“HHHHRRRRRROOONNKKK!!! Never fear, fellow dinosaur lovers, that’s not a real megatheropod bellowing menacingly at you. No, it is actually I, Dr. Bellasaurus rex, along with my faithful and friendly companion, Tricerabeth!”
“Already told you not to call me that, Doc. This is degrading enough as it is!”
“Tut, tut, Beth, you did vehemently insist that you were worn and tired of donning holiday-themed apparel for our annual holiday special. And what a special it is! Today we shall be reviewing LEGO Creator set 31151, T. rex!”
“Huh. That must be a record for the shortest named set we’ve ever reviewed, Doc. LEGO could have at least called it ‘Terrifying T. rex’ or ‘Terrific T. rex’ or ‘Tyrannosaurus rex‘ instead.”
“Nevertheless, it is still an apt descriptor, Beth. And do you recall our second special in which we reviewed 31058, Mighty Dinosaurs? Well, this set is intended to be a major upgrade of that one. It was released in August 2024 and consists of 626 pieces. As you can plainly see, the majority of them are coloured dark green, olive green, dark grey, and beige. There are also a number of black, white, red, and brown pieces, and a few in blue, pale green, and orange.”
“And like all Creator sets, Doc, this set comes with instructions for three different builds. Meaning we’ve our work cut out for us—again.”
“Let us then seize this project by the horns, Beth!”
“Ohhh, you get a real rimshot for that one, Doc.”
“Here we have our first build, the famous pterodactyloid Pteranodon. And while it certainly does not utilize all the pieces in the set, it is by far the largest LEGO pterosaur we have encountered yet. It can stand to a height of up to 20 cm, has a length of 25 cm from the tip of its beak to the end of its tail, and boasts a wingspan of 43 cm.”
“And it’s super poseable, Doc. It’s got ball joints at the lower jaw, head, neck, elbows, ankles, and tail, hinged fingers, and ratcheting hips. The shoulders are on double ball joints, so they can flap up and down, but can’t rotate at all. Still, you can put this guy in all kinds of flying poses, or have on all fours with his wings folded up.”
“Accuracy, however, is a little lacking. The legs and feet are considerably oversized (which helps with stability, mind you) and there are only two visible toes, each with curved claws. The hands only have two fingers, the bill is too short, and the lower jaw is wider than the rest of the skull. Nevertheless, one can immediately tell that this is meant to represent Pteranodon.”
“And it’s totally a male with that big red and orange crest, Doc. So if you’ve also got the Mighty Dinosaurs set, you can have a mated pair. Also, if you have some of these round eye pieces handy, you can stick them on the big one. This is a pretty darned fun flyer, and it holds together nice and firm too!”
“I heartily agree with you, my dear Beth. But I fear we have no time to linger. Let us now dismantle this build and assemble the next one. And of course, we will also need to do the same to the smaller set in order to compare them.”
“Yeah, yeah, story of our lives.”
“Well, this ought to bring a twinkle to even your cynical eye, Beth: a Triceratops! This build utilizes considerably more pieces than the Pteranodon, albeit still far from all of them. And while it is not the largest brick-built ceratopsian in LEGO’s history, it is still quite sizeable at 31 cm in length and 13.5 cm tall at the top of its frill.”
“Yeah, I do like this one, Doc. Really cool how the snout has hollow nostrils, how streamlined the torso is, and how the legs and tail are pretty well proportioned. The head’s also a good size, but it’s got kind of a cartoony look to it. Big bulgy snout, puny lower jaw, and puny brow horns too. In fact, all three horns are the exact same pieces that the small Tric uses!”
“Well observed, Beth. In addition, the feet all have only three digits and the eppocipitals on the frill are clearly incorrect. But this is a Creator set, after all, and there is no point in dwelling too much on such things. What matters here is that this build is an overall successful and unmistakable rendition of the famous three-horned face.”
“Lots of articulation on it too, Doc. The lower jaw is hinged and the head is ball-jointed. Can’t really raise up or down, but it can turn from side to side and rotate in either direction. The shoulders and wrists are ball-jointed, the ankles are on limited ball joints, the hips are ratcheted, and the tail is ball-jointed in two places. And like the Pteranodon, it holds together pretty darned well and can have the same eye pieces tacked on.”
“Ah, but I am afraid it will be holding together no longer, Beth. Time now for the third, final, and biggest build of them all!”
“I knew it. Here we go again!”
“And here it is, my dear Beth, the titular Tyrannosaurus rex itself! Being the primary build, it utilizes all of the pieces in the set and is the largest of the three. When standing in a horizontal pose with its head and tail straightened out, it measures nearly 46 cm long and stands 16 cm tall. Indeed, this is the second largest LEGO dinosaur we have ever reviewed here on the Dinosaur Toy Blog after the monumental titan from T. rex Rampage.”
“It’s also got the most articulation of the three builds, Doc. The lower jaw’s hinged, the head is on a ball joint, the neck ratchets at the base, the shoulders and wrists are ball-jointed, the fingers are hinged, the hips are ratcheted, the feet are on double ball joints, and the tail is ball-jointed in four places. Oh, and the toes can spread apart too. You can put this tyrant in all kinds of cool poses, including Hank’s mating display!”
“How delightful, Beth! I would also say that this T. rex has the most impressive detailing, which again is understandable given that it is the primary build. There are visible stripe patterns on the torso and the tail, and in the case of the latter, the stripes are asymmetrical. The back is almost entirely devoid of visible studs and has a triangular ridge running down most of it. The tip of the tongue is curved upwards. And the curved claws, pointed teeth, and translucent green eyes surrounded by black give this theropod a most menacing mystique!”
“Yeah, and unlike those last two builds, this one can’t accommodate those goofy eye pieces, but it’s just as well. Looks way cooler and scarier this way. And again holds together pretty well.”
“But we would be remiss if we did not note that this T. rex has a number of inaccuracies to it. The eyes are facing out to the sides as opposed to forward and there are far few teeth in the mouth. The torso is too narrow and the arms and feet are oversized. Although there are dewclaws, which is pleasing.”
“Yeah well, what can you do, Doc? Anyone can still see that it’s totally a T. rex. I don’t think anyone who buys this set is going to lose sleep over that stuff your mentioned. And if they do, then geez, lighten up already! It’s a LEGO set, dad gonnit, not freaking Beasts of the Mesozoic!”
“Temperance, Beth, temperance, though I share your sentiment. And see here, this T. rex is an expectant parent. There are two large, white eggs in a simple nest comprised of bones and branches.”
“Well, that’s one way to sneak in the parts for the Triceratops’ horns, Doc!”
“So what is your final verdict, my beloved and barbed Beth?”
“This is a totally awesome set, Doc. The T. rex itself is hands down the best of the three builds, but don’t get me wrong: the Triceratops and the Pteranodon are awesome too! All three of them were designed well, look cool, and are loads of fun to play with. Great upgrade to Mighty Dinosaurs, although way, way more pricey.”
“Indeed, this set normally retails for no less than $79.99 Canadian, although it certainly helps if you have a LEGO Insiders membership and plenty of accumulated points to use up. I do not foresee anyone regretting their purchase in any case. And I do hope that the next time LEGO releases a prehistoric-themed Creator set, it will consist of genera other than these three for a change.”
“Well, guess that wraps up this review, Doc. You know what that means.”
“Yes, I do indeed, Beth. We would like to wish all of you a heartfelt Season’s Greetings. And as always, we encourage our fellow dinosaur lovers to continue to seek enlightenment, spread awareness and compassion, and stay happy and healthy.”
“Yup, and keep on fighting for what’s right in the world. Do it for yourselves and for other folk, especially the ones you love.”
“I love you too, my dear Beth.”
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Great to see Bella and Beth again for the holidays. What an undertaking it must have been to build all three of these only to have to take two of them apart after!
I wish Lego would make some prehistoric animals of a similar quality to their extant plants and animals.
The trick was to space out writing the review over several weeks so that I could enjoy each build for a bit before dismantling it. It’s staying as a T. rex for the foreseeable future, though.
More realistic dinos would be great, but I’d settle for a brick-built Stegosaurus.
Great review of a great set. It was worth the wait! I already can’t wait for next year’s Christmas special! 5 stars. And also, merry christmas