Home News LEGO Unveils T-Rex Fossil Model: Most Impressive in 68 Million Years

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

Author: Harper May 12,2025

The LEGO Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex set, available exclusively at the LEGO Store, is a visually stunning and ambitious project that immediately captures your attention with its sheer size. At a 1:12 scale, this model replicates a real T-Rex, making it a truly impressive piece.

LEGO Jurassic World Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex

Priced at $249.99 at the LEGO Store, this set is not just about size but also about intricate detail. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice how the ribs are crafted at varying lengths to form a realistic rib "cage," and the use of dark-colored bricks to create shadows that highlight the light-colored "bone" bricks, giving it a striking contrast. Despite its complexity, the set is surprisingly easy to assemble, which only adds to the appreciation of its detailed design.

We Build LEGO Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex

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As a child, I was fascinated by dinosaurs, particularly by the towering T-Rex skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History. This fascination continued into adulthood when I read Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder," which vividly captures the awe of encountering a T-Rex:

"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."

For many years, the popular image of the T-Rex was of a creature standing upright with its tail dragging on the ground:

Source: American Museum of Natural History

However, scientific advancements have revealed that the T-Rex actually stood with its spine parallel to the ground, using its tail as a counterbalance:

Source: Field Museum

This photo is of "Sue," the most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton ever found, at 90% completeness. Discovered by paleontologist Sue Hendrickson in 1990, it has revolutionized our understanding of the T-Rex's anatomy. Notably, the gastralia—small bones supporting the T-Rex's belly and aiding in respiration—were initially omitted from public displays due to uncertainty about their placement.

Source: Universal Pictures

The T-Rex from the 1993 film Jurassic Park reflects the outdated view of dinosaurs as lean and upright. However, with the discovery of the gastralia, we now understand that the T-Rex was much heavier, weighing nine to ten tons, with a pronounced belly:

Source: Blue Rhino Studio

This updated model, based on Sue's skeleton, offers a more accurate and endearing depiction of the T-Rex.

The LEGO Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex set reflects this modern understanding by maintaining the T-Rex's horizontal posture, although it does not include the gastralia. The model's rib positioning suggests a "barrel-chested" appearance, and the forward-positioned arms align with the updated display of Sue 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 is built around this, including the neck, legs, hips, ribs, arms, tail, and finally, the head. While the legs and torso are fixed, the arms, head, and tail are adjustable and posable.

At nearly three-and-a-half feet long from tip to tail, this model demands significant space. It's best displayed on a wide, flat surface like a dresser or coffee table, rather than on a shelf surrounded by other items. Choose a spot that showcases its grandeur.

This set is part of LEGO's Jurassic Park franchise, which explains the inclusion of two minifigures—Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler—from the original film, along with a Jurassic Park-branded placard. However, this tie-in feels somewhat forced. The set's name, 'Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex,' does not directly reference the movie, and the instructions even provide an option to remove the minifigures and placard, allowing the skeleton to stand alone. This suggests that the Jurassic Park connection might be more of an afterthought.

In reality, this set's appeal lies in its size, scope, and price, not its franchise tie-in. Like the LEGO Titanic build, it stands on its own merit, not needing minifigures to enhance its value. It's more than just movie memorabilia; it's a significant and classy piece of LEGO engineering.

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