Mattel’s Jurassic World line is now available following their debut at New York ToyFair 2018, and fans looking for this collection can find these in stores now. Mattel is offering many collectibles of the new Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as well figures and collectibles they are calling their Legacy Collection, which goes back to the very first Jurassic Park film from 1993. Some of the dinosaur figures that are available now are the best we’ve seen in years, even over what Hasbro put out in 2015. The initial product launch last week is not only dinosaur figures, but 3 3/4″ scale human figures from multiple films, roll play, and other collectibles. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom hits theaters on June 22, 2018, and this is an early toy launch to wet the appetites of the fans.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the latest installment of the franchise, and takes place after the events of the previous film.After the demise of the Jurassic World theme park on Isla Nublar, the dinosaurs roam freely on the island for four years until an impending volcanic eruption threatens to destroy the island and the dinosaurs. Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), the former park manager, has now founded the Dinosaur Protection Group, an organization dedicated to saving the dinosaurs. Claire teams up with Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), the former partner of John Hammond, to launch a dinosaur rescue mission and bring the creatures to a sanctuary that Lockwood has created in America. Claire also convinces Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), a former dinosaur trainer who worked at the park and her former boyfriend, to join her mission so he can locate Blue, the last remaining of the four Velociraptors that he trained. After Isla Nublar is destroyed by the volcano, the dinosaurs are brought to Lockwood’s large estate, located in America. At the estate, Owen and Claire realize that the dinosaurs are being auctioned rather than saved. A hybrid dinosaur known as the Indoraptor escapes and terrorizes people at the estate.
One of our personal favorites in this line are the new Legacy Collection figures of Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler and Robert Muldoon from the original 1993 Jurassic Park film. These are offered as single packaged figures, and Dr. Grant also comes in a box set with multiple different dinosaurs, and all of these are exclusive to Target stores.These figures also use a new process called photorealistic technology to create the likenesses you see here, which is a great tool to create these facial details and clothing.
Availability: April 2018 – Target Exclusive
Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park made cinema history in 1993 and was the first film of a series of movies that would follow, and gain generations of audience members as time went on. As part of Mattel’s Jurassic World line-up, they are offering a line of Legacy figures that are based on the original film, and include three main characters including Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler and Robert Muldoon.
The original movie was the best, as we felt had a better story compared to Jurassic Park II and III, at least until Jurassic World came around in 2015. Right up until now, we haven’t been thrilled with the likeness of the figures compared to the actors, which includes the original vintage toy line and so on. So it’s refreshing to see Mattel’s designers take a shot and make some pretty good 3 3/4″ figures with decent likenesses and articulation. Using some modern day techniques and sculpting, toy companies can make better figures with a much better likeness than they could 10 or 20 years ago, and these are definitely worth picking up if you are interested.
As these are 3 3/4″ scaled figures, they work best with retro Kenner Star Wars, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and other lines in that scale, and not so much more modern lines as these are a bit too short for that. Having toys in a similar scale such as the modern day 4″ lines is a must, as seen with some of Hasbro’s offerings including Star Wars (to be fair, these are in scale with Hasbro’s modern Star Wars figures with 5 points of articulation as shown in the gallery) and G.I. Joe. While having slightly larger figures ranging 4″ scale would have been ideal for us just so we can display these with some other lines, this scale will work for most people, and these are more compatible with vehicles in this line, which is why they are like this.
Dr. Alan Grant was one of the main characters in the first film, and is given a modern day makeover with a very good facial and head sculpt that has a good likeness to Actor Sam Neill. Dr. Grant is sculpted in his blue shirt and dark tan pants (they are supposed to be light tan to better represent the movie likeness) brown shoes, and a red scarf around his neck. The shirt and pants have nice sculpted details such as folds and pockets, and the shirt is a button down and you can see the buttons as they were sculpted on. He also has a brown belt with a silver belt buckle. For this figure and the rest of the line, it’s all about the facial likeness, and this has a decent likeness to him. The hat cannot be removed, and we find this to be a bit disappointing, Sculpted to his wrist is a brown watch, with the face also left in brown, and there is no wrist articulation on this or any other figure in this line. His articulation includes a ball jointed neck, swivel-hinged elbows, ball-hinged shoulders, waist rotation, swivel-hinged hips, and swivel-hinged knees.
Dr. Grant comes with a pistol that we don’t recall him using in the film, a shotgun/rifle was used to fight the raptors, but we don’t recall this accessory. He also includes a Compsognathus from The Lost Wolrd: Jurassic Park.
Dr. Ellie Sattler is shorted than Dr. Grant and Robert Muldoon, and also has a good likeness and facial details of Actress Laura Dern. She is sculpted in her pink shirt with a blue undershirt, tan shorts, a brown belt and brown shoes with white socks. The shirt is tied on the bottom as seen in the film, and has nice details including folds and rolled up sleeves. Her head sculpt is what makes this figure special, with long blonde hair that is tied in the back, and bangs hanging on the sides. Her articulation includes a ball jointed neck, swivel-hinged elbows, ball-hinged shoulders, waist rotation, swivel-hinged hips, and swivel-hinged knees.
Included is the flashlight she used to put the power back on, and a Compsognathus from The Lost Wolrd: Jurassic Park.
Robert Muldoon is the third and final figure in this wave, and also has a decent likeness to the late Actor Bob Peck. He is sculpted in his blue shirt, with a beige vest, tan shorts, a dark brown belt with a silver belt buckle, brown shoes and grey socks. The vest and shorts includes pockets, the the clothing also includes folds to make it more realistic. The head sculpt is nicely done and he has a non-removable hat like Dr. Grant. His articulation includes a ball jointed neck, swivel-hinged elbows, ball-hinged shoulders, waist rotation, swivel-hinged hips, and swivel-hinged knees. As there is no wrist articulation, he cannot hold the rifle in both hands, which is very unfortunate.
Included with Muldoon is a rifle and a Compsognathus from The Lost Wolrd: Jurassic Park.
Overall, these figures have nicely detailed head sculpts with good likeness to the Actors, and are also nicely detailed. Fans of the franchise will like these figures, as they offer good likenesses, paint apps, accessories and overall good quality.
Purchase:
These links are for other figures and collectibles in this line –
