Thanks to my handy clicker-counter and the DinoToyCollector website I was able to tally up 114 Velociraptor toys by Mattel. This includes various repaints, repacks, and toys outside the mainline but not the minis (I forgot them). It’s a rough estimate but it still gives you an idea of how many raptors Mattel has put out there. Meanwhile, there are about 13 Mattel raptor reviews on the DTB. This is possibly because the other reviewers are as unenthusiastic about these 31-year-old raptor designs as I am.
Don’t get it twisted, the original Jurassic Park is one of my absolute favorite movies and I credit it with launching my interest in dromaeosaurs. I’m just getting bored of these raptors. Most of the raptors I have I only have because they came with other toys I wanted, and I never felt compelled to get any others. This one is different though, it is the only mainline raptor that I bought just for the sake of having it. What makes it so special? Let’s dive in!
This Velociraptor is part of the Epic Evolution line but a re-release of the Ferocious Pack Velociraptor from the 2022 Dominion line. It has a ball-jointed neck capable of swiveling around, arms and legs that can rotate, and a jaw that can open. It measures about 8” long and stands 3” tall at the hips, putting it at about 1/18 in scale.
This is one of Mattel’s better raptor sculpts with decent proportions minus the oversized feet we typically see on these. The tail could also be a bit longer, but it looks decent enough. The head sculpt looks great and I like the orientation of the arms and the overall posture of the toy. Heck, it looks better than the first Hammond Collection raptor which I’ve grown to dislike more with the passage of time.
So, what compelled me to buy this Velociraptor when I’ve ignored all the others? Well, it was on clearance for $4 so that helped but ultimately it was the paint scheme. This Velociraptor is vivid red with a dark brown head and blotches running down the back. This means it is almost a dead ringer for the raptors we see in Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, the animated series on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim (here’s the scene but be warned, it’s graphic). Although this raptor is not identical to those in the show, it’s close enough to remind me of them.
The shade of red is quite striking which I suppose is a good thing since the paint app is otherwise weak with no variation in color on the underside, arms, or legs. At least there’s a bit on the tail. The lower jaw and underside of the neck are white, and the eyes are yellow with black pupils.
By this point I’m generally bored by Mattel’s raptors, and the franchise’s raptors in general. I’ve fully embraced these animals as stem-birds and prefer depictions of them as such. There’s a bit of nostalgia for the design but I’ve mostly left it back in the 90’s. But this recycled old toy with its outdated design managed to merge my love for Jurassic Park with one of the newer pieces of dinosaur media that I enjoy, and I like having it around for that reason. What would be better than this though is a line of licensed toys depicting the actual creatures and characters from Primal!
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