Deinosuchus
30 foot crocodilian skeleton
This skeleton was a collaborative effort between Pangaea Designs and Gaston Design for the Utah Museum of Natural History. The challenge was to complete a skeleton from only fragmentary skull remains. Gaston Design created the skull first and then we sculpted the post cranial elements--all 221 bones--from reference material. The most expeditious way of doing this was to scan a 10 foot alligator skeleton and to have that 3D printed to the scale we needed. Of course we also needed to adapt the printed material to match the reference material. After that all bones were covered in an epoxy and textured to simulate actual fossil bones. I think the results speak for themselves.
This is what the 10 foot alligator looked like when it arrived. This individual was from an alligator farm and was unfortunately killed in a fight with a tank mate. We boiled the skeleton to remove remaining flesh from the bones and had them 3D scanned and printed in foam.
This is the skull sculpted by Gaston Design.
Here are the beginnings of the deinosuchus' spinal column. Notice the 10-foot alligator's skeleton laid out alongside.
