We already talked about the new #75936 LEGO Jurassic Park: T. Rex Rampage set quite extensively already, including the designer-video, press-release, free instructions for custom vehicles, the related dino-building contest, and more (see links at the end of this post). Today, I thought it would be a good idea to look at the set itself in more detail, including the building experience, the different parts of the set, minifigures, instructions, etc.
➡ LEGO JURASSIC PARK: T. REX RAMPAGE PACKAGING: The #75936 LEGO Jurassic Park: T. Rex Rampage comes in an enormous box (about 5 x 19 x 23 inches and over 10 pounds). While on pictures the main box image looks a little off-scale and weird, in real life it looks extremely impressive. It really gives a sense of the massive size of the T. rex. The back of the box features the T. rex in a different pose, the gate from the back, and little scenes at the sides with the real characters from the film next to their minifigure version. It is all very well done.
The set comes with two large and heavy instruction booklets. This allows two people to build two different parts of the model. It also includes information about the film, the characters, and the LEGO designers working on the set. I’m very fond of this section as it is interesting and educational to both kids and adults.
➡ LEGO JURASSIC PARK: T. REX RAMPAGE CONTENT: The set basically consist of three sections; the T. rex, the Jurassic Park gate, and the minifigure display stand. LEGO designer Mark Stafford explained that these three sections are not in scale with each other. In other words, the T. rex is not the right size for either the gate or the minifigs, and the gate is not meant to be in scale with the minifigs or the T. rex. They are simply recreations of iconic scenes and characters from the film. Another feature that’s not in scale with each other or anything else in the set are the little vignettes at the back of the gate. Ignoring scale in favor of other features in an interesting concept that’s certainly worth exploring in our own LEGO building. Even though the sections are not in the same scale based on the movie, they do go well together. And the vignettes are hidden at the back so their scale is not bothersome.
➡ LEGO JURASSIC PARK: T. REX RAMPAGE MINIFIG DISPLAY: The display stand features a T. rex facts plate (achieved with a large sticker). It seems that a lot of people are unhappy that instead of the original Jurassic Park logo, the Jurassic World logo was used, but this was a decision by the IP holder LEGO couldn’t do anything about. The little vegetation (including a baby dino!) nicely frames the display stand. The six minifigures are John Hammond, Ian Malcolm, Ellie Sattler, Alan Grant, Ray Arnold, and Dennis Nedry. They are exceptionally well detailed with front and back printing, and dual-moulded legs and dual facial expressions for many of the characters. Ellie and Alan appeared previously, but the other four minifigs are exclusive to this set.
➡ LEGO JURASSIC PARK: T. REX RAMPAGE T. REX: The highlight of the set, of course, is the massive T. rex that measures over 8” (22cm) high, 27” (69cm) long, and 6” (17cm) wide. LEGO designer Mark Stafford talked extensively about how the design of the dino came about. Back in 2012, another LEGO designer, Mike Psiaki, built a giant dinosaur that was intended to be released in the LEGO Creator line at some point. Mark Stafford thought the dino would be perfect for the LEGO Jurassic World/Jurassic Park line, so he modified the original model to match the T. rex from the film. This included changing the colors, changing the shape of the head, and updating some of the parts and building techniques with newer options.
The T. rex has at least two very impressive features; stability and articulation. It’s actually pretty amazing to see such a large LEGO model standing on only two legs, completely stable, and fully posable. This was achieved primarily by focusing on making the ankles and hip joints especially secure and strong. As far as articulation the mouth, tongue, head, neck, arms, hips, legs, toes, and tail are all posable. The tail is especially fun to play with as it is made up of several segments.
The color-scheme of the T. rex isn’t really accurate to the movie, but it’s hard to recapture a mostly grayish/brownish creature with no distinct patterns and still make it interesting. Ultimately, I like the direction LEGO designers went with the more colorful arrangement of reddish-brown, dark-grown, and dark-tan pieces. However, I’m not so fond of the abrupt change to dark-gray legs, and that the small light-gray ball-joints in the arms stand out so prominently.
Mark Stafford shared that he completely redesigned the head several times to make it more movie accurate. I love those different size teeth, the tongue, and the yellow eyes (printed pieces). They are very effective and look good. Oh, and there is a frog inside the dino’s belly to represent the frog DNA referenced in the movie. Mark Stafford also shared that he originally wanted to include a goat in the T. rex’s stomach as well, but the goat mould LEGO used in the #7189 LEGO Castle Mill Village Raid sets got damaged.
➡ LEGO JURASSIC PARK: T. REX RAMPAGE GATE: The Jurassic Park gate is the second large build in the set, measuring over 16” (42cm) high, 18” (48cm) wide, and 5” (14cm) deep. The gate’s frame is beautifully done, accurately recreating the curves of the structure with sideways building techniques. The gate itself looks very accurate as well, using reddish-brown and dark-brown plates. The gate can be opened and closed with a mechanism hidden at the top of the frame. The Jurassic Park logo is achieved by three large stickers. The little flames around the frame and the colorful plants at the bottom are other nice details. Another excellent detail is the tire tracks in the mud.
At the back of the gate are seven detailed, brick-built scenes inspired by the movie. This includes a bunker with a buildable bed for Ian Malcolm, a power shed with Ellie Sattler (and Ray Arnold’s severed arm!), John Hammond’s dining room with lots of sweets, Ray Arnold’s control room with three computer screens, a toilet to represent lawyer Donald Gennaro (no minifig included), and a scene with Dennis Nedry with a buildable mudslide and shaving cream can. There is also another little scene at the top of the gate with a dinosaur next and two cracked eggs.
I have read LEGO fans debating about the usefulness of these vignettes. They are not visible when displaying the gate from the front, but they are a good way to put the minifigures from the display stand into action poses. I don’t think it’s a bad idea, as it adds some play features without taking away from the displayability of the set. Sort of like a hidden surprise.
Another thing LEGO fans are debating about is the lack of at least one Jurassic Park vehicle. Mark Stafford explained that this would have required a separate license from the car manufacturer, and this didn’t work out. Plus, since neither the T. rex nor the gate are minifig scale, throwing in a car would have made the collection even more confusing. However, this does not have to deter LEGO fans from making their own Jurassic Park vehicles, as we discussed the other day. In the video-review below, you can take a closer look at the set and all the details.
The star of the LEGO Jurassic Park: T. Rex Rampage set is clearly the dino. It’s an excellent build, and a great model for learning advanced building techniques related to stability and articulation. It also looks very impressive on display. I’m not entirely convinced that it wouldn’t have been better to keep the dino as a LEGO Creator set at a lower price, and do something else for a LEGO Jurassic World/Jurassic Park exclusive. However, it seems like Jurassic Park fans are happy with the set, so it may have been a good idea after all. If you are interested, you can find the set, along with a whole collection of regular LEGO Jurassic World/Jurassic Park sets at the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like the new LEGO Jurassic Park set? Are you planning to get it? Or do you have it already? Feel free to share your thoughts and own reviews in the comment section below!
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