Review: 76957 Velociraptor Escape
Posted by CapnRex101,
Nearly all the important characters from Jurassic Park have been produced in 75932 Jurassic Park Velociraptor Chase or 75936 Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage, with two notable exceptions. Perhaps most glaringly absent has been Robert Muldoon, the park's game warden.
At last, 76957 Velociraptor Escape introduces an exclusive Muldoon minifigure, which has naturally drawn attention to this 4+ set. Additionally, the model looks surprisingly good and this set contains a newly-coloured Velociraptor as well.
Summary
76957 Velociraptor Escape, 137 pieces.
£31.99 / $39.99 / €37.99 | 23.4p/29.2c/27.7c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Robert Muldoon's minifigure is the highlight, but this whole set is excellent for play
- Robert Muldoon, at last!
- New Velociraptor colour
- Well designed for maximum play value
- Pen is not fully enclosed
- Expensive
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
The much-anticipated Robert Muldoon minifigure does not disappoint, thankfully. The warden's fedora and matching tan jacket look superb, with a white shirt and accurate identification badge underneath. Admittedly, the onscreen shirt and shorts are off-white, but of the colours available to LEGO, this is the most suitable. However, I think the arms should have been dual-moulded to represent short sleeves.
Muldoon only includes one facial expression, but his look of determination works perfectly for the character. Dr. Ellie Sattler, meanwhile, displays two different smiles on her double-sided head, which seems strange, given the name of the set! This minifigure is otherwise excellent though, featuring the same detailed torso as found in 76960 Brachiosaurus Discovery.
The printed shorts and boots work reasonably well too, but I would like to see multiple plastics used for these in the future. Triple-moulded short legs have been produced many times before, so hopefully standard legs will follow. Dr. Sattler is equipped with a walkie-talkie, while Muldoon carries his tranquilliser gun.
The Completed Model
Velociraptors have appeared in numerous Jurassic Park and Jurassic World sets, as well as the Dino range from 2012. However, this dark tan and dark bluish grey version is new and takes inspiration from the leader of the Velociraptor pack on Isla Nublar, dubbed 'the Big One' by Robert Muldoon. The same Velociraptor is available in 76961 Visitor Centre: T. rex & Raptor Attack.
As normal, the Velociraptor includes an articulated neck, jaw, shoulders and hips, so you can create some dynamic poses. I like how the claws fit over anything with the width of a standard LEGO bar, which opens the possibility of climbing poses. Moreover, the dinosaur's characteristic sickle-shaped claw look perfect.
This colour combination is certainly less eye-catching than others, although reflects the muted colouration of the Velociraptors as presented in Jurassic Park. The patterning appears natural and continues consistently across the entire figure, which is essential. I still prefer the medium nougat and dark brown raptor from 75932 Jurassic Park: Velociraptor Chase, but this one is an ideal companion.
Befitting a 4+ set, the quad bike provided is simple. Nevertheless, its proportions look realistic and this vehicle shares the colour scheme of the famous Ford Explorer from Jurassic Park, so comprises yellow, dark red and lime green pieces. This was a clever decision, as the vehicle is instantly identifiable with the park, despite lacking any printed logos.
There is room for one minifigure to sit behind the steering wheel, although the 2x2 jumper plate on the back could be removed for more space. In its current configuration, the jumper plate is needed for a hot dog, presumably serving as a questionable lure for the Velociraptor! A basic nest is also included and houses an egg, printed to reveal a baby dinosaur's eye as it hatches.
Due to their extremely dangerous status, the Velociraptors are kept in a reinforced holding pen, rather than a full-size paddock, like the other dinosaurs. I would love to see a larger and more detailed rendition of the holding pen, although this model captures its most important features and provides great play value, as expected of a 4+ design. I am unconvinced by the dark azure accents though, which look too bright.
The gateway and guard tower are constructed around 2x8x6 frames. The hollow cutouts visible from outside the entrance look awkward, but could easily be viewed as intentional features of the exterior, breaking up an otherwise uniformly grey wall. 1x6x5 lattice panels provide more texture, although seem potentially vulnerable to any raptors held inside, with large gaps in each.
Pulling the red handle raises the gate. There is no mechanism to hold the gate open, although attaching a plate underneath would suffice, if you wish. However, there is a neat mechanism to lower food into the holding pen. Rather than delivering a live cow, the basket carries a drumstick and is connected to a chain, which rolls up around the reel above.
Workers can place food into the basket from the guard station when the chain is retracted, as shown below. More space for minifigures to stand would have been welcome and the absence of railings is cause for concern, but I like the printed computer screen, which is new. Another tile decorates the roof, displaying the Jurassic Park logo and also appearing here for the first time.
The raptor pen is only enclosed on three sides, which allows better access for play. Even so, I think another wall could have been included to complete the enclosure, especially since one of those already present is hinged. The shape of the existing walls matches the movie though, with dark blue railings on top. Inevitably, one wall can be knocked over, enabling the titular escape!
Overall
76957 Velociraptor Escape stands out because of the Robert Muldoon minifigure, which seems long overdue. However, the actual model packs a brilliant variety of functions and opportunities for play into a relatively small area. The opening gate, working crane and collapsable wall each work well, even if none could be considered innovative.
The new Velociraptor looks superb as well, although I am surprised such a drab colour scheme was chosen for a 4+ set, despite its accuracy to the film. Of course, these sets often contain a number of larger elements, so are expensive. The price of £31.99, $39.99 or €37.99 is higher than I would like, although other 4+ sets have been worse and the presence of Muldoon is very tempting.
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40 comments on this article
That's a pretty bad Muldoon. Clothes are practically white, no short sleeves, no bush hat.
Personally, he'd be the main reason I'd pick up this set, but I can build a much better one myself (and I have).
Looks like a good set with Muldoon, but the 4Junions price is a nasty one. If the discount is good enough I'll get it. Otherwise an easy pass.
No wonder the dinosaurs escaped. Jurassic Park really skimped out on the fencing!
I hereby declare the people responsible for the 4+ pricing insane.
@PixelTheDragon said:
"No wonder the dinosaurs escaped. Jurassic Park really skimped out on the fencing! "
"they spared no expense"... yeah, right!
That's pretty fun, looks better than a lot of 4+ sets. Might add it to the collection if I can find it on sale.
Not much to say here lol
"Clever girl!" Great to get a Muldoon minifig.
@CapnRex101:
Muldoon hasn’t been missing all this time. He was in 75932, wearing his after-dinner attire!
I am guessing the other notable exception is Gennaro. Although I would like to see Dr. Harding as well, a Gennaro and toilet polybag would be the most iconic Jurassic Park set of all time.
Why the stubble on the Muldoon figure? Muldoon was clean shaven.
Proof that LEGO can do dinosaurs well.
I looked at Capnrex’s pictures before looking at the price. The sticker shock almost killed me!
“In its current configuration, the jumper plate is needed for a hot dog, presumably serving as a questionable lure for the Velociraptor!”
Velociraptor doesn’t want to be fed, he wants to hunt! Can't just... suppress 65 million years of gut instinct.
No cow
The Muldoon fig isn't good enough to justify the price of admission. Very poor resemblance to the character - from the thumbnail photo, I thought it was Hammond!
The raptor pen is tailor-made to be an awesome Lego set. This, sadly, doesn't fit the bill.
@labrat: I want a Mr. Arnold figure to hang out with Nick Fury and Mace Windu. I also want a Mace Windu, but it's my own stupid fault I don't have one, not Lego's.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @labrat: I want a Mr. Arnold figure to hang out with Nick Fury and Mace Windu. I also want a Mace Windu, but it's my own stupid fault I don't have one, not Lego's."
You are in luck. Ray Arnold comes in 76961: Visitor Centre: T. rex & Raptor Attack
@Zoniax said:
"That's a pretty bad Muldoon. Clothes are practically white, no short sleeves, no bush hat.
Personally, he'd be the main reason I'd pick up this set, but I can build a much better one myself (and I have)."
Heck with Muldoon. We finally get the Clever Girl!
But, you're right. I also agree with @theJANG in that the printed shorts are pretty bad without side prints or dual-molding like we had in 75932.
Didn't Lego make a bush hat for a CMF or am I imagining things... again?
Respectfully disagree that "hot dog, presumably serving as a questionable lure." I will run after that dawg, 'specially if a cold beer is next to it... and spicy mustard... and if it leads me to a good baseball game.
I like Muldoon's conspicuous tranq gun. I'll need a shot of dino tranq to settle me down after looking at the US price tag!
@Librarian1976 said:
"Velociraptor doesn’t want to be fed, he wants to hunt! Can't just... suppress 65 million years of gut instinct. "
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6sM8pDH-HMc&pp=ygUNRnV0dXJhbWEgbGlvbg%3D%3D
Futurama’s still working on that 977 years from now.
@StyleCounselor:
That’s a tranq pistol. What happened to the tranq rifle?
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Zoniax said:
"That's a pretty bad Muldoon. Clothes are practically white, no short sleeves, no bush hat.
Personally, he'd be the main reason I'd pick up this set, but I can build a much better one myself (and I have)."
Heck with Muldoon. We finally get the Clever Girl!
But, you're right. I also agree with @theJANG in that the printed shorts are pretty bad without side prints or dual-molding like we had in 75932.
Didn't Lego make a bush hat for a CMF or am I imagining things... again?
"
If Lego ever made a bush-type hat, I couldn't find it. I settled on the very wide brimmed hat in light tan, heated in the oven and then pinned one side up while it was nice and soft. Worked brilliantly.
The hot dog might be a reference to the Jurassic World Lego game from 2014. The opening of that game was the opening from the first Jurassic Park, but in classic Lego style of making it goofy. Instead of attacking Geoffrey, the raptor tried to steal his hot dog
@watcher21 said:
"No cow"
Or return of the legendary Lego goat...
@Zoniax:
71025-7 just comes with the original Indiana Jones fedora. Johnny Thunder had the only hat I can think of with the brim folded up on one side, but that's a military campaign hat, which are most commonly found with drill sergeants standing beneath them. And with the brim flat as a pancake. However, I think I found the hat you're looking for: coltlm2-14 The brim isn't pinned up, but it's not Indy's fedora.
@Zoniax said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @Zoniax said:
"That's a pretty bad Muldoon. Clothes are practically white, no short sleeves, no bush hat.
Personally, he'd be the main reason I'd pick up this set, but I can build a much better one myself (and I have)."
Heck with Muldoon. We finally get the Clever Girl!
But, you're right. I also agree with @theJANG in that the printed shorts are pretty bad without side prints or dual-molding like we had in 75932.
Didn't Lego make a bush hat for a CMF or am I imagining things... again?
"
If Lego ever made a bush-type hat, I couldn't find it. I settled on the very wide brimmed hat in light tan, heated in the oven and then pinned one side up while it was nice and soft. Worked brilliantly."
Here you go. No part mangling required: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=30167&idColor=8T=C
@Ridgeheart said: "For the longest time, I considered 4+ sets to be these lovely, affordable treasure-troves, giving us great printed elements and great characters in affordable sets."
And some of them have been. This one is not.
I doubt Lego would've been brave enough to have a cow being lowered into the pen (although that would've been a great way to pick up a cow piece, and I probably would've bought the set, for that), but it would've been funny.
@ozbrickcreator said:
" @watcher21 said:
"No cow"
Or return of the legendary Lego goat..."
I thought goats were traditionally used to lure tigers. Or take the blame for failures (scapegoats).
Of course, the modern use of G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) confuses things utterly....
I really like this raptor version of 'the Big One.' I love the printed JP logo, egg, and computer. The rest I'm neutral about; good stuff but not jaw dropping. Disappointing about the price. If I can find it on a good clearance in 12-20 months, I'll happily scoop this up.
@PixelTheDragon said:
"No wonder the dinosaurs escaped. Jurassic Park really skimped out on the fencing! "
Yeah, "spared no expense" as if.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @Zoniax said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @Zoniax said:
"That's a pretty bad Muldoon. Clothes are practically white, no short sleeves, no bush hat.
Personally, he'd be the main reason I'd pick up this set, but I can build a much better one myself (and I have)."
Heck with Muldoon. We finally get the Clever Girl!
But, you're right. I also agree with @theJANG in that the printed shorts are pretty bad without side prints or dual-molding like we had in 75932 .
Didn't Lego make a bush hat for a CMF or am I imagining things... again?
"
If Lego ever made a bush-type hat, I couldn't find it. I settled on the very wide brimmed hat in light tan, heated in the oven and then pinned one side up while it was nice and soft. Worked brilliantly."
Here you go. No part mangling required: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=30167&idColor=8 T=C"
I thought so! Thanks! Of course, this makes the figure in this set even more pathetic that they failed to include such an idiomatic piece.
@PurpleDave
Isn't there a tranq rifle? Or, am I imagining that? How badly did Lego brick this easy dunk?
@StyleCounselor said:
" @PurpleDave
Isn't there a tranq rifle? Or, am I imagining that? How badly did Lego brick this easy dunk? "
https://brickset.com/parts/design-99809
There _was_ a tranq rifle. It appears it's exclusive to Monster Fighters, Dino, and the year 2012.
@PurpleDave said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @PurpleDave
Isn't there a tranq rifle? Or, am I imagining that? How badly did Lego brick this easy dunk? "
https://brickset.com/parts/design-99809
There _was_ a tranq rifle. It appears it's exclusive to Monster Fighters, Dino, and the year 2012."
Thanks! I knew it! I have that set 9466. Wow! Lego really dropping the ball.
I bet the original piece was designed with this scene in mind as a Dino rip-off of JP.... funny.
@StyleCounselor:
I own none of those sets. I did, however, but a few of the rifles. I made Deadshot and gave him one with a telescope scope and a lightsaber hilt on the barrel, which makes for a very clean high-powered sniper rifle.
I recall Muldoon wearing short sleeves and shorts--not long sleeves and flesh colored kneepads. Even Ellie is wearing kneepads instead of shorts. If only LEGO had invented dual molded arms and side leg printing to accomplish this!
Obviously sarcasm to express that expenses were spared.
@CapnRex101 said:
"Triple-moulded short legs have been produced many times before, so hopefully standard legs will follow."
I've had this comment stewing in my head for several hours now, and I don't think it will ever happen. Looking at the dual-molded regular legs, the front and sides have a horizontal seam, but the one on the back diverts around the anti-stud. This is probably necessary to maintain clutch strength and part integrity, as it allows the entire rim of the anti-stud to be molded in one piece. I can't see any way to do a knee-height band without making the back of the leg look like garbage, and I have a feeling that if they intersect the hole with the seam it'll just make it prone to breaking there. On short legs, it's not a problem, because they're solid and have no anti-studs on the back face. There, the only concern is that you don't compromise the hole in the bottom of the foot.
@PurpleDave said:
" @StyleCounselor:
I own none of those sets. I did, however, but a few of the rifles. I made Deadshot and gave him one with a telescope scope and a lightsaber hilt on the barrel, which makes for a very clean high-powered sniper rifle."
Good idea.
@Murdoch17 said:
"Here you go. No part mangling required: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=30167&idColor=8T=C"
Thanks, but I think the one I mangled looks a little more screen accurate. I used "Minifigure, Headgear Hat, Cowboy Large Brim - Item No: 15424". Flattened one side, pinned the other side up.
@vizzitor said:
""Clever girl!" Great to get a Muldoon minifig."
While Clever Girl scene certainly is known from JP , Total Recall had the quote 3 years before it in 1990.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRRtbci69Sw
Even one of the movie soundtrack songs was titled Clever Girl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cndsfpkjqqg
I can’t help but wish that they figured out a different velociraptor size. The smaller one would work better but it really needs a rotating head to be good for posing.
I really like build of this set. Shame its so expensive. If I see it on solid sale I will get 2.
That's gonna be a really expensive minifigure!