With no new films in the past couple of years and limited episodes of the Chaos Theory animated series, the LEGO® Jurassic World theme has sought inspiration from the collective Jurassic franchise. It also allowed the design team to try new things beyond simple playsets with dinosaurs in them. Whilst LEGO dinosaur figures are extremely cool they are often surrounded by similar vehicles and minifigures. Next month will see just two new LEGO Jurassic sets released and the first I’ll be taking a look at is the Triceratops Skull Fossil.
Product Details
Set Name: Dinosaur Fossils: Triceratops Skull | Set Number: 79696 | Pieces: 468 | Theme: Jurassic World
Number of Bags: Bags x 5 (paper) | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: sheet x 1 | Characters: Junior Paleontologist RRP: £39.99/$44.99/44.99€/TBCAUD/59.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online and LEGO Retailer from January 1st
One of the most interesting LEGO Jurassic sets to be released in recent years arrived right and the start of the year. The Dinosaur Fossils: T. rex Skull set, as the name suggests, featured a buildable T. rex skull and a fossilized footprint. Combined they created an impressive display piece and showed that trying something different with a long-established theme can lead to interesting things. The addition of a second Dinosaurs Fossil set, it appears led to the creation of a new sub-theme.
Similar to the T. rex fossil, the Triceratops edition features a buildable skull and display stand with the footprint being switched out for a fossil hunting kit. A minifigure has also been introduced. In terms of the build, it begins with the stand. This has the job of not only holding the skull but also the fossil kit and an information plaque. Although the stand lacks the foliage of its predecessor, it still feels organic thanks to the rocky pieces clad around the black display rod. The info plaque is slightly different when compared to the T. rex set. It’s still a sticker but it’s smaller and mounted on a ramp element in place of a larger tile plate.
As mentioned the footprint is switched out for a small fossil hunting kit. I can see why achieving the unique shape of a Triceratops print on such a small scale would be difficult. So it’s been replaced with a small plate which features a mini triceratops fossil and tools used to uncover it. It’s not as impressive as a footprint fossil but it’s still a nice addition to the stand and gives it some variety.
The stand is also home to a minifigure. This doesn’t appear to be a particular character, in fact, it’s listed as Junior Paleontologist. But it does have a passing resemblance to Dr Ian Malcolm’s daughter from Jurassic Park: The Lost World and her torso features the Jurassic Park version of the T. rex logo.
The skull of the Triceratops feels a little more robust than the T. rex skull. Although both sets are similar in size, the two skulls are scaled against each of the real dinosaurs. So the Triceratops skull is a little smaller and therefore a little more compact. Despite that, it’s still a wonderful build. The layering of elements and different coloured pieces give the completed skull a great textured finish. Considering it’s crafted from shiny bits of plastic, it feels aged. The bony frill which protrudes from the back of the Triceratops head feels a little small when you are building it but once it’s married to the rest of the skull it looks OK. Another part of the build I was unsure about was the iconic horns, which help give the dinosaur its name. Due to the tube elements used to create them, there are two prominent gaps. Although they are a little unsightly, as the set is meant to replicate an ancient fossil, they sort of work with the overall aesthetics of the build.
I love the LEGO Jurassic theme and yes the dinosaur figures are super cool but I also like it when themes try something new. The Triceratops Skull is another great example of that plus it’s a great-looking set, I’m not sure it needed a minifigure but that’s just a bonus. Unsurprisingly, it looks great when displayed next to the T. rex Skull and I hope we get future Dinosaur Fossils sets. It would be great to see the sub-theme used to experiment more with unusual dinosaur-themed creations. The LEGO Jurassic Dinosaur Fossils: Triceratops Skull will be available from January 1st and you can pre-order it now.
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The LEGO Group provided this set to BricksFanz.com for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Universal. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
