Jurassic Park Series 2: “Harpoon” Harrison

Year of release: 1993-1994

Accessories:

-Double Spear Launcher with capture claw

-Missile

-Brachiosaurus hatchling

-Collector’s Card # 52

Description: the muscled Harrison stands in a largely neutral pose, though his right leg is pointed outwards to some extent, making him look like he's bracing himself for something. Also, he holds his arms quite close to his torso, more so than other human figures. He wears short green pants adorned with pockets, a belt and a knife at the back, all in the same colour. He also sports a beige vest, revealing a muscular, bare chest underneath. The vest comes with green and red detailing and a JP T-Rex logo (black Rex skull and arms in a yellow circle) on the left part of his chest. Additionally, he comes with brown boots with green socks sticking out, a beige belt around his waist and a red baseball cap (which he wears with the flap at the back of his head) with a second JP Rex logo on it. Harrison's skin colour is somewhat darker than on most other human figures, hinting at a possibly Latino descent. He also has light brown hair, beard and moustache, black eyes, and a rather emotionless facial expression.

This figure comes with a large weapon, labelled a Double Spear Launcher according to the figure's carding: it’s basically a heavy black gun with a large orange claw shaped dart sticking out. The dart has hooks pointing inwards, so captive prey won't escape its grip so easily. The dart is attached to the gun by a piece of black string. On top of the weapon there’s a large orange disc around which the string can be wrapped for storage, as well as a button (also orange) for firing the weapon. The launcher is equipped with various handles and protrusions for figures to hold it with. This set also comes with an additional orange missile, harpoon like in shape, which can be used as a loose projectile (not being attached to the launcher itself in any way).

The Brachiosaurus hatchling stands in a walking mode with its left legs moved backward and its right legs posed forward, its front right leg raised as if taking a step. The tail and neck are in a neutral position though. The beastie is painted largely in two shades of light blue, the darker one adorning the back of the head, the neck, back and upper part of the tail; the lighter shade right beneath this darker blue, most notably on the flanks, head and legs. The creature's underside (its throat, belly and lower part of the tail) is coloured beige (almost yellow). It has small black eyes, white teeth, and it carries a white JP logo on its left hind leg.

Analysis: “Harpoon” Harrison is another Dino Tracker figure from the Dino Trackers/Evil Raiders spin-off line Kenner devised for JPS2. He has a more relaxed stance to him than his fellow Trackers, wearing less clothing (and certainly no armour type gear), giving him a warm, “summer time” feel. He also comes with more facial detail than we're used to (though his expression is quite bland regardless), sporting a short beard and a moustache. Overall, he has a rather original outfit and design to him, making him one of the more successful new JPS2 figures.

His weapon is quite cool, though its paint job isn't very appealing and it's not very original, being highly reminiscent of Ellie Sattler's Grappling Hook, except even bigger. Despite its size Harrison can easily hold it with a single hand without falling down. It works well: pressing the button fires the claw and hits anything in its path with some force. The range of the double spear is limited to about 70 centimetres by the rope, though people who prefer the weapon without the rope to increase the range will have no problem removing it. It’s a nifty weapon, but there’s a point of criticism: its look (the hooks on the dart) implies it can grab, catch or restrain things. However, when fired the dart doesn’t catch anything, it just knocks things over, since there's less then a centimetre of space between the hooks. It does fit around various smaller dinosaur figures though. Also, for variation, the weapon comes with an extra harpoon (no doubt the origin of Harrison's nickname), which is a typical missile to knock smaller creatures (like the little Sauropod) down. In that regard, it's no different from the bazooka from JPS1/2 Muldoon or the Tranq Missile Launcher from JPS2 Malcolm, except with a slightly altered look. It has a lesser range than those launchers though, but it still works fine.

Like the other Dino Trackers, Harrison comes with a repainted JPS1 hatchling, in this case the Brachiosaurus. Its paint job is less monochromatic than its predecessor, but it's not very attractive either. The beige and blue kind of contrast each other, with ugly results especially on the figure's underside. At least the teeth are painted this time, and the baby is still very cute, so it's not that bad a repaint.

Playability: just fine. Harrison has the usual range of poseable body parts (head, legs and arms). Despite its not being very original and a bit bulky, his double spear launcher is a good weapon with a decent range and impact force, while the extra missile adds some options for people who prefer loose ammo. The Brachiosaurus, like any hatchling, offers no poseability.

Realism: Harrison isn't supposed to look like anybody, being an invention on Kenner's part. Any likeness to real people is purely coincidental, no doubt. His weapon also doesn't look like anything used in real life, not even on a remote dinosaur infested island. The hatchling is recognizable as a Brachiosaurus (and not any other type of Sauropod, unless potential sister species) by the lump on its head, which would contain the nostrils in reality (but if you look closely you can see this bay has them on the snout like most dinosaurs do). Its paint job is not very reminiscent to that of the Brachiosaurs seen in the film. Brachiosaurus has no adult figure (such a loss!) to compare this hatchling with.

Repaint: no, this is a new addition to Kenner's range of human figures, with new accessories. The little Brachiosaurus, however, is a repaint of the Brachiosaurus hatchling from JPS1 Tim Murphy. This hatchling would not be repainted again, but Harrison would be repainted as nameless Dino Tracker figures for the TLW Exclusive Young T-Rex and JP III Exclusive Dinosaur Tracking sets, each time with different accessories (which shows how diversely compatible Harrison is with weapons that weren't designed for him specifically) and , interestingly enough, different skin colour each time. He was also (partially) repainted for Kenner's Congo toy line. The double harpoon launcher would be repainted for TLWS1 Eddie Carr, but without the extra missile.

Overall rating: 7/10. A fine new figure, with a good but “been there, done that” type of weapon and a repainted hatchling with not too good a makeover. This figure got a wider release than some of the other JPS2 human figures, being released both in the USA and in lesser quantities in Europe. It's not that hard to find, and can be acquired for decent prices.