Review and photos by Emperor Dinobot, edited by Suspsy
They’re here! They’re finally here! The long awaited line of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom figures by Mattel! Ever since the first pictures to emerge, fans of the franchise and of the toys have been touting them as “better” than Hasbro’s much criticized line of JW dinosaur figures. Does Emperor Dinobot think so? Let’s find out with the Baryonyx!
As you can see, the packaging is open so that one can try out the Roarivore feature, which is what these electronic dinosaurs are called. The background art depicts a volcano, which is often seen in all manner of dinosaur illustrations dating back to who knows when. The box is painted sort of like a cage for the dinosaur, which reminds us of The Lost World: Jurassic Park a little bit. It is kind of tough to open too, and half of the Baryonyx‘s tail is separate from the body, located inside the box.
The instructions have two sides. As expected, Roarivores use three A76 batteries, which is customary for pretty much all JP electronic dinosaurs. A word about electronics: each Roarivore has 4 different sounds, one after the other, but I have not played with them enough to find a discernible pattern. A JP Tyrannosaurus roar can always be heard in one of the noises. These dinosaurs are supposedly going to do battle with her, and it also reminds me of the Jurassic Park 3 Triceratops, which also has T. rex battle noises. Anyway, on to the figure itself.
The Baryonyx measures 13 inches long and 5.5 inches tall, and is cast in a sepia brown color. Running through the back is dark indigo blue striping, and the snout has a shiny electric blue line running through the top. The eyes are yellow, the teeth are eggshell-colored, and the tongue is pink, despite CGI depictions showing a blue tongue. The pedal claws are painted black but the manual claws are unpainted.
The detail on this figure is quite well done. We’ve got scutes running across the back, but the tiny sail that Baryonyx sports isn’t exactly present. Then again, this is a nice figure because it isn’t exactly fully shrink-wrapped. Mattel has made a very nice Baryonyx design here. I wish the snout was somewhat longer, as well as the tail, and the legs smaller, but this is the JW:FK design, although the trailers depict it as somewhat scarier and more monstrous. This looks like an early 90s’ version of Baryonyx to me. But thank John Hammond, the hands are facing each other palm to palm! They are not pronated as they usually are with JP/JW dinosaurs!
Gone is the “JP” or “JW” mark usually located on a figure’s thigh. Instead, now we have a JP T. rex classic stamp on the foot, and a code on the other, which can be read by the Jurassic World Facts app that can be downloaded on Google Play. Scanning the code will reveal the dinosaur and offer a few facts on it. I will demonstrate this later on in a different review if I can. It is pretty cool. The sounds are very loud. The soundbox has a cover that allows the Roarivore to just go to town with all of its battle noises.
One thing I dislike about these dinosaurs is that traditionally, the roaring switch causes the mouth to open. In this case, the button, which is located on the dinosaur’s back, causes it to close the mouth and emit the sound, which is kind of weird to me. I really wish Mattel had done the Baryonyx with a closed set of jaws, which were to be opened by the switch, not the other way around.
While ball-jointed articulation is not new to dinosaur action figures (see Walking with Dinosaurs 3D, Primeval, Jurassic Park Showdown sets, etc), it is quite welcome here. The Baryonyx has ball joints at the shoulders and at the hips, which allow you to pose it in various ways, despite the neutral pose it comes win. Compared to the previous Baryonyx figures from Jurassic Park Series 2 and The Lost World, this is far, FAR superior. The size is even almost perfect with Kenner-sized figures!
For those like me who love anything JP-related, this Baryonyx is a highly recommended toy. It’s a beautiful dinosaur action figure. So far, I am largely impressed by Mattel’s work. It does not feel as cheap as Hasbro’s toys, as it is cast in hard, crack-resistant plastic. It’s somewhat screen accurate, and it’s just a really fun dinosaur to play with. I welcome it with open arms. Available from Amazon.com here.
John Hammond figure made by Benjamin Asselin.
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Desperately trying to find one of these as it is the only thing my 7YO wants for Christmas but it looks like it has been discontinued in the UK 🙁 He is Autistic and I am finding it very hard to get him to undertsand that even though he has seen it that he can’t get oen.
I purchased this the moment it hit shelves. Very sturdy, very well constructed. I agree with the mouth though. So what I did was take a piece of the plastic packaging, and stuck it in the hinge where the lower jaw contacts the rest of the body. Mouth stays closed and if I ever want to showcase it with its mouth open, I just pull the plastic ‘tab’ out.
Just purchased this figure about an hour agao and I’m very pleased to have it sitting on the dext beside me. Like the size and the colour and the feet are enlarged for stability but to my eye they do not look unduly oversized, unlike say on the large rexes. The mouth on the one that I bought stays closed when you pinch it shut, the mouth on the only other one left in the store did not so that was the one for me. Also the the wet-look metalic blue paint on the head, as if it has just come up from plunging it in after a fish. I’ll be painting those unpainted claws to match the feet Very comprehensive review and images.
Completely agree with the part about the mouth. I too found it odd that //closing// the mouth was chosen over opening it. Like, what? Was a ‘victory roar’ too overdone? Was Mattel trying to insist that Jurassic Park dinosaurs used closed mouth vocalisations? 😛
I ended up using some blu-tack to stick my Baryonyx’s mouth closed, did the same for the Allosaurus figure too, I personally think they both look so much better with the mouth closed.