Review: LEGO 76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex - Jay's Brick Blog (2025)

There are very few LEGO sets that make you go WOW, striking an immediate visual impact, but you can now add 76968 Dinosaur Fossils Tyrannosaurus Rex to the list of awe-inspiring LEGO models that fit the bill.

This gargantuan 3,145-piece model is the stuff your 8-year old dino-obsessed self could only dream of owning.

At just over 1 metre long (41 inches), it’s an amazing LEGO set that screams display presence, and is just the kind of big, audacious toy that appeals to Jurassic Park and paleontology fans.

After completing the model and trying to find something I didn’t like about the set, I simply couldn’t because this set is just the kind of big, bold, pricey LEGO set that’s actually worth every penny, and in my opinion, one of the frontrunners of set of the year.

Let’s jump into my review of 76968 Dinosaur Fossils Tyrannosaurus Rex and find out why I think this is a must-have if you’re a fan of dinosaurs! There’s also a very hilarious surprise Easter Egg hidden in this. I don’t want to spoil it for you unless you want to find out, so I’ll only mention it in the Final Thoughts section, at the end of the review.

76968 Dinosaur Fossils Tyrannosaurus Rexwill be released on 12 March 2025 for LEGO Insiders (free to register), ahead of a 15 March general release, and it will be available exclusively fromLEGO.comor your local LEGO Store.

See below for regional pricing and product pages.

• 76968 Dinosaur Fossils Tyrannosaurus Rex [US]– US$249.99
• 76968 Dinosaur Fossils Tyrannosaurus Rex [AUS]– AU$399.99
• 76968 Dinosaur Fossils Tyrannosaurus Rex [UK]– £219.99
• 76968 Dinosaur Fossils Tyrannosaurus Rex [EU]– €249.99
• 76968 Dinosaur Fossils Tyrannosaurus Rex [CA]– CAD$329.99
• 76968 Dinosaur Fossils Tyrannosaurus Rex [SG]– SGD$369.99

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set over for review. If you’re planning on purchasing this set, please consider using the affiliate links in this post. I may earn a small commission with each purchase that helps support the work I do on the blog!

76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex Set Details

When you open the box, you’re greeted by 25 numbered paper bags (maybe plastic if you’re in America), three instruction manuals, and zero sticker sheets. Zero sticker sheets is always a great omen when starting a set!

The manuals unfortunately suffer from being bland, and minimalist, but I do like the scratch marks on the back that denote the manual number!

Here’s a look at the contents of the manual, including photo of set designer Benjamin Liboriussen, who is unfortunately nameless! You also know that this is a special build when there’s a section that specifies “how to carry” your model!

76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex Minifigures

Firstly, let’s take a look at the information plaque and minifigures. And yes, plaque is printed, much like modern UCS and flagship Technic sets!

The plaque has the Jurassic Park logo, and plenty of tidbits of information that tie it to Jurassic Park, and I also need to praise the graphic designer for hiding the injection mold mark in the middle in a brown crack.

There’s a fun Easter Egg here – the specimen number LIH23-5987. LIH is a nod to LEGO Innovation House, which is where the model was conceived (that’s where LEGO’s Design Team works), and the year 2023. 5987 is a nod to 5987 Dino Research Compound, a LEGO Adventurers set from the year 2000, that gave us the first LEGO T-Rex!

The set comes with two exclusive minifigures, Ellie Sattler and Alan Grant from Jurassic Park. They’re outfitted in their Montana dig site outfits, which is a really cool and fun nod that Jurassic Park fans will enjoy.

The designs are great, although I think Alan’s face lines are a bit too prominent but I like his checked shirt, and Ellie’s denim shirt.

Here’s their back printing and alternate expressions, which have sunglasses on!

“I hate computers!”

The minifigures are great, and I do appreciate that these are exclusive to the set, which is a nice incentive for Jurassic Park fans to add these iconic versions of Ellie and Alan to their collections.

There’s even a small dig site diorama to display them on!

On to the build. The LEGO T-Rex skeleton is all about size and you’re going to see me make countless references to just how big it is, but that’s the brief that LEGO have nailed.

I just love that we now live in an era where we’re all excited about a US$250 / AU$400 LEGO T-Rex skeleton model that’s made out of over 3,000 LEGO pieces that measures over a metre long, and it’s this over the top, no expenses spared approach that makes a set like this so welcome.

For the most part, this is a fairly accurate depiction of a Tyrannosaurus rex’s skeleton, just like you’d see on display in a museum that’s suspended in a way to emphasise the T-shape and dynamic motion of a T-rex charging at its prey.

There are some notable omissions that paleontology enthusiasts will immediately pick up on, namely that the T-rex lacks gastralia, bones that are typically found on the abdomen of reptiles, and on prehistoric dinosaurs like the T-rex. According to the set designer, they did explore many different variants but ultimately decided not to include it, as many different T-rex skeletons that are on display in museums, commonly lack the gastralia, so LEGO took some creative liberties here.

There’s also a really interesting anecdote about just how this set came about. Eagle-eyed Jurassic Park fans immediately picked up on the similarities between this model and 76964 Dinosaur Fossils: T. rex Skull, which was also designed by Benjamin Liboriussen.

76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex was never meant to be a product, in the sense that it was never briefed to designers.

LEGO have a thing called Fabulab Fridays, where employees across the organisation can opt to take one Friday a month to devote towards side projects, or pursuits that boost creativity. After Benjamin completed the T.rex Skull set, he joked with his creative lead “wouldn’t it be funny if we gave the skull a body?”. He then said yup, go ahead.

Benjamin then used his Fabulab Fridays, and whatever downtime he had to work on a massive body for his T.Rex skull, and when completed, he displayed it proudly in LEGO Innovation House, the top-secret building that the Design Team works out of. It stood there for a couple of months until it caught the eye of the LEGO Icons team, who immediately expressed interest in the model and after some time, is now a fully-fledged set you can own soon.

If you own the T.Rex skull set, you’ll notice that there are many similarities between both of them, but the standalone skull set is designed for kids aged 9+, whereas the larger model is designed for adults and is slightly more complex.

The larger T.Rex Skull employs ball joints to give the jaw a lot more stability and a bigger range of articulation.

This pretty much means that you can pose the jaw however you want which is a nice touch.

The articulation of the head is especially impressive, as you can tilt it upwards and downwards, as well as swivel the skull around to give the model a huge range of movement.

The skull itself is quite heavy, and the secret ingredient is this new XXL joint that makes its debut in this set, although the new element wasn’t created specifically for this set. I wonder what other uses LEGO had in mind for this element!

Here’s a look at the new elements that form the new XXL joint!

Oh, and here are the T-rex’s cute and feeble tiny arms!

The LEGO T-Rex employes quite a few repetitive techniques, especially for its spine and ribcage, but the effect works very well from a visual perspective here!

As the model is so large, and to support the horizontal structure that is the spine, a black support pillar is present here, which also provides a convenient way of holding it up.

Here’s a look at the T-Rex’s skeletal legs which are really quite skinny in comparison to the rest of its body! While the bone structure is quite slender, these leg bones are surrounded by incredibly strong muscles that not only kept the T-Rex upright, and supported the entire body, but also allowed it to run up to 10-20mph!

Here’s a look at its feet. The legs were a challenge for the designer, to get the angle right especially to make it look like it’s mid-run.

The second black support pillar is placed here to hold the skeleton up, at the base of the tail. The black support pillars actually add to the display model, and function as a bit of a frame for the look.

The hips have lots of cool details such as the pubis, and also the Ischium sticking out the back.

And here’s a look at the tail bones which is quite long! The construction methods used here are quite simple, but what’s impressive is just how much it sways from left to right, mimicking the motion of a T-rex’s tail.

(sorry, I made a mistake with the orientation of some of the tail bones!)

Lastly, there are some rocky sections at the base to give the model some colour to offset all the tan, and you can also opt to attach the information plaque to the black bar, or leave it out to give it a cleaner and more minimalist appearance.

There’s also a fun Easter Egg here – when you remove one of the rock skeletons, you’re greeted by a 4×4 printed tile featuring the T-Rex’s skull! This is a fun nod to the 76964 Dinosaur Fossils: T. rex Skull set that came first, and made it possible for this full-sized skeleton ultimately become an official LEGO model.

For fans of LEGO Dinosaurs, especially those that want to display this model alongside their other Jurassic World dinos, here’s a size comparison of the T.Rex skeleton, next to a regular LEGO T.rex, a T.Rex Costume fan minifigure and also the 76940 T. Rex Dinosaur Fossil Exhibition from 2021!

And here’s a comparison with the LEGO Ideas Dinosaur Fossils set!

What I liked:

• Incredibly huge and eye-catching display model
• Really enjoyable build for fans of dinosaurs, Jurassic Park or paleontology
• Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler in their Montana dig outfits are a nice nod to Jurassic Park
• Competitively-priced

What I didn’t like:

• You’ll really need to think hard about where to display it as it’s so large

Final Thoughts

There is so much to like about 76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex but it ultimately boils down to this – it’s a comically large, pricey LEGO Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton that will make any dinosaur-lover’s inner child squeal with glee.

(note: major set spoilers below. Look away if you want to preserve the best and most satisfying surprise of the set)

There is something profoundly silly about spending US$250 / AU$400 on a metre-long T-Rex skeleton, but that’s what make this set so much fun. It’s the manifestation of the kind of over-the-top toy that a dino-obsessed 8 year old kid could want, and the fact that it’s now a reality thanks to LEGO’s increasing focus on adults is cause for celebration.

The build is wonderfully fun, with plenty of twists and turns, and most importantly, seeing this massive skeletal T-Rex come together in front of your eyes is really enjoyable. There are great techniques and a lot of sound engineering that has gone into not making this look good, but at the same time remarkably strong and stable with various points of articulation where it counts like the head and jaw.

There’s a distinct “spare no expense” vibe to the model once finished and stands proudly on display, with the size and sheer scale of it more than deserving of the title King of the Tyrant lizards.

For fans of LEGO dinosaurs, this model is a flagship centerpiece that’s one of those rare sets like the UCS AT-AT or Titanic that you simply need to make space for, because let’s face it, if you have the budget and space for it, why wouldn’t you proudly display a 3,145-piece LEGO T-Rex model?

I’ve used the word fun a lot in this review, and what really tipped me over the edge to decide to award this set a perfect score was the Easter Egg.

Embedded at the core of the T-Rex skeleton, is a little frog, in a driver’s seat, with a steering wheel! I remember bursting out laughing as I built this, and that moment is seared into my memory that this was to be an exceptional LEGO experience, and I just love this trademark sense of LEGO humour, because it’s so unexpected!

Frogs after all, are a staple of LEGO Jurassic Park sets as Frog DNA was canonically used to bring these dinosaurs to life in the first movie, so the fact that there’s a tiny green frog driving the T-Rex skeleton just absolutely tickles me. Of course, once you seal the frog up in the spine, you won’t see it ever again, but as the builder, you’ll always know it’s there.

76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex is a sensational set, and immediately cements itself as the frontrunner of one of the best sets of 2025. This is a strong recommend, and I can see this set doing extremely well with LEGO and paleontology fans, so I sure hope that LEGO makes enough to keep up with demand!

76968 Dinosaur Fossils Tyrannosaurus Rexwill be released on 12 March 2025 for LEGO Insiders, ahead of a 15 March general release, and it will be available exclusively fromLEGO.comor your local LEGO Store.

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