Mattel - New for 2023

[CityRaptor]

One for the collectors, one for the kiddies...of course the collectors are still gonna whine about it. Also keep in mind that Target is really making it hard to get the Hammond Collection outside the USA, while the Damage figures that are Walmart Exclusive in the US saw a wider release outside the US.

[Faelrin]

Just noticed this replaced the Extreme Damage for that Carnotaurus that was on the 2023 figures list on the Collect Jurassic site. Dang, I was really hoping for a larger figure of the JWD demon Carnotaurus. Hopefully HC does it someday then.

[Flaffy]

You just bet corporate shills like Collect Jurassic will praise these low effort Hasbro-level toys to no end.

I really don't understand the necessity for light-up features when previous iterations of battle-damage worked perfectly. Perfect case study of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". (same goes for the reinvention of the dna scans, what's wrong with discreet stickers under the feet?)

[Carnoking]

Here's an unpopular opinion, that light up JP3 Raptor is more appealing than the Hammond Collection offering.

[Faelrin]

@Flaffy I think it's just a result of mega corporations "innovating" for the sake of it. Possibly some retailer/Walmart meddling as well since they get a lot of say on what they carry.

Honestly I'm not a fan of the fact this replacing the Extreme Damage figures (which just replaced Extreme Damage in 2021). These have even less articulation and less paint. But well the one positive is more money saved I guess, which I have no shortage of things to have it go towards (PNSO, BotM, etc).

@Carnoking I'm not a fan of the unpainted tail or large speaker holes on the other side. Rest of it isn't too bad though.

[MLMjp]

Super disappointed that the Carnotaurus doesn't spot a Dominion black and red color scheme, and considering that version has a broken horn it would fit perfectly in the epic damage assortment.  

That JP3 raptor looks good, until you see it's left side...Ok, so the light-up wound gimmick doesn't look too bad as the wound seems to be made of translucent plastic but with the color of the figure, but then it has those speaker slashes on the other side...You made me accept your new gimmick just to ruin it again.

Still, this raptor got me thinking...when are we going to get more pictures of the HC version? Or a beyond the gates video of it? I´m kinda worried specially how the female looked in the promo pictures. This epic damage raptor's head is starting to look better than those of the HC...

Here's an unpopular opinion, that light up JP3 Raptor is more appealing than the Hammond Collection offering.

That's exactly why we need more pictures...

[SpartanSquat]

I dont like the route Mattel took in dominion line, I bought the dread, allo and therizino, good figures. But dino trackers...one friend and I talked the other day and he said one real thing: Now the line is more a mattel dinosaur line with the name of Jurassic Park/World. Probably I only buy the krono, elasmo and sino. I have to say the carno painting looks nice, but like you said: I was expecting dominion demon.
I think I will focus in HC. Seeing my collection before mattel jw line arrived. I mostly buyed a few figures per year, mattel was a constant race to get them before they vanished.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

They look ok. I might get the JP3 Raptor.  The Carno looks fine except it looks like a repaint/retool of the one of the previous figures?  I'm pretty full up on Carnos anyway.

[Galaxy]

[Carnoking]

Hm, might be the best infant rex yet, credit where credit is due.

[Faelrin]

Honestly it might very well be, perhaps other then the original 2018 one (which I think resembles the markings on the maquette more). Hope this might mean we could see a parallel in the HC this year then, especially since we have the Pachycephalosaurus and JPIII male coming out.

Here's some images of the maquette and animatronic for anyone wanting to compare:

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Here's the previous baby T. rex figures we've gotten so far:

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[Gwangi]

I would say that that's the best infant T. rex from Mattel so far, but I still like Kenner's and feel no real need to acquire another.

[EmperorDinobot]

I think this is where I'm calling it quits with the completionism. I mean, at least they're small, but for a newish mold, or rather, a kitbashed mold, the JP3 one isn't great.

The light-up wounds are nasty, and that JP3 Raptor looks like something straight out of Battat.

Dead dinosaurs all around because they'll stop working within the year, leading to tons of unused a76 batteries, which are not used by anything else but these toys.

[YesIAmaDinosaur]

What's the appeal in general for kids or anyone else with battle damaged dinosaurs? On one hand I can imagine a kid having a scenario where a dinosaur is being healed or taken care of by a medic or whatever, but I feel like it ultimately depresses kids haha

[Lynx]

What's the appeal in general for kids or anyone else with battle damaged dinosaurs? On one hand I can imagine a kid having a scenario where a dinosaur is being healed or taken care of by a medic or whatever, but I feel like it ultimately depresses kids haha

 When I was younger I had one of Hasbro's light-up battle damage Velociraptors and would have another dinosaur's mouth land on the button, causing it to light up like they were biting the other dinosaur. Was one of my favorite toys until I made a dumb decision to sloppily paint it pure white, stopping the action feature from working. And so have it, now the toy goes up for a pretty penny on E-bay.

Battle damage toys were my favorite because the dinosaur wasn't clean and pure of everything, it had damage and showed it actually fought something. It made the toy feel more alive.

[Halichoeres]

Interesting insight, @Lynx, thanks. I didn't understand kids even when I was one, so that would never have occurred to me.

[Ludodactylus]

I'll second that as a kid, I loved the "Dino-Damage" feature on the larger Kenner figures. I seem to remember seeing Phil Tippett's "Prehistoric Beast" edited into a documentary as a very young kid and it was the single scariest thing I could imagine, and at the same time it was so thrilling that I couldn't wait to reenact it with my toys.

[Gwangi]

I'll second that as a kid, I loved the "Dino-Damage" feature on the larger Kenner figures. I seem to remember seeing Phil Tippett's "Prehistoric Beast" edited into a documentary as a very young kid and it was the single scariest thing I could imagine, and at the same time it was so thrilling that I couldn't wait to reenact it with my toys.

That documentary was Dinosaur, hosted by Christopher Reeve. You can watch it on Youtube. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qbqM19-FJI


I didn't have any dino-damage toys as a kid. I had Kenner toys but they were all smaller figures that didn't have that feature. But I "modified" some of my other toys, like cutting off the tip of a tail or finger, gouging scars into the plastic, to make my own injured dinosaurs. Then I would give them a unique or tragic backstory. It added character to them, so I can see the appeal. One of my daughter's favorite Mattel toys is the Battle Damage Albertosaurus.

[Ludodactylus]

That documentary was Dinosaur, hosted by Christopher Reeve. You can watch it on Youtube. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qbqM19-FJI

Thank you for the trip down memory lane. It was probably 1994 or 1995 the last time I saw that. Russell's Dinosauroid freaked me out as a kid so I'd always stop the tape before it got revealed.

[Gwangi]

That documentary was Dinosaur, hosted by Christopher Reeve. You can watch it on Youtube. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qbqM19-FJI

Thank you for the trip down memory lane. It was probably 1994 or 1995 the last time I saw that. Russell's Dinosauroid freaked me out as a kid so I'd always stop the tape before it got revealed.

No problem, happy to help! It was my favorite as a kid. I have photographs from 1988 of me and my sister sitting on the floor watching it on one of those wooden framed television sets that sat on the floor.