Listener Collection - July 2014

I’ve been a fan and collector of Jurassic Park items ever since the first movie came out, and a dinosaur enthusiast even earlier than that. The first JP items I ever owned were the collector’s cups from McDonald’s restaurant, and the Kenner stegosaurus toy. I don’t think it was necessarily my intention at first to become a JP collector, but it was so unusual and redeeming to me that dinosaurs -- which were always sort of a niche interest of mine that not a lot of other people I ran into at that time shared – were suddenly such a popular and widespread fad with Jurassic Park. Every JP toy, knickknack, and item that came out was so cool and new and unique, that I had to have it. And so my collection grew.

I was 13 at the time Jurassic Park was released, and grown out of the “playing with toys” phase, so I was able to keep a lot of my action figures and items unopened in their original packaging. As my collection grew, it became a conscious effort to keep my things sealed and in as nice of a condition as I could. Most of the items in my collection are still sealed up, although I do have a number of loose figures I’ve picked up second-hand through the years as well as a few of my own from my early days of collecting.

I obtain most of my items when they are originally released, which is usually alongside the release of movies. In the years between movies I am active in flea markets, yard sales, and online auctions to fill holes in my collection or find cool new JP items. It’s not about mindlessly throwing a bunch of money at anything with the JP logo though; that is not very fun and I don’t have the funds for that. For me, the real fun in collecting is finding a unique, unusual, or just cool-looking item that appeals to me personally as a Jurassic Park fan. Even after 20-plus years, I am still discovering new Jurassic Park items that I didn’t know existed, and still on the lookout for elusive pieces I need. Some of my favorite Jurassic Park items that I have include the comic books by Topps and IDW, and the statues by Cinemacast and Sideshow.

Besides JP merchandise, I am also interested in the movies themselves and the people who make them. I have a collection of autographed photos from various cast and crew members of the Jurassic Park films, a few signed items, and a couple of small props including a Mr DNA animation cell from the first film and Kelly’s shirt from The Lost World. This is an area of my collection I wish to expand upon in the future. Looking forward, the upcoming release of Jurassic World is an exciting time as both a fan and collector of the Jurassic Park series. I can’t wait to see what Colin Trevorrow and his crew have come up with to dazzle us on the movie screen, and what kinds of amazing figures, toys and other items are produced to tie in with it.

I’ve also made a video of my Jurassic Park collection room which shows everything a little better, which can be seen here:

Interested parties can also follow me on Twitter at @jurassiraptor or visit my JP tumblr blog at www.jurassiraptor.com.

Thanks!

Justin “jurassiraptor”