Blade-of-the-Moon's Art

[triceratops83]

Try to keep that expression in the finished sculpt, it's perfect for stegosaurus.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I'll do my best. It's pretty similar to our Kentrosaurus...I feel like I'm just scaling it up. lol

[Manatee]

The head sketch looks great so far. I agree in that the expression fits the animal well.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Thanks! I worked from a pic of a skull that was around 1"..lol fortunately stegosaurs don't have the most complicated of skulls. I will say I'm used to little stego heads and BIG bodies..the size of this head makes me imagine the body to be a monster...lol but that may be more due to my left over impressions from the Apatosaurus.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Head's on!  Merry Christmas!

[Gwangi]

Very impressive! I know I've said it before but you're living the dream! I apologize if you've answered this before but what's your largest dinosaur you've built? Is it the sauropod you just posted?

[Takama]

Very impressive! I know I've said it before but you're living the dream! I apologize if you've answered this before but what's your largest dinosaur you've built? Is it the sauropod you just posted?

I believe your right. Second largest is the Tyrannosaurus, and he plans on making a Diplodocus Rearing on its hind legs.

[DinoLord]

...and he plans on making a Diplodocus Rearing on its hind legs.

Now that is gonna call for a big ladder!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Very impressive! I know I've said it before but you're living the dream! I apologize if you've answered this before but what's your largest dinosaur you've built? Is it the sauropod you just posted?

It's a labor of love..I'm just happy to be doing something I enjoy and others can benefit from it so much.

Let's see I think Takama answered you here..

Very impressive! I know I've said it before but you're living the dream! I apologize if you've answered this before but what's your largest dinosaur you've built? Is it the sauropod you just posted?

I believe your right. Second largest is the Tyrannosaurus, and he plans on making a Diplodocus Rearing on its hind legs.

Right on all counts. We measured her today with the head on and she comes in at 68' long. Our T-Rex is 47' and the Triceratops, though massive and bulky is only around 25' long.

...and he plans on making a Diplodocus Rearing on its hind legs.

Now that is gonna call for a big ladder!

Actually the Diplodocus won't be too bad. It will be a juvenile, around 20' tall, might change it to Amargasaurus I want to do that species as well and it looks different from the Apatosaurus. Th paln I have is to build this taller creature on the ground in a laying position, we will build and paint her from the head all the way down to about the chest, then she will lifted via tractor into an upright position and finished the rest of the way down.

[triceratops83]

It's...it's a dinosaur!

[Manatee]

The Apatosaurus is really starting to come together! Once painted, it will look even better. Adding the head certainly made a difference; while it was a dinosaur-shaped mass of wood and mesh, now it's a dinosaur! In my personal opinion, an Amargasaurus would look wonderful! Did the theory about Amargasaurus having a neck sail get disproven, or am I under an incorrect impression?

Also, isn't your T. rex 5-7 feet too long?

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

It's...it's a dinosaur!

"Hold on to your butts!"

The Apatosaurus is really starting to come together! Once painted, it will look even better. Adding the head certainly made a difference; while it was a dinosaur-shaped mass of wood and mesh, now it's a dinosaur! In my personal opinion, an Amargasaurus would look wonderful! Did the theory about Amargasaurus having a neck sail get disproven, or am I under an incorrect impression?

Also, isn't your T. rex 5-7 feet too long?

Thanks! I've seen her completed in my head for months..just always seems to take forever to get that image in my head to others. lol

I don't think it was disproven so much as just less favored now. I'll have to dig into research again if I go that route.

Not at all. You can chalk it up to several things. There is a lot of individual variation among dinosaurs, as per Scott Hartman's article on the subject, ours just has a slightly longer tail. I also tend to make tails and such a bit longer to account for cartilage between bones whereas most skeleton measurements don't.

[triceratops83]

I think people take sizes too literally, like every Tyrannosaurus rex was 12.3m or whatever. Look at saltwater Crocodiles, females are usually around three to four metres, males can be anything up to six metres, or even more. There would be a lot of variation in sizes of dinosaurs. Don't want to start a debate, just saying animals can't be slotted into neat little categories. There was probably an even bigger rex than Blade's at some point.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I think people take sizes too literally, like every Tyrannosaurus rex was 12.3m or whatever. Look at saltwater Crocodiles, females are usually around three to four metres, males can be anything up to six metres, or even more. There would be a lot of variation in sizes of dinosaurs. Don't want to start a debate, just saying animals can't be slotted into neat little categories. There was probably an even bigger rex than Blade's at some point.

Your exactly right. I used to be really concerned with getting each area the perfect length. When I was over or under I'd berate myself..caused a lot of unneeded stress.  I happened to read some posts by Scott that really made me feel better, to quote :
" Remember that you can't look at a single specimen and think "ooh, that's what dinosaur X looked like!". Just like with modern animals, there was variation in size, build, and proportions from individual to individual."

[triceratops83]

Hey Blade, not sure of the climate over there, but do any weather conditions cause problems for the Dinosaur Park? And does the sun affect the materials badly?

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Hey Blade, not sure of the climate over there, but do any weather conditions cause problems for the Dinosaur Park? And does the sun affect the materials badly?

Right now it's high 50's..lol actually it's a bit similar to Scotland/Ireland or so some have told me. We have warm/hot summers, mild/cold winters, Fall is warm/mild, Spring about the same usually.  Wind I'd say is the biggest issue. Everything is double and triple secured..hence the larger than norm feet/ankles on many of our larger dinos. We have a number of trees here too that could fall..can't seem to find anyone to cut them for us for the money we have.  I haven't had an issue with sun yet. This material is kind of like rubber reinforced with fiberglass. It's nice and hard once once heated and shrank. I think most of it has a 15 year life expectancy, but we paint it with outdoor paint so the actual surface is almost never exposed.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Some additional pics of our Apatosaurus progress:

[triceratops83]

Thanks for the info! If one were to try that here they'd have to be constructed of concrete or something, cyclones and floods occur every year. Love pics of the Apatosaurus next to things like the caravan and cubbyhouse, very surreal.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Thanks for the info! If one were to try that here they'd have to be constructed of concrete or something, cyclones and floods occur every year. Love pics of the Apatosaurus next to things like the caravan and cubbyhouse, very surreal.

Ah, yeah, steel frames and all..fiberglass is usually the modern material of choice for durability too. Might work.

lol totally unintentional..I share my grandfather's property with other relatives, the camper is theirs and will be walled off when we're done. The playhouse is actually getting a refit, a corkscrew slide, some other neat pieces and will be the Dino Park Rangers Play Area for kids.

[triceratops83]

Kids will love that, and you could do plaster moulds of bones or eggs to bury in the sand pit for 'em to dig up.