Every Mattel Jurassic World Tyrannosaurus I’ve bought since 2018 was supposed to be the last one but when the company keeps releasing new and improved versions of one of your favorite pop culture dinosaur designs, it’s hard to resist. I now have 7 Mattel Tyrannosaurus toys but to be fair, that’s only a fraction of the number that Mattel has made. When the flood of Jurassic World: Rebirth toys was unleashed upon us, the three different versions of the film’s T. rex immediately stuck out to me. Although still a Jurassic World-style T. rex, this new one clearly wasn’t Rexy. It was a familiar face with a fresh makeover. I had to have one, but only one, and since I’m not a madman I decided to settle on the smallest, simplest, and most affordable of the three: the Lab Lockdown Tyrannosaurus rex.
The Lab Lockdown T. rex is a no-frills action figure. The articulation is limited, and its only action feature is a button-activated snapping jaw. The neck is articulated at its base and the range of motion is excellent for what it is, better than some of the Hammond Collection toys! The arms are articulated with universal joints at the shoulders. The tail, which comes detached from the body, can swivel about and rotate at its base. The legs are articulated at the hips. They can pivot outwards slightly and lock into place at various points when rotated. The ankles can twist around too. The articulation may be basic but it’s enough to allow for a few decent poses, and an inquisitive head tilt if nothing else.
The toy stands at about 6.5” (16.51 cm) tall at the hips and measures 19.5” (49.53 cm) long, so it’s roughly the same size as the Extreme Chompin T. rex. Scaled down from the 40-foot (12 meters) length of an actual T. rex we get a scale of 1/24.
In overall form this is a thick and chunky T. rex that’s sure to please collectors that have grown tired of Rexy’s emaciated visage. To be fair to Rexy though, she was in her 30’s. Elderly, by T. rex standards. Rebirth’s Tyrannosaurus looks to be in its prime and that’s well reflected here.
The neck is thick and held in a loose S curve, which looks much better than the straighter neck designs of Mattel’s other rexes. It’s also thick and muscular, with lots of folds and loose, bunched up skin. The arms are appropriately small, muscular, and held somewhat close to the chest with the fingers curled inward. The torso is barrel-shaped and deep chested, and the legs are lean and muscular with significantly smaller feet than its predecessors. The tail is a bit short and spindly but not alarmingly so. A slight leftward curve in the tail tip makes it look shorter than it actually is.
The teeth are rubbery inserts that are proportional to the toy and appear sharp despite being quite soft and pliable. The teeth extend a little too far back, but I’ve seen some customizations that have shaved a few teeth off to good effect. The inside of the mouth is well detailed with a textured palate and grooves on the surface of the tongue. Scales of different shapes and sizes decorate the face, with labial scales along the mouth, large scales clustered along the lower jaw, and bony bosses and horns over the snout, brows, and around the orbits. Faint scaring is evident about the face with a particularly nasty looking cut on the right maxilla. Nostrils and ear openings are present and I’m not sure that ear openings have ever been sculpted on a Mattel T. rex before, I would have to double check past releases.
Most of the body is covered in fine pebbly scales but the underside of the body and tail, and the legs below the ankles are only detailed with wrinkles. This T. rex has a lot of bunched up skin folds and furrows, particularly over the back and thighs. Three rows of osteoderms run down the back. The detail work really is spectacular.
The figure is dark brown with a pale jaw, throat, and chest. Dark gray bands run over the face, neck, and back. Even though this is ultimately another brown T. rex it’s still a refreshing change from Rexy’s tone. The Power Devour and Super Colossal T. rex toys also being released for Rebirth are a combo of gray, black, and white and are more eye catching than this one but this one appeals to me more due to its size, price point, and overall form.
The teeth are cast in white, the inside of the mouth is dull red, and the toe claws aren’t painted but cast in black and inserted into the feet. The fingernails and hallux toes aren’t painted. There are no paint apps on the tail and while some dark banding would have been nice, are we really surprised that Mattel cut corners with the paint app? Although I like the gray used for the other two Tyrannosaurus toys, they also don’t have banding on their tails and since the dark bands contrast more with their gray bodies they look more unfinished than the Lab Lockdown T. rex does. At least with this T. rex the bands blend in with the brown coloration, so their absence on the tail is not as obvious.
When it comes to detail, anatomy, and form, the Lab Lockdown Tyrannosaurus rex is Mattel’s best Tyrannosaurus to date. It is a bit small, and it doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but it has just enough articulation and a lot of aesthetic appeal. Will this be my last Mattel T. rex though? I won’t lie to myself. If this design is used for a future Hammond Collection release, I won’t be able to ignore it. The Lab Lockdown Tyrannosaurus is just now showing up in stores and online and retails for about $30. I don’t think it matters how many Mattel Tyrannosaurus toys you have, this T. rex reboot should find a place in your collection.
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Yes, I like this Rex too. The stance and shape looks really good, reminds me of a Harryhausen dinosaur. A must have indeed.
Beautiful new design, It kinda remembers me to the V-Rex!