It's been awhile since I updated the "work in Progress" thread but a lot of work has been done on the mount - in fact, it's almost finished as I type this.

To continue from "Part Deaux", after the mouth parts were painted, the nose of the deer form was cut off at the appropriate location and the new flehmen nose was installed. Holes were drilled in the back and into the form and metal screws were put in as pins to strengthen the joint. It was attached with bondo. The bottom jaw is not installed until the actual mounting process.

From the measurements taken from the deer, it was noted that the head of the form needed to be slimmed down slightly. I cut off the head and made alterations to the head to make it conform to the skin. That is the golden rule of good taxidermy . . . always make the form fit the skin - never make the skin fit the form. Here I'm cutting off the head and you can see the installed nose.



After the head alterations were done we started working on the other end . . . the back of the pedestal form. The manikin came with a flat back to hang it on the wall but we wanted a gentle curve in the back to give it a more "artsy look". I took pieces of lightweight cardboard and pinned them to the sides of the form so that they extended back past the form. Then Tommy held everything nose down and I mixed up some expandable foam and poured it onto the back of the form Sorry, I forgot to photograph this part but you can see the result after I put the form back onto the post. I ended up with lots of extra foam in the back.



Then I took the trusty sawzall and freehand cut the curve in the back. That's when I remembered that I should have cut off the backboard before pouring the extra foam. The backboard being there made the task of getting a smooth curve a challenge but it worked out OK.



Since the cut exposed a lot of soft foam, I covered it with a thin layer of bondo to give the foam a little strength,



Then it was time to actually mount the deer. Tommy was getting excited at this point because the mount was going to start to come to life. I've never been a very fast taxidermist at the production end, plus with Tommy "helping" I expected that the mounting process would probably take a good chunk out of the day so we started on a Saturday morning. We didn't take a lot of photos but the explanation should suffice.

First I prepped the cape. That meant all holes had to be sewed up, the edges of the hide thinned down were I would be sewing, and the ears mounted. Some taxidermist use plastic ear liners that are inserted in the ears to hold the proper shape but I learned with the bondo technique. During skinning and fleshing the ears had been turned inside out for tanning. I turned them back like they were supposed to be, mixed up some bondo, and inserted it into the ear pocket. Sculpt it as you want it from the outside and in about five minutes you have a mounted ear - hopefully in the shape you want it. Then at the bottom of the ear, clay is put in so that the muscles of the ear butts can be sculpted. Here that photo:



Then the glass eyes are placed into the manikin and the eye shapes are roughly sculpted in. No need to get them exact at this point as they'll be touched up later.





Then the hide paste is smeared on the form (it had been sanded earlier in the process to remove the waxy mould release left from the factory).



The hide is put onto the form and moved into place ("taxi" means moving and "dermis" means hide = taxidermy). It's then sewn up from the top of the head down the back of the neck (I prefer the short incision but this one had been cut all the way down the back). The eyelids of the hide are slid into position between the glass eye and the clay (sorry, I didn't get a photo of that). And then it's time for the mouth work:



Here you can see the bottom lip/jaw being installed on the form as the skin is being applied.:



The nostril skin is glued into place:



Remember the holes on the side of the neck that allows the two rods from the post to go into the neck? I had to find the hole location in the hide and cut the holes through it.



A considerable amount of time is spent aligning the hide and temporarily pinning it in place if necessary. The mount is then put on the post and allowed to dry for about 2-3 weeks. For the first few days I checked the mount often to make sure that everything stayed where it was supposed to be. At this point Tommy is getting pretty excited as he can picture what the completed mount will look like. In the final section, we'll do all of the habitat work.



Thanks for looking and I appreciate your comments. Please bear in mind that this is not a competition piece and I know that there are things anatomically wrong with it. I don't mind the criticism but my intent here is only to show the steps that go into a custom, one of a kind mount. I'm more interested in the overall look of the entire display rather than the infinite details that can drive you nuts.

JDS

Nice job, I've never seen anything quite like it.

That is a really impressive set of antlers too!

Kyler

Awesome!

I'm still amazed at that sculpting putty stuff.
Part of art is knowing how to manipulate media, be it oil and canvas, stone, etc. or bondo, poly foam, skin "glue" and so on, right? Then the presentation part can be undertaken (as I am following this). Lots of choices in material to use nowadays, not the old excelsior and borax thing we did as kids "stuffing" birds.

Your journalling of the process is fascinating to me, a guy who obsesses over clean-up at the expense of results (some times). You are a VERY organized person, yet the artist part comes out on top of having a neatness approach.

Hats off from a non-artist

BNagel

NICE JOB! Now if I can just get you to give up the Bondo holding those pins for a good epoxy that won't shatter. LOL

Thanx for sharing.

George . . .
I know that the "bondo vs. epoxy" battle has been going on for a long time and I see both sides. I just like using the bondo and have never had a problem with it.

This mount doesn't have to worry about the bondo shattering . . . I guarantee that if somebody hits that nose hard enough to mess with the bondo. Tommy will be shattering them!!

Take care!

JDS