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That is, nothing but the Dino Attack squad.
Name: 7477 T-1 Typhoon vs. T-Rex
Theme: Dino Attack
Year: 2005
Pieces: 605
Minifigs: 4
Price: USD 69.99
Further References: Brickset.com, Bricklink.com, Peeron.com, flickr
Dino Attack is a unique theme because it has two different variations released in two different regions. Within North America, the theme was known as Dino Attack, but in Europe it was referred to as Dino 2010. The essence of each set was kept the same, but the main difference between the sets of both themes was the presence of weapons. This is due to the concepts of both themes differing - Dino Attack was focused on exterminating a revived dinosaur threat by the use of force, while Dino 2010 was focused on capturing them for research and scientific purposes. In Europe, the T-1 Typhoon would have been released as set 7298 Dino Air Tracker.
The Box: Front
Credit to Peeron for the picture. Set in a post-apocalyptic scene, the T-1 Typhoon is seen launching an attack against a fearsome T-Rex at point blank range while being chased by a pteranodon. The most exciting feature of the box however is a little "try me!" opening that lets people passing by light up the T-Rex's head.
The Box: Inside Panel
Credit to Peeron for this picture too. Even better, the box has a panel that you can open up to reveal all the fun play features! I don't remember many boxes from the 2000s era having this sort of panel, although I know that a number of large sets from the 90s and before did. I've always liked these inside panels, and it's a neat way of increasing the pull factor to this already amazing set.
The Instructions: Front
You've got to wonder how Rex here got up to the top of that high building.
The Instructions: Random Page
Unfortunately this is one of those instruction booklets that make it difficult to differentiate between black and dark grey parts. Pay close attention to the colors while building, so that you don't end up searching for a long time for a nonexistent piece in dark grey when really it's in black.
The Instructions: Advertisements
At the end of the instructions we have this interesting piece of art that acts as an advertisement for the Dino Attack series.
The Stickers
There are a ton of stickers, which is a downside if you have a deep abhorrence for them. They are transparent, which isn't as bad as the regular opaque adhesives. I do think the set does benefit from the stickers and would lose some detail without them.
The Pieces
Tan and dark red galore! Lots of great slope pieces in both these uncommon colors, as well as a few other interesting but less common elements.
As with many LEGO sets, black and dark grey pieces make up the structural component of the set. Plates are especially prominent.
The remaining colors are either used as support or details on the helicopter. Please note that a 2x6 grey plate should be pictured here too.
The Technic pieces are quite typical of a recent set, a few uncommon pieces being the missile launcher, differential gears, and "timing gears." As always, the Technic is used for structural support and play features, so nothing new here.
Notable Pieces
I normally don't like to use the larger panel and windshield pieces in MOCs, so I thought these were notable solely for the fact that they aren't very abundant in sets. The Technic wheel piece was an element that was widely found in Technic sets in the 90s, but here it's used for the guns on the helicopter.
The Minifigures: Front
From left to right, we have Shadow, Specs, Viper, and Digger. I like how all of the minifigs have suits that are individual to them. Their expressions and torso detailing make them excellent for mercenary or military themed minifigs.
The Minifigures: Heads
Scarred, unshaven, and tough-looking - the marks of true dino wranglers!
The Minifigures: Back
No back printing, which is disappointing. I think printing some creases in their suits on the back would have added to the realism and level of detail on the front.
The Dinos
Pteranodon
Although each dinosaur is rather simplified (like building something from Galidor) and doesn't really feel like LEGO, they do look cool. The designers paid incredible attention to the head especially - notice the subtle yellowing on the Pteranodon's teeth, and those horns on its head. There's four studs on the back for...dino wrangling I suppose?
T-Rex
The king of all dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus Rex ranks as amongst the largest (if not the largest) creature LEGO has ever produced. When posed to its tallest height, the T-Rex stands at about 30 cm tall (about 1 foot). Again, the yellowed teeth is replicated here. The anatomy, while I doubt it's all that biologically accurate, helps convey the ferociousness of the creature - like the thickness of its quadriceps. Its greenish brother can be found in sets 7476 Iron Predator vs. T-Rex or 7297 Dino Track Transport.
Now the coolest feature of the T-Rex is that its eyes and tongue light up! But here's the big design flaw associated with that - the batteries can't be changed. Unless you drill through its thick skull, after the batteries die, there's no way to see its eyes and tongue light up again.
The Build
The Gun, Steps 3, 6
The instructions start off with a little warm up for the monster build that comes next.
Viper can indulge himself with his new toy, but now it's onto building the bigger gun!The Helicopter, Steps 6, 9, 12
The internal structure is a splatter of colors like most LEGO sets, but of course it's the design we're interested about! That big Technic box component will act as support for the fuselage and allow for the addition of the side panels.
Cabin Assembly, Sub-steps 3, 6, 10
After that, the build shifts course and focuses on the cabin. Which will now be attached to the earlier assembly:
Steps 13, 17
The tail section is added on too. By now, you can get a good idea of how long this thing will be.
Tail Rotor Assembly, Sub-steps 4, 12
Compared to the tiny rotors you'd find on most helicopter tail ends, this rotor is huge. The slopes and arches are used to create this appealing shape for the tail rotor.
Steps 21, 29, 37, 44
From here on out, the build is pretty straight forward and focuses on stabilizing all the components together and addition of all the interior structures and details. Stickers are applied along the way, as opposed to being applied all at the end.
Main Rotor Assembly, Sub-steps 5, 7
Acknowledging that the tail rotor is large, the main rotor is even huger. The rotor span measures out to over 51 cm (about 20 inches). If the size of the helicopter wasn't awing enough for you before, adding the main rotor gives you a good idea on how big this helicopter really is.
Finished Build
As the saying goes, peace through superior firepower.
Extra Pieces
The barb piece is probably the only piece that strikes as interesting.
Design and Playability
The Set
Crank up Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries and fly into battle!
Side Views
A full 65 cm (25.5 inches) long, I'm pretty sure that this is the largest helicopter that LEGO has produced. Furthermore, it's also probably the closest the company has ever come to producing a militaristically realistic vehicle. Comparative to other sets, Dino Attack as a whole was a theme that I suppose you could say was "more violent" than everything else, which was the main reason behind why in Europe the vehicles were stripped of their weapons. Naturally, the design is still far from an accurate model of a real life military heli, but it still maintains realistic elements like the overall shape of the helicopter. Adult fans may be more attracted to this set for that reason, moreso than some of the other more fantasy-like action themes.
Front View
Bad idea to be right in the face of this thing when it has all those guns pointed in that direction. The helicopter's length is complemented by its hefty width.
Rear View
The wideness at the fuselage gradually condenses down to a one stud width at the end.
Aerial View
A group of these flying in formation would look awesome.
Even recoloring the heli with different colors and adding different sticker designs would be a neat thing to do - kind of like what the clones do to their gunships in Star Wars.Cockpits
The cockpits are all removable to let the pilot in and out. The windscreens also have targeting HUD stickers for locking onto the enemy belligerents.
Although the exterior is well detailed, I cannot say the same for the interior cabin. One glaring problem is that the controls are set way too low for the pilots. There's plenty of room inside the cabin, so I'm not sure why a simple 2x2 brick wasn't added beneath the controls to raise them.
I love it when stickers have little Easter eggs to find - this particular stickers says:
Plt. "Jazz" Boucher
Nav. "Kid" Thorogood
Not sure what those names mean...maybe the names of some of the designers?
Another cabin is located on the back of the helicopter for the rear guns. It's not as well developed as the front cabins due to the swiveling gun action, but it's a good way to make use of the space there. There's a huge gap created by the play feature however, which can't really be helped but still isn't very nice to see.
Missile Launcher
Blunt missiles to take out the heavier foes. Never aim for the eyes kids...
Main and Auxiliary Guns
The heli is flanked by two big rotary cannons that are just beautifully designed. Great usage of a lot of uncommon Technic pieces.
These appear to be mini-rocket auxiliary launchers that home in on the agile Pteranodon.
And finally, swiveling guns should there be a surprise attack from behind.
Underside
Yeah, the underside may seem like a random mess of colors and Technic beams, but it also serves as an area for the landing gear to retract into during flight. Wonderful use of space here.
Tail Section, Underside
Hinge pieces always save the day whenever angular building is brought into play. This allows the tail section to integrate itself well with the rest of the helicopter, without looking like some random protrusion coming out of the end.
Interior Briefing Area
The inside has a fancy radar display and some measuring equipment for the team to analyze. Jumper plates provide a connection point for a minifig so he can safely stand at the edge of the helicopter with his machine gun.
Fueling Area
"Fill 'er up!"
Fuel Tank
Is it really a good idea to leave the fuel tank exposed for a dino to gnash at it?
Zip-line Function
For the craziest and most courageous member of the team, the zip line is used to jump of the helicopter in mid air and attempt to land on a dino to try and wrangle it. Good thing that's only make believe.
Tail Rotor
Hah, the rotor was spinning slowly enough to make it look as if it were some kind of astral projection.
Main Rotor
Of course the main rotor spins too, but due to such a large rotor spinning on a relatively tiny axis, it tends to shudder a lot while spinning.
Dino Attack!
More motion blur fun!
Conclusion
While the T-1 Typhoon may be able to take on the most ferocious of dinosaurs, how does it live up to the feared LEGO enthusiast?
Pieces: 9/10 - I really think the dark red and tan color scheme was a great approach to the theme, and that in turn led to a lot of nice pieces in said colors. Basic pieces like plates and Technic bricks are good to have in any collection too.
Minifigures: 8/10 - They're a great team of minifigs, each well designed in his own respect. Detailing would have been nice to have on the back, but perhaps we're being spoiled by all the great number of minifigs that have back printing today.
Build: 10/10 - This is a build that I enjoy greatly. It's so cool seeing this monster of a helicopter come together, and seeing how the internal design helps make that possible. The build is one of those builds that you get disappointed when you finish, but that disappointment is instantly pushed out with the satisfaction of building an impressive set such as this.
Design: 10/10 - Sure the cabin interior may have been lacking, but I am willing to let that slide because this is just such a well designed set in every other aspect. It captures the look of a modern day military helicopter while still remaining an original design for kids to interpret and make believe on their own.
Playability: 9/10 - Already you've got two dinos and an armory of guns to play with, so there's a lot of play value in this set alone. Add in the other Dino Attack sets and you're asking for a dino battle fest.
Price: 8/10 - Seventy dollars doesn't necessarily conform to the 10 cent per piece ratio, but for the experience that comes along with the set I think it's well worth it!
Overall: 9/10
Maybe I was a little more generous than I usually am, but compared to most of the big sets in each theme I think this is one that stands out from all the rest. It's a shame that Dino Attack was short lived because its concept was different from the spies and aquatic themes we are used to. It likely won't be a theme that's well remembered, but even so it's great in its own respect.
The battle shall rage on in the mean time...
"Come get some!"
Thanks for reading
