John Hampton,

Thank you for your comments. This dragon is the very first piece I started working on about a year ago. This is where I did most of my learning and most of my mistakes. To answer your question, I brazed on the dragon's spinal spikes. That's the coloring you'r seeing. I have been working very slowly and sparatically on the ol' dragon. Here's the latest in-progress pix. I'm not all that proud of it, as I have found other subject matter that I have found much more meaningful and rewarding.

J.R.