Crocodile Sans Dentada

This 1/12th scale model was 32" long. The finished sculpture derived from it was 32' long. The jaw alone was 8' in length and hydraulically actuated. I designed and sculpted this model for the Animal Planet float. As time was short and the design scope of this float was very large, I built 2 identical steel armatures for the crocodile. The first armature was meant to serve for the clay model. The second armature was to serve as the blue print for the full sized crocodile's internal steel frame. In that, the full sized armature and the clay model would be finish within the same time frame. In keeping with that race with the metal shop on the assembly floor, certain details on the model  were deemed unnecessary. As the scales would be a mirrored detail, the model has scales only on one side of it's body. I had enough photographic reference to know exactly how the teeth would lay out, sculpting them into the model would have been a fussy, time consuming detail, hens their deletion. In the end, the clay model and the full sized armature clad in foam blocks and ready for carving were completed at the same time.