The year is 2017 - In exactly one year’s time the Jurassic phenomenon will have swept the globe again, with vast amounts of merchandise available on store shelves. This merchandise will include my favorite merchandise from the first film re-imagined – LEGO sets. As the hype continues to build for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, join me as we look at the main sets released by LEGO for Jurassic World.
First up, we had Pteranodon Capture – the cheapest set in the original lineup, coming in at £19.99. This set was a wonderful starting set which is almost entirely accurate to the sequence in the film if we re-contextualize the set a little bit. We see a ACU soldier and Masrani desperately facing off against the Pteranodon, although here they seem to be about to capture it whereas in the film, we know that Masrani’s fate is much different. I really enjoyed this set – I thought that the Helicopter was a nice size, and that the colour scheme here was well-done. The Pteranodon although not necessarily accurate colour-wise to those in the film was a nice and unique aerial predator to get, and the ACU soldier was easily amassable. Masrani here was a nice figure too, although I would have preferred him in a suit like in the film, although contextually here a flight jumpsuit makes perfect sense. My only problem with this set was the ridiculous play-features tacked onto the sides. Whilst I understand the importance of playability, here the features felt detrimental. I ultimately customized my JW1 Helicopter to give it a sleeker profile, removing the side features and internalizing a turret attachment point instead. Overall though, this was a solid entry into the Jurassic World lineup – and one which was certainly enjoyed.
Next up we have Dilophosaurus Ambush, which was hands-down my absolute favorite set of the Jurassic World line. At £29.99, this was the second cheapest set in the Jurassic World line – and this set had a lot going for it! Here we got two mini-figures – being Gray, and another ACU trooper. The ACU trooper here uses a similar skin tone to Hamada, and it would have been a nice nod to the ACU leader to get him in minifigure form, although sadly we never did. Gray here has a nice checkered shirt which matches the one we see on him in the film, and whilst his legs are not printed, printing isn’t necessary here. The Dilophosaur here is phenomenal. Sculpt wise, the only new aspects here were the head and legs – with the rest being the original LEGO Raptor mould, but the sculpting here works nicely and looks fantastic. The Gyrosphere is also fantastic here – using a few unique pieces to create a faithful rendition of its on-screen counterpart, even if this version may only fit one character. The Jeep is also phenomenal here, with LEGO clearly opting to go with a Jeep Wrangler style vehicle as opposed to JW’s Mercedes G-Class as a way of really paying homage to the original film. The vehicle looks sleek and fantastic in the JW livery, and the addition of a working winch, flick-fire missiles and tool storage all contribute to a thoroughly well-made vehicle. In terms of accuracy to the film – we never see the Dilophosaur, but I feel as though LEGO made a nice decision here to create a set which conveys much of the original Jurassic Park, but under Jurassic World branding.
Moving on from the Dilophosaur, we have Raptor Escape – one of only two structures in the line, with this one retailing at £39.99. Being a LEGO store exclusive, Raptor Escape presented fans with their only way to get Barry, in addition to Charlie and Echo from the Raptor Squad. The two minifigures here – a Jurassic World vet, and Barry, are done very nicely – with both being faithful to the source material in the film. Whilst not using printed legs again, this is not detrimental for either figure – and both are a welcome addition to the JW LEGO lineup. Echo and Charlie are also nice here – using LEGO’s already existing Raptor molds in new liveries to present us with two very iconic and identifiable Raptors. Whilst not entirely accurate to their on-screen counterparts, both are intricately detailed and feel like a vital part of the JW lineup. We get a nice little Quad Bike here – referencing Barry’s use of one in the film, and the structure itself is nice, with a variety of inbuilt features. I particularly like the feeding function here, and the collapsing tower, allowing us to mimic the scene in Jurassic World where the young handler falls into the enclosure. The enclosure itself is a bit small to house all four members of the Raptor Squad – although the methods used to attach it lend easily to the combination of two sets, something which I had always intended to do before the sets sold out.
We now move on to arguably the set that everyone wanted to own – Raptor Rampage. This set delivered our two main characters, two Raptors, and a large-scale vehicle from the film. Retailing at £49.99, this was the middle ground set of the wave and the only way to get both Owen and Claire. On the subject of which, both Owen and Claire are represented with phenomenal mini-figures here. Owen uses wonderful printing on both his torso and legs to reflect his character, and Claire’s torso is a nice way of showing her more rugged nature which prevails later in the film. Both utilize appropriate facial expressions and hairpieces to really sell their appearances. We also get another ACU trooper here, and we also get Delta and Blue – with Blue being by far my favorite Raptor LEGO produced with the phenomenal level of detail here truly capturing her appearance, right down to her blue stripe. We also get a few smaller set-pieces here like computers, a turret, and Owen’s Bike – all of which allowed for more display options. One thing I love here which I wish Raptor Escape had included was the Dino Head-Cameras – something which we see within the Raptor Squad sequence in the film. They are incredibly nice pieces, so I wish we had seen them included with the other two Raptors as well. Lastly, the vehicle here is a very faithful Vet Unit truck which, apart from sitting a little too high off the ground, does a nice job in replicating the vehicle from the film. Interior space here is limited, but a few simple modifications allow for a more detailed interior matching the look of the vehicle from the film.
We now have our second-largest set – the T Rex Tracker. Weighing in at £59.99, this set was one of the heavier-hitting ones, and was also the least accurate to the film. Mini-figures wise, we get a Vet and an ACU Trooper whom we see in other sets, but we also get Vic Hoskins here – a nice mini-figure and an important antagonist for the JW film. We also get a few extra pieces here like Raptor Rampage, including a Bike and a Burning Torch presumably mimicking the flare from Jurassic Park. The vehicle, whilst entirely inaccurate, is nice and chunky, feeling incredibly rugged and heavy-duty. It has plenty of display space for figures across the vehicle, and can also fit the included T-Rex. The Rex, whilst a nice mold, doesn’t perhaps meetup to the colour scheme seen in the film, leaving me desiring a little more from the second most prominent dinosaur in the lineup. Overall, this set, whilst tongue-in-cheek and fun, felt a little disappointing due to the inconsistency to the source material of the film.
Lastly, we have Indominus Rex Breakout – a beautiful set retailing at £99.99. This set gave us a fantastic paddock, a cool little helicopter, and the star of Jurassic World – the Indominus Rex. Starting with the mini-figs, we get an ACU Trooper and a Vet again here, allowing us to have a large number of JW staff at this point. We also get Dr Wu – an incredibly well-done mini-figure with nice prints on both his torso and legs, and a cool accessory of a mosquito in amber. We also get Zach in his iconic hoody with red t-shirt, a simplistic but good looking torso which matches the character nicely. We get another Gyrosphere here, and we also get a nice little helicopter which is a reasonable model for the small number of pieces utilized. The Indominus itself is a beautifully sculpted figure, sharing many similarities to the T-Rex, but with an assortment of new parts littered across here to really make the hybrid stand out as the focus of the line. Then the paddock itself is wonderful, with everything from the viewing station we see in the film, to Dr Wu’s lab, and even a collapsible wall. The paddock is a nice imagining of several locations and aspects of the paddock in the film – creating a final product which is both incredibly fun and incredibly functional.
So, with all this in mind, what do I hope for from Fallen Kingdom sets? Well – I hope for more structure, and slightly more diversity in mini-figures, with the ability to still amass some characters. I hope that we will see some new dinosaur moulds, and I hope that they stick with the mostly authentic vehicles apart from the tracker-style vehicles, as I prefer those authentic vehicles. I hope for another fantastic paddock set, but I want it to have different features and shape to the Indominus paddock. And lastly – I hope that our retail-exclusive set is a JP 25th Anniversary set.
What did you guys think of the LEGO Jurassic World sets? And what are you hoping for from the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom sets? Get in touch with us and let us know.
Article by Thomas Fishenden