THERE ARE NO LISTS. PLEASE DON'T ASK TO BE PUT ON ONE.

Current Status: 9/19/2018: Work has begun on creating a 3D printed t-rex so that I can scale up production and offer them to those who haven't been able to get one yet. I don't have an ETA.

Price is $400 shipped (in the US only). I am currently only shipping within the US. Payment by mailed check or money order is preferred.

There is no longer an interest list. I will post when a batch is up for sale and you can PM to claim one at that time.
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REQUIRED BEFORE YOU CAN USE THE NEW T-REX:
Your current t-rex needs to have a good Jaw Frame with the two metal tabs in the front. This is the metal that makes up the jaw and the existing plastic is riveted to it.
New Jaw Frames can be purchased at Marco Specialties:
http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/535-6641-00
*Note that the new t-rex requires you to drill out the rivet from the existing jaw. You may want to purchase a new jaw if the idea of drilling isn't appealing to you.

You also need to have a good condition Jaw Link. It needs to be free from repairs that make it thicker and it needs to have the tab at the top that hooks into the jaw.
New Jaw Links can be purchased from Marco or Pinball Life (probably some other retailers, too):
http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/535-6640-00
http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=579
*Note that the jaw link requires a few extra parts including a roll pin and spring if you were trying to make a completely new one.
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Installation video:

Additional information not covered in the video at this time:
1. If you order the new Jaw from Marco Specialties, towards the front, behind the two tabs, you may need to bend the front edges of the sides out to keep the ball from getting stuck in the jaw when the t-rex picks it up.
2. Make sure the back of the t-rex is not making contact with the dino collar (the U-shaped peice behind the t-rex). That piece is held on by 3 screws that are accessible when the t-rex is bent down. You may need to adjust the position or bend the tabs a little to get the collar moved back. Some have even notched the holes to get it to move back. I'm sorry if you run into this issue. It was something I had accommodated for in the final sculpture to work on my machine, but likely due to some variation in the playfields, still seems to be an issue for some people.

Post showing an impact test with a hammer:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jurassic-park-improved-t-rex-work-in-progress/page/23#post-2540776

Post showing text of warranty information:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jurassic-park-improved-t-rex-work-in-progress/page/23#post-2545324

10/25 Update: 4 finished t-rexes are available. PM your email address to me if interested. Please also read over this post.

10/12 Update: The interest list is being eliminated in favor of selling on a first-come first-served basis as batches become available. While I am phasing out the interest list, I have been in touch with those who are still on the list and had claim to a t-rex in Run 1.

6/5 Update: I have reached out to the first 15 people on the wait list to confirm they are still interested and gave an ETA on when I think theirs will be ready for shipping.

5/29 Update: The new molds were successfully made and the first production run has begun.

5/23 Update: The pilot period is over. Changes were incorporated into the sculpture and new molds are being made.

2/18 Update: New video of the latest version with several successful pickups in a row. It's still a prototype at this point. It will be on display at the Louisville Arcade Expo in March for further testing before finalizing.

1/16 Update: A couple of prototype versions have been sent to members of the pilot group for testing before the final version will be produced.

Here's a vid of a finished t-rex (prototype) (12/13):

Before and After

Here's a pic of the latest progress as of 12/2/2014:
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Everything below the line is from the original post:
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In an effort to improve the look of the T-REX in my JP, I've come up with the idea of making an improved skin out of silicone that will stretch over the original.

The first task was to make a cast of the original. Then I need to build what the new skin will look like, make a mold of it, and cast it in silicone and see if it works.

The idea is that the replacement skin will just fit1 over the existing T-REX, requiring no changes to it.

Attached is a pic of an initial mock-up to see if a better T-REX can even be sculpted on top of the old. I think it can, but the original doesn't provide an easy platform for doing this with its squat and wide nose. I'm extending the nose out a bit, and hope this won't cause issues with picking up the ball. It will be a soft material, so if it gets pushed into the playfield when picking up, it will hopefully at least compress enough to allow the ball to be picked up normally.

I'll post progress updates.

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A minor update. Still working on getting the overall shape of the head. I want it to read T-REX more than the original, but also look as much like the movie version as possible. The profile can be made to look ok, but the front view is going to be a challenge, because the bottom jaw needs to be much narrower even than the original T-REX that's underneath, so that's not going to happen... I'm hoping it will still look good from the front.

So far I'm mostly just working on the side that is shown in the photo, so I'll post different angles when I get further along.

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Yeah, I'll be adding teeth for sure! I don't think they'll be an issue. It will all be made out of silicone, so the ball should just be able to push through the teeth when eaten.

Thanks to all for the compliments so far.

A few more pics of progress. I've roughed out the other side of the head and I'm working to balance out both sides. Any details seen at this stage are just for reference as I'll end up changing the overall shape until it's just right, then details will be added in.

I'm encouraged that the front view looks enough like a T-REX to keep going with this project.

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If I ever get one, I'll get right to work on that!

I'm hoping I get to work on it more tonight.

I'm experimenting with scales. Not sure yet if this is the way I'll end up doing them.

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I'm working out a method for scales that I like a lot better. You'll see them particularly in the center of the picture.

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Let me get further into it before I make any promises. I like the idea of making extras to sell, but I have no idea at this point if it's even going to work out or if the process to make extras takes way more time than I'd be able to recoup in sales.

Finished up some more scales. It's going to take a bit to fill it out, and I'm thinking I might try a less detailed mock-up, make a mold of it and see if the overall idea works before finishing this one. If it doesn't work, I'll have to change my approach, which will likely require a different sculpture.

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I did mention this in my original post and hope to accommodate for it. I'm aware it is extending out more, but if solid silicone won't work, it doesn't have to be solid out in front of the nose. It can be hollow and would compress when the T-REX eats the ball. We'll see.

But Grandpa said all the dinosaurs were girls...

I'm going to try a different approach that I think I'll be much happier with.

I feel too restricted trying to make a better T-REX shape over the old one, and there's the risk that the nose will stick out too far. I think if I just replace the old one altogether, I'll have a lot more freedom to make it look the best it can, and have a better chance for the T-REX to successfully eat. Plus I'll end up being able to sculpt in polymer clay that can be hardened, ensuring I can sufficiently do tests before getting too far into it. With a hardened sculpture in the end, it will be easier to make a mold, and I can do casts in hard plastic rather than a soft rubber, which will make it easier to paint, and therefore reproduce if I think it's reasonable.

If this works out, the end result will be a complete replacement for the 3 plastic pieces on the T-REX (head/back, front, and jaw) and the metal for the lower jaw. The rest of the underlying frame and mechanisms will remain.

One of the things I'm going to change is that wide lower jaw. It needs to be much narrower to look more like a T-REX. Here's my prototype replacement cut out of steel and bent into shape. I'll be able to install this back in the game as-is to test that it can pick up the ball. I've confirmed through manually actuating the jaw that the ball will slide down the narrow jaw just fine.

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Congrats! It's an exciting time to own one with the code changes ChadH is working on and all the mods you can do.

I'll do my best to figure out a good way to reproduce my mod if I can get it to work out. My big concern with this new route would be reproducing the metal for the jaw since I don't have good tools for bending the metal, nor do I have anything on my CNC machine that can cut steel. My prototype was cut with a cutting disc on a rotary tool and bent with a vise grip and a small vise and hammer. Definitely not something I'd want to make a ton of with this method...

Mine will have teeth! Even with the new method, I've got an idea for how to it can have good looking, sculpted teeth.

Here's my mock-up over the frame. I think I'm able to get a much better overall shape with this method, so I'll continue on.

After some tweaks, I confirmed that my smaller jaw works, and even better than the original one did for me. With the original jaw, sometimes the ball would get caught in the mouth and stay there during gameplay, this one looks like it shoots it right down the throat pretty quickly.

My next task is to basically finish out the lower jaw, including details, and harden it before doing the rest. That way it won't get messed up, and I'll be able to open and close the jaw to make sure the clay on the rest of the head is leaving room for the jaw movement. However, once the jaw is hardened, I'll also be able to install the T-REX back in the game and test that it still eats the ball, especially when there's some additional padding on the nose making it back up just a bit further.

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I don't have anything worth taking a picture of, but I've been doing a lot of experimentation.

I've got an idea for teeth that I'm pretty sure will work, but I've run into a lot of issues in making a mold and casting in the material I want to use due to not having a vacuum chamber. I want to test that my idea for teeth will work before really progressing further into the final sculpture. I've gone ahead and ordered what I need for a vacuum chamber and will hopefully be able to make better progress after that. I've needed one for a long time, but just never really got around to putting one together.

Might as well give a teaser... or is that a teeth-er?

Vacuum chamber stuff's on its way as well as some more casting materials.

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... or debt!

Aww... come on! I thought the 6 unread posts I was going to see were people cheering me on!

I got the lid for my vacuum chamber in yesterday and the large pot that will act as the chamber comes in today. I'll head to HF soon and pick up a vacuum pump and I should be all set. Not sure if I'll actually get to work on anything today, though. I'll post back if I've got anything interesting to share.

We'll see. I honestly don't know if I'll be able to get it together before then.

I made many attempts at casting teeth in silicone and finally have a good method down. I had one positive test where the T-REX picked up the ball with the teeth in and then the lower jaw crumbled and fell apart! That's a drawback of testing with polymer clay, but it's the most effective way I know of getting a test together quickly. A few other tests lead me to believe I need to extend the lower jaw out some more which means I have to cut some more metal, bend it, and sculpt on top of it. I'm optimistic this is going to work out, but I have no idea how long it's going to take.

I can't imagine the kind of testing that went into getting the stock T-REX designed. I've modified, remade, and reinstalled my narrower jaw many times. I'm probably going to go back to the original jaw. That will decrease production times and costs and I'll at least have a confirmed working jaw. Based on my first sculpture, I think a decent T-REX can be sculpted over the original jaw.

After looking closely I noticed that the bottom lip on the original plastic jaw is a bit chewed up. This happens because the jaw hits the switch lever in the kickout hole. Are others noticing this wear in theirs? That same thing is going to happen with the replacement as well.

I wonder if there's a way to lower the switch so that it doesn't stick up so high. That or come up with some other less knife-like kickout hole.

Maybe that hunter guy from the second JP movie is down there slowly cutting away at the T-REX every chance he gets and making it bleed out...

Here's a successful test! I think I'm getting there with something that will work.

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Another successful test.

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They're silicone. I'd think they'd last a while, but time will tell. The only ones that will be kind of stressed are the ones right in front that will get compressed between the ball and the metal jaw. At any rate, they won't be too bad to reproduce, so in the event that I sell this mod, I could potentially sell replacement teeth for cheap.

Teeth on both top and bottom...

These aren't the final teeth, by the way. Still testing and getting things figured out before finalizing.

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You ain't seen nothin' yet... Things will hopefully keep getting better and better.

Lots of scales...

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I took a break from this project over the holidays (even though I went into my vacation fully expecting to be able to spend time on it), but will hopefully be able to devote more time to it this week. I'll be sure to post more pictures when I've got something worth showing.

Since I kind of feel accountable to the people who have commented here and shown interest in this project, I just wanted to come in and say I've been slacking on this, but will finish it. I had family over recently, and had to re-install the original T-REX and have enjoyed being able to play JP again and haven't taken it back out to continue working on it. I'm also getting married in a couple of months, and I'm too much of a DIYer to spend money on paying someone else to do or make a lot of the stuff associated with the wedding, so a lot of my time is being devoted to that for now.

Anyway, the T-REX will eventually be finished (when my future wife allows me some free time ).

Not a chance! Luckily I've got a good sized house with a full basement, so there's plenty of room for the games outside of other living areas. I've gotten her interested in pinball, too. She's a huge fan of the LOTR and Hobbit movies and hopes we get a LOTR pinball some day (maybe a NIB Hobbit if we can swing it... ).

I will gladly take your money when I have something to sell!

The plan is to get back into this next month. I'm contemplating a re-sculpt after what I've learned so far, and I discovered a new sculpting material that I think will stand up better to testing. I also hope to make it look even better. I can't wait until I get to the point of being able to paint one.

Don't worry, everyone, I can't wait to get a better looking T-REX in my game, so I'm in the same boat as you!

I can fund the project. That's not holding me up. Besides, I don't want to actually be accountable to you guys! Then you'll really put the pressure on!

Honestly, though, I don't want to take any money from anyone until I know I've got something I think will hold up and I'm proud to put my name on.

Nothing more to share, yet. I hope to have something worth showing soon.

The prospect of making money on this mod is a good motivator. Pinball is an expensive addiction that I've dropped a ton more cash on than I expected to since getting into it a year and a half ago.

Here's a bit of an update.

One of the hangups on this project has been the scales, both in the time it takes with the current material and my overall dissatisfaction with them. I'm trying out a new material that, if it works, will make the rest of the sculpting process go much quicker. Also, if it works, I'm going to end up resculpting all scales as I can knock out some good looking scales quickly that should also be a bit more conducive to the mold making process.

The new material takes 24 hours to cure, so I'll know more tomorrow...

In case it's not obvious, the new material is white, and adheres well over the existing sculpture.

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Well, yeah, that's one of the hangups, too! I just can't decide if I really want scales or feathers...

The new material, which is an epoxy putty, is working out really well. I'm able to put a thin layer of it over the previous sculpture and get better results for the scales. The other material is polymer clay that hardens with heat. So for the rest of this project, I should be able to get the underlying form done in polymer clay and then follow up with the epoxy for some scales.

Even though the epoxy makes it easier for me to do scales quickly, it is a difficult material to work with since it's tacky and stays pretty soft for a long time. That means I can only use it in sections at a time, per day, that allow me to still handle the sculpture without messing anything up.

At any rate, I'm liking the results so far and am confident this will yeild a good final sculpture.

After I finish up the head, I'll move on to the body.

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I won't know anything about final weight until I've made a mold and cast it. It shouldn't be an issue.

I haven't decided what to do for the eyes yet. I like the idea of glass eyes, but at the size I need, I don't think I'm going to find any that are detailed enough. The ones I'm seeing look like there's no consistency in quality: ebay.com link: 12 PAIR 3mm 8mm Glass Eyes Wire Loops Choose size color Teddy Bears LP 201

I won't know prices until I've produced some. I have to figure in material costs and how long it takes to finish one. I may end up selling them in a few different tiers: unpainted for those who want to DIY, standard paint job, and premium paint job. Again, I won't know until I get that far. At the end of the day, the money I make producing them has to be worth my time or I won't be making them.

A little closer... I wish the epoxy didn't take so long to cure, but it's kind of nice being restricted to small sections at a time since I can work on it here and there and then not worry about messing it up later.

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I thought I had read that one in the JP Mods thread, and someone even had the beginnings of a good-looking LED-lit gate. You might post there and ask. I don't want to commit to another project before finishing the T-REX, but it's something I'd potentially be interested in doing.

A bit more progress...

I spent a while today sculpting a new version of the top of the head and then compared to this one since there are a few things I don't like about it. After comparing the two, I realized the lack of eyes was throwing me off, so now I see that what I didn't like is fixable on the current sculpture.
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I can't speak to his project.

I moved the crest on top of the head back some and made it less pronounced. To do this I had to grind down a lot of the top and re-sculpt. I like it better and it's also more symmetrical from the front now.

I may just be able to finish up the head tomorrow.

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Ok, so the T-REX had been a little too well fed, and needed to slim down. She got something of a face-lift! Here's progressive pics. The first is before, the second after the grinding, and the third after the re-sculpt.
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Re-sculpting set me back another day, but I did make some more progress. It may be tomorrow before I finish with the head, but even then, I may find something I need to change. My method right now has been to study the sculpture and pictures I've taken of it, compare it to my PAPO T-REX, and figure out what I need to change.
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Here's another progress pic. The first is the profile from yesterday, the second is a rough drawing (in MS Paint, the best art program of all time! ) of the changes I needed to make, and the third is after the changes.
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If it works in mine, why wouldn't it work for others? After I'm finished sculpting and testing, I'll make a mold and cast replicas. It will install in place of the existing T-REX shell using the same screws and holes.

Well, I'm not necessarily looking to recoup time spent on the sculpture. I'm more interested in reimbursement for the time it takes to cast and paint one along with material costs.

Maybe...

Yeah, the idea is replacement parts now. The skin idea was scrapped months ago. Looking back through this thread, all the pics starting with the brown sculpture were working towards replacement.

I just updated the first post to reflect the change from the original goal in case there's any confusion.

Nooooo.... Now I have to grind and re-sculpt some more!

Yeah, I want it to look as much like the movie version as possible. I have some more work to do to get it there. I think the PAPO T-REX looks like it was based off of the Stan Winston one, and it's the only 3D reference I currently have.

The grinding has already happened.

I didn't get a chance to re-sculpt today, but will hopefully be able to do more tomorrow.

My #1 motivation in this project is to get a great looking T-REX in my game, so my hope is that if I can make one that I'm happy with, hopefully everyone else will be, too.

Motivation #2 is to get this project finished since I won't be able to play my JP again until then!

Thanks all for the encouragement. It's a great motivator.

The teeth should end up working fine. Check out some of the older posts in this thread where I ran some tests.

I'll end up making a mold of my final sculpture and casting it, so no 3D printing. I don't believe 3D printing would be able to give the detail I'm hoping to get in the end result. I'll probably sell painted ones and ones that aren't if anyone wants to DIY.

Let's just focus on the T-REX right now. If I allow myself to start thinking about another project, I'll just get distracted.

No ballparks on pricing yet. I won't know until I get into the production phase.

Here's today's update. I'm a bit closer, but I still have some adjustments to make so that it looks more like the movie version. There are a few spots here and there that need scales put back after grinding it down. Also, the eyes are just placeholders for the time being and will end up with lids like are shown in some of the other pics.
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I didn't get a profile of the left side, but here's a flipped profile of the right side so you can see the overall progression.
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A little progress. There are still some things that need to be done to finish up the head. I'll keep studying it to determine if more adjustments need to be made. Maybe I'll be on to the body by the weekend.

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I like doing these progression pics. It's interesting to me to notice the differences with each step. I can look back at each one and remember thinking that I finally had it only to look at it a while later and decide it wasn't good enough. I feel the best about the latest version, but we'll see how I feel about it in a couple days.

She's evolving!
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I'm not sure if I'll come out ahead if I end up going that low. We'll see.

I sure hope so. It will depend on the material I cast it in. It will be thicker than the original, for sure, so I don't think it should be an issue.

The other thing to keep in mind is that every step is a manual process. It's not like coming up with a translite or making a new ROM where there's a lot of initial work, but production runs are relatively simple (i.e. send to the printer or ROM burner). This project will likely need at least 3, but maybe 4, 2-part molds and then I'll have to measure and mix the casting material and pour into each mold, which may not yeild usable peices each time. Then each peice has to be cleaned up. Then I have to paint each one. We could be talking about a few hours of time devoted to each T-REX. If I was only getting paid for time, let alone material costs, $100 isn't going to cut it. I might be able to cast a few and paint them all at once, but I don't know. I'll know more once I get to that point. At the end of the day, if I have to set it at a price that no one will pay, I simply won't sell them. This project isn't intended to put food on my table. My main goal is to get a nice T-REX in my game.

All I can say at this point is that the price will be somewhere between $100 and $1,000,000.

I plan to have that as an option.

We'll have a coupon day or something...

http://m.quickmeme.com/img/e0/e0ac5e5905147422fb8497e65d4fbc5a6fe436a840ca4b39885286ae927c0264.jpg

You make good points that I'll have to keep in mind.

Not to discourage anyone from buying, but if you don't have the game to install it in, know that the finished product isn't going to be a stand-alone figure you can display on a shelf. It will only be held together by going onto the existing T-REX frame that's in the game.

No updates for this weekend. I'll hopefully get some more time to devote to this project in the coming days.

Can we please stop discussing pricing?

I'm not interested in what other modders charge. I'm not competing against them... unless they come out with a T-REX? Even then, I dont care. In fact, even if someone else released a similar product before I finished, I would still continue with mine. I'm not in this as a business. I want an awesome T-REX in MY game, and it seemed like no one else was going to do it, so I decided to make the best looking one I could for my game. Sure, making extras and making money on this project has its appeal, but I have a full time job that pays my bills, I was recently married, and I have many time-consuming things I like to do in my free time, so my free time is valuable to me. When I eventually finish this project and get an idea of how long it takes to produce one, I'll be sure to let everyone know the price. You can then decide if it's worth your money. I will not commit to any price at this time.

Thanks,
Jim

Ugh... I really hate having to be restricted by the existing frame. There's no way this can end up with a natural looking T-REX pose. I think when installed the focus is mainly on the head, though, so hopefully it doesn't look too ridiculous when finished.

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I got the two shells for the front and back of the neck/body hardened and removable. This involved baking the entire frame with the two parts on it to harden them. Then I had to crack them to get them removed. Then I glued them back together, ground down the inside to make it easier to slide on and off of the frame, and then patched areas that crumbled.

I should now have a platform on which the scales and other details for the body will be placed.

I still have to build up something so that the back of the neck meets the back of the head, but I have to figure out how I want to do that. Ultimately the top of the head and the back shell need to be one piece since they're all held on by one screw, but I may end up having to cast them separately and fuse them together after since keeping them together would require a more complex mold.

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I keep checking back here to see if this project is finished yet... oh... wait...

No pics worth sharing at the moment. I'm still figuring out how I want to detail the neck/body. I have sculpted some of the front neck, but I'm not all that happy with it.

I find myself just getting one or two nights a week to myself and it really sucks when inspiration and free time don't sync up...

I don't want my extreme urge for this project to be finished to make me rush through and end up with a less than stellar body (T-REX's body, not mine ), so I'm going to take a bit of a break from it and come at it with a more level head hopefully next week. I really want it to look the best I can make it, and sometimes that requires giving it a bit of time and coming back at it with a fresh perspective.

I'll post pics when there's more progress worth sharing. Sorry for any who are anxiously awaiting completion. I WILL finish this project but I'm not going to promise it will be finished by any certain date. I do promise it will be something I'm proud of in the end.

Just posting to reaffirm my commitment to this project. Originally lack of motivation was causing me to take a break, then a few life events, and most recently a shorter term personal project that I've nearly finalized (arcade related). I have to allow myself to work on other things or I'll get burnt out.

I'll be back to old rexy girl soon.

Still working on this, but I blame my current lack of progress on project machines I keep getting that are more instantly gratifying.

My JP, my favorite game, is unplayable until I finish this project, so I am still motivated to get it finished.

Its not installed at all. The ball would probably get stuck up in the void or fall down into the cabinet, not that I've tried.

I guess I can rephrase and vow, "I will not play my JP until I finish this project."

I feel like I've been patient enough. This guy needs to post an update!

That's not an unrealistic date to hit. Maybe Stern will buy it from me and put it in their Jurassic World pin!

Finally some progress from this slacker!

Still working on the neck and body...

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Uh oh... I don't want to commit to this yet, but I think I've come up with a way that she can have arms!

Progress!

I still have some more to do before this part is finished, like blend the divide between the back of the neck and the head and redo some areas.

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Smaug is a little off topic. Let's please keep this thread about this project and comments/opinions about other games' toys elsewhere.

Thanks,
Jim

I guess I chose the wrong time to post updated progress. I'm getting burried under Expo threads!

No pics for today, but I've confirmed the latest additions are in-tact and hardened. I had a bit of a scare when I noticed movement in the underlying polymer clay shell on the back that I had originally superglued together. I guess the epoxy and dried super glue weren't getting along.

I'm not happy with the scales in some areas and will end up re-doing them, but that shouldn't take too long.

I might install it this weekend for a test to confirm it can work in this current state. I will have to hot glue the top of the head onto the frame or something for a temporary bond since it's not currently attached to the back/neck like it will be in the end.

I went ahead and joined the back and top of the head. Even though it will make the mold more complex, it will make for a stronger piece in the end.

I've still got some spots to fix up, but I'll hopefully be finished with this part of the sculpting soon. Then it's on to teeth and mold-making.

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Eat this!

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Thanks to everyone for the encouragement.

I worked today on improving scales in some areas. I'll move on to finalizing teeth soon.

Just so we're clear, the current sculpture will not get painted. It will be used for making molds for casting in another material.
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Test teeth...

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These's aren't the final teeth (obviously not the final color,either), at least not in the top. These are from the same mold I made for much earlier tests. I think they look like good bottom teeth, but I'll have to sculpt some different ones for the top and figure out the best consistent way to secure them in place.

After having it sit in the game and studying it from the player's perspective I noticed some things that needed to be changed, so I worked on some improvements to the head. The front edge and the top of the crest have been altered and softened up a bit. I also lowered the top edges of the back of the head behind the brows.

That's not a bad question and definitely worth confirming. I'm not too concerned, but this is a great time to test it, just in case. I'll install the plate and the collar for the next video. Should actually be able to do that pretty quickly.

Here's a test with all the surrounding hardware installed.

We'll see. I have to make molds and get one finished first. I wish it was as simple as just painting the one I have, but it's not made out of a material that I think will hold up, especially at an expo.

Edit: Having said that, I do hope to be able to have at least one finished by then.

I haven't found any glass eyes of the right size that look any good. The eyes that are currently there are going to be part of the mold that gets made for the head. If someone wants to modify it further it would just be a matter of routing out the existing eye, installing the new eye and sculpting/painting lids around it.

I'll be able to make the existing eyes look good, though, so I'm not worried about it.

As stated in previous posts, I plan to offer unpainted and painted options. Let me get further into it before I commit to anything, though. I need to make sure I'm able to successfully cast them first.

A comment I made in an earlier post was that I didn't like the throat and was planning to redo it.

Here we are:
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We'll see...

Talk about pressure!

By the way, thanks for the suggestion. When I installed it for the latest video, I didn't realize the back of the dino was getting caught on the dino collar! I had to grind her back down some. She fits fine now.

Ha, any time I start to not like my current sculpture, I look back at the original and feel a lot better!

You might be on to something. You'll have to pay me a premium for this upgrade, though.
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I just wanted to point out when glass eyes get as small as I'd need them for this project, they end up looking like googly eyes... There also isn't enough consistency in their appearance for me to think they'd look better than what I'm planning to do.
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I'm at the stage now where I'm making molds (or I want to). Unfortunately it's going to take a lot more material than I had on hand... I prepped all the pieces and poured the molds for the chest/throat and the jaw, but that cleaned me out. One of them ended up not getting as much poured on it as I would have liked, so it may not even be a usable mold.

So far my biggest expense has been time since I had all the materials on hand, but at this point I'm going to have to invest money into the project to go any further.

I'd consider taking pre-orders, but I can't guarantee a price at this point and I don't feel that comfortable taking the money up front.

I'd also consider a kick-starter campaign or something, but I don't know what incentives I could give for people to donate.

I'm more than likely going to figure out how to fund it on my own. That way I'm really only accountable to me (well and my wife, since I'll have to spend money outside of my personal budget... ).

I could, but I still don't know how much I need to charge to cover my time and material costs. I don't want to take a deposit from someone and then end up charging something they don't want to or can't pay when it's finished. There's also still some development and testing to do. I'd kind of like to have a proven example of what the finished product is before I commit to anything.

I'll figure out a way to fund it.

At any rate, one of the molds I made yesterday ended up being usable.
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This project is officially on hold until I get more materials. The head/back are prepared for pouring the mold, so I won't be able to take it out and continue to develop top teeth until after the mold is made... I'll hopefully be able to put an order in tomorrow, but have no clue how long it will take to receive.

You're both very generous! Thanks for the offers, but I talked to my wife and found a source for the immediate funds needed. Hopefully I'll be able to order materials to do the first run and recoup costs.

You're both very trusting, too. I could be pulling a long con here! I spend a year pretending to make a mod and then give you just enough to think I can actually pull this off, but then I say I can't fund it, collect funds from generous folks like you, and then dissapear.

I put in the order for more casting material. Hopefully I receive it soon.

I just got a tracking number on my material order. Hopefully it gets picked up today and I get a delivery estimate soon. It's going from Chicago to Southern Indiana, so hopefully won't take too long. I ordered some pretty fast curing silicone rubber and resin, so I could be casting and painting one this weekend!

I'll still need to figure out final teeth (and an as yet unannounced feature I have planned), but I could be producing my initial run by the end of the year if things go well. I'll have a 2-week vacation at the end of the year and might be able to devote a good amount of time to production.

My current plan is to cast one, figure out and produce the final teeth, paint it as an example of the finished product, and then play-test for a bit before committing to a production run. During all of that I should get an idea of the time it takes to finish one and the price I need to charge to make it worth my while. Once I figure out pricing, I'll get a list of people who want to commit to the pilot run at the agreed-upon price. I'll probably keep the pilot run down to about 10 so that I can gather feedback and address any issues that may arise. I'll also need to document installation instructions. If everything goes well with the pilot group, I'll produce more as long as there's demand AND I continue to enjoy it. More details to come...

I've got a family gathering coming up in late December where I want to have all my games working, so I've got to get a finished T-rex in my JP by then! I'll be sure to share progress.

Thanks to all for the encouraging words and feedback. Your enthusiasm is a good motivator!
-Jim

Should get the shipment on Wednesday! I can't wait!