In my last review, for the PNSO Centrosaurus, I stated that “paintjobs seldom make or break a figure for me, and if the paint is well applied, I’m usually still happy with the product.” Generally speaking, that statement is true, but there are exceptions. With Mattel in particular the paintjob a toy receives really can make or break a figure. Take for instance the Rhamphorhynchus, the Dino-Rivals and Attack Pack toys both had mediocre paintjobs and in the case of the Dino-Rivals toy it was downright sickly looking. I wanted nothing to do with them, and I never gave either of them a second thought.
The sculpt of the toy itself was okay, nothing extraordinary, plagued with avoidable inaccuracies and with its gigantic teeth, rather goofy looking. It wasn’t enough to save the toys from their unfortunate color schemes. But then came the Dino-Escape release, and it was then that I took notice. This toy has an exemplary paintjob that’s able to elevate the figure from mediocrity and so now, I have a Mattel Rhamphorhynchus. It still has all the flaws of the other variants, but they’re now easier to overlook.
Fellow reviewer, Suspsy, has already reviewed this toy and since this is a re-paint we’ll mostly just focus on the paintjob. For a more thorough review I suggest reading Suspsy’s review.
The Dino-Escape Rhamphorhynchus was released in 2022. Wild Pack toys from this wave have proven difficult to find but I got lucky at Wal-Mart when I found this lone pterosaur behind a half dozen or so green Masiakasaurus toys. It has a wingspan of 7.5” and a total length of 5”. The neck and wings can swivel around every which-way, the jaw can open and close, and the feet can swivel forward and back. It’s a fun and dynamic little toy.
The figure is painted with a light gray and black paintjob. The underside of the toy, its legs, and jaw, are all gray. The underside of the wings are painted black while their dorsal surface is gray with black edges and striping. The head and neck are black but the black gives way to gray along the back and terminates around the hips. About half the tail is black, including the fan on the end.
The black and gray color combo is an appealing one with nice contrast, reminiscent of extant seabirds and visually appropriate for a piscivorous pterosaur. It doesn’t stop there, however. Mattel adds a splash of orange on the wingtips and tip of the snout. That’s the cherry on top. This added touch of color really makes the figure pop and suddenly this once ugly toy is now one of the most attractively painted Mattel pterosaurs to date. It’s like a 90’s rom-com makeover!
The teeth are painted a creamy off-white color and the eyes are brown with black pupils. All-in-all there are five different colors being used on this diminutive toy. At a time when Mattel seems to be skimping on paintjobs this Rhamphorhynchus nicely illustrates the importance of a quality paintjob. I completely looked this toy over the first two times it was released but this variant was on my must-buy list. Who else can Mattel rope in with an appealing paintjob? Would a more appealing product offset the cost of more elaborate paintjobs?
The Mattel Dino-Escape Rhamphorhynchus is currently available, though seemingly hard to find. If you want it, you’ll have to hunt it down fast, the next wave of Mattel toys is due out soon. I’m sure that in time this toy will get another re-paint, but I doubt it will measure up to this one. Since this is a Dino-Escape toy it retails for about $7-8.
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That this figure has received three colour schemes now makes me think it’s selling well, which I think is great, it’s a nice toy of an important species. I wish they had made the tail crest vertical though, like it is on the real animal. The Jurassic World toys are really not for me, and Rhamphorhynchus is my favourite pterosaur, so I really would like an accurate figure of it. I hope Safari, PNSO or CollectA take notice of this figure’s popularity and make an accurate figure of Rhamphorhynchus!
The tail really is unfortunate, and unnecessary. Likewise, the lack of pycnofibers. Like I said in the review, so many of these inaccuracies are easily avoidable. We really do need an updated Rhamphorhynchus, although I would personally prefer to see a proper Pterodactylus finally come along.
That’s a striking improvement for sure; hopefully its scarcity means it’s selling well, which in turn hopefully sends a message to Mattel about the importance of good paint jobs on their toys.
This is definitely the best colour scheme of the three.