Only Fossilized and ancient "found" ivory has been used, purchased legally from the Ivory Exchange and Anchorage Flea Market about eighteen years ago. I have checked with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as well as the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The mastodon ivory (the brown ivory) is from a tusk estimated to be over a milllion years old. It was literally flaking apart. The fossilized walrus ivory (usually orange or yellowish, sometimes white or brown) is thousands of years old. It is usually found lying on beaches, or discovered while digging.

The following pictures are of highly accurate, highly detailed, scale model aircraft built entirely of ivory. Some have diamond, emerald and ruby navigation and running lights. All are displayed on Alaskan, Kobuk-Valley jade bases, usually a generous slab, and most are protected by glass or etched glass cases.

The wings, empennage, struts and any crucial parts have been pinned or notched together. Cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) is used for bonding parts and inlays together. In many cases, fuselages, wings and floats have been "roughed out" for many years before the parts are finish-sanded so as to avoid warpage. Most sanding work is done by hand, as power tools warp and "burn" the ivory. It's a lot like working with a hard plastic; it can melt, warp and crack if not worked slowly and carefully.