Welcome To
Denver, Colorado
text, photos, and website Copyright Nick Pfannenstiel
2010 paleo-nick@nicksfossils.com
Fossil preparation is one of the things I enjoy doing when the day
is over and bodily energy is limited. Having a model-building background
has really helped...patience, hand-eye coordination, texturing, and painting are
all important parts of fossil prep, repair, and restoration.
Fossil Preparation
Massive Chilotherium rhinoceros
skull. Miocene. Gansu, China (pre-ban). About 7%
restoration (last two photos). Geode in tooth (third-from-last
photo). Length about 26".
This project began when I had a difficult time selling the unprepped fossil. The left zygomatic arch was a mess, a bunch of bone were mashed onto the nose with plaster, and the fossil was just plain unappealing. The zygomatic arch (actually a random bone from some other animal) was pulled, the excess bones in the nose were removed, a tooth was fabricated (left side, upper, second from front), and any patches that needed fixed were reproduced with sculpting clay. Once the repairs had been properly done, a mix of paints were used to bring it all together. The end result is a far cry from the original, and now belongs to a friend.
Chilotherium rhino info
This project began when I had a difficult time selling the unprepped fossil. The left zygomatic arch was a mess, a bunch of bone were mashed onto the nose with plaster, and the fossil was just plain unappealing. The zygomatic arch (actually a random bone from some other animal) was pulled, the excess bones in the nose were removed, a tooth was fabricated (left side, upper, second from front), and any patches that needed fixed were reproduced with sculpting clay. Once the repairs had been properly done, a mix of paints were used to bring it all together. The end result is a far cry from the original, and now belongs to a friend.
Chilotherium rhino info
Psittacosaurus dinosaur skeleton.
Cretaceous. Yixian fm., Jehol group, Lukiatun bed. Laoning, China
(pre-ban).
This specimen arrived disarticulated. The goal with this one was to give it a life-like pose. The projsect began with lots of research. It was important to know how the animal moved and where the bones were to be located on the frame. Once a pose was chosen, a frame was constructed from steel. The frame was painted with black undercoat, a rubberized automotive paint.
Psittacosaurus Info
This specimen arrived disarticulated. The goal with this one was to give it a life-like pose. The projsect began with lots of research. It was important to know how the animal moved and where the bones were to be located on the frame. Once a pose was chosen, a frame was constructed from steel. The frame was painted with black undercoat, a rubberized automotive paint.
Psittacosaurus Info
Hoplophoneus skull. Oligocene,
White River Formation. Found near Wall, South Dakota in the
1970s.
This is a current project. The skull is in a block of matrix and will be removed and displayed in an articulated pose. I plan on making the frame with a movable jaw.
This is a current project. The skull is in a block of matrix and will be removed and displayed in an articulated pose. I plan on making the frame with a movable jaw.
