For the past couple of years the crew at Dinosaur Valley Studios has been working on the skeleton of a Blue Whale. Unlike many of the projects that are worked on in the shop, this one is not a prehistoric beast. Rather this is a modern Blue Whale, the largest animal to have ever lived on earth (by weight). It is believed to have perished as a result of a ship impact some years ago. The carcass was left for the flesh to decay off of the bones, and the skeleton was eventually recovered.
Dinosaur Valley Studios was contracted to prepare the skeleton for exhibit. The skull was badly damaged as a result of the ship impact, so a new one was recreated from steel and foam with a urethane skin. The rest of the bones are pretty much all natural, save a few that were repaired or partly reconstructed.
Once all the bones were prepared a steel armature was fabricated to support everything in a realistic pose. Recently my friend and business partner Frank traveled down to Newport Oregon to install the finished mount. It is on display outdoors at the Hadfield Marine Center, which is part of Oregon State University.
Frank sent me these two photos that were taken shortly after the installation was completed. It is nice to have this project done, and a lot more shop space back in East Coulee, now that all these bones are out.
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