Mattel's "Jurassic World" "Basic" (12" scale) Velociraptor "Blue" Review:
As anyone who is familiar with action figures over the last 5 or 6 years can tell you. manufacturers are moving away from super articulated action figures targeted at adult collectors towards less expensive, less complex toys aimed towards children. Part of this movement has been the introduction (some older collectors such as myself who remember product from Mego and other 70's manufacturers would say "reintroduction") of cheaply made, hollow 12" action figures generally priced between $9.99 and $12.99 (more expensive electronic, larger or "Deluxe" figures are higher) often referred to in collectors' circles as "shampoo bottle" figures for their resemblance to the licensed figural shampoo bottles that were everywhere in the late 70's and 80's.. Hasbro did this with their "Titans" line that had "Star Wars" and "Marvel" sub-lines. Mattel followed with their "Batman" and other related "DC Comics" lines and continues this trend with these "Jurassic World" figures.
The 12" "Jurassic World" line currently consists of 4 figures- Owen, Velociraptor "Blue", a generic Velociraptor and a Pachycephalosaurus. 2 additional figures, a Dilophasaurus and the hybrid monster Indoraptor, are scheduled for later in the year.
These figures, like the Megos of old, are packaged in a slim cardboard box with a plastic window in the front to easily view the enclosed figure. The boxes for all 4 figures feature identical graphics with the only differences being the figure-specific text identifying the enclosed action figure.
I had $10 in "Kohl's Cash" from buying Mother's Day gifts earlier this month and Kohl's is currently running a 10% off special on the "Jurassic World" line so I decided to treat myself to something as I knew after the discount and Kohl's Cash I would only be putting out a buck or two out of my own pocket. I have all of the standard releases from the 3.75" line (I still need the 2 boxed sets that are exclusive to Target but am hoping they get purchased for me as birthday gifts since my b-day is just over a week away
) so I was contemplating getting a duplicate of one of the dinos I already have and decided to pick up one of the 12" scale dinosaurs (As I have zero interest in a 12" Chris Pratt figure, Owen was an easy pass for me) as even if I was unimpressed with it, I would only be out a small amount of $$.
The Pachycephalosaurus just looks bad, it looks like some crappy dollar store toy so that was another easy pass for me. Velociraptor "Blue" and the generic Velociraptor are the same exact figure but with 2 differing decos so I chose the more visually dynamic "Blue" as my purchase for today.
Once freed from its cardboard and plastic prison, "Blue" is a pretty decent action figure (caveat: I only ended up paying $.84 for this figure including tax so I am probably enjoying it a lot more than I would have if I paid the full $11.99 + tax price). She is packed without her tail attached so she can fit into the small box. Once her tail is attached, she is a nice sized dinosaur figure and is actually more accurately scaled to a 12" human figure than the corresponding 3.75" version of the character is to a 3.75" human action figure.
Blue's main body is made out of a strong, rigid plastic and is hollow inside to keep the toy light and inexpensive. There are 7 points of articulation- swivel shoulders/hips/feet and a ball jointed tail. It would have been nice to have some kind of head/neck articulation and I firmly believe that any carnivorous dinosaur should have a hinged jaw but sadly, Mattel opted not to include any additional articulation. The paint deco is fairly basic in keeping with the low price point, but it is still pretty decently done up. The eyes are a bright vibrant yellow and 2 blue stripes run from her face to the midpoint of her tail.
While the lack of additional articulation will turn most adult collectors off, I am sure that this figure will entertain any child that has just come out of the theatre from seeing the movie (or any kid that loves dinosaur toys). Due to her size, I will probably be using her as a mount for a humanoid rider, especially since her solid legs offer some nice stability so I will not have to worry about her toppling off of my shelf. I doubt I will be buying any more of these unless they get clearanced out as I already have many, many raptors of all sizes and styles from collecting dinosaur toys for decades, but I really like the one I got today (again, how little I paid for it is probably affecting my enjoyment of it). I do, however, plan on picking up the Indoraptor that will be released later this year to add another Indoraptor to my display as it is a cheaper alternative to buying another super articulated version that is twice the price.
