(OT) My First attempt at a European Hog Mount

[winmagfrog]

Probably not what you all are thinking... But, since it's a Hog, I thought it was appropriate here

Here's my first European Hog mount. I ran out of time on it, but I am fairly happy with the results. Some grease may show up later, but I can re-visit it then. Around the eyes were tough. I had it laying on its side in the Beetle colony and I think that caused a lot more work due to it sitting in it's own congealed mess. One of the tusks slipped a little while it was drying, but you don't notice it in person, more in the photos. I did a Whitetail last year, and have four more Whitetail working right now. The Hog proved a whole lot tougher to work on than a Whitetail!

I learned a lot in the process and it was fun. My friend is super happy with the results, so that's worth the stinky mess...
Here's a few quick shots, horrible lighting, but again out of time!

 

[lunde]

Very nice skull prep, but it's not quite a Euro Mount until it's bolted and epoxied to a piece of wood.

My dad has been making Euro Mounts for my antelopes. Here's my latest one, from last October 1st:

I have another four, along with a full mount, hanging in my office at Adobe Systems:

 

[steelnut]

Very cool, how big was that hog?

 

[mymindisamob]

winmagfrog, truly a beauty. Fantastic prep! Thank you for sharing. Skulls are the only passion I have that compares to my blade addiction.

 

[winmagfrog]

Very nice skull prep, but it's not quite a Euro Mount until it's bolted and epoxied to a piece of wood.

Nice Antelope! I've never had the opportunity to hunt them, but would Love to one day.
My Friend is putting this one in a case with Two ducks he has in environment set-up, right next to the nest... Looks good, like it got caught sucking eggs!

Very cool, how big was that hog?

He was around 275lbs, a pretty good size. He was a pain to load up in the truck! Two shots with 77grain from a .223 dropped him in his tracks. First one hit him and he looked around for something to fight, second one dropped him.

winmagfrog, truly a beauty. Fantastic prep! Thank you for sharing. Skulls are the only passion I have that compares to my blade addiction.

Thanks a lot! If you ever need any work done drop me a line. I'm going to keep it up as a part time hobby.

 

[lunde]

My dad has also done Euro Mounts for prairie dog skulls:

A couple closer shots:

Here are some photos of prairie dogs skulls prior to their prep:

But again, very nice prep on that skull. I am impressed by the detail. It will be awesome once it has been mounted and on a wall.

 

[paua]

Have you guys tried Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)?
I used to boil the head, strip the tissue away, soak that head in Coca Cola for a couple of days, boil it again, then put it in H2O2 to remove the grease. Sometime I needed to repeat the Cola and H2O2 processes several times to achieve satisfactory result.

 

[mymindisamob]

I stripped animal heads for a living years ago (Native Art Supplies), and there are a million ways to do it. But, just like many things, a little goes a long way. Medical grade Hydrogen Peroxide is awesome as well as beetles, but I always started off with cooking the full head first. Again, nice stuff guys. I could look at skulls all day long.
A couple of mine from the past.