Kane's Bug Preps

[Kane]

20 minutes ago, Haravex said:

Got there just a little too late then

 

Follow up question do you know the model of it? I did a google search and all I could find is MST 31 M

That’s the one I have.

[Ptychodus04]

18 hours ago, Haravex said:

Got there just a little too late then

 

Follow up question do you know the model of it? I did a google search and all I could find is MST 31 M

Take a look at The Stone Company I'm not sure this is the best route for purchase since you're in the UK, but they are the dealer I went to to get my HW-70 scribe (handmade in Germany).

[fossilhunter21]

3 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Take a look at The Stone Company I'm not sure this is the best route for purchase since you're in the UK, but they are the dealer I went to to get my HW-70 scribe (handmade in Germany).

There is also haufwerk.com (Located in germany) The website is in German but you can use a online page translator to translate it. None of the tools are in stock though. apparently these tools are hard to get right now. 

[Ptychodus04]

59 minutes ago, fossilhunter21 said:

There is also haufwerk.com (Located in germany) The website is in German but you can use a online page translator to translate it. None of the tools are in stock though. apparently these tools are hard to get right now. 

I waited 8 months to get my new scribe. 

[fossilhunter21]

2 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

I waited 8 months to get my new scribe. 

Wow! That is a long time to wait! But I am sure that it was very worth it. 

[Ptychodus04]

2 hours ago, fossilhunter21 said:

Wow! That is a long time to wait! But I am sure that it was very worth it. 

 

Very much worth the wait and the expense.

[Kane]

Taking this one back up again, as brutal as it is on the tools and slow going with a lot of stops to glue down shell. Now that the anterior part of the glabella has been exposed, I can confirm this one will be a bit over 10.5 inches (26.5 cm) along the axis.   

[Kane]

Cheek exposed. Eye came off and will be prepared separately, then reattached.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Always wonderful catching up on this thread 

Superb prepping, you just keep getting better and better

Loved the GIF too 

[Ptychodus04]

11 hours ago, Kane said:

Cheek exposed. Eye came off and will be prepared separately, then reattached.

 

That does not look like a fun prep!

[Kane]

10 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Always wonderful catching up on this thread 

Superb prepping, you just keep getting better and better

Loved the GIF too 

Aye, my thanks, old friend. Practice makes... at least a bit less the opposite of perfect than the previous time.  As I've never really prepped verts (apart from some Devonian fish parts), this is the biggest single specimen I've ever prepared. 

 

31 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

That does not look like a fun prep!

Oh, it is indeed a miserable one. I've worked Devonian Moroccan material that is easier than this. My ME-9100 (big CP) struggles with this matrix, but also too much vibration causes shell bits to fly off. All that white stuff on the shell is dried glue (just to stabilize the shell temporarily -- it will get acetone'd and abraded off near the end). Suffice it to say, there will be some resto on this one, but given the size it is worth it. 

 

 

[Kane]

Six hours progress. Giving the compressor a break and oiling the tools. 
 

one of the cheeks down to the border, and the other gradually emerging (those are pores, not dings). It is going to look pretty ugly until all the scribing is done and I move on to detailing. It weighs 8 lbs. I will need to make some decisions for restoration (pleurae for sure, but also what to do with that cracked and raised/distended anterior portion of the glabella -- maybe remove it entirely and construct a new one that is flush with the rest of the glabella). 

[digit]

That bug really looks like it was run over by a truck. It'll be a good test of your prepping and restoration skills. Looking forward to peeking in on its progress toward completion.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Kane]

5 minutes ago, digit said:

That bug really looks like it was run over by a truck.

You should see the other guy.  

This Isotelus will come with a caption quote from the wisdom of Mike Tyson: "everyone has a plan until they're punched in the face."  

[fossilhunter21]

You are doing a great job on that bug! It sure does not look like a very fun prep.  

 

Looking forward to the next update, 

 

-Micah

 

 

[NoahW24]

How do you focus your efforts when things get hairy on a prep like this? I find that I sometimes get lost in the sauce and the matrix starts playing tricks on what is bug and what is mud.

[Ptychodus04]

6 hours ago, NoahW24 said:

How do you focus your efforts when things get hairy on a prep like this? I find that I sometimes get lost in the sauce and the matrix starts playing tricks on what is bug and what is mud.

When things get confusing, step away and do something else, or prep on a different specimen. Renewing the attack later brings  fresh perspective.

[Kane]

7 hours ago, NoahW24 said:

How do you focus your efforts when things get hairy on a prep like this? I find that I sometimes get lost in the sauce and the matrix starts playing tricks on what is bug and what is mud.

As Kris says, but also it can help to moisten the piece to bring out the difference between matrix and fossil. Sometimes even under the microscope things tend to blur together. Occasionally I take photos of the area in daylight and zoom in close to "get my bearings" and develop another line of attack. Sometimes taking a number of photos in good lighting is a preparator's best friend. The more complicated the prep, the more time is spent taking a break to plan the next phase. I've even kept notes where I will draw quick diagrams to indicate the sequence of where to go next, or use the mark-up feature on photo software to circle, highlight, or use indicative arrows. It goes without saying that I also have ready to hand a number of visual resources of the species as guides and reminders of particular features.

 

A lot of the planning takes place after I'm done with the tools for the day so I can get a clear start when next I take them up again.

[Kane]

Mid day progress report. Work continues on the Isotelus. 

That anterior portion of the glabella is not only displaced outward, but also shifted. I really don't like the looks of it at all. I had to make a painful decision, but on the order of aesthetics. 

 

 

 

It's gone. 

 

 

As hard a decision as this was to make, I now have an area to trace to get the precise footprint for what will be a reconstruction. I will need to hollow out a recess and do some forming. This way, I can place that portion of the glabella in its proper location. 

 

I've already sampled reconstruction of the cheek seen to the right. I haven't done any painting yet, but I did spend an hour forming and even replicating the dimpling effect. I've not dealt with the eye yet, but it is on the (very long) list of to-dos. 

 

Break time over. Back at it!

[Kane]

Updates on the Isotelus to come. 
 

“Finished” this one. My attempt at resto leaves something to be desired, but even tiny carving tools don’t help me much.

 

Gabriceraurus plattinensis

 

Before and after:

[Denis Arcand]

23 minutes ago, Kane said:

My attempt at resto leaves something to be desired,

 

Pretty awesome, I like it, good enough to be in someone's collection. 

[Kane]

Still aeons away on this one. After removing the extruded and shifted anterior glabella, I used the camera obscura app to trace where it should be. With the “footprint” in place, I could scribe a hollow and build up to the existing contour like this:

[Kane]

Adding the small pores was a simple matter of stippling with a sewing needle. 
 

A lot more restoration has been done, including a rough “draft” of the eye, the cheek, and missing shell bits (the natural shell flakes off easily with any vibration or even a slight puff of air). 
 

The side with the missing eye has a cheek that is crushed inward. Not sure what I can do about that other than to leave it natural.

 

Still so much to do for resto and making this look realistic.

[Fossildude19]

It's looking good, Kane! 

[Kane]

Thanks, Tim. It’s definitely a huge learning curve.

 

And just a few more angles. This will make it clear how much more there is to be done, and some of the issues. It’s also a bit brutal moving this thing around in the blast box!