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LEGO Unveils Tyrannosaurus Rex Fossil Model: Most Impressive in 68 Million Years

by Noah Apr 13,2025

The LEGO Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex set, available exclusively at the LEGO Store, is a visually stunning and ambitious build. You're first taken aback by its size; this is a 1:12 scale model of a real T-Rex, commanding attention with its impressive dimensions.

LEGO Jurassic World Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex

$249.99 at LEGO Store

Upon closer inspection, you'll notice the meticulous detail: the ribs are built at varying lengths to create a realistic rib "cage," while dark-colored bricks enhance the illusion of shadow, setting off the light-colored "bone" bricks beautifully. Despite its apparent intricacy, the set is surprisingly easy to assemble, making the final product even more impressive.

We Build LEGO Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex

As a child, I was fascinated by dinosaurs, particularly captivated by the towering T-Rex skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History. Later, reading Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder," a sci-fi short story about time travel, further deepened my awe. Bradbury's vivid description captures the thrill of encountering something so unnaturally large:

"It came on great oiled, resilient, striding legs. It towered thirty feet above half of the trees, a great evil god, folding its delicate watchmaker's claws close to its oily reptilian chest. Each lower leg was a piston, a thousand pounds of white bone, sunk in thick ropes of muscle, sheathed over in a gleam of pebbled skin like the mail of a terrible warrior."

Many of us grew up with the image of the T-Rex standing upright, as depicted in popular culture:

Source: American Museum of Natural History

However, scientific consensus has since shifted. The T-Rex did not walk upright with its tail dragging on the ground; instead, it stood with its spine parallel to the ground, using its tail as a counterbalance:

Source: Field Museum

This photo shows "Sue," the most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton ever found, at 90% completeness. Sue Hendrickson's discovery revolutionized our understanding of the T-Rex's anatomy. Notably, the *gastralia*—tiny bones in the T-Rex's belly—support its breathing and were initially omitted from public displays due to their unknown placement at the time of discovery.

Source: Universal Pictures

The T-Rex from the 1993 film *Jurassic Park* reflects outdated perceptions, with a more horizontal but lean body. However, with the discovery of the gastralia, we now know the T-Rex was much heavier, weighing nine to ten tons with a substantial belly that hung close to the ground.

This life-sized model, based on Sue's bones, offers our most accurate depiction of a T-Rex:

Source: Blue Rhino Studio

Isn't it amusing how our once fearsome predator now appears somewhat chubbier and even cuter?

The LEGO Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex set adheres to these updated scientific insights, maintaining the horizontal positioning. While it does not include the gastralia, the rib placement suggests a "barrel-chested" creature, contrasting with the lean killer often seen in fiction. The arms are positioned forward, as seen in the updated Sue display at the Field Museum in Chicago.

The set contains 25 sealed plastic bags. You start by assembling the black stand, followed by the T-Rex's backbone, which attaches to vertical supports. The rest of the model, including the neck, legs, hips, ribs, arms, tail, and head, is built around this structure. The legs and torso are fixed, while the arms, head, and tail are adjustable and posable.

Measuring nearly three-and-a-half feet from tip to tail, this model is a space-dominating marvel. It requires a wide, flat surface like a dresser or coffee table for display; a shelf among others wouldn't do justice to its magnificence.

Although this set is part of LEGO's Jurassic Park franchise, the connection feels somewhat forced. The final bag includes minifigures of Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler from the original film, along with a Jurassic Park logo placard. However, the set's name and instructions suggest it can be displayed without these elements, emphasizing its standalone appeal over its franchise tie-in.

This T-Rex's grandeur and scale sell themselves, much like the LEGO Titanic set. It doesn't rely on movie memorabilia to captivate; it's an impressive model in its own right.

LEGO Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Set #10335, retails for $269.99 and is composed of 3011 pieces. It is available exclusively at the LEGO Store.