HOME | DD
darkcoyoteart — How to mount on the cheap
Published: 2011-07-07 20:46:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 1897; Favourites: 33; Downloads: 13
Redirect to original
Description
This is in no way the right or only way to mount. I did this with a squirrel I needed to finish quickly and didn't have taxidermy supplies on hand for to show how it CAN be done. It's not an ideal way to mount but it does work. If you use this with a tanned vs DP pelt you will get a poseable mount.Related content
Comments: 42
Thank you so much for making this <3.
I really want to try mounting something, and I think I may want to start out with a cheaper way of doing it like this xD. I don't want to mess up with expensive taxidermy materials.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Welcome 
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I now feel brave enough to post my *coughtileadhesiveandbuilder'sfoam* cheap mount. It CAN work on household materials, but I couldn't agree more that it shouldn't be done.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It's for sure better if you have access to taxidermy materials- especially if you don't have the carcass to reference and/or a good sense of anatomy. However it's helpful if you are in a mount it or it goes situation lol
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Oh my god, all that needles 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It's not a tanned pelt, so hide glue can't be used, so pins are nessicary.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
DAMN that's cool! I would love to learn how to taxidermy!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I like it,
It lookes like how they would mount animals way back in the day
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Gah just noticed my replied never showed. D: This is actually EXACTLY how Victorian taxidermy was done.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I love you for this. And I'm thrilled to see some clearer pics of him here!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hopefully it helps you a bit!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm sure it will! I just need to get over my fear of damaging the animals, so I can actually skin them. I should start with squirrels since I have several, but I'm worried I won't be able to find the skin under the fur!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Next thing I skin I'll take shots to show you how to find it.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That would be great, thanks! I mean, I know where the skin is, but the fur is in the way and I don't want to cut that off trying to get at it!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
with the wires, would this be considered a poseable?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
If you use a soft tanned pelt- yes. If you are following this for a boraxed/DP pelt no, it will be too rigid
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
.....i dont believe it will be boraxed, I got a red fox coming in from the tannery that i want to do poseable with
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Then yeah it will be soft tanned. You may need to rehydrate some of the body and the head for sure to mount it, but with a tanned pelt this would work to make a poseable soft mount
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
alright, I've soft mounted 2 already but im not too happy with the way they lay (they still look lazy and dead, if you will XD) I use change out heads for the head mount so idk if that would be too heave for armerature wire
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
You'd need a heavier wire then I used here for sure. Probably 24 gage steel. Make sure to wrap the wires in fabric before stuffing with polyfill around then so they don't poke the hide
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
got it, thanks
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Rags do not "work just fine" in replace of wood wool. Also, it's easier if you use hide paste. That way you hardly need any pins.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Please read the description. This is how to mount if you do not have access to taxidermy items and have a match under your ass to get it done in 2 hours. I clearly state it is NOT ideal but it DOES work.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I did read the description. What is your definition of "it works"?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
You get a decent mount at the end. Wood wool is not something you can just go out and buy in most places. Here I have to order it online from another country. It would be IDEAL to have that to work with, but if you are in a pinch rags WILL work.
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Wrong, you can get wood wool at Joanne Fabrics or similar craft stores. It is usually labeled "Excelsior" and sold in the floral department:
[link]
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well they don't carry it at any Canadian fabric stores that are remotely local to ne I've seen. 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Check the floral departments and flower arranging sorts of stores. There are other, similar products and dried mosses that work.
When you use rags/cloth you get that horrible clumping and wrinkles that I can see in your WIP photos. I tried to "soft mount" a weasel in this way and got the same ugly results. The hide really needs something firm to dry against. Carve the whole body out of foam rather than using rags, you'd get a much better result for relatively similar cost.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Normally I'd carve the full form but my cat ate most of it leaving just enough for a head lol. With rags or whatever you do need to do a bit of shifting to get everything even for sure. Thanks for the tip on where to find woodwool! I'll look next I'm there!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
We all have to order ours online. And yeah, I mean... if you consider this "decent".
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Man, don't forget to look at TONS of reffs though. Sometimes mounting things without using a changeout head often makes the animal not look right. Granted with small animals such as squirrels and ermine you can't get changeout heads, but I've seen people do some foxes and it's painfully obvious that they didn't even LOOK at reffs of the animal as they were making the head.
It doesn't matter how well you think you know the animal, you should always look at reffs when moulding a head. Look at the head from all angles and look with an artistic eye in mind
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh yes, using a head of form is for sure the ideal and even then use refs! I usually use the head from the carcass to shape my head form when I make my own
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
;A; I wish I could do that. I usually buy my skins online so I never get the chance. No, that's hands down the best way to do it.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I started out by skinning my own stuff. As I use only ethically obtained/natural death pelts it's hard to buy them, so I learned to skin what I had around.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thanks XD Though I was mostly just improvising to do it with what I had on hand since my roommate was going to toss the squirrel out because they were tired of seeing it in the freezer
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm glad they didn't. It turned out really good
👍: 0 ⏩: 1