Nasutoceratops (Jurassic World Dino-Rivals, Duel Attack by Mattel)

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Nasutoceratops was a centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous in the south-western United States. Only having been described in 2013 this very unique looking dinosaur has gained a bit of popularity with toys released from both Safari and CollectA in 2015, and now from Mattel for their Jurassic World line. This particular toy, and its counterpart, an Allosaurus, both came onto the scene rather suddenly. Although it was long known that Mattel would be producing this genus it basically just started showing up on shelves overnight. What further shrouds this and its Allosaurus pal in mystery is the writing on the box, “As seen in Battle at Big Rock”. What is Battle at Big Rock? Well despite these toys having been released over a month ago, we still don’t know. The safest assumption at this point is that Battle at Big Rock is a short live-action film in the Jurassic World franchise. Potentially exciting news for fans of the films, but not really of any concern here on the blog. No, we’re here to review toys and today we’re looking at the enigmatic and marvelous, Mattel Nasutoceratops.

Produced as part of the Dino-Rivals Duel Attack line the Mattel Nasutoceratops measures about 12” from the tips of its horns to the end of its tail. At its highest point on the frill it stands roughly 5.5”. Being a Duel Attack toy this figure has two action features. One button along the back raises the head up, and another swings the tail towards the right. The head is fastened onto one piece that allows it to swivel left and right, and then onto another piece that allows for the up and down motion. This allows a small degree of pose-ability but not like that seen on the Protoceratops with its ball-joint design.

In size it matches closely with the other large ceratopsians produced by Mattel; the Triceratops and Sinoceratops (actually a Pachyrhinosaurus). Being a Nasutoceratops it should be smaller than the Triceratops but it’s really the Triceratops that’s too small, and not the Nasutoceratops being too large that is the issue. The body is made of hard plastic but the tail, limbs, and head are all a softer rubber material. The horns and frill are particularly soft and flexible so there is no need to worry about children stabbing themselves with this toy as the horns bend easily.

This toy is a truly impressive piece and upon its sudden release had a lot of jaws hitting the floor. It’s one of the most distinctive toys in the Jurassic World line and will no doubt be counted as a favorite among many collectors, myself included. The detail work is tremendous, with a covering of differing sized scales across the body, folds along the joints, and well muscled limbs. The head sculpt is particularly good with a wrinkled, battle wary appearance. The fenestra on the frill are smooth with scalation along the edges and small hornlets running down the middle. The prominent “Texas longhorn” style headgear gives the toy an additional, menacing appearance.

Of course there are anatomical inaccuracies that should be expected of any Mattel toy. As such, they almost aren’t really worth mentioning. The feet are sculpted all wrong, like the generic elephantine feet that were once common even on Safari and CollectA toys and continue to persist on action figures. Although we veteran dinosaur collectors all know what they should look like by now, it’s clear that’s not the case over at Mattel, or Universal for that matter. Looking at the skull the horns look alright but the frill is too large, and the snout should really be shorter and deeper, Nasutoceratops isn’t named “large-nosed horn-face” for nothing.

The paint job is both striking and somewhat garish, if I’m being honest. The body is painted a deep blue color that fades to green on the limbs. Red splashes are painted along the back, frill, and face. The brow horns are cream colored and a cream color streak runs down the nose and onto the tip of the beak. The rest of the beak is unpainted, as are the claws and epoccipital horns along the fill. The unpainted areas are normal for these Mattel dinosaurs, but no less annoying at this point. Although many will no doubt love the color choices, and they do stand out, this toy could look even better with a naturalistic custom paintjob that brings out the finer details. Also among the toys shortcomings are a smooth unsculpted underside and eyes so small that they appear almost nonexistent. The small eyes might also benefit the toy, giving it a squinty thousand yard stare, ala Clint Eastwood, but you’ll have to squint yourself in order to see them.

Overall this Nasutoceratops is one of the most unique, well executed, and impressive toys in the Jurassic World line. There are a few minor nit picks to be made, but nothing worth passing on it for. The sculpting, detail work, and even the odd coloration all come together to produce a toy with a distinct personality. If you’re a discerning Jurassic World collector like myself, and only want the best this line has to offer, pick yourself up the Mattel Nasutoceratops.