Quick question concerning picking a bird body to mount on. I just recently perchased "The Art of Taxidermy Vides Series" Flying waterfowl video with Stefan Savides. He said that the form he mounts on is actually larger than the carcas, because you have to take into consideration the fat, etc. that is removed. So my question is this: when ordering a form from Research Mannikins (or any other supplier)Do I measure the bird, and then look in the catalog for a larger form? So if I had a bird that measured 5 3/4 X 7 Do i buy a body 5 3/4 X 8? Or do I buy a form listed at 5 3/4 X 7? Sorry if this seems like a stupid question. I'm gonna be mounting my first duck soon and I dont want to start out with the wrong size body. Thanks for all the help.
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Taking into consideration the fact that this will be your first duck, I would go a little smaller. I have mounted many and I still like to leave my self room to work. It will be much easier to taxi the skin and get the feathers to lay right. Also ducks are very thinned skined and are prone to tearing when trying to stitch up a bird that is on too large a manikin. Ducks take lots of practice so go a little smaller on the first ones, youll be glad you did. Good luck Mark Natures-reflection.com
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it. Ship it.
i want a nice 4wheeler a kids a
10yolds 4wheeler then you can have
it. Ship it.
If you go with a mannikin that is the same size as your measurements, you should have extra room due to the removed fat. Always test fit the mannikin first. A good rule of thumb is to put the mannikin in the skin and pinch the incision together and lift it up. You should have enough room to slide a quarter ($.25) upright between the mannikin and the incision. But, I always err on the small side. I can move things and get things pinned so they look proper... If the mannikin is too big, I can't get anything in the right place.
In most cases the bulk of the fat on a waterfowl is located between the quill butts. The tips of the quills are actually very close to touching the meat of the carcass except in areas under the wings and around the thighs and neck.
I find it amusing that many waterfowl forms are so careful to show the muscle structure in these areas, because it would be totally hidden by fat on a healthy bird.
The most accurate way to mount a typical waterfowl would be to use plenty of caulking to replace the missing fat and to allow accurate placement of the feathers. The drawback is that it makes the mount heavier and slows the drying process considerably if you use latex or other air-dried types. I think the fact that you CAN fit a larger form into the skin still doesn't make it the right thing to do.
(I admit there ARE some exceptionally fat ducks and geese out there, and when you get one of those a larger form would be very appropriate.)