Dinosaur Fossils (Ideas by LEGO)

Review and photos by Harper Bloomingdale, edited by Suspsy

For those of you not into LEGO, LEGO Ideas is a website where users share their builds and, provided the goal of 10,000 supporters is achieved within a time frame, the build has a chance of getting put into production. The subject of this review is one of those lucky builds: the 910-piece LEGO Ideas #28: Dinosaur Fossils. I got this set for $60.00 US, which shows how inflammatory those plastic dinosaurs are – a LEGO Jurassic World set at this price would probably only have 1/3 of the piece count.  

I’ll start with the Pteranodon. The model has a wingspan of 10.5”, placing it in at 1/20. Oddly, minifigures are about 1/42, making this pterosaur twice as big as it should be!  This guy is very posable, and with enough tinkering you can get him into a walking position. Also, you can use the included paleontologist minifigure and accessories to excavate any of the fossils (base not included).  

Next up: Triceratops! This trike is 12” long, clocking her in at 1/30 scale, meaning that she is closest in scale to the minifig. While not as posable as the Pteranodon, she still has articulation at the neck and tail. Her head uses some very ingenious techniques, using the same piece as her eyes and the connection point for the horns. Sadly, she cannot be removed from her base due to the fact that her legs are part of it.  

Last but definitely not least: Tyrannosaurus rex. This figure is a whopping 17” long, placing it at 1/28 scale. This sucker has a total of 25 points of articulation, including two hinges in the jaw, meaning it can open its mouth wider than an Allosaurus. Also, due to a technique similar to the Triceratops, it doesn’t suffer from oversized feet, since the feet don’t hold it up. It does, however, have huge arms (which can be adjusted to be non-pronated). It doesn’t suffer from a short tail, though; its tail is longer than its torso and head combined!  

Overall, I’d say this is the best dino-related LEGO set to date. It’s been discontinued, but you may possibly find it online for around $100.00 or more.