It’s time to paint the newest additions to the Park. The two little Raptors and “Spike” the Spinosaurus. We’ll discuss “Spike’s” makeover separately, but you may see him in the background in some of the pictures. Also, Teresa is not finished getting additional Splashes of Color. The weather has been off and on rainy lately. We desperately need the rain! Teresa is a little large to make a quick trip to the garage. Therefore, we’ll get back to Teresa when we have more dry days between the rain visits.
First, I love these little Raptors. However, many of the Metal Sculpture Artists use the “Jurassic Park & World” movies for their source of inspiration. As Wonderful as these Movies are at bringing these Incredible Animals to Life, they don’t always get all the details right. The Raptors and other Theropods wrists would be bird like moving side to side vs. begging like a cute puppy. A simple 90 degree turn of their wrists having their claws face each other would do the trick. These Predators would then appear as if they were going to grab you vs. hoping for a treat. Again, I Love the Movies and anticipate the Movie Makers will continue to adapt as we learn more about these Fantastic Beasts. I look forward to working closer with Metal Sculpture Artist to assist in incorporating these details in their final works of Art, as well.
For the Wire Brushing make sure you use protective eye wear and a hat to save you from the rust particles that will being flying around. I show various sizes of wire brushes in the picture below. The larger was not needed for these little guys. The dusting brush and blower are great for the final clean-up.
The spray bottle is great for getting the acid wash into those tight places. Again, make sure you have a hat and protective eyewear. After the acid wash, the dinosaurs are a bright silver which darkens to a charcoal grey as acid does its work. Let set overnight. The next morning water buckets, brushes and a towel are all you need to remove the remaining acid. I use the brushes and water to remove the majority of the acid and wet the towel to get the rest. Then let dry.
I really liked the Gold and Green-Grey finish left after the Raptors dried. So much, that I will purchase two more that I will leave this as their body color. I will finish details – eyes, mouth, teeth and maybe the claws. Then I will clear coat preserving this cool Golden, Green-Grey Body Color left by the acid wash & rinse. You can never have too many Raptors and we know they traveled in packs. Perhaps I can get the Artist that made these to position the wrists correctly on the new ones!
We had a Heavy Frost the Night of the Acid Wash. The Dinosaurs Charcoal Grey Color really showed off the Ice. It looked like Antarctic Dinosaurs in Somis the next morning. As the morning sun melted the frost, it actually did a great deal of the washing for me. Nature often Helps things along in a Good Way!
Speaking of Antarctic Dinosaurs, the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles will have a Special Exhibit featuring them in April. We had a little introduction to a few of their fossils in September 2018 during “Dino Fest” Weekend (see post October 5, 2018 “Dino Fest” Weekend – Day Two Sunday Sept. 30th).
This Special Traveling Exhibit is a collaboration of NHMLA; the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; the Natural History Museum of Utah, Salt Lake City; and the Discovery Place, Charlotte. The Special Exhibit of Antarctic Dinosaurs features immersive environments that take visitors millions of years into the past, when Antarctica was a lush prehistoric forest. The exhibit will document more than a Century of Expeditions there! Discoveries from around the World are noted including those of the NHMLA’s Dr. Nathan Smith, Associate Curator of the Dinosaur Institute. Four Full size replicas of Dinosaurs will be on display – Cryolophosaurus (frozen crested lizard), Glacialisaurus (a sauropodomorph more than 25 feet long) and two other Sauropodomorphs yet to be named! Sauropodomorphs are early relatives of the Giant Long-Necked Herbivores like Brachiosaurus & Titanosaurus. Stay tuned for information on this event.
More to Come with the Makeover of these New Raptors!
“Encouraging the Appreciation of Art and Education through the Inspiration of Dinosaurs”
Join Max the T-Rex and I at the City of Camarillo Library for a Reading
of Dinosaur Fun Facts & Fiction Followed by
a “How to Draw Dinosaurs” Activity
on March 12th at 7:00 PM
4101 Los Posas Road, Camarillo
Paul & Prehistoric Pals
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