dinosaur

Jurassic world Dominion: 75950 Triceratops Pickup Truck Ambush

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One of the challenges, when LEGO Sets come out a couple of months ahead of a cinematic release, is the lack of context for the sets. Some might be alluded to in the trailer, others portraying part of a massive set piece in the action while others might represent a scene that never occurred, but provides an opportunity to include figures and dinosaurs that were featured in the movie.

An advantage of the sets coming out well in advance is the way that people are unlikely to have had their opinions influenced by the actual critical reception of the movie.

I have just come home from seeing Jurassic World Dominion, and while it was a passable film, it seemed a little unsure of its identity: Family Drama; Bond Film; Action; Monster Movie; conspiracy fodder or an ethical fable. Yes to all. And possibly also no. The Story was passable, and ultimately made sense, but there was none of the wonder that we had when we first saw Jurassic Park. Perhaps they have just become so good at their job that we have become complacent: Of course that creature looks like a dinosaur. If it did’t, we wouldn’t be doing our job.

Ultimately, Jurassic World sets are about providing an opportunity for consumers to pick up LEGO Dinosaur toys. Sticking to the film is not too important.

Today we take a look at set 76950: Triceratop Pick up Truck Ambush. This set has 210 pieces and has a list price of $79.99AUD/$39.99 USD.

So, while the star if this set is the Triceratops, what else do we have, and what’s missing?

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From Dino Island to Dominion: LEGO® Dinosaurs Across Time

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The overnight announcement of the previously unannounced LEGO® Jurassic World Dominion sets left be remembering how I used to want nothing more than a toy Dinosaur. Since then, dinosaurs have become a mainstay of the LEGO range, never taking more than a couple of years off. I take a bit of time surveying the history of LEGO Dinosaur sets, from the mid 90s to the forthcoming Dominion releases.

6-7 year old me would not leave this book behind, ever!

Back in the day, I was dead keen on Dinosaurs. I couldn’t get enough of them. Except, living in a rural town in Australia in the mid-1970s, the best I could hope for was my Ladybird book of Prehistoric Animals and Fossils. Much of the included information is outdated or at least wildly inaccurate except, perhaps, for the fact that the Tyrannosaurus Rex ate meat.

This book strongly recommended trying to get some dinosaur models or toys and building a diorama using chicken wire, papier mache and a few sticks. Of course, these models were not readily available, and it was not until 1976, visiting Melbourne, that we found some plastic model kits. My brother got a brontosaurus(as it was then called) and I picked up an ankylosaurus.

After putting it together and painting it, I glued it to a piece of wood, along with a few pieces of pine bark and a cardboard panel cut from the box, giving some of the animal’s vital statistics. I probably kept it until I was about 30. I can’t find any images of it these days but 7-year-old me was really proud. This obsession with dinosaurs probably lasted until Star Wars was released. But that’s another story.

Fast forward to 1992 and the release of the first Jurassic Park movie, and I remember wondering through Toys R Us, feeling somewhat sad that there were so many dinosaur toys on the shelves. As I was still a struggling student, I avoided diving down that rabbit hole. Now, LEGO® Dinosaurs have a more recent history – with serious sets dating back to around the turn of the century. Join me as we take a look at the Dinosaur sets of the past, before looking at the sets due to be released in April 2022

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Dig a Dinosaur: Stygimoloch Breakout [75927]

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In which I revisit dinosaur nostalgia, realise I missed a lot of LEGO® Dinosaurs, before finally getting on the band wagon with the Jurassic Park Fallen Kingdom sets.  We breakout the Stygimoloch, and take her out into the wild.  Then, we look at the latest ‘Iconically Jurassic’ contest over at LEGO Rebrick.

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I was once, it will come as no surprise, a 6 year old boy. Like many such creatures, at one point I developed a fascination with dinosaurs. They consumed my waking hours, my conversations and dominated my visits to the local library.  I could draw and spell them all by heart.  If I wanted to watch dinosaurs on television, I was limited to watching Valley of the Dinosaurs (a 1974 Hanna Barbera cartoon where a whirlpool in the Amazon transported a teacher and his family into a land that time forgot)  or Land of the Lost – from the crazy team that brought us HR Puf’n’stuf and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. For me, The Flintstones didn’t really cut it for me: it was really just a sitcom wearing animal pelts.

Image result for ladybird book dinosaurs 1976

My favourite book of this era, the Ladybird Book of Prehistoric Animals and Fossils, was a favourite. Portable and sturdy with its yellow hard cover, there was always room for it in my school bag, or clenched between my knees when we went for a drive to the shops. It was a long night when I accidentally left it at school.

I read this book time and again, able to recite portions off by heart.  The final pages offered sage advice: If you have enjoyed this book, why not look further afield to continue expressing your interest – why not go searching for fossils or build a model kit; perhaps try making a paper mache diorama of a prehistoric landscape.  Put a small lizard in it, and pretend it is a massive dinosaur.  (to be fair, some of these ideas may have come from other books of this era).

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