Mattel - New for 2024

[Faelrin]

@Blade-of-the-Moon The 2019 Dino Rivals one was the male. They never did the female though. Hope we get one in the HC. Even the Sinoceratops has more figures now.

[andrewsaurus rex]

man oh man, if these Mattel dinos were a bit more realistically done and better proportioned (sort of like less fancy,  less articulated BOTM figures) I would be in heaven, with all the variety they produce.....the Hammond line is close but not quite there.   As it is i'm pretty selective about which ones I get.  Frustrating at times but I often just can't get past the big feet, oversized heads, small torso and stubby legs and tail look of most Mattel figures.. 

[crazy8wizard]

I'm mostly excited for the Poposaurus since it's the perfect trinity of things I want to collect: semi-obscure non dinosaur animals, Triassic animals, and local paleontological finds.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

@Blade-of-the-Moon The 2019 Dino Rivals one was the male. They never did the female though. Hope we get one in the HC. Even the Sinoceratops has more figures now.

Ah ok. There was a prototype shown in a catalog or something on a Japanese website as I recall?

[Faelrin]

Massive image dump before I head off to bed (a reminder that all of these are in the op as well):

Spoiler

Danger Pack:

Avaceratops:



Eoraptor vs Stegouros:



Plesiosaurus:



Poposaurus:



Strike Attack:

Guaibasaurus:



Kaprosuchus:



Gigantic Trackers:

Neovenator:

[close]

Thoughts:

Avaceratops: Love the black and white coloration. Nice to have another smaller ceratopsian in the line.
Eoraptor vs Stegouros: Anatomy is pretty decent on both of these, albeit stylized. Great to see these are properly in size more or less.
Plesiosaurus: A fun sculpt, but I got like three of these already.
Poposaurus: Like Eoraptor, a first time figure from anyone. Not a bad take either from the looks of it.
Guaibasaurus: Great coloration, but the head sculpt is kind of generic theropod here. Probably based on the outdated understanding of it as a herrerasaurid, versus the more recent sauropodomorph classification. I find it interesting they gave the head quills or spikes, much like the Eoraptor, since both were early sauropodomorphs.
Kaprosuchus: Been wanting this one for quite a while now, and it does not disappoint at all.
Neovenator: I like the coloration I guess, and the loads of paint apps it got. Sculpt is generic I guess? I don't know much about Neovenator's anatomy to judge it on that aspect.

Also man, while the medium electronic figures have taken the biggest hit as far as paint apps go (like as barebones as possible), glad to see tail paint back on the menu at least for a lot of these smaller figures. It just remains to be seen if the Neovenator has claw paint on the toes, but otherwise this is a vast improvement over this year's releases.

[Carnoking]

"I'm tired of this, Grandpa!"

[PrimevalRaptor]

That Avaceratops reminds me a bit of that Dinosaur Revolution T.rex but can't go wrong with black/white colors, really neat.
Interesting that the Eoraptor basically has the same coloration as the Coelurus from the Dominion line, that pack looks pretty nice though, I wonder if its a duo cause those figures are smaller or if its just a bigger pack.
Plesiosaurus has really nice coloration (love the orange) but I do luckily have that blue/white one (though if I'd see this one on sale I'd still grab it maybe)
Poposaurus is amazing, I /think/ that "sail" on the back should maybe rather be a hump but it's fine, more pseudosuchians are always great and this sculpt is REALLY nice, hoping it will actually be available here lol
Guaibasaurus is nice even if that head sculpt may not quite hold up now, like the colors a lot here.
Kaprosuchus is another amazing one, I am pretty set with the Safari and Papo ones but another case of really nice patterns, solid figure.
Not /quite/ sure how well the Neovenator stacks up to current reconstructions and something about the head feels off to me, but it's nice to see another figure of this species.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Ava,Popo are pickups for me not sure about the others.  I swear I would have to keep these in box to remember what they were.. lol

[DinoFan2010]

My thoughts on the whole line so far:
Avaceratops is nice, but not my top priority.
I love the orange markings on the Plesiosaur's face, but the lack of articulation at the base of the head sorta pulls me away.
Popsaurus looks very nice but also not my top priority.
Eoraptor and Stegouros seem to be the same size as Beta, and always nice to have more obscure dinosaurs.
Guaibasaurus is sort of giving me JP3 Raptor vibes, but always nice to see painted nails!
Glad Mattel kinda went with a JW:TG sculpt for the Kaprosuchus
Toujiangosaurus is nice, but should have been bigger.
The Velociraptor is just there... just like the other 50 Velociraptors Mattel will release this year!
Finally, a good Ekrixinatosaurus toy! (I'm looking at you REBOR.)
Again, looks like Mattel has gone for a JWA style sculpt for the Gryposuchus.
Hesperosaurus is just, not that cool. I mean, new species and all, but it's essentially just a smaller Stegosaurus.
Megalosaurus. I LOVE IT! Definitely picking that up.
The Neovenator is just... BAD. There's no other word for it.
The Trike is okay, but the frill is odd-looking, maybe it's the kind of thing where it will look better when we get a better pic of it.
What was Mattel thinking with that Dimetrodon!?
The Basic figures just exist.
Whew, that took a hot minute!

[Flaffy]

The two crocs are easily the highlights of the line. I wish most of the other sculpts were less cartoonish like them. Both of them are must haves, the Poposaurus especially so. I feel like the Poposaurus can quite easily fit into a scientific collection too as it's considerably less stylised than it's wavemates.

Excited to finally have an Eoraptor added to my collection It's a shame that Mattel still insists on the DNA tabs though, they're particularly egregious on the smaller figures and are highly distracting.

A shame to see the spot of Guaibasaurus wasted on a generic theropod sculpt... Mattel keeping up the tradition of randomly assigning species names it seems . That being said, I am a big fan of the colours and execution, to which I'm happy to substitute it as a Zupayasaurus in my collection rather than the sauropodomorph it was meant to represent. If anyone has any better suggestions for substitution I'm all ears, as despite the prominent crest, the upturned premaxilla on the figure makes it less of a perfect fit for Zupayasaurus.

[andrewsaurus rex]

well, i'm liking the Poposaurus.  Reasonably longish tail and the feet are also reasonable  Figure's a good size too. 

I like the Avaceratops and will get it depending on size.  The BOTM was way too large and i suspect the Mattel will be too big too, but i'll check it out.

The Megalosaurus is not bad but will never be anywhere near big enough.  Ekrixinatosaurus, again will never be big enough.

The Gryposuchus looks like a cartoon.

[andrewsaurus rex]

Flaffy, i've been using the Safari Coelophysis as a 1/18 Zupaysaurus.

[Faelrin]

@Flaffy Good suggestion on using it to stand in as Zupayosaurus. Does kind of work better as that one.

@PrimevalRaptor I think the Eoraptor and Stegouros are intended to be like Beta or Lystrosaurus sized. I hope they do more packs like this in the future. Could be a good way of getting the Oviraptor into the line (which is sadly still mia, despite being a film animal).

[Gwangi]

Thoughts...

Avaceratops: Probably gonna pass on this one. There's just too much going on with all of the exaggerated and oversized scales. Not a fan of the paintjob either. It's funny, I usually love Mattel's larger ceratopsians but dislike their smaller ones.

Eoraptor vs Stegouros: That Eoraptor looks so derpy, like some kind of muppet. The hands are also unsettling and the paintjob is weak. The Stegouros is much more appealing. I'll get the set because how how unique the offerings are.

Plesiosaurus: I feel no need to have any Mattel plesiosaur now that the fantastic Elasmosaurus is available.

Poposaurus: I'm in love with this one, it's a must have. It reminds me of the newer Herrerasaurus but looks even better.

Guaibasaurus: Another random name tacked onto a generic theropod but I like the look and paintjob of this one. I'll get it.

Kaprosuchus: Really cool figure, I like this one a lot. Another must have.

Neovenator: I should hate it but I don't. The paintjob is really soft and subtle with nice blending and appears complete. That head is so weird though. I'll probably get it anyway.

[crazy8wizard]

The Popsaurus is even better in these photographs than I was expecting, and an absolute must have for me! The Eoraptor and Guaibasaurus are ones I'll likely pick up for no other reason than the fact they're Triassic dinosaurs. Meanwhile, the Kaprosuchus is fun that's just because it's basically a copy of Todd Marshall's Kaprosuchus, minus the horns for some reason. The plesiosaurus is fine, although the lack of articulation at the base of the head bothers me a little. The rest are whatever. I've seen better, and I've seen worse.

[Nyrorosaurus]

Neovenator: I should hate it but I don't. The paintjob is really soft and subtle with nice blending and appears complete. That head is so weird though. I'll probably get it anyway.

Feel the same way about this one. Colors/patterning are really good, even though the head is extremely goofy

[Skorpio V.]

There are so few skips in the 6-inch line nowadays! LOVE pretty much all of them.

[marisaura]

that poposaurus may very well become the first mattel figure i get! their style isn't usually for me, but on top of being a unique species the quality of the figure seems to be a cut above many of the others.

[Mattyonyx]

It's interesting to note the difference between toys inspired by art like Poposaurus, and the more JW-Style stuff like Neovenator (those teeth... Ugh!)

[Eatmycar]

I'm sincerely impressed by these - I've ignored most of the mainline this year because of weak paint jobs, but... damn.

Good job, Mattel. That said, some are better than others.

Neovenator - I'm not sure why I love this thing, but I do. Maybe it is the egregious application of paint? Maybe it's the deco that screams Dynamation T. rex and hits my 33-year-old heart with nostalgia? Whatever it is, I want this biggie. I know I'll be taking an xacto knife to the upper jaw and removing some of those excess back teeth, but this thing is a beauty otherwise.

Guaibasaurus - I don't know what you are. Mattel clearly doesn't know what you are, but the color palette and sculpting look great. Easy purchase... assuming it is easy to find.

Kaprosuchus - I love it, It hits the major point of Kaprosuchus and hits them well, but it has slight room for improvement. The tail's size is constrained by the box, it could be a bit pudgier, and I wouldn't mind if the brows had a bit more of a point to them. Those critiques aside, must grab for me.

Avaceratops - Not bad? But the coloration and the patterns are a big turn-off. It screams edgy. Mattel's later ceratopsians have been kind of hit or miss since Dominion, though. I'll likely skip it, but I want to see in-hand shots.

Eo/Stegouros - Yikes. All of the aesthetics I dislike in Mattel's sculpting are just amplified here and it's frustrating because Stegouros is an adorable little critter. Mattel's just has a ghastly color palette and ugly red eyes.  I'm not sure why because they can clearly do cute dinosaurs. It just looks dumpy. Eoraptor looks like a bay leaf with a splash of marinara sauce on it and I never need to see it again.

Plesiosaurus - It's good? But this shot is just an upper-body shot. Need some side shots.

Poposaurus - Damn. The colors, the painting, the sculpting, it's all so well done on this girl. I don't know if its paleoaccurate. I haven't a clue about pseudosuchians, but the more crocodilians Mattel does the better. They keep knocking them out of the park.