Garry found some old photos that showed how he developed his methods for fish reproductions and skin mounted fish with cast heads. He thought some people might like to see how this is done.
In 1983, Garry had a client who was a fish collector for the aquarium trade. While in South America at the headwaters of the Amazon River in Peru, he collected a specimen of a Tiger Striped Catfish, which was recently discovered in that area. When he returned to Wisconsin, the specimen died and he brought it to Garry to do a reproduction. The fish was approximately 27 inches long.
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| SPECIMEN BEFORE FINS AND WHISKERS REMOVED |
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| REFERENCE PICTURES OF THE ADIPOSE FIN AREA |
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| FIN REFERENCE |
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| NOTE THE LONG TRAILING TAIL FIN TIPS |
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| WHISKER DETAIL. NOTICE THE SMALL EYE. |
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| HEAD REFERENCE |
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| WHISKERS REMOVED FOR CASTING |
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PECTORAL AND VENTRAL FINS REMOVED AND THE FISH
IS POSITIONED IN A BED OF HI-FIBER CASTING MATERIAL.
NOTE THE ROUND KEYS PRESSED INTO THE HI-FIBER. |
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| HEAD DETAIL IN HI-FIBER |
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| TAIL AND ANAL FINS POSITIONED |
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A SPLASH COAT WAS POURED OVER THE WHOLE FISH, THEN
A SECOND, HEAVIER COAT OF PLASTER WAS USED TO THICKEN THE MOLD.
HE USED A HYDROCAL DENTAL PLASTER. |
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| AFTER HARDENING, THE MOLD IS FLIPPED OVER. |
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| TAIL DETAIL |
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| BEFORE POURING THE SPLASH COAT, THIN LAYER OF LIQUID SOAP WAS APPLIED TO THE EXPOSED PLASTER FOR EASE OF SEPARATION. |
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| AFTER THE SECOND HALF OF THE MOLD WAS CURED, THE FISH WAS REMOVED FROM THE MOLD. |
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| THE VENTRAL AND PECTORAL FINS WERE CAST SEPARATELY WITH A SIMILAR PROCESS. AGAIN, NOTE THE ROUND KEYS IN THE MOLD. |
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| THE FINISHED FIN MOLD, AFTER IT HAS DRIED AND HAS BEEN COATED WITH 3-LB ORANGE SHELLAC. |
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| GARRY DIDN'T TAKE ANY PHOTOS OF ASSEMBLING THE FISH. THIS IS THE FINISHED REPRODUCTION, TOP VIEW SHOWING SUPPORT WIRES ATTACHED TO DRIFTWOOD. |
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FINISHED TIGER STRIPED CATFISH.
THE WHISKERS WERE RECREATED USING WIRE AND ALL-GAME SCULPTING PUTTY. THE LONG, FLAT HEAD OF THIS TYPE OF CATFISH
IS INDICATIVE OF THE FAST WATER HABITAT THEY LIVE IN. |
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| TIGERFISH CAUGHT BY GARRY IN THE ZAMBEZI RIVER IN ZIMBABWE. HE BROUGHT PLASTER ALONG TO DO MOLD MAKING, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO WAY TO BRING A FISH BACK FROM AFRICA. |
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| REFERENCE PICTURES OF SOME TIGERFISH GARRY CAUGHT. |
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| HEAD DETAIL |
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| BECAUSE VERY LIMITED SUPPLIES WOULD BE AVAILABLE IN AFRICA, GARRY BROUGHT HYDROCAL PLASTER WITH HIM. GARRY USED RIVER SAND TO SET THE FISH UP FOR POURING THE MOLD. |
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| PLASTER WAS LIMITED, AS HE WAS ALSO USING IT FOR MAKING BIG GAME DEATH MASKS, SO HE DID NOT CAST THE FINS ON THE BACKSIDE OF THIS TIGERFISH MOLD. HE BROUGHT ROLLS OF PLASTER MUSLIN GAUZE USED IN MEDICAL CAST MAKING. THIS MATERIAL WORKED GREAT TO STRENGTHEN MOLDS HE MADE. THIS IS THE MOLD AFTER HE RETURNED HOME AND APPLIED SHELLAC BEFORE MAKING THE POSITIVE OF THE TIGERFISH REPRODUCTION. |
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RAINBOW TROUT HEAD REPRODUCTION
In 1982, Garry began to experiment and developed his method of casting fish heads with plaster molds for skin-mounted fish. In 1984 he began using Alginate for a casting material, as it picked up better detail. He also began using flexible polyester resins for the head reproduction. Various methods were experimented with, including mixing Bondo with the polyester resin. At that time, he also developed a method of pouring a plaster mouth plug in the fish's mouth and using that negative mold to make a latex duplicate of the inside of the fish's mouth. The rainbow trout head below shows the latex mouth attached to the polyester resin reproduction. The reproduction fish heads were attached to the skin-mounted fish, eliminating the shrinkage of the fish head. This method is the standard way most fish are mounted today.
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The rainbow trout head in this picture was cast by Garry during a seminar at the 1985 World Taxidermy Championship. He also did a seminar on mounting fish with head reproductions at the 1986 World Taxidermy Championship. He has written articles about his methods for Breakthrough Magazine and the Breakthrough Fish Taxidermy Manual.
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| THIS HEAD REPRODUCTION WAS FOR A YELLOW BULLHEAD. GARRY USED HIS REFERENCES TO RECREATE WHISKERS FROM WIRE AND SCULPTING PUTTY. |
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| FINISHED 2 1/2 POUND YELLOW BULLHEAD |
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| REDHORSE SUCKER WITH CAST HEAD |
