I am back again with another LEGO Jurassic World review. I just can’t get enough of these dinosaur sets. It really saddens me that I have almost collected them all at this point and will soon no longer have more dinosaurs to look forward to. The three sets I have reviewed so far have been the T. rex Tracker (click here to read it), Raptor Rampage (click here to read it), and Indominus rex Breakout (click here to read it). I have loved all three, and this set does not disappoint either (well, not much anyway).
Set Summary
Name: Dilophosaurus Ambush
Set #: 75916
Cost: $39.99 CDN
Brick Count: 248
Minifigure Count: 2
Other Figs: Dilophosaurus
Manuals: 2 (107 pages total)
Release Date: May 2, 2015
Summary Review:
Value: 80% (at $0.13 per brick on sale, it is neither a great nor horrible value)
Build: 100% (I love the Jeep, I have no complaints here)
Minifigs: 90% (really good value, but the dilophosaurus is only ok in terms of design)
Enjoyment: 75% (I love this set, but the build is really short for the cost)
Review:
VALUE: 80% on sale; 70% full price
With 248 pieces and a price tag of $39.99 in Canada, this set has an average cost per brick of $0.16. The current average price per brick is $0.12 according to the Holiday 2016 LEGO Catalogue (click here to read my review). This makes this set a bit on the pricey side in terms of what you are getting, and earns it 3.5/5 at full price. However, like with my other Jurassic World sets, I waited for a sale to buy this one. It was 20% off, which brought the overall cost down to $31.99, and the average cost per brick down to $0.13. That is still a little over average, but brings my value rating up to 4/5.
BUILD: 100%
There is not much to dislike about the build of this set. I absolutely LOVE the Jeep. It is appropriately sized for a safari type vehicle. The spare tire casing on the back is a nice touch. The budding LEGO photographer in me is already buzzing with photo shoot ideas for this set. It also comes with a gyrosphere, which works amazingly well, just like it did in the Indominus rex Breakout. I have zero complaints in terms of the build for this set, and I give it a full 10/10.
MINIFIGURES: 90%
With this set, you are getting one Minifigure for every 124 pieces, which is actually not bad. That alone would earn this set 4.5/5 from me. But, you also get a dilophosaurus. So, in terms of Minifigure value, I will give this set 5/5.
The first of the two Minifigs in this set is Gray. I was not a fan of this character in the movie. Thankfully, just like with Zach in the Indominus rex Breakout, the LEGO version of this character did not continue to annoy me by having dwarf legs. Gray has a front and back printed torso, and a double sided face. He has plain blue legs. With the gyrosphere counted as his accessory, he earns 8/10. Normally I would have given him a six, but the gyrosphere is a pretty big accessory and it is awesome.
The other Minifig is another ACU officer. This one is not as decked out as the previous ones have been. He still has the same torso and legs, and also comes with a unique face. Well, unique for the buildable sets anyway. The LEGO Dimensions ACU officer appears to have the same face. This one does not have a vest though. Like the others, he has a buildable dinosaur prod, but no gun. There is a wrench in the Jeep that I suppose could be considered his… I give him 8/10.
Finally, there is the dilophosaurus. With the previous sets, the dinosaurs have been my main motivation for buying the kits. However, this time, I was not dying to own the dilophosaurus. I really bought this kit for the Jeep, and after assembling it, I have not changed my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to have this dinosaur, but it is not my favorite from the theme. I just don’t really like the neck frills. Yes, I know the dilophosaurus is known for them. But, I feel like it would have been easy enough to make the frills removable considering that we are talking about LEGO here. One of the coolest things about the dilophosaurus from the movies is how these frills are used as a threat display and are not permanently out. I would have liked this dinosaur a whole lot more had that extra attention to detail been made. Otherwise, the dilophosaurus has similar articulation to the velociraptors and looks pretty good. Unfortunately, unlike the other dinosaurs, this one doesn’t get a perfect score from me. I give the dilophosaurus 8/10, removing one point for each fixed frill.
Overall, the Minifigures get a design score of 80%. When combined with the Minifigure Value rating, the Minifigs of this set get 90%.
ENJOYMENT: 75% on sale; 60% at full price
I spent about an hour tinkering with this set and putting it together. At full price, that means this set costs $0.67 per minute of build time. That is a really bad value in my book, and earns the set 1/5. On sale, the cost came out to $0.53 per minute of build time, which is still not great, but brings the score up to 2.5/5.
I question the inclusion of this set in the Jurassic World theme since the dilophosaurus only appears in the film as a hologram. This set would have been better designed as a Jurassic Park set as it is reminiscent of the Dennis Nedry scene from the original film. But, since the film was Jurassic World, they could have still made the Jeep in the first movie’s colours since Zach and Gray did drive one of the original Jeeps in the movie. I think that would have made this set perfect for me. But, that is just the fanboy in me complaining a little… Other then perhaps the colour scheme, I would not change this set. I might even put this Jeep in my LEGO city for kicks, just because I like it so much. I will still give it 5/5 for likeability, even though I would have preferred the original Jurassic Park Jeep.
Overall, if you can get this set on sale, I would say it has an entertainment rating of 75%. If you are paying full price for it, that goes down to 60%.
Overall: 86%
If you find Dilophosaurus Ambush on sale, I highly recommend picking it up. The Jeep is the best part of this set, whereas in other Jurassic World sets, the dinosaurs have stolen the show. I give it 86% overall on sale. If you are buying it at full price, you are paying quite a bit per brick, and for each minute of build time. The overall score goes down to 80% at full retail price, which I suppose is still not all that bad. It really is a nice Jeep.
Until next time,
-T.N.B.
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