Review: LEGO 75941 Indominus Rex vs Ankylosaurus

October 9, 2020 | 8

It’s been a while since my last LEGO Jurassic World review, and I really missed messing around with LEGO dinosaurs, so I recently picked up the new 75941 Indominus Rex vs Ankylosaurus – like most people getting this set, I got it for the awesome new LEGO Ankylosaurus.

It’s a really expensive set, for not a lot of LEGO, so let’s see if it’s worth the $100 / AU$150 asking price.

Name: Indominus Rex vs Ankylosaurus
Set Number: 75941
Pieces: 537 pieces
Price: AU$149.99 | US$99.99 | £89.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AU] [US] [UK]
Exclusive to: N/A
Theme: Jurassic World 2020
Release Date: June 2020

The set as its name implies, let’s you recreate one of the slightly more memorable scenes from Jurassic World, where the brothers Zach and Gray go on a Gyrosphere joyride, before they get front-row seats to the escaped Indominus Rex squaring up against a herd of Ankylosaurus. 

Spoilers if you haven’t watched it, but it doesn’t end well for the poor Ankylosaurus. 

You get a healthy amount of minifigures in the set, with 5 Jurassic World characters. From left to right, you have Zach Mitchell, a Park Worker, Owen Grady, Gray Mitchell and Claire Dearing.

The set is based off the scenes in the movie, where the brothers Zac and Gray first arrive at Isla Nublar, hop into a Gyrosphere and are introduced to the Indominus Rex, a genetically modified dino, take on a herd of Ankylosaurus.

Owen and Claire are mostly the same Owen and Claire minifigures you probably already have from previous Jurassic World sets. Gray, the younger brother looks like a Hobbit in modern-day clothing, but is a brand new character making his debut as a minifig.

Here’s their alternate faces and back printing.

Zach makes his second appearance, with an all-new haircut compared to the first version from Indominus Rex Breakout set. Very interestingly, they recycled his torso which has a red shirt underneath a grey zip hoodie, but at least he has a new face. 

The unnamed Park Worker is my favourite minifigure in the set, as he has a brown jacket, which has the Jurassic World logo printed on the back. His cap, which has a curved bill is a brand new colour variant, showing up in reddish brown, which is a nice little bonus. 

5 minifigures in a 500-piece set is not bad, and enhances the playability of the set, but the recycled characters are a little tired, and I would’ve much rather have more generic park workers or rangers. 

On to the real stars of the set – the dinosaurs, which let’s be honest, is why anyone (myself included) buys any Jurassic World set. 

This set is notable for several reasons – it’s the first set with two large dinosaurs included, but most importantly, we get a brand spanking new 100% awesome Ankylosaurus! 

The Ankylosaurus is the stuff of dreams for LEGO dinosaur enthusiasts. If you’ve followed my Jurassic World reviews, you’d know I’ve been clamouring for more herbivores, and it seems someone at LEGO has heard my prayers, gifting all of us a LEGO Ankylosaurus. 

Sure, it’s not a Stegosaurus (soon… LEGO… soon), but Ankylosaurus are undeniably one of the coolest dinosaurs to have walked the face of the Earth. Covered in heavy armoured plates, spikes AND a club for a tail, what’s not to like about them?

LEGO have gone to great lengths with the new Ankylosaurus mould, with a brand new body, and tail design. 

The tail, like you’d expect from an Ankylosaurus is attached via a technic pin, which allows it to swivel from side to side with no resistance. 

The armoured body is excellent, with heaps of detailing such as spikes aplenty. 

Unlike other LEGO dinos, the LEGO Ankylosaurus doesn’t have a one-piece body, its head and upper body needs to be affixed to the lower half, and the tail is also its own separate piece. 

When it comes to sizing, the Ankylosaurus’ proportions are great, it has a squat but wide body, and is comparable in size to the LEGO Triceratops. 

It’s also the same height as the Triceratops, which is interesting, and their bellies look very similar (but not identical), which suggests that the LEGO designers did use the Triceratops as a reference point for the Ankylosaurus. 

The LEGO Ankylosaurus is an instant favourite and will make a lot of LEGO Dinosaur collectors very, very happy. 

It’s also nice to see the return of the Indominus Rex in 2020, after a 5-year absence since the Indominus Rex Breakout set. If the Indominu Rex looks a little different, your eyes don’t deceive you as he’s had a bit of a makeover, and is much more grey than white, and sports some major changes. 

When you place them side by side, the colour difference is pretty stark, making the original seem very pale, almost like a ghostly dinosaur. 

The newer grey colour is much more realistic, and the printing across its body, legs and tail also has a metallic silver sheen which is kinda cool.

I’m not a fan of the new design of its eye. It’s still blood-red, making him look like he’s suffering a major bout of conjunctivitis, but it’s a little too expressive and looks a bit too cartoony. 

Another major difference is the new hands. Unlike the OG Indominus, which has hands that can rotate, and can has a slot to grip a minifigure’s legs, the newer version has long, slender arms with a singular stud in its palm – this of course, allows you to affix a minifigure, or any other LEGO element for a more secure hold.

Having two large dinosaurs in the set dramatically boosts the playability, as it allows the both of them to square off in a classic Carnivore vs Herbivore matchup.

Of course, just like the movie suggests, despite being heavily armoured and having a swinging club tail, the Indominus Rex is likely to win by sheet wit and cheating thanks to its genetic engineering.

With the original Indominus Rex being one of the rarest LEGO Dinosaurs, this is a great opportunity to own one without breaking the bank.

Let’s get into the build – there’s a simple but really attractive Gyrosphere sign, which has two prehistoric palms that flank it.

Be very careful with applying the Gyrosphere word stickers, lest you end up with this misaligned monstrosity like I did.

I like the fossil on the base of the gyroscope sign which is a nice touch.

The trees are also quite nice – with a healthy dose of leaves, although the trunks look a little too straight and rigid.

There’s a play feature that’s built into the trees, where you can knock the Technic pins to dislodge them, causing them to crash dramatically – they serve as collateral damage from the showdown between both dinos.

Here’s the complete Gyrosphere station, which is a fully self-contained building that bears a striking resemblance to a theme park ride. Because it is.

The designers did a pretty good job adapting the design of the ride, from this scene in the movie, with the thatched roof and even positioning of the Gyrosphere track.

There is a large waiting area out the front for guests to line up or mingle, turnstiles to get in, and even a ticket booth.

The design of this Gyrosphere complex is pretty decent – I really like this red bracket along the side of the structure.

For what it’s worth, the designers really did a decent job adding to the details of the structure, and making what was really a boring design in the movie, into something that has some nice architectural features, such as the arches at the base, foliage out front, and the wall brackets.

Throughout the structure are several stickers such as a screen where you can see a sauropod out in the wild, and a calendar with a Pterodactyl and month of February on it. No idea about the significance of the 18th of February, but it could be an Easter Egg reference to the designer’s birthday.

Here’s a look at the back view of the Gyrosphere Station, where you can see that the designers have added in some nice details, such as a small ladder to get onto the Gyrosphere dock.

The Gyrosphere is unchanged from when it first debuted in 2015, and I still like the design of it, where it rolls and wobbles while keeping the minifigure inside stabilised.

Using a twist dial, you can flick the Gyrosphere forward, launching it out its dock, into the rails and into the wild – the play feature works exactly as advertised and is quite satisfying if I may say so.

What I liked:

• Ankylosaurus is the best LEGO Dinosaur since the Triceratops
• New design for the Indominus Rex is more realistic
• Gyrosphere Station makes for a decent hub and has some nice architectural details
• A good amount of minifigures

What I didn’t like:

• Claire and Owen are a little unnecessary as they weren’t even in the scene
• More Park Workers/Rangers like an extra tourist or two would’ve been better
• Price is a little high for a LEGO set even though it’s due to the dino tax

Final thoughts: This set is like a ticket to Jurassic World – expensive and overpriced, but you’re going to get dinosaurs, which is a pretty sweet deal.

For fans of LEGO Jurassic World, or even 2012’s Dino theme, this set is actually pretty good value.

For the RRP of AU$150/US$99.99 considering you get two large dinosaurs, the price is actually very fair, even if it is a 500-piece set.

Let’s not kid ourselves, anyone who is considering this set is buying this for the Indominus Rex and Ankylosaurus. If the Ankylosaurus was the sole dinosaur, this may seem overpriced, but when you consider that the original Indominus Rex sells for close to $AU100 on Bricklink, a second chance (albeit with a slightly different variant) at owning one is also another plus.

The set itself is okay – nothing really to shout about, and the Gyrosphere Station and minifigures really feel like add-ons, to a LEGO Indominus Rex and Ankylosaurus pack.

I do appreciate the LEGO designers at least making the structure look architecturally interesting.

I also like that it’s a stripped back set – LEGO could’ve easily sold a AU$250 Dino HQ-scale set, with all the bells and whistles, but I think they’ve understood that people are really buying these sets for the LEGO dinos.

On sale (I got it from Target during a recent sale) and paid just over AU$100 for it, which I thought was a fantastic deal as I really wanted the Ankylosaurus above all. If you can get this set for about 20% off, I highly recommend it if you collect LEGO Dinosaurs.

The Ankylosaurus is a fantastic addition to my LEGO Dinosaur collection, so I’d really call this set a must-buy if you love dinos.

For younger kids, the playability is really high, especially with 2 Dinos, 5 minifigures and a fairly fun Gyrosphere launching mechanism, so with Christmas coming up, this would make a great set for younger dinosaur-obsessed kids as a gift.

The inclusion of two large dinosaurs, and the value you get for the price, and the excellent Ankylosaurus makes this one of the better Jurassic World sets of late, especially if you can get it at a decent discount.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this detailed look at 75941 Indominus Rex vs Ankylosaurus!

What do you think of the new Indominus Rex and Ankylosaurus, and the overall value of this set? What dino would you like to see LEGO take on next? Let me know in the comments!

75941 Indominus Rex vs Ankylosaurus is available from most toy stores, on LEGO.com or on Amazon US / Amazon Australia.

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I’ll leave you with my favourite shot I took of the new LEGO Ankylosaurus!