Museum Sculptor Doyle Trankina to Recreate Sub-Adult & Baby T Rex

As part of the Dinosaur Institute at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Doyle Trankina has attended several field excavations in Montana Utah, and Mojave.  While in the field Doyle prospected, and assisted in the collection of several specimens, most notably Thomas the sub adult Tyrannosaurus Rex that will be gracing the museums new Dinosaur Gallery in 2011.  Through his experiences with the museum with his private obsession with prehistoric life and the natural world,  Doyle has produced several sculptures and illustrations for exhibition and publication.  Doyle has an extensive list of sculptures to produce over the next two years. His work will require lots of observational study from the museum's collection, and extensive extrapolation based on the latest research, and modern analogues like birds, and crocodiles.

After completing the preparation of Thomas, Doyle embarked on a half skeletal, half flesh reconstruction of a sub adult Tyrannosaurus Rex.  At 1;24 scale the detail work was completed in part with magnification, .  The teeth were surfaced to provide the accurate thickness and semblance to where the tinny serrations would have lined the many teeth.  Because the position of the serrations actually change on the teeth as they move back towards the throat, the ridge implies the appropriate location of the serrations.  The scales were carved individually so that the skin wraps around the form in a realistic, and accurate way.  The detail and fidelity to the skeleton was accomplished by long study of the anatomy from several existing mounts, scientific publications, and photographs from the some of the best Tyrannosaurus specimens.  

Doyle is currently working on a skeletal reconstruction of a baby Tyrannosaurus rex which will be mounted in the new Dinosaur Galleries with Thomas and an intermediate specimen as an illustration of age progression.  The actual specimen is only known from a skull fragment from the snout of what is believed to be from a 2 year old Tyrannosaurus rex.  There are no post cranial remains, and there are   only a handful of examples that are believed to be that of baby dinosaurs. This project has just begun, and with Dr. Chiappe Doyle will be making history in presenting the worlds only mounted baby Tyrannosaurus rex specimen.