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How to mount a Whitetail Deer
Michelle_Nelson:
Now that you have the clay work done on your face. Put a rubber glove on and smear hide past all over the face. Make sure not to get any in the hair. If you do wipe it off with a damp rag. Also make sure you get glue in the tear duct and lip slots you cut with the dremal tool. If you get some glue on the eye wipe it off with a Q-tip and water.
Once the glue is on the face pull the cape back over the face on the manikin.
Now it is time to tuck the nose. I have a special tool I use for this but you can use anything that works. Trim the nose skin so you only tuck about 1/4 inch or so. center up the nose pad on the form and tuck the nose skin into each nostril on the manikin. Put 2 pin's in the front corner of the nose and the top of the nostril. You will use a brad and insert it into the back corner of the nose. The brad will stay their forever so don't wory bout removing it. Once the skin is in place and aligned. Stuff plastic up inside the nose to seep the skin from puilling free.
Now for the lips. You will want to trim 1/4" of skin out of the back corner of the cape. You will also want to trim the lip skin. You will on'y need about a 1/4" or so. The reason why you trim the lip skin from the back corner of the mouth is to keep it from puckering when you tuck it. Start with the top lip and tuck it first. Befor you tuck the bottom lip take a small roll of clay and put it just under the nose on the bottom lip. Now tuck the bottom lip leaving the bottom lip exposed just under the nose. Do not expose the bottom lipe any wider than the nose. Maybe 1" of bottom lip under the nose should be perfect. Now work the clay around til it makes the bottom lip look full.
Once you have comleted that you will want to pin the top and bottom lips. Starting with the bottom lip and than pinning the top. I use 2 1/2" "T" pins for the bottom lip and 1" "T" pins for the top lip.
Michelle_Nelson:
It is now time to work on the eye's. You will want to make sure when you prep your cape befor you begin mounting it that the eye skin is as thin as possible. The thicker the skin the more shrinkage you will get. When you go to set the eye's you will want about 1/8" to 3/16' of inner eye skin to tuck. The inner eye skin in the picture below is white colored.
Once you have trimmed the skin take a brad and put it in the front corner of the eye skin. Just befor it goes from white to brown. Now insert the pin just infront of the glass eye. This will help keep this area from pulling as the cape ans clay dry. Now tuck the rest of the eye skin up between the glass eye and the clay. Keep pushing the clay back up against the eye so thier won't be a gap when it dries. Once the clay is tucked modle in the upper eye lid.
If you look hard you can see the brad in the front corner of the eye. It is recesed so when i do my finnish work after the mount is dry you will never know it is their.... Make sure when you tuck the eye skin and model in the eye lid that the eye lashes are at a 45 degree angle to the eye.
Once you are done with the eye. You will need to take a tucking tool or a screw driver and tuck the tear ducts. One tucked I use a T pin cut off in the shape of an "L" and Tuck 3 of them in the tear duct to keep it in place than I take that small piece of clay I put in the front of the tear duct and smash it back over the tearduckt to close it....
Michelle_Nelson:
Once the eyes are set go ahead and screw the horns on top of the manakin.
Use some clay and build up the top of the head. Also use a scale and weigh out 2 - 8oz balls of clay. You will use these to model in the ear butts.
Using your 6 inch needle.
You will want to sew up the 2 "Y's" coming off of the antler bur. Stopping at the "Y" junction.
Michelle_Nelson:
Once you have the 2 "Y's" sewed up set your ear butts. This is probably going to take you a while because you have to sculped in the the muscle detail.
Now sew the cape the rest of the way down the "Y" incision. Once this is complete wet the hair and comb it until it lays flat and the way you want it. Than you will cut some plastic screan to staple over the incision. This will keep the hair around the incision from standing up as the mount dries.
Michelle_Nelson:
Ok your icision is all sewed up and it is now time to turn the deer upside down. Roll the cape up to the ears and put another rubber glove on. Smear hide paste all over the main body of the manikin as so...
Now roll the hide back up onto the form. Align the brisket and put 10 staples to keep it lighned up. Now flip the deer back over and put 10 staples at the top. make sure the arm pit is ligned up as well. Staple the hide all the way around the back of the form and trim it off.
Run your hands along the detail of the mount and make sure their are no air bubles. If you find some poke the skin with your needle and the air will escape.
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