Set Review: 75932 Jurassic Park Velociraptor Chase
Friday, August 3rd, 2018 at 4:00am by Jason, BZPower Reporter
Jurassic World hit theaters last month, and we looked at some of the LEGO sets based on the film. But there was one set that focused on a much older movie: 75932: Jurassic Park Velociraptor Chase, which recreates scenes from the original dinosaur blockbuster. Today, BZPower Reporter Xccj takes a look at this set and compares it to the scenes from the movie. Is this one worth biting down on? Read or watch the video review and find out!
First, a big shout out to LEGO for generously donating this set to us for a review. Thanks again!
Presentation
From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.
The front of the box shows off a scene that is easily recognizable from the movie, where the human protagonists try to hold out against a hungry velociraptor. Already it's clear that there are a ton of movie references in this set, and you can spot even more of them on the back of the box. There's also a graphic to inspire you to mix and match your dinosaur parts, even though that is kind of against the message the movies are making. C'mon, LEGO, you're stepping into dangerous territory here!
Granted, LEGO has played around with dinosaurs a lot in the past. The sets based off the first Jurassic World movie were very popular in 2015, and the dinosaur molds were mostly reused from the generic Dino theme in 2012. Prior to that, they had Dino Attack / Dino 2010 in 2005, a brick built Dinosaur theme in 2001, which included some Studio sets that tied into Jurassic Park III. And, of course, the Adventurers first discovered Dino Island back in 2000. Yet despite their Cretaceous captivation, LEGO has never actually made a set to honor the original Jurassic Park movie... until now!
The set includes 360 pieces and retails for $39.99 USD. It's a decent value since it also includes 4 iconic minifigures and 1 velociraptor dinosaur. In my opinion, it's not as overpriced as some of the Junior sets, which makes it more appealing to an older collector.
Building
Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?
There's nothing super fascinating about the construction of the set, which consists of three partial room interiors separated by two walls. One nice touch is that the door is constructed rather than using a standard door element, which is a nice departure, although it was a requirement in order to integrate the locking mechanism.
Set Design
Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.
The set doesn't exactly have a lot of unusual pieces. Most of the colors are in grayscale, although you get a few dark red and dark blue "highlights." The large angled plate elements are modestly rare, and the quarter circle dark red plate is exclusive. A couple of other notable elements are the umbrella, the spoon, and the 1x3 jumper plate.
The set includes all four main characters from the finale of the movie that were being chased by the velociraptors. Their outfits don't exactly match the scene, because at that point in the movie they were all muddy and worn out from having to flee from the dinosaurs, but they do match what they were wearing at the beginning of the movie, so it still works. Another point of interest is that these characters were initially rendered in the 2015 LEGO Jurassic World video game, although they didn't exist as figs yet. There are some similarities, but I think the actually figs are more detailed.
First we have Dr. Alan Grant, the movie's renowned paleontologist. He comes with a simple blue jacket, complete with a red scarf and some back printing too. He only has one expression on his head, but that is made up for by the inclusion of a hat and a hair piece. His face may have a few too many wrinkles on it, but I guess it works. Next is Dr. Ellie Sattler, a paleobotanist in the movie. She has a nice pink jacket and is the only minifigure to include printed legs. She does have two expressions, including a frightened face to mimic her reactions to getting chased by velociraptors.
Then we have the two children, Tim Murphy and Lex Murphy. Both have short legs and detailed torso printing; Tim has a blue jacket with a striped shirt and blue scarf, while Lex has a lavender shirt with some fancy designs on it. (I don't think I've ever noticed this before in the movie, but are those trilobite designs?) Both have very similar faces, which include some freckles; the only real difference is the inclusion of some eyelashes on Lex's female head. More disappointing is their alternate expressions, which are mere frowns. These two spent the majority of their time in the third act of the movie screaming, so the frowns feel a bit underwhelming for their characters. (However, it looks like LEGO is reusing these heads for other children characters, such as in the Harry Potter sets, so perhaps the frowns were just more versatile.)
It is cool that we got all four characters from the chase scene in one set, as they are some of the more prominent characters from the movie. However, we're still missing minifigure forms of John Hammond and Dr. Ian Malcolm, among others, so it would be nice to see them in future Jurassic Park sets. (After all, there are still a few iconic settings from the movie that could be recreated in set form, and of course we all need another Jeff Goldblum minifigure.) However, while the minifigures are important, they're not the real stars of this set.
We get one velociraptor in this set. Technically, there were two present during this chase sequence, but I guess they couldn't afford to squeeze in another. The velociraptor is one of the more common dinosaurs in LEGO sets, with the mold appearing in 10 sets since it was introduced in the Dino theme in 2010. Still, this particular dino includes some exclusive coloring to recreate the creature from the movie, and the medium nougat and dark brown designs do look pretty nice. And if you want to play mad scientist, you can go full Galidor and glitch the body parts out with the other raptor dinosaurs from your collection to make him more colorful. (Although swapping parts with the larger T-Rex designs doesn't work out quite as well.) While it is slightly underwhelming to get another velociraptor, the creature definitely fits in with the scene and the articulation of the arms, legs, neck, and jaw all add plenty of play value.
The main build consists of three partial room interiors; the control room, the lab, and the industrial kitchen. The lab was primarily featured earlier in the movie and didn't show up during the chase, but it's nice to get its recreation here. The main design bit is the cold storage platform, where the dinosaur embryos and DNA are held, although the trans orange bulbs make it look like they're also globs of amber. The white tail pieces give the design a nice round feel, and there are a couple of warning stickers included to better recreate the scene. Another neat bit is the security camera, which Nedry had to shut down the park to deactivate, as well as the fake shaving cream can he uses to store the stolen embryos.
The control room has the most details in it, including the large door and lock mechanism and a computer setup. The computer desk is a nice design, and includes two screens showcasing Nedry's animation hack and the system for restoring power to the park. (Technically, Nedry's animation was shut down by the time they got to the control room to reboot the power, but it's still awesome to see the sticker included here.) On the other wall, you also have a map of Isla Nublar and the emergency phone which they use to call for help once the power is restored. However, the more interesting design here is the door, which is brick built to incorporate the lock system, and even includes two handles for the velociraptor to try and turn. There's also a crate of accessories, and for once the old walkie-talkie is actually movie relevant! Plus, there's a small stepladder; in the movie, they used it to reach the ceiling vents to escape through, but since those aren't exactly included in this set, I guess they can just use it to hold the door shut against the velociraptor.
The final room is a recreation of the industrial kitchen, where the velociraptors chase the children. The design here is fairly basic, with a couple of shelves, a table, and a small cabinet for the children to hide inside. There are a couple of kitchen utensils lying around, like some pots, a frying plan, a cleaver, and a spoon, plus a few food elements like a sausage and chocolate bar. The best part is the inclusion of the trans green studs as gelatin, so you can recreate the iconic scene where Lex first sees the dinosaurs. (There's also a random yellow round brick underneath one of the shelves; I don't know exactly what that's supposed to be, maybe just a random food container?) The one thing this scene is missing is a mirror element to recreate the other iconic fake-out scene; it seems like an easy sticker to include, but I guess the layout of the kitchen here doesn't really give space for it to work properly.
Playability
The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?
The biggest play feature of this set is the recreation of the chase scene in the final act of the Jurassic Park movie, where the four characters flee from a pair of velociraptors. Still, in addition to making decent recreations of the various rooms, the set does include a couple of fun play features. The most detailed one is the lock mechanism. The main lever is well hidden behind the computer, but it connects into an opening on the door to secure it. However, there is some wiggle room, so the velociraptor can still struggle to break in. But when that fails, the dinosaur can still make its entrance through the collapsible window. The design of the window only being held in by a few studs has been used before, but it's effective as a little push with cause it to cave in, giving the velociraptor the entrance it needs. Dr. Grant can use his stud shooter to try and hold off the dinosaur, but we all know it won't be that effective.
You can also recreate the chase scene in the kitchen... kind of. It is still very small, and the velociraptor can barely fit between the shelves as it stalks its prey. You can shove one of the children into the cabinet, however they are difficult to fish out afterwards.
Final Thoughts
Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?
Pros
What's to like?
Great Jurassic Park characters as figs
Great recreations of various scenes from the movie
Cool brick built door design with a nice lock function
Cons
What's not to like?
Another Velociraptor? Why can't we get some other variations of dinosaurs? Where's my Brachiosaurus?
Children don't have screaming alternate expressions
Kitchen area is a bit too small
Looking strictly at the structure, the set isn't exactly anything special. However, the details linking it to the movie really make it stand out, from the embryo shaving cream can to the computer monitors to the gelatin desert. Additionally, the minifigures accurately replicate the characters, and there's plenty of play to be had as they escape from the velociraptor. Plus it's not terribly expensive at $39.99 USD, although it's still not quite an impulse purchase either. Still, for our first legitimate Jurassic Park set based on the original movie, I think it succeeds.
Thanks again for reading and / or watching another BZPower Set Review. LEGO generously donated this set for review, and the thoughts and opinions in this article are entirely my own. Make sure to stay tuned to BZPower for more LEGO set reviews, including more from Star Wars!