A 17,000-pound stainless-steel dinosaur handmade in the Fraser Valley is getting ready to head to its new home overlooking Okanagan Lake.

Metal sculptor Kevin Stone and his wife Michelle of Chilliwack were putting the finishing touches on a Tyrannosaurus rex they call Alice on Thursday (Sept. 14), buffing out heat marks from welds and polishing her to a shine.

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檝e been doing the inside of the mouth and around the eyes making sure it乌鸦传媒檚 super clean and fresh looking,乌鸦传媒� Kevin said. 乌鸦传媒淲e want to have it all wiped down and clean before we ship it.乌鸦传媒�

On Tuesday (Sept. 19) the Stones will be following behind the trailer that will haul it 325 kilometres from Chilliwack to Penticton.

Because the 50-foot long T. rex is too big and cannot travel down the highway in one piece, it will be shipped in three sections: the head and chest, the belly and hind legs, and the tail.

And although they have been working on it for more than two years, they still don乌鸦传媒檛 even know what she looks like completely assembled.

Alice is so huge, the head and chest portion of her has always been separate from her belly and thick hind legs. She乌鸦传媒檚 so tall, she doesn乌鸦传媒檛 fit in the Stones乌鸦传媒� workshop in one piece.

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e super excited to see it together because I don乌鸦传媒檛 even know what she looks like,乌鸦传媒� Kevin said. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 stressful.乌鸦传媒�

He admits he乌鸦传媒檚 already losing sleep over it.

It乌鸦传媒檒l take all day to move the dinosaur made out of mirror-polished, food-grade stainless steel. They乌鸦传媒檙e starting around 7 a.m. on Sept. 19 where it乌鸦传媒檒l be loaded onto a trailer. Kevin figures they乌鸦传媒檒l be in Penticton around lunchtime.

Once there, the belly/leg section will be bolted onto a 14-foot-by-14-foot concrete pad. He乌鸦传媒檒l then bolt on the tail to counterbalance the sculpture in order to put her head on.

乌鸦传媒淚 hope it fits. I don乌鸦传媒檛 know what to expect,乌鸦传媒� Kevin said.

All of the bolts will be fastened inside the T. rex and once Kevin乌鸦传媒檚 done, he乌鸦传媒檒l climb out a hatch located at the top.

When she乌鸦传媒檚 completely installed, she will stand about 20 to 23 feet tall at the head.

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e hoping it fits like a glove,乌鸦传媒� Michelle added.

The man who commissioned it dreamed of owning a giant metal dinosaur since he was a kid, Kevin said. The buyer said it was a female T. rex, and so Kevin named her Alice after a dinosaur from a 1970s children乌鸦传媒檚 TV series called 乌鸦传媒楲and of the Lost乌鸦传媒� that he watched when he was young.

Alice was purchased for $380,000 USD and even though it乌鸦传媒檒l be installed on a private waterfront property, the public will still be able to see it without going on the property.

The massive T. rex will be on the east side of Okanagan Lake visible to anyone walking along the Kettle Valley Rail Trail. It乌鸦传媒檚 less than a kilometre north of where the trail meets a residential street called Vancouver Place.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 really excited and I乌鸦传媒檓 really happy that it乌鸦传媒檚 going to a public space in B.C.,乌鸦传媒� Kevin said. 乌鸦传媒淭his is probably one of the largest sculpture installations in Canada. There乌鸦传媒檚 only a handful of really big ones and this one乌鸦传媒檚 up there.乌鸦传媒�

It乌鸦传媒檚 the only sculpture of his on display in Canada for the public to see. All of his other work is either outside the country or in private places in Canada not visible to the public.

It took 26 months to complete. Kevin hired two welders 乌鸦传媒� Josh Guretzki and Brandon O乌鸦传媒橲hea 乌鸦传媒� who also did a huge amount of labour.

乌鸦传媒淭hey worked hard on it,乌鸦传媒� Kevin said.

The Chilliwack metal sculptor always has more than one project on the go.

Over the past two years, he has finished a number of other pieces including a , and a that was part of a larger and very strange rocket/goat-themed sculpture for a cryptocurrency company.

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During the time they were building the T. rex, they encountered issues.

They realized part of it didn乌鸦传媒檛 look right so they re-engineered the entire belly, making it lower by a few feet.

And for several months, they didn乌鸦传媒檛 even know where the T. rex was going to be heading 乌鸦传媒� the owner changed his mind at one point with plans to have it shipped to his other home on the Cayman Islands. It was confirmed only about three months ago that it would be staying in B.C.

But the biggest challenge was the workshop space.

乌鸦传媒淣ot having the correct space to be able to assemble it properly and stand back and look at it乌鸦传媒� was the most complicated part of the build, Kevin said.

Now on Sept. 19, Kevin will finally be able to do exactly that. Seeing Alice complete for the first time ever will be an early birthday present for the metal sculptor whose birthday falls on Sept. 20.

乌鸦传媒淚 can乌鸦传媒檛 wait to see it,乌鸦传媒� Michelle said. 乌鸦传媒淭o actually stand back and see it together is going to be amazing.乌鸦传媒�