So Many Forms To Choose From!!!

The skill of the taxidermist using it.

Actually this is a true statement, however, since I did very few whitetails, but tons of blacktails and quite a few mulies, I just looked for the mannikin that looked like the deer I was working on. I disliked McKenzie's blacktail and mulie forms. I liked Mike Frasier's and Bill Lancaster's blacktails. I liked the Headquarter's mule deer. I liked those because I could get the look I wanted without a lot of altering, whereas with McKenzie's forms I had a lot of alteration to make them look how I wanted them to.

 

Order the form closest to your cape and customize it to look how you want it to. I have yet to order a form of any type that does not need a little customization to look I want it to. Make it look like the references you have and like.

 

The forms that fit the Deer in your area the best , is the main thing .

 

I have received forms with twisted muzzles, chunks missing, weird wax coating and on and on. I just fixed it and moved on with the mount. Since there can be times where you have to fix something anyway, altering to make the form look how you want it to is no big deal.
The worst was a form that was very detailed on one side of the head and flat from the front of the nose to the middle of the eye on the other side. I took a conture gauge, oil based clay, fiberglass mat, and resin and some foam mix. Using.the conture gauge, I sculpted the flat side to match the dimensions of the other side as revealed by the conture gauge. Then made a mold shell with the fiberglass mat and resin, then removed the clay, cleaned the form and tacked the fiberglass shell on the side of its face and poured my foam into it. When the foam cured, I used the conture gauge to make adjustments and it looked like it came that way. A perfect match.
The point is; it ain't no big thing to alter a form to get the look you want.

 

As I agree with what you are saying, the cost of forms are thru the roof and should be In mountable condition, altering at your decision is one thing fixing a screwed up form is time and time is money , your not going to fix what you said in less then an hour, so that’s $75-$100 of a fix with materials and time . I’m not disagreeing with you about it.

 

I do agree with you on this. On occasion, though, especially with a low volume like Dwb5 has, it can be an option. And you are right, as I increased in volume, my willingness to fix larger defects decreased by a lot.

 

If your looking for getting the best or should I say the best product sent out I’d say Ohio supply, on quality control.