The older photos are a LE.
The photos today are the PRO.
The mech is different.
The pro only has a virtual lock in there.
The prem and LE spits them out his mouth.
Hence the different angle your seeing.

But the shot with the tongue nearly touching the playfield can't be a normal arrangement, as it would stop the ball from entering the spinning disk area.  There is always a possibility that Gene's head hadn't been fully mounted when that photo was taken.