As per usual i have got in a pig head to mount. i say head because the guy caping it, 'who knew what he was doing' cut the cape too short. The client will be lucky to get a neck mount out of this.
I would normally refuse it but he's a young kid, its his first, its got good ivory and i cant talk him out of it.
What i was hoping for, is that someone here could throw a few ideas around about jazzing it up with habitat ect.
The client has left it totally up to me as to wether it hangs on a wall or sits on a bench as a pedestal.
So i thought about having it peering out of native grass either (bench or wall mount), or making it look like the head is emerging out of a mud bath. (bench)
Any thoughts?
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Instead of going through all that trouble, have you considered getting a different cape? It may be a good idea to ask first,but one deer looks identical to the next as far as capes go, I'd promise you he'd never know, unless you told him it was so short that you couldn't do anything with it, then you "magically" were able to do so. Just a thought.
mud idea sounds like a good idea. maybe you can use the mud to cover the form where the cape is too short.
Yes jack i had thought of that but here in Australia its very hard to buy pig capes. (any capes for that matter).
It took me 12 months of adveritsing and begging 'lazy' ,(said nicely), hunters to skin a pig for cash instead of leaving it to rot, before i got something suitable for a gunstore display piece.
even offering cash for the whole body unskun doesnt entice them - lol.
Other taxo's wont part with them either.(i know why).
So, unless i get out to hunt my own more often, replacing pig capes are way out of the question. Thats why i am upfront with them if there is a problem.
Not sure what your hang up is. The customer knows it is short, so mount it short and be done with it. A short pig mount on a pedestal will look fine.
Put a nice wood plaque behing the neck mount and it will really add to it, almost look like he has shoulders. I have done this with several neck mount deer and it really seems to help.
I have also mounted a small clump of dirt below the neck and place tall grass going up to the neck and taller on both sides of the mount and it will look like he is standing in tall grass, taking away the neck mount look.
As Drew said, the customer knows what he's getting. If he was agreeable to a neck mount then, I wouldn't really worry about it too much either way. Good Luck
He screwed up, not you. Mount his head mount and be done. Don't sneak another cape onto the mannikin. For one thing, if he thinks the cape is his he'll never learn the error of his ways and will be doomed to repeat it. Secondly it's dishonest and underhanded unless you tell him upfront. Sometimes giving the customer back a mount reflecting their screw up, ei; a neck-less pig, is the best medicine to get them to get it right next time. You should do a good job as far as your craftsmanship, but you should return to him his mounted no-neck pig. He will be kicking himself when he sees what almost was and will get it right next time. That will make your life easier down the road.
Thanks guys.
Hi Samantha. I also live in Australia and I just happen to be in the position to get you a pig cape or two if you want. I am living in Townsville, north QLD and have been doing taxidermy for a little while now. I am also doing some guiding for a bowhunting safari operator up in Cape York. I will be going up again in a weeks time and could cape a boar or two for you (for a price of course). Not sure where your are located, so the only problem may be that if your client shot the pig down south in NSW, it will have a shorter snout than any pig shot up here in North QLD.
Anyway, send me an e-mail if your keen. Cheers.
email sent.