Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage (LEGO)(Part 2)

“Ho, ho, ho there, fellow dinosaur lovers! Dr. Bella Bricking and Beth Buildit here, along with Rexy, wishing you compliments of the season!”

“Ahoy there, folks. We’re back to finish reviewing the rest of Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage, the biggest LEGO set ever reviewed on the DTB. Last time we built Rexy; this time we’re going build the famous gateway from the first Jurassic Park movie. It’s gonna be an even lengthier job, but this time, we’ve got Rexy to help us out!”

“Then let battle commence, Beth!”

“Whew, that was a heckova job, Doc, even with Rexy doing all the heavy lifting. Anyway, here’s a couple of familiar faces from Jurassic Park: Velociraptor Chase: Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler. Grant now comes with a raptor claw instead of a hairpiece and Ellie comes with a new hairpiece and a big fancy flashlight.”

“And here we have John Hammond, the jovial mastermind behind Jurassic Park, and Ian Malcolm, eccentric chaotician extraordinaire. Hammond comes with a very chic amber-headed walking stick, albeit with no preserved mosquito inside. And dear me, Malcolm is clearly the worse for wear, what with his visible perspiration, open shirt, injured leg, and alternative frightened expression!”

“Ohhh, here’s two characters who got the shaft, Doc: Ray Arnold and Dennis Nedry, AKA Nick Fury/Shaft/Mace Windu and Newman from Seinfeld. Flipping their heads around revealed a scared expression for Arnold and a screaming one for Nedry, along with Dilophosaurus venom dripping down his face. That’s whatcha get!”

“And please don’t forget about the final cast member, Beth, a juvenile Velociraptor identical to ones we have covered in the past, save for its dark orange and brown colours. It is pictured here in front of an impressive display stand for all six minifigures, complete with a statistics poster for Rexy. Interestingly, while her length and height would make her both longer and taller than any known Tyrannosaurus rex specimen, her mass is less than the maximum estimates for Scotty and Sue.”

“Very cool, Doc. And here’s what you’ve really been waiting to check out, folks: the completed JP gate! This ginormous creation is 13 cm deep, 49 cm wide, and 41 cm tall, so good luck trying to squeeze it into your shelves! It’s mostly made up of dark grey pieces with dark and medium brown doors, beige and medium brown for the base, eight translucent orange flaming torches, and lots of different green plants growing on either side of the road. The big sign over the doors uses stickers, which might seem disappointing until you consider that brick lettering would’ve made this set even more expensive.”

“Note as well the visible wheel marks in the earth, Beth, along with a central rail for the electric touring vehicles. Turning the gears behind the sign causes the doors to swing wide open, allowing either access or escape!”

“And that’s not all, folks! Just turn the whole set around and you’ll see a whole slew of familiar scenes from Jurassic Park being reenacted inside!”

“Most exciting, Beth! Let us examine each room in turn, shall we?”

“Here’s the emergency bunker full of supplies, including a ladder, a fire extinguisher, and two cans of pop on the shelf at the back. In the middle of the room is a table for Malcolm to lie on and make snarky comments.”

“And here is the power grid in the maintenance shed, complete with ‘Push to Charge,’ ‘Push to Close,’ and ‘Push to Open’ buttons, a large primer handle, and a column of transparent bricks representing the 12 security systems as seen in the film. To the right of the control panel is a black chainlink fence. But I say, what is that protruding out of the fence there?”

“Ah, that would be Arnold’s severed arm, Doc! It even has a translucent red piece to represent the bloody stump!”

“Ugh, how revolting, Beth! Let’s move on to a more pleasant scene. Here is Hammond enjoying a delicious selection of ice cream and gelatin in the dining room. Note as well the green leaf pieces on the wall behind him, representing the mural.”

“And here’s the main control room with Arnold prior to his little ‘disarmament,’ sitting on a rotating chair. The three computer screens display an oncoming tropical storm, a map of the park, and lines of code.”

“That was a rather poor pun, Beth. Here is an mudslide burying the container of embryos disguised as a can of shaving cream. While there is no place for a minifigure to stand or sit, there is a handle for them to cling to.”

“Here’s the toilet stall that that bloodsucking lawyer Donald Gennaro tries to hide from Rexy in, complete with a working handle and a bamboo wall. Need to go, Doc?”

“No, Beth, I am quite fine, thank you. And finally, up at the very top of the gate, is a raptor nest with fragments of eggshell. The two platforms provide enough space to display both Grant and the baby raptor.”

“And that about wraps things up at very long last, Doc! What’s your call on this set?”

“I think that it has been brilliantly designed and executed, Beth! It is a fine tribute to the first film, and quite a delight to play with. It should also be noted that this set has been carefully reinforced so that a person can pick it up by the upper sections without having to worry about them coming off. That said, like any LEGO product, this one will surely break apart should it suffer a fall.”

“And like we said last time, this set ain’t cheap, folks! You’d better have either saved up your dough or been really, really good in order to enjoy it on Christmas Day, or whatever and whenever you’re celebrating. But again, it’s a really cool, really fun set, and it’s definitely up the alley of any JP or LEGO fan! Get it online or at your local LEGO store, and have a blast!”

“Hear, hear, Beth, my dear! And so, fellow dinosaur lovers, we wish you all the best this holiday season, and a most pleasant 2020. And please do remember to never stop learning, never stop living, and never stop loving.”

“Cheers to that, Doc! Eat up, Rexy!”