Unfortunately, the crowdfund as reported on July 13th, has failed. Fans will not be receiving any of the offerings from the crowdfund and Mattel has been silent on the subject regarding whether or not the Buck T-Rex would see an independent release. While Mattel has recently released two sets featuring the Buck, with very weak paint jobs, the idea of not being able to benefit from a collector-level version of this dinosaur has upset many – myself included. As per CollectJurassic on social media recently stated, the reason the Buck was included in the Crowdfund was because the folks at Mattel didn’t think it would sell in stores. This is a huge mistake on Mattel’s part as they underestimated the fandom in regards to this particular dinosaur from the second film.
While the crowdfund was unable to rally the collectors in the fandom – there is work to be done in getting collectors interested and fans back in the fold. One of the main reasons to many the crowdfund wasn’t backed was because of a perceived value issue in just receiving only the base 5k goal. Fans simply wanted everything in the full backer goal from the gates, the fences, the Lex and Tim figures, the vehicle, the goat, to the Buck T-Rex, and even the Paddock signs. Many on social media have said they would have more likely funded the gate crowdfund if it included everything. With the crowdfund failing though it could indicate tough times are ahead for the series and the fans should Mattel become discouraged and not want to put as much effort into the toys as we have seen since they acquired the license from Hasbro back in 2015, after the lackluster performance in the cheaply, screw-hole ridden, garbage produced to tie-into Jurassic World at that time.
There is some hope though here, and we can – as a fandom still save this and that is we need to, as a fandom, we must rally to sign the petition to get the Buck T-Rex made into a Hammond Collection figure. Share this on your social media pages with hashtags #ReleaseTheBuck #NoBuckNoBucks #WeWantTheBuck
