JPToys - News

Not exactly toy news but worth passing along anyway. I ran across this photo of the JP/// Burger King prompotion sheet at Dan's this afternoon. In the picture you can see the four new cups and the special box of dinosaur cookies. When I last reported about the Burger King promo we were not sure if this was going to be a "Canadian" only promo or a joint promo with the U.S. but it looks as if this particular deal will be for those lucky Canadians only with the U.S. Burger King's promoting the movie "Shrek" at this time. RAPTOR RUMBLE STUDIO BOX SHOT

Well, it's too late to bid on this item which was won on ebay (it was won with the buy it now option) but we still get to see a new box shot photo of the LEGO Raptor Rumble Studio.

Just wanted to let everyone know that we're still here and I'm sorry for the lack of updates but nothing major news-wise has really happened. I will let you know that Nick is working hard on a review of the Marine Copter (pictured below) and it should be up very soon so be on the look-out for that. Also, don't forget to check out our newly opened message board which is growing fast so go check it out! May 27, 2001

"Canebrake" posted these very cool pictures of the new Air Heli Sabre Marine Copter over at the inGenNet forums. Here's his description of it: 1. Electrical sounds for the helicopter's blades 2. Electrical "firing" sounds when missle is launched 3. Electrical "damage" sounds when the dino-damage peice is taken off It sounds like the thing is crashing. 4. Blades twirl when you turn a dial 5. Missle fires 6. Cool paint job! Two-toned green. 7. Realistic pilot with oxygen mask and detailed life support system 8. Opening hatch and engine cover 9. Realistic Dino Damage and finally number 10- My rating for this toy! May 26, 2001

Would you like a free JP/// promo card? Well who wouldn't? Inkworks cards is giving away this nice card featuring the pteranodon for visitors to their site. Just follow this link for instructions on how to get yours.

Over on the inGenNet message boards, JP Site C has posted a couple of photos of the new Raptor Cycle pursuit toys. Included in the set (as you can see) is a new raptor along with Alan Grant and a new motorcycle. This set is retailing at around $14. I'm also looking for pictures of the Air Heli Sabre Marine Copter which just came out, so if you have any pictures to pass along just let me know.

My buddy Dan came through once again with a response from Hasbro regarding the new toys. Since I pretty much agree with Dan's response to what Hasbro had to say, I'll just let it speak for itself. Here's his e-mail with Hasbro's respnose in yellow: Interesting news today. While reading some posts on the IngenNET boards, I read a guy who had a theory that maybe there were more playsets coming out, and that the Raptor Attack playset was connectable to some other ones. I decided to check it out. I asked if there were more, and why the Raptor Playset is made up of old repaints. Here's their reply: "Thank you for contacting us. That is the only playset scheduled at this time. The repaints were done in order to keep the cost down. We appreciate your interest. Lois Consumer Affairs Department" I dunno about you, but I'm kinda mad at this. First, do they really expect collectors of JP merchandise to not know that the playset is made of repaints? And "to keep the cost down?" Why, so they can charge $50 for more fence pieces in the cynical hope that people will buy the same stuff twice? Maybe Hasbro doesn't realize it, but I for one would be willing to pay $50 for something new and cool, like the TLW Electronic Trailer. However, I refuse to pay that much for something I could dig out of my closet FOR FREE. I plan to write a letter of protest to Hasbro. This is completely stupid. The figure resizing I can take (and I can even like), but this response was too much.

I put it off for a long time while working on other site additions, but I finally got around to adding some hatchling series photos for your viewing pleasure. I'm constantly adding and updating photos in the various sections so make sure you keep checking back. Speaking of updating photos, I've updated the JP/// series with some pictures of theses guys in their actual boxes instead of those old toy fair pictures that we had before, so check them out! RELEASE DATE FOR JP3 TRADING CARDS I'm not a big card collector myself but I know that some of you that check this site probably are, so I thought I'd pass along this bit of info. that was found on e-bay. This promo sheet for the new cards which will be released on July 5th, announces a new 3-D technology which seems to make the dinosaurs jump off the card at you! Click on the photo for a better look.

I came across this article over at JP 3 HQ this afternoon. According to Brunico Communications, Inc.'s Strategy, Burger King will offer a series of JP/// toys as well as a box of cookies and a drinking cup with every kid's meal. For now this is a Canadian only promotion but we can probably expect the same for the U.S. soon.

Hot off the presses are theses two new reviews from our resident reviewer Nick. He took the time to review the Military General and the Eric Kirby figures. If you missed his first two reviews, check under the news for May 17th. Here's what Nick had to say: Military General & T-rex-This figure was the first with Dr. Alan Grant (see review). He is the tallest out of all the figures in this series. He’s about 4 inches tall. Half an inch taller. As most military people he wears a grayish green tank top with, a camouflage shirt and pants, dog tags, and black boots. On his left leg there’s a slash but the weird thing about it is that it’s not open. Well that’s for me, maybe it’s open for others but I don’t really know. He to comes with an oversized gun. To me it looks as if a heavy gas powered gun witch fires a long orange missile. What stinks about him is the gun is to big for him and it doesn’t stay in his hand. Included with him is a juvenile T-rex, which doesn’t satisfy my needs for a baby dino. To me it looks exactly like the bull T-rex from the lost world but smaller and in different colors. The Rex is brown and a grayish- greenish all over with black strips on its back. The dino is 2 1/2 inches tall and about 5 inches long. What I dislike most about it is that it stands up by a small plat form type thingy on each leg. It makes it look even worse. The Military General is probably the most detailed figure in the series. But the Dino could have been a lot better. The package is the same as all the rest but with a different name. The best feature of this figure is probably the details on it. So, I'd have to give this figure a 3.5 out of five stars. Eric Kirby & Alpha Pteranodon-This figure set is probably the best set in the series, well to me. The only negative thing about him is that he’s a bit too short. How short, well try 3 inches, that’s a little too short for my expectations. He is well detailed, but only his arms and hips move. His legs don’t move and he doesn’t stand up straight. He really doesn’t come with much besides a flashlight which stays in his hand (must have something to do with the movie). He wears a white undershirt, a red t-shirt with a tear on the end of the sleeve, green belt, blue shorts, brown backpack, And what seems to be either a GPS or a Gameboy. Included with this package is an Alpha Pteranodon. The Pteranodon is quite different than the TLW pteranodons. The dino is about 4 inches standing and its wingspan reaches a length of about 9 1/2 inches long. What makes it the coolest set is that the Pteranodon can grab Eric by the shoulders in it claws. That’s pretty cool to me. This too must have something to do with the movie?!? To rap up the review about this figure, Id like to say they did a wonderful job detailing him but they made him to small, but we can’t change that now. The whole set was really well detailed. So my overall rating for this figure is 4 stars out of 5. There are going to be things said that will be negative and some that will be positive. All we can hope for is that if there is going to be a forth Jurassic park movie that Hasbro will bring back the old sizes in the figures and weapons, but keep the size in the dino included. We can only hope!

Not much going on in the toy world today but I did receive this e-mail from my good buddy Dan who asked the guys and gals at Hasbro why the new toys were so small.. Here's their response which even furthers my belief that they have no idea what the consumers want: "Thank you for contacting us regarding the Jurassic Park /// line. Our marketing team made the decision to change the size of the figures." Well, that's great for the marketing team but what about us consumers? I suggest that if we want to see things done right in the future that we should e-mail them and let them know how we feel! Our great reviewer Nick has completed his latest reviews on the Military General and Billy which should be up sometime tomorrow morning. That's it for now and have a safe and happy weekend everyone!

Before we get to his great review, I would like to welcome Nick (jp3rapter) to our team here at JP TOYS CENTRAL. He will be helping me with the day to day chores of keeping you up to date with the latest JP toy news, and what a way to kick of his debut than with a two part review (part 3 & 4 should be up sometime tomorrow or early Saturday) taking a look at the Amanda Kirby and Alan Grant figures. Here what he had to say: Part three of the review will be about the figures from JP3. The figures are all well detailed, but smaller in size compared to JP and TLW figures. Well let’s get on with the review. Amanda Kirby and Spinosaurus-when I bought this figure I could see the difference in size. Amanda Kirby is about 3 and a half inches tall, while the old figures are about FIVE inches tall. Big difference. She with a small three prodded looking missile with an oversized launcher, which looks like a machine gun. Her clothes are very detailed with a rip in her left pant leg. She wears a white undershirt, Blue button up shirt, black gloves, tan pants and black boots. Included in the package was a juvenile dino. Not like the old dinos, which were all babies, this dino is bigger and badder. It comes with a juvenile Spinosaurus. As the figure the Spino is well detailed. The spino is about 2 and a half inches tall and about 4 and a half inches long. The colors of the Dino are really cool too. Its indigo or tan middle of body down and brown from the back to fin with blue streaks inside the Spino’s fin. It’s better in size and detail than the old Dino’s. I was satisfied with my purchase. Besides the difference in size with the figure and weapon, but well satisfied with the dino. The package is pretty cool too. It’s made of red rock (cardboard) with a Spino breaking through the left corner, which is pretty cool. At the edge of the right side in a striped warning sign. My overall rating for this figure is 4 out of 5 stars. Dr. Alan Grant & Velociraptor-This was the first figure I bought. At a price of 5.79, I thought it was decent. This figure is 3 in a half inches tall as with all the other figures. He’s not wearing a hat this time (??????????). He does wear a white button up shirt with a bandana tied around his neck, black gloves, brown belt, green pants with a tear in the right pant leg, and black shoes. He comes with a rather cool weapon, which is to, a bit to big for him. He comes with a grapple hand or whatever you want to call it. It is pretty cool because it actually opens and closes. Included in his package was a juvenile Velociraptor. It’s about 2 inches tall and 4 inches long. Its whole body accept for it’s back which is red, is dark brown with dark blue strips all around. To me it looks like a Cyclops Raptor from TLW and JP Dino’s, but smaller and in a different color. It to is well detailed. Since this was the first figure I bought, I was very excited to open it up and play around with it. I was very please to with my purchase of this figure. The package did not change at all besides the name at the bottom. All I’m wondering is “why did Hasbro make them so dang small.” But my overall rating out of five will have to be a 4.5!

"Britt" sent Dan over at Dan's JP3 page this very cool photo of the raptor attack studio playset from Lego which will contain two raptors, a Pteranodon, actor, actress, and a cameraman. It has 154 pieces and will reatil for $19.99. ELECTRONIC HATCHLINGS SHOWING UP There has been plenty of talk going on the inGenNet boards about these little guys showing up. I personally haven't spotted any but from the descriptions that I've been hearing they sound pretty cool. Apparently these new hatchlings are different from the old ones from Jurassic Park and TLW in that they have an electronic sensor in them that gives off a sound when you wave your hand in front of them. The set includes a Triceratops, a T-Rex, and a Velociraprtor. Be on the look-out for theses guys and let me hear from you if you spot any. Update: (5/22/01) - The hatchlings are indeed showing up in fact, I spotted some over the weekend at my local Toys 'R' Us. So be on the look-out for them and you can check out a picture of the T-Rex hatchling in the JP/// series of photos.

After reading our review make sure to check out our new Review section which is where you can find our past toy reviews as well as reviews sent in by you. In part two of our look at the new JP/// toys we'll take a look at the T-Rex and the Triceratops. My review will be broken down into four sections: color, sounds, measurements and finally an overall rating of the dinosaur. We'll start with the T-rex. T-Rex - Is this guy ready to sign up for the military or what? This new Rex almost look like he's wearing camoflage with it's use of mostly green and brown colors with a few black stripes thrown in here and there for some flavor (I feel like I'm cooking here!). The Rex has two sounds a.k.a. "dino roars" that are activated by pressing two different buttons. The first button that I came across was the one located just under his neck. When pressed the Rex opens his jaws and lets out a mighty roar that somewhat resembles the one that we've heard before in the movies. The one problem that I have with these sounds is that they are very harsh sounding sometimes. I sounds more like a "dino scream" than a "dino roar" if you know what I mean. Compared to other versions of the Rex that have been released, this one definitely falls way short of my expectations. Just like the Alpha Raptor and the Spinosaurus, I was expecting a much larger dinosaur. Also, the lack of any real ability to pose or move these new toys forces me to give this particular T-Rex 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. Triceratops - One of everbody's favorite dinosaurs is the triceratops and I thought he was well represented here with a nice color scheme. The most dominant color is brown mixed with a few darker spots here and there. The horns are colored white as is several spots that line the crest of this toy. With the attempts at recreating "dino roars" with these new toys, one has to wonder "we're they right"? Well, who knows but I'm not exactly sure what they were aiming at with this one. This tric lets out more of a scream than a roar, although the scream does try to turn into a roar near the end. Like the Rex, the trics electronic dino roar is located in the dino damaged wound are camoflaged as part of a bone. My first impression of the new triceratops was "not that bad". The nice use of colors and accurate looking skin texture gave this dino a fresh new look. Not to mention you can actually move this guy around a little better by moving his head up and down and the tail is made out of rubber which makes it a little more flexible than the other dinos. My final review for this tric : 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. Now go check out our new review section where Chris sent in a great review on his thoughts of the new toys. TOY DIVER PICTURE

I'm working very hard on a couple of reviews for the site today as well as a review or two sent in by some of you guys. Until then this should hold you over, "Darth Maul Sith Lord" at InGenOps posted this picture on the inGenNet forum of the Military diver that is supposed to come with the Spinosaurus. The detail of the figure is hard to make out but very cool nontheless! Rember to check back later today when I'll have my review of the T-Rex and the Triceratops from the "Re-ak A-tak" line.

For those that have yet to get their hands on or have yet to see the new Pteranodon (including me) from the "Re-ak At-ak" series comes these great photos. Notice the second photo is a good example of how the electronc button is hid really well on the "Re-ak-At-ak" line. It seems that this is a very rare figure so far with only a few people reporting to have seen it in their stores. There is one for sale on e-bay right now with the buy it now option set at $35, personally I think I'll take my chances at finding it for under $10! Click on the thumbnails for a larger view.

You asked for it, so here it is. Head on over to the new board by clicking here or just use the link above. I'm still working out the bugs with the new board so you may encounter some funky colors but otherwise you should have no problems posting and replying, but please let me know if you have any problems. I'm also working on getting those new Re-ak At-ak Pteranodon photos up for those that requested them. Keep checking back! So what are you waiting for, start posting!

JP SiteC recently posted some comparison photos of the new JP/// figures on the inGenNet message boards. Notice how the old figures just about dwarf the new ones.

For all of those unfortunate souls who have yet to receive JP/// toys in their local area, comes this picture sent in by "Mr. Goodbytes" over at inGenNet showing the back of one of the new action figure boxes. Click on the thumbnail for a larger view.

In part one of our look at the new JP/// toys, we'll take a look at the Alpha Velociraptor and the Spinosaurus. Also, Don't forget to vote in our current poll which is a very important one concerning a pending site addition that you could decide! Alpha Velociraptor- When I first saw this new raptor the thing that struck me the most was the great use of colors. Not only did the raptor have great colors but they looked realistic. I know that no one can actually know what a real dinosaur looks like but with previous attempts at making the raptors with new colors (TLW Cyclops Raptor) it just didn't have an authentic look. The new Raptor has two different electronic sounds that add too the enjoyment of this new toy. The first button is located right under the base of the neck and blends in very well with the red stripe running down its back. The sound is best described as a snort followed by the loud raptor scream that we've come accustomed to in the movies. The second "Dino Roar" is located near the base of the tail and is camoflaged with the "Dino Damage" wound very well. I would describe the sound as more of a raptor snarl than anything else. Now on to the measurements. The Alpha raptor in the box measures about 7 1/2 inches from head to tail. At first, I was very surprised in that I thought the "Re-Ak At-Ak" line would be a little bigger, but with the improvements in the coloring of the raptor and the cool sounds I give this new raptor 4 out of 5 stars. The only problem I had with the Alpha Raptor was that it was very hard to pose. The only thing that moves are the arms and legs, the head pose and the tail remain stationary. Spinosaurus - The Spinosaurus has some of the best detail for a smaller dinosaur toy that I've ever seen! The basic color used was brown mixed with what looks like a little bit of gold? All in all I thought it looked great and kind of reminded me of some of the coloring from the Dinosaurs (T-Rex and the Velociraptor) from the original Jurassic Park movie, kind of a throwback if you will. Like the Alpha Raptor this new dino also has two places for electronic roars called "Dino Roars". The first button is found under the neck of the Spino and is best described as a roar. The second button is found in the "dino damage" wound of the Spino and sounds more like a scream when compared to the roaring sound found under the neck. In the box the Spinosaurus measures about 8 inches from head to tail. It has moveable arms and legs, but once again a stationary head and tail, which allows for no movement at all. Compared to previous attempts at the Spinosaurus by the toy lines, I'll give this new attempt a 5 star rating. That does it for this first review, but make sure to check back soon when I'll be reviewing more toys from the Re-ak At-ak line for you. Next up for review: The T-Rex and the Triceratops.

Thanks to Chris for sending in our first diorama. What's a diorama you might ask? Click here to find out or use the dioramas section link at the top of the page. If you would like to send your dioramas in, just send me an e-mail with your name and diorama and I'll be glad to add your's with the others. Update: A big thanks to "Ultra" for sending in his dioramas also.

After weeks of checking and checking, my local Wal-Mart finally received a shipment of JP/// merchandise. The only line they had was the "Re-Ak A-Tak" line. I was only able to pick up a couple right now (some of us have a budget to stick to ) . The two I chose were the Velociraptor and the Spinosaurus, next time around I'll get the Triceratops and T-Rex. As for the look of these new dinos, to be so small I thought they had excellent detail and great colors. I was able to pick them up for what I thought was a very decent price, $9.73. Most people have been reporting prices of over $10. If you have any other questions you would like to ask me about the Spino or the raptor please e-mail me and I'll be glad to answer your questions!

A couple of users who go by the name "TYRANT" and "Britt" sent Dan this comparison between the raptors from JP, TLW and JP///. They also said that their local Toys R Us had the T-Rex, Raptor, Spinosaurus and Triceratops for $10.99. On a personal note, I checked out my local Toys R Us for any JP/// merchandise and had no luck at all. I have a feeling that most everybody should start seeing the merchandise in store by the end of next week. Have you spotted any JP/// action figures yet? When you do, drop me a e-mail and give me your thoughts, reviews or any comments on what you saw and I'll be sure to post it.

Head on over to ebay.com where "darthadvisor" has some new JP/// items up for sale. The ones up for auction are the Spinosaurus, T-Rex, Triceratops and a Dilophosaurus. Right now the bid stands at $10 so you better hurry!

I usually try to stick with just toy related news on this site, but I just couldn't resist in this case! Did you think that trailer was awesome or what? In case you fell off the face of the earth and missed the 45 second teaser trailer that played near the end of "Survivor" tonight, then head on over to Dan's and check out some of the stills from the trailer and give him some time and I'm sure he'll have the complete trailer up for your viewing pleasure! Also, don't forget that a full length trailer will be playing before tommorow's premire of "The Mummy Returns". Update: Dan has a lot of still photos up from both the Survivor trailer and The Mummy Returns trailer. He also has links set up so you can download both trailers for you viewing pleasure!

"Luke Sikura" sent Dan over at Dan's JP3 page word that he talked to his local Toys R Us manager and he said that they expect the first shipment of JP/// toys to hit the shelves on May 12th.

The great toy collector's site has posted a few pictures of the JP3 toys to go along with their description of the item. They have upclose pictures of the Rex, Raptors and the Spino. Click here for more photos! Notice : no green feet! Thanks Entertainment Earth and JP3 HQ!