Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Bringing a Big Fish Back to Life (sort of)

The marlin after. 
     When friends Stacey and Andre offered a seven-foot stuffed marlin to me, I knew it was the perfect gift for a young nephew who loves fishing.  The poor marlin was in pretty rough shape, though, with some of his hide missing, the coating gone, and his tail broken off.  He also had his one eye painted over with a silver star.
     I looked on the internet for tips on how to restore the poor beast, but there wasn't a lot available.  Apparently, people rarely work with the carcass of the fish any more when they want a mount.  Rather, they make a cast of the fish and simply have a replica of the fish they caught to hang on the wall.
     But this boy is the real deal, real fins, real scales, real spike up front.  I suppose it makes the whole thing a little more difficult to deal with.
      I didn't end up with a perfect fish, but it does look okay in the photos, and once it's hung on the wall, far enough up that you can't see the flaws so vividly, it will look good.  And I think the boy is a happy camper.
The marlin before

2 comments:

Christina said...

It turned out great! The
before /after pics are quite amazing! Plus, how many little guys can say they have a real Marlin on their bedroom wall? Bragging rights, for sure!
With such talent, should we expect more posts with the subject label "taxidermy"? :)

John Nelson said...

We were pretty happy with how it turned out. I need to post the pic of the marlin in his resting place. No more taxidermy from me for a while!