Jurassic Park Series 1: Robert Muldoon

Year of release: 1993

Accessories:

-Firing Tranq Bazooka

-Two missiles

-Backpack

-Tyrannosaurus hatchling

-Collector’s Card # 2 (alternate card for 1994 re-release)

Description: Robert is a somewhat taller figure than the other JPS1 humans, more muscular and heavy. He stands in a neutral pose, though his left arm hangs a bit to the side, making him balanced when he’s holding his bazooka. He wears khaki pants and a beige shirt with a bright yellow vest over it. On the left front part of the vest he sports a blue tag with the JP logo on it. He also has brown boots, a brown belt and beige socks. Additionally, he has a black knife holster strapped to his right lower leg and a brown gun holster on a second brown belt around his waist (gun holster on the right upper leg). He has smooth, short brown hair and black (or very dark brown) eyes and eyebrows. He appears to be smiling in a cynical manner.

Muldoon comes with a large bazooka, basically a black tube with a small box at the end and a big one up front. On top of the gun near the front end there’s a large red button. When the bazooka is loaded with either one of the two red missiles it comes with, pressing the button makes the missile be fired with force, with a firing range of almost two metres and a good impact force. It’s one of the more effective and powerful weapons Kenner produced. Muldoon also features a black backpack with black straps so he can carry it on his back. The pack has two holes in it, one for either missile.

A Tyrannosaurus hatchling completes this set. It stands in a walking mode, with its left leg moved forward and its right leg posed back. Its tail is well in the air. It has a strange head, somewhat shark like, with rows of small white teeth. It’s mostly dark brown but for a thick black stripe running from the snout all the way to the end of the tail. It has black eyes, and a black JP logo on its left upper leg.

Analysis: plainly said: Muldoon kicks ass! His outfit is quite realistic for a game warden on a tropical island and he has a good paint job. The non removable knife and gun attached to the figure make him look particularly butch and are totally in character. Though he doesn’t look exactly like the Muldoon in the movie (the JPS2 version does a better job at that) he makes a fine dino tracker and park ranger.

The best part of this set comes from the formidable bazooka. It works very well and has a great firing range for such a small weapon. It easily knocks over hatchlings, human figures and most smaller dinosaurs and even bigger ones (it also depends on whether the targeted creatures are bipedal or not). It comes with two different missiles, so you have a choice, as well as a spare because with a range like this missiles tend to get lost. Both missiles can be stored in the backpack so you don’t have to let one of them lie loose when the other is loaded in the gun. Muldoon’s right arm is definitely designed with this weapon in mind. He can hold it with no trouble and his heavy stature keeps him from falling down. The only nuisance this gun has is that it was designed specifically for the Muldoon figure, making it incompatible with other figures, though it also fits Harpoon Harrison, which is probably the reason a repaint of that figure was paired with this weapon in the TLW Exclusive Young T-Rex set. This also explains the slight modifications made to the weapon for the TLWS2 Eddie Carr figure which featured a repainted bazooka, allowing more figures to be capable of carrying it. Besides this minor issue, the bazooka is one of the best weapons of all the toy lines.

Of lesser quality is the Rex hatchling. It’s paint job is okay, though a bit dull. Instead of cute like most other JPS1/2 hatchlings, it’s rather ugly. Its head looks weird, due to the design of the mouth and the arrangement of the teeth. Though it stands on its two legs only, it usually doesn’t fall down on its own accord. It does make quite a good target for Muldoon’s weapon, but is not very appealing otherwise.

Playability: quite high. Muldoon himself provides for the usual poseable arms, legs and head. His bazooka is one of the most effective and playable weapons of all human figures. It has a great range and good impact force, comes with two different missiles for variety and the backpack provides storage space for both of them, be it loose or on Muldoon’s back. The T-Rex baby does not have any poseability options.

Realism: Though Robert’s outfit isn’t too dissimilar in both colour and shape to what Muldoon (as performed by the late Bob Peck) wore in the film, it’s not entirely movie accurate, but certainly close enough. The figure’s head doesn’t resemble Bob at all though, which is true for all JPS1 figures. The bazooka wasn’t featured in the movie, though it’s probably the most realistic weapon of this toy line. Interestingly enough, Crichton’s original JP novel did incorporate a scene in which Muldoon uses a bazooka on a Rex, making this figure (either conscious or by chance) an intriguing reference to the book. The Rex looks a bit odd, especially his head, but still has the typical bipedal carnivore look, as well as colours similar to those of the other Rex figures of this line as well as to the Rex seen in the film.

Repaint: since this figure belongs to the first JP toy line, it’s obviously not repainted. However, the figure would be repainted for the JP Series 2 line, featuring a new head sculpt but the exact same set of accessories, though with a new hatchling (a Velociraptor). The Rex baby would not be repainted for later toy lines, unlike the bazooka. It was reused for the TLW exclusive Young Tyrannosaurus set, and got a makeover for the TLWS2 Eddie Carr figure, (featuring some minor improvements and a new paint job).

Overall rating: 8/10. This is probably the best human figure of the original JPS1 line, since it comes with a largely movie accurate figure and one of the best JP weapons ever. The hatchling is okay, but not the best part of this set. Fortunately this figure is not rare at all, and can be found at little cost, both MOC and loose.