn't require much money once you've found it.

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 3: Electronic Tyrannosaurus Rex with Micro Triceratops

Year of release: 2005

Description: like many of Hasbro’s medium sized dinosaur models, this electronic Tyrannosaurus doesn’t stand in a neutral posture. It's posed in a bent position, head, arms and tail positioned to the right, as if circling potential prey. It has a large dino damage wound on its right flank, revealing red muscle tissue. Inside this wound a button is located: when pushed it activates a rather high pitched growl. A second button is placed on its throat. Pressing this button produces a fierce attack roar, and makes the jaws open. Both the arms and legs are fully poseable.

This T-Rex is mostly coloured light brown, which is found on the head, neck, back, upper arms, most of the legs and top part of the tail. Its underside (throat, belly and front half of the lower part of the tail) is painted white. In-between these brown and white colours, a sickly greenish brown colour is found, most notable on the flanks. This colour also covers most of the arms and lower jaw, the feet and the inner part of the lower legs. On the head, neck, back, tail and upper legs, black spots and shapes of various sizes cover the light brown colouring in a random pattern. The tongue and inside of the mouth are painted pink, while the animal sports white teeth, small red eyes with black pupils and black claws on both fingers and toes. A white JP logo is found on both upper legs.

The Triceratops appears to stand in a brace-for-impact posture (and rightly so!), its head (almost as big as its torso) held low to the ground, and slightly posed to its right, the front legs more or less in the same position, while the left upper leg is stretched backwards. The tail curves to the right. Its paint job is rather straightforward: underside (belly, most of the tail and legs and throat), as well as parts of the neck shield, beak, cheek horns and nose horn, painted brown, while the back, first half of the top part of the tail and top parts of the legs are coloured dark brown. Most of the face is also coloured dark brown, giving the impression the Trike is wearing a mask. The two horns above the eyes (which themselves are painted light blue with yellow pupils of all things!) are painted a shinier hue of the light brown colouring. The creature carries a white JP logo on both upper hind legs.

Analysis: this Rex again? Yes, indeed, but this time in the company of the “new” small Triceratops sculpt a lot of JP toy fans have speculated over many hours during the long winter nights, so despite the avid repainting in this line there's still at least one thing of interest in this particular set. The Trike is a decent though overly simple figure and has a paint job to match, which in fact looks just boring (making the specimen from the Triceratops/Tyrannosaurus two-pack of this line look far better considering it has a more original paint job). The Trike's eyes however, feature a unique colour scheme for JP dinosaur figure's standards, but the result looks too odd to be taken seriously. And apart from that, the poor critter is just lunch to the much bigger Tyrant Lizard King, who is of course supposed to be the main draw of this set.

The T-Rex also has a paint job of little appeal, one very reminiscent of many past figures' paint jobs, clearly done by an uninspired painter who didn't think originality would be appreciated on a sculpt already repainted twice before. Most of the details, like claws and the mouth, have been taken care of, but the dino damage wound, which clearly shows ribs sticking out, is painted red only, which is rather disappointing. Otherwise the T-Rex sculpt is still okay, though the posture it assumes hinders playability and the biting action should have been easier to access than pushing the creature's throat. The sounds remain the same as before, though it seems the electronics used this time around are even weaker then before considering most JPD2/3 electronic dinosaurs are dead by now in that regard, even when still boxed.

Repaint: yes. The Rex was originally released in the JP III line. It has been repainted before for Camo-Xtreme and JPD2 and would also be featured in JP 2009. The Triceratops first appeared in this toy line, but is very likely a leftover from the JP III line since it's hard to imagine Hasbro bothering to create a single new sculpt for a line which otherwise consists entirely of repaints. The little Trike can also be found in the JPD3 Triceratops/T-Rex two-pack. Like the Rex, it would be seen again in JP 2009.

Overall rating: 6/10. The mystery Triceratops pops up a second time in this line! Its appearance alone makes this set more interesting, but neither sculpt is that appealing and both are adorned with dull and uninspired paint jobs. Like the other JPD2/3 electronic dinosaur figures, this two-pack was very common a few years ago, but has since become much harder to find, despite not being a very popular set (though the Triceratops might make this set more interesting to collectors who don't own that sculpt yet). If you really want one, patience is certainly required, though it doesn't necessarily require a lot of cash once you've found it.

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

Year of release: 2005

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. It has small pads on its feet to give it extra support. It's mainly coloured dark blue, though on its top parts (neck, back, upper part of the tail) it gradually changes into a greyer tone. The belly and throat are coloured light grey instead. The Rex has black colouring around and in its mouth, as well as white teeth and tongue. It also has small yellow eyes (with black pupils) and a white JP logo on both upper legs.

The Triceratops appears to stand in a brace-for-impact posture, its head (almost as big as its torso) held low to the ground (and slightly posed to its right), the front legs more or less in the same position, while the left upper leg is stretched backwards. The tail curves to the right. Its dominant colour is greyish green, which can be found anywhere on its body except for its underside (belly and throat) which is light grey instead. The figure is covered in various light brown and dark blue spots and shapes on its head and crest, back, flanks, upper legs and tail. Its parrot like beak, the three horns on its face and the two smaller horns on the cheeks are beige, while the Trike has small red eyes with white pupils. Its claws are not painted. It carries a white JP logo on each upper leg.

Analysis: oh, my! A new sculpt! And totally out of the blue! Knowing Hasbro like we do, they sure as heck didn't create this new Triceratops specifically for this repaint line, so it must be a previously unreleased JP III sculpt that finally got a release after all. Better late than never! It's a nice little figure, and fits in decently with the other miniature dinosaur sculpts that originally came with human figures. Due to its plump body and oversized head it does have more of a hatchling feel to it though, but of course hatchling Ceratopsians wouldn't be this well endowed on their head just yet: the neck crest and horns are simply too big for a baby Trike. Its paint job is fairly good. More use could have been made of the crest, but at least this sculpt isn't as monochromatic as some of the earlier Ceratopsian sculpts thanks to the various brown and blue spots.

The T-Rex however is a dismal failure. It has one of the most boring paint jobs ever conceived for a repaint. On first sight it even appears to be one single colour entirely. On second, this is not the case, but it's painfully obvious attention to details has been totally skipped. None of its claws are painted, and the facial features could have used a lot more work too. Maybe Hasbro made this particular repaint so crappy on purpose so the Triceratops got a better chance to shine. In a fight between the two, it would probably stake the Rex to death on those nasty horns. Good riddance!

Repaint: yes and no. While the T-Rex originally came with the Military General for the JP III line, the Triceratops has not been seen before. It's most likely a left-over sculpt from JP III, but there's no proof to support this theory, or proof to the contrary. This is really a mysterious figure and though it seems unlikely Hasbro produced it especially for this repaint line, it does add a little welcome surprise and intrigue to an otherwise dull toy line. The T-Rex, already repainted for Camo-Xtreme and JPD2, would be featured again in both this toy line and JP 2009, as would the Trike be.

Overall rating: 7/10. Finally a set that does include something new! The Triceratops is a decent figure, but despite the shock around its very existence it's otherwise nothing special. The T-Rex however gets increasingly boring the more often it's repainted and almost drags the level of interest of this set down entirely. 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 because these two-packs are just not in high demand, even though this set does contain a new sculpt.

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 2: Triceratops with Dino Wrangler

Year of release: 2004

Accessories:

-Grappling Claw

Description: this four legged rhinoceros like dinosaur sports a predominantly brown paint job. Most of the animal (flanks, head and neck shield, legs, tail and back) is covered in a rather shiny dark shade of brown. The paint job accentuates the various lines and grooves in the creature's skin, making it appear this figure has more 'skin texture' than it did before. On its back, legs and tail, as well as around its eyes and on the shield, there are various different shapes of light brown (almost orange). Its underside (base of the tail, throat and belly) are coloured in a similar shade of light brown which gradually changes into aforementioned darker brown. The horny features on its head (beak, three horns and stumps on the cheeks) are coloured white. Its eyes are also brown and feature orange pupils, while the creature has a pink tongue. The claws on its feet are coloured black. On its left hind leg a white JP logo can be found.

This figure stands in a relatively neutral pose, though one might also say it stands in a defensive posture with its head lowered and front legs braced for attack. The end of its tail is bent slightly to the left. The animal has an attack action: when its right hind leg is moved back, his head raises considerably upwards, as if the animal is giving a head butt with its spiky head.

The Dino Wrangler sports a white shirt with a blue bandana, as well as black pants, a brown utility belt with silver clip, black shoes and dark grey gloves. He also has dark brown hair, and lighter brown eye brows and eyes. He stands in a fairly neutral posture, except his right leg is posed in a forward move as if taking a step, and his left arm is raised upwards a little. He comes with a grappling hook weapon,basically a large hand held contraption which ends in two comparatively small claws than can hook around dinosaur body parts. The claws are operated by a handle on its top side. It has a slightly shiny light brown colour, giving it a metallic look.

Analysis: another old TLWS1 toy that returned to stores with JP: Dinosaurs 2 is this fairly small Triceratops figure. It sports a rather conventional Ceratopsian paint job, brown with some more brown mixed in. Like with its previous incarnations, little has been done with the great paint scheme opportunities its neck shield offers. A shame, but the new and improved skin texture feel it looks more detailed than before, though that may only be an illusion. It makes the simple brown paint job stand out on its own to a higher degree though. At least some of the real details, like the claws on its feet and its tongue, have not been omitted, though the eyes would have benefited from a different colour, since now they're hardly noticeable at all. The white JP logo is a bit of a nuisance, but it's likely a darker coloured logo would not have registered much. The figure comes with the same typical Triceratops head butting action as before. It still works okay, though this time there's no capture gear involved. But its attack option is certainly sufficient enough to knock its human companion over.

Meanwhile, that poor Dino Wrangler is armed with one of the lamest and least effective weapons ever devised for a JP figure. The capture claw weapon never worked well on hatchlings even, and it certainly doesn't stop a rampaging Trike, even a smaller specimen like this one. At best, it can be clutched around one leg but there the “wrangling” stops. The Dino Wrangler, formerly known as Alan Grant for the JP III line, himself also doesn't help this set much with his rather dull paint job, which is basically just black and white. Using one of the smaller scale Hasbro human figures for this already small Kenner Triceratops figure does make the dinosaur appear bigger, more impressive than it is compared to this human. But otherwise, this is not much of a successful pairing.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the TLWS1 Triceratops, which was repainted twice before for JPD1 and as a JP III Exclusive. The Dino Wrangler is a JP III Alan Grant repaint with repainted grappling claw. The Trooper would be repainted again for JP 2009 (including his weapon), but this would be the last time this Triceratops figure got released.

Overall rating: 6/10. This Triceratops features a solid and detailed paint job, but the figure itself is still so-so. The Wrangler is still a half decent figure with a simplified paint job and a terribly lousy weapon, which doesn't help the set much. Like all four dino/human two-packs, this is one of the more common JPD2 releases, and it can still be found without too much effort, usually for fairly low prices.

Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Triceratops

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Two pieces of capture gear

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jurassic Park III Exclusive Dinosaur Tracking Set

Year of release: 2001

Accessories:

-Velociraptor figure

-Triceratops figure

-Bola Launcher set with double bola, harness and support stick

-Aerial Net Trap set with net and smart bomb

-Four pieces of capture gear

-Dino Tracker figure

Description: the dinosaur figures of this exclusive set, both repaints, sport a somewhat darker and grittier paint job with more detail than we’re used to, especially in comparison to the paint jobs of their original TLW predecessors. This set comes with two different dinosaurs: a Triceratops and a Velociraptor. Each comes with its own attack action, though in both cases the attack consists of a head movement.

The Triceratops gives a head butt, raising its head upwards when its right hind leg is pulled back. The creature stands in an attack posture, with front legs braced for action and its head lowered in anticipation of an aggressive enemy. This Trike features a mostly green paint job, consisting of various tones of green all over its body, darker in some areas (the legs, its belly). Tiny speckles of black, resembling dust, and dark hues are mixed in with the green, most notably on the head and limbs. Vague orange spots are found on the back and upper front legs, as well as on the frill and side horns on the head. The claws on its feet are white, as are the three horns on the head as well as the beak, except these grey speckles and spots, giving them a very dirty and used look, as if this animal has a history. The Triceratops has a pink tongue and tiny black eyes, and a small black JP III logo is located on its upper left hind leg.

Like the Trike, the Raptor stands in an attack posture: the left leg is posed backwards and the right leg forwards, while the left arm is stretched out and the right arm held back. Its mouth is opened (and can’t be closed), revealing a large pink tongue. Scratches and scars are found all over the creature’s body (it’s a repaint of the TLWS1 Cyclops Velociraptor, which was basically a battle scarred Raptor), as if it has dealt with attacks from larger carnivores or aggressive pack members all its life. This figure too has an attack action: moving the tail side to side makes the head move in a similar fashion, as if the Raptor is biting at its prey. The figure sports a diverse paint job. Its underside (belly, lower part of the tail, throat, lower jaw, most of the limbs) is coloured grey with darker tones mixed in to give it more detail. A large black stripe runs from its snout all the way over its back to the end of the tail. Its flanks and sides of the neck and tail are yellowish brown, with a slightly darker and more pronounced variant of this colour located on the legs and upper part of the arms. The upper parts of the legs are black, located right under the black stripe on the creature’s back as if being a part of it. On either side of the body, a white stripe runs from the end of the face (say, the ears) to about halfway the flanks. The Raptor has black claws and bright red eyes with black irises and a black circle around the red. A small black JP III logo is found on its left upper leg.

The Dino Tracker figure, being a repaint of JPS2 Harpoon Harrison, is out of proportion with the other human figures Hasbro produced for the JP III toy line. Also, the figure’s paint job shows this man has a darker skin, hinting at a different ethnicity compared to the other human figures of this toy line (and in fact, almost all figures of any of the JP lines). The figure stands in a more or less neutral pose, except his right leg is positioned in a forward move as if the Tracker is bracing himself for something. He sports a beard and wears a cap, as well as a brown vest with no shirt underneath, revealing his chest. He also sports grey shorts (with pockets and a knife on them) and black boots with grey socks sticking out, and a black belt. The figure has no special attack option himself

This play set comes with two different sets of weapons, a Bola Launcher and an Aerial Net Trap. The first set of weaponry consists of a bola launcher with double bola, a harness so the figure can handle the bola and a support stick to keep the figure from falling over when the contraption is attached to him. The launcher is coloured black, while the bola itself is shiny metallic grey, as is the support stick. The harness is brown. A small brown button is found on the launcher: pressing it causes the bola to be fired, hooking itself around anything in its path. The Aerial Net Trap is basically a black backpack with a yellow arm and brown straps sticking out. Via the straps the Tracker can carry the set on his back. The pack comes with a net, which is held together by two brown pipes: with these the net can be loaded onto the arm. Pulling the arm back and releasing it makes the net being launched over a short distance.

This set also comes with four small pieces of capture gear, all coloured shiny metallic dark grey. Two of these pieces are the typical “handcuffs” that have come with many dinosaur figures since JPS2. The other two are leg pieces, used to restrain limbs.

This set consists of 14 pieces in total.

Analysis: like the TLW line, the JP III toy line features an exclusive Dino Tracker Set, featuring two dinosaurs, a Dino Tracker, two sets of weaponry and some capture gear. When comparing both sets, the TLW Dino Tracker Set is definitely the best: it featured creatures previously unreleased, while this set comes with two dinosaurs which have been released and repainted before (and would be again). Also, they’re not the best sculpts (especially the Raptor) and would most likely not been anyone’s first choice when considering what sculpts to repaint for a set like this.

This set may not be a winner as far as originality is concerned, but qua repainting style it’s one of Hasbro’s better jobs (and given Hasbro’s long line of repaints, that’s saying something). The paint jobs of both dinosaurs is more elaborate and detailed than any creature in the JP III toy lines, giving the creatures a dusty and more natural feel, as if they’ve been around for some time fighting other creatures. Even if these figures hadn’t sported the somewhat gritty look they’ve got now, they would still feature original paint jobs. This is especially the case with the Raptor, sporting red eyes, a strange white stripe on each flank and an unusual combination of brown, black and grey. The Dino Tracker also doesn’t look bad, though a bit monotonous as far as colouring goes.

Both sets of weaponry were featured in the TLW Dino Tracker Set as well, and in this case, both of them feature new paint jobs (which wasn’t the case with the Bola Launcher the last time). Unfortunately Hasbro didn’t bother to use the original net launching system of the Aerial Net Trap, so we’re stuck again with the feeble new version which doesn’t have a button but requires one to launch the net by hand with often lame results. Fortunately the Bola Launcher is still one of the best and most functional weapons, repainted or not.

The capture gear this set comes with is very disappointing. The cuffs are redundant as always, leaving only the leg restraints. Neither of them really fits with these dinosaur sculpts, which isn’t surprising since these restraints, both repainted, came with different creatures originally (see the ‘repaint’ section of this review). It would have made more sense to have this set feature the capture gear that came with the original TLWS1 Triceratops and Cyclops Velociraptor figures, which wasn’t great either, but at least felt compatible.

All in all, this play set isn’t horrible, but lacks imagination. Now it feels like some figures and pieces of sets thrown together disguised underneath funky repainting. Though I almost always prefer Kenner figures over Hasbro’s and am glad to see Kenner’s work again making its way into the JP III toy line (like with the Raptor Attack Play Set) this set could have used more work and consideration.

Playability: good enough. Neither figure stands in a neutral pose, but since this set features not only two dinosaurs, but also a human figure, capture gear and weaponry, it’s bound to score higher qua playability than most of Hasbro’s sets. The Aerial Net Trap isn’t great and works only when lucky, but the brilliance of the Bola Launcher makes up for it somewhat. Unfortunately, the capture gear is just plain useless. Both dinosaurs feature an okay attack action and poseable arms and legs, as does the Dino Tracker.

Realism: both dinosaurs looks different from their counterparts in the JP movies (JP III or otherwise), especially when looking at the paint jobs. The Raptor’s paint job is totally made up and looks nothing like any of the movie Raptors’ colour patterns (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in this case). Its size compared to the Dino Tracker is more or less in line with the size the Raptors in the movie featured, but the shape isn’t entirely correct: for one thing this Raptor has feet which are way too large, and the sickle shaped claws on them, the trademark of any Raptor, are too bulky and small.

The Trike’s paint job also differs from the Ceratopsids seen in the movies (particularly the first JP), which sported mostly brown colour patterns. This Triceratops also is quite undersized, so one supposes it’s either a juvenile or a midget. It’s reasonably accurate in regard to its shape, though the horns are a bit too close to each other.

The Dino Tracker isn’t supposed to represent any character or actor seen in any of the JP movies and is entirely fictional. The same goes for the weaponry and capture gear.

Repaint: yes, this entire set consists of repainted elements from different sets from various earlier toy lines. Ready for a long deconstruction of the history of each part of this set?

The Velociraptor was first seen in the TLWS1 toy line, then labelled a Cyclops Raptor because of its battle scarred appearance (it was blind on one eye, which this Raptor isn’t though scratches on the eye can still be seen). It would first be repainted for the original JP Dinosaurs line, and this is the second repaint. A third repaint would be released in the second JP Dinosaurs line. Interestingly enough, the same goes for the Triceratops sculpt. It too was first released as part of the TLWS1 line, a first repaint following in the first JP Dinosaurs line and a third one in the second JP Dinosaurs line, making this the second repaint of this particular sculpt.

The Dino Tracker figure is a repaint of the JPS2 Harpoon Harrison figure, which would first be repainted for the TLW exclusive Young T-Rex set, making this the second repaint. The Bola Launcher was first seen on JPS2 Bola Launcher Alan Grant and would be reused for the TLW Exclusive Dino Tracker Set. This is the second time the Bola Launcher was used again, but actually the first time it got repainted. The Aerial Net Trap followed a different path. Released with JPS1 Alan Grant, it would first be reused for JPS2 Alan Grant and was later repainted as well as redesigned for the TLW Exclusive Dino Tracker Set (the net launching system was changed, sadly not for the best). This play set uses the same (inferior) launching system and sports a third paint job.

The capture gear comes from various figures, and all four pieces are repainted. The cuffs came with several figures since the JPS2 line. The longer piece of leg restraint originally came with the TLWS2 Ornithosuchus (which in itself was repainted capture gear from the JPS2 Ornithosuchus which never got released), and would get repainted along with this creature for the first JP Dinosaurs line. The other leg restraint originally came with the JPS2 Scutosaurus, which was unfortunately denied a release. That error was more or less corrected when the TLW Exclusive Dino Tracker Set made it to stores, featuring both the Scutosaurus and its capture gear repainted. It’s quite odd this set comes with these pieces of capture gear, since both dinosaurs originally had capture gear of their own.

Overall rating: 6/10. Qua repainting this is quite a good set, and it also brings back fond memories of Kenner’s old toy lines. However, the set comes with useless capture gear and lacks originality, especially since these dinosaurs have been repainted before. There were other dinosaur figures which might have been repainted instead, or better yet, totally new figures. Being an Exclusive, this set isn’t very easy to find, especially in parts of the world were it wasn’t released. It is less rare than the TLW exclusives though (maybe because it’s more recent). It occasionally fetches high prices, but being all repaints, you should consider whether you really want this set before trying to get your hands on it.

Jurassic Park III: Triceratops

Year of release: 2001

Description: this four legged rhino-like dinosaur is easily recognizable by its large head with the round crest around it and three horns on it, two large ones above the eyes, and a smaller one on the snout. It has a beak resembling the beak of a parrot. The crest is adorned with small black spikes sticking out of it (16 in total), as well as several white bumps (19 in total). It has a sturdy body, about twice the length of the head, ending in a small thick tail. Four thick elephant-like legs support the body. Very noticeable, this figure sports a dino damage wound on its left side, showing ribs and muscle tissue. A small button can be found in it, which produces a low howling growl. A second sound can be made by pushing the tail upwards, which also causes the head to rise upwards, as if attacking something with its horns. This second sound is more aggressive, like a hissing growl. A black JP III logo is located on the Trike’s left hind leg. This Ceratopsid is coloured in various tones of brown, with a large copper green tint on its back. Its belly is tan brown, while the rest of the body, including the head is light brown with darker brown stripes. The horns and beak are coloured greyish white.

Analysis: this is not a bad Ceratopsian dinosaur figure. The size is good enough, though a little bigger would have been nice. The colours are pretty bland, but reminiscent of the colours the Trikes in the first two JP movies sported. The dino attack action is a bit unoriginal, since almost all Triceratops figures have had a head butting move. But since the head and horns are such a prominent feature this is not surprising. The mechanism used to make the head move isn’t very good though. The tail has to be pushed quite hard for the head to move, which means it’s best to hold the figure in your hands to get it really right, making it harder to realistically strike an opponent. It could have used a better design.

The sounds are good, and it’s believable an animal like this could have produced such low growling noises (though of course we will never know for sure). However, it would have been better if the sounds were reversed, because the attack noise sounds a lot like the creature is squealing in agony, while the dino damage noise is less dramatic. Like all JP III dinosaurs the dino damage would of this figure sadly can not be covered up. It’s something we’ll have to live with. Fortunately this figure looks well enough to ignore such minor disappointments.

Playability: the playability this figure provides is pretty good. Unlike most of Hasbro’s dinosaur figures this sculpt stands in a relatively neutral position. It assumes a slightly defensive posture, but nothing as extreme as most of the other dinosaurs Hasbro produced. Though the mechanism of the dino strike action isn’t the best ever, it works good enough, and the head can also be lifted up by just using your hands. All four legs are poseable, though some of them won’t get very far because of its body shape getting in the way, but that’s not a huge problem. This dinosaur is electronic, so if you want the electronics to keep working you shouldn’t play too rough with it. But other than that it’s playable enough.

Realism: though it’s rumoured there are Trikes in JP III (probably in some of the vista shots), I’ve never been able to spot them. So I can’t tell you whether this dinosaur looks like them. It does look very similar to the Triceratops we saw in the first movie, both in shape and colour, and not unlike the Trike one can see in TLW, though that particular specimen had a huge crest on its head, much bigger than this one’s. This Ceratopsid is also pretty similar to the regular real Triceratops, though its upper horns might be a tad too long. Also, compared to the figures, it might be a bit too small (some Trikes could get awfully big), but it’s not stated this animal is an adult per se. It certainly is recognizable enough.

Repaint: no. This animal would be repainted twice though, for the JP Dinosaurs 2 and JP 2009 toy lines.

Overall rating: 7/10. It’s not the best Triceratops figure (in my humble opinion that honour goes to the large JPS1 Triceratops, though mostly for nostalgic reasons), but it’s good in its own right and worth having. It’s not rare, so if you want one or can get one for a good price, you certainly shouldn’t ignore it.

The Lost World Series 1: Triceratops

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Two pieces of capture gear

Description: this four legged rhinoceros like dinosaur sports a predominantly dark green paint job. Most of the animal (flanks, head, legs, tail, parts of the back) is covered in a certain shade of dark green with slightly different shades occasionally mixed in (especially on the crest). On its back another, even darker, tone of green is found in two large blob shaped spots and several spots around it. The underside of its tail, throat and belly are coloured in a yellowish beige which gradually changes into aforementioned green. The horny features on its head (beak, spikes, stumps) are coloured in a similar beige paint job. Its eyes are yellow with black pupils and the creature has a pink tongue. The claws on its feet are not coloured unfortunately. On its right hind leg a JP Site B logo can be found, with the number .44 next to it.

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

Analysis: this is a decent Triceratops figure. It’s smaller than the JPS1 Triceratops model and its paint job is quite similar to the one that figure sports, so it’s often labelled a juvenile by JP toy aficionados. It’s a decent paint job (apart from the claws which aren’t painted) and it adds some consistence between the toy lines. Like practically every Ceratopsid action figure, this sculpt has the typical head butting feature: it may lack originality, but it works fine in this case, though the leg has to be pushed back quite far to make the head action look impressive enough.

This figure comes with two pieces of restraint gear that can be attached to one another forming one larger piece that can be shoved over the creature’s head. It stands on the ground however, and can not actually be attached to the figure. This is done to accommodate the dinosaur-breaks-free-of-restraint-gear action: when activating the Trike’s head ramming action while the gear is in place, the animal will move its head and smash the restraints. This at least is the general idea, but often it does not fully work because the two pieces of gear are quite strongly attached, making it hard to smash them apart. It’s not the best capture gear or breaking-free action. It’s also a shame the inner workings of the mechanism are so clearly visible: when one looks behind the animal’s crest one can too clearly see the mechanism exposed. They could have patched it up better. But this does suffice.

Playability: well enough. All four legs are poseable, though they don’t get very far since the figure’s body gets in the way when the limbs are moved around too far. The head is also moveable, either with or without the butting action. The capture gear doesn’t really add much.

Realism: the Triceratops seen in TLW was a lot bigger, especially its crest which was almost gargantuan in size. But like stated above, this figure is often called a juvenile Trike, in which case size doesn’t matter. Still, the paint job is also a lot different, since the Trikes in the JP movies were more greyish brown instead of green. The head with its noticeable crest and three horns makes this creature unmistakably a member of the Ceratopsian family, though not necessarily a Triceratops.

Repaint: no. However, this figure would be repainted three times: once for JP Dinosaurs 1, a second time for JP Dinosaurs 2, and a last time for the JP III Wal-Mart exclusive Dino Tracker Adventure Set. The capture gear would only be reused for the former repaint.

Overall rating: 7/10. It’s not the best Trike, but it does what all Trikes are supposed to do: it has a decent head butting action which provides for some fun trashing action, and it doesn’t look all that bad either. It’s not rare in some territories, but a lot harder to find in others. Ebay usually provides the solution. You might check it out if you’re interested in this figure.

The Lost World Series 1: Eddie Carr

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Capture Claw Launcher

-Triceratops hatchling

Description: Eddie wears a beige overall with a lot of pockets, as well as a brown utility belt and a brown pair of boots. The upper part of the overall is green and has a rope wrapped around the right shoulder. A pair of black sunglasses are dangling on his chest, and a JP Site B patch is located on his left shoulder. Eddie has a light brown hat with some green adorning: underneath he has brown hair. He stands in a completely neutral position.

His large weapon is called a Capture Claw Launcher according to the carding: it’s basically a heavy grey gun with a large yellow claw shaped dart sticking out. The dart is attached to the gun by a piece of black string. On top of the weapon there’s a large yellow disc around which the string can be wrapped, as well as a yellow button for firing the weapon.

Eddie comes with an adorable Triceratops hatchling. It sports a dark green paint job with a white underside. The creature has three very small horns, almost stumps. A large white spot surrounds every eye: the eyes themselves are black with white pupils. The creature stands with one front leg raised and his beak opened, as if squawking for attention. It has a black JP Site B logo on its right hind leg.

Analysis: this figure is not bad at all. Eddie sports an interesting and detailed outfit, but the paint job could have been better. The numerous pockets are hardly noticeable and the rope around his shoulder is a bit cheaply done. Eddie doesn’t stand in any weird pose, but remains totally neutral adding to the playability. It’s a good figure, except for one thing: it doesn’t look like the movie Eddie at all. It might as well be another dino tracker or park ranger.

The weapon is quite cool, though it is a repaint. Despite its size Eddie can easily hold it with a single hand without falling down. It works well: pressing the button fires the claw and hits anything in its path with some force. The range is limited to about 70 centimetres by the rope, though people who prefer the weapon without the rope to increase the range will have no problem removing it from the weapon. It’s a nifty weapon, but there’s one downside: it’s called a claw, implying it can grab, catch or restrain things. However, when fired the dart doesn’t catch anything, it just knocks things over. This is just a minor point of criticism though.

The baby Triceratops is cute, like most TLW hatchlings. The paint job could have been better though: for one thing, its horns shouldn’t be green like the rest of the animal. Also, the white isn’t really aesthetically pleasing. Other than that there’s nothing wrong with this little Trike.

Playability: well enough. The figure has the usual range of poseable body parts and stands in a neutral pose. Like all hatchlings the baby Triceratops can’t movie in any way. The weapon provides some good shooting action, though one might say the string limits its potential. But that’s easily fixed.

Realism: this Eddie looks totally different from the Eddie we saw in the TLW movie. His outfit differs completely from the clothing Eddie wore in that film. Was Eddie even wearing a hat in the movie? The face also doesn’t resemble Richard Schiff as he played Eddie: most noticeably, Richard was bald. There was no Capture Claw Launcher in TLW either. It’s a good figure, but nothing about it reminds us of that guy that got ripped in half by a pair of angry Rexes.

The little Triceratops is clearly recognizable as such, even though its horns are pretty small (which was normal for baby Trikes). It still has a large crest on the back of his head, as well as a horned beak. It’s not very different from the contemporary view of young Ceratopsians’ appearance.

Repaint: the figure and the hatchling are new, but the weapon is a repaint of the double harpoon JPS2 Harpoon Harrison carried.

Overall rating: 7/10. It’s a good figure, but it’s a shame it just doesn’t look anything like Eddie Carr. The weapon (despite being a repaint) and the cute hatchling make up for it somewhat. This figure isn’t rare and shouldn’t prove to be very expensive when you find it.

Jurassic Park Series 2: Sgt. “T-Rex” Turner

Year of release: 1993-1994

Accessories:

-Bow

-2 Arrows

-Backpack

-Triceratops hatchling

-Collector’s Card # 34

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

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

Lastly, this set comes with a Triceratops hatchling. It’s a small, round pig like creature, with a head almost as big as its body. It has four little legs and a tiny tail, and very small horns revealing it to be a baby. The underside of the animal’s body (belly, throat, lower part of the tail) is painted dark blue, with the rest of the body sporting a paint job of light green mixed with brown. Its horns and upper part of his parrot like beak are white and its eyes are black with brown eyelids. A small white JP logo can be found on its upper left hind leg.

Analysis: the leader of the Dino Trackers is a butch looking guy, assuming his leadership position by wearing a hat not much unlike the one Alan Grant sports, making him look heroic and inspiring respect. He wears an interesting outfit, seemingly capable of resisting a close call with a vicious dinosaur considering the 'armour plating' type of features on his jacket. We may not know this man from the JP movie, but he seems like a person you wouldn't mind bringing along on an Isla Nublar field trip.

He comes with a unique weapon, even though it's basically a variation on the 'rocket launcher' theme. His bow is of a simple design: just load the arrow and pull the string, and see what poor creature you can hit. But does it work? Not always. You have to pull the string back pretty hard (fortunately it's strong material!) to fire the arrow over a decent distance. It's also hard to actually hit a target, so it's best used on bigger prey. Unfortunately, it's impact is pretty limited, since it's such a lightweight type of ammo. It certainly won't knock over most figures, except for bipedal hatchlings maybe (if you're lucky enough to actually hit such small targets). It's a short range weapon, which can be fired over a distance of approximately 60 centimetres. The backpack has no other function then to store the arrows. However, it is a tight fit and can be hard to both put on Turner's back and remove it. The straps should have been a little longer for convenience's sake.

The Triceratops might induce a sense of deja vu, which is not surprising, since it's a repaint of JPS1 Ellie Sattler's Trike baby. However, it's paint job is better than on its previous incarnation, more diverse (blue belly, brown eyelids even) and a more appealing colour scheme. And it's still a cuddly little dinosaur.

Playability: only decent. Turner has poseable arms, legs and head, but in the case of the arms poseability is limited due to the way they are positioned. His right arm can not turn a full circle because the lower arm gets in the way. The left arm has better poseability but looks a bit weird in some poses because of the way it's outstretched. Turner looks best when holding his bow in a typical archer's posture. The bow is an interesting addition to Kenner's line of weapons and even works to some extent, though it's not easy operating it when Turner is holding it. It's more easily to handle when you have small fingers anyway. Even though it looks like a fragile weapon, the string is quite strong and can withstand more roughness than you might be inclined to think at first. The Trike has no poseable body parts.

Realism: Turner is of course a made up character for the Dino Trackers/Evil Raiders spin-off line. Therefore, realism isn't relevant here because there's no actor he's meant to resemble. However, because of his interesting uniform with no less than two JP logos on it, he makes for a fine Park Ranger figure. The bow doesn't look much unlike modern bows (much more mechanical than bows used to be), though the arrows look a bit odd, more like rockets than actual arrows. Since Turner is a Tracker and not a Raider it seems likely he's not supposed to kill dinosaurs by shooting them, so these arrows might contain tranquillizing stuff of sorts to subdue their targets. The Triceratops looks much more like the adult JPS1 Trike figure than Ellie's hatchling did, adding some consistency to this figure after all. A shame they didn't bother to colour the lower part of his mouth too though.

Repaint: no, this is a new figure, complete with all new accessories. His hatchling is a repaint of JPS1 Ellie Sattler's baby Trike though. Turner would be repainted for the first JP: Dinosaurs line as a Dinosaur Hunter, including a reuse of his bow and other accessories (in the Young T-Rex with Dinosaur Hunter set). The Triceratops hatchling would not be repainted again.

Overall rating: 7/10. Sgt. “T-Rex”Turner is an interesting new character with an original weapon, even though both archer and bow have some downsides. The baby Trike surely benefited from its makeover. Turner got a relatively wide release and even made it to Europe in low quantities, making this one of the least hard to find JPS2 human figures. It usually goes for rather affordable prices.

Jurassic Park Series 1: Triceratops

Year of release: 1993

Accessories:

-Removable Dino Damage wound patch

-Collector’s Card #10 (alternate card (#63) for 1994 re-release)

Description: this big Triceratops figure is the second largest figure in the JPS1 toy line: only the Electronic T-Rex beats it qua size. It measures some 30 centimetres in length and stands in a walking mode with its left hind leg and right front leg posed backward. The rest of the sculpt takes on a neutral posture. Like the other big dinosaurs of this toy line it features “realistic” dinosaur skin, made of softer and more flexible material than regular hard plastic. All of the figure except for the head and lower legs is made of this material, including the removable dino damage wound patch located on the right flank. Removing the skin patch reveals bones and red muscle tissue underneath. Triceratops also features a genuine action feature: squeezing its torso makes its large head move upward as if the creature is giving a head butt defending itself from a predator with its impressive horns. A large button is located underneath the skin around the left shoulder area to activate this attack option.

This figure sports a mostly dark brownish green paint job (though a common variation exists which is more brighter green instead) with darker green stripes running from its back down the flanks, tail and legs. The lower parts of the body (belly, underside of the tail, throat, lowest part of the lower jaw, insides of the legs) are coloured bright green instead. The figure has rather a short tail. Trike’s body and frill are covered in small oval lumps, sporting the same paint job as the skin. Triceratops’ hallmark, one small thick horn on the nose and two elongated ones above the eyes, as well as a large round frill covered in tiny horns on the back of the head, are well established on this figure. All horns (19 in total on the frill) are coloured beige. Trike also features a large parrot like beak (no different paint job) and small yellow eyes with black pupils. The claws on its feet aren’t painted in a different colour. On its right lower hind leg a large beige JP logo is found with the number .08 next to it.

Analysis: this is one of the best large dinosaurs of the first toy lines and an absolute classic Triceratops toy many will always carry a warm place in their hearts for. Though it has a somewhat dull and monochromatic paint job it has wonderful soft skin and a cool action feature (unlike the Stegosaurus and Young T-Rex figures, which are much lacking in the action department). The animal’s skin is quite detailed up close, though the paint job could have used more work in that area (a real shame the beak and claws aren’t coloured differently from the skin).

Like the other big dinosaurs (apart from the large Electronic Rex) of this line this figure carries a removable dino damage skin patch, revealing a bloody mess underneath. The patch itself doesn’t look fake (like the Young T-Rex’s) but more like a randomly torn out piece of skin some nasty big carnivore bit out of the poor herbivore. It is easy to remove due to a small piece of its skin sticking out and can also be put back with no difficulty.

This Trike is equipped with a great attack action feature, which is all the more welcome because of the lack of such an option on most other big dinosaurs of the first toy lines. Squeezing the creature’s shoulders and thus pressing the button underneath the left shoulder makes the head rear up forcefully. It’s enough to knock most human figures and smaller dinosaurs down, and can also be used to flip over cars and bigger dinosaurs in combat. It works and looks great, except for one minor downside; the mechanism activating the attack action is too exposed under the figure’s neck, making it look too artificial. It would have helped if there was a flexible stretch of dinosaur skin to make the neck run inside the figure’s head as well, but because it’s such a neat action feature it’s only a small complaint.

This big Triceratops is an excellent sculpt with the best head butting action of all the JP dinosaur figures. Since the TLWS2 Triceratops figure, which would also have featured such an attack option and would have been about equally large, didn’t get released this is really the most successful and appealing Trike figure of all the JP toy lines, and one of Kenner’s finest accomplishments.

Playability: good enough, despite a lack of poseable body parts. The position of the legs, though not neutral, doesn’t hinder the creature. The head butt is a great action feature which is easy to use and rather powerful as well. The dino damage also adds to the playability, as does the flexible skin. Trike is also very good for use in dioramas.

Realism: the shape and size of the beast’s head make it unmistakably a Triceratops. The roundness of the frill also sets it apart from most of its closest Ceratopsian relatives which featured differently shaped frills. However, the frill on this Trike is somewhat small compared to the rest of the face. The horns above the eyes could also have been made a bit longer, though they’re not bad the way they are. Overall this is a good representation of the famous Triceratops, with a decent likeness to the one seen in the JP movie except for the different paint job (green instead of brown).

Repaint: as part of the first JP toy line this figure is not repainted in any way. It would not be repainted for later toy lines either.

Overall rating: 8/10. A good sculpt with a great attack feature, nice soft skin and a funky dino damage wound, what more could you want (except a more elaborate paint job maybe)? This toy is definitely worth purchasing and fortunately not hard or costly to find (even MIB) after all these years since its release.