Velociraptor Chase (Jurassic Park by Lego)

“Salutations, fellow dinosaur lovers! Yes, it is I, Dr. Bella Bricking, along with my trusty wingwoman, Beth Buildit! My goodness, it’s been a long time since we last appeared on the Dinosaur Toy Blog!”

“Sure has, Doc. But with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom out this summer, Lego has really stepped up their game this year. They’ve got a whole heap of JW sets for their regular line, plus sets for Juniors and Duplo! I reckon that means we’re gonna be busy.”

“Yes indeed, Beth! And today we are reviewing something very special. Behold, Jurassic Park Velociraptor Chase, a loving nod to the original 1993 film! No time to waste! Let’s open this box and unload the contents!”

“Yeesh, this is going to take us awhile, Doc.”

“Fear not, Beth, we both know that’s all part of the fun of Lego. Now, this set includes three bags of pieces and two instruction booklets. I’ve located the first bag over here. You finish cutting open the Velociraptor packaging and assemble the components while I lay out these pieces.”

“Well, there’s our Velociraptor, Doc. As you can see, it’s the exact same mould as the one we reviewed a few years back. This raptor was included in two JW sets in 2015. This year, it’s popping up in two JW:FK sets and one Juniors set.”

“The colour scheme on this one is very similar to our first raptor, Beth. It certainly uses the exact same shades of brown and white for its base colour and teeth. However, it features dark brown stripes in a different stripe pattern, green eyes, and black claws, so we need never worry about confusing the two.”

“Here’s the four minifigures included in this set: Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Lex Murphy, and Tim Murphy. Ellie, Lex, and Tim all have reversible faces, so you can alternate between them looking fine or looking freaked. Alan only has one face, but he does come with a hairpiece and a pressure-based stud shooter to represent the shotgun he used briefly at one point. And badly, I might add!”

“Well, not everyone is as skilled in the precise art of wrangling dinosaurs as you, Beth. Do note the fine detailing on these minifigures. The clothing on Ellie, Lex, and Tim is particularly impressive. And a fine selection of hairpieces too. There’s no mistaking who these characters are!”

“So I guess it’s time now to start building the set, Doc?”

“You guessed correctly, Beth. Let us commence at once! First up is the control room.”

“There we go, Doc! Now let’s do the kitchen.”

“Marvellous, Beth! And now we shall complete the cold storage room.”

“Whew, done! Now we just need to slap these three sections together.”

“Splendid work, Beth! Let us examine this set more closely. Here in the control room we have Dennis Nedry’s workstation, complete with a swivelling chair. One monitor displays a map of part of the compound while the other shows Nedry’s decidedly grating GIF.”

“Uh, uh, uh! You didn’t say the magic word!”

“On the other side of the room is a telephone and a storage bin containing an umbrella, a wrench, and a large two-way radio. On the wall above is an alarm system and a map of Isla Nublar. Finally, the smaller window features the iconic Jurassic Park logo. Such meticulous attention to detail is most impressive, isn’t it, my dear Beth?”

“Don’t forget the coolest part, Doc. The heavy door, which has a window and turning handles on each side, locks by way of a simple Technic system. Push in the red lever sticking out from behind Nedry’s desk and the door locks good and tight! Unlocking it is just a matter of pulling the lever back out again.”

“Simple, yet ingenious, Beth! But even a locked door is not an obstacle for the relentless Velocirator, not when it can simply smash through the breakaway window! Fortunately, an adjustable stepladder is at hand for our heroes to make a quick escape into the overhead air ducts. Unfortunately, as you can see, this set does not come with air ducts!”

“Back off there, big gal, this isn’t that scene!”

“Next up is the kitchen. This is the smallest and simplest section, but it still features a long counter for preparing food, a table, and a large cabinet with opening doors on either side. As you can see, however, it is not large enough to accommodate a minifigure inside! Accessories consist of a couple of black pots, a grey skillet, a meat cleaver, two spoons, a couple of sausages, a chocolate bar, and a dish of lime Jello.”

“Hmmm, not bad, but the blue-coloured raspberry flavour is my fave.”

“No time for eating, Beth! Last up is the cold storage room. The frozen dinosaur embryos are represented by eight trans-orange globe elements, which can rotate on their stand for easy access. Or theft, unfortunately. Thank goodness there’s a security camera mounted on the wall.”

“Fat lot of good that did, Doc. As proof, here’s that crook Nedry’s fake can of shaving cream. On an unrelated note, it’s pretty swell how the designer used white tusk pieces to create curved railings around the embryos!”

“I heartily concur, Beth. In closing, we must mention that this set is only available at Walmart and Lego Store locations in North America, as well as on Lego’s website. It retails for $49.99 Canadian, which is expensive, but reasonable given the 360-piece count and the fact that this is a licensed set. It is a fun and brilliantly designed set, and ought to appeal to both Lego and JP fans of all ages. And now, Beth, I believe it is time for us to bid everyone a fond adieu. Thank you for reading!”

“Don’t worry, folks, we’ll be back real soon!”

Available on Amazon here.