I have never messed with small mammals that are any smaller than a raccoon. I stick mainly to gameheads, birds and fish but I have a customer who brought me a mink the other day for a habitat scene he is building in his house.
My question is regarding the ears and lips. His ears are tiny and paper thin so I was wondering if you should open them like you do a raccoon or try to card them somehow. Also, do you split the lips on a tuck them in a slot on mammals this small or do you just glue and pin them?
Thanks in advance!
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I split the lips and turn the ears. I tuck the lips the same as any other mammal I am doing. It is a little tedious but the end result is better.
Todd B
Don't know if I was right to do it that way, but when I encountered it as a new project, I just stuck to the basics and followed the form and it all went together fine. Tucked the lips after thinning well. Also, used a small ball of apoxie sculpt for each ear, the noses are a bear to get all cleaned out, but I did the best I could, then when it dried, any puckering that resulted was resolved with a small bit of Apoxie Sculpt, textured and painted to match. Make sure you don't have any glue or epoxie in the hair, and back comb the fur. When it dries it will fluff better and give the fur a fuller appearance. Oh, in case you've never handle a mink, skin it outside the house. Their scent glands will peel paint. Makes a skunk smell timid.:)