Grizzly bear mouth fix..... how did I do?

[slee]

I got this bear rug done last year by a well known Taxi from my area. He is super popular and charges top price to boot. When I got the rug, I was not very happy with the finishing work he did on the mouth.

After a year of being disappointed, I took on the project myself. I have only mounted two deer so far but figured I could tackle this. here are a couple pics from start to end...

This is the way the mouth was finished by the taxi.






First I did some apoxie sculpt work...



some paint and more apoxie scult....



Finished...

[Bob Mead]

Wow.  You seriously got your bear back like that?  Unreal.  The nose and eyes look questionable as well, but it looks like you did a good job fixing up that unacceptable mouth work.  Congrats!  Now send your taxidermist the bill for your time finishing it for him...$65 per hour is not unreasonable

[slee]

Yes the nose needs some work as well....... I'll be doing it when I have a bit more experience under my belt.. Thanks for the compliment.

[phoenix-cry]

Looks good now!

[Rackmastr]

Looks great!!!  That previous work was unacceptable!!!  Wow.

[Keyda81]

That looks one thousand times better! 

[Little Dreamer]

Nice job

[slee]

Thanks guys. I have talked to the taxi about it yesterday and he stated that on rugs, that is how he finishes the mouth and has never had a complaint about it. He told me the tongue usually hides most of it so it's not that big of a deal..

I'm just glad I'm not the only one who thought it was a piss poor job.

[Keyda81]

Thanks guys. I have talked to the taxi about it yesterday and he stated that on rugs, that is how he finishes the mouth and has never had a complaint about it. He told me the tongue usually hides most of it so it's not that big of a deal..

I'm just glad I'm not the only one who thought it was a piss poor job.

Wow, he's crazy, or just lazy!  I wouldn't be happy with it either.  You did a good job, and I'm sure your much happier with it now.

[Bob Mead]

Hmmmm.  So what is his method for hiding the crappy nose work?  Paper bag over the muzzle?  I have an idea:  do it right so it doesn't need to be "hidden"... 

[slee]

Hmmmm.  So what is his method for hiding the crappy nose work?  Paper bag over the muzzle?  I have an idea:  do it right so it doesn't need to be "hidden"... 

So that was my next thing.... Is there any way to fix the nose? Can I drill out the apoxie sculpt and redo it or is there another way?

[verne]

That`s how i got started didn`t like the work i got back,so i started mounting my own deer.!

[Brian M.]

While you were taking the time to detail the throat of the bear why did you not  detail the complete mouth. The roof of the mouth needs to be painted to a more natural effect. lightly airbrush the ridges from an extreme angle with black. then add black to the gum line where it meets the teeth. fading it as it gets further from the tooth.  Then add staining to the teeth as few bear over the age of a few months have white teeth. 

[slee]

While you were taking the time to detail the throat of the bear why did you not  detail the complete mouth. The roof of the mouth needs to be painted to a more natural effect. lightly airbrush the ridges from an extreme angle with black. then add black to the gum line where it meets the teeth. fading it as it gets further from the tooth.  Then add staining to the teeth as few bear over the age of a few months have white teeth. 

I am a complete rook, and have no idea what I am doing...... any chance you could show me some pics of what a bear mouth should look like?

[Bob Mead]

Here's where it begins to get interesting.  When you realize what is involved in getting this stuff done right, it really depends on how much time, effort, and study you are willing to invest.  Most don't want to mess with it, and simply send it to a professional (i.e. a taxidermist).  Others start doing the research and head down the road to this headache called becoming a taxidermist.  That's what I did in 1988, but the road is long and it ain't easy.  If it were, everybody would be a taxidermist and we would all be out of a job.

You can search the net for reference pics of anything, bear's mouths included, so that's a good place to start.  Looking at the real thing is always the best way get the life-like results you seek.  Practice with your airbrush and go for it.  Remember, just about anything can be fixed, so don't worry about ruining your rug.  Ask for help and you will find somebody willing to assist you assuming you are willing to put your time and effort into achieving satisfactory results.  Good luck!