Triceratops (Jurassic Park 3 by Hasbro)

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Triceratops is one of the most famous and recognizable dinosaurs of all time. Anyone, even a member of the general public who knows absolutely nothing about dinosaurs, will recognize the classic three horns and frill. For over a century, Triceratops has been featured in countless books, movies, and other media where dinosaurs are involved. Therefore, it was pretty much guaranteed that Triceratops would be featured in all three of the Jurassic Park movies. In addition, Triceratops toys were present in the toylines for every single Jurassic Park movie. The first two Jurassic Park toylines were produced by the now extinct toy company Kenner. However, Hasbro won the rights to the toyline for Jurassic Park 3, and the toys came out in 2001. Many Jurassic Park fans were not impressed, and longed for the days of the Kenner toys. They found many flaws, including grievances such as poorly done attack poses and gaping Dino Damage wounds without covers. The Triceratops is one of the better figures of the line.

This Triceratops has a very nice sculpt for a toy. Unlike the carnivores such as the Velociraptor, the herbivores shown in Jurassic Park are generally somewhat accurate. And don’t go around whining about how the front legs are supposed to be slightly splayed and how the palms are facing the wrong way, because it’s just a toy. For a 9 year old (at the time of writing) toy, the accuracy isn’t too shabby. Triceratops was only seen for a few seconds in Jurassic Park 3, but the toy does bear a close resemblance to the Triceratops seen in the first two films. The horns have that “fossilized” look to them, and there are small scutes on the back and flanks, just like the ones in the movies. Overall, this Triceratops has some very good detailing for a toy, with plenty of realistic wrinkles, scales, and musculature. Even the Dino Damage wound shows little strings of muscle tissue. If there is one complaint to be made, besides the Dino Damage wound, it is that the frill is a bit too circular. When viewed from the front, the head looks a bit odd.

This Triceratops’ paint job is nice but not too movie accurate. A mixture of browns with a grey ridge on the back make up the main color scheme of the toy. In the movies, Triceratops was more of a purplish grey color. In addition, the horns on this toy are a bit bright. It would be nice if they had more of a brownish and greyish tint to them. Still, it’s a very nice paint job, and the little white dots on the frill add a nice creative touch. Even the claws are individually painted, which is a positive point that most toys and even some museum quality figures lack.

As a toy, this Triceratops has much more playability then museum quality figures. However, when compared to other Jurassic Park toys its playability isn’t too high. The Dino Damage wound is one thing. When Kenner produced the toys for the first two Jurassic Park movies, they included a feature called Dino Damage. Basically, it is a wound on the flank of the toy that can be covered by a little skin piece. Unfortunately, when Hasbro produced the Jurassic Park 3 toys, they decided to forgo the Dino Damage cover. This move is widely criticized by Jurassic Park toy enthusiasts to this day. One of the ribs is a button that can be pressed in order to create a little roar. In addition, there is a headbutting action when the tail is pressed upwards. Sadly, this mechanism does not work very well. The head cannot move very far, and the tail must be pressed very hard in order for the tail to move. It is much easier to just lift the head up with one’s hand. Finally, the legs are fully poseable, but the shape of the body prevents them from being able to be in unrealistic positions.

Even though it’s not the best Jurassic Park toy ever made, the Jurassic Park 3 Triceratops is still a cool figure that is worth owning for any Jurassic Park fan. Luckily, it can be found for cheap prices since it was released only 9 years ago. If you wish to buy it loose (without the original box), only a few dollars would need to be spared. If you want to acquire one MIB, a.k.a. mint in box (I’m looking at you, diehard JP completists), they can be found for around $15, which isn’t too far off from the retail price of $10 in 2001. Be wary of sellers who charge exorbitant prices though. Anything above $20 is just too much to pay for this neat little toy. Your best bet for getting this toy is off of eBay here.