Take a bite out of 'Jurassic World' Lego (pictures)
We were so preoccupied with whether we could play Lego dinosaurs that we didn't stop to think if we should. Who are we kidding? Of course we should.
As Jeff Goldblum put it in the original "Jurassic Park", "Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution, have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?" In the case of the new "Jurassic World" Lego sets, out as the movie smashes at the box office, we can expect a lot of brick-based high-jinx. The park is open... but what's that through the undergrowth? It's a doyouthinkhesaurus! As any palaeontologist will tell you.
Piecing together the building blocks of life. Not DNA -- Lego! Here's something for palaeontologists to get their teeth into.
Is it a whole new species?
The discovery has a distinctive footprint...
It's the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex! Don't worry, he's armless.
Early experiments in the Jurassic Park lab. Dunno what you're laughing at, this is basically what the first palaeontologists did.
Clever girls.
Meet the human stars of "Jurassic World": park manager Claire (played in the film by Bryce Dallas Howard) and dino-wrangler Owen (played by Chris Pratt). The Claire and Owen minifigs appear in the Raptor Rampage set, which includes a dino-ambulance and velociraptor dino-figures.
Lego T-Rex is part of the T-rex Tracker set, a 520-piece set for ages 7-12. The T-rex Tracker comes with a vet and ACU guard in minifig form, with accessories including a tranquiliser gun and a flaming torch. The set sells for $69.99 (£59.99, AU$119.99).
Let's get started.
We're building this set dad-style, OK kids? Now get sorting those bricks by colour and size. It's more fun that way, honest!
The chassis takes shape.
The Tracker comes together.
Check out these monster tyres! Fun fact: Lego is the world's biggest manufacturer of tyres by volume.
Like most modern sets -- especially those based on a film or other license -- you may come across some non-standard pieces.
This module involves some string.
The swivelling harpoon module fits on the side of the vehicle.
The string attaches to the harpoon, ready to throw some T-rex tail in the removable T-rex jail.
The ACU trooper ready to fire the harpoon, along with high-tensile cable to snag the errant T-rex.
On the other side is a motorbike for extra mobility when chasing Rexy.
The roof pops off the cockpit so Hoskins (played in the movie by Vincent D'Onofrio) can jump behind the wheel.
The vet dons his huntin' hat and uses the computer to track down T-rex. And he keeps a tranquiliser handy ready for when rexy shows up. Yes, parents, that is a Lego hypodermic syringe...
I think we've found her!
Although many of us will have grown up with an image of T-rex standing tall, palaeontologists now know the famous dinosaur walked in a more horizontal fashion. We probably don't want to be this close.
This is what the original stars of "Jurassic Park" look like now.
But what's this? A new dinosaur, Indominus rex, provides the scares in "Jurassic World".
Palaeontologists won't recognise Indominus rex, which was invented specially for the new film.
This is the Indominus rex Breakout set, a dinosaur pen that includes a whopping 12 bags of Lego -- that's 1,156 pieces in total for $129.99 (£59.99, AU$179.99).
Just look how thick the manual is! This set took me over three hours to put together.
The first part of the Indominus rex pen takes shape.
The pen includes a handy crane for lifting in food. Hope Indominus rex likes chicken.
The next section of the pen, the control tower.
Is it just me or is the control tower doing a happy little dance?
The tower comes together -- check out the helipad on the top -- with a handrail made from a flexible cable.
One side of the pen completed.
Three guesses what this is going to be...
That's right -- it's a helicopter.
The all-important gate.
The gates slide open at the touch of a fingertip.
Attaching the gate to complete the pen.
Indominus rex in her new home.
T-rex and the vet van drop by to say hello.
The film's hero Owen on his motorbike. Owen leads Delta and Blue, two helpful Velociraptors.
Is that a GoPro on your head...? Oh, just asking, that's fine by me, you carry on.
Dr. Wu keeps an eye on the Indominus rex pen. Dr. Wu, who appears in the new film, is one of the scientists from the original 1993 "Jurassic Park", and was played in both movies by BD Wong.
The control tower features a classic Lego open room with a computer. Claire can catch up on her smartphone there.
Bored of chicken, Indie starts eyeing up security.
Uh-oh! The wall is designed to break away. Leg it!
A behind-the-scenes look at the multimillion dollar special effects that helped the VFX team achieve those last few photos.
That orange doohickey is designed for prising apart stubborn Lego bricks, saving your fingernails and teeth.
Today's Lego minifigs have two faces printed on their heads for you to play with: their "Ooh, aaah" face...
...and their "Running and screaming!" face.
Except for Dr. Wu, of course. This is his "Oh, me? Just hanging out doing science" face...
...and this is his "That's a lot of teeth!" face. Unless it's the other way round...
And now for a secret insight into Dr. Wu's next experiment: combining dino-DNA and gamma rays...
That's my secret: I'm always angry...
They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should...
Hulk-o-saurus!
You do you, Dr. Wu. You do you.