Project Focus - Iggy The Iguanodon KEIM Mineral Paints
Iggy, as he is affectionately known, is the standing Iguanodon sculpture at the Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park. Built in 1854 by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, incredibly Iggy has stood for 162 years, and despite looking better than most at that age, it was decided that in order to preserve him for many years to come, time had come for a bit of a make-over, a bit of dino- TLC if you will!
The standing Iguanodon is extremely important to the park as it was the first ever life sized sculpture of an extinct animal and has been described as a ‘symbol of science’. Designated as a Grade 1 Listed structure this highlights how important ‘Iggy’ is to British history.
Iggy’s make over focused on stitching and pinning cracks which had appeared, as well as repainting. After a thorough clean between his scales, and even had a bit of cosmetic dentistry, Keim Soldalit was applied in various green shades to bring him back to his former glory. As far back as Keim’s records go in the UK, all of the dinosaurs at the park are painted using Keim paints, as it is extremely important, not only to protect the sculptures, but also use paints which do not trap moisture, which can be extremely damaging, into the fabric of the sculpture. Iggy is not the only sculpture currently getting a bit of treatment and many of the lake sculptures and sphinxes are also getting revamped.