Review : LEGO 75936 Jurassic Park T. rex Rampage

It's a box whose announcement will not leave many people indifferent: the content of the set 75936 Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage (3120 pieces - 249.99 €) is divided among fans and now is the time to take a closer look to see where the 3120 pieces announced by LEGO are hiding.

It is obvious that the primary purpose of this test is to talk about what is in the box. But it is difficult not to mention what in my opinion is sorely lacking in this set which is intended as a tribute to the entire Jurassic Park saga: an example of the cult vehicle and immediately recognizable, the Ford Explorer in the colors of the park .

LEGO, which is however used not to miss an opportunity to provide us with various and varied vehicles even when it is frankly off topic, decided to ignore the 150 or 200 parts that would have been enough to compensate for the disappointment of some. I see some who hope that the motley Ford Explorer will one day be delivered in another box, but I do not really believe it. This set is in my opinion the last tribute to the Jurassic Park saga, judging by the designer's choice to include some microscopic vignettes referring to more or less cult scenes.

That being said, the set focuses on two other cult elements of the saga: the iconic gate of the park and the T-rex which is present in all the films. The and 75932 Jurassic Park Velociraptor Chase (2018) could have suggested a range of several playsets in reference to the most emblematic scenes, but this new box takes a different direction.

As was the case with the LEGO Star Wars set 75251 Darth Vader's Castle (2018), the park gate to be assembled does indeed act as a two-scale construction. On the one hand, we get an imposing and very honest reproduction of the thing, and on the other hand we discover a set of small spaces allowing to stage the minifigs provided. Better to ignore the spacing between the wheel tracks on the way to try to imagine the size of the vehicle that could have been provided. In fact, it is better to simply ignore the considerations of scale between the different elements of the set.

Unlike the Darth Vader's Castle which integrated an interior space consistent with the facade of the building, the scenes proposed here have nothing to do with the doorposts. This "artistic" choice for a product intended for adult fans is questionable, given that the vast majority of these fans will exhibit the door with the exterior side visible and that the various cavities placed on the back are not really intended for fun. We will have five minutes of fun with the different winks on offer but there is nothing to marvel at these microphones "... detailed brick decors inspired by the film ..."

Small funny detail, we find the torn arm of Ray Arnold in the micro-compartment which features Ellie Sattler ... It is also the only explicitly "gore" reference in the set.

Regarding the "build experience", if I had to choose between the gate and the T-rex, my preference would be for the T-rex. The assembly of the park gate quickly becomes repetitive. The structure of the two uprights in mirror mode is logically identical and there are only a few small scenes to provide a little distraction during the assembly. It remains the pleasure of seeing the door rise to reach about forty centimeters high. The patchwork of vegetation placed at the foot of the door is welcome, it really contributes to the finish of the whole.

Even though the two door leaves can be opened simply by pushing on each of them, a rotating mechanism is integrated in the upper area just behind the park panel. It's always what it takes to open the door like in the movie without putting your big fingers in the middle of the scene.

During the construction process, the assembly remains relatively fragile and difficult to move. It is only when the reinforcement bars and the upper transverse strip are installed that the rigidity becomes sufficient to move the door without risk of destroying something in the process.

As usual with LEGO, the different "playable" spaces are really very small and placing a minifigure in them is enough to fill each space. The nods to the different scenes are obvious and some of them even confirm what could have been done in bigger (play) sets.

It is also difficult to explain the presence of the toilets when the minifig of lawyer Donald Gennaro is not provided ... The vignette which features Dennis Nedry is for its part a little minimalist, the cult scene in question during which the character flees in a Jeep and meets a dilophosaurus arguably deserves better than the micro-mudslide with the shaving foam bomb.

We can not escape here the usual sheet of stickers which contains the sign of the park, the three screens of Ray Arnold's office and a large sticker in the style of those of the sets Ultimate Collector Series from the LEGO Star Wars range which details here some characteristics of the T-rex.

This last sticker adorned with the Jurassic World logo (apparently a choice of the license holders for reasons of consistency of the range of derivative products) seems a little superfluous to me and in my opinion it is only present to artificially render this produces even more "collector". This sticker also confirms that the T-rex is 5.2 meters high and that it is therefore not really the scale of the park gate, nor of the minifigs.

Another annoying detail: the Word PARK is divided into two stickers and the spacing between the letters A and R is different from that of the other letters of the word. Some may never notice it, but as far as I'm concerned, it's disappointing.

This buildable T-rex for its part offers a very interesting assembly experience, it would be bad faith to say the opposite. Was it absolutely necessary to offer a brick creature instead of throwing a copy of the usual molded figurine in the box and in turn reduce the price of the set by a few dozen euros? Nothing is less certain and we return once again to the absence of the Ford Explorer which could then have found its place in this box without inflation of the public price.

The fact remains that all those who have never experienced the different creatures to assemble usually available in the Creator range will find something to enjoy here.

We will also remember the presence of a frog in the entrails of the T-rex, in reference to the film where the holes in the DNA sequencing of the dinos are replaced by different elements from other more or less close animals.

Those who swear by the sacrosanct concept of a construction toy may prefer this brick T-rex that sits proudly on the living room dresser to a cast figure. This T-rex, which at first glance looks like a backyard chicken with its gray legs, only really takes shape when the creature's head is in place even though my first reaction to the completed model was to think of Rex from Toy Story ...

I am a bit disappointed with the leg attachment system. The rotation mechanism is well designed but the four black pins that hold everything in place tend to come off unexpectedly during different manipulations.

The tail is very well designed and it can be swiveled in different positions to polish the T-rex's staging or to save space on a shelf. No risk of accidental destruction on this element, Ball Seals do their job properly. The designer has done his homework and the T-rex is balanced by the weight distribution between the head, body and tail.

Be careful, the legs are not articulated, they remain in a fixed position regardless of the orientation of the T-rex's body. The construction is pretty stable regardless of the position and the creature remains modular for quick storage, just unhook the two legs, head and tail. The reassembly only takes a few seconds.

The assortment in minifigs here is a bit disappointing. There are some cult characters from the saga, but Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) have already had their minifigs: Grant and Sattler were delivered in the set 75932 Jurassic Park Velociraptor Chase (2018) and Ian Malcom was available in a variant delivered in the exclusive minifig pack marketed / offered at the end of 2018 (ref. Lego 5005255).

LEGO just gives us the same hat for Hammond and Grant. Yet in the film, the two accessories are differentiated by a colored band at the base of John Hammond's hat.

Besides the other slightly disappointing technical details, I note the difference in color between the head and the torso of Ian Malcolm, so do not be fooled by the official visuals presented a few days ago which are digital versions or retouched photos.

There are three unreleased minifigs left: John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), John Raymond Arnold (Samuel L. Jackson) and Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight). If the first two are quite faithful to the characters of the film, the minifigure of Dennis Nedry seems to me completely missed. How, at LEGO, did we come to the conclusion that Nedry and Arnold have the same hairstyle?

I'm also not a fan of the return of white hue on the inside of Ray Arnold's bi-injected legs and the unbuffered area at the very top of the hip element that keeps the legs in place. This lack of finish somewhat spoils the overall rendering of this minifigure, the design of which is nevertheless very faithful to the outfit of Samuel L. Jackson in the film.

If we have to go into even more detail, I think the logo printed on the torsos of Nedry and Arnold does not match the one seen in the film. Even if it means going to the trouble of pad printing a micro logo, you might as well do it correctly and with the right background color (yellow with red border) ...

Regarding Dennis Nedry's minifig, she does have an alternate face smeared with the venom projected by the dipholosaurus, she does wear the yellow hoodie seen on the screen, but unfortunately LEGO does not provide the Jeep Wrangler with which Nedry fled ... Another missed opportunity to offer us a vehicle with a few parts that would have made the fans happy.

Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck) is also missing in this box. Too bad for the fans who hoped to gather a large part of the cast.

In short, all is not perfect in this very large set of more than 3000 pieces at 250 €, even if it offers some good moments of construction with the T-rex whose appearance is a little spoiled by the gray legs. The park gate is successful and, from the front, it will have its little effect on a shelf. In my opinion, the micro-vignettes placed on the back do not add much to the set and some are too incomplete to be really effective.

As usual, it's up to you: It's up to you to decide on this pure display product for adult fans that mixes everything up and on different scales deserves the honors of your shelves. Even though I had a lot of fun putting together this set, it will be without me. I really like the Jurassic Park / World universe but this derivative product seems to me really too incomplete for the space it takes.

Note: The set shown here, supplied by LEGO, is included as usual. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is post a comment (avoid "I participate, I try, etc ..." be a little more constructive) on this article before the June 30, 2019 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

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