Unique Pedestal BLACK Squirrel Business Card Holder (Critiques?)

[Kay Raynewolfe]

This was a business card holder project for a local gunshop owner. The cards, holder, and taxidermy work all completed by me. Dec/Jan 2011. I had to pretty much make the form because there are none for the realistic/in motion pose I wanted. So I VERY dismantled one that was close in size and reassembled and bondoed and sanded till I got the right shape/size.What does everyone think? I know many dont like the novelty type mounts and I dont want to get into all that (It was appropriate for the venue) but curious what people think about quality/overall mount. Thank you!

Finished mount:











In Progress:











Specimen:

[7-Point]

very nice.

[Kay Raynewolfe]

very nice.

Thank you. Ive been worried about reception of the novelties.. and also with it being my first mounted anything I see ALL of the minor flaws. lol.

[phoenix-cry]

I'm liking it!

[PatrickM]

Looks good! Somebody will probably ask what you're doing with all those pins in it's face. Neat little mount though. Something possibly a bit off with the mouth? Maybe needs to be more closed. Hard to tell. Just my opinion. Good work! Patrick.

[Kay Raynewolfe]

Looks good! Somebody will probably ask what you're doing with all those pins in it's face. Neat little mount though. Something possibly a bit off with the mouth? Maybe needs to be more closed. Hard to tell. Just my opinion. Good work! Patrick.

I do agree. Being the first one I just wasnt sure everything would hold with tucking and I used a lot of pins in my first two. The other because it was roadkill and needed them. The mouth probably is a little too open. I went with using the real teeth, and real ones are just not as perfect as the teeth on the mannikins. I did a lot of dremeling in the mouth area and then clayed it to get the teeth in fairly correctly.

In hindsight it was a tall order for a 1st project and I do wish id have saved it for the second. But it was a christmas present and he was extatic. Several people made there way into the shop during the unveiling, and a few afterwords, and it quickly became the topic of choice. He nearly put it under the glass and twitched when anyone got near it. lol, It was a good feeling.. I mean, what do you get a gun guy who already has EVERYTHING and a shop full of guns? Also the gun this critter is holding is his favorite gun. The camo on the back of the ped was also textured so it looks like the knobs on the rest of the antler. :-)

Thank you all again for your input!
Kay Raynewolfe

[michael p.]

Pretty cute.... bet the customer was pleased.

[Kay Raynewolfe]

Pretty cute.... bet the customer was pleased.

He was.. Kinda speechless. hehe. It was a gift for the shop owner because he and his sig other are both great people. He helped me a lot with getting my supplies and rifle together for deer season and making adjustments to it which allowed me to shoot my very first deer. I wanted to do something nice for him and knew he was out of business cards to. So I printed those and had him open them and then unveil the critter. Was also cool watching the expression on the gunshop customers while im walking in setting things here (placed the cards in their box on the counter in his space etc etc) and there without saying a word and with the mount under a large orange vest... hehe. I think more that he ignores anything were doing when we are there disturbs them or something. He made it through 2 customers before he finally had to look, lol. It was awesome. :-) I love doing things for people like that who appreciate them.

[museum man]

they sell those forms on ebay for only 5 bucks each

[WillinghamsTaxidermy]

I like it! And just curious, where did you get that little model rifle? I make novelty squirrels occasionally with little hunting or fishing accessories.  But usually I sculpt my own since I am not sure where to get those types of scale models. Anyway, great work!

[gavinm95]

I like it! And just curious, where did you get that little model rifle? I make novelty squirrels occasionally with little hunting or fishing accessories.  But usually I sculpt my own since I am not sure where to get those types of scale models. Anyway, great work!

You can use guns from those 11 inch G.I. JOE action figures. You could probably find the guns on ebay for pretty cheap.

[SD Cowgirl]

That's pretty cool!

[Kay Raynewolfe]

I like it! And just curious, where did you get that little model rifle? I make novelty squirrels occasionally with little hunting or fishing accessories.  But usually I sculpt my own since I am not sure where to get those types of scale models. Anyway, great work!

You can use guns from those 11 inch G.I. JOE action figures. You could probably find the guns on ebay for pretty cheap.

they at 1/6 scale models. GI Joe Makes them, dragon makes some cooler ones(come apart like real guns), and several others. Ebay is usually the cheapest but depending on which one you want not all are cheap. The garand, like this guy has, is $8-$29 plus shipping. The 1/6 manual was $5 with shipping. Antique/second hand stores are the better bet for cheap. Walmart used to sell them but I havnt seen any lately.

[Kay Raynewolfe]

they sell those forms on ebay for only 5 bucks each

If your referring to Rons forms they are NOT the same. I buy his for various things all the time, and they have all been great so far and he is great to deal with... BUT they run on the small side for most of the squirrels I get to work on, even the greys. Even the base i started with for this form, which was a flex form, was too small. Also the arm position is more of a 'gun rack' type on every commercial form ive seen. For who it was going to, the details really mattered. Without my saying anything one of the first things he had noticed was the position of the arms as well as how the strap lays across the wrist. I knew he would notice the small things and wanted to do the best I could on it. I also felt this was more of an 'in motion' pose, and created it as a pedestal with the area beneath the fabric textured to match the knobby areas on the antler. Sometimes I am just a perfectionist and nitpicky, lol. Thanks! :-)