Malcolmt Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Some of my collecting friends often ask why do you keep going back to Penn Dixie its really not a place for hard core collectors. I have no clue how many times I have been to Penn over the years but I never get tired of going. If someone says lets go to Penn Dixie.. my answer is "I'm In". Penn is a spot to go to meet great people who actually get it when it comes to this crazy passion of ours. If you have never been to Penn figure out whats stopping you from going .........and get there.....( tell me or Devonian Digger you are going and we will try to get there as well) When I go to to Penn I am on a quest for that perfect plate of multiple E. rana , or that prone greenops or the even more elusive Bela. But I am always hoping to find that perfect bug, the common E. rana that just screams out to you I am perfect. I am going to make your day. To me the lowly phacopids are just beautiful when professionally prepped. They may not have the monetary value of a dicranurus or some other spiny Moroccan bug but they are every bit as beautiful and deserving of a spot at the center of your collection. As I indicated in another post last week I had an amazing day at Penn last Sunday. 45 potentially complete enrolled and at least 8 complete prone. For some reason this particular bug screamed out to me Prep me first. Generally I am prepping bugs for other people and it is getting to be rare that I am actually working on something of my own. So here is the bug that I just could not resist getting into the blast box. Does not look like much but the qualities I am looking for in a specimen to prep are there. Most of the bug is buried in the matrix so if it is there it will be undamaged The part that I can see is flawless The cephalon has the first pleural segment attached The matrix is not so large as to be hard to work with in the blast box There were others on the pool table that looked promising but this was the one that got chosen First a bit about the actual prep. Two scribes were used, an Aro for the rough matrix removal and a German Pferd MST31 for the fine close in scribe work. My goal is to expose as much of the bug as possible using scribes before starting any abrasive blasting. The less abrasion that is used on the bug the better the end result. The more you use the blaster the less detail you will get in the finished product regardless of the blasting media you use. With the Penn E. rana's you can generally get a bug 90% clean with just scribe work. In fact I will often scribe out bugs for an afternoon and then only final prep the absolute best ones. If a plera is missing or some skin is gone then the bug goes into a box to be prepped on a rainy day when I have nothing better available. The actual abrasive blasting for this bug was done on a COMCO MB1000 using previously used (this is a little gentler than unused) 40 micron dolomite. This powder was sieved through a 325 mesh sieve and dried in an oven a 225 F. (just over 100 C.) for 30 minutes. As most of the matrix was removed using the German scribe only two of my smallest nozzles where used in this prep .015 and .010 (smallest I own). The prep for this was done under an Olympus zoom scope at between 10x and 20x magnification. At the conclusion of the prep no visible matrix remained on the fossil down to 20x magnification. End result a "Perfect Bug" , that ever so elusive beast that we all aspire to be blessed with. So what make the perfect bug (In my humble opinion) Flawless exoskeleton Nice positioning on matrix Prone with no undulations 100% Complete No toolmarks No burnthroughs or overblasted areas No glue, consolidants or coatings Symmetrical bug Zero twisting or distortion No repairs or restoration No coloration Provinence known So without any further delay (I know you are all waiting with baited breath to see what I call the perfect bug) Here is the bug that made my morning today. It measures 34mm from edge of pygidium to tip of the cephalons nose and is 20 mm at its widest point. It was excavated on Sunday July 8. 2018 out of a block (one of about 25)that Jim and me excavated at the north east end of the drainage ditch that runs below the section that was dug for the dig with the Experts weekend this year. Yes J. this is the spot you were excavating and having little luck with....... unfortunately thems the breaks..... 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 First off here is the bug showing it on the matrix as a whole which you can compare back to the matrix circled in red on the pool table picture. . I still need to clean up the scribe marks on the matrix. But that will be another day as I have some bugs to finish for others before getting back to this one for me. And here it is head on 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 And from the side 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 Must say this bug turned out to be a really nice surprise. My initial impression was that it was likely to be a 2/3 enrolled bug and that is in fact where I had placed it when sorting on the pool table. This may be a lowly E. rana but it is deserving of my highest ranking of a bug .... "Museum Quality", what say you. Finds like this are definitely why I keep going back to Penn Dixie. ... one of my top 5 spots to collect ... If you have that perfect bug that you can't prep yourself give me a PM and we can see if we can work something out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 12 minutes ago, Malcolmt said: End result a "Perfect Bug" that ever so elusive beast that we all aspire to be blessed with. Very nice indeed! Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 Here is a close up of the eye and the pustules on the nose of the cephalon. Notice the detail that can only be achieved under a scope with low PSI and attention to what you are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Excellent work! (And I can proudly say that I am the lucky owner of a flawless, fully inflated one that you expertly prepped for me last year) ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TqB Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 I'm not much of a bug collector but that would change my mind if we could get them here. Great post and finished result! Tarquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiseriKing Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 excellent preparation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Wow (jaw dropped) It is inspiring to see such great prep....but intimidating also to someone who hpes to learn to prep bugs (me) Very nice! Everything is generated through your own will power ~ Ray Bradbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Yet another masterpiece Malcolm. Very nice indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Definitely a Perfect Trilobite. Museum quality in every way. Great job and fantastic results. Thanks for showing us, Malcolm! Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 36 minutes ago, TqB said: I'm not much of a bug collector but that would change my mind if we could get them here. Great post and finished result! Yes but you have things there that we can only dream of finding. Other than a few bits of Placyderm head shield I have never found a vertebrate fossil. Just the wrong age rock here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 32 minutes ago, Walt said: Wow (jaw dropped) It is inspiring to see such great prep....but intimidating also to someone who hpes to learn to prep bugs (me) Very nice! Ya just got to jump in the deep end and start simple with a few dental picks a scalpel and a magnifier of some kind. Make sure you like doing it before you invest in an endless supply of money for prep gear, glues , epoxies etc..... Too many people invest money in gear only to find prepping is too tedious for them. For me It just puts me in the zone where I want to be. Nothing like prepping with the ipod listening to one of my favorite podcasts. The hours just sail on by.... The only thing better is being out in the field finding them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggedy Man Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Absolutely beautiful! ...I'm back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 35 minutes ago, Malcolmt said: Ya just got to jump in the deep end and start simple with a few dental picks a scalpel and a magnifier of some kind. Make sure you like doing it before you invest in an endless supply of money for prep gear, glues , epoxies etc..... Too many people invest money in gear only to find prepping is too tedious for them. For me It just puts me in the zone where I want to be. Nothing like prepping with the ipod listening to one of my favorite podcasts. The hours just sail on by.... The only thing better is being out in the field finding them. I tie flies and do some silversmithing as well...so i kind of like tedious thanks for the kind words. Everything is generated through your own will power ~ Ray Bradbury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 This is the perfect E. rana......excelent prep work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innocentx Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 I would be proud too. You've really brought an amazingly beautiful creature back into the world. "Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 excelent prepwork growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 World class! Nice! “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 Thanks to all for your wonderful comments. I posted a few pics of this bug on a widely viewed facebook group and so far got 57 friend requests and 5 solicitations to buy it. I suspect many of the friend requests are people looking to sell fossil material and I just am too leary of unsolicited requests from China, Romania and Russia to deal with them . In my opinion too big a risk you would never get paid. You may not get the best prices on eBay but at least you can get an idea if someone is ok to deal with and there is some buyer / seller protection there. As for this bug I suspect it is going to replace the prone rana in my personal display case that is slightly smaller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 12 minutes ago, Malcolmt said: Thanks to all for your wonderful comments. I posted a few pics of this bug on a widely viewed facebook group and so far got 57 friend requests and 5 solicitations to buy it. I suspect many of the friend requests are people looking to sell fossil material and I just am too leary of unsolicited requests from China, Romania and Russia to deal with them . In my opinion too big a risk you would never get paid. You may not get the best prices on eBay but at least you can get an idea if someone is ok to deal with and there is some buyer / seller protection there. As for this bug I suspect it is going to replace the prone rana in my personal display case that is slightly smaller For all the work you do for others, it's long overdue that you get to work on - and keep - an exceptional specimen of your very own. ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Beautiful work, Malcolm - congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Lucky bug! Lived to a ripe old age (judging by the size), buried while perfectly articulated and inflated, survived untouched by erosion or tectonic forces for 385 million years, only to be picked up by a master craftsman who recognized its potential in the field and had the skill to restore it to its original beauty. Don 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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