Dino (2012) vs. Jurassic World (2015)

[Lancethecat]

LEGO has released two different dinosaur-based themes over the last three years: the stand-alone Dino theme in 2012 and the Jurassic World theme based on the upcoming movie. Not surprisingly, a lot of the sets in each theme are pretty similar (you can even go back further and draw comparisons to 2005's Dino Attack sets). I've put each of the sets head to head based on their price range; which ones win the battle?

5883: Tower Takedown vs. 75915: Pteranodon Capture

5884: Raptor Chase vs. 75916: Dilophosaurus Ambush

5885: Triceratops Trapper vs. 75917: Raptor Rampage

5886: T-Rex Hunter vs. 75918: T-Rex Tracker

5887: Dino Defense HQ vs. 75919: Indominus Rex Breakout

Edited May 10, 2015 by Lancethecat

[Robert8]

5883: Tower Takedown

75916: Dilophosaurus Ambush

5885: Triceratops Trapper

5886: T-Rex Hunter

5887: Dino Defense HQ

Overall, Dino 2012 wins. The JW theme seems kinda lackluster to me. Just too plain...

[Legocity2713]

Jurassic World are the best overall. (Except for the HQ, in which case the 2012 sets win.) I liked the 2012 sets but Jurassic World's color scheme is just cooler to me, as are the Dinos and Vehicles.

[wghost]

I understand the given pairings, but in terms of design, Triceratops Trapper is much closer to the T-Rex Tracker imo.

[Captain Nemo]

I go with JW on most of these. I only own a few of them so far (and none of the Dino ones unfortunately) but I think they're better in general.

Overall, the dinosaurs in JW are printed far better. The Dino ones look terribly lackluster by comparison, I mean just bad at this point. The comparisons between the two themes do highlight the differences between licensed and non-licensed sets however. This is most evident in the HQ and D-Rex builds. The Dino HQ is $30 less and has two more dinosaurs, although none of them are unique molds to the set. D-Rex is itself unique and of course there's the gyro-sphere too, but then again it's $30 more. I think both are equally good however. And I do regret missing out on the Dino HQ now, since the green T-Rex is my favorite version (at least until Lego gives us a JP accurate version in dark tan and dark brown--I'm shocked we didn't get this actually).

Other set comparisons seem fair, aside from the Triceratops vs Raptor comparison. That Triceratops set is just too unique in itself, especially when compared to the Raptor set--it has one less minifigure, 1 less dino (but a completely unique one), and 100 or so less pieces. The Triceratops is just the oddball--unless you want to compare it to the Adventurers triceratops!

I think the Dilophosaurus set beats out Dino's Raptor Chase--the new JW dino is just simply too cool, and I think there'll be a lot of uses for that gyro-sphere. In addition, the 2012 raptor included just looks so plain compared to the new ones. Pteranodon Capture beats out tower clearly--it has an extra minifigure, more pieces, a shooshable helicopter build and a better printed dino all for the same great $20 price. I'm iffy on the T-Rex sets however, since I think both are rather poor in terms of their ridiculous vehicle builds.

--

In short, I think this sums it up pretty well:

Dino 2012: Advantage of cheaper prices, with the largest set (HQ) arguably being the best of both themes (it also has a record of three dinosaurs). Downsides being the sorely outdated dinosaur printing, and the lack of minifigures in the sets (I was surprised to see this, as I did not remember this theme only have 1-2 minifigures per set on average).

Jurassic World: Advantage of superior printed dinosaurs and minifigures. Small sets win out every time. Disadvantages: Clear price hike from licence.

[BrickJagger]

My Picks:

Tower Takedown

Dilophosaurus Ambush

Triceratops Trapper

T-Rex Tracker

Dino Defense HQ

Overall, Dino 2012 eeks it out for me. I like how the sets feel a little more complete and original, even though JW clearly wins the battle of the figures.

[Deathleech]

For me, it goes:

75915: Pteranodon Capture - I like the dino color in the tower more, but the minifigure and build in the capture set help it win

75916: Dilophosaurus Ambush - A unique dino and gyro sphere help this one edge out a win imo

5885: Triceratops Trapper - Even with one less dino (albiet much larger), and one less minifigure, the trapper wins it for me. The triceratops is just too cool and I was really bummed the mold wasn't re-used for the JW line

5886: T-Rex Hunter - Both are fairly lackluster imo. Even if the Triceratops Trapper went against the T-rex Traacker, I would pick the trapper again.

5887: Dino Defense HQ - More dinos and a much cheaper price make this set the winner for me. Even with using fewer pieces, the cage actually feels bigger..)

Overall I like the 2012 Dino line significantly more. I am fine with either the yellow or blue color scheme so neither really wins out in this area. I am sure if I MOC'd more, the blue and gray would be much more useful than the yellow though. In terms of minifigures I think the JW sets win. They all look great with their printing and there are more of them in their respective sets to boot. When it comes to the dinosaurs I think the Dino line wins out again, and that's the most important aspect seeing as they are the real stars of these sets. You get two totally unique dinosaurs with the triceratops and coelophysis, and then you also get more dinosaurs in the sets. I really am not a fan of the non-green raptors color in the JW sets and the i-rex and dilophosaurus aren't totally new molds, just frankensteins created from a few new parts and several existing one. Finally I find the 2012 Dino line more well rounded since it has 7 sets rather than just 5 (and a polybag).

[Lancethecat]

75915: Pteranodon Capture- the Tower Takedown set was pretty poorly designed, but this set has some nice figures and a pretty reasonable price, too.

75916: Dilophosaurus Ambush- the new(ish) dinosaur and the gyrosphere make this set a definite win.

5885: Triceratops Trapper- I agree that this and the Raptor Chase set are pretty different from one another, but this set has a completely exclusive dinosaur mold and looks a lot more impressive.

5886: T-Rex Hunter- I'm giving the edge to the helicopter simply because it looks more interesting, but if we were including the Dino Attack sets in this battle, I'd vote for T-1 Typhoon vs. T-Rex.

75919: Indominus Rex Breakout- This was a close battle, but the I-Rex set wins for having an exclusive dinosaur mold and a cooler design.

Overall, it looks like Jurassic World wins, but Dino puts up a pretty good fight. No report yet on how accurate the sets are to the film, but I'm planning on seeing it when it comes out next month.

Edited May 15, 2015 by Lancethecat