Many Lego fans will have probably dreamt of becoming a Lego set designer while growing up, Mark Stafford was one such individual who had the exact same dream, but the one difference is that in October 2006, his dream came true.
The Lego set designer, who has worked on various notable themed sets such as Ninjago and Overwatch, is in Singapore for the launch of the Jurassic Park: T. Rex Rampage Set, and Geek Culture managed to catch him a day before the launch for a quick chat as well as to have an early look at his latest creation.
According to Stafford, he took around five months to design the Jurassic Park set, and has a tiny Easter egg for fans of the movie. Inside the T-Rex, a tiny frog can be found, which is a clear reference to the use of frog DNA in the film, to fill in the gaps of the dinosaur’s DNA sequences.
“It didn’t look as smooth as I was hoping,” Stafford explains with a laugh, “Though it worked in the movie.”
Stafford mentioned that he would have loved to include a goat too, but sadly it did not make it into the final design.
Remember a scene from the movie where a guy got his arm dismembered?
Stafford has also included the scene into the Lego set too as another Easter egg. That’s right, you’re looking at the dismembered arm of Samuel L. Jackson in Lego form. Stafford even added a translucent red 1×1 bit on the other side of the gate to represent blood. Talk about detailed.
Yet, for all of his experience with Lego, it does not mean that everything is perfect. Stafford admits that the set has some aspects that can be improved, such as the snout of the T-Rex, which he felt could have been “a little bit sharper”. But overall, he is pleased with the set and feels that it is one that Lego fans will have fun building.
“It’s as close as I can get, and still be buildable,” Stafford says. “I’m very happy with it, it turned out nicely.”
I think when you build it there is a lovely flow to the model. Each brick feels like it comes naturally, and there is nothing too repetitive. The tail, each segment is different, so although it is repeating, it is also changing. So it is kind of cool to build I think.
When asked about the difficulties he faced in figuring out how to balance the T-Rex, Stafford explains that the lengths of the dinosaur’s tail have varied a few times, because each segment of the tail contributed to helping the T-Rex stay balanced. The hips of the T-Rex has also been shifted around.
Some fans might be wondering why are the T-Rex’s legs grey, to which Stafford states that the main reason why he chose to have the legs be grey is because he worked on the T-Rex while referencing the Jurassic Park’s portfolio which was released from the first movie. In the concept art for the T-Rex, it also had grey feet. He also felt that the build will be a lot more interesting to put together with the T-Rex’s grey feet.
Mark Stafford will be at Nex’s LEGO certified store on July 6, 2019, from 10.30am for the launch of the 75936 Jurassic World Jurassic Park: T. Rex Rampage set. The first 200 customers to purchase the set will get the chance to attend a private signing session with Stafford himself!
Germaine is a fun-sized introvert who loves nothing better than sleeping in on rainy days. She can be found reading fanfiction and manga while still waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter. It’ll come eventually.
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