Bear Form question

[John Bellucci]

Hey Hoyt,

It can get a little daunting looking through tons of catalogs and their pages.  Luckily, I've done enough Black Bears that I can sort of pin down where what mannikin is located.  Here are some for your consideration.  Remember turning a head from a straight mannikin is a common thing we have to do, among other little diddies!  Increasing length and reducing girth on these mannikins should work well, as they are close enough to start with.

This first batch comes from Research Mannikins.
BLACK BEAR -STRAIGHT
[L-147] $343.65  
Black Bear, 5 1/2" x 12" x 54" x 44" (19 1/2" neck) Walking on all fours, CM, ST, by Mike Frazier, Recommended eye size: 16mm


BLACK BEAR RT 2
[L-148-8] $328.40
Black Bear, 5" x 11" x 54 1/2" x 43" Walking, Head right, CM, by Joe Kish, Recommended eye size: 16mm


BLACK BEAR RT CM 2
[L-146-9] $328.40
Black Bear, 4 1/4" x 11 1/2" x 56" x 42" Walking with one front leg lifted, CM, RT, by Bob Elzner & Shep Brown, also available in OM. Recommended eye 16mm


From Jonas Brothers ...
#3-KH2902 Bear-Black - 4 3/4 x 12 x 54 x 42 - Climbing Down, LT


#3-KH2900 Bear-Black - 5 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 62 x 48 - Climbing Down, LT


#3-152366 Bear-Black - 5¾ x 12 x 58 x 45 - Walking, RT, CM PosTex


And last but not least, McKenzie has a few Black Bears ... to say the least!  They carry Black Bears in the size range you need.
This was sculpted by Joe Kish.


This was sculpted by Tommy Ray of Alaska!


This looks like a Roger Martin Bear:


Brian Johnson of Revolution Forms has some real niceBlack Bears.  I've not used them yet, but the look good at least.

Lord Of The Dance!

Hope these help!

John.


 

[John Bellucci]

I'm still waiting for the day I have a client ask me to mount a Black Bear as "The Lord Of The Dance!"

John.

"The Lord Of The Dance!"

[boarhunter67]

Thanks again Rusty.  I'll end up getting one that is standing on its hind legs.  Since I'm going to do an open mouth I'll probably look for one with at least one of the arms raise some.  To me it might look funny to have it snarling with its arms down, but maybe that's just me.  I will probably put it in a local gun store with my cards to attract customers.
Too bad I can't get one now since Jonas has their forms 25% off right now.  Does anybody know when Van Dykes usually has their free shipping month? 

[tazzymoto]

I'm still waiting for the day I have a client ask me to mount a Black Bear as "The Lord Of The Dance!"

John.

"The Lord Of The Dance!"

  That would be pretty cool!

[John Bellucci]

Thanks again Rusty.  I'll end up getting one that is standing on its hind legs.  Since I'm going to do an open mouth I'll probably look for one with at least one of the arms raise some.  To me it might look funny to have it snarling with its arms down, but maybe that's just me.  I will probably put it in a local gun store with my cards to attract customers.
Too bad I can't get one now since Jonas has their forms 25% off right now.  Does anybody know when Van Dykes usually has their free shipping month?  

In real life, bears don't raise their arms as much as many think.  More often than not, when they "roar" the arms are down, and the entire body leans forward into the roar.  Just watch that old movie "The Bear", and watch the scene where the Bear Cub is being attacked by a Cougar, then screams his little Bear scream ... only right behind him is his big protector Bear, roaring his ass off at the Cougar, scaring it out of there!  

Tommy Ray sculpted a bunch of bears in this position -- now sold by McKenzie.  Just put an open mouth head on one and your good to go.

The Revolution lifesize upright Bear mannikin shown, not only has arms lifted a bit, but has the arms detached.  If that's the case, altering the arms would be super easy.  Just remember to match the surrounding anatomy, and use reference to make it correct.

John.

[George Roof]

Jesse, that's a John Schmidt form and rock.  EXCELLENT to work with.  John is one of the few people who get bear anatomy right in his sculpting.  I've used that rock with several different sized bears along with one that DIDN'T fit the rock before altering.  Good combination and the rock can have an octagonal base to fit or stand free-standing.

[Hoytman]

Jesse, that's a John Schmidt form and rock.  EXCELLENT to work with.  John is one of the few people who get bear anatomy right in his sculpting.  I've used that rock with several different sized bears along with one that DIDN'T fit the rock before altering.  Good combination and the rock can have an octagonal base to fit or stand free-standing.

George, I ordered the form and rock this morning.. Only trick is the guy wants it on a ledge above the door.. I I will probably (since I think this rock is open on the bottom).. Attach it to a narrow rock ledge and then secure to the wall.. its going to be 7' in the air above a door.. I have mounted several bears on schmidt forms.. I like them allot.. I am wondering when vandykes will offer free shipping as I have 9 more LS bears to do.plus my daughters and 1 or two of my own..  Shipping up here is a booger..

[Wayne R]

I just used a John Schmidt form and liked it a lot. Free shipping may be a thing of the pass since Van Dykes isn't a Cabela's company any more.

[bill@hogheaven]

I wouldnt count on seeing a sale on lifesize either.

[James Parrish]

I had a client that harvested a bear in Canada a couple years ago.  Having done several pieces prior to this for him, I know he measures everything in the field.  The first bear rug I did for him came back shorter than his measurements, but the girth was bigger.  I explained how rugs are stretched and how we could have stretched it length-wise, but the rug would have looked skinny.  He was satisfied, but not completely happy.  When I got this particular bear from him, he handed me a piece of paper with his measurements.  He made it clear that he wanted the exact length that he had measured.  Needless to say, to get the bear the length he recorded required it to be stretched length-wise.  I bought a form that was about 10" short and 6" larger in girth.  I added the 10" in the neck, front shoulder, belly, and rear.  The mount turned out pretty good, but the bear looks so skinny.  Personally, I would have preferred to have the girth larger and sacrifice some of the length.  The customer was pleased with the mount.  He really liked the work on the panting open mouth.  Before I left his office, he took a tape measure and measured the bear.  It was exactly what he measured in the field.  My point here is to check with your customers when you get these long skinny bears to see what they prefer.

[George Roof]

James, I've cured customers of that silly assed idea.  I ask them what their waist size is.  Regardless of what they say, I tell them that they're wrong.  I hand them a tape and they stand there and measure it to prove me wrong (occasionally, I win right there). But then I tell them they aren't measuring correctly.  I make them sit on a stool and take it.  When I get that "dumb" look, I explain to them that live measurement in the field are just as dumb.  The animal is DEAD and all the muscles are relaxed, giving a false measurement.  I explain that unlike the ruminant family, bears are a lot like people and their skin contracts and expands as their weight changes drastically from coming out of hibernation to going into hibernation.  I tell them that I'll mount their bear as big as the skin allows me to without altering good anatomy. If they don't like that, then I tell them to take it to someone who will do it the way they want it.  I'm sure I've lost a few customers, but I really don't care.  Weenie bears have my name on them and no one is going to accuse me of that.