Type: Action Figure

Review: Parasaurolophus (The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Kenner)

Genus: Parasaurolophus Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Hadrosaur, Ornithopod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

4.7 (25 votes)

In the week leading up to the May 1997 opening of The Lost World: Jurassic Park, one of my local radio stations held a daily contest where listeners could phone in and win movie tickets by correctly spelling a dinosaur’s name.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Tapejara (Jurassic Park III, by Hasbro)

Genus: Pteranodon Brand: Hasbro, Jurassic Park Classification: Pterosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

3.6 (10 votes)

How the Tapejara ever became a toy in the Jurassic Park toy line is puzzling when you look back at the turbulent time before Jurassic Park III was released. Hasbro downsized after the failure of the JP Chaos Effect toys, and the lower than expected sales from Star Wars Phantom Menace toys.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Triceratops (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Kenner)

Genus: Triceratops Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Ceratopsian, Chasmosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

3.7 (9 votes)

Rounding out my assortment of Jurassic Park recolours is none other than the world’s most famous ceratopsid.

First released under the Lost World label in 1997, this Triceratops is rather small compared to the massive 1993 version. Its short horns and length of only 20 cm indicate that it is meant to represent a juvenile.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Velociraptor “Alpha” (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Hasbro)

Genus: Velociraptor Brand: Hasbro, Jurassic Park Classification: Dromaeosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

1.8 (17 votes)

The closure of Kenner by parent company Hasbro in 2000 meant that an entirely different team would design the toys for Jurassic Park 3. Many dinosaur collectors, including myself, feel that the quality of the line took a major nosedive as a result.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Velociraptor “Cyclops” (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Kenner)

Genus: Velociraptor Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Dromaeosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

3.5 (16 votes)

The various Jurassic Park lines have given us many Velociraptor toys over the years (and more still to come). One of the more interesting ones is the battle-hardened “Cyclops.”

Cyclops first appeared in the 1997 Lost World line, but like many of the smaller JP toys, it was re-released in subsequent years.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Pteranodon (The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Kenner)

Genus: Pteranodon Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Pterosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

4.5 (15 votes)

While it was by no means the largest pterosaur, Pteranodon, with its distinctive blade-shaped crest, remains the most recognizable. It was heavily featured in Jurassic Park 3 and also made a dramatic (and more accurate) cameo at the end of The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Tanystropheus (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Kenner)

Genus: Tanystropheus Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Reptile (other) Age: Triassic Type: Action Figure

3.4 (14 votes)

Tanystropheus was one of evolution’s more bizarre concoctions: a carnivorous reptile from the Middle Triassic with a spindly neck longer than its body and tail combined. Like the Dimetrodon, it appeared several times in various JP lines. This particular version is from the 1999 JP: Dinosaurs line.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Dimetrodon (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Kenner)

Genus: Dimetrodon Brand: Jurassic Park, Kenner Classification: Pelycosaur Age: Permian Type: Action Figure

3.7 (10 votes)

And now let’s tackle some Jurassic Park toys. First up is Dimetrodon. The famous finned ferocity first appeared in the original 1993 JP line. The humble toy must have been very popular indeed, as it would go on to be recoloured and re-released several times over the course of a decade.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Placerias (Tyco)

Genus: Placerias Brand: Tyco Classification: Therapsid (non-mammal) Age: Triassic Type: Action Figure

3.9 (10 votes)

Although the Dino-Riders line consisted mostly of familiar faces like Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Diplodocus, and, of course, Tyrannosaurus rex, there were a few obscure animals tossed into the mix. I had never heard of Placerias until I came across it on the shelf at Toys R Us.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Ankylosaurus (Tyco)

Genus: Ankylosaurus Brand: Tyco Classification: Ankylosaur, Ankylosaurid, Thyreophoran Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

2.6 (10 votes)

Time now to jump into the WABAC Machine and take a trip to 1988. It was a good time to be a kid or a collector. GI Joe and Transformers were still going strong, Barbie and Lego were around as always, and TMNT was taking its first steps towards iconic status.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Giganotosaurus (Carnage Collection by ReSaurus)

Genus: Giganotosaurus Brand: Carnage, Resaurus Classification: Allosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure Scale: 1:40

4.4 (14 votes)

The late 1990s saw the release of a particularly unique line of figures known as the Carnage Collection by ReSaurus. Eight (that I’m aware of) boldly patterned and articulated dinosaur models were produced before the line ended. The models seem very much aimed at kids, all representing flamboyant and mostly carnivorous dinosaurs.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT

Review: Tyrannosaurus rex (CamoXtreme series, Arctic version, Jurassic Park 3, by Hasbro)

Genus: Tyrannosaurus Brand: Hasbro, Jurassic Park Classification: Theropod, Tyrannosaur Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

2.1 (15 votes)

All this buzz over the next instalment of the Jurassic Park franchise, officially now in production under the title of ‘Jurassic World’ and set for a 2015 summer release, has spurred me to take a look back at some of the toys from previous films.

Buy on Ebay

Buy on Amazon

Buy on HHT