Review and photographs by Cretaceous Crab, edited by Suspsy
Let me start out by saying that this pack of figures are obviously part of the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World toy franchise, and likewise, each figure is designed to be a representation of its silver screen counterpart. We all know that many of the prehistoric species featured in this franchise are not scientifically accurate. Therefore, I am not going to spend much time describing said flaws that most of us are already aware of: pronated hands on the theropods, oversized feet, improper skin integument, too many claws on sauropod and ceratopsian feet, etc.
This pack is part of the “Battle Damage” series of Mattel’s JWFK toy line, and therefore, a Walmart exclusive (in the USA anyway, I’m not certain how it is distributed elsewhere). It contains a total of fifteen (15) different figures: Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Baryonyx, Carnotaurus, Dilophosaurus, Indominus Rex, Indoraptor, Metriacanthosaurus, Mosasaurus, Pteranodon, Stegosaurus, Stygimoloch, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, and of course, “Blue” the Velociraptor.
Despite having the Battle Damage label, only four figures in this pack bear the signature three or four “streaks of red paint” that represent battle wounds: the Allosaurus, the Apatosaurus, the Metriacanthosaurus, and the Stegosaurus. Each figure stands fairly well on its own, including all of the bipeds; this is made possible by the over-sized feet, of course. The figures are made of a hard rubber material, and are somewhat flexible, as opposed to hard plastic. Another distinguishing feature of the figures in this group is that they do not have any articulation, whereas the minis from the other JWFK series each have at least one point of movement, such as a jaw that opens, a neck that bends, or legs that move. The only exception in this regard is the Mosasaurus, which features a lower jaw that opens. In fact, the Mosasaurus is the largest figure in the pack, and as far as I know, the only Mosasaurus mini out of all the JWFK line!
Most of the figures are one solid color, with perhaps some subtle counter-shading on their backs, but no painted claws or eyes. The only exceptions are the aforementioned species with the red battle streaks, and the side stripes on both “Blue” and the Indoraptor. The Indominus Rex is rather unique in that she is made of a transparent plastic material, apparently meant to depict her in “camouflage mode.”
One thing I found about this set of figures is that they are loosely to scale with the JWFK Matchbox vehicle pack . . . well, most of them anyway. The Stygimoloch, the Dilophosaurus, and the raptors are a little large, while the Apatosaurus, the Tyrannosaurus, and the Indominus are a bit small. Ironically, when next to the submarine, the Mosasaurus doesn’t quite measure up to its film counterpart, but in reality, it would probably be closer to scale to an actual Mosasaurus!
In addition to its compatibility with the Matchbox vehicles, another great thing about this pack is its price of only $9.93 US (plus tax) at Walmart. The 3-pack of minis runs about $5 US, so for double the price, you get five (x5) times as many figures! Sure, most of them don’t articulate and maybe the red battle damage streaks aren’t your bag, but you DO get the only Mosasaurus mini currently available. My son had picked these out for completing a task, but I’m considering getting a pack of my own for repaint purposes.
It’s a good bang for the buck, especially if you’re on a budget, limited on shelf space, or looking for a cheap set for the kids. As mentioned before, they compliment the Matchbox vehicles well enough, and are great for the little dinosaur lovers who want to take toys on a road trip, but don’t have room to stick the Super Colossal Rex in the minivan.
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Nice review and pics. Where did you get that mini JW gate? Also the Mosasaurus mini is in a Dino Transporters Matchbox set with the submarine that seems to be unreleased as of yet.
The JW gate was part of some birthday cake topper we got for my son. He’s kept it since, and as you can see, it goes well with these figures as well!
I purchased these and found them to be much better than the Hasbro ones! (Although sometimes they have trouble standing up). The Mosasaur has pharyngeal teeth, unlike some of the previous Hasbro toys. The Apatosaurus looks really good too (with one exception): the neck is somewhat broad and they got the nostrils in the right spot! I was really bugged by how short its tail is though.
I really like these little figures; I didn’t hesitate long before getting a pack for myself. While the battle scars look sloppy, I kind of dig the monochrome style overall, and the sculpts are quite good – even better than the regular-sized figures, in some cases!
I’ve passed this pack many times in Walmart, never submitting to temptation but after this review, I think that will change! These are surprisingly high quality for $10.
I understand that they’re mini but the paint jobs are so lazy, even Hasbros minis had more detailed paint work. That being said though, these are sculpted far better.