LEGO's Jurassic Park T-Rex Skull Dinosaur Fossil Is A Simple But Elegant Building Brick Artifact

There have been a variety of "Jurassic Park" LEGO sets released in recent years that pay tribute to Steven Spielberg's classic movie and the franchise it spawned. While many of them are geared toward kids looking to play with dinosaurs and various vehicles and settings inspired by the blockbuster franchise, there are a handful of sets intended for the more grown-up builder and collector. We've seen the LEGO diorama version of the Tyrannosaurus rex attack on Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ian Malcolm, and John Hammond's grandchildren Lex and Tim, as well as a larger LEGO set dedicated to the dinosaur theme park's iconic gates, complete with a big buildable T-rex. The latest collectible "Jurassic Park" set is a little more sophisticated.

LEGO

LEGO has released a "Jurassic World" branded dinosaur fossil set that lets fans build their own T-rex skull, not unlike the one that appears in the franchise's famous logo. Paired with the skull is a faux imprint of the terrifying dinosaur's massive footprint, making this a classy building brick display piece that wouldn't look out of place on either a collectible shelf or even an office desk. LEGO sent over this T-rex skull building set for us to put together, so let's take a closer look below. 

At just 577 pieces, this is an easier build, but as LEGO indicates, it's intended for older kids who appreciate the value of a cool LEGO display that you're not going to play with. Of course, the LEGO set isn't without a somewhat playful feature, as the T-rex jaw can be opened and closed. Granted, that's to make for a more dynamic display, but there's nothing that says you can't use it to make your own LEGO puppet show featuring a dead Tyrannosaurus rex. What? Don't make that face. Kids are imaginative!

Ethan Anderton

If there's one thing that I never get sick of when constructing LEGO sets, it's seeing how the brilliant LEGO engineers and master builders have figured out how to utilize existing LEGO pieces to make complex shapes, especially when it's something familiar and even iconic like a T-rex skull. It's a lot of fun to see the shape of the skull slowly come together as you add pieces. The same can be said for the footprint accent, which is a tad more complicated of a build than you might think. It takes a surprising variety of pieces to get that perfect shape. 

Since the stand that houses both the skull and the footprint is the very first thing you build, the display truly comes together with the final piecing of the T-rex skull. But the final touch, which truly adds to the more sophisticated display is the little museum-style plaque that provides a little bit of information about the dinosaur.

As neat as this LEGO set, I couldn't help but think about how cool it would have been if they had created a 3D building brick version of the famous "Jurassic Park" logo featuring a black T-rex skeleton silhouette. While creating the letters in that certain font might have been a challenge, having a black version of the T-rex skull would have been pretty sweet. 

You can purchase the "Jurassic World" Dinosaur Fossil T-Rex Skull LEGO set right now for $39.99.