ARTICLE: Dino Attack, The Forgotten City Theme

[WesternOutlaw]

Dino Attack, The Forgotten City Theme

Died Off Like the Dinosaurs or Formed the Foundation of Post-Apoc?

History

In 2005, Lego introduced a new Future City/Sci-Fi theme known as Dino Attack. The theme was something completely different for Lego in that it mixed dinosaurs with modern urban vehicles in a fictitious futuristic world where men vs. mutants. Dino Attack boxart depicted destroyed cities with dinosaurs on the loose, burning buildings, and a team of brave heroes destined to restore order to the chaotic world of savage mutant lizards. Dino Attack lasted two short years with 2005 being the year of set release, and 2006 offering a few extra non-Lego accessories and a single figure with parachute.

Sets

Five sets were offered in 2005 with a nice range of sizes/prices. They included:

7473 Steel Sprinter vs. Mutant Lizard (Quad/4-Wheeler)

7474 Urban Avenger vs. Raptor (Dune Buggy)

7475 Fire Hammer vs. Mutant Lizards (Large Jeep/Hummer)

7476 Iron Predator vs. T-Rex (Tank/All-Terrain Vehicle)

7477 T-1 Typhoon vs. T-Rex (Helicopter)

Minifigs

Dino Attack minifigs included four heroes with character names by Lego. From left to right: Digger, Viper, and Shadow. Not pictured is the fourth character by the name of Specs included within the two largest sets (7476 and 7477). In addition, both of these sets contained an additional yellow armed torso. All of the figs had black legs and black aviator-style caps (part 30171) with no variations appearing in any of the sets. The war-style torsos with printed gear add a nice element for any cobat MOC use. Some variation in helmets or perhaps the use of hair pieces would have proven beneficial in helping identify the various minifigs.

Dinosaurs and Mutant Lizards

Dino Attack sets included four different types of mutant dinosaurs. They included the following from smallest to largest:

- Mutant Lizards (with three color variations including black, purple, and orange)

- Raptor

- Pteranodon (winged-dino)

- T-Rex

For children, the dinosaurs provide a nice fantasy/prehistoric element. For the AFOL, they add a few pieces to the set and the price point.

Can the Dino Attack Theme Be Considered a Town/City Sub-Theme?

Whether or not the Dino Attack theme can be considered a Town/City sub-theme is debatable. From the perspective that a modern Lego World City contains these futuristic battle vehicles, Dino Attack may be called a City Sub-Theme. However, with the lack of buildings, structures, and other facilities/services found within a City, Dino Attack is stretching it as a simple vehicle theme with the addition of mutant dinosaurs. In addition, one must ask the question, do 100% vehicle themes constitute the AFOL's definition of Lego City. Licensed themes like Spiderman and Batman at least contained city buildings and structures. Dino Attack is certainly not Classic Town, but its vehicles are found within one Lego City, one that takes place in the future. One might also consider Dino Attack an Adventure theme. With it's Dinos and action vehicles, the theme is somewhat like Johnny Thunder in Dino Island, without Johnny Thunder and the Island.

What Was Missing From the Theme?

Dino Attack could have been a much better theme had it contained some buildings or city structures. Buildings were depicted in Dino Attack boxart. Why did Lego not pursue some of these scenes? Some ruined buildings would have added playability for younger children and served as additional resources for AFOL to create battle scenes. Perhaps the introduction of partially destroyed bridges and wrecked office buildings may have been a little too violent for younger children, but the boxart did show it quite visually. In addition, the minifig selection was rather limited with four heroes and the absence of female heroines. Dino Attack was definately meant for boys only. It's nice to see Lego adding more female figs to its recent sets.

Was Dino Attack the Start of Post-Apocalypse?

Did Dino Attack set the stage for post-apocalypse MOCs? Judging by the boxart and Lego's official story line, one would think that it did. Did post-apoc MOCs appear before the Dino Attack theme? These questions are truly not easily answered. Perhaps Dino Attack introduced the concept of a post-apocalyptic world in Lego City, and made MOCs easier to build with the new combat torsos, helmets, and projectile weapons. At the same time, war and combat have been around for a long time, and so has the fascination with a world in chaos ravaged by apocalyptic events. Whether these events are mutant lizards, zombies, or war between nations, Lego definately picked a theme with elements that could easily be adopted for the post-apoc genre.

_{Image from Lego's Dino Attack Web Site}

Final Thoughts

Although Dino Attack was a short lived theme with just a few sets, its minifigs and vehicles will live on to many fans of combat-related themes. Some may or may not appreciate its collection of large plastic dinosaurs, but regardless of your preference, I think most will say that Dino Attack was a unique theme that introduced some nicely detailed vehicles. Share your thoughts of the Dino Attack theme here on Eurobricks.

Article Written by TheBrickster

August 1, 2008

REFERENCES

WWW.Brickset.com

WWW.Lego.Com, Dino Attack

WWW.Peeron.com

[Skinny Boy]

I got all the DA sets except for the iron predator, they were good, but living in Europe, we were given nets and traps instead of guns and rockets. I liked the urban avenger dune buggy the best and I think the torsos and faces are great for any military or other themed MOC. The only thing they could have done would have been to make some kinda lab (a building, not a portable truck or something) but that would have went too close to Jurassic park. Good people and vehicles, but not such a good theme.

[Hotshot]

Hate that net was used in Europe

I want rockets

Edited August 21, 2008 by Hotshot

[Asuka]

I got all the DA sets except for the iron predator, they were good, but living in Europe, we were given nets and traps instead of guns and rockets.

Yup, and just to fit that trapper upgrade our European box arts showed also only some nice jungle sceneries... so, no touch of post-apocalypse

to us, more some kind of modern Jules Verne or Lara Croft adventure atmosphere...

The vehicle´re pretty nevertheless, and in a great color scheme for sure. And those beautiful MFs...

So yeah... peace to the dinos on!

[JopieK]

well, I guess it was replaced by the Agents theme. Those sets are in the same genre aren't they?!

[bullet8542]

Never bought any.....Had not gotten back into Lego yet but I always walked down the isle and I really thought the Helo was sweet. It does seem to me that some themes just seem to be fillers. Aquanauts, Aqua zone, what was the last submarine theme that lasted two years?

That reminds me I need to find that Helo on E-Bay..........

Thanks Brickster.

[larry marak]

well, I guess it was replaced by the Agents theme. Those sets are in the same genre aren't they?!

That's not too much of a stretch, tying in Agents to DinoWars.

Dinowars brought me into Lego. I'm a life long Godzilla fan (the original, the 1984 sequel with Burr, and the 2002 version) and building urban warfare scenes of Godzilla vs the national guard has been my goal for several years.

For ruined buildings, I've found MB's shattered window panels, released in their Spiderman sets to be useful.

Biggest problem is scale. 84 meters high is a lot of bricks. Kadawa of Japan (which was sold for decades in the U.

S.A. as Brix Blox and Loc Blocs) has the Godzilla license, but their sculpture is only about 12 inches tall.

[VBBN]

I absolutly LOVED the sets. I have all of them, and multiple steel sprinters.

[snefroe]

great retro, brickster!

let's face it... dino took every one by surprise... one piece dinos, oversized and not really fantastic models, not the best color combination, no larger context for this theme, it just came out of the blue and most people responded with 'what the ...?' the theme was gone by the time we got used to it...

all i can say is that better lines replaced this one...

[Algernon]

In my opinion, this theme is underrated. It had great minifigs, great vehicles, and some rare colors. The dinos aren't great, no, but who cares? The rest of the sets are fine.

I wasn't a huge collector, but I got a few of the smaller sets. I wanted that helicopter.

[Skinny Boy]

great retro, brickster!

let's face it... dino took every one by surprise... one piece dinos, oversized and not really fantastic models, not the best color combination, no larger context for this theme, it just came out of the blue and most people responded with 'what the ...?' the theme was gone by the time we got used to it...

all i can say is that better lines replaced this one...

Neil Young has two songs that go together, one is 'Out of the Blue'. The other is 'Into the Black'. If you apply the names to Dino Attack, it makes a lot of sense, The line came out of nowhere (the blue) and just dissappeared/died (into the black). I know this is a bit off topic, but it did happen

[Eilif]

I guess it's just my interpretation, since it was only tangentially mentioned by others, but when I noticed the line, I never thought of it as at all related to "city", rather I immidiately saw it as a visual and thematic combination of the Rock Raiders and the Adventureres Dino Island sets. Somewhat military-esque' imagery in an undetermined near-future, combined with typical adventure themes and non-brick-built dinosaurs. Perhaps Ironically, a short-lived line and short lived sub-theme combined to form another equally short lived line.

I don't know if the line was successfull monetarily for LEGO. I assume it was. I do think though, that alot of lines are only expected to last a few years. Despite the inevitable disapointment of fans who take an interest in certain lines, 2-3 years of selling well, and then pulling the line before it dies a slow death is not a bad thing in the toy business. In interviews, LEGO execs have even stated that alot of lines are expected to be short lived, whereas other lines are expected to be revisted over the years.

I myself was unimpressed with the sets, and didn't purchase any of them. In retrospect, it did have some very well designed large-ish vehicles. Also, the color schemes, and models were superior to the Dino Island sets which seemed -with a few exceptions- to combine mediocre builds with inconsistent color schemes. For example, I just picked up a nearly complete used 5983 Dino Research Compound. Great parts, lots of minifigs, and yet some of the most uninspiring builds I've ever seen.

[The Rancor]

Hate that net was used in Europe

I want rockets

Our own European Dino '2010' SUCKED

[LegoFranks]

There are two 7298 Dino Air Tracker sets in Fenwicks, Canterbury, and they've been there since I moved here 3 years ago! And they've been the same price all that time too... Do you think it's worthwhile me asking if I might take them off their hands for half price?

M.

[ReZourceman]

There are two 7298 Dino Air Tracker sets in Fenwicks, Canterbury, and they've been there since I moved here 3 years ago! And they've been the same price all that time too... Do you think it's worthwhile me asking if I might take them off their hands for half price?

M.

I really think it can't hurt! They must be wanting to get rid of three year old stock!

[Eilif]

repeat post deleted

Edited August 21, 2008 by Eilif

[WesternOutlaw]

they were good, but living in Europe, we were given nets and traps instead of guns and rockets.

I'm really surprised that the sets contained these variations between Europe and the U.S.

I wonder if the variations really made a difference in set popularity?

[AwesomeStar]

I'm really surprised that the sets contained these variations between Europe and the U.S.

I wonder if the variations really made a difference in set popularity?

Yup. I planned to buy all the sets, but when I bougt the tank, it was all jungly so I had to mod it...

[snefroe]

I'm really surprised that the sets contained these variations between Europe and the U.S.

I wonder if the variations really made a difference in set popularity?

well i believe Dino was part of an experiment. I think Lego was trying to find out if it was a better option to give the US and Europe different products and different lines. I think the US was supposed to get Dino and Europe was supposed to get Vikings. Both continents complained about that and Lego decided to release vikings on a limited scale in the Us, and Europe got european versions of the US dinos, thinking Europe would never accept the violent nature of the original theme...

It seems to me they've now completely left that path...

[Zarkan]

Great article. I personally agree that Dino Attack was underated. Although I didn't like the tank, and the large jeep wasn't especially good, I loved the other vehicles. However, I hated the dinos - they were simply too silly looking, with their light-up eyes and bright red, yellow and green highlights.

You really hit the nail on the head in regards to the lack of buildings. I think Dino Attack would have been a lot better if we got a few playsets with wrecked buildings. I also would have loved to see a base of opperations for Dino Attack. Add those kits and some better looking dinos, and I would have given the line more than a 3.