Always learning

Beware this is a picture heavy post!!

So I have been pretty busy on the taxidermy front once again! I currently (still) have no internet but before my phone internet decided to fizzle out, I spent hours a day on the taxidermy.net forums. In particular a certain thread 'Lifesize mammals only'. I learned a LOT about the wrapping of specimens from their carcasses. I applied this knowledge to my taxidermy and am already seeing results!

A Least Weasel and a Domestic rat, both wrapped, and both sleeping.

The weasel was originally going to just be standing but I noticed an unfortunate furslip on the underside of him after I had mounted him. So now I have a new plan, I'll post it here in a few weeks when the weasel mount is completed :) The weasel is mounted on a woodwool and wire form, using a casted head and the original leg bones.

Two mice for an art installation.

Once again I have been working on mice for a client, for her art installation. These are mounted on clay forms while it is still wet, and then sculpted from the outside.

Close up of the WIP weasel.

I am a lot happier with the shape of the weasel's head than my previous one (which was a soft mount). All my moulding and casting materials arrived, so I have been using them to make heads. They are so worth it! I will be doing a step by step on how to cast heads in the future! The weasel still needs painting up and such, but overall I am very happy.



Mannikin for a fox cub, WIP



I am also in the process of making a mannikin for a fox cub, as seen above. The skin is soaking in denatured alcohol for about a week, this sets the hair.This is being made with woodwool. The head is cast in plaster and the original leg bones are going to be used. I am still fiddling around with the pose I want her in. Today I found this photo on Google.com:

I think something like this would be a cute pose for her! This cub is about the same size as my cub also. At the moment the mannikin is a bit all over the place as you can see from the mess below:

WIP mannikin: legs need to be wrapped, along with the tail.

I will take photos of my progress, this is my first fox mount, so I really hope that it will go well! I have another young cub (even younger, poor thing) in the freezer so I will probably mount that one in a sleeping pose also.

Empty coffee mug, need more coffee!!!

Lastly, I wanted to mention this amazing book by Mike Gadd, one of the UK's leading taxidermists that I purchased recently. I was a bit put off at the price, but it is very VERY worth it. It has anything you could even want to know about mounting a small mammal on a wrapped form. It goes into the anatomical details, troubleshooting, materials needed, importance of reference etc etc etc and there are photos for every single step of the way! PLUS it is nice to have a book aimed at the UK taxidermists, and not US. So the materials he mentions are obtainable! :)

Expensive but well worth saving up for! And besides, it is a lot cheaper than his courses.

That's it for now! I will update again soon, and as always, if you have any questions for me, you can email me at: foxtrailtaxidermy@hotmail.co.uk