The Carnotaurus Maquette

[The Ringer]

That Rex does indeed look amazing although deep down in my heart I am a bit sad that the future for a JP T-Rex maquette is bleak.

 

[Scar]

No real money?
Wow, that's really suprising..Why is that anyway man?

Well, largely because the money these days is in the careers that are either in severe need or that have been crucial and have privileged knowledge. While the amount of information in paleontology, vertebrate biology, and ethology is VAST, there simply isn't a high demand on a daily basis to understand how Tiger sharks annually know the exact day and time of day in the year to show up in Hawaii for the Albratross fledging in order to pick off the chicks taking flight out to sea; people won't pay a man a great deal if his specialty of research is why big cats turn to predating upon man; if you devote your research to evolutionarily understanding gregarious prompts in prehistoric theropods, your annual salary won't shoot up several grand because of your accomplishments. The only way to really gain a lot of ground financially in these areas is to become professors at major universities (probably state schools), become tenured, and even then it may take 10-20 years after attaining tenure until you make a descent salary. It's a shame, but society rarely rewards a man for following his passions.

Maybe I missed you guys talking about it, but did anyone else see what I think is a T-Rex previewed in the new video podcast? Getting a pic now.

Edit: Here is the pic.

Could be a T.rex, or a Tarbosaurus. That notched dermal ridge over the orbitals could indicate Tarbosaurus. Notice how the bone brow of the SS T.rex in the vs. dio is one solid ridge? That's fairly common, though some can be notched. Here is a good comparison pic.

Here's a typical T.rex skull with the brow dermal ridge (the bone over the eye) as one solid piece as in the vs. dio.

Here's the vs. dio again for comparison

Now a notched brow (Stan T.rex)...

Typical Tarbosaurus skull (and invariably all known specimens share this brow)...

So right now, if it's based on Stan I can see T.rex even thought it won't be like the majority specimens nor their other T.rex in the vs. dio. If it's a Tarbosaurus it makes sense to me.

 

[Studio49]

Alright Scar, you didn't ask for it, but you have it. I am now appointing you as my official Dinosauria consultant.

I have worked in several museums and I have a decent collection of fossil ammonites that I think would look great displayed along side the Dinosauria line. However, it's been a "million years" since I did much reading on the latest and greatest dinosaur research. Sideshow is touting these as the most accurate depictions ever created based on current research. So I am depending on you Scar, to keep me informed if you see anything suspect. I don't want to continue this line if the sculpts are going to get too far out of bounds scientifically. I am praying to several pagan gods that they get the paint apps on these perfect. Please-oh-please-oh-please let the paint apps not suck!

What do you think of the T.rex vs. Triceratops dio Scar? I would love to know what they are basing their paint schemes on. Dinosaur sculpts have a LOT more skin texture now than they did when I last had some. I hope they do label the above sculpt Tarbosaurus. It will piss my friends off when they call it T.rex and I correct them. They are too smart and conceited anyway.

 

[Bullseye]

Its up for pre-order
https://www.sideshowtoy.com/?page_id=4489&sku=2000161

 

[Bullseye]

Is this in scale with the dio?

 

[The Ringer]

Looks cool!

The price is nice also.

 

[beachfox]

Anyone can tell me what time was this out?

 

[Bullseye]

Its up for order already.

 

[Boba Ben]

Pre-ordered it. Can't wait to get my favorite dinosaur.

 

[Agent0028]

Great price on it. I preordered. Now I just have to resist going back and getting the dio... Mostly because I'm worried that with so many dinosaurs to choose from Sideshow may not make maquettes of the ones they have in the dios. But I hope that's not the case.

 

[Scar]

Its up for pre-order
https://www.sideshowtoy.com/?page_id=4489&sku=2000161

All I can say now that the piece is up for pre-order is... :eek :eek :eek This is truly, TRULY a stunning maquette. The detail is phenomenal from the ornamentation to the coloration. If they don't drop the ball on the paint job, this will be one of my all-time favorite SS statues without contest.

Great price on it. I preordered. Now I just have to resist going back and getting the dio... Mostly because I'm worried that with so many dinosaurs to choose from Sideshow may not make maquettes of the ones they have in the dios. But I hope that's not the case.

I understand what you're saying, and I'm not sure whether or not we'll get a Triceratops maquette since we have the exclusive skull with the dio, but being it showcases the T.rex just as well and we don't have a skull in the dio, it's a sure bet we'll see a T.rex maquette in the near future. I would love a battle-scarred Tyrannosaur with flesh hanging from its jaws. That would make my day. If they turn out a T.rex maquette ANYTHING close to what this Carnotaurus looks like it will be, then it's a winner. Not only a winner, but paleo enthusiasts will flock to this like flies to detritus.

Alright Scar, you didn't ask for it, but you have it. I am now appointing you as my official Dinosauria consultant.

I have worked in several museums and I have a decent collection of fossil ammonites that I think would look great displayed along side the Dinosauria line. However, it's been a "million years" since I did much reading on the latest and greatest dinosaur research. Sideshow is touting these as the most accurate depictions ever created based on current research. So I am depending on you Scar, to keep me informed if you see anything suspect. I don't want to continue this line if the sculpts are going to get too far out of bounds scientifically. I am praying to several pagan gods that they get the paint apps on these perfect. Please-oh-please-oh-please let the paint apps not suck!

What do you think of the T.rex vs. Triceratops dio Scar? I would love to know what they are basing their paint schemes on. Dinosaur sculpts have a LOT more skin texture now than they did when I last had some. I hope they do label the above sculpt Tarbosaurus. It will piss my friends off when they call it T.rex and I correct them. They are too smart and conceited anyway.

I appraised some ammonites for a fellow I met at a fossil auction about a year ago. Picked up some cool stuff there, some high quality Megalodon and Great White teeth, as well as a fossilized American bison lower left mandible and a rib as well. Always a pleasure to meet a fellow fossil collector!!!!!

I'll post more later, my girlfriend is in the shower and I'm waiting for her to get ready. Once she leaves later I'll comment more (it irks her to see me feverishly typing on message boards). In terms of skin pigmentation, like most paleoartists and speculators it looks as if they are going on a lot of extant organisms for skin coloration. The Carnotaurus color I truly adore. It's breathtaking and they've put their all into it. The T.rex is a rather bland color, but I think with so much going on in the vs. dio they probably thought a lot of color variation would detract, and the color is still a safe bet for what the T.rex may well have looked like. I would say possibly expect more color in the forthcoming maquette, when it does show up. Like you, my biggest hope is with the paint apps. The sculpt will stay as is, such as it was with the JP dio, but I really want the SS artisans to deliver with the paint. That's all I want.

As to the dio they unveiled, I truly love it, and contrary to what many are saying, I love the size... and it seems the Carnotaurus maquette will be similar in size as well. It's very dynamic and I'm glad they don't depict one animal triumphing over the other, as it really was an evolutionary arms race between Tyrannosaurids, Ceratopsians, and Hadrosaurids. Increasingly large and often well-armed prey in opposition to increasingly large and well armed predators (that's right, PREDATORS ). The colors for the dinos I could again say is based on extant animals. When I see them I think of a hippo with the purplish hue of the Triceratops, and based on its size, built, and probably temperament, it's a valid comparison to draw. As to the T.rex, the color seems strikingly similar to the shades of brown in the Komodo monitors. Just a thought, but again I think they subdued the color with the amount of action going on.

I'll post more later, but these are my thoughts so far. I can't wait to hear the impressions others have of the Carnotaurus maquette. I'm sure size will again be an issue for people (not me, admittedly) but the detail and degree of care taken to depict the animal well going on our fossil evidence... it is truly staggering. Right now this is an A+ in my book.

 

[JC]

Well, I admit it is smaller than I expected for a maquette, but it doesn't take away from how beautiful and detailed the piece is, hopefully they keep it that way with very little changes..

 

[Ktjn]

I have a feeling there are alot of people that are syaing this is a nice piece, and not ordering. I know, I am one of them, heh.

 

[Bullseye]

Pablo has some hi-res images up on his site now.
https://www.sculptedheroes.com/content.php?section=sculpture

 

[Havok]

I think it looks great, and I'm kinda glad it isn't too big, cause frankly I probably wouldn't have room if it was any bigger. My brother got in a Pre-Order for the Ex, and we're both happy with it. Like it's been said before though, paint apps are gonna be crucial, so we'll see how this goes.

 

[thx217]

This is a beautiful piece thought I'd like it to be 10" longer. Looking forward to see what the in hand pics(long wait...)look like.

 

[LOTRFan]

I have a feeling there are alot of people that are syaing this is a nice piece, and not ordering. I know, I am one of them, heh.

That's where I am at for now; but it would be great for my sons' room -- and it is small enough to sit on a wall-mounted shelf.

 

[samueljd]

I think the piece looks great and ordered the Ex. Hopefully Sideshow won't disappoint on this one.

 

[Kyuzo]

I'm still undecided whether to pull the trigger on this one; when it comes to dinos, I still prefer to build my own kits. The sculpt is great but my biggest concern would also be the paint apps on the production piece.
More likely with the way the economy is going I'll hold out to the last minute and snag someone's inevitable cancellation.

 

[xr6.turbo]

Ordered the EX (using the SSF Banner of course)

Just hope its released early in the 3rd quarter.