Anyone has taxidermy work done in South Africa?

[BRICKBURN]

johnnyblues posted this and i have moved it so he might get some feedback from the members.

Anyone has taxidermy work done in South Africa? If so may I have your opinion. It will be more cost effective to have the work done in SA when I compared my taxidermist here, not by much but at least I don't have to worry about the capes.

 

[Diamondhitch]

As with any taxidermist regardless of continent be cautious of what you are getting. There are some great SA taxidermists and some very bad ones. Some of the ones whos work looks good may be using preservation techniques that use dangerous chemicals and do not have the longevity of a properly tanned hide.

Educate yourself, ask the right questions and make an informed decision of where to leave your mount and who you leave it with. After all it is you who will have to live with the results.

 

[bcarper]

I had my trophy's done in Sa, by Images of Africa. They look really good. They have a website and are on Facebook. I was happy with the work, and his efforts. Kevin is his name.

 

[Warbird782]

I signed on to have Hunters and Collectors in Port Elizabeth mount all of my trophies. I have seen his work and they do a good job. Check them out.

 

[huntingbigun]

I had mine done by

Pieter v Bergen
African Memories Taxidermy (Pty) Ldt
Contact nr : +27 82 946 9547
E-mail : africanmemories.taxidermy@gmail.com

He is the brother of Louis who owns Spiral Horns Safari, so you can get one stop shop, communication was great price was great in the crate as we speak so soon I can lay my hands on them. The Sable being attacked by a Lion he did for my hunting partner was WOW, did some cool made it two mounts so you can roll them together or split im. Saved a fair amount of money even with the shipping and Pieter worked hard to make them look the way I wanted, I hope they look as good in person, they must he won some awards with my mounts in a show in SA. So they liked them

here is my lion and couple others

 

[Cliffy]

Brickburn
I've used Bullseye Taxidermy and have been VERY impressed by their quality and delivery.
Had my 4 mounts back 5 months from returning home.

 

[arizona]

Brickburn
I've used Bullseye Taxidermy and have been VERY impressed by their quality and delivery.
Had my 4 mounts back 5 months from returning home.

+1 on Bullseye, excellent results, fast service.

 

[Buff-Buster]

+1 on Bullseye, excellent results, fast service.

+2...Bullseye gets all of my Africa work. Craig and Trish are great folks too.

 

[Blue Skies Hunting Adventures]

I use highveld, there doing a much better job on their turnaround time and quality is fantastic.

 

[R.Ezio]

Bullseye has my trophies right now. They have been wonderful to deal with. Quite excited to get them back, especially after all the above positive feedback!!

 

[dayton]

Has anyone had any work done with Nylstroom taxidermy in SA?

 

[RHaught]

I have used Nylstroom twice. I've had great service and communication from them.

 

[Bhfs300]

I had Nylstroom taxidermy do mine Not good.

Has anyone had any work done with Nylstroom taxidermy in SA?

I went on my first safari last October and I just got my trophy back. Paul the taxidermist (Nylstroom Taxidermy) did my kudu and there were several problems.
He said he would measure them so I would know how I did. (didn't happen). I tried to get a picture of the shoulder mount from him but in this day of the internet he would not send pictures. When I sent an Email to the people I hunted with saying that I was concerned that a past costumer told me that he thought Paul used a wrong cape, and they forwarded it to Paul I got a picture the next day.
That is when I found out that he mounted it to the left instead of to the right. Since it was almost done and about a month after he said it would be done I didn't say anything.
Then I got a call from Paul when he was crating it and discovered it was wrong I told him that I would rather have it just sent wrong. He said ok and thought I sould get a partial refund since they messed up. That was nice.
When the case came and I opened it I found that the ears didn't look like any that I have ever seen before. All the ears that I have ever seen are concaved (the edges are higher than the middle. I sent him an email saying what I thought. No answer!
I would like to know what you all think about the ears on my kudu. I have attached three pictures of the right ear showing that the ear is flat as you look at it from the front. The one picture shows that from one edge to the other for about 7 inches the ruler is touching the ear. When i rotate the ruler around the ear it continues [to touch the ear all the way across. None of the kudu in my area have ears that look like this, they all have the ear indented in the middle. But all I get from him is this is what the ears should look like.

 

[enysse]

Bhfs300, could I see pictures of the whole mount, so I could look the whole thing over for fit and finish of the kudu. Then I will tell you what I think.

 

[Bhfs300]

Bhfs300, could I see pictures of the whole mount, so I could look the whole thing over for fit and finish of the kudu. Then I will tell you what I think.

Here are two pictures of the mount the first one is it in the spot that I have for it looking at the wall. the second one is me leaning against the wall so you are in front of it. the only way you can look at from this side is if you are three or four feet in front of it.
If you know anything about taxidermy what can I do to get the hair at the top of the ear pointing down the way it should.

BHFS300

View attachment 23449View attachment 23450

 

[enysse]

You are between a rock and hard place. I get what you are saying, but the taxidermist is never going to do anything about it. I actually thought the tanning was better than most trophies I see from Africa. I know mine you don't see the nice mane underneath the neck like you do on yours. Your kudu is actually better than 75 percent of what I see coming back to the USA.

Maybe Diamondhitch or another taxidermist on here has some hints for you? Anything can be fixed, it depends how much you want to spend? There are some damn good artists here in the states.

 

[enysse]

BUMP to the top.

 

[Diamondhitch]

Here are some pics of a fresh Kudu ear. I am making sure to not distort the shape in any way, simply holding it loosely at the desired photo angle. Your ear is certainly too flat and not shaped correctly, this is very common and usually goes unnoticed by the owner.

Note the shape of the ear in the angle from the ear tip. This is the most common shaping mistake, in fact it is hard to find a commercial ear liner (read I don't know if there is one made) that captures this correctly and taxidermists are taught when doing bondo ears to make the front of the ear flat from this view (still with concavity but the edges align to the same visual plane)

Now don't go out and look at your mounts and be dissapionted by this, there are many great looking mounts done like this and there will be plenty more yet to come.

 

[Bhfs300]

Thanks for the info!

After looking at my kudu for a couple weeks I am happy he is mounted to the left I see a good profile and mane looks great. I don't see the ears from the front unless I sit in front of it. He is growing on me

Bhfs300

 

[jduckhunter]

After looking at my kudu for a couple weeks I am happy he is mounted to the left I see a good profile and mane looks great. I don't see the ears from the front unless I sit in front of it. He is growing on me

Bhfs300

Nice to hear you've found the silver lining.