Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 3: (Ultra) Tyrannosaurus Rex

Year of release: 2005

Description: this larger T-Rex figure measures some 25 centimetres in length and stands just over 15 centimetres tall. This Rex sculpts stands in an attack posture, with its tail bent upwards and its head slightly tilted up. Its legs stand far apart from each other. This Rex is pretty skinny and has little body mass. It’s mostly head, limbs and tail. A very large dino damage would is found on its right flank, showing white ribs and red muscle tissue. The upper piece of exposed rib is actually a button which activates a shrieking roar, as if the creature is in pain. A second roar, more aggressive and imposing, can be made by pulling its right arm down: when doing so the mouth will also open. A third sound, the stomping noise, can be made by having the T-Rex stomp on the ground. The sound quality of all three sounds is not very good, some static is heard as well.

This (Ultra) T-Rex sports a darker paint job than its previous incarnations. Except for its underside (throat, belly and lower part of the tail), which is coloured light grey, all of its body is painted dark grey. The darkest parts of grey are found on the head and back, while the tail and limbs are of a slightly lighter shade of grey. Red stripes run from the neck over the back to the end of the tail, while there are also a few of them on the upper legs. The stripes on the back are more pronounced because the torso section of this sculpt is composed of harder material. The claws on both hands and feet are painted very light grey, almost white. The Tyrannosaurus has a pink tongue and inside of its mouth, as well as small red eyes with black pupils. It carries a white JP logo on each upper leg.

Analysis: the not so impressive Tyrant King of Hasbro returns a third time to do a quick cash grab from kids and collectors alike! At least this time the paint job is totally different, instead of a pale copy of the original JP III Rex like the JPD2 release featured (though it's also not nearly as ingenious or appealing as the Camo-Xtreme Canyon T-Rex's paint scheme). A darker and grittier colour scheme is found on this T-Rex, hinting at its status as a terrifying large carnivore with big nasty pointy teeth. The combination of dark grey (almost black even) and red stripes also makes it look a bit like a possible Camo-Xtreme Lava T-Rex. It's a good paint job, but also a bit too simple: just dark grey with a few small red stripes and a light grey underside. For such a big sculpt, more detailing would have been appreciated.

Aside from the new paint job, this Rex is otherwise no improvement over its JPD2 predecessor. It's still a big but skinny creature standing in an awkward posture that hinders playability, with an unimaginative and ineffective attack feature, and the same old sounds of crappy quality with weak electronics to support them. It still features silly stomping sounds which can only be activated by bashing the figure's feet to the ground, only speeding up the process of the electronics inside dying an all to quick death. Even though JPD3 is a fairly recent toy line, it's quite common for MIB samples to be unable to produce sounds, and it ain't just the batteries being dead. Overall, the new paint job is the only potential worthwhile thing in this set.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the JP III Ultra T-Rex figure. The sculpt has been repainted before for Camo-Xtreme and JPD2.

Overall rating: 5/10. A different and dark paint job for this T-Rex, which suits it well but is a bit bland. The sculpt itself still is quite disappointing for a big figure. Like the other big JPD2/3 electronic dinosaurs, this figure was common a few years back, but, in terms of availability, its numbers are in swift decline. You might still get one for a decent price now, but don't expect this situation to last much longer.

800th Post!: Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 2: (Ultra) Tyrannosaur(us)

Year of release: 2004

Description: this larger T-Rex figure measures some 25 centimetres in length and stands just over 15 centimetres tall. The sculpts stands in an attack posture, with its tail bent upwards and its head slightly tilted up. Its legs stand wide apart from each other. This Rex is pretty skinny and has little body mass, it’s mostly head, limbs and tail. A very large dino damage would is found on its right flank, showing white ribs and red muscle tissue. The upper piece of exposed rib is actually a button which activates a shrieking roar, as if the creature is in pain. A second roar, more aggressive and imposing, can be made by pulling its right arm down: when doing so the mouth will also open. A third sound, the stomping noise, can be made by having the T-Rex stomp on the ground. The sound quality of all three sounds is not very good, static is heard as well.

The overall colour of this Tyrannosaurus is dark green, with a black stripe running from its snout all the way to the end of the tail and numerous smaller stripes on its back, tail and neck running out of the larger stripe. Added to these colours are some light blue stripes on neck, back, limbs and tail. A thick grey stripe runs over the belly and underside of the tail. It’s got a pair of small red eyes with black pupils and the claws on both hands and feet are light grey. The tongue and inside of the mouth are painted pink, with white teeth. A black JP III logo is located on its right upper leg.

Analysis: this T-Rex would undoubtedly be regarded as the top figure of the JP Dinosaurs 2 toy line, being the biggest carnivore sculpt, but apparently Hasbro didn't think it worthwhile to do much work on it, probably under the impression it would sell well anyway so why waste additional money on it... Therefore, if this “new” paint job brings up a distinct feeling of déja vu, it's perfectly normal, considering the paint scheme is more or less identical to that of the JP III Ultra T-Rex, and the dominant colour is still green (though a darker variety of green this time). Close inspection and comparison between this Rex and its JP III counterpart reveals all the stripes and lines on both figures to be in the exact same spot, it's just the colours that vary. And to be frank, the red and brown colours looked better with green on the previous T-Rex. Light blue just doesn't suit a Tyrannosaurus at all. It's a real shame the designers put so little effort in this figure's paint job, considering its Camo-Xtreme predecessor got a surprisingly awesome new paint job that made the whole sculpt appear better than it was.

The paint job, though not very different from before, is the only new feature on this Rex, the rest is the same old same old. A lousy posture hindering playability, a lame and uninspired attack feature and weak electronics that don't just sound crappy, but break all too easily, making working specimens of this figure increasingly hard to find. This may be the biggest figure of this line, but it's also the biggest disappointment.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the JP III Ultra T-Rex figure. The sculpt has been repainted before for Camo-Xtreme and would be repainted again for JPD3.

Overall rating: 3/10. A near copy of the JP III T-Rex paint job, and zero improvement. The sculpt itself still is quite disappointing for a big figure. Like the other big JPD2/3 electronic dinosaurs, this figure was common a few years ago, but its numbers are in swift decline. You might still get one for a decent price these days, but don't expect this situation to hold much longer.

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs 2: (Ultra) Pteranodon

Year of release: 2004

Description: measuring almost 50 centimetres in wing span, this flying giant is undoubtedly the largest Pteranodon figure of all the JP toy lines. Because of its size there’s also room for a broader range of actions and sounds, making it a highly playable toy. It also has a pair of poseable legs to match. Action feature wise it’s not particularly imaginative: it's mostly the usual Pterosaur options. First, there is the biting beak: pressing the crest makes the beak open as if the animal is snapping at some poor piece of prey. Second, there is the wing flapping mechanism. Third, the fold-in wings: the outer half of each wing can be folded inward (outward too, but that just looks silly), as if the creature is adjusting its flight style. It looks very much like the Pteranodon is diving towards its victim when the wings fold inwards. Additionally, there are the sounds, four in total. The attack screech can be heard when activating the biting action by pressing the beast’s crest. The wound noises are produced by pushing the button in the dino damage wound (located on its right flank, revealing four white ribs and red muscle tissue). The other two sounds can be made by pressing the button on the back which makes the wing flap. Pressing it once and releasing it, or pressing it several times over, produces flapping sounds, while pressing it a bit longer activates a swishing noise, as if the Pterosaur is swooping down on its prey.

The main colour for this large Pterosaur figure is a greenish beige, which can be found all over the body, except for the very top of its back, which looks to be more light grey. Dark red stripes and shapes of various sizes cover this main colour, mostly rather diffused to make it feel more natural. Most obvious are the lines on the wings, while obvious concentrations of red are found around the legs and on the head. White colouring is located on the lower part of the wings (on both sides). The pins in the poseable parts of the wings, just under the fingers, are painted black. The top of the crest on the head is painted light yellow, while spots of the same colour are found right under this, running from half way of the crest to the nostrils. The Pteranodon has small yellow eyes (with black pupils), a pink tongue and a black JP III logo on its left wing.

Analysis: apart from the T-Rex, another big prehistoric creature returns for JP Dinosaurs 2. This fabulous Pteranodon sculpt might have been neglected for Camo-Xtreme, but at least it didn't remain totally forgotten. It's still one of Hasbro's best works, very large and rather detailed, as well as equipped with various cool action features and sounds. Aside from the paint job, it offers nothing new of course, but with a sculpt this good, that can be forgiven. The new paint scheme is quite original and imaginative. The overall pale colour adorned with dark red gives the flying beast a touch of death, underscoring the danger of a Pterosaur this big (certainly compared to the small Hasbro human figures, which look minuscule in comparison to this critter!). The way most of the red paint is applied, in rather vague smears instead of the more usual definite lines and shapes, gives it a more naturalistic, authentic look instead of the obvious artificiality of the usual paint job. The white colouring on the lower side of the wings feels redundant though. It seems such an odd place for extra colouring, unlike the yellow on the crest which could indicate the animal's social status, willingness to mate or age (though it seems unlikely Hasbro actually considered such realism).

Even the best Hasbrosaur has a few downsides though, and this figure sadly does too. Most obviously there is the annoying dino damage wound which can't be covered up, making this Pteranodon scarred for life (literally). More attention could have been given to the claws on the toes and fingers, as well as the inside of the mouth, though it's acceptable as it is. The most lousy thing are the screws that hold both halves of the wings together, right under the creature's hands. They should have been coloured to match, but were woefully ignored, making them feel hideously out of place. Overall, this is a fine, solid paint job, but there's just a few irritable little things. It's an excellent figure regardless and definitely worth your while if you don't own this sculpt yet.

Repaint: yes. This is a first time repaint of the JP III Ultra Alpha Pteranodon figure. The creature would be repainted again for JPD3.

Overall rating: 8/10. This is still one of Hasbro's finest sculpts, impressively sized and loaded with playability features. The new paint job is quite different, yet pretty appealing. Like the other big JPD2/3 electronic dinosaurs, this figure was common a few years back, but now it's running out fast. With luck, you can still find one for a decent price, but this may very well change in the not too distant future.