Spinosaurus and Velociraptor (Jurassic Park 2009 by Hasbro)

Nearly all of the Jurassic Park 2009 toys were repaints of older toys save for the Allosaurus and the Pachyrhinosaurus. These included the miniature two-packs such as this one, containing hatchling versions of the famous Spinosaurus and Velociraptor.

The Spinosaurus measures 12.5 cm long. It is posed in a crouching stance with its left arm outstretched, as though it’s reaching for some food or fighting with its nestmate. Its colour scheme appears to have been inspired by the common iguana: bright green with moss green for the head, sail, hands, and feet, a pale underbelly, and dark green stripes on the tail. The eyes are yellow, the inside of the mouth is maroon, the teeth are yellowish white, and there are some pale green spots on each flank. The JP logo is painted on either thigh in white.

The sculpting on this toy is fairly good, with lots of scales, a few folds and wrinkles, and well-defined muscles in the limbs. Unfortunately, this Spinosaurus, like all the JP renditions of this animal, has a snout that’s far too short and broad, even for a hatchling. As well, the feet are so thick, it looks like it’s wearing boots. And of course, if the much-disputed Ibrahim/Sereno reconstruction is indeed accurate, then the limbs on this toy are all wrong too.

The Velociraptor hatchling is 10 cm long. Its pose suggests that it too is confronting a hostile nestmate or some other threat. Stands rather well for such a small bipedal toy. Its main colour is orange with pale yellow and light orange stripes, pale yellow for the underbelly, black hind claws, red eyes, a maroon mouth, yellowish teeth, and white JP logos on the thighs.

The Velociraptor is more wrinkly than scaly, and again has well-defined musculature in the arms and legs. As you can see, it suffers from all the glaring inaccuracies of a +20 year old movie design: lack of feathers, pronated wrists, a head and neck that are too beefy, and a curled tail.

Overall, these little dinosaurs will probably be appealing to JP fans, but for anyone who prefers their dinosaurs up to date, they can safely give this set a pass.