Review by James Hirleley, photos by Roselaar, edited by Suspsy
Dinosaurs roamed the earth once again this past June in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Following suit, LEGO released a wave of sets to commemorate the latest blockbuster movie from the dinosaur-themed franchise. The Carnotaurus Gyrosphere Escape (75929) set boasts 577 pieces, which makes it one of the largest sets from the LEGO Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom lineup. It also introduces two dinosaur genera. It retails for $79.99 USD on LEGO.com.
BOX AND INSTRUCTIONS
The box art is of the same usual concept as the rest of the Jurassic World line up. It is encased in a steel design, and showcases the iconic Jurassic World logo on the top left corner. To the left, is a portrait of Owen Grady and a Velociraptor posing in front of an erupting volcano. Inside the box are five numbered bags, one unnumbered bag, one bag containing the Carnotaurus, a sticker sheet, and two instruction booklets.
MINIFIGURES
The set includes three minifigures and two dinosaurs. Owen Grady, the main protagonist of the Jurassic World movies, is disheveled and a little worse for wear here. He wears his signature light blue henley shirt, torn by dinosaur claws. Owen also sports a deep blue pair of jeans which are held up by a brown belt with a holster. Owen comes with two face print expressions (front and back), one smiling and one angry. The prints look great and highlight his stubble and sideburns. He also comes with a wavy, medium, dirty blonde hair piece. As usual, he is armed with his trusty tranquilizer gun for dino-related emergencies.
The Claire Dearing minifigure is an improved one from the 2015 LEGO sets. Like, Owen, she also comes with a double-sided head print. One features a smile to show her kind nature, and the other features a scared expression for the terrifying Carnotaurus. Claire’s rare, bright-orange headpiece looks great in relation to her on screen depiction. Her outfit is simple, but true-to-film. She wears an olive green, pocketed jacket over a foam green, striped henley top. And to show her femininity, her belt is printed a notch higher than Owen’s. She also wears a pair of plain, brown pants to complete her look.
Franklin Webb is an exclusive minifigure to this set. He has a substantial role in the film, so his inclusion here is great. His torso is brand new. It features a dark blue, button-up jacket over a striped, dark and light blue shirt. These colors go great with his light khaki pants. Franklin wears a small black afro hairpiece and a pair of printed glasses. He also has two great face prints. One is of a more serious tone, and the other displays absolute fear. Franklin looks humorously and utterly terrified.
Baby Tyrannosaurus rex
This baby T. rex, which reuses the baby Velociraptor mould, is displayed in all orange. It has brown lining down its back accompanied by stripes of darker brown to create its distinct pattern. A juvenile pair of yellowish eyes make up its face. And its whole body can be mounted on a single stud. The baby is small, but well-detailed enough for satisfaction.
Carnotaurus
At first glance, the Carnotaurus looks terrific. It is massive in relation to the set as a whole, which bodes well for how terrifying it’s supposed to be. It’s colored mostly tan underneath, with two different shades of darker brown forming the distinct pattern along its backside. There are also orange spots that run throughout the Carnotaurus’ body, which creates an even more menacing appearance for the creature.
Its size is roughly the same as previous LEGO T. rex builds. However, the Carnotaurus features a cool set of spikes running up its body (reused from the Indominus figure) from tail to head. The spikes are completed by the unique set of horns atop its head. The lower jaw can also open and close, just enough to stick a minifigure in there for dramatic effect. The Carnotaurus is a great addition to the LEGO dinosaur family.
THE COMPLETED BUILD
The complete build comes with a truck, a detachable trailer, a gyrosphere, and a docking station.
Truck
Its familiarity stems from the previous truck build from set 75917 Raptor Rampage. But the updated color scheme for this one looks fantastic. It’s big and also high off the ground for off-road terrain. Dark blue stripes streak across each side, highlighted by a JW logo on the black truck bed cover. Furthermore, the truck is wonderfully accented with a couple of highlighter green pieces: one from the stud shooter on top of the truck and the other from the tranquilizer dart holstered near the truck door.
It is equipped with eight heavy duty headlights, plus another four orange blinkers. The grill is protected by a black guard, which makes the vehicle look aggressive. This effect is further expressed from the black railings as side-mirrors. Additionally, the cab is designed spaciously enough for two sitting or standing minifigures. The inclusion of the exhaust pipe and gas tank are overlooked, but great details. The black top of the truck bed easily comes off, revealing a computer station with functional drawers. Actually, the entire truck bed is cleverly designed to slide off of the truck.
Trailer and Gyrosphere
A trailer, which holds the gyrosphere, is also included in the set. It has four black wheels and a satellite dish hoisted atop. To the front are also two functional storage compartments housing dinosaur bones and an egg. The gyrosphere is transparent and colored with sand blue rings on each side. Unfortunately, it only has room to sit one minifigure. This one details on some cracks in the glass, probably due to damage during the escape sequence.
Docking Station
The docking station is great on display. But for play, it also acts as the gyrosphere’s launcher. The station is wildly covered in the jungle green. There are some great foliage pieces used for detail, and the dinosaur eggs are a nice touch. Also, be careful for the transparent orange lava pieces from above. To the front of the dock reads, “GYROSPHERE” with a great little logo sitting above the words. Actually, all of the detail is focused solely on the front. Although some out-of-place Technic bricks are revealed without the gyrosphere docked, the station looks great overall.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, LEGO Jurassic World: Carnotaurus Gyrosphere Escape (75929) is a great set. If you have the $79.99 USD laying around, it is a fantastic addition to the LEGO Jurassic World line, with both its capacity for play and display.
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