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First Red Fox mount, help please! Facial clay work references?

Discussion in 'Beginners' started by Edelweiss, May 17, 2015.

  1. May 17, 2015 #1
    Edelweiss

    Edelweiss New Member

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    I've purchased a full body fox pelt off the forum and it's just about to get here. I'm eager to mount it and it's going to be only my second mount overall and my first full body. I know it won't be amazing but I'm looking to learn a lot by doing this one.

    I was wondering if anybody had any reference pictures of how the clay work on the red fox's face looks like. I've seen tons of pictures of live foxes obviously and will use tons to reference when I mount it, but I've never seen any of the clay work itself. I've searched the forum and found a couple very old posts and was wondering if anybody had any more photos that could help me. Sorry if I didn't use the search right, I tried different terms and came up with little.

    So in short, does anybody out there have any pictures of the clay work on a red fox mount? Thank you very much in advance.

    One more question- which pose would be easiest for a beginner like me to mount a fox in? I was thinking either a laying or a sitting position, but what do you guys think? Is standing easier? Do I have to do the skin tucking cuts on a standing mannequin? I bet these questions are dumb, sorry. I just want to make sure, I'd rather ask a dumb question and know than go in without knowing it.

    Sorry for all the questions. Thank you very much in advance for your time and help. I'm very new but have a lot of passion and your assistance means a lot to me.
     
  3. May 17, 2015 #2
    All About Animals

    All About Animals Member

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    Cincinnati
    In my opinion I would say the standing position would be the best way to go or the easiest. That way you only have 4 relief cuts to tuck the skin in the arm pits of each leg. If you were to do a laying or sitting fox, you would have to add relief cuts for the bending legs or at the knees as well. As far as clay work, it would depend on which form you get, some are much more anatomically correct and you would use less clay on those type forms. As you mentioned, use your reference and build your base to reflect that and make smooth transitions. If you have not bought your form yet, a big supplier like McKenzie (if you can get another taxidermist from there on the phone) should be able to tell you which forms are the best way to go. Hope this helps.
     

  5. May 17, 2015 #3
    Lone Wolf AK

    Lone Wolf AK Lone Wolf Taxidermy and Wildlife Artistry

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    Eagle River, Alaska
    I'm certainly no expert, and I don't know if these will help, but here are a few pix of a cross fox I did. Eye set and ear position are crucial.

    Research Mannikins sells a good basic fox DVD by Jean Roll that is really instructional. (VT-16)
     

    Attached Files:

  6. May 17, 2015 #4
    Lone Wolf AK

    Lone Wolf AK Lone Wolf Taxidermy and Wildlife Artistry

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    Eagle River, Alaska
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  7. May 17, 2015 #5
    Lone Wolf AK

    Lone Wolf AK Lone Wolf Taxidermy and Wildlife Artistry

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    Eagle River, Alaska
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  8. May 17, 2015 #6
    Lone Wolf AK

    Lone Wolf AK Lone Wolf Taxidermy and Wildlife Artistry

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    Eagle River, Alaska
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  9. May 17, 2015 #7
    Lone Wolf AK

    Lone Wolf AK Lone Wolf Taxidermy and Wildlife Artistry

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    Eagle River, Alaska
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  10. May 18, 2015 #8
    twinrivers

    twinrivers Active Member

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    New Sharon, Iowa
    Nice references! And nice mount as well.
     
  11. May 18, 2015 #9
    SouthrnChrmer450

    SouthrnChrmer450 Self-Learning

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    Lots of awesome material here. Thank you for sharing with us, Lone Wolf....these will be very helpful for a LOT of beginners!
     
  12. Nov 15, 2015 #10
    Edelweiss

    Edelweiss New Member

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    Oh my gosh I am so sorry I am so late to replying to this- I honestly forgot I made this thread!

    I still haven't done the fox up yet so the references are VERY MUCH appreciated! :) Thanks so much for doing that, seriously. It'll help me and so many others as well!

    I have one more silly question I thought of- the fox is case skinned. Does that make the skin harder to pull onto a form? I'm unsure of how to get it to fit inside when I'm pulling the pelt on like a sock! I think I'm just over thinking it, honestly... Will I have to make any additional cuts to get the form to fit inside? I'll probably do a standing mount thanks to the suggestions here :)

    Again, thanks for the help! Sorry for my tardiness, I really do appreciate what was given here.
     
  13. Nov 15, 2015 #11
    Non-Typical_IL

    Non-Typical_IL Member

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    Thanks Lone Wolf!
     
  14. Nov 15, 2015 #12
    George

    George The older I get, the better I was.

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    Lone Wolf, thank you. That's some beautiful work.
     
  15. Nov 15, 2015 #13
    Duckslayr

    Duckslayr Active Member

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    Bend, OR
    Lone Wolf showed you the best tip for small game reference...the skull. Obviously you don't have the skull for yours, and first mounts will likely be rough anyway. The mechanics of a mount are usually a bit overwhelming. That said, try to get the whole carcass for your next small game, and pull it out of the freezer each day as you work. Replace what you removed, and put the skin back where it was with minimal shrinkage. That's quality taxidermy in a sentence.
     
  16. Nov 15, 2015 #14
    Tanglewood Taxidermy

    Tanglewood Taxidermy Well-Known Member

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    Have you gotten the DVD yet? If not, you really should.
     
  17. Nov 17, 2015 #15
    Trkymn

    Trkymn New Member

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  18. Dec 19, 2016 #16
    Rgvmelb

    Rgvmelb Member

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    What ear liners are these?
     
  19. Dec 19, 2016 #17
    Tanglewood Taxidermy

    Tanglewood Taxidermy Well-Known Member

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    From McKenzie
     
  20. Dec 22, 2016 #18
    Rgvmelb

    Rgvmelb Member

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    Any chance of a link please?

    Or are they these ones? http://www.mckenziesp.com/VRE-M-P14285.aspx


    Thanks.