102 How To Make Fish Mounts 



molding, remove the fish from the Formalin and let it soak in 

 fresh water for a few hours. Change the water a couple of 

 times. 



Before starting to mold the fish, place a good wad of clay 

 around the pectoral and ventral fins. Disregard the wall side 

 pectoral fin. Shape enough of the clay around the fins so that 

 the ends will protrude through the plaster. In other words, 

 there will be holes in the mold. Wet strips of newspaper will 

 do in a pinch. ( Did you know that if newspaper is torn with the 

 grain, long smooth-edged strips are obtained, while against the 

 grain the strips are short and ragged edged?) This procedure 

 will leave large enough holes in the mold to allow a place for 

 the fins when filling the skin with compound. 



Make a two-piece mold. Separate the halves, remove the 

 fish, and place it in water so that the skin and fins will not 

 shrivel. After the mold dries, saw out a slab of plaster length- 

 wise, about 2 inches wide in a mold of a 16-inch fish. Of course, 

 the mold half which has taken the impression of the backside 

 of the fish is the one to cut (Figs. 39 to 41). Dig out the clay 

 which was placed around the fins before molding. It is best to 

 continue the holes right through the mold if plaster has entirely 

 covered the clay. 



Skin the fish, rinsing it in water whenever the Formalin be- 

 comes irritating. Cut a piece of skin out of the backside of the 

 fish about the same size and shape as the piece of plaster sawed 

 out of the mold ( Fig. 95 ) . Wipe all excess moisture from the 

 skin and place it on a flat surface; fill the head and trowel cast- 

 ing compound onto the inside of the skin to about /•> inch. Pour 

 beach sand or some other dry grainy material into the fish. 

 Place the two flaps of skins back to their original position. Now 

 insert the fish carefully into the show side of the mold; insert 

 the pectoral and ventral fins into their respective holes. Work 

 the other half of the mold into position; be careful not to crease 

 the skin of the fish between the edges of the mold. The skin 

 may require trimming to coincide with the opening in the back- 

 side of the mold. Bind a piece of wire around each end of the 

 mold so that the two pieces will stay snug. With the fingers 



