Uncovering The Secret Lives of Prehistoric Party Animals With Duplo’s Dinosaur Fun Forest
Written: Sep 16 '03 (Updated Apr 07 '04)
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Pros: Colorful and safe elements, high replay value, three dinosaurs, four figures.
Cons: None!
The Bottom Line: A great set for kids of all ages!
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO - Dinosaur's Fun Forest |
If there’s one thing you can count in, it’s the amount of fun kids can have with a medium sized Duplo set. Some of the larger ones are a little too overwhelming for smaller kids and the introductory or small sets just don’t have enough in them to captivate kids. Several years ago my two youngest were really into dinosaurs – everything they owned had a dinosaur theme – sheets, breakfast cereals, clothing, snacks and of course toys. When we came across the Duplo Dinosaur series they freaked [no pun] and I was pretty excited that they wanted to explore other members of the Lego family knowing full and well that they’d one day be full fledged Lego junkies. When they actively played with this set it was one of their favorites. For hours on end I’d hear them making dinosaur roars and the pleading screams of the villagers and cave people “Please don’t eat me wahhhh”.
Let’s face it; if a $30.00 toy can entertain a child for more than a week, it’s a worthwhile purchase. Now, if that same toy is used for months and months, inspires the use of their imagination and is, for the most part, 100% safe – then you know you’ve struck gold. I’ve often sung the praises of the Lego series of building and construction toys and my view of the Duplo part of the family is no different. All of the sets in the Duplo Dinosaur series are a great investment; they can be combined with other Duplo and Explore sets, allow a child a lot of creative freedom and when combined with a few bulk sets and base plates – there’s no telling what they’ll dream up and build.
The Fun Forest
This set includes a lot of fun items that can be added to any of the Duplo or Explore sets. The large blue slide can be connected to the yellow doorway or to the gray mountain side but if you have a handful of Duplo sized bricks, you can create your own setting for the slide. The figures take a little prompting to actually move down the slide and they do tend to fall over and off it on a regular basics. There are several small plastic flower elements in this set that can be snapped on to bricks or used as stand alone pieces for decoration. One of the coolest pieces is the flexible green vine that has attachment pieces at both ends. These connect to bricks and other Duplo pieces and really add a lot of detail to the set.
You get a handful of Duplo bricks, a few of which are stenciled with things like a fire, fruit cluster and axe. One of the exceptional pieces of this set is the log fire made up of a grouping of brown tubes, this can be used for a lot of different things but works best as the base of a fire. These are great ways for kids to really get into the set, use their imagination and explore everything that it has to offer. The small brown cart is one solid piece so you won’t have to worry about the wheels coming off and it can fit all four of the figures in this set. There’s a front and rear hitch to this piece so it can be attached to other carts that come in other sets.
The building pieces are really nice and can be used in a variety f ways. If you have other Duplo or Explore sets, these can be combined to create a large scene or caveman castle. There are two main structures, the hollowed out tree / mountainside and the doorway. Both of these are solid and well made and the doorway features a nice snap tight door that the figures can hop through. You get a small amount of foliage like the small detailed flowers, flexible vine, solid hedge and large leaf section. Unlike most Duplo sets you do get a lot of background pieces so kids can have a lot of fun changing the scene around over and over.
The Dinosaurs
These are larger versions of dinosaur babies that are found in other Duplo sets. Since these are larger, some of them have points of movement, something that really helps to increase the replay value of the set. My personal favorite is the brontosaurus; the only moving part on this baby is the neck but it has the capability of extending from the ground to being completely erect. The pterodactyl has no moving parts but looks pretty awesome in bright red and looks great when posed next to one of the pterodactyl babies. Tyrannosaurus Rex is a carbon copy of the baby version in other sets and with the exception of a few additional yellow spots on the sides, these are identical. No moving parts to this one, but its so darn cute I can’t hold the lack of mobility against it. All of these dinosaurs have a four peg / stud section on their backs so you can attach a caveman or cavewoman, one of the babies or the carrier to them. These do tend to get dirty pretty easily but clean up nicely with a wet paper towel.
Brontosaurus – orange
Tyrannosaurus Rex – blue
Pterodactyl - red
Figures
Included in this set are two adult figures and two children. I am assuming that this is a family since there’s a male and female – but that’s just my take on it. The two small children, one boy and one girl, are pretty cute and are the perfect size to fit inside the hollowed out tree or ride on the backs of the dinosaurs. Unlike the standard Lego figures, these ones are larger, are movable at the arm and waist and have a lot of stenciled detail to them. The caveman / prehistoric theme is carried over to their stenciled clothing and really adds a lot of charm to the set. These are solid pieces meaning that their arms and heads have movement, but can’t be removed. This cuts down on the chances of a child swallowing or chewing off a piece. This doesn’t mean that you can just toss the box at them and let them at it – accidents happen and you should check over the figures and accessories from time to time to see if any need to mysteriously disappear.
The Duplo Dinosaur Series
Included in this series are the following sets. All age appropriate for ages 1 1/2 through 5, have colorful, sturdy and safe pieces and are interchangeable with other Duplo and Explore Together sets: Brontosaurus Family [2600], T-Rex Dinosaurs [2601], Dinosaur Village [2602], Dinosaur Bulk Tub [2603], Dino World [2604], Dinosaur Park [2605], Dinosaur Babies [2803], Mini Dino Set [2806], Dinosaur Fun Forest [2821]. Other recommended sets and accessories include: Duplo Bucket Assortment [1086], Duplo Boxed Set [2261], Duplo Building Plate [2304], Duplo Large Assortment [3099].
The Bottom Line
For the price, this is definitely worth it if your child is into dinosaurs and building blocks. The three large adult dinosaur figures all work well with the babies that are featured in other sets and really add to the overall scenes that can be created. This mid sized set might give you sticker shock when you see the suggested retail price of $29.99 but I can almost guarantee that once you get it home and your child start playing with it, you’ll see that it was money well spent. The high replay value, colorful and safe pieces and dinosaur theme are just a few of the reasons that I never got rid of this set, if you come across it and have a child that is into dinosaurs and construction toys I highly recommend picking this set up.
The Stats
Set Name: Dinosaur Fun Forest
Family Set: Duplo Dinosaur
Lego Set: 2821
Number of Pieces: 37
Age Recommendation: 1 1/2 - 5
Ease Of Assembly: Easy
Time Of Assembly: 10 -minutes
Cost: $ 29.99
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Other Duplo and Lego Explore Sets …
Racing Lion
Racing Leopard
Racing Tiger
Explore Together - Campsite
Action Wheeler Helicopter Rescue
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $29.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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