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Post by alinz270 on Jun 2, 2011 21:55:19 GMT -5
Hey guys, I am new to this forum and to taxidermy. I have been working a some bluegills as practice and am questioning some things within the head. Cut the gills, and the tongue out? I have heard conflicting reports. And I am having trouble getting into the head cavity to clean it out well. Thanks in advance for help!
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Post by riverrat on Jun 5, 2011 14:04:19 GMT -5
Hi Alin, First welcome.
Things have been kind of slow around here for the last couple of weeks. We have a lot of great fish heads on the forum hang in their one of them will answer your question in the near future. Again welcome
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mrs
Spike
Posts: 52
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Post by mrs on Jun 8, 2011 20:40:34 GMT -5
On panfish like bluegills that have such a small mouth you can remove the gills. They can't be seen (unless you have open gills) and slow drying time. As far as cleaning the head, I'm pretty brutal. I use curved clippers and chomp out all soft tissue and bone up to the eye sockets. You can take out too much so that the foundation structure of the head changes, but that's unlikely. You've got to get the brain cavity cleared out so you can fit the form into that space. You should be able to see the front of the form from the outside through the eye sockets. I hope this helps you out. Good luck.
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Post by alinz270 on Jun 20, 2011 14:04:56 GMT -5
Thanks, that is very helpful! I was worried about taking too much and what the consequences would be, which in turn, led me to not clean out the head good enough I feel. I had a problem of the head sinking in after drying (around the nostril/top of the face area). Is that related to not getting enough cleaned out or is that just what happens when it drys? I'm thinking I could fix it with clay before painting? THanks again!
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mrs
Spike
Posts: 52
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Post by mrs on Jun 22, 2011 16:04:52 GMT -5
There will be degrees of external shrinkage no matter how thoroughly you clean the inside of the head. There is soft tissue (membranes, cartilage, tendons etc) to some extent all over the head between the skin and the bone. That can not be removed and is allowed to dary and shrink. The areas where it is noticeable can be rebuilt, but any kind of clay is unsuitable for that purpose. There are several 2 part epoxy putties (Magic Sculpt. Apoxy Sculpt, etc) that work very well for rebuilding all areas of minor or major shrinkage. They adhere(stick) to the dry skin, can be feathered out with a wet finger, dry hard as a rock, and can be sanded to any contour. I use Apoxy Sculpt in the natural (gray) color a lot on dry fish lips, top of the head, and fin/tail unions. It can also be textured (scaled, dimpled, sculpted etc) before it hardens. Then it can be painted to blend in naturally with the rest of the colors. I just got another 4 lb kit of Apoxy Sculpt and it was about $35.00. 4 lbs goes a LONG way. I hope this helps you out. Good luck.
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Post by alinz270 on Jul 1, 2011 14:59:08 GMT -5
Thanks again!
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Post by purrtteewood on Jul 11, 2011 23:59:37 GMT -5
Hey Fawn is so right The epoxy's work great ! But sence your just starting out strech the envelope and allways try new things while your practicing. Try this , take one of those bluegill and cut the head off , pack its mouth full of all game or your epoxy of choice. Let it dry and pull it out , tear it out what ever. you now have a referance piece and or a mold to use to to create another.
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