Search the Community

Thats a replica right?

So recently my father bought a 3D printer and we've been experimenting printing some cool fossils for a while now. It's a really cool technology. Though it can take a while to print a piece the results are really quite cool. A life size Archaeopteryx can take a few days to print if you don't keep printing during the night. Finishing up the prints afterwards can also take a bit of time. Cleaning off all the supports and sanding down rough surfaces can be quite the process. Then there's painting depending on the desired result of course. There are actually a lot of nice things that can be found for download on the internet. Though many of these models still require a bit of digital cleanup before they could be printed. So here are a number of the painted, unpainted and half painted results. Most of the printed stuff is dinosaur. Photo of the 3D printer and the just finished print of a juvenile Edmontosaurus lower jaw. And here's the same Edmontosaurus jaw print half painted again with the real fossil in mirror image next to it. I scanned the original bone that I then mirrored digitaly so that I could print out the other side of the jaw. Allosaurus hand claw. Clidastes Mosasaur quadrate bone. Skull of the "Prosauropod" Massospondylus. Holotype right lower jaw of Owenodon hoggi, an Iguanodontid. Download link: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/iguanodon-jawbone-f016ad38ebb647988dafd6bbdc1510d0 1/5th scale Nanotyrannus lancensis skull. The Cleveland specimen. Download link for original file: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/nanotyrannus-lancensis-young-t-rex-7b0967fa27674d959647868686b6717b One of my favourites. The Eichstatt Archaeopteryx specimen. Download link for original file: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/eichstatt-archaeopteryx-b71872ad42794ef7883021f2fa9a8079 The right side skeleton of the baby Parasaurolophus "Joe". Printed at 1/5th scale. Right humerus and pedal phalanges printed at life size. Most of the fossil prints are for my collection. But my dad also wanted a few cool things which I painted for him. Skulls of Dodo and Australopithecus Taung Child. Download link for Dodo original file: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/dodo-264b7746a42b41b2845a499de16f8538 Most are painted roughly to look like their real counter parts.

Always wanted a Comura but the prices are out of my budget so thought I'd try making one. Not as good as real but didn't have to sell my first born into slavery to make it. Its a Comura bultynici from the early Devonian.I added a photo of a real one. What a beauty would love to own one. . 800px-Comura_bultyncki,_Early_Devonian,_TazoulaOt_Formation,_Jbel_OufatEne,_MaOder_Region,_Morocco_-_Houston_Museum_of_Natural_Science_-_DSC01594.bmp

Hi, I started this thread because I was kinda surprised that one didn’t exist already at this forum. I myself love replica’s to enhance my collection or to use as educational props when I visit schools, musea use them too so why shouldn’t we. And let’s be honest not all fossils are available for the common fossil collector, not all of us can affort a T-rex skull or a mounted dinosaur skeleton and rare fossils like Archaeopteryx are only to be found in museum collections, so that’s when replica’s come into play. So show us your fossil replica’s, casts and reconstructions in this thread, I am very curious to see what you guys have to show! I will kick this topic off myself with the replica's that I currently have in my collection. A replica of the famous Berlin specimen of Archaeopteryx lithographica, the original was found in the Solnhofen limestone formations of Bavaria in Germany and now resides in the collection of the Natural History Museum of Berlin A cast of a Eophrynus prestvicii, the original was found in the West Midlands in the UK and now resides in the collection of the Museo di Paleontologia in Rome Replica of an Iguanodon thumb spike, the original was found in Cuckfield, Sussex in the UK and now resides in the Natural History Museum of London A replica of a Velociraptor mongoliensis killing claw Eotyrannus lengi claw replica, the original was found on the Isle of Wight in the UK An Allosaurus fragilis thumb claw replica, the original was found in the Morrison formation in Shell, Wyoming in the USA A Baryonyx walkeri claw replica, the original was found on the Isle of Wight in the UK An Australovenator claw reconstruction A Spinosaurus aegyptiacus thumb claw reconstruction Simolestes vorax tooth replica, the original was found during the Victorian era in the Kimmeridgian clay in the UK A Tyrannosaurus rex tooth replica based on the largest T-rex tooth ever found A Juvenile Spinosaurus aegyptiacus skull reconstruction A Grallator footprint replica, the original was found in the south of France A Megalodon tooth cast, the original was found in South Carolina, USA Pterodactylus spectabilis replica, the original was found in the Solnhofen limestone in Germany and now resides in the collection of the Teylers museum in Haarlem in the Netherlands A Plesiosaurus 1/2 scale skull replica

Hello Fossil Forum, on the German version of our favorite auction site I found something strange. It’s a theropod tooth which looks to me like a tyrannosaurid tooth from Hell Creek formation. Nothing special so far but that the seller claims it’s an exceptionally well made replica! Is that possible?! If so, I feel no longer able to tell a real from a fake tooth. It would be the best tooth replica I’ve ever seen. How could the serration and enamel be faked so well? But if it’s real, why would the seller claim it’s not? Any opinions? I’m not planning to buy it, just curious... Regards, Vertebrate

I'm done with my paintjob om the 2 replica's I recieved. I posted the orthocone earlier. now I'm also done on the Manticoceras. 1st a couple of WIP pictures: The end result With fossil specimen: and a group picture I'm very happy with the end results .

First up, the seller of this egg stated upfront this is a replica, so this isn't a scam warning. Here, we have an oviraptor egg that could fool even experienced collectors. It looks realistic because it's made out of real oviraptor eggshells. It's even covered with a coating of matrix. This is common practice; I've seen hadrosaur eggs are faked this way, with plaster mixed in to make the egg seem round and heavy. For reference, here's a real Oviraptor (Elongatoolithus sp.) that's been professionally prepped. Oviraptor eggs are commonly faked, so four ways to get a real one is: 1) Get a prepped one, preferably with matrix removed. The eggshell should be black 2) Avoid eggs that are perfect. Real eggs have cracks, and sometimes missing entire chunks of shells. 3) Get one without a matrix base. This isn't a sure-fire method, but I've noticed many fake oviraptor eggs have matrix bases, whereas I can't say the same of those free of matrix. Perhaps the fake eggs require a matrix base for support during their construction process. 4) Price. Again, this is arguable, but the real Oviraptor eggs I've seen often comes with price tag several times that of dubious ones. Having sent some eggs for prepping in the past, this is justified because the cost and time of prepping may cost more than the actual egg. Some scammers like to lure people in with bargain prices. Chinese eggs flood the market, and for many collectors, a dinosaur egg is a must-have. There are more fakes than there are real ones, so take extra care if you seek to buy one. As always, if you're unsure, post pictures here and we will try to help.

I recently bought a Do It Yourself Psittacosaurus skeleton cast. And I thought it would be fun to share the process of mounting the skeleton. I already had a skeleton cast of a juvenile Psittacosaurus but now I also have an adult version! As it came painted, I could just have mounted it as is. But I wanted to give it a more interesting post rather than a a straight spine and tail. Since the spine and tail come in bundled segments of vertebrae. I thought I would cut them apart so that I could create curves better. And as I was modifying it anyway, I might as well improve it here and there as well. Some parts like the vertebral foramen on the vertebrae and some fenestra are filled in on the original cast. So I decided to dril some holes to make the details a bit more accurate. Size comparison with the adult and juvenile skeleton. The frame I made for the juvenile is pretty basic and primitive so I want to make a better and prettier mount for the big one. Drilling out the vertebral foramen in the middle and separating the vertebrae. Process of drilling holes and opening up the inside of the skull to more accurately reflect actual openings in a real skull. I'm not done smoothing out the new hole syet though. So right now it still looks quite ugly. More to come soon!

I made this at Vo-Tech my senior year with AutoCAD and our 3D printer. Hope you all like it

I've started to put together an entry for the "Paleo Re-creations" forum but it will take some time to get all the info entered in and ready to post. My first step has been to create a gallery. I've begun to garnish it with information regarding each plaster or resin cast. Currently, I have the album loaded to the gallery titled "My fossil replicas (casts in plaster and resin)." My Isotelus replica has comments attached now. I'll provide information about each image via comments. Upon completion of that task, I'll write a short article posted here on "Paleo Re-creations" describing my successes and failures so that we can have discussions regarding making fossil replicas as amateurs. I am looking forward to learning a great deal from each of you on this subject. What I know I will happy share with all of you. Bill Heimbrock - billheim@cinci.rr.com

This mammoth molar was given to me a few years ago, and the owner could not tell me much about it. Based on the photos, can anyone tell me if it is real or a replica? I tried pushing a red hot pin into it to see if it was resin or not, and the pin did not go through. And based on the number of enamel ridges, does anyone know which species it might be? Thanks a lot.

This is my Sanctacaris replica I make.

This is another of my Burgess shale replicas

As far as I am aware, the vast majority of folks here have fossil collections that were dug up by yourselves. But what would you say to casts and replicas? For most folks, it is snarge near impossible to own the skull of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, or the imprint of a 2.5 feet long Meganeura dragonfly or a 6-inch Megalodon tooth. Thus replicas and casts come into the picture, and many museums and exhibitions use reps and casts as well. Would any of you purchase casts or replicas?