Apex Rex Optional Head: Lipped Mouth Open version.
Hey folks. Finally, Archosaur Asylum Vol. 15 has arrived. Today we discuss lips. More pointedly: "To Lip, or Not to Lip." If you are reading this blog, you are either a family member, a lover of mine (both types of which are likely feigning interest), or someone who actually knows and loves dinosaurs. If you are the latter, it is hard to imagine that you have not either stumbled upon or even become embroiled in the Great Theropod Lip Debate.
Suppose you are a lover of mine or a family member. In that case, I'll provide a short synopsis of the state of theropod dinosaur facial reconstruction as it persists today just for you (insert kissy face emoji). Here's the deal... the bottom line is that we do not have a consensus on whether or not theropod dinosaurs (the meat eaters) had lips. Think lipped like a lizard versus lipless like an alligator or crocodile.
Lipped like a lizard- looking quite dapper
Lipless like a gator- look at all dem wyte toots
Both sides of the fence have some convincing arguments ( we will not get into any of that here), and the jury is still very much out on the subject. So, as anyone following the slow roll of the "Apex Rex" project ( the AEA model in progress based on the Dave Hone theoretical 70% larger T.rex) knows, I am making the model compatible with four separate head versions. The idea is to have two closed-mouth versions and two open-mouth versions- one set lipped and the other lipless.
I finally figured out how to pull off making a version of the model that will allow you to hot-swap any head at any time. I created this test head which I am using to fine-tune the fit. Below is the lipped closed mouth version.
Keep in mind that Apex Rex is 70%larger than a typical adult T.rex. So, at 1/35 scale, this Rexy will be 629 mm measured by the spine vs. 370 mm for our 1/35 'Scent in the Air" T.rex.
Funny how things go sometimes. I have been working my butt off trying to resolve the head hot-swap issue and putting some finishing touches on the finer details when today happened. I have this one great client and friend who pre-ordered the Apex Rex diorama. That is the full production version with "X-rex" (the T. rex corpse) torn apart on the ground. I knew this client wanted the mouth open as the head the model ships with, but I did not know if he wanted it lipped or lipless.
He responded to my query (lipped or lipless): "Lipped probably. Wait... what is the lip situation on the prey T-rex? (meaning the X-rex corpse)"
X-rex with lips. Hard to tell since her teeth are not in, but she's got lips.
The question blew my mind! I could not believe that I had not considered the "lip- sitch" of the rex corpse when considering the 'swapppability" of Apex's lip situation. Since they are the same species, the corpse must have the same lip condition as the Apex Rex.
This great friend and client started to point out some other idiosyncracies of my models until I had to tell him to shut up. "Nobody likes a knit-picker, buddy." lol. He said his mom feels the same way, lol.
At any rate, if I hadn't opted to out myself here in the blog, he would have saved me a lot of embarrassment. However, I am nothing if not self-deprecating for sport. He did save me a lot of work and processing time, as I would have inevitably had to "eat crow" and devise a revised version.
So, let this be the harbinger of news of additional delays as I "chew the cud" on how to handle X-rex. I will offer the corpse in one piece as lipped or lipless, or it will also have swappable heads. I will have to see how things pan out once I get a version into the slicing software. This will not delay delivery of the five limited editions pre-production Apex rex models.
Hold your heads up high, though, folks... it's gonna be sweet in the end. Check out all of that crazy detail, won't you? Apex Rex will be Epic.
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