LEGO® Jurassic World review: 76956 T. rex Breakout

What if LEGO® Jurassic World sets had brick-built dinosaurs? I was intrigued by the presence of one in 2022's 76956 T.rex Breakout, and wanted to check it out to see if LEGO succeeded to bring the prehistoric predator to life with so-called normal pieces. Also, a brick-built Tyrannosaurus is definitely easier to refurbish than one of those prefabricated dinosaurs, so I gave mine bit of a facelift.

Left: ©2022 The LEGO Group.  Right: Eero's revised version.

Products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.
LEGO® Jurassic World 76956 T. rex Breakout
US$99.99/ £89.99/ 99.99€/ AU$199.99
1212 parts
12 February 2022
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Due to being licensed sets and having big, expensive prefabricated dinosaurs, Jurassic Park and/or World sets (who knows how the franchise works?) tend to have small part counts; 76956 T. rex Breakout is, however, an exception: it has a brick-built terrible lizard and this totals 1212 parts, a decent count for its price. No special dinosaur molds here - but a hefty bunch of earthy tones for all sorts of MOCs! And yes, one-and-a-half cars and some landscape to take you back to the time of practical animatronic effects of 1993 hit film Jurassic Park, with Ian Malcolm and everything.

LEGO had actually released a set with an identical name in 2019 - 10758 T. Rex Breakout - but with this having only 150 pieces, they're relatively easy to tell apart. And then there's 76944 T. rex Dinosaur Breakout, also released in 2022, with 140 pieces. I know the Jurassic franchise is mostly about T. rex breaking out, and it sure is a dinosaur (though not Jurassic one)... but this is getting a bit repetitive. What about T. rex Onslaught? Unleash? Rampage? Ok we've already got 75917 Raptor Rampage, 75930 Indoraptor Rampage at Lockwood Estate, 75937 Triceratops Rampage… and yes, 75936 Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage. So probably no more rampages, either.

The Parts of 76956 T. rex Breakout

Unique prints and minifig recolours:

• 1x Tile 2 x 4 with LEGO Jurassic Park Logo Pattern in Black (6324684 | 72406)
• 1x Tile 2 x 6 with '"Boy, do I hate being right all the time" Ian Malcolm' Pattern in Black (6324685 | 72407)
• 7x Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Bottom Stud Holder with Hubcap with Circles and 5 Black Triangles with Bright Light Orange Edges Pattern in Yellow (6324683 | 72405)

• 1x Minifigure, Visor Night Vision / Robot Goggles in Yellow (6401208 | 79814) - plus 1 extra
• 1x Minifigure, Headgear Cap, Aviator in Green (6397677 | 30171)

The set has plenty of stickers, so only three different prints are included. The Malcolm quote tile is the most interesting and will look cool as a patch on some leather jacket on a character build.

Sadly, having only seven hubcaps means that people who want two complete Explorers need to buy one extra. This stands a reason though - T-rex eats one of the tyres, and the hubcap wouldn't fit the hub used in the set. It would have been nice to include a loose hubcap on the ground, though.

Unique recolours

• 8x Vehicle, Mudguard 4 x 2 1/2 x 2 with Arch Round, Solid Studs, and Rounded Legs in Lime (6392884 | 35789)

At least there are enough mudguards for two complete cars.

• 8x Slope, Curved 4 x 1 Inverted in Tan (6273851 | 13547)
• 2x Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Angled Bar Handles on Side in Dark Orange (6396923 | 92692)
• 2x Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Base in Dark Orange (6396924 | 3937)
• 1x Windscreen 6 x 6 x 1 1/3 in Trans-Black (6287677 | 65633)
• 2x Bar 1L with 3 Prongs in Trans-Red (6392889 | 68211)- plus 1 extra
• 1x Bar 1L with 1 x 1 Round Plate with Hollow Stud in Dark Red (6396926 | 32828) - plus 1 extra

Tan curved slope is a welcome recolour and this set packs a bunch. It's also nice to see the bar/plate piece in new colours as it's generally very useful. The small flower stem in Trans-Red is a weird recolour, but works excellently as the flare.

Rare parts

• 1x Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Clip on End (Horizontal Grip) in Tan (6374166 | 42923) - in 2 other 2022 sets
• 2x Technic, Brick Modified 2 x 2 with Pin Holes and Rotation Joint Ball Half (Vertical Side) in Tan (6375375 | 48454) - in 2 other sets
• 1x Plate, Modified 6 x 8 Trap Door Frame Horizontal (Long Pin Holders) in Dark Red (6389824 | 92107) - also in 60316 Police Station
• 2x Wedge 4 x 4 x 2/3 Triple Curved in Reddish Brown (4193077 | 45677) -also in 7753 Pirate Tank
• 1x Minifigure, Hair Short Tousled with Side Part in Medium Nougat (6368591 | 62810) - in 2 other sets

It surprises me that this is only the second appearance of the Reddish Brown wedge. It doesn't feel very rare - but then again most of my copies have the Pirate Tank stickers on them.

• 4x Tile 2 x 6 in Lime (6392888 | 69729) - also in 41722 Horse Show Trailer
• 18x Tile, Round 1 x 1 Quarter in Trans-Light Blue (6396287 | 84411) - with 1 extra, in 3 other sets
• 1x Plate 1 X 8 in Olive Green (6278034 | 3460) - in 2 other sets
• 2x Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Open O Clip Thick (Vertical Grip) in Dark Orange (6340735 | 44860) - also in 21333 Vincent van Gogh - The Starry Night https://www.newelementary.com/2022/10/lego-ideas-review-moc-21333-vincent-van.html

It's nice to see a decent number of quarter tiles in Trans-Light Blue - but the colour doesn't really look like a puddle on a muddy road.

• 4x Minifigure, Utensil Ingot / Bar in Dark Orange (6396922 | 99563) - in 2 other 2022 sets

• 2x Wedge, Plate 2 x 2 Cut Corner in Dark Orange (6228840 | 26601) - in 2 other 2022 sets
• 2x Wedge, Plate 4 x 2 Right in Dark Orange (6373104 | 41769) - in 4 other sets
• 2x Wedge, Plate 4 x 2 Left in Dark Orange (6373105 | 41770) - in 4 other sets
•  4x Wedge, Plate 6 x 2 Right in Dark Tan (6385280 | 78444) - in 5 other sets
• 4x Wedge, Plate 6 x 2 Left in Dark Tan (6385281 | 78443) - in 4 other sets

Landscape builders will be happy to see these earthy wedge plates.

Minifigures

 

The set includes four minifigures, all crucial to the scene. The kids are appropriately muddy with happy and worried expressions, while Malcolm has worried and yelling faces. Alan has a single-faced head, as his stetson would reveal the back of the head. He looks very determined - as he should be!

My only gripe is the printed water detail on Malcolm and Alan. The light blue smears don't look anything like wet clothes and faces would! Sure it's not that easy to make a wet face print so I'd just have left the faces clean. Alan's shirt looks alright, as the smear hue is close to the shirt colour, but Malcolm's shirt looks like he has been painting something. Huh.

New and rare parts in the minifigs:

• 1x Torso Shirt with 2 Pockets, Red Bandana, and Bright Light Blue Water Stains Pattern / Blue Arms / Light Nougat Hands in Blue (6395398 | 76382)
• 1x Torso Shirt with Pocket, 1 Closed Button, Belt, Bright Light Blue Water Stains, Nougat Hairy Chest with Necklace Pattern / Black Arms / Nougat Hands in Black (6395640 | 76382)
  
• 1x Torso Open Shirt, Striped Undershirt, Dark Blue Bandana, Dark Tan Dirt Stains Pattern / Dark Tan Arm Left / Bright Light Blue Arm Right / Dark Tan Hand Left / Light Nougat Hand Right in Bright Light Blue (6395537 | 76382)
• 1x Torso Paisley Tank Top with Dark Tan Dirt Stains Pattern / Light Nougat Arm Left / Dark Tan Arm Right / Light Nougat Hand Left / Dark Tan Hand Right in Medium Lavender (6395510 | 76382)

• 1x Minifigure, Head Black Eyebrows, Furrowed Brow, Crow's Feet, Cheek Lines and Water Drops Pattern - Hollow Stud in Light Nougat (6326121 | 73022)
• 1x Minifigure, Head Dual Sided, Black Eyebrows, Glasses, Cheek Lines, Water Drops, Scared / Terrified Pattern - Hollow Stud in Nougat (6326133 | 73044)
  
• 1x Minifigure, Head Dual Sided Child Female, Black Eyebrows, Dark Tan Mud Drops, Happy / Scared Pattern - Hollow Stud in Light Nougat (6326123 | 73025)
• 1x Minifigure, Head Dual Sided Child Male, Black Eyebrows, Dark Tan Mud Drops, Scared / Terrified Pattern - Hollow Stud in Light Nougat (6326126 | 73033)

• 1x Minifigure, Hair Female Ponytail Long French Braided in Dark Tan (6395408 | 88286)
• 1x Minifigure, Headgear Hat, Wide Brim Outback Style (Fedora) in Dark Tan (4578851 | 61506) - in 4 other sets

Sticker Sheet:

There are a lot of stickers! Most of them decorate Jurassic Park merchandise but even Tyrannosaurus' eyes are stickers rather than brick-built. I did not apply the stickers while building. More on this later.

The Finished Model

This model rests somewhere between display-oriented +18 adult sets and standard licenced playsets. It can be played with - Tyrannosaurus may easily chase the humans driving their car - but it's also designed to be displayed with the dinosaur in specific pose, the cars on their slots and the kids on their 1x2 bricks hidden behind the upturned vehicle. The black frame with JP logo and Malcolm quote give it a slightly more serious feeling.

The complete Ford Explorer

In the original Jurassic Park novel the tour vehicles were Toyota Land Cruisers, but in the film they were replaced by Ford Explorers. This set version has great detailing on the bumpers, giving the car a serious, ready-for-everything look. The roof window blends seamlessly, and the car fits all the minifigs inside. Unsurprisingly, it looks quite bland without the stickers.

Compared to the source material, the car looks more angular and probably a tad too long and thin. This might be due to lack of stickers though - the camo decoration would probably break the clean shapes of the bricks and make the car more realistic.The twin water cups are a great detail, calling back the shaking earth upon the arrival of the Tyrannosaurus. They're not particularly realistic, but do their part anyway.

The Wreck

And then there's the half of the other Explorer. It doesn't have the canopy, as it would have required a very thick diorama base to sink it in. The front and back bumpers are identical to the other car and the one tire is missing, chewn up by a Cretacean predator. 

However, the most interesting aspect is its construction. The middle part is inverted 180 degrees to allow Tyrannosaurus foot to connect on the bottom of it. This is done with clips and bars, with the end sections identified with red and blue parts hidden inside the structure. They click together satisfyingly.

The Base

This is a diorama set, and the base is sized 18 x 50 modules with a major overhang of plants. The muddy road is made nicely of several hues, only the Trans-Light Blue puddles look more like sci-fi goo than actual rainwater. It's quite interesting how much detail is put into the base: a lot of it becomes hidden when the wrecked car is placed into its slot.

The loose ziplines of the high voltage fence work brilliantly and give the scene a lot of dynamicity - as if a massive prehistoric animal had just crashed through! The plants in the background are very vague, and do not withstand any closer inspection; they merely give some greenery to the scene. They have good parts though. I really like the quote tile - it brings memories of 9-years-old me reading Crichton's The Lost World as I was not allowed to watch the films yet! Malcolm was my favourite.

Tyrannosaurus Rex

 

For me, the most interesting part of 76956 T. rex Breakout is definitely rex itself. I mean, this is Jurassic Park - why would anyone come here if not for the dinosaurs? In most sets of the theme these terrible lizards (that are not lizards) are prefabricated and consist of few highly specialised parts. Not this time, as this Tyrannosaurus is completely brick-built and has no animal-specific moulds - except the teeth, maybe.

The beast feels like a budget version of 75936 Jurassic Park T. rex Rampage. This version is much closer to minifig scale and is easier to play with due to being lighter. Nevertheless, they share many technical similarities, especially on the tail and limb construction. This rex is also similar to Elves dragons, with the difference of a brick-built head instead of a prefab one.

Some compromises are made in the design to make rex posable and sturdy. The torso is quite thin, two modules and three plates at most, to enable movement to the legs. This, however, doesn't look very bad, and wedge plates and tiles in different colours make the patterns plausible enough. The 'clown shoes' are a bigger problem. They are probably needed for the dinosaur not to fall down easily; similar phenomena can be seen on the big shoes of recent Marvel SYSTEM figures and even some old snowshoed Bionicle sets. Practically, this Tyrannosaurus has its heels on the ground, which would be impossible for the actual animals. It doesn't help that the heel is very blocky and made in rather light colour Tan, which makes it stand out a lot. If the heel was Reddish Brown for example I doubt it'd be that jarring. At least the dinosaur stands up very well.

My second gripe is the eyes. They're stickers, so people who don't apply their stickers are going to end up with underground Tyrannosaurus whose eyes have become obsolete and withered (it's my own fault). The stickers would be placed on the slope parts of 28192 Slope 45 2 x 1 with Cutout without Stud pieces. I looked at them on the box image… and honestly they didn't feel like worth applying. The thing is - the movie version of Tyrannosaurus has its glowing yellow eyes deep in the shadows of its sockets, making it look menacing and somehow cunning; in other words, cruel and ambitious. In this set, there's nothing overshadowing the eyes - only the sticker has some sort of drawn brow on it. 

What I wish is that they would have been put under brick-built brow, and, if possible, the eyes would be brick-built too. They have made decent eyes on brick-built creatures recently: 31129 Majestic Tiger and 31121 Crocodile are good examples of this. I'll show my updated version later in this article.

Despite my heavy criticism, I'm happy they went with the brick-built route in this set. The structure is interesting, the colours are good and the parts are useful. Upper legs and tail are good, the arms are decent and only suffer the Light Bluish Grey colour-locked Mixel joints. Apart from the eyes the head is good, and the mouth shuts satisfyingly. In my opinion, even with its flaws, this Tyrannosaurus is better than the common prefab ones on most Jurassic World playsets.

The Diorama

The finished build looks decent. It has a good balance of vertical and horizontal elements and the free ziplines make it dynamic. The colourful cars look splendid with the earthy tones, and the subpar plants on the background blend into, well, background, out of the focus. It's also pleasant how the car slots into its angled hole.

A side view shows rex's menacing maw and also its rather weird proportions: thin torso with wide upper legs on both sides. The pose looks like she wants someone to polish her boot.

Tyrannonsaurus' tail overlaps the base completely. Explorer's bumper also has a minor overhang. This means displaying this will be unsatisfying: you can't really centre it by the base, as the left side needs to have more space than the right side. But then again making the model a lot bigger just to fit the long tail would have been silly - and looked even more off-balance.

You are not supposed to display this side of it. The plants look very silly, for example. There's also the snack chain for rex - missing the goat. I think this is a LEGO joke - no sought-after goats to the goat maniacs! She ate them all already.

The New Rex

I had some heavy criticism of the Tyrannosaurus in this set, but I still quite liked it. It was mostly well-balanced, decently poseable and hell, it's a dinosaur, made of ordinary parts! I felt like I wanted to prove something - can I justify my criticism by making some minor updates, using current parts and legal techniques? Would it be possible to have believable brick-built eyes and a bit more elegant (if not realistic) feet without making the beast too easy to topple or fall apart. This is the result:

The new eye consists of a Yellow Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Open O Clip Thick (Vertical Grip) (4085d) and Black Tile, Round 1 x 1 with Bar and Pin Holder (20482). This means that the eye is in a way three-dimensional - the black lens is visible both on the side and the front; T-rex could look forward to estimate the distance to the prey. I also swapped the cut-out 1 x 2 curved slope from the brow to behind the eye to make the eye slot smaller, and also to make the brow a bit heavier. This gives the eye socket the shadow it needs - without a print.

The feet went over a major overhaul. I wanted to keep them very sturdy, so the structure is reinforced in two directions, studs down and studs forward. 180 degrees SNOT was needed to create the curve of the sole; this means that connections to studded surfaces must be done by replacing the 2x2 tile with 2x2 jumper and connecting it to 2x2 round tile with a hole, hidden into the landscape. But it is possible.

I also replaced the wide curved slope toes with Barb / Claw / Horn / Tooth with Clip, Curved (16770) in black, which looks both more realistic and menacing. I kept the "thumb" toe though, where the cut-out slope looked decent. This T. rex can stand on its toes (which I believe is the realistic stance) but the soles have enough surface to make displaying it easy for adult and older kids.

Other minor updates include the neck, where I replaced the click finger joint with a Mixel ball cup; and the cheese slopes fillings between the tail segments - these do not limit the movement at all. I also reshaped the top of the tail with the weird Wedge, Plate 2 x 2 Pentagonal with Center Stud and 1 x 1/2 Raised Tab on Top (27928) - this makes it flow more naturally.

I have broken down the changes I made in further detail on Patreon, including pictures, for our patrons to recreate themselves. 

Conclusion

76956 T. rex Breakout is clearly a nostalgia item, aimed at people longing for 1993's Jurassic Park. It's a display item that enables play - especially with the Tyrannosaurus and the whole Ford Explorer - but is not 100 % playset. I wonder if people who prefer old Jurassic films over the new ones (does anyone prefer the new ones? I have not seen them.) also prefer brick-built dinosaurs over prefabricated ones. I feel the core idea is "Jurassic Park LEGO set that looks like a LEGO set." That's a decent idea, and the execution is… decent too, probably. Better than mediocre, but not without shortcomings; I especially wish the Tyrannosaurus had better feet and eyes. The price of US$99.99/ £89.99/ 99.99€/ AU$199.99 feels natural for it; I think the value is better than on similar Star Wars Diorama Collection sets.

As a parts pack it's decent - not magnificent, but decent. Funnily enough I think the friends of Castle theme will find it the most useful, with plenty of useful landscaping parts; I'd like to see what they'd come up with the brightly coloured Ford Explorer parts.

READ MORE: LEGO® Speed Champions review: 76915 Pagani Utopia

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