Making a Lifelike Dinosaur
Written by Kim Beaton & Yvonne Anderson | 2025
all photographs credited to Scale Studios
all photographs credited to Scale Studios
Making a lifelike Dinosaur for Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretive Centre in Clarens, South Africa with Scale Studios.
Our lifelike, Massospondylus dinosaur, was built for a new South African Museum dedicated to the local rich fossil bed. Our Masso, affectionately called Maybel for the build, is a heavy herbivore from South Africa 200 million years ago. Maybel was built for an outdoor location, and it was crucial she be able to handle the weather.
Our lifelike, Massospondylus dinosaur, was built for a new South African Museum dedicated to the local rich fossil bed. Our Masso, affectionately called Maybel for the build, is a heavy herbivore from South Africa 200 million years ago. Maybel was built for an outdoor location, and it was crucial she be able to handle the weather.
Making a lifelike dinosaur.
Maybel was designed on a computer. The armature was welded by a local fabricator and the polystyrene bulk foam was milled out to shape in 6 inch slabs. The pieces of foam were assembled over the steel armature with spray construction foam. The surface of the polystyrene was burned back about 1/4 inch/ 6mm with a propane torch to make room for the Pal Tiya Premium (PTP), which is our Premium Fortified Cement Clay .
Additionally, since there was concern of people climbing on it, the PTP gripped the armature directly. Every 18 in/45 cm, thick channels were cut into the foam as internal supports to the skin. These cross sections were filled up solid to transfer any weight confidently from the surface down to the steel.
For more info on planning your next commission piece, check out our handy planning and armature pages.
Maybel was designed on a computer. The armature was welded by a local fabricator and the polystyrene bulk foam was milled out to shape in 6 inch slabs. The pieces of foam were assembled over the steel armature with spray construction foam. The surface of the polystyrene was burned back about 1/4 inch/ 6mm with a propane torch to make room for the Pal Tiya Premium (PTP), which is our Premium Fortified Cement Clay .
Additionally, since there was concern of people climbing on it, the PTP gripped the armature directly. Every 18 in/45 cm, thick channels were cut into the foam as internal supports to the skin. These cross sections were filled up solid to transfer any weight confidently from the surface down to the steel.
For more info on planning your next commission piece, check out our handy planning and armature pages.
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A good rule of thumb, always start from the bottom up, otherwise your sculpture may become too top heavy. With a small team we applied the first as a scratch coat of Pal Tiya Premium over the leg. This was the 1/4 in/ 6mm textured layer allowing the detail coat to hold on vertical and upside down areas (which was most of the entire animal).
The lifelike scales and wrinkles were done the following day after the scratch coat hardened. For details we applied a second 1/4 in/6 mm layer of clay and drew in initial lines of flow. Each scale was sculpted to fit within this pattern. Our batches of clay were small, about 2lbs/1 kg each. This let us sculpt an area of about 2 "hand spans" comfortably.
For more on sculpting with Pal Tiya Premium, you might like to check out our sculpting page.
The lifelike scales and wrinkles were done the following day after the scratch coat hardened. For details we applied a second 1/4 in/6 mm layer of clay and drew in initial lines of flow. Each scale was sculpted to fit within this pattern. Our batches of clay were small, about 2lbs/1 kg each. This let us sculpt an area of about 2 "hand spans" comfortably.
For more on sculpting with Pal Tiya Premium, you might like to check out our sculpting page.
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Since PTP starts soft and slowly stiffens, it is best to quickly get the region covered, sketch the lines, and draw the scales within about 20 minutes. Then touch ups and corrections for that area can be done when the clay is a bit stiffer for another 10 or so minutes. This made for a clean, accurate, and methodically built texture. Each area could be concentrated on and made really nice.
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The dinosaur was wrapped in plastic every night to prevent moisture loss. The prior day's work was kept wet with regular spraying. Once an area had set for a full day, draping with wet towels helped keep the moisture in more easily. The dinosaur was cured under wet towels and plastic for the maximum 28 day strengthening.
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After this, it was painted and shipped to South Africa. The replica stone pedestals to cover the base armatures were done on site at the museum. It was important to match and reproduce the local stone while there. The pedestals were built of cardboard and foil and then covered with both a scratch and detail coat. Pal Tiya Premium was an optimal choice for this project. It can be worked with cleanly, easily and with just the addition of water for remote and in-situ projects. It can go outside and handle large scale work, especially those in contact with the public.
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Thanks to all involved and we were thrilled that we got to be part of this project!!
Approx 220 - 265 lbs of Pal Tipa Premium was used for this piece. This works out to 5.5 -6.5 standard bags of Pal Tiya Premium.
Co-Founder & Creative Director,
Kim Beaton
Pal Tiya International
Approx 220 - 265 lbs of Pal Tipa Premium was used for this piece. This works out to 5.5 -6.5 standard bags of Pal Tiya Premium.
Co-Founder & Creative Director,
Kim Beaton
Pal Tiya International