The Lost World Series 1: D.A.R.T. With Roland Tembo

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Dino Auto Restraint Transport with capture gear and missile launcher

-Missile

-Roland Tembo figure 

 

Description: the Dino Auto Restraint Transport (i.e., D.A.R.T.) is a vehicle with bike like qualities, which features a fold-out platform on its back part equipped with capture gear for holding a dinosaur figure during transport. When the restraints are not in use, the platform can be folded in so it saves space and makes the vehicle quicker. Up front, the transport carries a small, shiny silvery painted, missile launcher which comes with a single missile, coloured in a more diffuse shade of shiny grey. When folded out, the D.A.R.T. measures about 25 centimetres in length, reduced by about 7 centimetres when folded back in. The capture gear on the platform can also be folded in somewhat when not is use instead of hideously sticking out.

Most of the “bike” part of the transport up front is painted dark green, with silver highlights including the chassis and foot supports for the driver. Additional parts are coloured black, including the steering handles and the saddle. It's adorned with various stickers, including a TLW logo and InGen logo sticker and various logos of dinosaur skulls with red X-es through their eyes, indicating kills or captured prey. The platform at the back of the vehicle sports a metallic brown paint job, with the restraints and/or their supports coloured in either a light or darker shade of metallic grey. Most noticeable are the head restraints, which look a bit like a cage (which it basically is of course). Via a smaller support this piece holds a grappling arm for subduing the torso of any prey the D.A.R.T. carries. There are also small restraints for holding creatures' arms, attached to the back part of the platform, which is adorned with yellow/black stickers carrying a red sign that says 'Caution'. The vehicle has three black tires, one up front, two on the back part of the trailer.

This set comes with an exclusive Roland Tembo figure. It stands in a neutral posture, legs spread apart somewhat to accommodate him mounting his transport without looking silly. For that reason, Tembo also features bendable knees, instead of only having poseable arms, head and legs. He sports a beige shirt under a black vest, adorned with a brown utility belt around his torso, a brown strap over his left shoulder, another brown belt around his waist, brown gloves, shorts in a darker shade of brown including a gun holster over his right upper leg, and even darker brown boots with a knife of the same colour strapped to his right lower leg. He also wears a dark brown hat with a beige band on top and an InGen logo on its right side. His facial expression is bland and emotionless, and his eyes are also coloured brown.

Analysis: this is an unusual but original new vehicle. Though it looks much like a big bike at first glance, it's more than that: it's really a fairly large single creature transport for moving captured dinosaurs around from the place where they were caught back to base camp for processing. The really neat part is the foldable platform which saves both box space and shelf space, without making the transport look less menacing. The vehicle also comes with a small gun for shooting creatures it happens to run into: there's no visible button, the firing mechanism is activated by pressing the steering handles instead. It's only a short range rocket launcher, but it works well enough.

The downside of the D.A.R.T. is the fact it can only carry a handful of dinosaur figures (not all at once I mean, but different figures). It's usually pictured carrying a young Pachycephalosaurus or Junior T-Rex, which are indeed the figures that work best with this transport. Other potential TLW figures are the Dilophosaurus and regular Raptor, but the other figures of this toy line don't fit due to either their size or their shape. Similarly, few human figures can really ride this car. The exclusive Tembo figure it comes with was definitely designed for it, judging from the bendable knees. Most other figures just don't fit on the saddle or look plain silly while riding it.

Now for the Tembo figure that completes this set. It's definitely one of the cooler and more desirable human figures of the TLW lines, which is explained by its more realistic outfit (no dinosaur skin for this Tembo!) and the rarity of having a Kenner figure with poseable knees. The knees make him look butch while sitting on the D.A.R.T., a great white hunter triumphantly carrying his prey on a big bike for all the world to see. Also, if Tembo's knees weren't poseable, the figure would ride the vehicle with legs outstretched, making him look ridiculous. Though the D.A.R.T. is a pretty decent but eventually flawed vehicle, this Roland figure is more than likely the main attraction of the set.

Playability: decent enough. The back part of the transport being able to fold in and out creates extra playability options and also saves space when needed. The various capture devices on the trailer can only hold a single dinosaur, and there's just a limited amount of creature figures that really fit, which narrows possibilities somewhat. The gun works fine but has a limited firing range (about 40 centimetres) and it's a light weight missile so the impact force isn't very great; only smaller figures, like hatchlings, will truly be knocked off their feet. The Roland Tembo figure is one of the more successful TLW figures, not only because it looks realistic and even movie accurate to some point, but also because it has bendable knees, which is something rarely seen on JP action figures (in fact, this Tembo figure is the only Kenner figure equipped with this feature) and thus only adds to playability. Tembo also has the usual range of poseable body parts, namely legs, arms and head.

Realism: the D.A.R.T. is a vehicle made up by Kenner and not seen in the actual TLW movie. Though it's a fun transport, it's not very realistic. The smaller dinosaurs being seen captured in the TLW movie were subdued and tranquillised on the spot, and carried in cages in the Humvee transports. However, since this toy line's Humvee vehicle lacks such cages, this is a decent alternative for people who want an explanation as to how the dinosaurs were transported. Roland Tembo by comparison is quite a life like figure, sporting both a realistic and movie accurate (not fully, but more so than other TLW figures) outfit and paint scheme, and also a facial sculpt quite similar to Pete Postlethwaite, who played Roland in the TLW movie.

Repaint: no. Tembo's head sculpt is identical (except for the paint job of the hat) to the head of the regular Roland Tembo figure of this toy line though (depending on which variation of the latter you have). Neither the bike nor the figure would be repainted for later toy lines, though a repaint was once planned for the unreleased Chaos Effect: Night Hunter series.

Overall rating: 7/10. It's a nice and original addition to the TLW range of vehicles, but it's nothing particularly special, except for the excellent human figure that comes with it. The D.A.R.T. got a wide release in the USA, but only a limited one, or none at all, in other territories. It can easily be found in the States and on Ebay for relatively low prices, the latter being the best shot for people who can't find one.