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Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 2nd, 2018, 10:38 am
by Steve Bledsoe
Hi all,
It's been a long while since I posted here. It's good to see so many friends and familiar names still active in the field.

Some of you are aware that I make reptile replicas for museums, state and local parks and nature centers. I've been doing it for a number of years. Below are a few photos of some of my work. The willardi replica is currently on display at Bob Ashley's Chiricahua Desert Museum along with a few other pieces of my work. The klauberi and cerberus replicas will soon be there.

I'm currently in need of good adult Rubber Boa and CA Mountain Kingsnake specimens from which I can make molds to cast replicas. I don't collect animals from the wild for the purpose of replicating them, so I'm restricted to finding people who already have molds and castings of certain species, or need to find good quality frozen specimens that have died in captivity from private collections. Road kills are difficult to work with since they are often damaged beyond repair. I would be very grateful if anyone might have a good quality frozen Charina or L. zonata (or L. pyromelana) specimen that I can use for replication.

Please feel free to reply on this thread or send me a PM.

Thank you,
Steve

C. w. willardi - 17" replica
Replica - C. w. willardi 03 (7).jpg
C. l. klauberi - 26" replica
Replica - C. l. klauberi 03 (2).jpg
C. cerberus - 30" replica
Replica - C cerberus 02 (11).jpg

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 2nd, 2018, 11:52 am
by LouB747
Very cool work Steve. Sorry I don’t have anything for you. Looking forward to seeing more...

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 2nd, 2018, 12:27 pm
by Steve Bledsoe
Thanks Lou. I'm enjoying your videos.
You're having too much fun for a guy who's supposedly "working".
We need to get out together again one day, but then finding a dozen Kingsnakes in a day is probably too boring for a guy who strolls Retics, Banded Kraits and King Cobras on his coffee breaks! LOL

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 2nd, 2018, 4:04 pm
by Porter
Your replicas are awesome Steve :lol: :thumb: I remember you posted one on one of my posts… Not sure which replica but I know it’s not pictured here. And I was like, “oh cool where did you find that “ or something along those lines… And you’re like, “it’s a replica.” :lol: :lol: :lol: ... which is a sincere compliment coming from a guy who bitches about the importance of overlooked fine details lol

LouB747 wrote:Very cool work Steve. Sorry I don’t have anything for you. Looking forward to seeing more...
Steve Bledsoe wrote:Thanks Lou. I'm enjoying your videos.
You're having too much fun for a guy who's supposedly "working".
We need to get out together again one day, but then finding a dozen Kingsnakes in a day is probably too boring for a guy who strolls Retics, Banded Kraits and King Cobras on his coffee breaks! LOL
You guys should contact Hubbs.And do a full process vid...First part of the video could be hubbs and lou out getting the Mountain King. Then bring in the king over to Bledsoe And show the process of making the replica cast. That would be interesting to see... :idea:

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 2nd, 2018, 4:13 pm
by Porter
Or a video showing how you cast one of those live buzztails. :shock: 8-)

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 2nd, 2018, 6:24 pm
by Porter
OK so… Are we talking DOR here? Lol i’m at work when I responded to the post. Now it’s about three hours later and I just thought about it again and I’m realizing… That Flippin snakes got to be Dad if he’s going to make a cast of it :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Sorry Steve :oops:

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 2nd, 2018, 7:12 pm
by Steve Bledsoe
Bingo!
LOL

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 2nd, 2018, 9:16 pm
by Steve Bledsoe
Yes - the problem with doing what I do is that I need a dead specimen to make a mold, and I don't want to kill anything to accomplish it. DORs will work if they're in nearly perfect shape, but most herps that have been run over by a 2 ton vehicle aren't much good for what I'm trying to accomplish, which is to create life-like replicas. Thus the need to find animals that have died in captivity and have been frozen before decaying too far, and are in reasonably good shape - not easy to find sometimes.

Here are a few more replica photos.

C. m. pyrrhus - white phase
C. m. pyrrhus replica 02 (14).jpg
C. m. molossus
C. m. molossus.jpg
C. m. molossus 2.jpg
H. s. suspectum
H. s. suspectum replica 01 (29).jpg
H. s. suspectum replica 01 (30).jpg

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 4th, 2018, 9:17 am
by Porter
That’s rad :thumb: The Gil’s Monster is the one I was thinking of. Amazing! You do a good job painting them and matching the colors accurately. Yeah, that makes since that a captive pet dying of old age would make best specimen. I thought that later on before reading it here. Makes sense. Ive been pretty successful in finding zonata DOR in my half-ass attempts to track one down. I think I’m at 4 now....3 or 4. And I’m convinced that it’s because of my stubborn rebellious opinion that they are the equivalent of the cheerleader blonde in high school that everyone is chasing who’s really just a poser coral snake to begin with :roll: :oops: Once I can get that outta my mind, I think the earth will present her to me...It’s more of a mental game :lol: ...but yeah, way things going I’ll probably find a perfect DOR before I’ve earned my lifer, So...... you may be in luck. I find boas in the same area so I’ll keep an eye out and throw one on ice if it’s fresh and not smashed.

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 4th, 2018, 9:35 am
by Porter
Steve Bledsoe wrote:Bingo!
LOL
:lol: :lol: :lol: :thumb: :thumb: So glad to read this lol Cause I was seriously stressing afterwards thinking, “there I go again...indirectly and accidentally being an internet "insert profanity here".
:oops: F#%@ :oops:
:roll: :lol:

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 4th, 2018, 6:35 pm
by chris_mcmartin
Those are amazing!

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 4th, 2018, 8:13 pm
by rosyboakid
Those replicas are absolutely killer! I bookmarked your website so I may just have to pick some replicas at some point. The speckled and banded rock rattlers in particular are my favorites. Good luck finding a Charina and zonata/pyro, I'd love to see those in replica form as well! :beer:

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 5th, 2018, 6:50 am
by Steve Bledsoe
Thank you Chris and "rosyboakid" for the compliments. Fellow herpers are my most valuable critics. If you guys think they look reasonably real, then pleasing the general public in a display at a nature center is guaranteed. I give a lot of venomous snake lectures in my area of Southern California, and it's surprising how many people will look closely at some of my replicas and ask me what they eat!

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 5th, 2018, 8:23 am
by Bryan Hamilton
Are they available for purchase?

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 5th, 2018, 8:49 am
by Steve Bledsoe
Hi Bryan,
Yes, they are available for purchase. They're fairly expensive because of the time involved in making and painting them. My rattlesnake replicas sell for $350 to $400 depending on the species. Some species are a little easier to paint than others.

I have more photos on the Reptile Replicas page on my website at http://www.swfieldherp.com

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 7th, 2018, 11:07 am
by Zach_Lim
Hey Steve,

Fantastic work. At my current job, we have a deceased Northern Rubber Boa preserved in alcohol. It isn't the largest boa I have ever seen, but it isn't that small (probably a few years old?). It was found dead on a trail here in Northern California with no visible injuries. Maybe that can help you?

Zach

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 7th, 2018, 11:22 am
by Steve Bledsoe
Thank you Zach.
If your specimen is preserved in alcohol or formalin, it probably won't be pliable, or soft enough to re-position into a natural pose. Can you remove it from the jar to check? My experience with preserved specimens is that they get very stiff after a short while.

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 11th, 2018, 6:13 pm
by chris_mcmartin
Steve Bledsoe wrote:Thank you Zach.
If your specimen is preserved in alcohol or formalin, it probably won't be pliable, or soft enough to re-position into a natural pose. Can you remove it from the jar to check? My experience with preserved specimens is that they get very stiff after a short while.
But on the plus side, a rubber boa would be relatively easy to paint... 8-)

Re: Reptile Replicas

Posted: November 12th, 2018, 6:06 am
by Steve Bledsoe
chris_mcmartin wrote:
Steve Bledsoe wrote:Thank you Zach.
If your specimen is preserved in alcohol or formalin, it probably won't be pliable, or soft enough to re-position into a natural pose. Can you remove it from the jar to check? My experience with preserved specimens is that they get very stiff after a short while.
But on the plus side, a rubber boa would be relatively easy to paint... 8-)
That, it would be!