The media could not be loaded. 2022 Mattel Jurassic World Dominion “Roar Strikers” Ichthyovenator (I want to start by addressing a manufacturing error on my figure. The tail is missing the internal locking mechanism, so the tail cannot stay attached. I am working to resolve the issue. I will not allow this error to influence my review, but it seems to be a known issue, so it was necessary to note. I have included photos and video of the issue described above.) Ichthyovenator is a spinosaurid from the Early Cretaceous. It was discovered only ten years ago, and was the first Spinosaurid to be discovered in Asia. It’s a dinosaur I’ve wanted to see Mattel produce ever since I saw the silhouette of their Irritator a few years back. Mattel has produced a fairly decent representation of the genus, albeit a highly stylized version. It’s certainly far more accurate than their Siamosaurus from this year. The sculptural details are nice and crisp over most of the figure. The detail on the head is particularly excellent; with lots of beautiful scalation covering the face, lower jaw, and top of the head. Even the underside of the jaw has some great detailing. The teeth are pretty unique on this one. I like how the top teeth are fairly uniformly spaced, and then the teeth on the lower jaw are more sporadic in their spacing. There is an odd lack of teeth in the very front of the mouth, and I can’t decide whether I love it or hate it. I do love the way the two teeth at the front of the lower jaw fit up into the subnaral gap of the upper jaw. The tongue is beautifully textured as well. There is one odd exclusion on the head sculpt, however. There are no nostrils anywhere to be found. It’s an strange thing to overlook. The great detailing continues down the neck, although it’s not quite as crisp here as it is on the rest of the figure. A short sail begins at the base of the skull, and continues down the neck. A line of large osteoderms runs the length of the neck on either side, and a slight dewlap hangs in the throat area. The body is covered in a mixture of wrinkles, and cross hatching textures. It’s a bit refreshing to see a Spinosaurid presented without the stereotypical crocodilian scales. The line of osteoderms that began on the neck, continues down both sides of the body, and all the way down the tail. The sail is nicely presented here, and showcases the notch that Ichthyovenator is known for. As with many of Mattel’s recent figures, the underside of the figure is far less detailed. This Ichthyovenator is one of the better detailed figures, however. The limbs are sculpted nicely. The legs are nice and muscular, and the feet are bird-like. The arms are a bit on the thin side, but I love the fact that they sculpted webbing between the fingers. The tail is decently long, but could have been a bit longer. The crisp detailing seen on the body continues here as well, although the colors make it a bit difficult to see. I love that Mattel gave their Ichthyovenator the tail fin that Spinosaurus was now known to have. Articulations are minimal on the “Roar Strikers” figures. The legs can move forward and back, but are very loose outside of their designated locking point. The arms can move forward and back, and can swing outward. I believe the tail can rotate as well, but, as previously stated, my particular figure is broken. The action gimmick sees you pressing down the body to cause the neck to swing downward, and the dinosaur to bite. The “Roar Strikers” gimmick is, in all honesty, the worst action feature the Jurassic line has seen so far. I will be happy to see it go away with next year’s “Dino Trackers” line. The coloration on this one is incredibly simplistic, but far from the worst we have seen. There are some ideas here that I genuinely love, but their execution could use some work. I love the splash of color around the eyes, and the eyes themselves are painted well. I love how glossy they are. The teeth are mostly painted nicely, but there is some tooth paint splashed up onto the face in one side of mine. I love how vivid and bold the sail is, but I wish the blending were better. It really could have used a built of the brighter paint faded into the body, and maybe some splotches or stripes here and there. Instead, the blending between the sail and body is nearly nonexistent. There is a bit of the darker body color splashed onto the sail in the larger area’s, so I do appreciate that. I also wish that there were a bit of countershading on the underside. The bright tail is a brilliant touch, and I love that they faded the color into the tail base rather than just suddenly starting it a the tail attachment. However, I wish there were a bit of extra paint on the tail itself. The yellowish color is just a bit overpowering. I am more than happy to see another Spinosaurid added to the line, and I’m especially happy to finally own an Ichthyovenator! I only hope that Mattel starts giving us better paint applications. That is their weakest area, by far. I hope we get a second version of this one in a future line, because it is a bit marred by the lackluster “Roar Strikers” gimmick. It’s a great sculpt, and deserves much better.
