I've been working with the manufacturer of this product for quite some time now and these are the first samples ready for viewing.

I'm of course showing birds, but they are also very nice for fish and there are others in the works like a nightime scene with a full moon for a howling coyote pedestal for example. I've suggested a South Texas Cactus Scene for a whitetail euro mount as well.

If ya'll could let me know if this is something you might have on a few of your mounts in your trophy room I would appreciate the feedback to send on to the R&D dept. of the company wanting to market them. (Pics follow) Thanks in advance - Matt

Here is a side by side of the same mount. I think it's interesting that a different scene can give a totally new feel to the entire piece.

The reality is, at least to this point, that most everything has been done in taxidermy, so when they approached me with this new concept I was very interested in seeing what the taxidermy buying public would think. Thanks for your thoughts - Matt

I don't care for it. I would not order that. Just my $0.02

Artwork is good, but I think it takes away from the mount. Personally, I wouldn't display a mount in that way

Well, that comes as a big surprise... ...thanks for the input none-the-less.

matt, i like them ,it is different but still like the way some look!!

Thanks for the input Jason. Here are a couple of pics from the first generation panels that they developed for Fish Mounts. They tell me that these have been so popular they can't keep them in stock. Jason, if I've learned anything from posting pics for the past 10 years on the internet, you can never tell what the public will go for and market trends vary greatly all over the country.

Don't care for it would like to see larger size as if bird or fish were actually in the scene, just appears way to small, especially with the birds. Just my thoughts.

Good points...thanks for the input. FYI: They had originally started out much bigger with varying shapes, but the folks brought in to look at the first generation complained that they were too big and overpowering to the mount. LOL! I guess you never know.

I would have to agree with some of the other comments...I don't care for the wall panels with the waterfowl mounts. They don't look bad with the fish. To me, the panels take away from the bird mounts and make it look too commercialized. Just my opinion, and I think the old school waterfowl mount with a well thought out habitat scene can't be beat. Esp the artistic, quality scenes that Matt puts together.

I agree.

In my opinion it cheapens the look of the mount and takes away from the natural beauty of the bird.

looks too small for the birds for sure. I would want something else.

Well, my bud in Minnesota ran his focus group this week and the folks up there went crazy for these panels, so I'm just left scratching my head????

I guess it comes down to market differences. Maybe it's like deer ears. Ears forward is the norm in many parts of the country, but mount one like that in Texas and most hunters here would scream bloody murder.

Too bad, I was hoping for a totally new innovation in the Texas market that a client could afford, besides putting them on a stick. I've always said that what a Taxi might like can be oceans apart from what a hunter might like.

Here's 2 of his samples from up north:

[quote=Brian R I agree.
In my opinion it cheapens the look of the mount and takes away from the natural beauty of the bird. [/quote]

You shoulda seen 'em before I asked them to change up and make these samples in high-quality Walnut and Oak. They started out as a cheaper basswood. LOL!

I also don't care for them. It clutters the whole thing up in my opinion.
I personally just like the mount with natural habitat scenes.

Eric Wietfeld
Kodiak Taxidermy
Kodiak, Alaska
907-486-4883

I like the fish scene because it looks to scale. The birds scene is a bit small.

I am not a fan at all. I think they look pretty decent with the fish, but as others have said it cheapens the overall aspect of the birds.

Would like to see an entire wall or maybe room painted as an outdoor scene and then have mounts appropriately placed. I think that would look great and make a nice get away when there is no way to get away.

Your mounts are too good to clutter them up. I kind of like it with the fish though.

Thanks for the nice input. These panels were originally developed for the fish taxidermist and have been doing so well, the company wanted to expand the availability to taxidermists in other areas.

I'm a hard sell, and I absolutely love the panfish with the bobber, but again taxidermists can have different preferences just by the nature of working in the medium everyday.

I think a mirror in place of the picture would look good on some of the mounts. Just my thoughts...

sgt.h, I've been mounting birds for some of the fellas giving input here for years....the thought of some of them looking into a mirror each time they look at their mount gives me the heebeegeebees...talk about makin' a mount look cheap and cluttered!! LOL!