positive set eye sockets, experience with Joe Meder forms

Do they have positive set eye sockets on them? I have one of McKenzies and the eye socket looks like it is on much more of a downward angle then one of the Joe Meder forms i have. Thanks

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They're meant for 2 different style of Eyes

Dennis Behns WT forms are meant for the 220 A-Spheric Eye while Joe Meders are sculpted for a 32-34mm IQ Style eye.

Matt, it seems you're spending too much time looking

"Positive eye sockets" are truly a waste and are more like the feather in Dumbo's trunk than anything else. If you are a taxidermist, the base cast into your mannikin means absolutely nothing. To trust it is often not in your best interests anyway. YOU should be the one deciding how those eyes are rotated regardless of what the form does or doesn't do. Most people set the eye in clay anyway and that little buffer of clay already has changed your set to some degree. It's YOUR responsibility to work that eye orbit to meet what YOU want it to do. Once you set the eye and build the eyebrows and lids, you'd better be visually verifying where that animal is looking and if it's where you want it to be. I buy a form for several reasons: The sculpting, the posture, the size, or, most importantly, my customer's desires. I never buy one concerning myself if it has a "positive eyeset".

I am with George on this one!

One of the first alterations you as a taxidermist should learn is altering the eye sockets! ever done a small mamal using cc eyes? I have yet to see a "positave eye set" on a small game form. Last year I bit the bullet and used a positave eye set on my deer and it looks like CRAP! I will be remounting it this year. I have said in the past that eye sets are nice but I did a tear off of my own work and found I didn't even hit the back of the eye socket and ended up having a different angle on the eyes anyway! I still say the best tool a taxidermist can have is referance, Pictures and casts. Like I said, I am with George on this one. YOU NEED TO DECIDE WHAT THE EYES LOOK LIKE! Joe

They are great if they are right

Positive set simply means that they are roughly pitched at a 45 degree forward and around 10 degrees down. If the form makes it through the casting process and still has those angles then you don't have to mess with it. I check everyone and usually they need tweaking.

And you have to know what eyes the form was designed for. I have a couple 1" ratchet sockets that I use to check it. If you put the open end in the eye socket and look at the base of the sockets it is easy to see the angles and if they match.