Those who are avid readers of this forum may remember the Jurassic World Mini Dinosaurs from Hasbro that I reviewed back in June of 2015. At the time, I was able to buy all of the little dinosaurs because most of them were available in three packs, with the exception of three. Mattel has now created a set of mini dinosaurs of their own for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. However, unlike the set from Hasbro, these models have poseable features, and there are a lot more to to collect that are not readily available in three packs. At first, I was not willing to bother with these little guys, as they come in blind bags. And due to the fact that most of them are exclusive to blind bags, I will not be able to review them all in one post as I did with the Hasbro ones. So today I will be reviewing my first mini from the new movie. It was a gift from my mother who thought I would like these and ended up getting me hooked as a result.
In case it was not apparent from the photos, this model is Ankylosaurus. The other dinosaurs included in Wave 1 are ones that have not yet appeared in the main toyline, such as Apatosaurus and Parasaurolophus. Being a piece of movie merchandise, this little Ankylosaurus looks nothing like the real animal. Instead, it looks like the fancy spiked creatures that appeared in JP3 and the two JW films. The armoured scutes on the back are reminiscent of those found on some old school interpretations of the animal, such as the Walking With Dinosaurs model. This one, however, has rows of long spikes jutting out from its sides. Other issues with this model include the fact that the tail club looks nothing like that of any ankylosaur that I know of, and it almost appears that the animal has no neck. The only other things I can say about this dinosaur when it comes to accuracy is that the skull would seem to be accurate to the real thing, if it were not a little too pointed. Unlike the mini models from Hasbro, almost all of the mini dinosaurs from the Mattel line have a poseable part for you to fiddle with. Some have poseable necks, others have articulated jaws, but the Ankylosaurus has a poseable tail that can be turned from side to side.
Being a mini dinosaur means that this figure is pretty small, at around three inches from head to tail. In terms of detailing, the armour is the most striking thing about it. But underneath its armoured back, there is nothing but little wrinkles along with some very faint scales that are just visible to the naked eye. In terms of colors, the model is pretty underwhelming. Most of the toy is grey with a green wash over the top. The eyes are painted black, and there is a hint of greenish yellow on the figure’s bottom. As far as I know, there is a second version out there as a part of the recently released second wave, which features dinosaurs that have already been released in the first wave, only with different color schemes.
If you wish to own this toy, your best bet is to get this 3 pack. Otherwise, I wish you good luck in finding one, as the blind bags that these things come in make it a bit difficult to find a specific figure.
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Good news! There are codes on the bags (embossed on the lower edge) so if you can find a list it’s easy to pick the one you want. Or just grab the letters you know you don’t already have to complete the set.