I've been studying pictures of the original JP t-rex and I'm experimenting with scales that I think match it better. They're smaller and smoother. A couple of print tests make me think these can print well. I still need to experiment with painting to make sure I don't lose a lot of detail.

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When I like the way it looks. I don't get that much time to work on it, so no clue how long before it's ready.

Here's a new painted print test. There's still some tweaking to do, but I'm liking this direction. It remains to be seen if smaller scales are acceptable when installed in the game and viewed from the player's position.

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The 3D printed version is still a work in progress. Nothing is for sale at the moment. I can say with relative certainty that it won't be available before the end of the year because I won't have much time to work on it.

Just as an update to all interested parties, this is the place I make announcements about this project. If there is news, it will be posted here and probably only here.

I have nothing to report at the moment.

It's still a work in progress with some decisions to be made before it's ready.

I have an animatronic sculpture I made out of this same silicone that is about 11 years old now and I don't see signs of deterioration. I don't think it's a matter of deterioration. I'm not sure what would have happened to cause a set of teeth to start coming apart unless they've been under stress at an area that was cut. As far as I'm aware, the top teeth in this application aren't really under much stress.

I unfortunately do not have replacement teeth available at the moment.

My demo of ZBrush long-since expired. Since that time, I've had very little time to work on this, and no interest in buying the full version of the software (will I even use it when I'm finished with this t-rex?) However, I noticed recently that they offer the 2019 version of the software on a monthly subscription, so I bought a month and plan to wrap this up.

I'm likely going with larger scales on the jaw and other areas for better visibility. The really small scales on my last jaw test look nice, but blur together from a short distance, meaning there would be little point in there even being scales if you can't see them (like the smooth stock t-rex).

Anyway, the latest model is ready for test prints to confirm whether or not I want to do anything else.

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There was talk of it in this very thread. No one liked the idea.

I don't think they would add much, and could be a hindrance to bending down.

Here's the latest draft print. Some alterations are needed here and there, but I'm liking it.

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Here's a quick paint test on the draft print posted above to see how well the different scales show. This draft print was done at .2mm, and still looks pretty good. Final one would likely be done at .05mm.

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All parts except the jaw were reprinted after some tweaks, and painted to show contrast in scales. I've got another head printing with wider eyes that hopefully ends up being the final version before I do some more detailed printing and painting tests.

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It's a CR-10S. It's the only 3D printer I've owned, but it has convinced me that 3D printing is a viable option for this kind of application.

No lists. I'm really not sure on timing and pricing.

I'm still experimenting with options for teeth. Here's an example of 3D printed top teeth. These are different than the previous PLA teeth I did which were printed flat and treated like the paper teeth I have been trying as well. These teeth are sculpted 3D teeth that are kind of like dentures that get screwed into the roof of the mouth. If I can ensure these teeth don't make contact with the ball or the pf, this might be a good option for top teeth. They would be readily reproducible if the need came up down the road vs cast silicone teeth.

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Unfortunately, likely not.

For the top teeth, the inner shape of the upper part is different enough between the 2 that I probably wouldn't fit. The cast t-rex also does not have the threaded hole for the screw that holds the 3D printed teeth in.

The bottom teeth are going to have to be much thinner, and probably much more flexible than PLA, so it remains to be seen whether or not a solution for bottom teeth will also work for the cast t-rex.

I would think a paper teeth option could be made to work with the originals, but I haven't tested.

So far so good with fit and pickup success. In my testing, top teeth in this version are not making contact with the pf or the ball, so I think I'm good to go with 3D printed top teeth.

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I reworked the jaw so that it can have some bottom teeth "dentures" recessed into it. I believe I've got the front teeth low enough not to touch the ball or interfere with the bent tabs on the jaw frame. We'll see. New jaw and teeth test prints are underway.

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Quick and dirty paint job on the test prints. After a couple of more tweaks, I might just have it where it needs to be.

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I've said it before and I'll say it again: It's really cool being able to work with 3d models and print them. In testing I came to the conclusion that the bolt hole and the recessed octagonal hole for the mating lock nut for where the jaw frame gets screwed onto the jaw needs to move forward a tad. In the 3d model, that was maybe a 5 minute job and I'm able to send it to the printer to wait for the results. If I were to need to do that in a hand-crafted model, it would have been a huge ordeal, to the point that I'd probably end up re-sculpting details around the existing hole rather than attempting to move the hole, or I'd maybe settle and not make such an adjustment.