Indominus rex Breakout [LEGO Review]

If it was not obvious from some of my previous posts, I love Jurassic Park. While the first one remains the best, I am always willing to dish out money to watch people running from dinosaurs, regardless of how bad the script might be (and some of the movies in that franchise had pretty bad scripts). I am just plain thrilled to have LEGO dinosaurs. I have already reviewed the T. rex Tracker (click here to read it) and Raptor Rampage (click here to read it) sets. Both went on liquidation this past summer. I was all the while patiently waiting for the mother of all Jurassic World sets to go on sale. Finally, it happened, and I acquired the Indominus rex Breakout. I really enjoyed the other sets in the theme, so lets see how this ones compares.

Set Summary

Name: Indominus rex Breakout
Set #: 75919
Cost: $149.99 CAD ($120.00 on sale)
Brick Count: 1156
Minifigure Count: 4
Other Figs: Indominus rex
Of Interest: Mosquito amber fossil, Erlenmeyer flask
Manuals: 1 (214 pages total)
Release Date: May 2, 2015

Summary Review: 86%

Value: 90% on sale ($0.10 per brick)
Build: 80% (overall good design, but needs more detail in certain areas)
Minifigs: 88% (The Indominus steals the show, Dr. Wu is great, the rest are ok)
Enjoyment: 85% (a good build-time value and the set is fun as it is, but a little small)

Review

VALUE: 90% on sale (80% at full price)
With 1156 pieces, and a price tag of $149.99 CAD, each brick comes with a $0.13 price tag at full cost. I waited for a 20% off sale, which means the whole kit set me back $120.00. This means that each brick cost me $0.10. At full price, set earns a value score of 4/5 (80%), but on sale that grade goes up to 4.5/5 (90%).

BUILD: 80%
There are four main sections to the Indominus rex compound. Starting with the front, I really like the main gate. The interlocking teeth along the inside edges of the doors look amazing. I am also impressed with the reinforced metal beam look in the corners and the door frame. The design also allows the door to slide open with ease, and is a really nice build.

Moving around the first corner, you pass the Gyrosphere dock. This is a really neat play feature that actually works very well. The Gyrosphere launches by pushing a rod from the inside of the Indominus pen. It rolls flawlessly from the dock, and keeps the Minifigure inside upright as it rolls along. The only thing I don’t like about this is that it is not true to the movie in any way. The Gyrospheres were nowhere near the Indominus pen in the movie, and for good reason.

The next wall features an observation deck. On the wall edge there is a feeding crane to lower food into the Indominus pen. The overall set-up here is very nice as well. I wish they had provided a LEGO cow to lower into the pen instead of two chicken legs. Drumsticks don’t really seem like they would be enough to feed an Indominus rex.

The back of the compound has another observation deck on the ground floor, and a control centre on the top. The roof has a helicopter landing pad. I could have done without the helicopter and the helicopter landing pad. There is already a separate helicopter set in the Jurassic World theme, and the Indominus compound did not have a landing pad in the movie. I feel like those bricks could have been better used increasing the amount of detail in other areas of the set.

The final wall is built so that it can break apart easily. This is a play feature that allows the Indominus rex to break through the wall. There is not much else to this side of the compound, but it doesn’t look bad at all.

Rounding the last corner back to the front gate brings you to a storage area for weapons. There is a tranquilizer gun and an electric prod. This is one area where I feel like there could have been more work. Having a weapons locker on the outside wall with no lock-up doesn’t make sense. Instead of the helicopter, more work could have been done in this area.

My overall feelings about the compound are that it is a fun build with nice play features. The compound itself is a little small for the Indominus rex, in fact the dinosaur barely fits in the pen. This compound would have been better suited for the Velociraptors. Again, this is something that could have been addressed if the helicopter and landing pad had been left out.  I like this set, but I will take off marks for the weapons locker and the small size. I’m not crazy about Gyrosphere being attached to the compound, but it works so nicely that I don’t feel the set should lose marks for it. My favorite part is the front gate. I give the build 8/10.

MINIFIGURES: 88%
With 1156 bricks and 4 Minifigures, you are getting one Minifig for every 289 bricks. This is a little low and would earn the set 3/5 by itself. But, you also get the Indominus rex, which is really nice. It is worth more than one Minifig in my opinion, but not enough to offset the low Minifigure ratio. I will give this set 4.5/5 for Minifigure ratio.

It would have been nice to see a different Minifigure distribution throughout the Jurassic World theme. Getting Doctor Wu in this set was cool, but a main character from the film who was actually associated with the Indominus compound in the movie would have been nice. Zach comes with this set, but he never even saw the compound in the movie. Meanwhile, both Claire and Owen came with Raptor Rampage. Claire was great for that set since she actually drove the Vet Unit in the movie, but Owen could have been relocated to this set instead of another Vet. One Vet with the T. rex Tracker was enough. Barry, Lowery, and Vivian were all characters who had more substantial roles in the movie, yet never became Minifigures.

Let’s look at the Vet first. He is identical in almost every way to the Vet that came with the T. rex Tracker. His facial expression is the only thing that is different. Again, I wish they had allocated Minifigures differently in this theme, duplicates of characters who weren’t even really in the movie are not necessary. I am slightly less impressed with this Minifig this time around, since I already have one. This one also doesn’t have any accessories. I give him 6/10.

The ACU Officer has the same body as the previous ACU Officers from Raptor Rampage and T. rex Tracker. He is nicely detailed and has a different head from the others, with a double-sided face. Multiple ACU Officers doesn’t bother me as much as the Vet because any Jurassic World needs a team for animal control. Plus, the heads/faces have been very different on each one so far. This one gets 9/10.

Zach is an ok Minifigure. He has no printing on his legs, but does have front and back print on his torso, and a double-sided face. I am really happy that they did not give him the stupid kid legs. If you count the Gyrosphere as his accessory, I would give him 8/10 overall, which is a full two points for the Gyrosphere because it works so well and its pretty big.

Dr. Wu is my favorite Minifigure in this set. I was really happy that they put that character into the movie to help tie it in with the original. Wu has a double-sided face, front and back printing on his torso, and front printing on his legs. I would have been nice to see the lab coat printed on the back of his legs as well as on the front though. He comes with an Erlenmeyer flask, a syringe, and a mosquito in amber. I give him 9.5/10, losing one point for no back print on his legs, but gaining a little back for the neat accessories.

Finally, we have the Indominus rex. It has nine points of articulation. The jaws snap open and closed nicely, the neck has lots of mobility, the arms rotate, as do the wrists, legs, and tail. The paint job is also well done. I like that the dinosaur can also hold a Minifigure in its hands. The dinosaurs have been really great in this theme so far, and the Indominus rex is no exception. I give it a full 10/10.

In terms of Minifigure design, this set gets 85%. With the Minifigure to brick ratio score, the overall Minifigure grade goes up to 88%.

ENTERTAINMENT: 85% on sale (75% at full price)
This set took me 5 hours and 20 minutes to build at a leisurely pace. At full price, that would translate to $0.47 per minute of build time, which earns 3/5 for entertainment value. Since I bought this set on sale for 20% off, it only cost me $0.38/minute, which earns this set 4/5.

I like the overall design of this set. It also has great play features. If I was building a LEGO Jurassic Park, I would definitely incorporate this set. But, I would also change it a little. Thankfully, the way the walls of this set fit together, that would be very easy if you had two of these, or enough spare part in the right colours to build another wall or two. I give it 4.5/5 in terms of likeability.

The combination of these two grades earns this set an overall entertainment rating of 85% if you get it on sale. At full price, you are looking more at a score of 75%.

Overall: 86%

I have really enjoyed the Jurassic World theme. It continues to deliver solid sets, and waiting for a sale makes them a pretty good value overall. This set is a little small for the Indominus rex, but it can be fairly easily expanded due to its clever design. The helicopter and landing pad should have been left out so that more detail could be put in other areas. I also feel the Vet Minifigure should have been replaced with someone else. But, the design of this set is really nice, especially front gates. The Indominus rex is also great. I do recommend this set.

Until next time,

-T.N.B.