In part three of this series of articles, I will resume our evaluation of the World Taxidermy Championship Scoresheet and continue our reference study and discussion of body anatomy and how they relate to the art of fish taxidermy. We begin by continuing our focus on body anatomy and correctness that we started in Part 2 of this series. Keep in mind that some areas of the scoresheet seem repetitive. While this may seem redundant, it should indicate the importance of these areas and the necessity to reproduce them correctly.

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Reference is always of high importance and we will be offering some of that in future issues. Part 2 in this issue will describe in detail the skinning process. Part 1, which started in issue #150, covered the molding of the head and measurements of the body needed if you decide to carve a custom body. Because of space needs and the length of this article, we had to move Part 2 ahead to this issue, but are now happy to present the skinning process in its full length without cutting some very detailed photos that Jason suppled us.

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A beaver chew (the base of a tree chewed down by a beaver) reproduction can work in many of your habitat scenes for animals other than a beaver mount. It works well for many other animal mounts, such as bear, mink, otters, ducks… in other words, any other animals or fish that share such a habitat. Here is my process for reproducing a lightweight beaver chew that will enhance many of your mount compositions for years to come.

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This show promises to be one of the biggest shows we’ve ever produced. The first indicator was that our host hotel sold out of rooms back in January. We have since contracted with three nearby hotels to handle the overflow guests. The trade show sold out as well (waiting list has been established). We can also announce that FSI, a major vendor of polyurethane foam to the taxidermy industry, has come forward as the title sponsor of the 2024 World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships®. Their contribution as a title sponsor has made it possible to bring in additional judges, afford a superior venue, have state-of-the-art audio video for seminars and the awards show, plus bolster our World Show Award Fund for competition awards and cash prizes. They will have a very visible presence at the 2024 World Shows and you will be able to meet their sales staff and see and learn more about their products. Their booth will be available to visit throughout the show located in the main walkway leading to the trade show, competition, and registration. This will be the 17th and final show Kathy and I will produce, and a special tribute to us has been planned at the Saturday night Wind-Down party in the hotel. We would love to see all of you at this 2024 World Show! Our WTC website is open at www.taxidermy.net/wtc.

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With an ever growing demand for African mounts, taxidermists must be prepared to mount some of the more difficult species. A cape buffalo tops the list, presenting some unique challenges not only because of its size, but the character that it exudes in its menacing facial expression. Simply hanging a hide on a mannikin can leave a lot to be desired. Certainly the condition of the cape and the choice of mannikin will play a large role in the final outcome of the mount. A considerable amount of gamehead mounting experience would be beneficial as well. This article will address some of the specific concerns unique to a cape buffalo. Some of the special areas of interest are: (1) proper horn fumigation and set up; (2) shape of the ears and earbutts; (3) eye-setting and its relationship to the lacrimal crease; (4) wrinkles where wrinkles should be; (5) boss reconstruction and finish work; (6) form preparation. As this title implies, how you prepare the form will have a lot to do with how difficult it will be to mount a buffalo. A little extra time spent before the skin goes on the mannikin can make the actual mounting relatively simple.

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