There’s so many (bad) things I can say about this model:
Like I said before, I don’t really like any of the Barbatos forms, but this one has by far the most problems.
That’s really unfortunate too, because there a few things I really like about it. It’s probably my favorite combination of head/torso/shoulders among the three forms, if for no other reason than the blue and yellow on the shoulders actually matches the blue and yellow in the chest.
But everything else is just a trainwreck. To be 100% perfectly clear - everything I am about to say is 100% subjective. I’m sure plenty of people disagree, and that’s fine (except for that stupid mace. There’s no arguing in favor of that). But this is how I feel.
What’s Wrong with the Lupus Rex
In no particular order …
It’s weird to me how they changed the entire upper body, but kept the legs are nearly identical to the Lupus.
And on a vaguely related note, the middle area of the mobile suit - from the head down to the feet - is no larger or wider than on the Lupus. This despite the fact that it’s arms are much larger, it’s backpack much wider, and it has a giant tail attached to it.
What I’m trying to say is that when you consider all the extra bulk and weight of some of the Lupus Rex’s body parts, you’d expect the other body parts - especially the chest and the legs - might also be larger, so as to better support all that weight. That would also create a nice excuse to tweak the design of the legs.
But they didn’t choose to do that, so instead you have a design that feels like a slapdash mix of old and new (contrast this to the Lupus, which really only the backpack is similar to the original Barbatos. Everything else receives noticeable changes).
I also hate the arms. They’re comically bulky. I’ve seen people compare it to Gorilla arms, and it’s not a bad comparison. And it’s not just the look of them either. It’s really hard to position them in any way that looks cool. This is as close as I could get, though I still think it looks more like it wants to give you a hug:
Maybe it’s the fact that they’re so long. No matter what position you put them (or the hands) in, it always looks like the Lupus Rex is gesturing at something.
Any attempt at positioning them in a way that looks threatening or aggressive falls flat. Think of it this way - does a kid (or anyone really) look more or less ridiculous if they tried to threaten you while wearing a pair of Hulk Hands?
I think the mobile suit looks ridiculous with its tail tucked into the backpack. That 45 degree angle makes for a really weird silhouette. Imagine the Lupus Rex falling or rolling backward? That tail would snap right off. Whereas if it was tucked in further, it might be safe.
As for when the tail is deployed, I suppose it’s fine enough. The wire is incredibly stiff, so it’s not always easy to position it exactly how you want. But if you’re persistent, it can add a lot of personality.
I’ve previously mentioned that I don’t like the color placement on any of the Barbatos, but I particularly don’t like the color usage on the Lupus Rex. It uses far more yellow than either of its predecessors, and it’s not a good thing. It’s such a strong, “McDonald’s logo” logo tone. Combined with the bits of red running along the body - as well as the fact that so much of the yellow sections are spiky - it starts to vaguely resemble a container of french fries.
Lastly, there is the mace. I’ve said a lot about it, but I have one final remark, which is that a picture is worth a thousand words:
I’m sorry folks, but this doesn’t look normal, or cool, or anything other than ridiculous. I can’t even take a photo of an action pose without having to zoom out as far as possible:
I don’t want to be mean. I really don’t. But the Lupus Rex looks like something a 14 year old would sketch in their notebook to try and make the Lupus look “cooler”. I know because that used to be me. I committed a lot of the sins found here. I’d take some exiting thing, and make some parts of it extremely over the top while leaving the rest alone (and it didn’t matter if it all fit, as long as it was extreme enough). I didn’t worry about color or flow or proportions. And sometimes I mixed up bits and pieces of two things, without any rhyme or reason (just like how the Lupus Rex borrows a bunch of stuff from the Lupus, but also brings back the shorter side skirts of the OG Barbatos).
It’s so bad that it almost feels like a troll job. Or maybe a rush job. It’s extremely rare for a protagonist mobile suit to go through not one, but two revisions over the course of a 50 episode show, and I wonder if the artist(s) just didn’t have any ideas.
Whatever the truth may be, this is by far the least favorite model kit I’ve built in a long while.