This old man came out nice I think.

His hide and horns show his age but he has lots of character:









And just for fun....an optional red billed oxpecker. I think it works with the pose, some may find it distracting...easy to put on or take off.

Say hello to my little friend





Thanks as always for views and comments

Sweet!

That is a really well done mount. Quite unique and very admirable!

where did you get the oxpecker? surely shootaway didn't shoot it and have it sent with the other stuff. i do kind of like the combo.

The oxpecker is a reproduction that came from Mckenzie Supply. They come finished or unfinished. I finished this one (hand painted,add eyes and feet).

I had been wanting something like this for years to add to buffalo or repro rhino mounts to give them a little life.

My first idea was a small feathered craft bird that I painted to look like an oxpecker. Not bad but not great...Then I searched for a professional bird carver but that was too expensive...I then made a rough sculpture of a yellow billed oxpecker and made a mold of the sculpture. It was ok but the Mckenzie one is more detailed and I like it better than mine.

An actual mounted bird would look a lot better yet but these are not available and the reproductions are not bad from a distance.

I like that you can take it off or put it somewhere else. You could even rig it onto one of the skin panels on the pedestal base.

I always thought that a very detailed version carved by a master bird carver would be great to have. I think it would be neat to take a section of backskin from a zebra, kudu, buff, whatever and put it in a nice picture frame, then you could have the oxpecker "hanging out" on the side of the skin. I think that would be a pretty cool little item to add to a trophy room.

Grafton - A beautiful mount and a beautiful idea with the oxpecker. One of the best mounts I've ever seen was a pedestal mount of a cape buffalo with an oxpecker clinging to the underside of his chin. I asked the taxidermist where he got the oxpecker, since they are protected and illegal to shoot. He told me it was a blackbird that he had spraypainted to look like an oxpecker. Blackbirds are protected here in the States, but farmers are allowed to shoot them if they are experiencing crop depredation. Oxpeckers are actually a member of the starling family, and a starling is closer in body size to an oxpecker than a blackbird, but as far as I know, starlings are illegal to shoot.

I have a kudu pedestal mount similar to your beautiful mount, with the horns laid back, but the chin is not quite as high. I have considered adding an oxpecker reproduction or two to his shoulder "hump". Now that I've seen this, I think I'll go ahead with the plan. In my opinion, doing this comes close to turning the mount into a work of art. Grafton, this kudu mount you did for Shootaway is stunningly beautiful.

Glen

Thanks Glen. You can shoot all the starlings you want here but mounting the bird, changing some features and painting it would make it an expensive item. A starlings tail is too short and they are little squaty in the body. I had thought of using one to make a mold or as a guide when sculpting one. Painted feathers do not look great either. I have also see where a taxidermist altered a mourning dove mount but it did not look right to me.

I have found that giving these plastic reproductions a roll in some dust takes away the plastic look somewhat. After hanging on a mount for a while, the dust that settles on them improves the look.

Thanks for the kind words. I really like the way this mount came out too.

great detail work Grafton, excellent mount!

I like it.

Mike

Is that a "Beenken" form? If it is, the neck on that kudu is huge. Nice job! I really like it.

Thanks. Yeah it is a Beenken form. That form is sculpted with a huge neck. I sized down the form some.

Very nice. The oxpecker is a really nice touch.

Very nice piece indeed!! Did you make any other mods other than sliming down the neck?
I have been tempted to order one of the repro birds for my kudu but just could not turn loose of the $75, but now seeing yours I might just have to spring for it.
Great work.

Thanks. No other mods to the form really other than the neck size. That was minor in that the neck was just a bit too snug. Everything else fit well.

The unfinished birds are much cheaper but you have to prime, paint, set eyes and feet.

That is a sweet mount....love the oxpecker

I LIKE IT!!! Love the back hair, and the bird fits perfect. Nice Job.

that's pretty!