Commemorate Your Catch With a Humane Replica

Fish taxidermy alternative is a great way to commemorate your catch with an artificial replica made to look like the original fish. In a sense, it may be best to select a fish taxidermy alternative over standard fish taxidermy as working with a fish is quite different from working with other types of animals. Take, for instance, that the skin of a fish is prone to losing most of its color as it dries out, which makes keeping the preserved fish look more lifelike a challenge. Typically, you may be able to recreate the fish skin with paint, yet this can be time-consuming. What’s more, when working with preserved animals it’s essential to get in touch with a taxidermy specialist in order to get the best results. With Maui Fish Printing, you’ll have an excellent replica created as your fish taxidermy alternative. Call 808-344-9954 or email mauifishprinting@gmail.com today to learn more.

Methods of Creating Artificial Replicas

With an artificial replica, there are many methods you could use. One method involves creating a mold of the fish and then casting it using a combination of polyester resin and fiberglass. Each scale is painted by hand to diligently recreate the appearance of the original fish. 

A method that is popular as it cuts on costs and doesn’t require the use of a fish taxidermist is to use a generic fish mold instead of a mold specifically used for one individual fish specimen. All that’s needed is a few quality photographs of the fish taken from various angles to reference. This method is great to select in cases where there are catch-and-release.

Steps to be Taken:

• Step 1 - take a picture from several angles of your fish
• Step 2 - measure your fish
• Step 3 - release your fish - no-kill fish taxidermy
• Step 4 - Send it to us (we use our years of experience with your photo and measurements to commission a work of art to immortalize your memory). 

Your reference photos will be used along with our own reference photos of the particular fish’s species in order to create a replica that will match the special markings, coloring, measurements, and/or weight you request. You’ll have a final product that looks very real and alive to make a wonderful form of art. With today’s technology and advanced products, you’ll have great detail in this fish mount. Enjoy realistic eyes, detail in the scales, and natural fish poses. Coloration with coloring techniques and airbrushing will achieve the intricate details used to provide a sense of character to each fish. When you want a detailed and colorful fish taxidermy alternative, we’re here for you.

Fish Taxidermy Alternative FAQ

A Little About Fiberglass Reproductions

Fiberglass replicas are great for any species of fish due to their robust nature that will not suffer the problems seen with poorly made skin mounts. It’s particularly used as the preferred method for most oily-skinned sea fish for this reason.

First, a mold is created of the whole fish with a fiberglass copy or blank of the fish cast from the mold. After this preparation, the cast will then be painted the same colors as the original fish specimen. Making this initial molding is the most critical part of the process as a poorly made one will have the fish reproduction looking distorted without detail. A well-made fiberglass cast should have definitive scale details, even with small-scaled fish, and will assume a natural pose as if the fish were alive. A professional paint job will then make the fish look more natural.

As with skin mounts, there are commercial paints and products developed specifically for fish taxidermy alternatives. There are numerous brands available in the market with different choices of shimmers, pearl effects, and iridescence. Ultimately, a professional will be able to create a fish mount that will be lifelike and detailed enough to where you can’t tell the difference between a skin mount and an artificial fiberglass mount. 

Call Us Today

Rely on Maui Fish Printing for an excellent job done with your fish taxidermy alternative. With 18 years of experience, you can count on a work of art that is finely done with expert craftsmanship. Call us at 808-344-9954 or email mauifishprinting@gmail.com to get started.