The Lost World Series 2: Nick van Owen

Year of release: 1997-1998

Accessories:

-Two pieces of capture gear

-Catcher Pack

-Camera

-Brachiosaurus hatchling

Description: this Nick van Owen figure stands in a somewhat more active posture than his TLWS1 predecessor. He stands with his left leg moved backward and his right leg forward, while his left hand is closed in a fist. Nick’s arms look pretty muscular, especially his upper arms. Though it’s a matter of millimetres, this figure is one of the tallest figures of all JP toy lines.

Nick sports a blue shirt, covered with a grey vest adorned with a total of four pockets. A belt runs over his torso, orange on the front part of the figure, and black on the other side. Nick wears green pants, covered with several pockets of the same colour. Additionally, he has a black belt around his waist and two smaller black belts around each lower leg with additional pockets, probably used for carrying video cassettes or other equipment for Nick’s camera. Van Owen sports rather odd shoes, coloured orange with a silver metal frame around it, as if they’re enhanced for use in rough terrain. Unlike the TLWS1 Nick, this figure sports brown hair, including his eyebrows.

Nick comes with various pieces of equipment. First, being a documentary film maker, he has a large black camera, which can rest on his right shoulder while he holds it with his right hand (his other hand can’t hold anything). The camera looks more realistic than the camera the TLWS1 Nick came with (if that was indeed a camera). There’s a hole in the camera, so you can look right through it, seeing what the camera is “filming”. A second tool Nick comes with is the catcher pack: this odd looking metallic grey device can be attached around the figure’s waist so he can carry it. It looks pretty sophisticated with its elaborate mechanical detailing, but it doesn’t really have any action figures unlike one would expect. However, there’s a small box on top of the device that can be opened: it reveals what appears to be a piece of meat, coloured brown with a small white bone sticking out of it. Being a vegetarian I won’t try to classify it, because I’m bound to get it wrong. It seems the catcher pack is just a method of luring dinosaurs towards Nick, so he can film them, and if necessary, catch them. Given the fact that this figure also comes with two small pieces of capture gear (namely the typical “handcuffs” many sets of capture gear have featured since the JPS2 toy line), the latter option seems a logical course of action.

Strangely enough, Nick comes with a herbivorous hatchling, so it seems odd it would be attracted to the catcher pack’s meat. The hatchling is labelled a Brachiosaurus, though it looks a lot different than the JPS1/2 Brachiosaurus hatchlings or the Sauropods seen in the first JP movie. The hatchling measures some seven centimetres in length, and sports a light brown paint job, adorned with purple spots on its snout, neck, back and tail. It has small black eyes and a beige JP: Site B logo on its left hind leg. Most notable, it has very plump thick legs, making it seems rather disproportionate and even a bit silly.

Analysis: this third Nick van Owen figure (next to the TLWS1 Nick and the exclusive High Hide Nick) isn’t much of an improvement and has some pros and cons. The pros are found mostly in Nick himself. Though it’s not identical to the garment Vince Vaughn wore in the TLW movie, this figure’s clothes, including their paint job, are more similar than the outfits of the other Van Owen figures. This excludes the shoes, since they’re really quite strange and I’m positive they weren’t featured in the film.

It’s obvious the designers of this figure wanted to establish Nick’s status as a film maker more clearly, something the other Nick figures lacked. Nick comes with a relatively realistic camera (by toy standards of course), as well as loads of pockets for carrying video equipment, most notably the ones on his legs. Though the camera doesn’t provide for any action, which can be said for the entire figure by the way, it’s a fun gadget.

The same cannot be said for the catcher pack, which is plain boring. It looks way more elaborate and detailed than is necessary, considering it doesn’t do anything at all. The only option it features is the small box with the meat in it, but having designed a smaller piece of equipment carrying only this box would have sufficed. Now Nick is forced to wear this large piece of plastic on his back, and given the fact it hangs pretty loose and occasionally even falls off because it’s out of balance when attached to the figure, it’s downright annoying.

The Brachiosaurus is quite cute, but doesn’t look much like a Brachiosaurus at all. Though its large legs make sure the little beast doesn’t fall down, and also make it hard to knock over using missile launchers of other figures, they make the poor creature look very weird. The paint job isn’t bad, though like with most hatchlings it’s lacking detail. The two pieces of capture gear can be attached to the Sauropod’s legs and body, though it’s doubtful they would restrain it in real life.

Playability: not very high. Though Nick has poseable arms, legs and head, it’s quite vexing he can’t hold stuff with his left hand since it’s closed to a fist. Like stated above, the catcher pack doesn’t provide for much action at all. The same is true for the camera, though it does give Nick more character and looks pretty butch on his shoulder. The Brachiosaurus doesn’t have any poseable body parts, like all the other TLW hatchling figures.

Realism: the figure’s head sculpt looks a lot like Vince Vaughn’s head, though less detailed (it’s a toy version of him after all). However, this figure makes Van Owen appear more muscular than he looked in the movie. His clothes are not that different from the outfit Nick sported in the movie, though they’re not an exact copy. Since Nick was established to be a documentary film maker in the movie, it’s nice to finally see him running around with a real camera. The catcher pack was never seen in the movie, which isn’t a great loss.

There were no Brachiosaurs in the TLW movie, though they did appear in the first JP and eventually also JP III. In neither film did they resemble this particular Sauropod. For one thing, they had thinner legs, a shorter tail and a different colour pattern. Also, their heads looked a lot different from this one’s, with a large bump on the forehead carrying the nostrils. This Brachiosaurus looks more like a Diplodocus, judging from the shape of its head. But due to the disproportionately large legs, it looks even more like a made up dinosaur.

Repaint: no. This figure, as well as all its accessories, would not be repainted for later toy lines either.

Overall rating: 6/10. Though the figure itself is quite good, the catcher pack and the hatchling aren’t very appealing. They just don’t look interesting, nor do they provide for any action features. Additionally, this sculpt is one of the rarest of all JP figures and as such is quite hard to find, usually fetching the big bucks. Be sure you really want one before you spent too much cash on it, because it may not prove to be worth it.

Today's Double News: Brolin's life turns Jurassic, Vaughn's life is cancelled

Another double dip of news posted by yours truly on MovieScene:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/150987/josh_brolin_mogelijk_in_jurassic_world

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/150986/vince_vaughns_term_life_gecancelled

This is the way of things in the industry: for every project that gets greenlit (even after twelve years of friggin' pre-production hell! Heartless dino-hating bastards!), several more get turned down, sometimes even while already well underway, though such a situation is more exceptional since copious amounts of money have already been spent and publicity has covered the project in question so there is some general awareness around. Let's explore what might have went wrong with Term Life.

It seems an interesting project, sure to find some kind of audience (though probably not as major as the studio had hoped for). It has a fairly solid plot which guarantees an appealing mixture of drama, action and humor. It's a graphic novel/comic book adaptation, which is all the rage these last few years (and that rage hasn't quite yet died down). However, Image Comics, though a well renowned and established company in the world of paper media (responsible for, among others, Todd McFarlane's Spawn, Michael Turner's Witchblade and The Darkness by Ennis & Silvestri), doesn't come with a brand name that screams 'hype', unlike its major competitors Marvel and DC. There's one problem for ya. Here's another: Vince Vaughn. Vaughn has done almost nothing but comedy (and not always good comedy at that) for over a decade. So could he be a compelling enough actor to also take care of the dramatic, emotional side of this story, as well as make a convincing action hero? Though he has dabbled in such elements of acting before in films as diverse as Into the Wild, Psycho (the remake, obviously) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (which spawned no less than three action figures in his likeness; see my Jurassic Park Toy Review Archive for more details on that), his talents in both department remain limited, while most spectators can only see him as a comedic actor because of the overwhelming portion of said genre in his resumé, which would make it harder for the general - target - audience to accept him in a role like this. It seems the real talent would have been delivered by young actress Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar-nominated for True Grit. In this case the trouble is that film is basically the only stand-out title in her career, promising as it may be, but short as it yet is. True, she will soon be seen in the big budget Sci-Fi action flick Ender's Game, but as that feature has not yet been released it's too soon to pin a studio's hopes on Steinfeld just for that one. Term Life is no True Grit, so Steinfeld's participation also is not a guarantee for success. Nor is the intended direction by Peter Billingsley, whose curriculum vitae in that particular function also is far from impressive. His only feature of note in this regard is Couples Retreat, a comedy starring Vince Vaughn (and not one of his better ones), which brings us full circle to the matter of comedy versus other human emotions present in Term Life.

Overall, there's many variables and risks present in Term Life a new studio executive would not have been comfortable with, sadly making it an easy target for premature cancellation to save a few bucks that can then be spend on sure-to-deliver blockbuster projects. In Universal's case, one of them being... Jurassic World! Josh Brolin's apparent soon-to-be-payed salary has to come from somewhere. And Brolin is an intriguing choice for JW. He has done similar genre projects before to great success in terms of his acting (Planet Terror, Hollow Man), while also having been a star in completely different types of film the likes of No Country for Old Men and Milk. His name brings audience recognition, Oscar-nominated past performances that transcend genre and an acting job that is sure to satiate execs' expectations. Every risk you have in Term Life is absent in his persona. Do I agree with cancelling Term Life? Not per se, but if its "insurance money" is pumped into Jurassic World's undoubtedly stellar budget, I'm all for it. All's fair in Love, War and Jurassic Park. Plus, Vaughn has already been involved in one of those, so now it's Brolin's turn.

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

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Nick van Owen figure

-Backpack

-High Hide with missile launcher and missile

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Lost World Series 1: Nick van Owen

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Spray gun with backpack

-Camera

-Pteranodon hatchling

Description: this figure sports beige shorts, brown gloves, shoes and utility belts, and a green shirt with a yellow vest over it. A brown knife is attached to the back of his right leg, while another knife is attached to the back of his left upper leg, coloured in the same beige as his pants so it’s hardly noticeable. The figure’s got black hair and eyes. He’s got a JP Site B patch on his left shoulder. It stands largely in a neutral position, except his right leg is stretched out somewhat. There is a variation of this figure: this particular sculpt wears a green hat with the JP Site B logo on it, while that logo is missing on his shoulder.

This figure comes with a small silver camera device, or at least something resembling a camera, which does nothing: it’s just an extra little gadget. The action of this figure is provided by the spray gun: it consists of a yellow pack with a black hose attached to it, ending in a silver gun. By putting the gun in water and pressing the yellow pack, the pack gets loaded with water. Pressing the pack again makes the gun squirt water at anything in its path. The pack can be put in a brown backpack, so that the figure can wear it on its back and hold the gun.

Along with this figure comes an adorable little Pteranodon hatchling. It’s coloured mostly beige, with some slightly shiny blue paint on its back, neck and crest. The throat and front part of the head are coloured in a yellow paint job, with black eyes and yellow pupils. The animal can stand on its legs and has its wings outstretched, as if it’s about to take flight. It has a black JP Site B logo on its right upper wing.

Analysis: this figures has its pros and cons. Nick himself looks pretty good, though the upper part of his outfit looks a bit odd and unrealistic. The two knifes are a bit out of place, since Nick didn’t have them in the movie. It’s also a shame one knife is hard to spot on this figure, making that one seem useless altogether. But other than that, this is a pretty cool figure with an okay paint job.

The spray gun isn’t very original. In fact, it’s a repaint of the weapon the JPS1 and JPS2 Dennis Nedry carried. It works the same too, so there’s no improvement or anything. This weapon may be good for people who like to play with water alongside their other action figures, risking paint wear and damaged electronics. For people who’re not keen on potential hazards to their figures the weapon is a plain redundancy. The camera thingy also doesn’t add much since it doesn’t feature any action. However, it helps Nick’s character as a video expert (which the carding claims he is, and people who’ve seen TLW know him to be) to be emphasized.

The Pteranodon hatchling is cute and sports a paint job very similar to the Giant Pteranodon figure of this toy line. The paint job is a bit bland, but the figure looks real cute. It’s also nice to see it can actually stand and not just lie down like the other small Pteranodon figures.

Playability: it could be better. The figure itself has the regular moveable body parts. The hatchling too, in the sense that it’s not poseable in any way like most hatchling figures are. The weapon does work, but it doesn’t look totally impressive and has little impact on any figures that get hit by firing water at them. Also, for people who don’t want to use water for fear of damaging other figures the weapon is more of an obstacle since they can’t do anything with it. The camera is a fun bonus gadget, but nothing more.

Realism: Nick’s face sure resembles Vince Vaughn somewhat, except it’s got less detail and his hair is too dark. The clothes this figure sports don’t resemble the outfit Nick wore in the movie, except his pants maybe. There wasn’t any type of weapon firing liquids in TLW, nor was there a type of camera similar to the camera device this figure carries.

The Pteranodon looks like a hatchling, and could very well be the offspring of the Pteranodons seen in the closing shot of TLW. However, it’s not entirely palaeontologically correct: for one thing, its crest is oversized. Another, even worse, mistake concerns the wings of this sculpt: they feature a bat like pattern, with multiple long fingers with skin stretched between them. However, real Pteranodons didn’t have wings like this. They basically has a hand with one extremely long finger and skin stretched between this finger and their body.

Repaint: the figure, hatchling and camera are new. As mentioned above however, the spray gun is a repaint from the same weapon carried by JPS1 and JPS2 Dennis Nedry. Additionally: the Pteranodon hatchling would be repainted for JP Dinosaurs 1, for a set containing a large Pteranodon figure and two of such repainted hatchlings.

Overall rating: 6/10. It’s a decent figure, but the weapon isn’t great or original. A new weapon, or even a repaint of another weapon that doesn’t require water, would have been preferable. Also, both the hatchling and the outfit of Nick himself could have been better. Both variations of this figure aren’t hard or costly to come by, so it should take little effort to acquire them if you wanted one, or both, of them.