Fish Mounts Realistic or Not

[Pete112288]

So I have been thinking about this for a while and saw a buddies new rainbow trout mount the other day that reminded me so I wanted to throw it out there.
I am seeing a lot more fish mounts now-a-days that to me look completely fake, they look glass or plastic and don't have a realistic paint to them. Don't get me wrong, most are beautifully painted and are great works of art. I just personally like things to really look as realistic as possible.
I am not saying any of this to bash anyone's work, or opinion on the topic. I am just curious what makes the difference here. I will post some examples of ones I don't care for, that look super fake to me first, then post some examples of what I call realistic (or as realistic as reasonable).
The first 5 pictures are the ones that look very fake to me. The second 5 are ones that I like and look more realistic to my eye.
 

[Pete112288]

So these I would call more realistic

[Pete112288]

more

[fowl smacker]

With fish, it's all in the paint job!

[huntnphool]

Blackwater does some pretty good work.

http://blackwaterfishreplicas.com/best-steelhead-fish-mounts-steelhead-fish-replicas-luke-filmer-blackwater/

[724wd]

your realistic mounts might be skin mounts? I'd say that rainbow was, for sure. misshapen fins and the face looks pretty natural, not perfect like a repro.

[MooseZ25]

Its all in the paint job and the taxidermist that is doing it.  Most skin mounts don't even use the head or fins.  When I get one done it will be a plastic mount by a taxidermists that specializes in fish. 

[Magnum_Willys]

Like em all !  Just depends how close to original.  Ive pulled big brookies outa snow banked streams that looked fake they were so vibrant.

[Mfowl]

That brown trout in the faie pics looks pretty good to me. The others, not so much. The realistic ones all look great!

[Duckhunter14]

Id agree with you. It seems like most of the fish mounts I find unappealing to the eye have too much shine to them. Like the clear coat was overdone to make the fish look wet, but really just made them look fake.

[idaho guy]

That brown trout in the faie pics looks pretty good to me. The others, not so much. The realistic ones all look great!

I agree I think the brown trout in the fake pics looks good! The rest of the fake pics definitely look fake and I think are terrible mounts

[Tjv28]

What’s your question? You pay for what you get

[Pete112288]

What’s your question? You pay for what you get

I was just curious if anyone out there that knows more than me (so pretty much everyone according to the wife  ) could tell me if there was something specific that made the difference.
I am not sure about gauging it off of what you pay though. The big salmon in the "bad" pictures is from a very reputable place that has been around a while and is definately not cheap by any means.
And I have a bass that I mounted right out of high school. So I had very little money haha. It was the cheappest place I could find anywhere near by, and I think it looks pretty darn realistic. With the exception of the mouth wide open and gills flared all the way out pose.
So I guess its all about checking out a taxi's previous work before using them.

[Tjv28]

Yeah man, I totally hear ya. Check these out.