Home News LEGO Dinosaurs: Building T-Rex Fossils, the Ultimate Skeleton Model

LEGO Dinosaurs: Building T-Rex Fossils, the Ultimate Skeleton Model

Author: Allison Apr 28,2025

The LEGO Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex set, available exclusively at the LEGO Store, is a visually stunning and ambitious build. You're first struck by its impressive size; this is a 1:12 scale model of a real T-Rex, making it a centerpiece for any collection.

LEGO Jurassic World Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex

Priced at $249.99 at the LEGO Store, this set captivates with its detailed construction. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice how the ribs are built at varying lengths to form a realistic rib "cage." The use of dark-colored bricks creates shadows, enhancing the contrast with the light-colored "bone" bricks, which adds to the model's lifelike appearance. Despite its complexity, the set is surprisingly easy to assemble, which only adds to its appeal.

We Build LEGO Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex

168 Images As a child, I was fascinated by dinosaurs, particularly the towering T-Rex skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History. Later, reading Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder," a sci-fi short story about time travel, further fueled my awe. The story vividly describes the T-Rex with these words:

"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."

Like many from my generation, I grew up with the image of the T-Rex standing upright with its tail dragging, as depicted in popular media:

Source: American Museum of Natural History

However, scientific understanding has since evolved. The T-Rex actually stood with its spine parallel to the ground, using its tail as a counterbalance:

Source: Field Museum

This updated depiction comes from "Sue," the most complete T-Rex skeleton discovered, which has revolutionized our understanding of this prehistoric giant. Sue's skeleton revealed the presence of *gastralia*—tiny bones that supported the T-Rex's breathing and indicated a heavier build than previously thought:

Source: Universal Pictures

The 1993 film *Jurassic Park* shows a T-Rex closer to this newer understanding, yet still leaner than the updated model based on Sue's bones, which reflects a chubbier and more accurate representation:

Source: Blue Rhino Studio

Reflecting these scientific advancements, the LEGO Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex set accurately portrays the T-Rex's horizontal positioning. While it doesn't include the gastralia, its rib structure suggests a "barrel-chested" creature, more aligned with current paleontological insights. The arms are forward, matching the updated display of Sue at the Field Museum.

The set, consisting of 25 sealed plastic bags, is assembled starting with the black stand. The T-Rex's backbone is then attached to vertical supports, followed by the neck, legs, hips, ribs, arms, tail, and finally the head. The legs and torso are fixed, but the arms, head, and tail are posable, adding to the set's interactivity.

Stretching 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 to truly showcase its magnificence.

This set is part of LEGO's Jurassic Park franchise, yet the inclusion of minifigures of Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler from the original film feels somewhat forced. The set's name and the option to remove the minifigure and placard display further emphasize its standalone appeal. Despite its branding, the T-Rex's grandeur and detail stand on their own, much like the LEGO Titanic build, which also needs no movie tie-ins to captivate.

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