Ptychodus04’s Fossil Fish Prepapalooza

[Ptychodus04]

39 minutes ago, RJB said:

Me thinks if one can find a fish with no fin issues, then one is doing purty dang good.    

 

RB

And lucky! At least unreasonably high standards keep my study from being overrun with fish slabs. 

[Sjfriend]

On 12/27/2020 at 6:31 AM, Ptychodus04 said:

And lucky! At least unreasonably high standards keep my study from being overrun with fish slabs. 

It's always good to have standards. I have standards, just not perfect ones 

[Ptychodus04]

5 hours ago, Sjfriend said:

It's always good to have standards. I have standards, just not perfect ones 

One becomes quickly jaded with a nearly limitless supply of fish to prep.  I’m a lucky cuss when it comes to that.

[Sjfriend]

7 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

One becomes quickly jaded with a nearly limitless supply of fish to prep.  I’m a lucky cuss when it comes to that.

Yes, I can imagine having "too many" fish could make you more picky lol. That is definitely NOT a problem I'm remotely close to having (considering I have 0 complete and only a few partials)

 

My wife does say I'm a photo snob though lol. Have over 40,000!

[Ptychodus04]

Here’s a great example of extremely decomposed.  Still a cool piece with a partial Diplo and a Cockrellites.

 

On the other end of the spectrum, this Knightia is as close to perfect as possible.

[Top Trilo]

That would of been one massive Diplo! The knightia looks fantastic its a shame its not a larger rarer fish but probably still the best knightia I've seen it doesn't have one thing wrong with it.

[Top Trilo]

Look at the ground! You could probably make your own slice of the green river formation in Texas with all that rock!

[Thecosmilia Trichitoma]

All very nice, but when are you going to prep a Ptychodus tooth? It IS a fish, (and your username.)

 

[Ptychodus04]

14 hours ago, Top Trilo said:

Look at the ground! You could probably make your own slice of the green river formation in Texas with all that rock!

The detritus of prep work does tend to pile up.  You should see all the rock behind my lab. 
 

11 hours ago, Thecosmilia Trichitoma said:

All very nice, but when are you going to prep a Ptychodus tooth? It IS a fish, (and your username.)

 

That would require me having time to prep fossils for myself! That’s a rare occasion these days it seems. 

[Ptychodus04]

I wrapped up a really rotten Mioplosus today that I’ve been working on intermittently for the last year or so.

 

[Top Trilo]

15 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

I wrapped up a really rotten Mioplosus today that I’ve been working on intermittently for the last year or so.

I'd be glad if the priscacara I'm currently prepping turned out like this, mine appears as if its head is missing

[Ptychodus04]

4 minutes ago, Top Trilo said:

I'd be glad if the priscacara I'm currently prepping turned out like this, mine appears as if its head is missing

I’ve thrown quite a few fish on to the discard pile in disgust after spending several hours only to find some major parts missing. 

 

If this one had been any worse, I wouldn’t have bothered finishing it.

[Randyw]

It still looks better then that cockerelites I just finished! LOL!

seriously though I think that’s a nice looking fish and great prepping job like always!

[Ludwigia]

You sure do set the bar high with your fishies. I'd be pleased as punch if I had this one.

[RJB]

On 3/4/2021 at 6:43 PM, Ptychodus04 said:

I wrapped up a really rotten Mioplosus today that I’ve been working on intermittently for the last year or so.

Maybe not the best myo but if nothing else, everything is there and in the right place. 

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

1 hour ago, RJB said:

Maybe not the best myo but if nothing else, everything is there and in the right place. 

 

RB

Yep. I’m still holding out for perfection! 

[Ptychodus04]

I started working on this slab a few days ago. It has a really nice Diplo and an almost great Knightia (a few bits of tail and belly are broken off). The coolest thing about this slab is the orientation/location of the fish. The are very close together and dorsally correct! If they both prep up well, it will make a cool display. 

 

[Top Trilo]

Hope it works 

[Randyw]

It looks like it could be an impressive display piece! Can’t wait to see how it comes out! 

[Ludwigia]

[RJB]

Fingers crossed for ya on this one.  Could be a really nice slab. 

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

The Diplomystus and Knightia slab is finished with a resounding “meh”. The Knightia is very well preserved but missing the ventral caudal fin ray and the Diplomystus is a bit rotten with mediocre fin preservation. Moving on to the next slab...
 

[Randyw]

They look great to me!

[RJB]

Good ole mother nature.   They cant all be perfect.   Its the 'not so good' ones that make those really nice ones seem even nicer.   Good luck on the next slab.

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

9 minutes ago, RJB said:

Good ole mother nature.   They cant all be perfect.   Its the 'not so good' ones that make those really nice ones seem even nicer.   Good luck on the next slab.

 

RB

Yep. After prepping around 500 GRF fish in the last 2 years, I'm pretty selective. I have 8 that I have kept. I can only imagine how selective you have become after the thousands you have prepped.