cougar form

That form is almost as good as it gets. Those measurments I think if correct the cat will easily fit that form WITHOUT ALTERATIONS.

3 1/4" X 17 1/4" X 52 1/2" X 30 1/2
3 x 16 x 54 x 29
1/4 inch nothing to worry about

1 1/4 inch on the neck thats great it give plenty of room to taxi the skin around. It will be needed as thats where you get the extra skin to make up the face and ear structure.

2 inch in length, that neck skin will also help here.

1 1/2 inch girth on girth. again this is nothing but great and give the taxidermist more skin to make the cat look right.

When you start stretch cat hides things can get bad really quick and you dont want the hair laying down the slack hide is going to all for stacking of skin and get that awesome fluffy look. Sounds like a great fit fopr the skin.

I would certainly wonder if the taxidermist is huge up on form size, look at his mounts you may want to rethink the work!!!

 

Everyone measures slightly differently,even form makers.The 54" measurement that was taken of your cat sounds a little long,compared to your other measrements.It may very well be a 52"-53" cat depending on how the tape was held.I never see a 3" nose to eye measurement on a 54" cat.It is usually 3 1/2".It may very well fit that form.You just never know until you try the skin on.There are a lot of decent cat forms available in the states and yours is a common size.What about the anatomy of these is bothering you? One of two things is happening here,if you can pick a better form than him,he is incompetent and you should find someone else or if he is competent and you insist on telling him how to do something that you've never done before,then he needs to get rid of you.I don't know either of you so I don't know which is the case so you two can sort that part out.I personally know how to pick the best form for a mount and if a customer suggested to me he could pick a form better,I would encourage him to mount himself.I'm sure it would turn out best that way.

 

To correct you a little, John Gordon doesn't have a lion form coming downhill. He has only three. Two are uphill and one is lying down. If you saw a form descending, it wasn't John's. The forms he has are what you say that you want. Uphill with a very nice sweeping turn. Very natural pose. I like his forms. Don't know your taxidermist but if you don't trust him and you want to trust one of us who you never met, like Jim said, something is wrong and maybe you should part company.

 

why not listen to your taxidermist................. oh maybe i missed the part where you had been doing taxidermy for years

 

bonedogg,I understand what you are saying now.I have to say,there are some of those downhill forms I'm not too fond of either.They just look a little awkward without some serious work.for some reason,there just aren't a lot of uphill mountain lion forms available.There is one available that I am sure would fit your cat.McKenzie Taxidermy Supply,no.RM380.This form will fit a cat that size.It is listed as 3X21 1/2"X33 1/2" x53".The last one of these I bought measured longer than advertised,at least 54".Personally,I'd cut it back a little in length which is easy because it comes cut in half and has to be put back together anyway.The neck is a little heavy on this form but can easily rasped to fit your skin.Your cat is a little lean in girth and these cats often "let out" when tanned and probably will fit the forms 33" girth.If not, it would be a simple matter to rasp down.See if this works for you.I'm sure also,the form you are talking about would fit well.Is there a website for John Gordon?This is one mounted on RM380.

 

cattrax,I believe what he means is,he wants the John Gordon uphill form and his taxidermist found another that was downhill,I assume a different supplier.I'd be interested in seeing the Gordon forms.

 

bonedogg,I found John Gordon's site last night and that form does look excellent.For sure the 905 is too big but I would expect your skin to go right on the #900 with little or no fine tuning.I believe you made a good choice.Stick to your guns on this one.I'm going to try some of those myself.

 

Jim - if you could please post his site, it would be appreciated.

 

http://www.summittaxidermy.com/forms.htm

 

I should have said,I don't think John Gordon's base is something I'd want to use.First,it is too long for my taste.It is just a smooth,foam shape that would probably cost you $350 by the time you got it here and you would still have a lot of base work to do on it.I could see where it would be useful in his shop if he could pour one for $50 and use but I'd rather build one from scratch and customize it to the cat and the customer's needs.Nice forms though.

 

I think the size of a form should be secondary to what you can do with it pose wise. For me it is better to start with a slightly larger form and reduce it as the pose is being changed. Whether I radically alter it or just refine the lines the goal for me is to create proportions that are pleasing. I get very few measurements on the cats I mount. The skin is reality. Two cats could have exactly the same measurements yet one may have as much as twenty percent more skin. The same goes with weights. What the skin will allow you to do is the key. You must be careful though as a properly tanned skin will let you make a greyhound or a bulldog. I tend to lean more towards bulldogs.

 

I've used Johns' form and base and your cat should fit like a glove! If your taxi doesn't want to do it take it somewhere else!

 

the taxidermist works for you if the cat will fit a form you want there is no reason not to use it I think I would move on .