A new Jurassic World movie is on the horizon and regardless of how you feel about the Jurassic franchise it means we’ll be getting a new lineup of toys to accompany it. And what a lineup it is! The Tyrannosaurus, Spinosaurus, and Mosasaurus have all been given a fresh makeover. We’re getting a Quetzalcoatlus with foldable wings, a JP3 Hammond Collection Spinosaurus, and another gigantic sauropod. And what’s the first figure from this highly anticipated lineup that I decided to review? Edmontonia. Okay, while not as exciting as some of the other releases I have a fondness for the genus that stems from my childhood days of playing with the Tyco Edmontonia, so I was excited to see another action figure of this nodosaurid hit the scene.
The Mattel Edmontonia is part of their Frenzy Pack line. These are small sized toys that have always been around but have gone by different but similar names: Attack Pack, Ferocious Pack, Danger Pack, etc. There’s no action feature here, and articulation is limited. The head and neck can swivel about and rotate around, and the limbs can swing forward and back. Something that seems to be new for the entire Rebirth wave is that the scan code is back on the bottom of a foot instead of inside a pull tab. I don’t know why they ever deviated from that in the first place but I’m happy to see them backtrack on the tabs.
The figure measures 8” (20.32 cm) long while the actual Edmontonia measured an estimated 22’ (6.6 meters). That puts the toy at 1/33 in scale. The small size is disappointing, I wish it was closer in size to the Ankylosaurus, but it does pair well with the Borealopelta.
If you’re looking for accuracy, you’re in the wrong place, but you probably know that by now. The figure is a cartoonish caricature of the actual Edmontonia. It gets the broad strokes right, being an obvious nodosaurid with forward-projecting spikes along the shoulders. The head is largely correct in shape too, being pear-shaped with a narrow muzzle.
The three half-rings along the neck aren’t there and neither are the large plate-like osteoderms that should be over them. They’ve been replaced by generic keeled scutes. The second spike should be bifurcated but isn’t. Although I’m forgiving of Mattel inaccuracies, they’re really omitting one of Edmontonia’s most distinguishing traits by leaving out that last one. The feet are all wrong, as always, and the tail is way too short. When it comes to Edmontonia action figures, the 36-year-old Tyco Edmontonia is more accurate!
Detail work is rather good though. Tiny, rough textured scales decorate the face while the limbs and flanks are detailed with fine wrinkles and the underside is mostly smooth, save for some saggy skin folds. A heavy brow and frown give the toy a cantankerous appearance. Lots of osteoderms are sculpted along the back and each one has fine grooves sculpted into it, as do the spikes along the flanks. Pebbly scales cover the entire back, between the larger osteoderms. The spikes along the sides and some of the larger osteoderms are rubbery inserts while the rest of the figure, and the spikes along the tail, are hard plastic. The rubber is very soft and pliable, but the spikes still look appropriately pointy.
The top half of the figure is dark green while the lower half is light green. The rubber spikes and osteoderms are black which makes the colors look inconsistent since the rest of the spikes and osteoderms are green. The tail is entirely green except for a small portion at the base where the light green color terminates. The eyes are yellow with dark green pupils, and the beak is black. Both the lower and upper portions of the beak are painted, mercifully. The toenails are not painted.
A pleasing and naturalistic paintjob combined with a high level of detail, and a grumpy demeanor, make the Edmontonia one of the better small-sized toys released from Mattel this year. The figure is disappointingly small though and could have benefited greatly from a longer tail and a pinch of scientific accuracy. Most Jurassic World collectors can probably skip this one but if you’re a fan of Edmontonia or nodosaurids in general it’s worth picking up for its retail price of $8.49.
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