Recently did a 1/2 lifesize mouflon for a customer. He's a repeat guy and I like having him as a customer. His only "complaint" on his sheep was that the knees on the front legs seem to bow inward toward each other a little. By his own admission it's just slight. I looked at it and it is as he says but to me that's anotomically correct. He disagrees and professes his many years of hunting, his many observations of sheep and his many sheep kills as his resume. There were no hard feelings but I'd just like to "re-assure" him that sheep knees are actually that way because I'd like him to be happy with his mount instead of less than pleased for a reason that's not real. Any sheep knee experts have an opinion? I looked at tons of pics on the web and found several that show the bowed knees. I'll show them to him nicely. I didn't modify the knees by the way. What say you?
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I have been doing some mounts over the three years and looking at live whitetail deer verse the forms, verse cattle shows. I know beef and dairy cattle better. Is that many forms the kees are off in anatomy, they can bow in, but should sit squarely on top of the lower legs.
Can you wetback the legs, open them and take a little wedge out of the form, then use a fast setting epoxy to hol them square, then close the cut?
the mannikin are right. Look up reference and show him "if he insists" otherwise just let it go.
This is another of those customer quirks. I've yet to see any disparity on the forms as you describe other than what nature presented. There are some who will always say that every mannikin needs to be altered, but I've found that not to be the case usually. (Usually the person saying that has a mannikin of his own that IS perfect and the others aren't). And IF you decide to agree, you're going to have an impossible job at this stage since the animal has been mounted. Those rods never "bend" and the foam will break. Such modifications have to be done prior to the skin going on. The existing rod sometimes has to be pulled and another one installed for best results.
That isnt even the sheeps knees. Its his wrist, using comparitive anatomy! Metacarpal bones. I know, they all say knee. But, thats a start in the right direction, if youre going to advise him...