There are multiple styles of the 3 Dinos tube, as well as blind-bagged singles and a blind-bagged 15-pack. I'm reading there are at least 39 of the buggers, and I got a duplicate in my first blind bag as a red T-Rex was in it. Ah well. For barely-painted figures I can't say the 3-pack is a killer deal, but it reminds me of the underrated The Phantom Menace Battle Bags where you got cool fish and space animals in a sack for ten bucks. Or on clearance for two bucks. With that in mind, these are much nicer - for $1.15 per figure, the tube was a nice buy. However unpainted Star Wars Command figures are only slightly smaller, and got to around 55 cents or so per figure in the smaller sets.
The tube I snagged had three small dinosaurs which are about the size of the hatchlings and sidekicks from previous lines. Each one is 3 1/2-4-inches long in my set, with the Triceratops being the shortest and the Mosasaurus being the longest. Some of the little guys are really insubstantial, but this set was more or less worth it thanks to the garish red Tyrannosaurus Rex that reminds me a lot of a Bullyland figure I got as a wee lad.
I can't say no to a set of my favorites, so a Triceratops was an easy buy. The first Jurassic Park toy I bought was an Ellie Sattler because I wanted the hatchling - and now I've got a similarly sized toy with a sunken skull-like face and none of those pesky feathers that science and "facts" seem to be interested in these days. The dark grey plastic feels very sturdy and the sculpt is great, complete with horns and a really bumpy back. The "JW" mark is sculpted on the figure rather than painted, and the only paint on him can be found on his light green eyes. I wish they could glow in the dark, because it looks like it should.
I didn't think I needed another T-Rex until I saw how garishly colored this one was. Black eyes and a yellow belly make this one of the ugliest - and therefore best - toys in the line. I've seen green, I'm down with brown, but I'll take red instead. He has a JW scar on his leg as well, once again sculpted and not painted. At first glance the figure looks unpainted and that makes the decision to spend pennies on belly color seem wasteful. The skinny little guy has no problems standing right out of the tube, although I do worry that time in a toy box will change that fact.
The sculpting work is pretty great, with little veiny details and hints that you're seeing its ribs in spots. The teeth are clearly definied, and the black eye paint really is useful for giving him just a tiny bit more personality. At this scale and price, it's tough to really convey things but as you can see, they did make him into a nicely expressive little figure.
Rounding out the set is an aquatic dinosaur which I presume to be a Mosasaurus thanks to it being in the movie. At 3 4/5-inches long, he's a skinny little guy and reminds me of the Sando Aqua Monster from Star Wars, plus he's got a good amount of paint. The base grey figure has brown, blue, and black layers on his back and (sadly) eyes which are left undecorated beyond the stripe. There's also a stamp of the product number for this set on his belly, while the figure itself is largely smooth and not particularly intensive in detailing. You'll find a JW mark behind his flipper, basically around the armpit. Given the lack of prehistoric sea creatures as toys, I can't not snap this one up - heck, I bought the LEGO one over ten years ago too. My only gripe was that the black stripe on his back - on my sample, at least - was rough and not applied cleanly. Obviously these are meant to be cheap toys, and that shows.
This product is an intriguing one due to what it is, how it's sold, and what its function is in the marketplace. It's very similar to the Tim Mee Dinosaurs or any cheap dinosaur toys you can get at Walmart for less money, but the JW branding is the selling point. The key difference is these are $1-$2 each (depending on if you get 1, 3, or 15) and Tim Mee's were 25 cents or less - including many duplicates, of course. Hasbro's are of a much higher quality in terms of sculpting and detail, plus the tube packaging pits them against Safari and other toy lines that offer more creatures at a slightly higher price. $4.44 is cheap - perhaps this would be more suited to a lower-end retailer than Walmart, but I suspect that the tubes will fly off the shelves, as will the single blind bags. The 15-packs at $15 are a tough buy, because really, that's a big gamble. If you like tiny dinos or the Jurassic sidekick toys, this is a worthwhile thing to track down - I'll probably go buy some more. And probably a 15-pack.
16bit.com is best not viewed in Apple's Safari browser, we don't know why. All material on this site copyright their respective copyright holders. All materials appear hear for informative and entertainment purposes. 16bit.com is not to be held responsible for anything, ever. Photos taken by the 16bit.com staff. Site design, graphics, writing, and whatnot credited on the credits page. Be cool-- don't steal. We know where you live and we'll break your friggin' legs.
RSS 
