JPToys - News

In sad news today, 66 year old Michael Crichton, Author of our beloved Jurassic Park books and may great others, has passed away from a private battle with cancer. He will be missed by all of us, and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Rest in Peace Mr. Crichton, you will be missed.

Hello there! Long time without any news, huh? But don't worry: today's update is going to make up for that.

Two test-shots from the canceled Night Hunter Series recently showed up on eBay: one from the Spinosaurus with Carr set, and the other from the Baryonyx with Ludlow playset. Only the two dinosaurs were for sale, without the human figure or any accessory. Still, they managed to fetch rather high prices ($570 for the Spino and $650 for the Bary), but weren't sold to the highest bidder, due to what looked like a huge reserve price (our sources mentioned a ridiculously overrated price of $4,500 each...). So, even though no one had the opportunity to buy these gems, we still have high quality pictures of both of them up for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

In other news, Sideshow Collectibles finally posted boxed pictures of their first Jurassic Park diorama: the T-Rex Versus Velociraptors scene. They also revealed pictures of what appears to be the production version of this diorama, which shows a slightly less stellar paint job (which could be expected), and which also shows what the "When Dinosaurs Ruled The World" banner from the exclusive edition will look like. Little reminder: this set is due to start shipping by the end of October 2008, so this shouldn't take too long, now...

Another news from Sideshow is the announcement of their new line: Dinosauria. Nothing is known about this line, apart from the fact that it should include several pieces with a $200-$350 price tag for each (yikes!). The reveal of such a series is rather puzzling, considering they also own the Jurassic Park license which consists of, well, one piece so far. So, will this new line be the nail in the Jurassic Park Sideshow coffin? As always, time will tell...

So, stay tuned for more. We should soon have several new collection and diorama galleries up, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!

Now, here's a great way to kick off Autumn 2008! JPToys was lucky enough to have the opportunity to acquire one sample of the gem that was discovered three weeks ago, and is now proud to present you several close-up shots from the Ornithosuchus with Dinosaur Trapper. Feel free to take a look at these high-definition pictures!

Also, we have two new galleries in the Fan's Corner to present you. First, a new collection gallery from Justin, with loads of rare, mint-in-box toys. And also up for your viewing pleasure, a custom gallery from long-time forum member Angelrex, which includes customs inspired by unproduced toys, hatchlings and juveniles inspired by well-known JP toys like Bull or Thrasher T-Rexes, and pure creations. Enjoy!

We're happy to present you a new Ultimasaurus prototype that was recently unearthed by forum member Barbara22, from France. Simply by contacting Hasbro France, she had, with some patience, the opportunity to get in touch with someone from the US who had worked on the Chaos Effect line. And luckily for her, that person still had an Ultimasaurus prototype and was ready to sell it. And that's how Barbara22 could get her hand on this gem, and was kind enough to share great quality pictures of her find.

Two new close-ups (front view and back view) have been added on the Ultimasaurus page, as well as a bigger version of the picture seen below. Enjoy!

*UPDATE*: We've been told that these pictures aren't from an Ultimasaurus owned by forum member Barbara, but in fact were taken by toy designer Tim Bradley, who worked on the Chaos Effect line, and was kind enough to be interviewed by JPToys a few months ago. So, to give credits back to where it's due, thanks a lot for these pictures, Mr. Bradley!

So, after our latest ground-breaking news about the Ornithosuchus with Dino Trapper, how about some reading? Regular contributor Roselaar has written a huge lot of reviews, including the four last ones of the Chaos Effect line, and reviews for each toy in the first Jurassic Park line. Be sure to take a look at them!

Also from Roselaar, we have several pictures of European variations of human figures (by the way, notice how European Skinners and Dr. Snares were part of the "Dino-Raiders" instead of "Evil Raiders"), as well as supposedly US-only dinos like the Carnotaurus. Definitely worth a look. And did you know that some Alan Grant figures from the JP3 line wore two pants? Well, the factory error pictures sent by forum member 0thebigwytec5 proves it!

And finally, for those wanting to know more about the Ornithosuchus with Dino Trapper proto that showed up recently, stay tuned. More news about this gem coming soon.

Quite a big news for today's update. For the first (well, second, actually) time ever, the elusive Ornithosuchus with Dino Trapper has appeared on eBay! This set was known since this series' release in 2000, being mentioned on some boxes, but so far, we had no idea what it looked like. But now that we have a picture of this set, and especially of the, might we say, "flamboyant" Dino Trapper, the reason why it wasn't released becomes quite obvious...

A big thanks goes to Lostworld4ever, Nix and Sjappie for telling us about the appearance on eBay of this gem. Make sure to take a look at this set's page to see more pictures and info about this toy!

Hello there! I hope your summer was okay, and that you can't wait to return to school/work/whatever your occupation may be. Nothing earth-shattering for today's news, but interesting stuff from our fandom.

We have had two new fan submissions recently: several dioramas from Dino Fool, which can be seen in her new gallery, as well as a lot (as in A LOT) of collection pictures from forum member Teddybier, who decided to take pics of each item he owns for our viewing pleasure. Feel free to check out his gallery, and have a detailed look at each of his 73 figures!