The Toy Fair – a time for retailers to come together and show their latest offerings to the press, public and to potential investors! I remember this time of year fondly from my years growing up as a fan of various collectibles. Online statements such as "Did you hear about that Doctor Who reveal at Toy Fair" or "Did you hear about what Character Options showed" were common parts of my childhood – so to now be attending London Toy Fair as an adult representing The Jurassic Park Podcast was a pretty special experience.
I went on the hunt for everything Jurassic-related. And I found some pretty cool stuff on the show floor. Let’s start with a couple of the Jurassic-adjacent brands we all know. Schleich and Papo. Schleich had an assortment of awesome dinosaurs on show – many of which have already been released and can be found at your local retailers. These included the iconic T-Rex, the beautiful Triceratops, and of course a new fan-favorite for Fallen Kingdom – the Carnotaurus. These figurines look beautiful – and I’d highly recommend them to any Jurassic fan out there. Schleich also had a variety of playsets on show – including some volcanic black rocks which looked interesting and a massive volcano playset. We don’t yet know full details of the Mattel Jurassic line, but Schleich’s beautiful playsets and diorama pieces may merge together with the upcoming Jurassic toys we are looking forward to.
Papo also had a variety of similar dinosaurs on display – many with incredibly intricate and beautiful details and colors used to create collectibles which really feel high-quality for their price point. Papo had less in the way of playsets, focusing purely on their dinosaurs. They had a Raptor, a T-Rex, a Triceratops and more on show – including a beautiful rendition of the Spinosaurus, which many Jurassic fans love to hate. For me personally – I loved this dinosaur. It looks beautiful. And do you want to know the best part? Many of both Schleich and Papo’s products are on shelves RIGHT NOW!!! I can’t recommend you pick them up enough. Friend of the Podcast, Jurassic Collectables, has also done reviews on some of the very dinosaurs featured within this article – so make sure to check them out when you get the time.
Now, moving on to the more Jurassic-related details. There was some Jurassic merchandise on show – but the clear majority is most likely not ready to be revealed just yet. However, I was lucky enough to speak with a couple of companies – and learn a bit more about what their plans for the license were. Firstly, I got to pop in and talk to Posh Paws – who had some Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom plushies on show. Whilst I wasn’t allowed to take any photographs of these, they looked adorable – and I absolutely fell in love with the artwork on their packaging too! Posh Paws plan to release their products in April to coincide with the mass release of Jurassic licenses – so we can’t wait to learn more about their plushies, and the dinosaurs they intend to bring to us in cuddly form!
I also had the chance to speak briefly to Funko – and although they didn’t have their Jurassic Park Pops! on show, it was exciting to see just how passionate about the franchise they are! It sounds as if these guys are excited to have Jurassic as their next movie license – and I was promised that we can expect to see more in the way of store exclusives down the line. I didn’t have the chance to ask about Fallen Kingdom, or the other Jurassic films, but I have faith in Funko and their team. They are passionate about the source material – and I hope that means we will see a lot more from them in the future.
Lastly, we have the highlight of Toy Fair – and a company I wasn’t expecting to meet. Clementoni are a company who make educational, and scientific-based toys which are designed to merge play with learning for children. Before meeting them at Toy Fair, I had never heard of their line – but it looks wonderful. Here you can see we get several ‘Excavation’ style toys in the Fallen Kingdom line – including the Velociraptor, the T-Rex, and a 3-In-1 T-Rex, Triceratops and Pteranodon pack. I asked if Clementoni made the Tyrannosaurus excavation kit, but they didn’t – so it is exciting to have a brand-new company joining the lineup for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The representative I spoke to acknowledged that the products on show were quite last-minute mockups – so it is incredibly exciting to see what the final products will look like!
Not only do we have these excavation kits from Clementoni – we also have some Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom Puzzles! We have an adult puzzle, and some smaller puzzles, in addition to a Panoramic Puzzle and these look beautiful. The Panoramic shot of Owen, Rexy and the Gyrosphere would make for a beautiful puzzle – so I hope that this remains consistent in the final product. You will also see some similar dinosaur items which Clementoni release – so you will be able to get your hands on them as well! Clementoni’s smallest items retail for £8.99. The Raptor will then retail for £14.99, and the standalone T-Rex for £24.99. The 3-In-1 Kit will then be £29.99, with the Adult puzzles coming in at £14.99 - although the smaller puzzle price is unknown currently. Not bad value for sets which look incredibly scientifically accurate. Clementoni aim to release their products at the end of April, or in early May if April is not possible. I think it is wonderful seeing Universal giving the license to a franchise who clearly care about education – as Jurassic Park and the Jurassic franchise have historically got children across the globe fascinated in the science behind Paleontology. Now, they can get toys to encourage that interest even further.
That wraps up my re-account from Toy Fair. I was super-excited to stumble upon Clementoni’s offerings, and I was also delighted to get the chance to talk to so many companies passionate about the Jurassic franchise. Everyone I spoke to was buzzing about this big release that Universal have planned in April – and it sounds as if it is going to be a swarm of Jurassic merchandise hitting shops EVERYWHERE. We cannot wait to see what other toys and merchandise goodies Universal have up their sleeve. It sounds as if the launch this time around will be a lot greater than the launch for Jurassic World – with more franchises and more products than ever before. All in all, it sounds like a great time to be a Jurassic fan!
Lastly, I’d like to say thank you to Lauren, Paul, Eva and Charlotte for all their help today. You guys were amazing, and I appreciate you making this article possible.
Check out the links below to view more from the companies we’ve mentioned and see more images below:
Clementoni | Funko | Posh Paws | Schleich | Papo
