I have been looking for a coyote pedestal form with it's head down panting but have been unable to find one. Any one know who has one? Thanks!
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Dont be affraid to try altering a form a achieve a certain pose your trying to find. Youll be surprised what you can do with a saw and a little bondo!
Go to the search icon at the left and type in altering forms.
Except the Bondo part. Since you're going to have to take an ordinary upright pedestal, you'll need to replace muscle mass in the detailing. First off, cut the mouth open all the way to the neck and remove the lower "jaw". Install your teeth and tongue. Apoxie it and finish the mouth completely before you start the other work. With a Dremel, cut a fine lip line between the Apoxie and the foam "lip". Set your jaw back into the form and pin. You're going to need foam to create that to a workable product. Take a medium gauge wire and run it from the crown of the head to the pedestal back center. Remove the wired and cut thin wedges that become sharp at the turn in the neck. Make a dozen or so of them. Now, reinsert the wire and tip the muzzle down to the angle you desire. That will leave gaps between your wedges. Take plastic freezer wrap and tape it underneath the bottom jaw and neck area and pin it up the sides till only an inch gap at the top is uncovered. Mix foam and let it begin to work. Quickly pour it into the plastic sleeve filling all the gaps. Let it cure, carve it down and sand it. Now you're ready to mount.
Great explaination, when I alter a form, if the area im trying to fill is not that large I prefer to use bondo but Ive done it your way lots of times. Hope that helps you Jessica! Good luck!
Many people do that as I once did. I stopped when I found that the inconsistencies between the two made sculpting the two mediums difficult. I tended to have "dish-outs" in the foam between the Bondo sandwiches. I also found it very tough to insert pins or wires if need be with the Bondo so prevalent. Going to foam eliminated all that.
Foam also has its drawbacks. You MUST us long LONG drywall screws to hold your pieces in place with the foam expands. Using wires won't work and the foam will pull the wire as it expands. WASCO sells some great 5 inch screws that can be used and reused dozens of times. The screws lock the pieces in place and the foam is expelled instead of expanding the form.
The foam in a can? I know to buy regular foam is pretty expensive so would that work? Thanks guys for all the tips! Hopefully I can make that work!
That's actually a rubberized product that does not conform well to alterations and taxidermy. Buy the 1 quart kit and keep it sealed tightly. It lasts forever. (Or at least a very long time.)
I'll see what I can do and hopefully it will work out. This is going to be a birthday present for my mom so I want it to turn out good. I'll let you guys know what happens! Thanks so much for the ideas!