I cant get the racoon hide over the life size mannikin, it is a sitting,position,with arms at mid body point.Also it has ready rod out the bottoms of the feet.I gave it a dorsal cut, with no releaf cuts made.I don't know where to make these cuts. The front legs will not go over the mannikin, and the back legs certanly will not.I am trying to test fit the hide first.The head seems to fit quite good. this is my first lifesize mount. Thanks Tom H.
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Tom, bend the leg rods forward, parallel with the feet on the form. You will have to make a short cut on the bottom of the hind foot pads to line up with the location of the rods coming out of the feet. When the skin is on, you can bend the wires back to right angles with the feet. You will have to make relief cuts on the form in the areas of the upper front legs (your elbow to arm pit) and the upper rear legs (the area between the knee and groin) to allow the skin to fit properly on the form. These slots should be large enough to accept two layers of skin. Your dorsal cut should start about 2" above the base of the tail and go at least to the base of the neck, a little higher if you need a little more slack to get the front feet/legs into the skin. You shold have enough stretch in the skin to pull the head on and get the front legs in. Then insert the ends of the wires into the hind leg skins, pull the end of the rod out the slit in the pads and slip the skin up the legs and pull close on the back. You can make additional mods to the form once you're able to get the skin all the way on and see how it fits. Good luck.
Glenn