The Lost World Series 1: Mobile Command Center

Year of release: 1997

Accessories:

-Missile launcher (including missiles)

-Dino damage cab area

-Telescoping crane

-Detachable computer with electronic sounds and lights

-Fold out observation lab

-Eight fence pieces

-Kelly Malcolm figure

(Note: the reviewer is not an expert on vehicles like these, so any incorrect terms, or lack of detail, should be disregarded.)

Description: this play set basically consists of two trailers, which can be attached to one another via the dark leathery thingy (what do you call it?). The overall colour pattern of the trailers is green with asymmetrical beige spots, suggesting camouflage. The wheels are black with grey hub caps. Together, the MCC (standard abbreviation for Mobile Command Center) measures a good 80 centimetres in length. Each trailer comes with its own action features.

The front trailer is the largest of the two and has two pairs of wheels. The front cab area, with the transparent orange window and grey windshields, can be removed as if being torn off by a dinosaur (though the damage doesn’t really appear to be caused by some ferocious creature). On top of this cab area there’s some grey detailing, including radar dish and antenna, adding a bit of a technological look to the trailer. The front trailer comes with a door on each side: a small door on the right (for people to enter and exit), and a larger rectangular door on the left side (for loading cargo and stuff like that). The front trailer is more or less empty on the inside, except for the grey drivers’ seats in the cab area. It’s very handy to store equipment in, including the fence pieces. On the right top side of the front trailer there’s a large white telescoping crane on a scarlet red base. This crane can rotate in a full circle, and can be extended to cover more ground. On the right end of the crane there’s a pair of grey claws, used to clamp equipment or dinosaurs on, in order to move them around. On the left end of this crane there’s a grey basket, basically a lookout station, with a capacity of carrying one human figure. Next to it there’s a large green missile launcher, capable of full rotation like the crane itself. It fires white missiles and should come with three of these.

On the left top side of the front trailer, right next to the cargo door, there’s a hole which can store the computer. It’s basically a white box with a lights section on top that can move in a 90 degree angle. It comes with a pair of lights and produces three different sounds: an alarm caused by pulling on the fences when they’re attached to the trailer, a damage noise produced when removing the cab area, and a third sound made when pressing the button on the left side of the computer. The lights are activated when producing any of these sounds.

The second trailer is a bit shorter and only comes with one pair of wheels. Additionally, it sports a pair of green antennae on the left back end, both identical though one of them positioned somewhat lower so it seems it’s shorter than the other. At the very back end of this trailer there’s another cargo door, similar to the one on the left side of the front trailer. The main feature of this trailer is the observation lab: the right side of the trailer including a part of the roof section can fold out to form the observation lab, complete with a pair of little legs to support it on the ground. When folded out the interior of the trailer is revealed, which is adorned with a large white table with computers and details like cups on top. Additionally, a white operating bench is located right above the right wheel, with room enough for a human figure or a smaller dinosaur.

This play set comes with a total of eight fence pieces, all of them painted in a shiny metallic reddish brown paint job. They can be attached to one another, and the smaller piece of fence can also be attached to the left side of the front trailer, in which case it makes contact with the computer so an alarm is activated when any reptilian vermin tries to break through the fences. The fences can form a protective barrier around one side of the MCC, most logically the right side to protect the observation lab. However, there’s no point on the back end of the second trailer to attach the fences too.

The MCC comes with an exclusive Kelly Malcolm figure, somewhat smaller than the other TLW figures; she’s supposed to be a kid after all. She stands in a mostly neutral pose, and wears a red shirt, dark blue pants and dark grey shoes. She has black hair, and looks very much like the Kelly Malcolm seen in the movie.

Analysis: this is one big play set you don’t want to be missing in your JP collection. It’s very cool and quite detailed, sporting a paint job with an abundance of green and camouflage spots not unlike what was seen on the trailers from the TLW movie. It’s a shame the interior of both trailers is a bit bland and could have used more detailing, but the MCC comes with a variety of features making the overall set worth your while. Though most of them aren’t particularly new, they make for some fine overall playability. I’ll describe them separately for a general overview of this wonderful play set.

-Missile launcher (including missiles): the typical missile launcher seems an obligatory action feature of any vehicle or play set, and the MCC is basically both so naturally it can’t miss one of these. The launcher works properly and fires missiles over a decent distance with enough force to knock most smaller dinosaurs over. It’s also neat to see this particular gun being fully rotatable.

-Dino damage cab area: also an often used action feature. The dino damage of this set isn’t very convincing though: it looks far too artificial, like it’s caused by mechanic disassembly instead of an attack by a nasty predator. However, the fact it’s hooked up to the computer so it produces noise when being removed makes it more original and a decent action option after all.

-Telescoping crane: though the crane works fine, the paint job is pretty ugly, and not very logical considering the overall camouflage look of this play set. The red and white of the crane might as well be a big sign saying ‘Get your human snacks here!’. Another irritating thing about the crane are the claws which are meant to carry stuff: they’re not designed very well, and can’t support things at all, dinosaurs or otherwise. Nothing can really be clasped between the claws without coming loose and falling down. Though the rotating and telescoping aspects of the crane are good, and the extra station for a human figure comes in handy, these few nuisances make it a disappointment.

-Detachable computer with electronic sounds and lights: very fun feature, though it’s a shame only three different sounds can be produced, and one of them is quite annoying. However, they enhance the realism of the action features they’re attached too, and add another level of playability options. The lights are quite strong, especially in the dark.

-Fold out observation lab: a great option, giving us a good look of the inside of the second trailer. The inside could have used more detail though, and like the paint job of the crane, the white colouring displayed here isn’t very appealing. Still, a very neat and useful feature.

-Eight fence pieces: easy to assemble and attach to the trailer. It’s a bit odd they can only be attached to one end of the set though, because now dinosaurs won’t have such a hard time sneaking inside the perimeter on the other end. However, the alarm that goes off when the fence is compromised provides for a good warning, as well as a fun action option.

-Kelly Malcolm figure: a very realistic figure, and a wonderful addition to this set, though Kelly wasn’t the most popular character in the TLW movie. Instead of having her do gymnastics to kill dinosaurs with, she makes a perfect victim for the Bull T-Rex…

Playability: this play set scores quite high on any playability scale. It has loads of good action features, providing for hours of fun. It also has funky sounds and fine lights (when in proper working order of course), and Kelly too enhances options, as do the fences. Another thing that adds to the playability is the fact the electronics are easily removable, so when you feel like playing rough with it you can do so without risking damage to the sounds and lights.

Realism: this trailer play set looks very similar to the trailers seen in the TLW movie. The colouring is not that different, as is the overall shape and size. Some of the details are off though – the trailers seen in the movie did not feature a crane, missile launcher or even fences – but this was obviously done for playability options: it’s a toy after all. And it’s certainly a successful toy version of the trailers from the film. Besides that, the Kelly Malcolm figure is about as movie accurate as any of the human figures from the various toy lines ever got. She sports a similar outfit and paint job, and the head sculpt looks pretty much like Vanessa Lee Chester (back in 1997 that is).

Repaint: no. However, almost all of this play set would be repainted for the JP Chaos Effect toy line, again labelled as Mobile Command Center and sporting some pretty hideous colouring. The only part of this TLW set that wouldn’t get repainted is the Kelly figure.

Overall rating: 10/10. This play set is relatively movie accurate, comes with loads of great action features and is otherwise plain cool. It’s highly recommended, but sadly, not very easy to get. It can prove hard to find, in part due to the fact it didn’t get a worldwide release. It’s difficult to find in MIB condition, and when you find one loose it’s usually incomplete. Competition for MCCs is often pretty intense on Ebay, and prices are almost always quite high. However, it’s a great set and worth the money for any serious collector.