Sauropod Ungual Phalange (Toe Claw) from south-west coast of the Isle of Wight, UK. From the Wealden Group, Wessex Formation (125 Million years old).
Discovered at the end of 2015 this amazing claw will go on public display on March 25th when the Dinosaur Expeditions Centre re-opens for 2016.
Previously I wrote about sculpting a pair of the enigmatic ‘Splate’ spines. Something I will be returning to later. With a pair of Polacanthine Splates finished, the next job was to sculpt all the spines of the tail.
Based on a couple of different interpretations I needed to sculpt between 22-24 Caudal Spines, now that’s a lot of spines! Fortunately they get smaller towards the end the tail.
Unlike the ‘Splate’ I do have a cast of an (early to middle) tail spine to refer too. So I measured the spine and drew it at just over half scale to make a template.
With the outline marked on the extruded polystyrene I cut the shape out and started to carve the spine.
Once the first spine was finished I carved the other spine of the pair.
With the first pair of Caudal Spines finished I repeated the process by sculpting the second pair of spines (using the first pair as an example).
At the end of the day I took a group shot of all the pairs of spines (Cervical - Pectoral, to Caudal) sculpted to date.
Next time I will complete the process of sculpting the remaining Caudal Spines.
A crazy fortnight at the Dinosaur Farm!
We have had late nights, and even earlier starts.
Turned cabinets around and dug over old ground.
Old friends have returned and we have made new ones too.
A Euro cent passed off and paper vanished from the loo.
We have had a bird in the barn and a duck through a roof.
A pterosaur limb and a pterosaur tooth.
We have mounted heads on a wall, stood over ten feet tall.
We have had record-breaking trips and generous tips,
Old foot-casts were buried and new ones found.
Ceilings went up and ceilings came down.
VIP guests came with stories to tell
and travelling salesman with books to sell.
A purse lost, then found and a picture drawn by a kid.
A huge dinosaur claw won by a last minute bid.
A barn emptied, a barn filled and then emptied again.
Tired feet, a split thumb and Miss Hernia pain.
A Mad Max Digger, new fences for old.
Glorious sunshine and bitterly cold.
We have had serious meetings and heated discussions.
Made plans for events and entertained factions.
Identified mystery bones and bags of kids stones.
Built impossible storerooms and confiscated brooms.
A big tooth, a little tooth, new artwork, new labels.
And we still haven’t finished the fossil preparation tables!
OM
Next time there will be more updates on the Polacanthus sculpt and I promise not to inflict my terrible prose on you ever again.
I don’t know if I’ve posted this before but #dontcare it’s the best.
Every School needs these images as posters.
Clifford Wrigley from ‘Wrigley Maintainance’ [email: wrigleymaintenance2014@gmail.com] is helping us to get all the big jobs done before our Free Open Day on Saturday 28th March.
The Eotyrannus Head display was produced by local artist Nigel George for the Dinosaur Farm Museum in the late 1990s.
Come along to the Dinosaur Farm on Saturday 28th March, enjoy free admission and see the latest fossil discoveries. Talk to our volunteers about the exciting work we do, see live demonstrations of fossil conservation and the creation of original paleoart.
Visit our website for more information:
