On Tuesday The LEGO Group announced the very first LEGO® Jurassic World D2C set, 75936 Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage, and you already read what the designers have to say about it. Now that the review copies are arriving it’s time for the fans' views of this huge set, and Jonas Kramm takes his first look today.
In this, the first part of my review, I will investigate what the minifigures look like and the elements released in new colours. The second part will then be about the model, but first I have to finish building it.
This set includes six minifigures: John Hammond, Ian Malcolm, Ellie Sattler, Alan Grant, Ray Arnold and Dennis Nedry. Four are exclusive to this set. Ian Malcolm was in 5005255 Minifigures Collection before but comes with a new sweating head, torso and leg print this time. Apart from Hammond all figures have an alternative expression, notably Nedry, who is covered by blue Dilophosaurus secretion.
All torsos are printed on the back as well and once again Nedry stands out, with the cool Jurassic Park logo on his rain coat.
Alan and Ellie are already familiar as they previously appeared in 75932 Velociraptor Chase. Alan is exactly the same, while the new Ellie (shown on the right) has different hair. Here you can see both expressions of her double-sided head.
The T. Rex Rampage doesn’t introduce any new moulds but as Mark Stafford already mentioned in his interview with us we get some interesting recolours of 45° cutoff wedges.
The other Dark Brown element Mark mentioned is the 1x6 half-arch; four of these get used in the dinosaur’s legs.
In the same colour appear these 2x4 Wedges for the first time. Each side only gets used once in this set.
The enormous gate uses a size of plate that is new in this colour.
Until now, 10x3 wedge bricks have never been produced in Reddish Brown; we only had the 12x3 version (Design IDs 42060 & 42061).
The other new Reddish Brown piece is the printed round 1x1 tile for the predator’s eyes, here shown in Nedry’s right hand.
Sand Yellow is the tertiary colour of the dinosaur. Aside from the aforementioned “baby bow” with cutout, two other bows also got changed into this colour:
The 6x2 curved slope is probably not too popular among fans as it is actually a POOP.
Last in the list is a much more interesting piece, the inverted 4x1 curved slope.
As a fan of all these earth tones I’m very happy with the new recolours. The different curves on these bows will definitely help to build organic models and landscapes.
I will tell you about the set when I’m done building!
Minifigures
This set includes six minifigures: John Hammond, Ian Malcolm, Ellie Sattler, Alan Grant, Ray Arnold and Dennis Nedry. Four are exclusive to this set. Ian Malcolm was in 5005255 Minifigures Collection before but comes with a new sweating head, torso and leg print this time. Apart from Hammond all figures have an alternative expression, notably Nedry, who is covered by blue Dilophosaurus secretion.
Alan and Ellie are already familiar as they previously appeared in 75932 Velociraptor Chase. Alan is exactly the same, while the new Ellie (shown on the right) has different hair. Here you can see both expressions of her double-sided head.
Recolours
- Right Plate 1X2, W/ Bow, 45 Deg. Cut (Element ID 6258950|Design ID 29119) and Left Plate 1X2, W/ Bow, 45 Deg. Cut (6258952|29120) in Dark Brown.
- Right Plate 1X2, W/ Bow, 45 Deg. Cut (6258949|29119) and Left Plate 1X2, W/ Bow, 45 Deg. Cut (6258951|29120) in Sand Yellow [TLG]/ Dark Tan [BL].
- Brick 1X1X3 1/3, W/ Arch (6266292|30935)
- Right Roof Tile 2X4 W/Angle (6258944|43711).
- Left Roof Tile 2X4 W/Angle (6258948|43710).
- Plate 6X12 (Element ID 6266290|Design ID 3028)
- Right Shell 3X10 (Element ID 6266295|Design ID 50956).
- Left Shell 3X10 (Element ID 6266297|Design ID 50955).
- Flat Tile 1X1, Round (Element ID 6271856)
Sand Yellow is the tertiary colour of the dinosaur. Aside from the aforementioned “baby bow” with cutout, two other bows also got changed into this colour:
The 6x2 curved slope is probably not too popular among fans as it is actually a POOP.
- Brick 2 X 6 W. Bow (Element ID 6258954|Design ID 44126)
Last in the list is a much more interesting piece, the inverted 4x1 curved slope.
- Brick 1X4X1 Inv. Bow (Element ID 6271979|Design ID 13547)
As a fan of all these earth tones I’m very happy with the new recolours. The different curves on these bows will definitely help to build organic models and landscapes.
I will tell you about the set when I’m done building!
READ MORE: Continue to part 2, the build
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Thanks to our 'Vibrant Coral' patrons: Big B Bricks, Dave Schefcik, David and Breda Fennell, Iain Adams, Huw Millington, Neil Crosby, Antonio Serra, Beyond the Brick, Nick Savage, Sue Ann Barber & Trevor Clark, and Kevin Gascoigne. You're all awesome!
You can also help us by doing what you perhaps do already - buying from Amazon. Amazon USA: Amazon.com Canada: Amazon.ca UK: Amazon.co.uk Deutschland: Amazon.de
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Once again, it looks like there are serious quality problems with printing lighter colors over darker bricks. Malcomb's torso looks pretty bad, especially when compared to the official picture LEGO released.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone gotten any kind of response when reporting printing issues to Customer Service?
The issue has been raised a lot on the LEGO Ambassador Network (along with brittle bricks, cloudy transparent bricks and a load of other element questions!). Kim has asked LEGO Quality for a statement or response to the printing quality concerns, we will try to remember to let you know if we get a response. Personally, knowing TLG's strict attitude to quality, I should imagine it is related to the level of safety around inks used, but I don't know.
DeleteThere was a SW head (I believe a Clonetrooper) that came in two versions. One had a very strong print that made the face appear about halfway between light-flesh and medium-dark-flesh. The other, later version had a pasty tone to it that made it look even more corpse-like than light-flesh. Speculation was that the former was either given a base coat of white, or more likely double printed so the dark color of the plastic didn't bleed through, and that for some reason they stopped doing this second layer of print. The obvious claim is that it's done to save money and increase profits. But another possibility is that the machines that they use to apply print (at least to minifig parts) is booked solid, and by cutting back on extra steps like this they could free up more time on the schedule and print more parts.
DeleteIt's all speculation, of course, as I've never heard of any official explanation being put forth, but it'd be very interesting to hear one.
@Purple Dave: I remember when I was on the Inside Tour we attended a session on the graphic design for minifigures and learned that the pad printing machines that print parts with multiple ink applications do so sequentially by color and surface, and thus with a limit to the number of potential print applications for a single pass through the machine (don't remember the exact number). Because of that I wouldn't be surprised if they bump into that limit more quickly on parts that have two surfaces printed (double-sided faces and torsos) instead of just one, and can't get around that without complicating the production line by sending parts printed on one side to a separate machine to print the other.
DeleteOf course, Lego has different machines from different periods at multiple factories. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the newer machines at newer factories (like their factory in China) have broader capabilities than their older machines that have yet to be replaced at sites like Billund, which might explain some of the variation in quality between different figs.
Oh, I absolutely expect there are generational upgrades with the machines. It's the only logical explanation for why all printed European torsos get a patch of print on the neck, while all printed Chinese torsos have plain necks. Some part of the older production processes still in use in Europe obviously requires that patch on the neck, and since the colored patch is _much_ older than printed backs, my guess has always been that it's used to make sure the torso is oriented correctly before the arms are attached. Arms probably get in the way of the printing pads, while legs are easy to print after they've been assembled. Chinese equipment is probably new enough that they can simply use pattern recognition to identify the specific print instead of relying on such a primitive recognition method.
DeleteA quick check shows that at least four colors can be printed per side on a non-Chinese torso, but I was also able to find two of the Target cube minifigs (City's Swamp Police from TC1, and Legend of Chima's Sir Fangar from TC2) that each have five colors printed on the front of the torso. Both cubes contain parts from Denmark, Mexico, and China, with additional parts for TC1 from Hungary. A quick pass over S1-11 shows that both of the tin-toy robots from S6 and S11, and the fairy from S9 all have at least five different colors of print on the torso, so their Chinese operation was capable of at least that many, or they were willing to reload them for a second pass on occasion. Given that _some_ double-sided heads still show up where one face is a bit cockeyed from the other, I suspect that all double-sided heads are printed in two passes, at least in Europe.
However, the recolors are cool, and I look forward to seeing the eye tile mixed in to the assortment of goodies in bakery MOCs. ;)
ReplyDeleteI always appreciate double wide versions of slopes. They improve the look and enable more connections without being "composed" of a dozen other parts. The same logic that says a 2x6 curved slope isn't useful because it can be composed of two 1x6 slopes will also say a 2x6 brick isn't useful ... or a 2x1 brick ... or any brick, because you can always use three plates instead!
ReplyDeleteI'd say that slope isn't popular because of the exposed studs. Most other slopes either don't end with a stud, or have a stud connection recessed. But here it's visible & there's no way to end that slope with a tile. Great for Lego who likes to expose studs, bad for MOCers who prefer to hide them.
DeleteThat's probably less of a concern with this particular slope, as both the single and double have since been matched by 1x4 versions that chop the x2 brick off the end and carve out a stepped section underneath to allow much greater freedom of attachment. Only when you start dealing in specific colors that are available in the x6 option but not the x4 does it continue to be a problem. And if you planned to build up from where the studded surface is anyways, it might be easier to just stick with the x6 versions.
DeleteHowever, since both the 1x6 and 2x6 predate the 1x4 and 2x4 curved slopes, it seems wrong to call them POOP. That's like calling a 2x4 brick POOP because it's essentially eight 1x1 bricks stuck together. To be true POOP, it needs to be the combined shape of two or more parts that came before it.
I was wondering how many of the BRICK WITH BOW 1X4 in dark brown there are. That has been very rare up until now. There is one in the tail, I believe.
ReplyDeleteThe one at the very end of the tail is reddish brown. Unfortunately I believe there isn't one in Dark Brown used here. But I will double check again!
DeleteLooking forward to part 2 - what happened to part 2 of Stranger Things btw?
ReplyDeleteI don't think we'll be able to bring that to you unfortunately - you'll have to rely on our sister sites for their opinions instead! We do have an interview with Justin Ramsden however.
DeleteAnd your Fabuland series is on ice, as well?
DeleteFabuland is in the queue still but other things are taking priority at present.
DeleteSorry to misuse the current thread for an unrelated question: back in the review of the Overwatch Gibraltar set you promised a feature on SNOT uses for the new minifig weapon 44709. Still hoping to see that article here one day, as I always love that kind of post.
ReplyDeleteComing soon :) Been saving it up in order to have a run of a few Overwatch posts at once.
DeleteExcellent news, thanks! I've been playing with my 44709s figuring out whether I can get the two opposing faces with studs "back in system" with each other, as the brick is not an obvious width to work with...
DeleteWhat does POOP stand for?
ReplyDeleteSorry, should have linked it to the glossary. "Parts Out of Other Parts". A poor acronym but given it's a bit naughty, it's popular. It refers to those parts that cause strong emotions in AFOLs because they could be built from several smaller parts, which is usually taken as evidence of dumbing-down of the System.
DeleteThanks for the explanation! I've read 80% of the last 80 posts you have written. Keep up the good work!
DeleteLove the Dickie Attenborough fig
ReplyDelete