Jurassic World: Dominion - Velociraptor (Extreme Damage)

 

In the summer of 2022 I was finally able to take in the latest Jurassic World movie, Dominion, and as a result the plethora of toys being released started to grab my eye a bit more. The Extreme Damage subline of the toys offered a fun little play feature. Our look at this series brings us to the popular Velociraptor, fresh with a new deco.

For starters, this is just a great mold of this breed. The new paint deco is probably one of my favorites. The skin is molded in a granite color with dark blue highlights running up and down it's head and back. The talons on the feet have been painted black, where as some previous versions went unpainted. The eyes have been painted red and look very eerie.

There is articulation in the jaw, neck, arms and legs. The head is able to swivel from side to side and has some up and down range of motion. The mouth is able to be opened, displaying a nice set of painted teeth. The arms are able to move in a full 360 degrees, as well as being able to swivel out to the sides. The legs have motion at the hips, but sadly that's it.

There is a button on the back that when pressed activates the Extreme Damage gimmick. There is a piece inside that essentially rotates that reveals "bloody" red tissue. It's a simple gimmick, but one that I find fun.

A new feature added to the Jurassic World toys is an embedded "DNA" chip on each toy. This is basically a hidden QR code that is meant to work with a mobile phone app that when scanned, unlocks the dinosaur. After being unlocked, it adds it to your virtual dino collection but also offers facts about the dinosaur. A simple game can also be played via the app. On this particular dino, the chip is hidden in the back, just behind the button you press for the damage gimmick.

I don't know what it is about dinosaurs that is so fascinating, but even in my mid-40's these beasts keep drawing me in. Mattel has done a great job in recent years reinvigorating life into the Jurassic Park/World brand and this Extreme Damage version of the Velociraptor is a great example of what they are capable of. Even as we come close to closing out 2022, this toy (and others from the line) can still be found on retail toy shelves.

Matchbox: Jurassic World Dominion - '86 Ford F-150 Truck

 

'86 Ford F-150 Truck

While I'm more of a Chevy guy, I can appreciate this old square body style pick up truck. I believe this is a brand new mold, which makes it that much more special. The truck made a short appearance at the beginning of the Jurassic World Dominion movie, belonging to Chris Pratt's character. Because of this it has a very basic design, unlock the previous truck from this series we looked at. All metal body with a chromed chassis, this is a solid truck. I do expect Mattel to get their use out of this mold and I for one will be buying additional versions.

Matchbox: Jurassic World Dominion - '15 Chevy Silverado

'15 Chevy Silverado

While I'm not crazy about the deco, this is a beautiful casting and too good to pass up. I don't mind the splattered mud and the brown tires/wheels, but I could have done without the dinosaur motif and the scratches. Even with all the side deco, Mattel still managed to find it within their budget to apply detail to the front and rear of the vehicle as well. I am holding out hope we see this mold in a future wave or mainline series as even this version wasn't the easiest to track down at retail.

Jurassic World: Dominion - Dimetrodon (Extreme Damage)

 

I don't know what it is about this Extreme Damage subline of the new Jurassic World Dominion line, but I love them! This new Dimetrodon mold is excellent and one of the first of the new toys that I saw at retail.

Most toy manufacturers have become more consciences of the environment and with this more and more plastic is being removed. This is the case with the smaller assortment of Extreme Damage dinos, with the whole toy basically being exposed. This does however give you a great up close look at the figure and if you're like me, you can easily inspect all the figures hanging on the pegs to pick out the one you think has the cleanest paint apps.  

The back of the box showcases the toy and the DNA chip feature. In the lower left corner is a small cross sell of other small dinosaurs included in this first wave. At least one of these will get a future post.

When I first laid eyes on this toy I was impressed and I was equally impressed by the time I got him out of the packaging. I've always like the Dimetrodon for some reason and this is a great representation. The body is cast in a dark lime green with beige used for the lower jaw. Dark brown paint apps highlight the dino's back along the sides of the red fin. Speaking of the fin, it too has some dark paint app deco.

In the articulation department, you have limited movement, but enough for a toy this size. The head is able to move side to side and up and down a bit. The lower jaw is able to move as well. All four limbs have a good range of motion as well.

The right side features three tear marks in the dino's skin that showcases the Extreme Damage gimmick, while the left side features two tear marks.

The DNA chip on this toy is cleverly hidden inside the fin. The rear section has a portion that pulls up to reveal the chip. If you've not downloaded the free Jurassic World app, I have to admit it's pretty cool. I've had fun just locating the DNA chip on various toys in the store and scanning them.

Here's a quick screen capture of the app for the Dimetrodon. Once the DNA chip is scanned, it adds the dinosaur to your collection. Here you can manipulate the camera to get a good look at the animated beast. You can also use augmented reality to put the dino in your own world. The videos tab will give you video clips of the dino from some sort of media, whether it be a clip from one of the Jurassic Park or Jurassic World movies or even from some of the animated shows. There is also a game you can play where you try to capture the dino...it's rather primitive, but I've found myself playing it on more than one occassion.

Right above the section of the fin that pulls out revealing the DNA chip is a small portion that acts as the trigger for the damage effect gimmick. Pulling this section activates the rotating damage from a matching green skin color to a bright red color that mimics bloody damage. It's a rather simply gimmick, but one I find decidingly fun to mess with.

The Dimetrodon toy is exclusive to Walmart stores, as is the rest of the Extreme Damage subline. It retails for about $11 so it won't set you back too much in my opinion. I think it's a great toy with a fun gimmick and I look forward to more Dimetrodon toys making their appearance in the future. 

Jurassic World: Dominion - Tyrannosaurus Rex (Extreme Damage)

In full disclosure I've been sitting on the edited images for this post for awhile. I had hoped to have it ready for the movie's premiere, but between vacation and trying to get caught up with work it just didn't happen. None the less, here were are with our first look at a few Jurassic World Dominion toys to be featured on the blog. It seems fitting with start off with THE beast, T-Rex himself.

In light of a lot of companies being more conscience about the amount of plastic being used in their packaging, Mattel opted to go with a windowless box where most of the toy is displayed. I'm not overly crazy about this...I guess I don't like the idea of people "handling" the figure I'm about to buy. However it is a lot nicer than closed box packaging that is also becoming the norm in certain toy lines.

The Extreme Damage subline isn't new to the Jurassic Park/World toys and since it has a gimmick the open packaging makes a little more sense. In the packaging you have access to the button that flips the damage on the dinosaur. There is also a few small diagrams at the top of the packaging showing how this play gimmick works. 

The packaging itself features a large image of a T-Rex on the left side, while the background has a cool landscape, complete with a helicopter depicted in the sky flying over our toy dinosaur. Underneath the large dino head is the new JW Dominion logo, complete with the dinosaur's name across the bottom. Just above the name on the right side is the Extreme Damage logo. I believe this is the same logo Mattel has used before in previous lines.

Flip the packaging around to the back and you're greeted with a large product image of the dinosaur, along with how the Extreme Damage gimmick works again. On the left side is a section that talks about the embedded DNA chip (QR code essentially) and how it works with the new Jurassic World app. I had planned to share some screen shots of the app and how it works, but decided to focus on the toy itself. The app is free to download and with the open packaging you can scan most of these DNA chips and interact w/ the app without having to spend any money. The bottom left corner does showcase some of the additional dinosaurs offered in the Extreme Damage subline.

Upon removing the dino from it's cardboard prison there is a bit of assembly involved. The tail has to be attached to the rear of the dino which is easy as it simply plugs and snaps into place. From head to tail he measures approximately 19 inches long. With his overall length I did have some difficulty fitting this guy in my light box without having the side seams of the background exposed. There are much larger versions of the T-Rex toy, but this one is a good size and more budget friendly in my opinion.

The majority of the figure is cast in brown plastic. Additional paint apps bring the figure to life however, such as the splotches of black used on the face (around the eyes) and down the neck and back of the figure. The lower jaw I believe was made of a lighter color plastic and not painted, however the molded tongue and teeth have been painted as well. Finally his claws on his large feet have also been painted black. Mattel isn't new to making dinosaur toys so by now they've nearly perfected the molded details such as the way the skin looks. They did a good job at capturing a leather look while also having reptilian features. It's been awhile since I've handled a Jurassic Park/World toy of this size and I have to say I am impressed.

From an articulation standpoint, I counted 10 points. On the head, only the upper jaw moves. There are two neck joints that allow the head great pose ability. Both arms have have a ball & socket joint and move freely. The legs move at the hips and the feet have a cut just above the ankle. The tail has just one joint and that is where it connects to the body.

Located on the top, right above the hips is a small integrated button. This is what triggers the Extreme Damage gimmick...basically revealing torn, red flesh through the exposed sections of the skin. These exposed sections appear on both sides of the T-Rex, though each side has different shapes for the tears. Upon pressing the button, a section "rolls" back and forth between normal skin and the bloody skin. I don't know why I find this little gimmick so amusing, but I do.

Overall I think this is a great representation and fun toy of the Tyrannosaurus Rex we all know and love. Kids will like the Extreme Damage gimmick as well. It's got some great molded detail and some good paint apps. I am a little disappointed that some of the black detail on the back doesn't carry over to the tail more. Also it would have been nice for the claws on his tiny hands to be painted. There is also one claw on the inside of each foot that escaped paint. He also scales pretty well with some of the other figures in the line. Otherwise this is a really fun toy and at basically $20 it won't break most people's budgets. If you're looking for something bigger however, check out the $60 priced Super Colossal version.