Carnotaurus Gyrosphere Escape Review! (LEGO Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom)

I hope you all have survived the holidays. I certainly came through with a couple more LEGO sets. The first one I am getting around to reviewing is the Carnotaurus Gyrosphere Escape. (But I mean, you knew that, you read the title.) This set retailed originally for $79.99 in the U.S. You can still find this set on shelves, even though it came out much earlier this year. (I know, I never have timely reviews.)



The main build of the set is a truck and trailer. The Unimog style truck is incredibly similar to the one that came in the Raptor Rampage set which I reviewed a few years ago. I enjoyed the build then, and I love this fresh coat of paint. This time, the vehicle has fewer stickers, which I think is great. The color scheme is more muted than the last one. This one features some excellent improvements.


First, there is a turret on the roof of the truck. This one is less bulky than the turret used on the last one. The stud blaster isn't too massive and it can be easily removed. Behind this is a holder for a tranq gun. The other side has a shovel and an exhaust.


The front has a sticker for the license plate and some push bars. The windshield is a newer piece that has come in only a couple of sets. The interior of the truck has one steering wheel.


Behind the cab is the detachable back. This version has one sticker on each side. The black cover can be removed for play or to make it look more like a pickup truck. The interior is quite spacious, and you can remove the little work area inside for more space.


The work area consists of two drawers, which hold a syringe and a bone.



Here are a few compatison 


The back of the truck has an attachment point for the trailer. The trailer is an interesting build to say the least. The main feature is that it carries and launches a gyrosphere. You push the red bar and the sphere rolls out. It's a fun feature and I think it works well. The trailer has two boxes, one holds a couple of bones, the other holds an egg.


The gyrosphere itself is a pretty fun. The ball rolls, while the person inside stays in the same position. The dishes on the side are new prints, so this version is different than the last. I am kind of upset that the vehicle only holds one figure, but I understand that the vehicle would need to be massive to hold two figures.


The set also includes a dilapidated gyrosphere station. The front sign has stickers, which aren't too bad. The little hut has a launcher similar to the one on the trailer. It works a bit better because the axle pushing the gyrosphere is much larger. The roof of the station looks pretty nice. The brown and dark red pieces give it a rusted feel. The roof also has Minifigure stands in light grey


The tree next to the shack has a pretty cool action feature. The trapdoor built into the tree will drop lava on unsuspecting victims. However, the tree feels pretty bare; I wished there was more greenery. Below the tree is a nest with some eggs and presumably a baby T-Rex.



My main complaint about this part of the set is that the massive Technic bricks in the back are incredibly visible. I wish something had been done to hide them. They could have been a less obtrusive color, like brown or grey.


Now, to the best part of the set, the Carnotaurus. This dinosaur has a new head and jaw piece. The body and tail were used on the Indominus Rex, while the legs were used on the original Tyrannosaurus. The arms were also used on the Stygimoloch from the same wave. The head is quite nice. The printing is quite nice, and it continues across the whole body. The jaw has two positions, but you can leave it in a halfway position. The neck is on a hinged joint, which moves up, down and in a circle. The arms have limited motion; they can move back and forth. The legs are on a click hinge joint, as is the tail. The very tip of the tail is made of rubber.


The baby T-Rex is a spectacular mold. The colors match up with the other T-Rex that LEGO has released. I know it has been a problem that the eyes aren't lined up, but that isn't present on mine. I really like this mold, and I hope it gets reused in the future. I think it could used for Compys, but you never know. 


The Minifigures included are Owen, Franklin and Claire. Owen has a new torso design with a ripped shirt. The new Chris Pratt head looks nice, but I am still not a fan of the new hair piece. The legs are simplistic, but they work.


Claire Dearing has had more significant changes to her. Her appearance is much more rugged than the last Minifigure of her. She has a different hair piece and a new head print. One side is smiling the other is anxious. I like the new torso she has, but I am disappointed that she has no leg printing.


Franklin Webb is a new character for this wave. He used Finn's hairpiece. His head has some slight stubble. One face is screaming, the other is pretty determined. The torso has a great print and seems reusable. But again, he has no leg printing. I mean, for an $80 set, its the least LEGO could have done.


I feel like this set reflects the movie. Its a lot of fun, unless you think too hard about it. The vehicle never shows up in the movie, but that was also common in the first wave of Jurassic World sets. I personally think that the Unimog is an improvement upon the last one, but that's just my opinion. The gyrosphere is nice, but I don't think there needed to be two launchers in this set. It would have been cool if they used the trailer to hold a dinosaur or something.  The Carnotaurus is amazing, I freaking love it. The side build is okay, but I think it could be improved. Objectively this is a pretty average set. But my love of dinosaurs tells me this is one of the best sets I have gotten in a while.

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