Post by: Buckhole on December 26, 2009, 06:54:11 PM
Anyways, with a few tips from John at WTC Taxidermy over the phone, (Thanks!) I went ahead and gave it a go. This was a Tom that my Dad shot a few years back, and I used a fake head that I painted myself. I know a real freeze-dried head would look better but I'm limited in knowledge and accessibility to doing the freeze-dry option. I've never tried doing anything like this so be easy on me...I've seen the work of the pros on here and I can appreciate their beautiful work. These taxidermists earn every cent, and I got a taste of the time and effort involved let me tell you!
The board the bird is mounted on is from my grandpa's old barn from Arkansas that my Dad provided for me to use. Kinda cool that I could utilize it for the mount. I took the mount over to my Dad today and he was happy to have his turkey mounted and will enjoy seeing it on his wall. I'm open to feedback, good, bad and the ugly. It was a lot of fun to do and thanks again to John for the pointers! I may have to try some more and improve on this.
Post by: Aneoakleaf on December 26, 2009, 07:06:59 PM
I love the full flight. The tail looks right as well as the rest, but I am just a hunter and seen that at 3 yards in real life :chuckle: :chuckle: :'(
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on December 26, 2009, 07:25:11 PM
Now keep in mind that you are still learning and that no matter what your first mount is never going to be perfect. With that being said that bird looks GREAT! There are a few things that stand out to me but for a first mount you did really well! Try a freeze dried head next time. They do sell them un painted.
Post by: Buckhole on December 26, 2009, 07:34:40 PM
Thanks! :)
Post by: BLKBEARKLR on December 26, 2009, 07:44:41 PM
Couple things that I noticed
1. Feathers, on both wings you have some of the downy feathers sticking up, just get some tweezers and go row by row and you can cover them up.
2. Tail feathers, on your secondary row you have a gap look at pic #2
3. The head painting that you did was good. Like said look into buying the freeze dried heads, there are a number of places to buy them
Good luck and have fun with it....
Joe
Post by: Buckhole on December 26, 2009, 08:02:59 PM
I really appreciate the feedback. :)
Post by: boneaddict on December 26, 2009, 08:05:53 PM
Post by: WCTaxidermy on December 26, 2009, 11:56:26 PM
I don't know when you finished mounting him, but if the bird is dry, there is really not much more you can do with it. But if it is still wet, I would suggest to stay with the grooming on those feathers. I would not pluck those downy feathers out if the bird is still wet. Insted groom the feathers around them so they lay in place better. Also if the bird is still wet, try pulling the beard forward away from the body some more to show it off a little better. Again great job! Talk with you soon.
John
Post by: alecvg on December 27, 2009, 12:02:07 AM
Post by: Buckhole on December 27, 2009, 12:54:16 AM
Hi Buckhole, great job for your first bird mount. Not a lot of people would have tackled something like a turkey for their first. Your Dad must be proud.Thanks again John. I just finished up with the bird Saturday afternoon and he's all dry. I worked with the feathers to try and groom over the downy ones when it was wet, but it looks like I could have done better. I noticed that as I was mounting it, the top of the wing had some missing feathers and it was exposing the downy feathers. Now that it's dry, is there a way to get the beard to stand away from the body a little more, or is it too late?
I don't know when you finished mounting him, but if the bird is dry, there is really not much more you can do with it. But if it is still wet, I would suggest to stay with the grooming on those feathers. I would not pluck those downy feathers out if the bird is still wet. Insted groom the feathers around them so they lay in place better. Also if the bird is still wet, try pulling the beard forward away from the body some more to show it off a little better. Again great job! Talk with you soon.
John
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on December 27, 2009, 09:22:21 AM
Post by: alanger on December 27, 2009, 09:26:59 AM
Post by: Shootmoore on December 27, 2009, 10:59:43 AM
Shootmoore
Post by: Buckhole on December 27, 2009, 11:52:46 AM
You mounted the bird a week ago? How much caulk did you use? The struter I did took around a month to completely dry. I'd still be grooming the feathers if I were you.No, I just finished it yesterday, it has been drying over 3 weeks or so and it feels all set. I can still try to groom the feathers, but they are pretty set. I'm going to try and see if I can arrange the feathers some as John was saying to see if it covers some of the downy ones. It actually looks pretty good in person, I'm happy with it as a first mount and my dad is happy to get his turkey on the wall.
Thanks for the nice comments from you all, I appreciate it.
Damon
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on December 27, 2009, 02:29:48 PM
Post by: Buckhole on December 27, 2009, 03:33:28 PM
I wouldn't mind assisting a taxidermist and get a little hands-on experience. I think it would be fun, and I'm not afraid of some hard work.
Post by: peterorem on December 31, 2009, 01:06:22 AM