Review and photos by Faelrin, edited by Suspsy
If you had to ask me what my favorite scene in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is, it would easily be the opening sequence. So once I heard that Mattel was in fact releasing a set based upon that scene, I knew I had to have it, once it was finally released. The set contains a Mosasaurus, the Matchbox submarine, a Mercenary figure, and the highlight of this set (if not the Mosasaurus), the exclusive Indominus rex skeleton.
The set comes inside a huge box, although it has to be big considering the size of the contents within. The box itself is about 15.75 inches/40 cm tall, and 21.5 inches/54.6 cm long. The box art is a nicely done depiction of the opening scene of JW:FK, while also including a cutout to view the submarine toy included, as well as doing a good job showcasing the contents of the set (although the back of the box also has this covered in more depth). The only thing needing any major assembly is the Mosasaurus.
The Mosasaurus does not need to be reviewed extensively here as that has been done already. It is relatively the same as the one released in April (give or take the glossiness on the belly, which is more how the paint, etc., was applied, rather then an actual product difference). The only thing probably worth pointing out though is that the Mosasaurus toy seems to be scaled to how it was in real life, rather then how it appeared in either the first Jurassic World movie (where it was officially confirmed to be 120 feet long), or the new JW:FK, where it appears to be much larger then before.
The submarine is worth mentioning as it is a fun toy. Both of the arms have two joints each, which can be used to give them some fun poses. The left arm features a grabbing mechanism and the right one features a wheel that can spin. The submarine also has an electronic light feature, and depending on how you push the button on the top of it, it will turn on a blue light that may or may not flash. The Mercenary is included inside and is not visibly different then the one released together with a shock stick-like accessory and red Dimorphodon, other then lacking either of those items. The submarine also has room for two of the 3.75″ scale human figures to sit in it. It does seem to be relatively in scale to them as it was in the movie. It is also worth mentioning that the toy can be floated or submerged in water, though I have not attempted it.
The real highlight of this set is the exclusive Indominus rex skeleton. Not only is it roughly to scale with the rest of the 3.75″ line, it also features loads of articulation. There are joints at the jaw, head, neck, ribs, tail, legs, knees, ankles, and shoulders. The skeleton itself is about 8 inches/20 cm tall from the feet to the hip, and approximately 21 inches/53 cm long from the tip of the tail to the end of the mouth, in a horizontal position. The exact dimensions will differ depending on the pose. The shoulder joints were a bit stiff and needed to be moved very delicately to get them to loosen up (alongside having to use an Exacto knife to clean off excess plastic or paint, causing the joints to be tighter then necessary). The skeleton is pretty well-proportioned, and is mostly accurate to the creature featured in Jurassic World. The only thing on this skeleton that is not accurate to the Indominus rex, are the shape and placement of the teeth (aside from being very short and dull). I’m hoping that if Mattel makes an in the flesh version of this popular hybrid creature, the teeth on that one will be a bit more in line with the one in the film, since the jagged-looking teeth were one of its defining traits. This skeleton would also fit right along any of the STEM Fossil Strikers sets Mattel has released, even if it is not based on a real creature, as the sculpt and paint application on this toy is very consistent to the skeletons in those sets.
Altogether, this is a fun set. While the Mosasaurus may be a bit on the small side compared with its film counterpart in order to truly attempt to recreate a particular scene from that opening sequence, no doubt kids (and some collectors) will have fun playing with all of it. When this set first became available on Walmart’s online store, it was originally only available to purchase on the Walmart app, and for $40 (which was an absolute bargain since the Mosasaurus retails for approximately $30). I’m not sure if it is still available, so if one wants it, I would probably act fast, else your only other way to get it is by paying scalper’s ridiculously inflated prices on eBay. As far as I’m aware this set is also only available to those in the US.
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I actually would buy it only for the Skeleton!