32fordboy Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 There have been a few requests for a thread on the prep process of this little Mosasaur. As the process moves along, if anybody has references or input for this Halisaurus, your input will be welcomed. Member SSeth was kind enough to send a bunch of reference material already. One thing is for sure: a Mosasaur project is a huge step up from a rhino skull or oreodont. Needless to say, it is pretty scary. I apologize in advance if the thread gets boring (long process), or if it gets loaded with basic questions. The first pics are how the fossil looked in the matrix upon arrival. Scary! A bit more to come later... Nick www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Yup, lotsa work... looks like you're doing OK with it so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Jones Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I'm looking forward to how this turns out! With your permission, I'd like to work on making some reference material for Halisaurus (schematic drawings, sketches, etc...) using photos you provide. I'd be happy to release the resulting schematic drawings for public use. My attempt at creating a museum and community center to help people find an interest in the world around them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Thanks Nick, You can bet I'll be watching every update you put on here. Don't know if you got a chance to see the "model" mosasaur skull I made this spring. It took a long time, and a lot of work, and it is very crude by anyone's standards. I took a bunch of pictures of my process, and thought I might start a thread showing the start to finish of my VERY amature project. Excited to see how your professional project comes along. Looks like you have a ton of work ahead of you. Can't wait for the finished project. Ramo For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DE&i Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 wow,my son and i shall now be watching this project with a keen interest take your time no rush on our part Regards.....D&E&i The only certainty with fossil hunting is the uncertainty. https://lnk.bio/Darren.Withers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Thanks for the input, guys. And Ramo, I did get to see your sculpt. It was very cool! Even contemplated doing something similar at a smaller scale, but time won't allow. A quick note to Mosasaur preppers: I am aware prep work is a learned process. Only basic info will be shared here, so as not to give away hard-learned methods. A quick note to Mosasaur owners: for as little that has been completed on this project, one thing is for sure: prepping Mosasaurs is very, very time consuming and the bones and teeth can be very easy to destroy. If you need a Mosasaur prepped, I strongly recommend having a pro do it for you (I think there are several on the forum), unless you are already experienced in prep work, in which case, you're probably going to take a stab at it regardless. I felt the above needed to be said, so as not to "step on any toes". Nick www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Also, I appreciate your respectful request, Clayton. As this is a public forum, feel free to use whatever info you want. Nick www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I'll second what Nick said about bones and teeth being easy to destroy. From the very limited experience I have with Mosasaurs, I'd say Prepping one of these guys is definately a job for the pros. This will be a "How-to" thread, about as much as watching the lunar landing is a "how-to" film about how you can fly to the moon. Not something for everyone to try, but it sure will be fun to watch! Ramo For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 You've never been to the moon, Ramo? You need to get out more. Here are some better pics of the mess. In the last photo, you can see what has been removed so far. A couple of verts and some odd bits that I have yet to identify. They came from the rear of the block, assuming the nose section is the front. It took about 11 hours to remove those little bits! About working the Mosasaur: The matrix is relatively hard. If you put a bit of water on it, it softens up enough that the only tool you really need is a hand pick. The pick will cut through the matrix easily, except for when it hangs up on a little purplish-blue grain every 20 seconds or so. So the water trick makes things easy, right? No. The water temporarily softens up the matrix, but it also softens the bone. The first bone I tried to remove was a tiny little vert, probably from the end of the tail. Needless to say, it is gone. It exploded with just one tiny wrong move. The biggest issue with this prep project is keeping the bones intact. And GO SLOW. The coolest part of the project is the smell. Every now and then you get a whiff of "gear oil". It's amazing and I really take it in. Sounds odd, no? Well, I'm assuming the "oil" is what is left of the animal's biologicals. If you read up on astronomy, one of the things you come to realize is that the information needed to create something never disappears, it just moves around and rearranges itself. Everything needed to create this living, breathing animal is still "somewhere". The oilyness in the matrix is part of an animal, and the things it ate, from the Cretaceous. How cool is that? Nick www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 The rest of the pics for the post above: www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Jones Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 This is pretty darn cool! I never thought of fossils being smelly, though I doubt it is nearly as smelly as it would have been before it fossilized What do you think the total work hours will be when you are finished with the fossil? My attempt at creating a museum and community center to help people find an interest in the world around them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Oh, tough to say. To get the bones out of the matrix, I could see easily another 100 hours. Then you have to clean them individually, then sculpt the missing sections, and mount it all. That's the plan, but if too much of the skeleton is missing, then we may have to figure out something different. Right now I imagine the skeleton being mounted in an outline of a Halisaurus body made from steel rod, IF enough of the skeleton is there to warrant such a project. www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Jones Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 What will you do with the skeleton when it is finished? is it for a client or will this make a nice conversation piece in your living room? If there isn't enough of the skeleton you could always mount them flat on a board, similar to how it is currently laid out in the matrix, with all of the bones in the rough positions they would have had in life. Kinda like you squished the living animal flat. How big is this mosasaur? My attempt at creating a museum and community center to help people find an interest in the world around them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 (edited) Not sure what will be done with it. Sometimes I prep for fun, then sell for new preppable specimens. The good thing is that, while not inexpensive, Halisaurs are something any avid fossil collector can save up enough money for. There were a few at the Denver show for $1500 unprepped, granted they were smaller than this, and appeared to be in much rougher condition with only the skull. It was difficult to tell how much of the skull was there. Like anything, you get what you pay for. Obviously, toss in huge amount of labor time and the finished product is far more valuable (and worth it). Your idea is a good one if not enough of him is there. The skull itself will be about a foot long, so if I had to guess, maybe 7-8 feet long? Nick Edited January 11, 2013 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Jones Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I've drawn an overlay of the fossil, trying to identify the bones. I've probably gotten some wrong, and there are some that I can't identify. I'm not sure if this would help with your prep but it's helping me learn anatomy. My attempt at creating a museum and community center to help people find an interest in the world around them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 (edited) Very, very cool. Comparing to photos, this is how it appears. What program did you use? That is about the coolest thing I've seen for such a project. Nick Edited January 11, 2013 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Jones Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I used the GIMP, it's like Photoshop but free. I've seen a few overlays like this in papers describing other fossils, so I thought it would be interesting to make an overlay for your mosasaur. I've fixed the image to your corrections: My attempt at creating a museum and community center to help people find an interest in the world around them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 I had no idea GIMP could do that. Time to experiment with it a bit. www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 (edited) Here is a better pic of what was removed in an 11 hour timeframe. Also attached are some drawings, graciously sent to me by member, Sseth (posted with permission). Nick Edited January 12, 2013 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Finally got around to removing this bone, which appeared to be a limb bone when in the matrix. Well, turns out it's not a bone at all. It broke into 3 parts and the insides were smooth. The exterior has a coprolite appearance. So, what do you all think? Does it belong to the animal, or did the animal just so happen to land on it? It's about 3" long. Of the three green objects indicated in post #17, it is the middle one. Also, a bit of cleaning is revealing that various strings of verts are articulated, to the point it is difficult to get tools between them. The goal now is to clean all the bones as much as possible in the matrix. Photos will be taken at that point, then the bones removed. Nick www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) Well, as I familiarize myself with ocean material (big step for a mammal collector), it has become apparent we are dealing with 2 animals in the block, the Mosasaur, and a fish of some sort (someone can correct me if I'm wrong)... 1. Photo of the fish jaw with a tooth (as indicated by the arrow) 2. Some of the fish verts 3. Some teeth sticking out of a Mosasaur vert (can't see the roots, so it might not be associated with the fish...actually looks sharkish) Again, people more familiar with this type of material can correct me if I'm wrong. Nick Edited January 22, 2013 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 And a few photos of the specimen after cleaning around the verts. www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 More: www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 Last one: www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Looking really, really good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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