Review: 76959 Triceratops Research

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The colourful Ford Explorer featured in Jurassic Park was conspicuously missing from the LEGO range until 2022, with the arrival of 76956 T. rex Breakout. An essentially identical recreation of this tour vehicle appears in 76959 Triceratops Research.

Such repetition is sometimes disappointing, but I think the Ford Explorer's return is welcome, especially accompanied by a new Triceratops. Additionally, this is an excellent opportunity to acquire Dr. Ian Malcolm, whose various minifigures have generally appeared in larger sets.

Summary

76959 Triceratops Research, 281 pieces.
£46.99 / $49.99 / €52.99 | 16.7p/17.8c/18.9c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »

This set is quite expensive, but I have very few criticisms of its contents

  • Superb Ford Explorer design
  • Exclusive Triceratops
  • Fun choice of scene
  • Desirable minifigures
  • Overpriced

The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.

Minifigures

Dr. Ellie Sattler is available in most of the new Jurassic Park sets and this minifigure closely resembles the version in 76960 Brachiosaurus Discovery. However, the torso includes some unique staining on the front and back, which surprised me, as I think re-using the clean torso would have been adequate. This design looks great though, with a printed belt and shorts too.

A new torso has also been created for Dr. Ian Malcolm. This is probably the character's most versatile minifigure to date, avoiding the soaking clothes in 76956 T. rex Breakout or the open shirt from 75936 Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage, which are suited to specific scenes. Some of Dr. Malcolm's chest hair is visible, as appropriate, but dual-moulded arms are sadly missing.

The mathematician's double-sided head is new and looks perfect, with confident and disgusted facial expressions. Dr. Sattler appears equally disgusted on one side and cheerful on the other, while both hair elements are well-chosen for the characters. A shovel is the only accessory, the purpose of which will become clear.

The Completed Model

LEGO developed the parts comprising a large Triceratops for 5885 Triceratops Trapper, which was released in 2012. The herbivorous dinosaur has returned in several sets, but this reddish brown and medium nougat example is new. These realistic colours look great, corresponding with the animal featured in Jurassic Park.

Unfortunately, the articulation and shape of the Triceratops' body do not allow it to lie down properly, as shown in the film. Nevertheless, the articulated head and legs are adequate for standard walking and running poses, especially since the animal's large feet provide a stable base on which to stand, even with the legs raised.

The dual-moulded head looks fantastic, capturing the Triceratops' distinctive horns and beak accurately. The shaping of the head is effective too, creating the impression of bone structure beneath the dinosaur's skin. Additionally, I like the dappled dark brown pattern across the head and body, which again reflects the sick Triceratops as it appears in the movie.

Dark brown spots continue across the body and legs, alongside printed dark tan scales. While simpler than the decoration on the Triceratops in 76950 Triceratops Pickup Truck Ambush, for instance, I much prefer this design. The bulky tail is similarly effective, lacking any articulation, but looking realistic.

Dr. Sattler quickly surmises that the Triceratops is unwell because of its diet, suggesting toxic West Indian Lilac as the likely cause. Ellie needs to examine its dung for confirmation and a huge heap is accordingly provided! The reddish brown frog on top is a great detail because these are found in each of the new Jurassic Park sets, alluding to the presence of frog DNA in the dinosaurs.

A variety of reddish brown and dark brown slopes are used to good effect here and the top of the dung heap is removable, revealing some berries inside. Like the camouflaged frog, these are a fun reference to the film and a deleted scene, in which the West Indian Lilac berries are confirmed to be the source of the Triceratops' illness.

The long-awaited Ford Explorer was finally introduced in 76956 T. rex Breakout last year. This rendition of the vehicle is outwardly identical to that model and the only differences are found inside, where a few pieces in the chassis have been swapped or changed colour. The shape and proportions of the Ford thus remain accurate to the film, as do the lime green, yellow and dark red bodywork colours.

Another memorable Jurassic Park vehicle, the Jeep Wrangler, appears in 76960 Brachiosaurus Discovery. The pair looks reasonable on display together because of their stunning liveries, but the Jeep Wrangler is considerably wider than the Ford, which is odd. I think this relates more to the Jeep being oversized to accommodate extra details, rather than the Ford Explorer being too small.

The brick-built bullbar on the front looks great, wrapping around the bodywork and featuring an accurate arrangement of lights. Another light is placed on the right of the vehicle and I like the stickered stripes on the bonnet. Strangely, this Ford Explorer lacks windscreen wipers, unlike those available in 76956 T. rex Breakout.

Otherwise, the details and even the stickers are almost identical between the two sets, which makes sense because there is no need for updates. The printed wheel caps, for instance, are unchanged and look superb, much like the stickers down either side. The windscreen and roof are impressive as well, cleverly integrating a Speed Champions windscreen for the roof panel.

Moreover, the interior is incredibly spacious. Four minifigures can sit comfortably in the seats and there is room for accessories behind them, as well as a steering wheel and digital map of Isla Nublar towards the front. Admittedly, the doors cannot open, but given the model is only six studs wide, I think creating as much space as possible for minifigures was more important.

Ellie and Ian ride on Explorer Five in the film, but a couple of stickers identify this Ford Explorer as number four. I presume this decision was taken because Explorer Four is badly damaged in 76956 T. rex Breakout, so a new version is provided here. Ideally though, the set would include stickers to decorate either Ford Explorer, since only three more are required.

Overall

Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority of Jurassic Park and Jurassic World sets focus on action sequences. 76959 Triceratops Research instead depicts a calmer scene, although still provides ample play value. The exclusive Triceratops and minifigures are inherently appealing, while the returning Ford Explorer is welcome and the Triceratops' dung is a fun addition too!

The price of £46.99, $49.99 or €52.99 feels expensive, although only slightly, given the size of the Triceratops. Maybe providing Dr. Harding, the park's veterinarian who attends the dinosaur in this scene, would have softened the cost. Otherwise, this is an appealing set, albeit probably one that owners of 76956 T. rex Breakout can afford to skip.

50 comments on this article

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By in United States,

Proposed Bricklink article:

"Sets that come with poop."

There's been quite a few, including one CMF!

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By in United States,

*sees price*

"That is one big pile of cash."

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By in Czechia,

Is it overpriced thanks to Triceratops or his poop? I don't know which one will be more favorite in this set. :D

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By in United States,

I have this set and it’s great. I may be in the minority but I even like the packaging on these sets. It’s fun and is a “retro” throwback to those original JP toys in the 90’s.

I’ll wait for a discount for the larger sets, but this isn't a bad value in my opinion. And the Dennis Nedry set is a steal.

Great review!

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By in United States,

I expected the poop to be highlighted in the review. I was not let down.

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By in Netherlands,

Lovely set
Allready bought this and 76958 when my local toy store had a discount.

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By in United States,

Poor frog…

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By in United Kingdom,

Far too overpriced for only 281 pieces, that's the average piece count of a Speed Champions set which usually cost half the price of this set.

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By in United States,

(sung like Half-Asleep Chris)
"Does it come with a chocolate frog?"
Erm, sort of?

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By in United Kingdom,

I don’t care for many LEGO dinosaurs because of the abruptness of their neck sculpts. But the frill on this one does a good job of hiding the joint, so this dino is not bad. It’s unfortunate it only comes in an overpriced set.

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By in United Kingdom,

@Degora said:
"Far too overpriced for only 281 pieces, that's the average piece count of a Speed Champions set which usually cost half the price of this set."
280 pieces of Speed Champions Ford Explorer.
1 piece of Playmobil dinosaur!

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By in United States,

I plan to get this set for three reasons, the Explorer, the Triceratops, and Ian Malcom's minifigure. I wish the Explorer was 8 studs wide in this set to be a little more true to scale. I have and love the Wrangler in 76958.

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By in United Kingdom,

imagine if they did the dinosaurs separate - this set would be £20

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By in Sweden,

Ellies new leg printing is so much worse than in 75932.

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By in United States,

I'll need a discount to get this set, but I definitely want it. Triceratops has always been my favorite dino, in fact every set with the modern Trike mold is on my wanted list.

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By in United Kingdom,


I'm probably in a minority (oh, woe is me, etc.) but I wish we could go back in time and make LEGO dinosaurs extinct. And I LOVE dinosaurs.

More important, even, than the way they needlessly inflate the price of every set they're in, is the way they detract from the LEGOness of the set; a huge lump of plastic with a few token studs on top just isn't LEGO, it's more like one of those cheap plastic toy dinosaurs. I'm not sure sure that the worst thing isn't that people will clamour to justify the high prices by pointing out the "large moulds" and "high volume of plastic". Just buy the cheapo toys and use them; it's the same result!

Anyway, what our time-travelling would achieve is BRICK-BUILT dinosaurs. My favourite small set is possibly 75228 for the wonderfully charismatic (brick-built) dewback. Imagine a world where all the dinosaurs are built in a similar vein...

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By in United States,

We come to dinosaurs because they’re dinosaurs, not because they’re cheap. Thus, this is just more of the unfortunate norm.

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By in United States,

@bananaworld said:
"
I'm probably in a minority (oh, woe is me, etc.) but I wish we could go back in time and make LEGO dinosaurs extinct. And I LOVE dinosaurs.

More important, even, than the way they needlessly inflate the price of every set they're in, is the way they detract from the LEGOness of the set; a huge lump of plastic with a few token studs on top just isn't LEGO, it's more like one of those cheap plastic toy dinosaurs. I'm not sure sure that the worst thing isn't that people will clamour to justify the high prices by pointing out the "large moulds" and "high volume of plastic". Just buy the cheapo toys and use them; it's the same result!

Anyway, what our time-travelling would achieve is BRICK-BUILT dinosaurs. My favourite small set is possibly 75228 for the wonderfully charismatic (brick-built) dewback. Imagine a world where all the dinosaurs are built in a similar vein..."


77940 and 77941 are calling to you.

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By in United States,

That is one big pile of bricks

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By in United States,

What a load of crap!!

I'm going to give Ellie one brown hand. They should've printed one arm to show her plastic shit sleeve.

Likewise, as the Cap'n said, it's crap that Ian shows full chest hair and full sleeves. He loooks stupid. But, not in the cool, tall, dark, handsome-dork, stupid that is Dr. Malcom.

Does anyone know of half-black arms that finish in the color of his skin tone?

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By in United Kingdom,

@G_man284 said:
"That is one big pile of bricks"

And a large plastic dinosaur.

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By in United States,

@StyleCounselor said:
"Does anyone know of half-black arms that finish in the color of his skin tone?"

You can get white short sleeves, medium-nougat forearms, or the other option is…haaaaaaave you met Black Sharpie Marker?

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By in United States,

@bananaworld
Well, I guess we should get rid of minifigs too: they're specialty molds, with printing, and they're expensive.
Hey, let's just go all the way: only plates, because you can build anything with enough plates.

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By in United Kingdom,

This is literally plastic s*** in a box!

Not sure whether to get this. I just want the car. Love the car!!!
Never been keen on the LEGO dinosaurs. Also, I'm not much of a minifigure collector, although if it came with Alan Grant then that would have made it more tempting.

I have no doubt that I will buy this eventually, and within hours of me purchasing this set LEGO will announce a far superior large scale UCS Jurassic Park Ford Explorer.

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By in United Kingdom,

@560heliport said:
" @bananaworld
Well, I guess we should get rid of minifigs too: they're specialty molds, with printing, and they're expensive.
Hey, let's just go all the way: only plates, because you can build anything with enough plates."

I see your reductio ad absurdum (or straw-minifig, if you prefer), and have only this to say: don't be such a plonker.

Gravatar
By in United States,

@kolaxanthe said:
"This is literally plastic s*** in a box!

Not sure whether to get this. I just want the car. Love the car!!!
Never been keen on the LEGO dinosaurs. Also, I'm not much of a minifigure collector, although if it came with Alan Grant then that would have made it more tempting.

I have no doubt that I will buy this eventually, and within hours of me purchasing this set LEGO will announce a far superior large scale UCS Jurassic Park Ford Explorer."


Ha! I know, right?

The reality of Lego today, though, is what they will truly announce is the brand-new, for Xmas, 5478-piece, UCS giant Pile of Crap!!

Edit: Don't forget the exclusive tie-in GWP. A 300-piece roll of paper. Or, maybe, Ellie's shit sleeve.

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By in United States,

@bananaworld said:
" @560heliport said:
" @bananaworld
Well, I guess we should get rid of minifigs too: they're specialty molds, with printing, and they're expensive.
Hey, let's just go all the way: only plates, because you can build anything with enough plates."

I see your reductio ad absurdum (or straw-minifig, if you prefer), and have only this to say: don't be such a plonker.

"


It's not reductio ad absurdum when the starting point is absurd! Nothing is stopping you from building your own dinosaurs.

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By in United States,

@bananaworld said:
" @560heliport said:
" @bananaworld
Well, I guess we should get rid of minifigs too: they're specialty molds, with printing, and they're expensive.
Hey, let's just go all the way: only plates, because you can build anything with enough plates."

I see your reductio ad absurdum (or straw-minifig, if you prefer), and have only this to say: don't be such a plonker.

"


Ad nauseam. :P

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By in United Kingdom,

Well I thought this was a decent set when I picked it up, the Triceratops in those colours is beautiful. Also, the dino parts came in a paper bags with subdivisions

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By in United States,

@PurpleDave said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Does anyone know of half-black arms that finish in the color of his skin tone?"

You can get white short sleeves, medium-nougat forearms, or the other option is…haaaaaaave you met Black Sharpie Marker?"


Aaaaaaaaagh!! The Bad Man wants to hurt my Lego! Sacre bleu! Dios mio! Sacrilege!!

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By in Australia,

I really want both this set and the set with the Brachiosaurus. I fully acknowledge that they're both absurdly overpriced, but "Jurassic Park" was my favourite movie as a kid, and while I'm willing to wait for stores to start clearancing the sets out cheaply, I can't promise that my resolve will hold out that long.

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By in United States,

A.K.A. The Jungle Explorer right?

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By in United States,

If it was *more* overpriced it'd be the Can't Afford Explorer.

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By in United States,

Ellie is wearing kneepads not shorts.

(There is no side printing to continue the shorts printing, so I'm calling them kneepads due to LEGO cheapness.)

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By in United States,

Already own and love this set personally. I only wish they'd given us Dr. Gerry Harding as a bonus!

Gravatar
By in Australia,

@StyleCounselor said:
" @bananaworld said:
" @560heliport said:
" @bananaworld
Well, I guess we should get rid of minifigs too: they're specialty molds, with printing, and they're expensive.
Hey, let's just go all the way: only plates, because you can build anything with enough plates."

I see your reductio ad absurdum (or straw-minifig, if you prefer), and have only this to say: don't be such a plonker.

"


Ad nauseam. :P
"


It seems like it.

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By in United Kingdom,

I want this for the triceratops and the Ian Malcolm fig, and the pile of poop doesn't hurt, but because I already have one of the cars from the T.Rex set the price is a bit tough.

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By in United States,

I’ve wanted this car in LEGO for as long as I can remember. Couldn’t justify the more expensive set. Truth be told, it’s put up or shut up time now.

Informative review…it certainly did not stink! :)

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By in United States,

My 6yo son regularly builds official LEGO sets, and he also enjoys free building with the pieces that inevitably all end up in the same bin. He also gets endless entertainment out of mixing and matching the various molded dinosaur parts, making "hybrids" and other creations. To him, the molded parts are basically just bricks to built with, like any other.

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By in United States,

"Hey Bill, what did you design at work today?"
"Crap."
"Aw come on Bill it can't be that bad! You're a great designer! Everyone loves you!"
"The Brickset comments will never stop once they see the works of my hands ..."

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By in United States,

Overpriced? Compared to 5885, this is a steal. More pieces, iconic IP, and just as many minifigs. This set's pricing laughs in the face of inflation and licensing fees.

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By in Poland,

This set is not as bad priced as people make it.

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By in New Zealand,

@ytjedi said:
"Overpriced? Compared to 5885, this is a steal. More pieces, iconic IP, and just as many minifigs. This set's pricing laughs in the face of inflation and licensing fees."

That is a good point. But the vehicle from 5885 would absolutely crush this Ford Explorer into the pile of poop it is next to.

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By in Singapore,

GIANT POOP! GIANT POOP! GIANT POOP!

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By in United States,

@wronglook said:
"imagine if they did the dinosaurs separate - this set would be £20"

That’s VAT for you. Value Added Triceratops.

Gravatar
By in United States,

@ytjedi said:
"Overpriced? Compared to 5885, this is a steal. More pieces, iconic IP, and just as many minifigs. This set's pricing laughs in the face of inflation and licensing fees."

What a load of crap!

Gravatar
By in United States,

@lordofdragonss said:
"This set is not as bad priced as people make it."

What a load of crap!

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By in United States,

Seriously, I really like this set. The printing on the figs should REALLY be better.

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By in United States,

I got this set opening day and it came with a second sticker pad :D

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