Before turning to finishing the face, unscrew the holding piece from back of neck-board and nail up the part of skin's edge that it covered. Replace the piece and set head in vise facing you. Pinch and mold the ear skin tightly upon the compo. covered lead and model the ear-butts into shape firmly against the head.
Run a strong-threaded fur needle, with large knot at end of thread, through middle of upper edge of each lead ear. Draw ears up to desired position and wrap thread around a convenient part of antlers to hold until compo. sets. Next loop a cord under each ear at base of cartilage and tie over antlers to hold lower end of cartilage from sagging until set. When ears are finished, press face skin into compo. upon skull and massage it down to hold firmly.
Fill eyelids thinly inside flap of lining, place a little compo. in hollow of sockets, and set eyes.
Fig. 37.
Deer are usually quite fleshy just over the eyes. Place this filling before eyes are set. Also press a little compo. into the hollows of the suborbital glands and with the fingers work these fleshy eye details out roughly and finish with a modeling tool, pressing the slits of suborbital glands in deeply with a thick-edged instrument. See that the face skin is worked down firmly and smoothly clear to the nose.
Fill nose and upper lip and model them into natural shape. Lastly, fill chin and lower lip. Tuck lower lip up well under upper and model lips and chin into proper relation to each other.
If any compo. has gotten into the hair wipe it out with a damp sponge. Leave head in the vise until compo. is set and then hang in a well ventilated place to dry. Do not hang near stove or radiator.
When thoroughly dried out, brush dust out of hair and finish the eyelids, nostrils, etc., with wax and cotton, burned in, same as given for finishing a small mammal.