How to set up dinosaur skeleton correctly?

[Phil84]

Hi Guys,

 

I have bought a Psittacosaurus skeleton. It came in pieces, some bones were broken etc. I put the bones back together and I am quite happy with the result.

 

Now I would like to assemble the skeleton properly. Has anyone of you done something like this before and can tell me which material is best to take from it?

Attached are some pictures of the current state and 2 pictures of another skeleton already mounted, that's how I would like to do it.

 

Any Tips, Tools or something?

 

best regards from Germany

Phil

 

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Phil84

[hadrosauridae]

You want it displayed like the others?  I hope you are good at welding.  The entire skeletal frame will have to be supported by a frame, and frame of steel rod is the about the only way to make it small to enough to not be overly obtrusive.

[JohnJ]

@sseth

[Phil84]

8 hours ago, hadrosauridae said:

You want it displayed like the others?  I hope you are good at welding.  The entire skeletal frame will have to be supported by a frame, and frame of steel rod is the about the only way to make it small to enough to not be overly obtrusive.

hi, thank you for the answer, i got a micro welding machine, yes. but which material i need for this? in the pictures you can see they use special "clamps", do you know where i can these things get? and whats with the color? is this a special steel rod in a special color?

[hadrosauridae]

Well, I've never made one myself but I've seen them made.  I dont think they are any special type of steel.  I've never seen one with "clamps" but they do have a lot of cradles.  Youre best bet would be to visit some museums and look at at some in person.  

[jpc]

There are some people in your area you might consider dvice The good people at The Sauriermuseum in Aathal just outdside of Zurich.  The have a lot of dinosaurs mounted in their museum.  They may be able to help.   

[Phil84]

thanks for the tips that problem is that here in germany we can not have meetings with other households, even museums are closed and there are curfews from 10 to 5 o'clock

[sseth]

I am going to recommend that you go with copper for your mount.  I use steel but for a beginner copper is bendable and can easily be soldered together.  The small brackets that you see holding the bones are actually "U" shaped pieces that are welded in place.  with copper you can solder them on and then bend them to best fit the skeleton.  The copper can then be primed and painted with any color.  I recommend flat black because it will vanish into the background and you will only notice the skeleton.

 

I hope this is helpful.

 

Seth

[Phil84]

2 hours ago, sseth said:

I am going to recommend that you go with copper for your mount.  I use steel but for a beginner copper is bendable and can easily be soldered together.  The small brackets that you see holding the bones are actually "U" shaped pieces that are welded in place.  with copper you can solder them on and then bend them to best fit the skeleton.  The copper can then be primed and painted with any color.  I recommend flat black because it will vanish into the background and you will only notice the skeleton.

 

I hope this is helpful.

 

Seth

Hi Seth,

 

yes, that was very helpful, thank you so much!

Just one more question: How thick should i buy the copper?

 

best regards!

 

Phil

 

 

[sseth]

2 hours ago, Phil84 said:

Hi Seth,

 

yes, that was very helpful, thank you so much!

 

Just one more question: How thick should i buy the copper?

 

best regards!

 

Phil

 

 

Phil

 

Because these skeletons are not very heavy the wire can be 4-5mm to support the skull and 2mm for the "U" shaped brackets.

 

Seth

[Phil84]

43 minutes ago, sseth said:

Phil

 

Because these skeletons are not very heavy the wire can be 4-5mm to support the skull and 2mm for the "U" shaped brackets.

 

Seth

 

nice, thank you very much, i bought all the things you said and try to get it done in the next weeks. Really, thank you so much for your great Tips!

[hadrosauridae]

3 hours ago, Phil84 said:

 

nice, thank you very much, i bought all the things you said and try to get it done in the next weeks. Really, thank you so much for your great Tips!

 

Post some pics!  We love seeing other peoples projects, and your posts could help the next person with the same question.