Baryonyx Face-Off: The Treasure Hunt (Jurassic World by LEGO)

“Hello, fellow dinosaur lovers. Dr. Bella Bricking here, along with Beth Buildit. The holiday season has arrived once again and needless to say, we are very happy and thankful to be back here on the Dinosaur Toy Blog.”

“It’s been one heckuva lousy year, hasn’t it, Doc?” 

“It certainly has been a most difficult and trying one, my dear Beth. But we mustn’t lose hope and we must continue finding ways to remain steadfast and upbeat. You and I shall do our part today by reviewing Baryonyx Face-Off: The Treasure Hunt. This 434 piece set, which came out in 2019, is inspired from the animated series LEGO Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar. Let us commence at once!”

“Okay, so here are the parts that make up the Baryonyx. If most of them look familiar to some of you LEGO nuts, it’s because they’re reused from the Indoraptor that came with the 2018 set Indoraptor Rampage at Lockwood Estate. The only new pieces are the head and lower jaw!”

“Which makes for a highly questionable restoration of Baryonyx, my dear Beth! I shall grant that the head is fairly recognizable as a spinosaurid, but the body is too small and too slim, the hands have opposable thumbs and lack the signature enlarged foreclaws, the forearms feature triangular spines, and the inner toes on the feet are sculpted to resemble a dromaeosaur’s, and also lack dewclaws. It is most unfortunate that LEGO opted not to bestow new hands and feet upon this toy.” 

“Yeah, and the head’s a bit too wide for a Baryonyx to boot, Doc! But on the plus side, it’s a pretty fun toy to play with. The jaws open, the neck bends and rotates, and the shoulders, wrists, and hips rotate as well. There’s also six studs on the back for attaching minifigures or bricks.”

“True, Beth, and the colours are reasonably decent as well. The base colour is dark grey with dark blue spots and much smaller metallic light blue spots. The eyes are yellow, the teeth are off white, and the claws are black. The hands and tail tip are composed of rubbery plastic to prevent breakage or injury. And at 29 cm in length, it is one of the largest LEGO dinosaur figures.”

“Which brings us once again to the building stage, right, Doc?”

“Quite right, Beth!”

“Well, here’s two familiar faces: Claire and Owen, both with reversible faces. Also along for the ride is Owen’s dog, Red. Say, Doc, Red is a regular character in the show, but given that it’s set in 2012, should we assume that he got eaten by a dinosaur at some point before 2015?”

“Let us not delve into unnecessary and potentially gruesome speculation, Beth. Here are the two antagonists, Danny Nedermayer and Sinjin Prescott. The former is the vengeful nephew of Dennis Nedry while the latter is a mercenary hired to seek out a hidden treasure on Isla Nublar. As you can see, Nedermayer also features a reversible face while Prescott comes with a hairpiece in addition to his hat. Nedermayer is also wearing different attire from his minifigure in a previously reviewed set.”

“Here’s something that I always enjoy, Doc: a big sturdy 4×4 offroader. It comes equipped with a wrench, a gas can, and a flashlight, and has room for two minifigures up front, plus another in the back (or a dog in this case).”

“And here is a somewhat unkempt trailer that can be hitched to the aforementioned offroader or propped up on its own. The right side opens up to reveal a rather cramped interior with a cot, a desk with a computer terminal, a frying pan, and a large camcorder with a removable cassette tape piece. The tape, along with the incomplete map of Isla Nublar held by Prescott, plays a vital role in the plot of Legend of Isla Nublar, but far be it from us to spoil anyone!”

“And last up is a spring for our Baryonyx pal to go fishing in! There’s a palm tree, a little waterfall, and a couple of fish swimming around. But what’s that hidden behind those plants, Doc?”

“I’m glad you asked, Beth! Pushing down on the green surface causes the plants to fall to the sides and reveal a treasure chest brimming with six colourful gems and two gold bars! This is, of course, the treasure alluded to in this set’s name and it is what Nedermayer and Prescott are seeking. But again, those who wish to find out what happens will have to watch the show!”

“On the whole, Doc, I find this set is a bit of a mixed bag. The spring and the trailer and the offroader are neat and fun, and the Baryonyx looks pretty cool to the casual eye, but to old hands like you and me, it’s a real shame LEGO didn’t spring for new limb pieces to make it more accurate and unique from the Indoraptor. Of course, that would’ve driven up the price tag well past the current $79.99 Canadian. Ultimately, it’s unlikely to disappoint kids, who will always be LEGO’s main target audience. Pretty sure this set has been discontinued by now, but you should still be able to find it in stores or online.”

“And so it is, fellow dinosaur lovers, that we arrive at yet another Christmas. But it is truly heartbreaking to reflect on what a trying and tragic year 2020 has been. And despite the promise of successful vaccines against COVID-19, there are still many hardships yet to come in 2021. Beth and I extend to all of you our deepest sympathies and our love. And as always, we advocate caring, compassion, courage, strength, and hope. Cheers.”

“Cheers to that, Doc. And remember all of you: listen to the experts, wear your face mask, practice social distancing, sanitize and wash your hands, and get vaccinated the first chance you get. See you in 2021!”