Who has used Life Form Taxidermy here for their african animals? Thoughts? Opinions?

I have and I like their work, especially with the Cats. I have had no problems with them.

They are the absolute best I have ever seen or heard tell of.

By African standards, they are top notch ... but ...

if you are doing shoulder mounts, consider this: African shoulder mounts are more of an old-style neck mounts and they don't have access to wall pedestal forms, like we have here in the U.S. (or standard U.S. shoulder mounts with more shoulder).

Also, I think Life Form tends to over-accentuate muscles, which don't look natural, in my opinion.

Frankly, most American taxidermy is FAR superior to what's available in Africa. Just something to think about.

stagman,

You could not be more wrong.

Not matter of opinion wrong. Just straight, flat out wrong.

I have to wonder if you personally own, or have ever even seen up close (and I don't mean in photographs), any of Life Form's work.

I have plenty of their work, as well as the work of one of America's best taxidermists, and I'll tell the world that Life Form's work is superior. It's truly museum quality.

And here's the kicker - it's a lot less expensive, even after factoring in the shipping costs, than the US competition.

Not trying to start an argument, just stating the facts.

They are one of three African taxidermists I have used. They are by far and away the best.

mrlexma: AGREED.

Stagman,

I have an Impala and a Gemsbok enroute from South Africa as finished wall pedestal mounts; they do have access to the forms.

Stagman,

I'll also take issue with your statement. I live 10 minutes drive from the Lifeform studios, know them well and often pass through their workshops and packing dept. I can tell you now that a lot of their work is true shoulder mount and although they do, do neckmounts, it's by special order.

To say they don't have access to pedestal mounts is utterly ridiculous. They have shit loads of forms (including pedestal forms) for all kinds for African game. - Not only do they make their own, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, (we don't use drums much anymore in this part of Africa) they could, if they needed to, order not only forms but anything else they needed as well.

As to the musculature, you might like to take a look at their website. - Lifeform have a world wide reputation for some of the best taxidermy in the world, so your opinion on that is most certainly in the minority. - I have to question if you've seen enough African game up close and personal to be able to tell the difference.

Regarding your point about most American taxidermy being far superior to African work. C'mon, There are good and bad taxidermists everywhere and America like everywhere else has it's fair share of shockingly bad ones. Take a look at the taxidermy forum here and you'll sometimes see examples of that. One common mistake is when they try to mount a Leopard skin on a mountain lion form........ it looks laughable.

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
stagman,

You could not be more wrong.

Not matter of opinion wrong. Just straight, flat out wrong.

I have to wonder if you personally own, or have ever even seen up close (and I don't mean in photographs), any of Life Form's work.

I have plenty of their work, as well as the work of one of America's best taxidermists, and I'll tell the world that Life Form's work is superior. It's truly museum quality.

And here's the kicker - it's a lot less expensive, even after factoring in the shipping costs, than the US competition.

Not trying to start an argument, just stating the facts.

MR, i agree with you completely! their work is superior to much of the work done by people here. i am betting that stagman is an American taxidermy. if you read the posts in the taxidermy forum on AR, you find that 99% of the American taxidermists NEVER saw a mount done in Africa that they liked and conversely, never saw a mount done here that they didn't like( especially George Roof). and you absolutely right about the cost savings.

quote:

Originally posted by TexasHunter:
Who has used Life Form Taxidermy here for their african animals? Thoughts? Opinions?

Texas Hunter, if you are doing your taxidermy based on cost, this is one of the better African taxidermists. However, living in the Dallas Metroplex area, there are some VERY, VERY Good taxidermist in this area. Better in my opinion than anything Africa has to offer. And you have the additional bonus of driving over to their shop and seeing how your work is progressing. If you don't like how it looks before it is finished, you can have them change it. If it is shipped from Africa, you will live with what you get. Think about that. If you have it done in Africa, what you get is what you get. DSC convention is coming up soon,(January 2008), for a few bucks $$, you can come out and visit with many taxidermists and see what their work looks like. If you don't like what you see, go with an African taxidermist.

I have 26 mounts by lifeform; they are absolutely top notch in quality, reliabilty, and professionalism. I too agree with others that they do true shoulder mounts. Any animal i collect anywhere in Africa goes directly to lifeform, no hesitation

quote:

One common mistake is when they try to mount a Leopard skin on a mountain lion form........ it looks laughable.

Shakari - Very well said, that is exactly how I felt after seeing some of the Leopard mounts from America being posted here, laughable.

I have used Life Form and find their work excellent. In my case they were also very attentive to customer communication with rapid replies to my questions and were very available to discuss options. In today's e-mail world, you don't have to live near your taxidermist. By the way, they do an excellent job of packing (in fact it sometimes seems like overkill) but I will bet that most of the US customers of LifeForm will not be telling you stories of shoddy or flimsly packing and broken trophies.

I was there yesterday to look at my waterbuck and i must tell you that i was realy impressed with their work and the service i received.

i went to the packing department where my trophy was and i saw how they pack the trophies that is shipped overseas and to see the care they take with that was awesome.

my waterbuck was shot in the neck and i was worried about hairslip because it was in the sun for long but it came out perfect i cant see where they patched the neck and no hair slip.

it is worth paying a premuim for premuim work.

i always believe that where a animal is hunted the most you will find the best taxidermist for that animal in that area because they do alot of the mounts there like springbuck and gemsbuck at a taxidermist in the kalahari and bushveld game at lifeform.

how often does a overseas taxidermist see a real leopard and how many does he do in his career . the same with deer for instance if i shoot one i will do it there because how many times do south africans do deer trophies.

a Ford machanic will fix a ford better than a porche machanic a ford and vice versa. i dont fool around with trophies because its for life if it is done badly you will not remember the hunt but only the bad trophy

Howdy,

Life Form's work is very good for African work but the truth is is the best taxidermy work in the world is made in the USA. Anyone who wants to argue that is either grossly uninformed or self justifying thier guilt in spending thier money in another country to save a few bucks. Look at the results of the world Taxidermy Championships every year. There is also a certian element of security added to having your animals done in your nation also. How much civil restituttion will you get from a foriegn country if for some reason something goes wrong, and that does happen no matter how good your business is. I think this is another case of trying to justify those pretty prices we all have to look at. Watch the news tonight mrlexma and Texas Hunter. See how many stories are about the economy teetering on the brink of a downfall and the US dollar slipping globaly and then wire your money to South Africa knowing you could have spent it here and got a better product. Your children will thank you later.

I am sorry. I was strictly critical with that last post and I offered no solutions. Texas Hunter, if you would like I can give you at least five suggestions of taxidermists within your state alone that can knock the sox off ANY african work and are good people to do business with.

quote:

Originally posted by smarterthanu:
if you would like I can give you at least five suggestions of taxidermists within your state alone that can knock the sox off ANY african work and are good people to do business with.

Go on then..... and then I'll post a few pics of Lifeforms work and we'll let the members decide which is more lifelike.

Palermo Taxidermy- Bryan, Texas
McBride's Taxidermy- Burnet, TX
Rheinlander Taxidermy- Austin, TX
Poetry Taxidermy- Terrell, TX
Wildlife Artistry- Cameron, TX

These are just five but there are several others better than ANY african Taxidermists in my state alone. Please look these five up give them a call and pick one that works well for you.

So that proves you have a phone book...... perhaps you could post a few images of their work for people to look at. Then I'll post some of Lifeform's work and the members can decide.

I know those people personaly. If you want to be an asshole because your feelings are hurt thats fine. I don't have pictures of thier work but I believe they all have websites and would be easy to find. I don't vouch for names in a phonebook. My reputation means something to me.

I'll make it easy for you..... go to the taxidermy section of this site and then do a search on the word lions...... and you'll find no end of examples of REALLY bad work done by American taxidermists...... Everything from legs that don't bend that way, to spray pained feet and a whole lot more. - I'm not suggesting that all American taxidermists are useless, just that your intimation that All American taxidermists are better than ALL African taxidermists is BS. There are good and bad taxidermists all over the world. The best one in Texas I know of is Buckshot Taxidermy and the best in SA I know of is Lifeform. - It'd actually be hard for me to decide which of those two is better (for African trophies), but if I had to decide, I'd say Lifeform probably have the edge..... because pretty much all of their work is on African trophies.

UEG: Go ahead...MAKE MY DAY and show your lion! jorge

I am not in any way saying ALL Texas Taxidermists are better than ALL SA taxidermists. By the way not one single lion in those pics that I have seen were done by the companies I listed above. However two different taxidermists on that thread are from Texas and I do not endorse thier work or thier business practices. One thing to note is the two largest taxidermy companies in this state are a lot better at marketing than they are at taxidermy and I don't endorse them. I don't suggest spending your money with the company that has the biggest most exotic mount in thier brochure or the cutest girl pushing flesh or taxidermy at the Reno show. I endorse the guy doing the best work, and using honest business practices. The five I listed before WILL outperform ANY taxidermist in Africa in quality and accuracy of work.

Actually, there are pics of work done by at least one of the taxidermists you mention. I won't say where or who as it would be unprofessional but they are there and the work is, to use an English expression, shite.

Nice to know that you not only have seen work done by the 5 taxidermists you named but also every taxidermist in Africa.......


that's it, I'm outta here.

My 2cents worth. Go to the SCI Convention in Reno and have a look at Animal Artistry and then show me a better product from anyone, anywhere in the World!! They are located in Reno and have daily tours of their facility throughout the show as well. There will also be scores of other taxidermy booths and displays at this show. For my personal trophies I use Neil Thompson of Afrigame Taxidermy in New Mexico. Small, unknown to most, (he likes it that way). Neil is from South Africa, learned the trade over there, and is an accomplished sculptor as well and actually creates some of his own forms based on the "actual" measurements and such he did while in RSA. I currently am waiting on my Namibia shipment, (should be in any day now), and it contains a Zebra rug (a lot less expensive over there), and the rest are just dipped and packed. Flat skins and backskins I usually have tanned in Africa because of the cost savings, but ALL the ones going on the wall come back over here.

Larry Sellers

No Shakari not even one of those mounts was done by the before mentioned five. If you are down to lying to try and win this arguement the n yes, thats it your outta here. Just tell any of those great African taxidermists to show up at a world convention and prove me wrong. Or tell me the next time an African taxidermist is even honored as a judge there. You might as well be arguing that SA has the best Hockey team.

Shakari - I am in Namibia Aug/Sept '08 for PG. Based on your experience, would it be bad manners for me to have trophies go to Lifeform in RSA or is a Namibia based taxidermist preferable. This question probably belongs on the "Taxidermy Forum".

Dave,

No it wouldn't be bad manners at all for you to send the trophies to Lifeform..... if you contact them, they'll be more than happy to send you labels for your trophies etc. - Their website is www.lifeform.co.za

Have a great hunt.

Mr. Moore,

I have to agree with Shakari here. It is not bad manners to send your trophies any where you want. When it is your dollars being spent your satisfaction and piece of mind should be the most important thing to both you and your PH in Namibia.

I have been an amateur taxidermist for over 30 years. I understand the business and stay up to date on the techniques, forms, technical advances and the competitions.

I am not a qualified competion judge nor an expert. I have studied the art of taxidermy for many years. My observation has been that -

1. Most hunters do not know average work from good work. Most hunters shop for a taxidermist by price.

2. The cost to do good commercial work vs. the cost to do competition grade work is about double. Most hunters want competition grade work for commercial work price.

3. The quality of the work goes beyond the form or the price. There is a skill level involved that is hard to measure but can be seen by a trained eye.

4. You usually get what you pay for. I went to RSA in 2003 with 3 other families. We brought home 60 trophies. They "found a deal" on a guy in the Dallas area. I looked at the guys work and it was very average, from my "eye". They liked the price and that the guy would deliver the mounts. I chose a different taxidermist at 40% higher price because I liked what I saw. When all the work was delivered, my friends were a bit stunned at the difference in how the mounts looked.

5. The US does not have a "lock" on quality taxidermists. There are skilled ones in many countries. THe Europeans have been doing this longer than in the US.

6. I have personnaly seen more poor work done in the US than other places because there is not a structured licensing or apprentice system. Anyone can hang out a sign, learn the trade and do work providing they have the permit needed to handle migratory birds. Most of the poor work I have seen is from a one man shops done by guys doing this more as a hobby than as a profession.

7. THe best quality work you get is usually from people that are trained, run a professional business and are active in their professional organization - they compete, they judge, they are trying to learn.

8. Cats are different problem due the skin, the eyes, forms and the action of the cat. I have seen some very bad cats - more bad than good. If you are have a cat done, go and see the work first hand, get pictures and be sure that what you see is what you want. Cats are hard to do well and expect to pay dearly for a high quality mount. I have seen the absolutely worst work done on bobcats, mountain lions and leopards due to the lack of getting the eyes right. Take your time and go with an experienced "cat man".

At the end of it, I have found that the best way to pick a taxidermist is to go and see their work, then go see what you can find that is competition or museum grade work. Compare what you see. Buy what looks good to you. I have seen work that has won awards that did not appeal to me and I have seen work done by one man shops that looks fantastic.

I recently had a croc that was sent one place, then returned, then I sent it to another place. My second choice turned out to be absolutely fantastic, by far the best I have seen. I found out in the process that my second choice was doing his second croc ever. He put in the time to learn what to do, gathered the needed reference material and produced the best mount in my collection (15 so far). He also did a lifesize nyala that is competition quality (told to me by another pro taxidermist), his first nyala as well.

All of this to say - take your time to choose what you like as your "eye" will tell you what looks good to you.


PS - I do not ascribe to the economic theory of spending money in the US to be supportive of "your kids" or being patriotic. I drive a Japanese made car, use hundreds of products made in China, wear clothes in Indonesia and sneakers made in Korea and gasoline made from oil produced in Saudi Arabia. It is a world economy, not a US economy. Spend your money where you get what you want. THat is why I like to hunt in Africa versus Montana.

PSS - I would support Shakari's recommendation as he is in the wild and sees the animals alive. He should have an "eye" for how they should look when mounted. However, I would want to see photo's or examples of the work if possible.

Mr Dogcat,

Most of what you printed is very accurate. However I did not refer to spending your money here as a "patriotic" action. Spending your money in your country will strengthen the dollar in a "world economy". Next time you go hunting in Africa you will see how much things have changed when you whip out your wallet. Keep going that direction and see how far a dollar gets your kids. If the economic future of the USA is not important to you then by all means spend your money elsewhere. By the way the Montan/Africa hunting analogy is innacurate because Montana does not offer the same product. Also most of the taxidermists here travel to Africa and see and study these animals first hand. Many have just as good an eye as Mr. Shakari.

Here we go again...

Your attacks on Steve and rants on how the Sahari Desert became a desert due to over grazing were silly enough, but you are now an expert on the world economy. I dare say that you cannot go one day without spending your American dollars on something made in a country outside the US. The concept that the world economy is centered on the US is false as that is not the case. The US is a consuming nation, buying goods and services from wherever the best value is seen. As a spot example - look at cars. The major US manufacturers are not competing with Japan or Korea. In a few years, we will be driving Chinese made cars. It is a matter of supply/demand. Yes, we have many US made cars here, but look at what the world is now consuming - Toyota, Nissan, Kia, etc. I travel extensively and see very few Fords and Chevy's outside North America. Reason - we do not make what the world consumes. I suspect your lawn service in Houston is "foreign" owned as well and part of your dollars are headed to Mexico.

Spending money in the US for non-US made products is that same as spending your money in RSA or Zim or wherever. Your statement -"If the economic future of the USA is not important to you then by all means spend your money elsewhere" - makes no sense. What supports the economy is producing goods and services that are actual "wealth" creating - not everyone giving each other hair cuts and just trading dollars. Wealth creation is issue - meaning that you create something that someone else sees value in and pays for. WHat made the US economy strong is producing more valuable goods and services than we consume. Right now, that is not always the case.

As to the original post about Life Form - I know several taxidermists and you are partly correct in that several have made the effort to go to Africa to observe what those animals look like. Not all go nor do all go that work on African animals. But that is not the main reason one is better than another - it is skill, an eye for the animal, use of reference photos, experience, etc... Stating that the US has the best taxidermists out there is not accurate.

As far as comparing the hunting in Montana (or pick a state) to Africa, I stand by my statement. THe product is the same - a hunting experience. The animals are different, but the goal is the same. My money goes to Africa first because when I hunt in Africa, the experience is what I like and I appreciate the professionalism and the experience had via people like Shakari and others. THey provide a product and service I find superior to what I can get in the US.

I would like to add that there aren't just the Americans and South Africans. Several European taxidermists know what they are doing and many of the most experienced African big game hunters go directly to them. Here's a link to Wolfgang Schenk's site (since he has an excellent reputation for cats):

http://www.schenk-taxidermy.com/

Dogcat,

You think I attacked Steve???????? I disagreed with him thats it. I respect him and his opinion but that doesn't mean I can't tell him he is wrong. If your sole purpose is to villify me you need to find something more constructive to do. Yes I know you buying your Korean made shoes is still international commerce but you don't have a choice there. If you had made those "tough decisions earlier in life to buy an American product you might not be stuck with only foriegn products for your choice. But with Taxidermy you still do have a choice, and you can still choose to keep your money here in the US. You can still choose to try and keep the dollar as strong as possible and try to secure a stronger economic future for your children. Maybe the US economy doesn't sit high on your priority list but for the rest of us who are not so self centered, and more importantly making products in this country, it is quite important. Yes, I do understand the US auto industry is a wreck, but that should not give anyone a cop-out for why they should crap on our nation. Also, it is completely accurate that the vast majority of the best taxidermists in the world are located in the USA. Lastly, if you think a hunting trip in Montana and a hunting trip in Africa are the same thing you are completely lost. I am sorry you did not get the full experience hunting in Africa but at the same time could you direct me to the giant mountiantops where I could hunt some muleys on the other side of the ocean.
One last thing. I have more respect for Shakari in this thread than I do you. He may have been wrong in his assumptions but he picked his neighbors and countrymen before anyone else which I can not say as much for you.

Wink,

you bring up a very good point. There is a huge wealth of tallent in Europe for taxidermy. Especially in bird taxidermy. The european taxidermists I talk to though face extreme obstacles with the social outlook on thier trade. They have started combating this successfully through the development of thier associations and I foresee that they will have a very strong and tallented group of taxidermists in the future. As of right now it has inhibited the development of thier trade. However there is a small nitch that they are excelling past Americans in. That is the development of taxidermy for song birds and raptors. The US government has heavily restricted these species here and therefore advancements in this nich have been severely retarded here.

Teaxas Hunter,

No matter how good the taxidermy is in Africa it will be a huge pain in the butt to get something corrected that is not as you envisioned it or just doesn't come out as you would like.

Mark

I have thought seriously about using Life Form for the next trip. Those around here that have used them seem very satisfied. The cat taxidermy is what makes me nervous but they seem to do very well with those also.

Rest assured that their cat taxidermy is of the highest quality. Here's a pic of my lion as done by them. Ok jorge, here you go. . . .

I believe with the above picture it's game, set & match. Man that is one hell of a lion-and absolutely perfectly done! jorge