The absentee mood of Christmas and the advertising blitz I had been bombarded with for days culminated in me dropping 600 dollars on Legos on boxing day, because that is what is good for mental health, treating yaself.

It had been years since I had bought a Lego, only 2 modular buildings back in 2013, the Cinema and the Parisian Restaurant, but a good decade since my childhood Lego obsession. Back then, it was a crazy consistent stream of Lego toys; Power Miners, Bionicle, Agents, Atlantis, Knights Kingdom, that brief shining year when Dino Attack came out and my mind exploded when I had awesome Lego dinosaurs which still have yet to be matched in size, and inevitably Star Wars.

With a pent up need to spend that cash money, I funneled that desire into Lego sets, deciding upon 3, this one being one of them. The dinosaurs themselves look quite impressive once completed, their tails and heads are adjustable, and the T-Rex's tiny arms too. It's quite interesting to see the merging of Bionicle joint elements with bricks. The T-Rex also looks the best of the 3, the Pterodactyl getting the short straw on the impressive factor for sure.

While there's some particularly clever uses of bricks in this, it wasn't ever challenging, more my inebriation being a challenge than the instructions. With the conclusion of building this though, I am eager to build my other 2 far larger and more nuanced sets, with a lot more flare and play factor I suppose. Not that I play with Legos, I just display them and spray the Air in a bottle stuff on them to blow the dust away.

Of course, once the next 2 sets are built, and there being a brand new Lego store less than 5 minutes drive away from me, it wouldn't be doubtful of the next impulse purchase being a modular building, or whatever might be in stock.

Next build is also the Bookshop, a modular building and a legitimate impulse purchase cause it was the only building left when I was there. This is why being an adult is great cause my impulse purchase is more expensive than my planned one.

Bought this set before it got close to retiring and would be harder to obtain. And people I showcase builds to wanted to see this one next.

So the pros, they aren't the most complex of builds for adults, though I suppose some of the parts would be difficult for the younger audience (I mean we know it's a 16+ set but you'd buy them for kids too). However that said it is a fun few hours and think the Pteranodon would be the easier one for younger ages, while the older groups can do the Triceratops and T-rex (sort of how the gingerbread house can be down as a group with different bits done by different members of the family). They are all easy to pose and you can make them look quite nice as exhibits in a museum and if you have things like the Saturn V or other pieces can make yourself what looks like a little museum exhibit section for sure.

One of the best things about this build is the fun you can have posing them and getting them into various shots for pictures and play. There's a full toolkit, more than what's needed for the archaeologist or the little bucket provided so you could use things in other builds too.

The Pteranodon is the easiest and the most versatile in terms of posing and placing in positions. Being the simplest one, while impressive, a few more pieces could have made it look even better.

The Triceratops was my least favourite of the builds due to the one-one connectors. It's not a complex build but it is a little fragile. Because of the especially the bit at the front. If it was more 2X2 it would have been stable but you can mod it if you're up for it. As is, you'd want to be careful while positioning it because that bit on the front can come off easily due to it. And a few bits on the side if you didn't build it carefully enough but that's an easy fix.

The T-Rex is the one that's easy to pose and also pretty big. While yes you can move it around and change it's various positions, only the last 3-4 vertebrae could really be moved for positions so this is still going to be a deep structure and you'll need to make sure you've space to display. Full length as said is about 39cm but you can adjust it to make it around 33cm. The jaw and head are quite stable and you can do a variety of positions. If you're having trouble with this one, just need a rebuild but it is very stable and probably the most fun to position.

All in all a good set and one I could easily recommend; but if Lego is planning to do another Triceratops fossil build, I'd recommend for some of the bits to have 2X2s or a triangular plate/brick just for added stability. I get the current versatility for making it pose but posing for the lack of 100% stability isnt an amazing tradeoff.

I'd honestly give it a 4.5 out of 5 but since there's no such option, 5 stars.

I have been building LEGO sets since I was 5, but this set is much harder than any other set I've ever built. I still consider myself an Expert Builder, but it was still very difficult and fun. I very much see why it's 16+, but I think it would be okay for any kid down to about 12.5, depending on how patient, gentle, and focused your child is on getting this done.

Anyone who looks at my previous reviews will realize I am obsessed about the LEGO Jurassic World theme. When I saw this set I knew I needed it. (In the movie, Jurassic World, Main Street is lined with several dinosaur skeletons, and a fun laugh for intense fans is that the T Rex absolutely destroys the Spinosaurus one.) I got this for my birthday, and opened it soon after starting the LEGO Jurassic World Indominus Rex vs Ankylosaurus. The Pteranodon is okay for even down to age 7, in my opinion. It has moving parts at almost every joint, and is even removable around the connection to the movable display pole. The others are much harder to build.

The triceratops is on the largest stand, so large that in order to put it on a baseplate, I had to rebuild most of the base and legs. The hips were fragile, but the rest of this was pretty strong. Not like, play-strong, but strong enough for a dinosaur skeleton for older kids that is literally attached to the base. I do wish it wasn't leaning down in the dog-like "Do you want to play?" position, so it could be in an action pose, but I guess it could be about to jab the T Rex.

The T Rex was extremely difficult, but completely worth it. Not only is it extremely accurate, but it has a 8-jointed tail, a 3-jointed neck, movable fingers, elbows, shoulders, and jaw. My only problem with the T Rex skeleton, is the clip joint on the neck is very loose, and always leans down. I would, on a normal set, simply edit that joint with my variety of extra pieces, but I don't want to make this set no longer anatomically correct. It can still roar down, but not up without looking awkward. However, I still give this model a 5/5.

In entirety, this was an amazing set that was very much worth the challenge. I can't comment on the price because it was a gift, but I am pretty sure it would have been worth it.

This was my first foray into an advanced set for myself rather than my kids., and I'm very pleased with the results.

I decided to spread out the building over the course of a week, and I imagine you'd need to spend at least 3-5 hours to build all three. The building experience is satisfyingly challenging, but never too complex. However be warned that some parts are quite fragile, so I'd recommend against building it with young kids as parts are prone to fall to pieces.

The resulting models are really impressive, especially the T-Rex which absolutely towers over our previous "mighty dinosaurs" kit.

The set also opens up a lot of possibilties for creative building thanks to the huge variety of bone-like pieces included. At my son's request I've already used the pieces to make a dipolodocus skeleton, and am currently working on a skeletal dragon.

My only criticism is that I was a bit disappointed to find the models are built so that the feet and legs are integrated into the displays. I had thought they were dettachable, allowing for more freedom for playing. However, my sons and I still had a good time using them as the centrepiece for a Lego Natural History Museum!

The inclusion of the skeleton, paleontologist, and box of tools and items is also a nice touch for imaginative play.