My son and I recently sat down and built the LEGO 76940: T. Rex Dinosaur Fossil Exhibition set together. The set contains 198 pieces and is designed for ages 7 and up (my son isn't quite four but he was able to build most of the set with some assistance from me). The set retails for $29.99.
The main attraction of the set is the large T. Rex skeleton but you also get a pair of minifigures (Owen and Darius) as well as a baby Triceratops and a small cart. All of that is done with just under 200 pieces and is spread across three main bags to build.
First, let's take a look at the little cart:
The cart is a fun addition that makes the set look like it belongs in a museum (or maybe a classroom)? The cart comes complete with an egg, a dino claw, a leaf (why?), and a light along with what I think is supposed to be a chalkboard or whiteboard with which one could give some sort of lecture. The whiteboard design uses one of the two stickers in the set (and I was happy to see a set with a small number of stickers)!
The main draw of the set has to be the T-rex skeleton.
This is an interesting skeleton because the head is the usual headpiece for LEGO dinos (with a different "paint job") but the rest of the body is actually a more proper brick-built skeleton.
The last bit of the set is the stand that the T-rex sits on (and the second sticker of the set for the display sign). There's definitely a nice museum vibe about the set - and it's the sole reason I bought this particular set since I wanted the skeleton for my own custom Jurassic Park that I'm slowly working on!
The Bottom Line (out of 10):
Fun: 6
Play Value: 6
Kid Value: 6
Adult Value: 6
Overall: 6
The T-rex skeleton cane be removed from the base but if you do so, you have to still keep the large black plates as part of his "foot." As such, it looks kind of goofy but at least there is some play value there. Unfortunately, the skeleton has a bunch of parts that fall off very easily (including rexy's arms) so play is probably best limited to older children. Astute readers may notice that there's no baby triceratops in any of my photos but that's because my son ran off with him before I took the pictures - so while T-Rex may not be the best to play with, baby Triceratops was a hit in my household!
As for adults, I think the skeleton looks appropriate for a LEGO City museum setting. It's got just the right amount of cartoony feeling to it - and the blue baby triceratops is a welcome addition to anyone's dino collection as well!
Personally, if this set were priced at $20 rather than $30, it'd probably have scored at least two points higher on my grading scale. Unfortunately, for $30 the end result doesn't feel like a lot...and the fact that the T-rex is really playable hurts even more when you realize that all that's left to play with is a non-posable baby dino and a glorified chalkboard. That being said, if you like dinos I'd still recommend this set...but if you can find it on sale, all the better!
This is the one Jurassic Park set I will definitely pick up. Just added it to my wishlist today.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great little set. You'll see this again on my blog sometime in the future as the T-Rex skeleton is going to serve as the centerpiece of my custom Jurassic Park Welcome Center. Working on that build right now...you should see my desk, yikes!
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