LEGO Jurassic Park Tyrannosaurus rex was born from free time

The story behind the LEGO Jurassic Park 76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex proves that the LEGO Group's workplace ethos is effective.

The next LEGO Jurassic Park set to hit shelves is confirmed to be 76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex, expanding on a concept first seen in 76964 Dinosaur Fossils: T. rex Skull, but this model's origins go much deeper than adding a body to the skull.

76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex is an idea born from one LEGO designer's desire to add a body to the build during their free time, eventually impressing the company enough to warrant the £219.99 / $249.99 / €249.99 set.

"With the first head we did, we were very intentional about doing that for ages nine and up," explained LEGO designer Benjamin Liboriussen in a recent roundtable interview with LEGO fan media. "So we tried to encourage our younger audience to be excited about paleontology and to get it approved for the younger audience.

"This set was never a brief, it was never an assignment. This was just my passion project. After we were finished with the skull, I asked my creative leader if it would be fun to give it a body."

The next step for Benjamin was to find the time to work on it, and thankfully for us, the LEGO Group has a day in the monthly schedule built-in for such creative efforts.

"I used some of our Fabulab Fridays, which is the last day in each month where we get one day to do what we like to do, as long as we boost our creativity," continued Benjamin. "This is how I used my Fridays.

"When there was some downtime in a project. I worked on the body and finished it, and it was standing on the shelves before we presented it for the portfolio. The higher-ups wanted it in the portfolio, and they wanted it now. So I just started straight away constructing it and building it and making it ready for you guys to enjoy."

This helps to explain the quick turnaround on 76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex after 76964 Dinosaur Fossils: T. rex Skull was released just one year ago. We can all thank the LEGO Group's work schedule and Fabulab Fridays for resulting in this must-have model. You can take a closer look at the set and our thoughts on it by reading our in-depth review.

76968 Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex launches on March 12 for LEGO Insiders or March 15 for everyone, and 76964 Dinosaur Fossils: T. rex Skull is available now.

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO using our affiliate links – thank you.