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Woods to the wall ... in 3 days!

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    Woods to the wall ... in 3 days!

    I thought about how/if I would tell this story, all night. This post is not a thread to bash anyone, but hopefully will help some of you that may be shopping for a taxidermist now or sometime in the future.

    Last night, I was at my woodshop, trying to get caught up on some pedestal orders. I've met my "neighbor" and he was there too, last night. After about 30 minutes of cutting, a strange guy popped into my door. He introduced himself and told me that he was there with my neighbor and apparently, the neighbor had told him what I was doing making all that racket. He proceded to tell me about a taxidermist that he found (I don't remember the city) that was doing shoulder mounts for $350. He had shot a bobcat (he showed me a picture of the cat and I will tell you that this was a bobcat of a lifetime; HUGE and beautiful markings, and was shopping around for a taxidermist when he found this $350 guy. He also does lifesize bobcats for $350. This guy seemed like he'd struck gold he was so happy. He had even taken pictures in the taxidermist's shop and pointed out a shoulder mounted deer that was done in THREE days! He explained that this guy used a process that he had learned from a "long time" taxidermist and the skin was like a latex glove when it went on the manakin and he used glue and everything.

    He gave me the taxidermist's card which had a website on it. When I got home, I had to take a look at these $350 shoulder mounts and lifesize bobcats. Here are some cropped pictures. After each picture, I'm going to tell you the major things that even an untrained eye should see.

    Whitetail
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    Notice wavy edge on the ear?
    Notice the big black eye booger in front of the eye?
    Notice the stovepipe looking ear butt?
    Notice the dark nostril interior?
    Notice the dark black lip line?

    Bobcat
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    Notice the "bad hair day" look?
    Notice the big round eyes?
    Notice the plastic looking nose?
    Notice the round nostrils, again with a black interior?

    Oryx
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    Notice the crinkled up ear again?
    Notice the super black ear interior?
    Notice the squinty football shaped eyes?
    Notice the super black nose, again with a black interior?
    Notice the hair standing up on the back of the neck?

    This last one is something that you'll most likely never see in a showroom area of a shop, but I wanted to explain what's going on and why it's not good.
    Click image for larger version

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    This is a picture from a step-by-step section on the site. In this picture, he's adding bondo to an ear, which is a common way to form/reconstruct an ear. What I want you to see is the pinkish color of the skin along with the rough, fatty texture of the skin. The process he's using doesn't require the skin to be tanned but rather just drying it out with a powder (dry preservative) that's applied to the flesh side of the cape before it's put on the manakin. This skin was rough fleshed only. That means that he just got the big chunks of red meat off the skin. Proper skin prep and tanning will yeild a much different looking skin; one that's white or tan (depending on the tanning process) and has a nice smooth appearance with no globs of fat or thick looking skin. The thicker the skin, the more it will shrink when it dries, causeing the details of the mount to "pull loose". This could be as simple as the muscle detail pulling away from the manakin all the way to the lips pulling out of the mouth to the eyelids separating from the glass eyeball. All these problems are evident in the pictures above.


    The point? Spend some time looking at the work your taxidermist has in his shop/showroom. Even the untrained eye can pick out major flaws in a mount.

    Again, this thread was intended to be a quick educational presentation and for that reason, I will not give out the name of this taxidermist, so please don't ask. If you are the taxidermist that did these animals, please remember that I am not trying to bash you. Don't be offended.

    #2
    Good post Taxi. Thanks for the info & heads up.

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      #3
      Thanks for the post Kevin. I still need to get out to your place and check your work out.

      Whatcha got going on this weekend?

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        #4
        Good stuff. Thanks Kevin!

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          #5
          I didn't think a shoulder mount could be done in 3 days? I'll stick to my guy. He's slow but his work is good.

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            #6
            Good stuff! (the info, not the work)

            Hope this doesn't end badly.......

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              #7
              Good Post !

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                #8
                Great info Kevin.

                Somewhere, there's a "$350 guy" who does quality work. But, good luck finding him/her.

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                  #9
                  Thanks for the Info. IMO the work should be judged by reputation, advice, information (like posted here) and the work the Taxi has in his shop. Cheapest is never always best in honoring your trophy of a lifetime. If he's good enough to spend the money on a mount, find the best you can.

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                    #10
                    thanks bubba

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                      #11
                      GREAT post Kevin, Ive wanted to do one like this but have not had the time...Again great post.

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                        #12
                        Thanks for the info and heads up.

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                          #13
                          Josh, why don't you post some pictures of a GOOD whitetail, bobcat and oryx mount?


                          Free plug for ya, buddy!
                          Last edited by Texastaxi; 02-05-2010, 09:15 AM.

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                            #14
                            Great information,Kevin! Sounds like you should make this a monthly report..."What is wrong with this Mount?" by Texastaxi.
                            By the way nice avatar but I still miss the red and black hat.

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                              #15
                              That is one of the best posts in a long time. it always puzzles me when someone tells me I am crazy to wait 9 months to a year for taxi work when "their guy" can do it in just a few short days or weeks. It is almost impossible to tell them what is going on with their mount and what is going to happen when they get it on the wall. Maybe they will live and learn.

                              Thanks Texastaxi. This needs to have a sticky beside it so everyone can read it.

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