Altering a whitetail shoulder mannikin

[James Parrish]

I typically do not have to alter whitetail forms because there are so many sizes available.  In this case, I ordered the wrong size form, so I decided to have a little fun and produce a tutorial on alterations.  The form was 13" at the base of the ears and the deer measured 14.5"   I added 2" of girth to give me a nice fit when the cape was stretched.  The head was also too small, but the nose to eye was good.  So, I altered the head to fit as well.  Hope this is informative...and I welcome any feedback.


Step 1
After a test fit of the cape on the mannikin, I determined that I needed to add about 2" of girth to the neck.  I also determined that the head needed to be widened at the back.  So, to get started, I made a couple reference marks and cut the head off the form just behind the ears.  My tool of choice is a reciprocating saw.  I also do these alterations BEFORE roughing or sanding the form.  The slick skin of the form allows excess foam to be cut away easily.



Step 2
Notice the red line drawn on the form.  I drew the line on both sides of the form.  I try to hit the half way point when doing this, but don't get too critical here.  Next, I cut (as close as possible) down the red line with the recip saw.



Step 3
I then cut a wedge out of scrap plywood.  You will want to cut the wedge to 1/4 of the total girth you wish to add.  Here, I wanted 2" added, so I cut the wedge to 1/2".

[James Parrish]

Step 4

I drove the wedge into the cut made into the neck of the form.




Step 5
I wrapped the neck with a trash bag (any plastic or waxed cardboard will work) and stapled it so that the foam would not leak out.



Step 6
I mixed some 2 part foam using a wire loop in my drill.  This lets the foam mix thoroughly which will ensure a quality job.  I poured the foam into the cut in the neck as it was starting to expand.  Then, I wrapped a piece of the trash bag over the opening so that the foam was contained.

[James Parrish]

Step 7
After the foam kicked, I removed the plastic bag and trimmed the excess foam with a knife.



Step 8
This is actually several steps.  I repeated the steps I had already completed, except this time, I made the cut vertically through the neck.  The purpose here is to maintain proportion.





Step 9
Once I cut the neck vertically and inserted a wooden wedge, I again wrapped the neck with plastic, poured foam, and cleaned up the excess when it kicked.

[James Parrish]

Step 10
I measured the altered form to determine the girth of the neck.  It is now roughly 15"...exactly where it needs to be, and with the correct proportions.

Step 11
The next thing I did was to work on the head.  It needed to be made taller and wider.  So, I made a cut directly through the middle of the head with my table saw.  The nose pad and muzzle fit the skin, so I only cut about half way through the head.  If the entire head needed to be widened, the cut would need to extend the entire length of the head.  To give more "height" to the head, I made a horizontal cut.  You can see this in the pics.  I used wooden wedges to open the head up.  Since I made 2 cuts, I had to use 4 wedges to hold it open.  (Sorry this pic didn't turn out).





Step 12
Using 3" drywall screws, I re-attached the head to the form.  Take your time to make sure it is aligned properly.  I again wrapped the area with a trashbag and stapled.  I poured foam and allowed it to fill both the vertical and horizontal cuts in the head.  I also allowed it to flow between the head and neck, permanently joining the two.

[James Parrish]

Step 13
I again used a knife to trim the excess foam.  It will trim easily from the form , if the form is not roughed.  I also used a hand rasp and an electric sander to contour the head/neck junction to my liking. 

Step 14
At this point, the form looked pretty good.  I used mache to smooth the altered areas and to put in some muscle detail in the neck.  Once the mache was completely hardened, I sanded it down and roughed the mannikin.




Step 15
Once I had the mannikin well roughed, I used waterbased clay to put in more muscle detail and smooth/fill any flaws in the form.  At this point, all that is left is to cut lip slot, do nose work, etc and mount.

One last word.  You might need to add another plywood block to the head, especially if the antlers are heave.  This was a small 5pt and the block that was on the form was sufficient.  I did have to make sure that my screws went into the wood instead of the foam, since the head block was split from the alteration.

Again, I hope this is helpful and I welcome questions or feedback.

[The Ojibwa]

Now, I understand that you did this for educational purposes and I commend you on a good job doing so; however, how much time did this take you and how much do you think you spent in foam? Also, did you just use a foam sold by most taxi supply companies? I would have just gotten another form but again, I definately learned from this tutorial and this is a valuable skill needed for other species where forms aren't as common. Thanks!

[James Parrish]

With taking pics and sculpting additional muscle detail, the total time was probably about an hour.  It doesn't take much foam to do a project like this.  I used the foam sold by McKenzie.  BTW, I would normally just use a different form, but I needed to roll this one out ASAP and I didn't have any forms that would fit on hand.

[bigyay]

thanks for the tutorial mate ,it will help me out heaps ..

[Hoss.]

good tutorial James!!!

[Newmarx]

Thanks James I used that method on a bear mannikin...it worked great! Thanks for the tip!  ~Rich

[alex c]

Jim
Thank's for taking your time this should help out many new members.

[michael p.]

Now, I understand that you did this for educational purposes and I commend you on a good job doing so; however, how much time did this take you and how much do you think you spent in foam? Also, did you just use a foam sold by most taxi supply companies? I would have just gotten another form but again, I definately learned from this tutorial and this is a valuable skill needed for other species where forms aren't as common. Thanks!

 Ojibwa, once you get the hang of it, it takes no time at all.....not only that, why would you "just get another form"?  You're a Taxidermist, make it happen.  I had a guy bring in a deer head last week, he wanted the head down & turned, but not a full sneak & not an upright....a semi with the head down, a specific sharp turn, yada..yada... yada.  I simply grabbed a "Trufitt" left turn semi head up & said "if I cut this, this, and this I can make this & you will have an original, nobody else will have a mount with this specific turn because I'll make it"  The guy was estatic!  The thought that he was "special" made him more excited than when he first came in.  He wanted to make sure the top 3 tines on the deers right side showed also which they would not have had the head not been turned a "specific" way.  

Don't know about everybody else, but once you get the "altering thing", it makes your job easier.  Sometimes you will look at a deer & something just aint right...well what you gonna do, put the cape up, lose money that day and order another form???  Heck no!! LOL  Break out the reciprocating saw & have some FUN!  Altrerations keep your job from getting boring and helps you take a little more pride in your work

Here is what that head up semi sneak Trufitt mannikin looks like now......took about 30 minutes max.

[gade04]

Been looking through the archives and came across this.  I need to make a standing bobcat become a bobcat straddling a log.  Can I shim out the legs at the hips/shoulders like in the tutorial and fill with foam?  Or is there a better way you would suggest?.

[James Parrish]

Depending on what you are going for, you're might need to do a little more than that, but yes, that would be the basic process.  Use reference to see how the hip/shoulder joints work.  The width on the top of the hips/shoulders is not going to increase.  The angle at which the legs stick out will.  What you don't want to do is widen the shoulders and hips, making the form too large for the cat.

[gade04]

Right.  That is exactly what I want to do.  I just need to spread the legs a little.  Thanks.