Gravity and Alignment By Bill Lancaster Proper skin alignment is essential for a top-quality mount. The anatomy of the skin, hair patterns, change of color and the texture reflects the anatomy and musculature of the form, down the minute facial features. Gravity, and the process of applying the skin, will move the alignment, and this can be a cause of drumming in the finished mount. When you are sewing down the neck and you reach the backboard, do not trim the cape yet. Pull the skin up and forward on the neck – you will see that your sewing job isn’t done yet! By rotating the skin forward over the shoulders, you can gain more skin into the sternum and armpit areas. You will find that you may have to sew 1-1/2″ to 2-1/2″ more for final adjustment. The head also needs to have the skin lifted and brought forward into position. The sear skin can be taxied toward the tip. The ears, head and neck are all cone shaped. A small amount of skin taxied from a large area to a smaller area will give you more skin in width. Keeping all of this information of anatomy, hair patterns, change of color, texture, and gravity will help you be more successful in a quality mount. Bill Lancaster is an award-winning master taxidermist and sculptor with Research Mannikins
Fragile hides such as Fox and Antelope slip easily for 3 reasons: The ideal situation for tanning a fragile skin would be to: Mix up the following pickle: Leave the raw, quick-fleshed skin in this solution overnight. Remove the skin and shave it. Next, rinse thoroughly in 1oz of baking soda per gallon of water. Tumble the skin in hardwood sawdust or towel dry until the skin is in a damp, dry state. Heat Liqua-Tan by immersing a quart bottle in a plastic container filled with hot water. Using a paint brush, paint skin with warm Liqua-Tan. If you wish to leave the cartilage in the ears, reverse ears, and paint Liqua-Tan on the fur side of the cartilage to ensure good penetration. After applying Liqua-Tan to the hair side of the ears, invert them back to the skin side. Roll the hide up and leave it at room temperature for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight, then freeze or mount immediately. Hints:
Liqua Tan is a complete and permanent tan that is fast drying and compatible with paste. It has excellent stretch and sets hair immediately. There is no oily mess, and it is easy to use and reduces shrinkage to almost zero. Liqua Tan can be applied and mounted the same day. A terrific tanning product that is used by many leading taxidermists. Below are step-by-step instructions on how to use Liqua-Tan. Liqua Tan Instructions
