Jurassic Park is one of my all time favorite movies. It is a classic that has stood the test of time. While there are moments in the film that date it a little (“It’s an interactive CD-ROM!”), all-in-all the special effects remain fairly impressive. When the LEGO® Group announced a set featuring the epic gates from the film, I was excited. I admit that initial images of the set left me a little skeptical. However, seeing and building the kit in person quickly erased any shadow of a doubt. This week, we take a look at Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage (75936).
Click here to read the summer 2019 Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage press release.
NOTE: The LEGO® Group provided this set for review purposes. However, the provision of products does not guarantee a favorable review. I will use my usual rating system (click here to learn more), and provide my honest opinion.
T. rex Rampage (75936) Summary:
- NAME: Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage
- SET #: 75936
- THEME: Jurassic World
- COST: $299.99 CAD
- BRICK COUNT: 3120
- MINIFIGURES: 6
- OF INTEREST: a baby raptor
- RELEASE DATE: June 19, 2019
T. rex Rampage (75936) Quick Review:
- VALUE: 95% (Great value all around.)
- BUILD: 93% (Lots of authentic details, great build.)
- MINIFIGURES: 83% (Great characters, horrible brick:fig.)
- ENTERTAINMENT: 100% (A geek’s dream come true.)
- OVERALL SCORE: 93%
T. rex Rampage (75936) Review:
VALUE: 95%
While not one of the biggest LEGO® sets ever released, T. rex Rampage is none-the-less huge at 3120 pieces. It costs $299.99 in Canada, which means that each brick in the kit comes out to $0.10. As my current average cost-per-brick is $0.14, this set is actually a really good value despite its steep price tag. I rate that at 93%.
T. rex Rampage took me an even nine hours to build from start to finish (540 minutes). Therefore, at $299.99, each minute of build-time cost $0.56. Given that my average cost-per-minute is currently $0.83, this set is once again a stellar deal. That earns a grade of 96% for build-time. Averaging this score with the cost-per-brick score from above gives an overall value rating of 95%.
BUILD: 93%
T. rex Rampage has two instruction manuals for two main builds. I like this set-up because it allows you to build with a friend or family member if you so choose. Additionally, the builds are almost equal in terms of time commitment. The first build is the T. rex. The construction process for this beast took four hours and 17 minutes. The end product is huge, much larger than the T. rex figurines you get in other LEGO® Jurassic World sets. In actual fact, it is 69 cm long, and 22 cm high. The pictures really do not do it justice. Additionally, the T. rex is fully poseable, featuring roughly 30 points of articulation. I found myself amazed at the detail and clever designing at numerous points during the build.
This set also features several fun details from the film, the first of which is actually built into the T. rex itself. At one point, you place a little green frog into an empty space in the frame of the dinosaur. Fans might remember that in Jurassic Park, the “holes” in the dinosaur DNA extracted from mosquitos were filled with frog DNA. In this case, a frog was literally placed into a hole in the dinosaur.
The complete DNA of a frog was used…
There are a couple of minor points that bothered me about the T. rex build. Firstly, when you attach the legs on, they are a little wobbly. I kept doubting whether or not I had attached them correctly. This is not a problem when the dinosaur is standing on a flat surface, but it is noticeable when you pick it up. The other tiny issue is the T. rex’s nails. They are formed from two separate bricks that mirror each other, but are not attached to one another. This means they separate easily. Again, these are MINOR issues in an overall amazing build. I will take off half a mark collectively for the both of them. Rating the T. rex alone, I already give it 9.5/10 (95%).
Next up is the Jurassic Park gate. When looking at the front, you get the LEGO® version of what you see in the movie. Turning the set around reveals a number of brick-built vignettes depicting scenes from the original film. Since the gate tapers as you move upwards, these scenes become smaller. Obviously, since there is more space at the bottom, you get more detailed scenes. For fans of the movie, there are many fun details.
“Remind me to thank John for a lovely weekend.”
One scene depicts the bunker from the later half of Jurassic Park. There is the table where an injured Ian Malcolm lies down, supplies shelves in the background, and a gun locker off to one side. On the other side of the gate, you get the maintenance shed where Ellie Satler goes to switch on the park breakers. Here you see the breaker panel, the primer switch Satler has to pump, and Mr. Arnold’s disembodied arm sticking through the grate-work.
Moving up a vignette level, you find a small dining room. This is where John Hammond sits and eats all the melting ice cream in the movie. Growing up, this scene bored me a little, so it is not my favourite inclusion in this set. However, it is still an important scene in the film. You get the green Jell-O in this build that appears later in the movie.
Across from the dining hall, there is a small section of the control room. This features Mr. Arnold’s work station. While it would have been fun to get Nedry’s computer screens, they were actually featured in another set already. This time around, we get computers tracking the tropical storm that hits the island.
“Hold on to your butts.”
There are three smaller scenes built into the upper portions of the gate. Comparatively, none of them are as detailed as the larger vignettes below. However, each was iconic in the movie. There is a small mudslide with Nedry’s embryo storage can, a toilet, and a nest with hatched eggs. Unfortunately, there is no terrified Gennaro Minifigure to place on the toilet.
You really have to see the gate build in person to truly appreciate it. As I mentioned earlier in the article, the pictures do not do it justice. My only point of contention with the build is the sloping sides. The panels that make up the sides are not very firmly in place and shift whenever touched. However, if you just plan to leave this on display on a shelf somewhere, that is of little consequence. I rate the gate build at 9/10 (90%). Averaging this with the T. rex score gives this set an overall build grade of 93%.
MINIFIGURES: 83%
T. rex Rampage features six characters from the original Jurassic Park movie. Dr. Grant and Dr. Satler were seen before in the Velociraptor Chase (75932) set. However, Dr. Satler’s hair is different in this kit. Additionally, there is a new version of Ian Malcolm. Previously, the character was only available in the 2018 Bricktober Minifigure collection. This set features an injured variant of the character. Otherwise, Hammond, Nedry, and Arnold all make their Minifigure debut in this set.
All of the Minifigures in T. rex Rampage come with the standard Minifigure parts, as well as front and back torso printing. All except Hammond and Grant feature double-sided faces, while Satler, Arnold, and Malcolm also have leg printing. Finally, Satler and Arnold have two-toned legs. All of this earns these Minifigures a design score of 69/90 (77%).
In terms of accessories, T. rex Rampage comes with a baby velociraptor, a frog, two guns, a printed keyboard tile, and a spoon. All of the other details are either brick-built or stickers. Those accessories bring the design score up to 75/90 (83%).
“Spared no expense.”
With 3120 pieces and six Minifigures, the brick-to-Minifigure ratio is 520:1. Conversely, my current average is 149:1. Therefore, you are not getting very many characters for the brick-count. In fact, T. rex Rampage earns a deplorably low score in this category of 4%. This is truly unfortunate because the Minifigures included in the kit are phenomenal. As a Jurassic Park fan, I am thrilled to have these characters. Sadly, large sets like this rarely do well in the brick-to-fig ratio category. Averaging this with the design score gives an overall Minifigure grade of 44%. I am inclined to ignore the ratio score in this case though, and just give it the design score of 83% because the Minifigures are novel, and I love them.
ENTERTAINMENT: 100%
I love this set. LOVE it. Consequently, there is a permanent display place for it already in my house. Additionally, if I ever build my own LEGO® Jurassic Park, this set would be included without a doubt. As an AFOL score, it earns 100%.
I was in my KFOL heyday when Jurassic Park originally hit theatres. I would have died to have this set. Granted, it is a challenging build for kids. However, I am sure more than one parent out there would get a kick out of “helping” to build this. I give it a KFOL score of 100% as well. No need to average the AFOL and KFOL score here. This set is a geek’s dream come true.
OVERALL: 93%
Based on my usual scoring method, T. rex Rampage only earns 83% overall. Sadly, this is because of the really poor brick-to-fig ratio. The set excels in all other categories. However, I do not really feel that 83% is representative of the awesomeness of this kit. Therefore, ignoring the brick-to-fig ratio, this set’s Minifigure score would go up to 83%, and the overall score jumps to 93%. In conclusion, this is a great set, great value, and a must have for all Jurassic Park fans.
If you have any thoughts you would like to share on this set, please sound off in the comments below or on social media. I would love to hear from you!
Until next time,
-Tom
What do others think?
Brick Insights is an awesome site that aggregates LEGO® set review scores from around the web. Based on their statistics, you can see what other reviewers think of the Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage (75936) set below.
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