With all the hype and noise surrounding the 2012 launches of the Super Heroes sets, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings sets, and the Friends theme, another of the new 2012 themes - Dino - has kept a significantly lower profile. For me, however, this is one of the new themes that I've most been looking forward to. After all - it's dinosaurs, right ? What's not to like ? Hot on the heels of a recent family excursion to the the UK's magnificent Natural History Museum to see the dinosaurs (of course) it was really no surprise that I subsequently picked up a couple of the new Dino offerings including Set 5882 Ambush Attack (below) on a trip to a LEGO brand store. I love the bright, bold branding of the theme which immediately brings to mind the vibrancy of the outgoing Alien Conquest sets. This isn't the only thing that Dino and Alien Conquest seem to have in common, as I'll get to later. The instruction booklet (above) is unremarkable - 28 pages in length and featuring 20 building steps, an inventory of parts, and some advertising for the rest of the Dino range and the LEGO Club.
DSS haters rejoice - there are no stickers in this set. You can see some of the more interesting pieces that feature in this set in the picture below (click to enlarge). The dark tan leaf cluster has only ever appeared in this and one other (Pirates of the Caribbean) set, while the yellow 1 x 1 brick with stud on one side is new and can currently only be found in this and 2 other Dino sets. The pearl dark grey tranquilizer gun is also unique to the Dino theme, as is the lime green syringe. The highlight for me was always going to be the LEGO coelophysis dinosaur itself. Not to be confused with the smaller but better known velociraptor (made famous by that scene in Jurassic Park) coelophysis is a suitably formidable adversary for our Dino heroes. The LEGO version of coelophysis is moulded in one piece and is somewhat more rubbery and yielding than standard LEGO bricks. Interestingly, he comes not only in his own sealed poly bag, but also held within a transparent, disposable plastic restraint.
I've never seen LEGO elements protected with quite this level of care before, which did get me wondering if my rubbery dinosaur might be somewhat fragile. I would seriously LOVE a large herd of these guys.... I'm just thinking of the mayhem they could create when my City layout is complete ! The set includes just one minifig, described as "Hero - Tranquilizer Belt" on Bricklink. He's far from exclusive, appearing in 4 of the Dino sets, and he can be seen below with and without his aviator cap. And before you ask, no - I have no idea why he should be wearing one of these either. If you tire of his cocky smile and are feeling suitably sadistic, you can rotate his head and give him a terrified expression instead.... The Dino vehicle is suitably chunky and rugged. As soon as I saw it I was reminded of the vehicle in Alien Conquest Set 7050 Alien Defender. As you can see from the side-by-side shot below (click to enlarge) they share the same wheels with the same yellow rims and have identical mechanisms for securing and aiming their flick-fire missiles, not to mention a similar judicious use of dark blue grey 2 x 1 slopes with slots, and of course a few flashes of neon for good measure.
It's my understanding that at least one of the Dino design team previously worked on the Alien Conquest sets, so the shared DNA between the 2 themes really isn't a surprise. Anyway - as a big fan of Alien Conquest I'm certainly not complaining. The set is completed by a small vegetation feature. I struggle to see the point of such incidental extras; indeed, I suspect that the vast majority of purchasers would rather that LEGO drop them from the sets and instead reduce the RRP, given that extras such as this have little incremental play value. Overall, it's a decent set, and with an RRP of £8.99 for 80 pieces I think it's reasonably priced. I particularly love the coelophysis, and can't wait to get the T-Rex, Triceratops and other dinosaurs from the rest of the sets in the range. At the time of writing, UK readers can buy the set here at the £8.99 RRP and with free delivery; US folks can get it here at 9% off RRP ($10.97). The dataset is too large to view in browser
15 question trivia quiz, authored by Korpen4444 Editors & quality control: Bruyere, WesleyCrusher "You know the brand, but how much do you know about the themes?" Average score for this quiz is 8 / 15. As of Feb 28 17. monly referred to as Fantasy Era, which evergreen Lego series was this a Sub-Theme of? One of the first original Lego heroes, Johnny Thunder has gained a special place in the hearts of many older fans. Which theme did this minifig star in? In 2012, this spooky theme revolved around five heroes trying to stop various monsters from enshrouding the world in darkness. What's the name of this theme? Licensed to Lego in 1999, this theme is by far one of the most popular. It introduced the well-known Ultimate Collector's Series, which has become one of it's defining traits. Including sets from over 6 movies, 2 TV shows, and several video games, this theme is considered a LEGO staple. The Black Falcons are a Castle faction. In 2012, a new theme was introduced.
This theme was created to appeal to a female audience. What is the name of this theme? In 2013, one of the latest Space themes was released. What was the name of that theme? In 2015, two new licensed themes were released. Created in 2009, this theme was a replacement of Rock Raiders. In 2014, a theme revolving around super powered criminals was released. An in-house theme, this Lego series saw three waves. What was this theme called? After having his own theme in 2006-08, Batman once again starred in a Lego license, this time alongside the Justice League. In what year were DC Comics sets released? In 2015, Lego Legends of CHIMA released two waves of sets which included collectible fire wing harnesses. In these two waves, many harnesses were there, and in how many sets? Which popular UCS set is based off of one of the most iconic vehicles in the Star Wars franchise? Released in 2011, NINJAGO features four ninja that can control the elements of Lightning, Earth, Ice, and Fire.