I'm going to start my 4th shoulder mount here shortly, and I'm in the process of doing some prepping of the form. On my last deer mount it seemed the worst aspect of it, was the nose. So I'm trying to make that the best aspect this time. I followed some directions, found on the internet about making a septum with a milk jug, and dremeling the nose out. I have a few pictures before and after the insertion of the septum
The pictures of my work are here:
http://community.webshots.com/album/276628502gLDRzg
A few questions...
Are there any areas I should change on the nose?
I also included some pictures of the nose on the tanned cape. Now when I start to mount, should I take a good amount of the actual tubed nose off or try to leave as much on as I can?
How much(if any) should I build the nose up with clay and around the nostrils before I put the cape on?
I haven't been taught this process correctly, so I appreciate any input, advice or techiniques, that'll help me make this nose look great. Thank for your time.
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Looks like you have the right idea but that cape needs a lot more thinning, the nose cartlidge needs removed and thinned...Lips look thick as well...
No clay build up should be used..
When you purchase a nose cast from a supplier it will have the inner nose detail cut out all the way to the back of the cast. Using the cast as a guide, cut the nose off the manikin in roughly the same place as the cast, and dremel with a fine bit the details. In this way you can get in from behind and get it just like a real cast nose. Then just reattach the nose. If you want to get that detailed. Or you could just purchase a Buckeye replacement nose and put it on. If you really study a nose cast, you will see what needs to be done.
That cape needs some serious trimming and thinning. Looking at the pics there is way too much material left on the cape. I hope you rehydrat it prior to performing this thinning step. About 3/8" of inner nose skin is all that is needed. I use a scalpel and rounded 3/4" wooden dowel to do this. Insert the dowel into the nostral from the hair side and start thinning and removing the cartilage and extra flesh until the skin lays flat against the dowel. It should be pretty thin when done. That goes for the eyes, lips, and ear bases also.
As for the mannikin nose you need good 3D reference like Mike suggested. I like using those ready made septums. The plastic milk jugs are made from is too slippery to hold the paint as it scratches off easily when slipping into the nose slot. I always add a thin layer of critter clay to the nose pad when mounting so I can detail the texture of the hair folicles back in. This also gives it a nice full look.
I haven't started started prepping the cape at all yet, since I'm just working on the form for now. I do hydrate the cape in Relax-R which seemed to work good in the past. Thanks for the info, will post results for your critique on improvements after it's mounted.
A scalpel to remove the "bigger" stuff on the nose skin, and for final thinning, a dremel tool with a barrel sander. You can put that skin right on your finger and feel it get thin. And you can burn a hole right through too, so go slow.
Your nose is not dremmeled out properly. You have no trough in the back portion of the nose; but, overall doesn't look to bad. For a good nose look at my nose reference on my website at www.griffithtaxidermy.com on the instructional page at the bottom of the page and don't forget to enlarge it.
You nose is not shaved down enough and looks rough at this stage. Very poor flesh job.
John Griffith