Alright, now to busniess...
As to "tail-drop", being that the animal itself is elegantly counterbalanced on an organismal level, and even based on stance there appears to be just as much weight in the pelvic region extending backward as there is in the anterior portion, it's not a weighty concern of mine.
In terms of likeness to the prototype shown on the website, there are indeed differences, though none that I feel detract from the piece, and some which actually serve to enhance. The pinkish hue around the orbital sockets, a slightly deeper brown cresting the cranium, and more detailed paint apps on the teeth all round out traits on the prototype that set it apart from the production piece, and I'm sure some will argue elevate the prototype above the production model. For me, oddly enough those aren't as big of a deal, because they don't necessarily detract; meaning that the animal could just as plausibly have looked this way in life sans those differences in the paint. For example, the pinkish hue around the orbital - most avian raptors don't exhibit these characteristics until they are advanced in age; also, crocodilians and monitors have heavier scaling around the eyes so as to better protect against thrashing prey, rendering a redness around the eyes a nonexistent trait. In that regard, removing the pink shade is actually a more plausible feature for a Carnotaurus in its prime. As a counterexample, if they were to have that feature in the T.rex maquette, being that its an "elder statesman" piece, I wouldn't be upset as it would make sense based on sloping we see on occasion beneath the orbitals of geriatric raptors.
What makes it more pleasing is oddly a feature that I'm sure doesn't mean much to a great deal of individuals, but certainly makes it stand out for me...
The claws on the feet.
The prototype had a rather uniform, deep brown, muddled copper tone, whereas the production piece has a tapering pallid coloration beginning distally and proceeding backward toward the phalange where the claw darkens. It's a color scheme extremely common in birds of prey, and therein we have our first reference to an extant predator in the piece. From there, grounding the piece in a conspicuous similarity to birds of prey, we can go to yet another feature evocative of C.sastrei's resemblance to its modern relatives...
The pose.
The dynamism, the way it is striding forward with its head ducking low. Granted, the story behind the piece demonstrates the Carnotaurus intends to dispatch a small prey animal, but it could just as easily be defending its territory or a kill. There's a lot of ambiguity intentionally left in the piece so that one's mind can simply be left to wander when gazing upon it. Immediately, after setting the piece upon my shelf, my mind was thrown back to footage I once saw of a Bald eagle defending a salmon carcass against an Arctic fox - bounding across the fish, wings spread wide, and ducking its head in a shrill cry of defiance. That is exactly what I get from this piece, and it's a great achievement in terms of realism. SS has a great accomplishment in that regard, making a plausible, immensely imposing carnivore.
The sheer, mind-blowing detail is positively staggering. Every bump, every protuberance, every fold in the skin, every broken scale... it's dumbfounding. Positively staggering when you sit and truly examine the piece. Some features of this maquette we have simply not been able to examine on close scrutiny with the online imagery. The maw extending to the back of the throat, glistening and beckoning to victims in a most ghoulish manner, seeming almost anaemic in the right lighting, though most certainly recalling the throats of crocodilians or monitors. Reference to extant carnivores #2. You really get a good feeling of the amalgamation for reference that went into this singular piece. The amount of thought and effort that coalesced is really quite impressive. The dorsal spines buckling and rolling into one another at the base of the neck as the cervical vertebrae compress... even though one of the less noticeable spines on my piece toward the tail was broken, I feel every single iota of detail will always draw my eye, and my awe, elsewhere.
Knowing what we know about Carnotaurus, you can imagine this Carnotaurus, skulking at the edges of a dried creek bed, eyeing its prey carefully from a distance, gauging its strengths and weaknesses. Suddenly and rapidly, it bounds forth from the foliage, quickly clearing the distance between its prey and itself. The dried earth crumbling with ease as it races forth, tossing dust into the air, much of which quickly mingles with the blood of the thrashing animal, materializing and plummeting unceremoniously back to the ground as wet, crimson mud. Though perhaps a forelimb of the unfortunate meal was tossed free in the savage melee, the Carnotaurus bows its mandible outward laterally so as to engulf the entire creature. The sutures in its lower jaw were designed with a dual purpose - to absorb the impacts from struggling prey, but also to allow for a meal to be devoured whole. Bloated and sated, the Carnotaurus can now slink back into the undergrowth and rest with a full belly. Its meal can digest as it rests in the fading sunlight, bathing the landscape perhaps in a vermillion glow which augments the carnage of the massacre having just unfolded moments ago.
Well, for now I suppose those are my collective thoughts. I began to record a video review, but I couldn't get the video camera to adequately focus on the details I thought essential. That and I find I end up sounding too much like David Attenborough for my taste.
If this is the way they start off the maquette line, I have ludicrously high hopes for what lies ahead. That being said, my only other major gripe was the packaging. It seemed, with two sections of tape wrapped around the Styrofoam rather than across the seam, somewhat haphazard. I was immediately concerned that the maquette would be revealed damaged moments later. My fears were allayed, but still it was disconcerting.
