# Making Fish Replica's



## TIGGER

Hey everyone,
I love painting the natural patterns on the fishing lures but there are times I when I wished they were larger. 

I have always been interested in fish taxidermy from the time I was little kid. Some of my friends have done it in the past and I was lucky enough to see how the process worked. The only thing that kept me from trying it was the smell of the fish skins drying in the basement. 

Fish replica's are made of fiberglass. They are produced by taking a fish and making a fiberglass mold of it. While surfing the web a couple of years ago I came across a youtube video of a person making a mold of a crappie. I thought some day I would like to try that. A couple of weeks ago I came across another video of person making a mold of barracuda. I decided to give it try. 

My first mold of steelhead did not come very well. I was impatient and used a heat gun to move the project along. After de-moulding the fish I realized that the fish "pukered" in the mold. Steelhead skin is very thin compared to a walleye. The fish casting would have come out wrinkled like it had been in the sun for a week. Plus the fish was cooked in the cast, not good. 

After the failure of the first mold I did notice other things you have to watch out while making these molds. The first, is not to have uncuts around the head area. The second is to make sure you have your mold exactly at the mid-line of the fish. I will explain these things a little down the road.

I had a walleye in the freezer from the first "Fish Crazy" night bite tournament. I had some luck and caught the first place fish. I did win a free mount but never got around taking there. The years passed...... so I decided to take it out and try to make a replica of the fish. The fish was 12 pounds and only 28-1/2" long.

The first thing you do is get a some sand or soil to make a bed for the fish. Bring the level of the sand up to just under the mid line of the fish. This is because you are going to take plaster of paris and build up from there to exactly the mid-line point. Plaster sets up fast so prep is important. The plaster will giver you a nice platform to start the first molding shell. You can shape fish anyway you would like.












Earlier I had mentioned about undercuts. The resin is like water / maple syrup. It will flow in every little crack, gill plates etc. I decided to take some plaster and back it under the gill plates and mouth. I can some back later to dremel and cut those out. To keep the molds alined after the fish is removed you need to take some clay and make 1/2 balls. Place these on the mold around the fish.










The first resin you will put on is gellcoat. I decided to use black gellcoat. It was very good for picking up details. You mix the some up and brush it over the fish. This is ordered on line or picked up at a marine supplier.










After that dries you are ready to stiffen the mold up with layers of fiberglass resin. You can buy this at any auto / handy store in the auto section. I will take mat fiberglass and pull it apart to stick on fish.










Mix some auto resin and dab over the fibers until they are down and wet.











For the last coat I will take the woven fiberglass cloth and lay a whole piece down and coat with resin.











Well this will complete one side. Now you need to flip the fish over for the second side.


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## TIGGER

You need to be careful not to have the fish fall out the mold while turning it over. The plaster will pop off with little effort. Start to clean the sand off the fish to get ready for the second half.










Get it nice and clean and fill the undercuts. You can see the clay 1/2 balls. Pop those out after the cleaning. The reverse mold will fall into place.














We need to put a mold release so the two halves will come apart. You can buy several products or use car wax. We will then repeat the process after trimming the mold.











After doing the same steps you can slip the mold and remove the fish













Clean the mold with soap and water. Some scales will be stuck but will pop off with a scrub brush. It is important that you were close to the half way point of the fish. The actual molding process is stiff and you fight your body in the release process.


After cleaning the mold apply the release wax. You start with a white gellcoat bought at a marine supplier.











After drying you build up the shell like you did on the outside












You do each half seperate. For hanging you need to add a wood block inside the wall side of the mount. Just resin the block in place.











You can leave some fins on the fish. The other side fins you need to clip off before the molding process. You will make a mold the same way as the body


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## Mr. A

This is the most informative post on this subject I have ever read! Great job. You'll have to post pic's of the finished product!

Mr. A

(2013)
Bass: 0
catfish: 0
bluegill: 0
Other: 0


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## TIGGER

I bought bondo resin jelly at wally world to join the two halves. It is like peanut butter. You mix the hardner and apply it to one of the halves at the edge of the fish body. This starts to set up fast so you cannot waste time. Clamp the two halves together.












I let is dry overnight. While splitting the mold you need to take your time and work slowly. I cut about 20 wood wedges on the bandsaw. I slowly drove them in around the flange, tapping each in turn. There will be a large seam line that will cut off later.











Next you will need to add some expandable foam to the inner body. I cut the mouth shell and poured thru that. The will expand out.










The foan will act as a backer to set your eyes and build up your mouth parts.

There is still alot of work to go. The detail is amazing. I will keep you posted on next steps. I have another steelie in process. The walleye is still at this point.























to be continued.............


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## ezbite

holy shat,,, very creative, im jealous.lol. my skills arent close to yours, but now yourve given me something to try, thanks John

i probably missed it, but do you wipe off the fish with something?? not meaning paper towels, but like a solvent?


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## M.Magis

I highly suggest you get yourself a subscription to Breakthrough magazine if you want to continue learning. Looks like you got a good start. If you're really interested, you should also join the Ohio Taxidermy Association, and you'll be just in time to attend the annual competition. Competition is only a small part of the show, the weekend is made up of numerous seminars. For the price of the weekend, it's a bargain for how much you get out of it. You can find out more at: http://ohiotaxidermists.com/ and http://breakthroughmagazine.com/


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## TIGGER

Hey Tom,
I just wipe the fish with a dry paper towel. The scales on the walleye are like armor. The steelies you have to be careful not to take their scales off. The steelies have alot of slime. You will use lots of towels. I take a paint brush and a little bit of water to wipe off the plaster and sand. I clean the brush every couple of minutes. The biggest thing I notice is not to let the scales dry out too much. They start to raise up off the body and resin will get under them.

Magis thanks for the links. I will see where this will lead me. For now it is just for fun. I love making the molds for the fishing lures and this is just another way I can make more molds.  I see it is anywhere from 30 to 60 dollars to make a mold. The fun part for me will be the painting. Still a ways to go yet. Blending the seam line, setting the fins & eyes, and the mouth/ gills. Does anyone have an idea on what kind of epoxy putty I will use for setting the eyes and fins? Does it have to be from the taxidermy supplier? Can I use the stuff from a marine supply house?

The fun part next is blending the two half scale pattern so it looks natural without a seam showing. I hope to try that out tonight. Spot putty


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## M.Magis

The taxidermy specific epoxies will blend much smoother for you. I like Aves products, but there are other options. I'll go through some of my old Breakthrough magazines (haven't renewed for a couple years) and try to scan in some good fish finishing articles I find.


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## TIGGER

Thanks Magis, I have the VanDykes catalog out making a list. I went to Home Depot tonight and picked up some two part epoxy putty used for misc. repairs. I will tinker with that tomorrow. I have a feeling that you are right about it not being smooth enough. 

Played around with fins tonight. I really see how some fins are transparent and some are more solid. I demolded a steelhead tonight and was looking at the tail and dorsal. I think I can get away with using the white gellcoat on those two fin styles. Definetly want the clearer resin / epoxy for the others.

I went to the link you posted and was looking through the gallery pics. I really like the full body mounts in the natural setting pose. I think half the fun will be making the background set. Already thinking how to make molds of rocks so the display won't weigh a ton!


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## TIGGER

FYI.............. I found that Home Depot has the clearish fiberglass resin by 3M for $35 dollars a gallon. The best price yet by 8 bucks. I didn't even know they carried it. It was in the paint section.


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## M.Magis

That's a good tip I should have mentioned, there are some supplies you can find locally for much less compared to taxidermy supply companies. There's considerable mark-up for a lot of things. On the flip side, there are a lot of things that are taxidermy specific.


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## All Eyes

Very informative thread John. Knowing your painting and creative skills I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.


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## rc51

Should have given you a couple 13's from this fall instead of eating them. 


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## Flathead King 06

John

Check into these links... these are the best fish replicas I have ever seen on the net. I am currently in the process of doing a crappie replica by using the same process you have posted. Great work so far! 

The guy from the first link is very friendly and willing to answer any questions regarding any problems you may come across, I believe his name is Tom... the dude in the original crappie youtube video is Josh ... something cant remeber his last name but he is really good at this and is also willing to answer and assist with any issues you may run across.


http://www.lakestatefishing.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=30177&forum=16&post_id=490820#forumpost490820

http://www.advancedtaxidermy.com/index.php


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## TIGGER

Thanks King, 
I got slowed down last week with an emergency gall bladder surgery,they had to removal it and I just back to work yesterday. That really messed me up. 

I am think I may strong enough to tinker around tonight with a steelhead mold I completed a week and half ago. Hoping to have some pics and a completed body by Sunday night. 

The walleye .........I started playing around with the seam line of the two halves with bondo spot putty. I need to order some of that taxidermy two part putty for sure. Blending the scale pattern is driving me nuts! LOL

That is great about doing a crappie. I cant wait till spring to get some jumbo perch and crappies to tinker around with. Post some pics king!

John


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## M.Magis

Sorry, I forgot to get you some articles scanned. Would you be more interested in casting/molding, or fish finishing? I have about 8 years of Breakthrough magazines, so I have a lot of both. It&#8217;s just a matter of getting them scanned in, assuming the scanner still works.  
PS: I tried to send you a PM, but it says you're full.


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## All Eyes

John- Sure hope you are feeling better! Doesn't sound fun at all. Love the pics and detailed thread you have going here. This has always tweaked my interest but never really looked into it much. I can't wait to see your finished work.

Flathead King- Thanks for the links. Those are some amazing replica's. I have seen quite a few that don't impress me much but the level of detail on these is fantastic.


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## chatterbox

I hope You are feeling better. Good dog thing that did not happen during night bite! L.O.L.


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## TIGGER

Eyes it has been fun so far. I will go head first into something, then stop and asses the damage. I am not afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. I have made many so far on my first couple of molds.

Magis, I am interested in the molding part. I can't wait to try some smaller fish. 

That Advanced Taxiermy place in Canada is amazing!!!!!!!!! I think I have watched every link / you tube video that is out there. They also made a full size whale. There is a link out there on it.


Well last night I played around with some fin molds. I put the mold release on the two halves and started the resin process. The first thing you need is to pull some fiberglass strands off your matting to use in your fins. This will help keep you fins from splitting or cracking.












I will do them on each half of the molds














Next you take your regular fiberglass resin , brush and dab over the fibers until they are not visible in the mix. Do it to both sides. 











After dabbing the strands and making sure there are no bubbles you will put the two halves together with hand spring clamps.












I let this dry over night and unclamped them this morning. Be care full splitting your mold. I took a small chisel and worked my around the mold splitting it slowly. After first splitting the mold it doesn't look like much












The entire side will come off like a sheet of paper. I next took scissors and cut out along the fin profile. The glass fibers are not visible and can be cut easily. Your fins will have a transparent feature that looks natural.

























While trimming the fins I like to leave a tab on the body side of the fin. This will help me when I go to mount the fins. I will cut a slot in the body with a dremmel and insert this tab of the fin with epoxy. I will show this after I get my main body cleaned up and ready for the fins.


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## TIGGER

After finishing the fin set I started to work on my main walleye body. During the fish casting process we took clay or plaster and packed out the undercut areas on the fish. We need to go back and clean those areas up. I started to work on the gill plate area. I took a dremmel and started to undercut the gill plate.












Since my fish has a slightly open mouth I thought the gill should be flared slightly to allow water to pass through. I will keep working this back untill it looks natural. I can later spray some red to give the look of gills.












Here is an example of the an undercut that I didn't pack out all the way. In the process of demolding my body chipped on removal. It can be fixed with spot putty. You can also go back to your main mold and sand this back so the next casting will not chip in the same place. The less chips you have the less time you have on repairs. Every little one adds up. I have alot of spots on my first body. I fixed them on my main mold and will see how they come out after my second casting.













I am still working around the head area slowly to get all the undercut features of the mouth and gills in order. More to come........


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## TIGGER

Here are molds of some steelhead that I tried.

This was my first try on one. Unfortunatly at the end it did not work out. I was impatient and rushed things with a heat gun. Thinking I could accellerate the process of resin curing with heat. I went through all the processes and opened the mold at the end but the fish was cooked inside the mold and the skin had puckered. I had to throw this one out. You can see how fins can be added to the master mold.



































This was one a co-worker brought for me to tinker around with in my experimental phase. A little 24 male that I made a 1/2 shell mold. The fish had a deformed dorsal fin that did not grow to full size.


































I will make a bunch of 1/2 shells and paint them in different patterns, brown trout , brook trout , and spawn steelhead. I will hang them in the shop for color referrences and to practice on. The first cast came out very well with lots of detail. I did have some chipping around the mouth on the first cast with some small undercuts in the mold. It is already fixed and ready for another try.


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## TIGGER

Here is one I finished just last week. It is a 28" female steelhead. It came out great!!!!!!!!!

















































The mold on the first flip.














Getting ready to drive the chisel and wood wedges to remove the fish.














The split of the complete mold with fish inside.














The start of the first casting. The white gellcoat after the mold release.












The first cast body. You can see the ribcage of the fish. Amazing detail it picks up .













The full body after I trimmed the seam down on the bandsaw and some sander work. I was very happy on the seam thickness on this one. I really made an effort to keep the two halves clean well building up the two halves. It really lets the two halves come together tight, less sanding !


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## TIGGER

Here is a link I must have watched 100 times. It is for Advanced Taxidermy out of Ontario. I want to use the replica's in this form. I have been a cabinetmaker for over 30 years and see no problem with bases and cabinets. Enjoy this link.


http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...irst=0&FORM=NVPFVR&qpvt=fish+taxidermy+videos


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## TIGGER

Here are some other links to videos on making fiberglass replicas. This one is for a blue fin tuna.


http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...irst=0&FORM=NVPFVR&qpvt=fish+taxidermy+videos


Here is one for a white crappie.










Here is one on making a fiberglass replica of a barracuda.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...62A2931F0BDB5138CDCB62&view=detail&FORM=VIRE1









It probably helps seeing a video instead of pics.



John


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## All Eyes

First I've ever seen taxidermy mounts outside the typical plaque/driftwood etc. Those cabinet mounts look beautiful! Love the coffee table. Specialty work done in that level of quality and detail would def cost a premium. You could make a small fortune with your set of skills John. The process looks very time consuming and tedious. That kind of craftsmanship is hard to come by these days.


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## JIG

Lookin at some of those pics you really have put alot of time and thought into this. Some of the best work Ive seen out of you yet but Im sure by the looks of your home and lures youve mastered wood working. 
Putting two things you enjoy doing together and creating something from scratch. I cant wait to see what youll come up with but your deff going the right direction man!
By the way Im thnkin this come about because you didnt want too waste a fish? Most guys would have thrown it out. Good sportsmanship man!


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## M.Magis

I&#8217;ve got a few articles scanned in. Do you have an email you&#8217;d like me to send them to?


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## Flathead King 06

Got a few questions for you John.

Almost all the replicas I have found online that are being done by everyday people have either closed mouths or slightly open. I want that hyper-realism in my replicas so after reading articles online and indicated by your posts, the filling agent for the body and for building up eye sets and mouth parts is an expanding foam filler. My question is, is the mouth detail (tongue, gill slots, crushing pads, and esophagus) all carved out of the foam, or is there a way to cast the internal detail of the mouth? I have seen a few replicas that aren't commercially produced that have the mouth open but you never get a picture of the inside of the mouth, or they only give a quartering shot allowng you to only see the inside of the lips or lip membrane.

My thinking to acheive that all natural look would be to mold the fish, then decontruct the fish's mouth/head and take the parts you want and make a mold of those. I know gills can be made or purchased from taxidermy supply stores that are already molded plastic and they just need to be epoxied in, but I want that mouth detail as if actually looking into the fish's mouth.

Looking for something like this but showing all the detail:


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## M.Magis

Yes, interior mouth detail is possible, and expected in quality mounts. It&#8217;s all done in the casting. To be honest, online videos aren&#8217;t a good place to find taxidermy information. There are a handful of videos out there that show how to make produce good quality, but the vast majority are people providing poor information, and producing inferior products. The best, or only, places to learn the best techniques would be Breakthrough magazine, the State show held every spring, and the NEW videos available through some taxidermy supply companies. I learned the hard way, assuming that any information is good information can lead you astray and cause you to spend years doing things the wrong way.


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## Flathead King 06

M.Magis said:


> Ive got a few articles scanned in. Do you have an email youd like me to send them to?


M.Magis, if you wouldn't care I'd like to see the article too please. [email protected]


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## M.Magis

I just sent the first one, that just happens to be about casting a fish head. It shows how the mouth detail is achieved. It was written by Gary Bruch, who is one of the very best fish taxidermists in the country.


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## Flathead King 06

M.Magis said:


> I just sent the first one, that just happens to be about casting a fish head. It shows how the mouth detail is achieved. It was written by Gary Bruch, who is one of the very best fish taxidermists in the country.


I appreciate it. WIll check it out shortly. Thanks again


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## Flathead King 06

Any updates John?

They crappie I started didnt do well at all so I scrapped the first try at it... waiting on a little warmer temps to get a nice gill and try again. 

Jeremiah


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## TIGGER

Hey Jeremiah,

I had an emergency removal of my gall bladder 4 weeks ago and ran into some complications leading to pneumonia in my lungs. I lost 23 pounds of weight in 3 weeks. I go back on Monday for chest x-rays. I am definetly feeling much better and even starting to get my appetite back gaining 2 pounds. 

I probably will end up in the man cave sometime this weekend to look around. I am ready to get back at it with the lures and the replica's.

John


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## chatterbox

Tigger, I have been admiring your work for sometime. I new something was up. Sorry to hear about the complications setting in. I had emergency surgery for a perforated ulcer. Not fun! Listen to the doc and rest so You get better. Wishing the best for a fast recovery. Steve,


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## MadMac

Sorry to hear that John. Hope you're feeling better soon.


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## Flathead King 06

Sorry to hear about the complications John. Hope all is well and you are back to par before too long. Can't wait to see some paint on those blanks!


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## TIGGER

Well I just started to get interested in getting to the paint / finish stages of these replica's. I had time to do some reading and think about how I wanted to paint the patterns. I was putting off the walleye painting until the waters of Lake Erie opened up so I could get some fresh specimans for color matching and first hand viewing of the finer details.

My friend and tournament partner Frank Murphy suggested we go up fun fishing at the islands this past Saturday. We have this personal quest to catch a 13 pound plus fish. We had always thought it would happen one late Fall night. Well a remarkable thing happened at high noon this past Saturday. Frank hooked this Monster!
























The fish weighed out at 15.25 pounds! It is only 30" long. I can't believe how fat the fish is.













I took the fish home and started making a replica mold within two hours. 























I am so pumped up about this. The fish was less that one pound away from the state record. I think I will be able to make 3 different position mounts over the summer. I completed the mold yesterday and have already started making the first body tonight. The scales are as big as dimes and eyes are are almost 30 mm!

I hope to be slinging paint in a week!


The real weird thing while I was making the mold I had a deja vu. They are always strange and freaky to me. I wish I could see the end result. This way I could just stop now. Or....... it is a sign I am on the right path.


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## All Eyes

Glad to hear you are making a replica of that pig! It's not every day you see a 15 plus pound walleye. I really can't wait to see the end result.


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## TIGGER

Well I finally got the supplies that I needed to continue on. I bought some eyes and molding clay. I really like this product after only using it for a couple of days. It is a two part epoxy clay that cleans up with water. As you apply it to the mold body you can wet your fingers and smooth blend it out.













As you work around the seam from mold you can use a drinking straw to make scale impressions. This will help when you get to the painting process.























After I removed the body from the casting I cut the mouth on the bandsaw and filled the body with foam. Tonight I started using the molding clay to shape the lips and tongue. I carved the 3 lb foam back inside the mouth. I didn't want to use alot of molding clay to shape the roof of the mouth so I took some plaster of paris and mixed a small batch up in a dixie cup. I applied it to the back of the throat in inner jaw. It starts to set up in 5 minutes. As it started to set up I wet my fingers and smoothed it out. It was tight quarters with the semi opened mouth but the pinkie fit in there.

I then mixed some clay and made a tongue and started to shape the lips.












I really like the sculpting part. Next I set the eye. Walleyes eyes are really cool looking. I set this one up so I can paint up over the clear part of the eye. They have a colored membrane that covers the outside edges of the eyes.












I am starting to get excited about this 15.25 walleye casting. The fish size is just amazing. It makes the 12 pound body look small.











I hope to have it ready for some paint by the end of the weekend!


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## TIGGER

I am starting to get excited about the painting part of it. This is a great youtube video on how to paint a walleye replica. I like how he explains the process. I will follow this technique for the first one.


http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...t=0&FORM=NVPFVR&qpvt=making+a+walleye+replica


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## K gonefishin

TIGGER said:


> I am starting to get excited about the painting part of it. This is a great youtube video on how to paint a walleye replica. I like how he explains the process. I will follow this technique for the first one.
> 
> 
> http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...t=0&FORM=NVPFVR&qpvt=making+a+walleye+replica




Cool video, always wondered how hard it would be to do a walleye, doing the main colors up until the detail looks easy. 

I'm looking forward to seeing your finished fish.


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## TIGGER

Well I started to sling some paint. After making molds of the side fins I got them mounted in the proper positions. 

The first paint step is to coat the body in a white primer. After that dries you lightly spray the body in a black paint coat. After that dries you take steel wool and rough up the body. This will remove all the black paint off the highest spots on the body. This will bring out all the details.





































Next you can start to put your base colors down. I followed the steps from the youtube video listed before. Light colors on the lower half and dark colors on the upper half.






































I let the body dry overnight.


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## TIGGER

Today I start drop into more detail with the painting. After applying the first coat of paints I thought the scales needed a little more to highlight them. After thinking about it I decided that I was going to try to paint every scale individually. I made small templates of the different size scales. I decided to touch up the tip of the scales with black. It really helped bring out the depth.



































It took me 3 hours to do the side. My eyes are toasted! LOL

I next went to the head area. 












There is alot happening in the gill cover, cheek , and mouth. I got pretty far along. I will let everything dry and may decide to put apply a clear coat to seal everything. 























I still have to paint the fins.





More to come........


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## All Eyes

It's looking great so far! The scales really came out nice. Thanks for the detailed info on the whole process. Very cool stuff!


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## Flathead King 06

AMAZING!!! Looking awesome so far! Have you decided how you want to mount it? Would look good with a scenic driftwood piece of some rock/gravel... once I get started on another crappie I will start up another thread for the process.


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## Toolman

Awesome stuff Tigger! I sent you a PM with a question.

Tim


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## TIGGER

Well I made some more progress with the paint. I started to layer the shading with clear coats in between. I also got to painting the fins. The problem with artificial fins is that they look to crisp. The larger inline fins were cast with the body. I thinned the thickness down on the backside and frayed the ends with a dremmel disc.












The next thing I did was to make some teeth. I took regular fiberglass resin from wallyworld and added a thickning agent ,colloidal silica. You can adjust the thickness on the amount added. It is sticky like axle grease.













I then added some white dye. You still need the MEK hardner also. Take a stick , dab and pull up.






















Here are some pics from different angles


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## TIGGER

I still can't believe how fat the fish was.























I gave the fish to Frank before we fished Saturday night.














That night he caught an 11.9 pounder that is leading the Spring Fling Derby. I told him to freeze that one also if it holds up I will make him a replica.

Just call me net boy!


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## triton175

Thanks for all of the detailed descriptions John. You did an amazing job on Franks fish.


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## Flathead King 06

Awesome job John!!! Once the whitebass bite slows down around here I think I'm going to try a replica of one of them. Wish me luck.


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## Flathead King 06

John I tried to send you a PM but your box is full.


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## All Eyes

That really came out nice John! What an amazing trophy. Thanks for sharing.


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## Flathead King 06

I am starting my own walleye replica molding process tonight. I have a buddy who caught one from CJ Brown/Buck Creek in SW Ohio that is 6-7lb... wish me luck!

John, about how long does the mold take to dry before flipping it and molding the other side?


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## TIGGER

Thanks guys for the kind words.

King sorry I have been night walleye fishing alot these last two weeks. It is almost over to get back to a normal schedule.
The tooling resin seems to dry slower. I like to leave that overnight to dry. The I follow it up with two regular resin clothe coverings. Those can dry in a couple of hrs with a little more mek hardner. You should be able to flip in one day at basement temps. I am excited for you. I am working on a 13" perch at the moment. I flipped it tonight and applied the resin coat.

Good luck tonight!
John


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## Flathead King 06

Leaving the gel coat and fish over night, have you ever experience any "swelling" from the fish due to heat? Just wondering I have mine right now drying as I applied the gel coat to it and it was very tacky even after 3 hrs of drying... checked it this morning before leaving for work and it seemed dry, just need to apply the resin top coats and fiber glass... may have an issue with my mold as I was unable to get a smooth surface around the outside of the fish before coating with the gel coat. We will see how it turns out.


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## Flathead King 06

Well here is the start to my replica process...










I made sure to get close up photos of all the fins that way it would be easier to accurately "carve" them once out of the mold and then later paint them as close to original as possible.














































After settling the fish how I wanted to make the replica, I started leveling it out with plaster... I think I may be in trouble here... wasn't able to get everything smooth with the "shape" I selected for the fish.










This is after applying the gel coat and letting it dry before building up the mold and expanding it outward away from the fish.


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## TIGGER

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to see more!

I got the second half of my yellow perch done this afternoon. I need to open the mold up before I hit the sack tonight. It is a always a pleasant smell after sitting at room temp for a couple of days.


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## Flathead King 06

Yea the eye im working is quite fragrant already... i got it flipped and the other side gel coated tonight... need to build it up tomorrow.. 

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## Flathead King 06

John

You ever have the gel coat split or crack while drying? I mixed it per direction just as I did the other side, but I awoke this morning to find a rather large crack along the dorsal side of the fish. I plan on filling it with a little more gel coat before building up the mold, but just didn't know if maybe the swelling of the fish had anything to do with it.


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## TIGGER

Yes, The gelcoat will crack if applied too thick or the fish body is not completely dry causing to slide during the drying time.

One thing I have noticed with the tooling gelcoat is that the ridges from your brush stokes will telegraph on to your fish. I noticed this with soft skinned fish such as trout. Walleyes, perch and crappies have armored scales and it is reduced. I will post examples later of this. I am looking into spraying the gellcoat maybe. 

One pointer after you split your mold to remove the fish let the mold dry overnight before scrubbing out the fish parts. This will let the tooling coat dry completely. I had some problems with cleaning the mold to quickly and removed some of the finer details. It is worth the wait. I will add more later.


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## TIGGER

Here is a 13" perch that I molded this week. When you set the plaster base you do have a little time to work the material. I take a putty knife and smooth around the fish. After 5 minutes the plaster will start to set up. I then take a paint brush and brush a little water over it to buy some working time. Don't worry about getting plaster on the fish. It wipes off with a sponge with no problem later. This will set flanges nicely.


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## Flathead King 06

Well after applying the other side of my walleye gel coat and having it split along the dorsal side of the fish I chaulked this one up as a FAIL again...  My fish got too hot sitting in the house with air conditioning and "pukered" in the mold... so I think I'm going to try again in the next few days on a smaller fish to start (again) and then try from there... My last trial was 3 days to complete the gel coating/resin mold build up process and by the 3rd day to extract the fish and break open the mold- the gel coat has split and the fish was aweful swollen and rotting... maybe try to keep a place cleared in the fridge or maybe try over the weeekend so I can do the entire molding process in one day.


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