Dino Trackers Danger Pack Nothosaurus No flipper feet Jurassic World Dino Trackers Danger Pack Item No.: Asst. HLN49 No. HLN53 Manufacturer: Mattel Includes: n/a Action Feature: Pull tab to reveal app-scannable DNA Retail: $7.99-$10.99 Availability: January 2023 Other: Big jaws
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I kept seeing what was left from the Dino Trackers Danger Pack cases but it took a while before I tripped over a Nothosaurus at the grocery store, of all places. It's funny - as a kid I remember finding some Return of the Jedi figures first at Longs Drugs. I've mostly skipped buying Jurassic toys as a matter of practicality - if I can't find it in a store, I don't buy it. This goober was going for $50 on Amazon the day I found it at the store, which is ridiculous for this figure. And for the money, this is a very nice figure even if it costs an extra buck of two at a non-toy store.

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At about 7 1/2-inches long, it's big. You get four jointed limbs, a swivel tail, an opening jaw, and a head that can lunge forward. There's a pull-out tab to reveal DNA that serves no actual fun play purpose, but will be fun for people that use the app. I don't. But those that do can probably scan it, shrug, and then collectors in 10 years can lament its existence because it adds a part and a sticker to increase the price during an era of toy inflation. But I prod too much - this is still a good toy for the money.

Mattel seems to give more love to two-legged carnivores than anything else, so whenever there's a nifty four-legged, finned, or otherwise stable-on-a-table dinosaur, they're in short supply. Mattel's interpretation of the Nothosaurus has four feet, but Schleich's has finned feet. Wikipedia and a lot of artwork also seem to favor fins and scalier skin, whereas Mattel has a much smoother looking monster that seems more on par with modern movie monsters. In many respects, it's probably a lot more sensible for a semi-aquatic Triassic-era creature to be done in that style. The claws are unpainted and the tail sticks out, with a design that seems to have elongated the head a bit and potentially shortened the tail. It fit in the packaging nicely, and for all I know the dimensions were dictated by the assortment's packaging size.

There's no action feature, but at retail price it's a wonderful toy with lots of good design ideas. The head has all the paint. The tongue, eyes, tooth, cream-colored neck and chin, and head all have some paint. There's an excellent dark purple fade on the head that's subtle and makes the details pop nicely, and she looks slightly more like a CGI-era monster than a classic dinosaur toy.

Back when I was a kid, most dinosaur toys were stiff and generally not articulated plastic monsters. As the 1980s went on we saw things like Playskool's Definitely Dinosaurs and Tyco's Dino-Riders give us better terrible lizards, and while things like jointed legs aren't really essential they're neat. I love the moving head and jaws, and the swivel tail is a nice touch - but what really impressed me is that they molded the belly in the peach plastic color. That means there's no paint to scrape off there, it looks good, and no doubt it saves them on production costs because nobody has to paint that part. It looks good, too!

I assume this goofball is going to wind up on a shelf, but I've been eyeballing buying a case from work to get just this one creature and that seemed kind of foolish. I really like it, and since it's technically a 3 3/4-inch scale figure I don't feel bad having bought it. If you see it for a reasonable price, know that it's a cute and sturdy little toy. But I wouldn't pay the $25-$50 prices on the secondary market to get one.

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