Jurassic Park Series 2: Dennis Nedry

Year of release: 1993-1994

Accessories:

-Tranq Spray Gun

-Dino damage arms

-Gas mask

-Backpack

-Pachycephalosaurus hatchling

-Collector’s Card # 57

Description: this second Dennis Nedry figure stands in a neutral pose and is somewhat fatter than the other human figures. He sports a red sweater with a brown gun holster and straps over it and a blue tag with the JP logo on his chest. He wears light blue pants and shoes and black gloves. He has brown hair, eyes and eyebrows, and a rather goofy facial expression. Like his JPS1 counterpart (of which this figure is a retooled version) Nedry comes with an action feature of his own (instead of solely in his accessories): both his arms are removable, as if they’re torn off by some vicious dinosaur. The arms can easily be put back.

Nedry comes with a Tranq Spray Gun. This weapon consists of a yellow sack, which can be carried in the metallic silvery grey backpack Nedry is also equipped with, attached to a gun (same shiny colour as the backpack) via a small transparent tube. Holding the gun in water and pressing the sack multiple times makes the sack be loaded with water. Pressing the sack when filled makes the gun spray water. The pack can be carried on Nedry’s back by strapping it around his upper body. Additionally, Nedry comes with a small silver gas mask, which fits over his head.

A Pachycephalosaurus hatchling completes this set. It looks quite bizarre, featuring a large head covered with tiny spikes (and less of a bald head dome like the adult Pachy figure). It has big green, cat like eyes with black pupils, and his teeth are exposed like he's grinning. It stands in an aggressive posture, with its arms outstretched in a sort of 'boxing' pose. The tail points downwards, while its left leg is posed backwards and his right leg forwards. The critter has a mostly red paint job, except for its underside (lower part of the tail, belly, chest) which is coloured beige. On its back, neck and parts of the head it shows a darker shade of red, as well as a single dot of the same colour on each upper leg. It carries a white JP logo on its left leg.

Analysis: this retooled version looks a lot more similar to the Nedry character seen in the film, though it's still nowhere near as fat. His head does have an obese quality to it the JPS1 Nedry lacked and looks much more like Wayne Knight. The sunglasses have also been removed so we get to see all of the face this time. Nedry's paint job is less inspired on this retooled figure, more work could have been done on it (like colouring the shoes differently for example). The best part of this figure is still the dino damage, which make for fun times when Dennis faces the dinosaur toys of this toy line in close encounters. Since he’s supposed to be the bad guy nobody feels guilty when making some nasty predator tear off his arms (especially since repairing the damage isn’t hard either).

Nedry still comes with the Tranq Spray Gun gear. No modifications have been made to the gun, it works like the JPS1 Tranq Spray Gun does (so I'll refer to the JPS1 Nedry's review for further details). Interestingly enough, the gas mask did get a new paint job, silver this time. This does make it more consistent with the rest of the gear, but makes little difference otherwise.

The Pachycephalosaurus is quite an odd little hatchling. Its face is grotesque (which can be said for most Pachycephalosaurus figures, but is true even more so in this case), especially because it has a sort of grinning quality to it due to the big eyes and opened mouth: I wouldn't dare to call this baby cute. This hatchling tends to have balance issues because its head is rather heavy, and slightly leans to the left, often falling over. The paint job is quite similar to the adult Pachy figure of this toy line, adding consistency. It's not the most appealing hatchling, but it is sweet in its own right.

Playability: Dennis himself is quite playable, not only because of the usual range of poseable body parts (head, legs and arms) but more so due to the removable arms which make him a good target for combat with carnivorous dinosaur figures (though I don't think his arms would be capable of being knocked off by a head butting Pachycephalosaurus). The baby Pachy isn’t poseable in any way, like all hatchling figures. The gas mask is a nice extra accessory; though it hasn’t got a real function it fits well over Nedry’s head, as well as on several other figures. The spray gun is the weakest part of the set and one of the lesser weapons of the first two toy lines. The filling and spraying system is adequate enough, but the spray blast itself isn’t really powerful and won’t knock over most figures, except for bipedal hatchlings (like the Dilophosaurus). Also, the water is a danger to electronic figures and even paint jobs of some other figures, so it’s better to keep in mind what figures you are using it on.

Realism: this Dennis Nedry figure benefits a lot from being retooled, because he does look a lot more like the actor portraying him in the JP movie. It's still not a perfect match though: his attire looks a lot different, and despite the round face he's still not fat enough. The dino damage arms aren’t too graphic: though the inside parts of the arms are red, they’re not bloody or gory in any way. Still, it’s good to have a human figure with damage options for a change: after all, why must dinosaurs always be the victims with those nasty wounds?

The Tranq Spray Gun with its water blasting makes this figure feel more like a toy than the other figures. It’s not a very likely weapon to have been used in Jurassic Park. The gas mask is okay, but also doesn’t seem a first priority on a dinosaur infested island.

The Pachycephalosaurus hatchling has a paint job very similar to the larger Pachy figure of this line, though qua appearance it's a lot more spiky. Strangely enough this baby has green eyes, while its “mother” has orange eyes.

Repaint: Like stated above, this figure is a retooled version of the JPS1 Dennis Nedry figure, featuring a new paint job, head sculpt and hatchling. The accessories remain the same, though the gas mask also got a new paint job. Dennis, the little Pachy and the gas mask would not be repainted again, but the Tranq Spray Gun and backpack would be repainted and slightly retooled for the TLWS1 Nick van Owen figure.

Overall rating: 6/10. This Nedry figure looks more similar to the real deal, but has a rather dull paint job. The Tranq Spray Gun also isn't very good, and even dangerous to other figures because of water damage. The hatchling is okay, but nothing special. JPS2 Nedry is less common than his predecessor, since it was released solely in the States. It can be hard to find in other territories, and often fetches higher prices.