Jurassic Park Dinosaurs: Pteranodon

Year of release: 1999

Accessories:

-Two Pteranodon hatchlings

Description: this flying reptile is positioned in a neutral and almost symmetrical posture. It measures about 15 centimetres from the tip of one wing to the other. It has a small body with equally small legs and a tiny tail (if you can even call it that). It has a large head with a blunt elongated crest sticking out and a pointy beak with no teeth (which is accurate). Pulling the crest makes the beak open, while releasing it makes it shut with a snap. Like any Pterosaur it has a pair of large wings on the side of its body, basically arms (including fingers, bent inward) ending in one very long finger which holds the skin of the wing together. Each wing consists of two moveable parts. On its back the Pteranodon features a large button: pressing it makes the wings flap. The claws on its legs are posed in a gripping posture.

No blue for Pteranodon this time. This Pterosaur sports a more varied colour scheme. Most of the upper side of its body (back, tail, arms and claws, and the lower part of its wings) are painted dark brown, while the rest of the top part of the wings, the fingers, the neck and the head are all green. The figure's underside (throat, belly and underside of the wings) are all grey. The inside of the mouth (including the tongue) is also dark brown, while the figure has white eyes with big black pupils and a black JP logo on the underside of its right wing.

Along with this figure come two adorable little Pteranodon hatchlings. These animals can stand on their legs and have their wings outstretched, ready to take flight. They sport a very simple paint job, being almost entirely painted in a dark brown paint job, except their chests are coloured beige. They do not have a JP logo, since they're nothing but accessories to this set.

Analysis: yet another golden oldie finally got a makeover for the first JP: Dinosaurs line. And this one is not alone! He got company from two identical hatchlings last seen in the TLWS1 line. This is undoubtedly done to fill in the void left by the absence of capture gear. It's an original move, though the choice of hatchlings seems odd. The TLWS1 Pteranodon babies are made in a different style than the JPS1 Pteranodon and apart from the basic features they're not the best match, especially the head sculpts. The JPS1 Alan Grant's Pteranodon hatchling would have made a more likely choice.

They share similar paint jobs though. And sadly, both are rather dull. The hatchlings are almost entirely monochromatic, except for the chests. They're also exactly the same, which is rather boring though of course cost effective. Applying different paint jobs on them, even with only minor differences, would have given them more character. The adult Pteranodon also isn't much of an improvement over its predecessor. Its underside isn't that different from the original, and the combination of green and brown gives it a kind of swampy look, not reminiscent of an airborne creature. The eyes look wholly fake, and more detail (mouth, claws) would have been welcome. To sum up, this is just an overly simple and ugly paint job, though the hatchlings still got it worse. The adult Pteranodon's action features are left unchanged. The biting action is decent enough, but the flapping wings still look somewhat silly. Overall, not a very successful makeover for this figure.

Repaint: yes. This is a repaint of the original JPS1 Pteranodon, with repainted hatchlings from the TLWS1 Nick van Owen figure (which only came with one hatchling). The figure would not be repainted again, nor would the hatchlings.

Overall rating: 5/10. A classic figure returns, but it wasn't the best then and it isn't now. The hatchlings are a nice addition and a welcome change from capture gear, but the paint jobs in this set leave a lot to be desired. It's certainly one of the lesser sets in the first JP: Dinosaurs line. As a Wave 1 release this figure wasn't hard to find, though also not overly common.