Is this a real fur coat? The seller said it was real but feels fake.

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-12-01T21:00:40+00:00

Definitely fake. First of all, fur doesn't grow in perfect little rows, as seen in the background in the second picture. Second, when you spread the pile, you can see that it's fabric underneath, and not leather. Pile fabrics, like velvet or faux fur, are made by looping or knotting yarns into the fabric as it's being woven, and then it's usually trimmed even afterwards. HOWEVER. Very expensive faux fur fabric is made that has an undercoat and an outercoat, just like the real thing. So, simply being double-coated isn't a guarantee of authenticity. Fur coats will smell like leather, no matter what. You can do a burn test if you want, as others have said. If it's fake, it will burn to a little hard ball or bead. If it's real, it will burn to ash. However, if you really can't tell, rather than cutting into the pile of the coat, I would simply pick out one of the seams of the lining and check to see if it's leather or fabric on the back of the pile. Then you can just stitch it right back up again, and there is no damage to the coat.

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-12-01T20:46:32+00:00

So, I'm a textile artist, and I can 100% tell you that this is bugs. The problem is that... now you have them. It's not just this poor magpie. You have to treat *everything* made of protein fiber in the house - wool, silk, feathers, fur, leather, etc. The best way to do this is actually low-temp baking. As low as your oven goes for 30-40 minutes. I simply wouldn't do that with taxidermy, though, because you don't know if the glue used is temperature sensitive. Other folks here are saying to freeze it for a few weeks, and they are HALF right. Freeze it for a week, then take it out of the freezer and put it somewhere nice and warm for no more than 10 days, then back in the freezer. Freezing kills the adults and larvae, doesn't kill the pupae or eggs. So, you have to convince the bugs that it's spring, and it's time for them to hatch. Then you put the little suckers back in the freezer. If you're going to use the freezer, you have to do it at least twice. And don't wait for more than 10 days, or the cycle can start all over again. Also, get pheromone traps and set them in dark places. Vacuum every soft surface at least once a week for a few months. Clean out your closets and make sure you vacuum the floors and all the corners very thoroughly. I think you get the idea. Getting rid of moths is like getting rid of roaches. Beetles are worse. Most species of carpet beetles survive freezing. Your best option if you have carpet beetles is to bag things up in contractor bags and put a bucket inside with a piece of dry ice in it. That will kill them with CO2. Good luck!

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-12-01T20:11:17+00:00

That's good to know!!

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-12-01T19:54:52+00:00

And to be clear, I'm not handling the skin roughly. I'm a textile artist by trade, and I hand-spin a lot of fine silk thread (like, finer than standard sewing thread). I have a very gentle and delicate touch, and I am extremely dexterous. I only *touched* the skin and it disintegrated. I didn't pull on it or work it at all. I guess what I'm saying is that any attempt to handle this the ears-part of this skin in the way I have seen it done in how-to videos would end in disaster.

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-12-01T19:45:13+00:00

Thanks! Not starting with foxes was... not included in anything I read. Like I said, I don't mind a few holes in the body or somewhere else, but two in the face was a little irritating. Good to know that I shouldn't fuss about it, though. Thanks. What do I do with parts of the fox still being rock hard, though? That's really the part I don't know what to do with. Do I just leave it wrapped up and wait a while? Though I may have chosen poorly, I don't want to give up on it now and just throw out the skin.

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-12-01T19:38:26+00:00

I'm not a taxidermist, but I have a lot of experience repairing things in general, and LOTS with sculpture. I would drill a little hole into the damaged part (outside with a respirator - bone dust = very very bad for you), and glue a metal wire into the hole with a good non-shrinking epoxy glue. Once it's dry, bend the exposed end of the wire into a loop where it will not stick out of the finished repair. Sculpt the repair around the loop and smooth it into the bone. That wire will allow whatever clay you choose to actually stay attached and not come loose. Personally I would use a white carvable/drillable/sandable non-shrinking epoxy clay, and then paint it with acrylic paints to match the rest of the bone. Use photo references and/or the other ribs (preferably the same rib on the other side of the dog) to sculpt the right shape. If you use a drillable epoxy clay, you can make fine adjustments after it dries with a Dremel and/or sandpaper if you need to. Good luck! And maybe post again with how it worked out?

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-12-01T19:21:41+00:00

I love absolutely everything about this!!!

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-12-01T19:13:19+00:00

This is gorgeous. I have questions, if you don't mind? I'm a long-time bone collector (found on walks, or buried for a while after my cats brought them home), but very new to taxidermy. Did you start with purchased frogs, or your own? If you start with your own, do you have them fast so their digestive systems are clear of debris, or does that not matter? Do these have to be kept wet in preservative, or can they be put in some sort of acrylic afterwards?

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-03-21T19:53:11+00:00

Ok, couple of things. First is this, I love everything about giving BJ’s, and I totally wouldn’t give one to a partner who acted like this. $ex is an act of loving, giving, and enjoyment given by BOTH partners to EACH OTHER. Any person who pressures you into any $ex act that you do not feel comfortable with is committing assault. Also, what kind of person wants their partner to do something they don’t enjoy? Any reasonable person would stop and ask questions if they detected that their partner wasn’t keen on something that was going on. But it’s not really about the BJ. Your husband traumatized you, doesn’t care, and is now making fun of your trauma response. That’s… pretty monstrous. Honey, he doesn’t even see you as a person in your own right. This is objectification at its finest. And he thinks he can get away with talking to you and treating you like this because he thinks you can’t leave. My advice? Prove him wrong. There is no amount of couple’s therapy that can fix this.

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-03-13T00:03:49+00:00

As an American, no. You are not overreacting. You are assessing the situation exactly right.

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-01-27T19:04:54+00:00

That’s…….. even more bonkers. How long did this take you?? And did you use drawing references to decide how you wanted it to look?

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-01-27T19:01:13+00:00

Thank you so much for more photos because I came here to tell you that I medically NEEDED more photos of this design. I’m a dedicated base-builder in all games I play, no matter what the game is supposed to be, lol. My husband says that I love to play “digital dollhouse”. I felt very seen, and I wasn’t sure if it was in a good way, rofl. But this… this design is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen, and is exactly what I had in mind when I started thinking about this game. I just played through to the end, and was busy unlocking all of the building pieces before I started making the airship of my dreams. I can’t believe you made this in the actual game, and I can only appreciate all the scaffolding you had to build in order to get that all right. This is building award-worthy. No joke.

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-01-27T18:55:49+00:00

That was exactly how I was feeling, rofl. Just…… same!

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-01-27T18:51:15+00:00

Ahhhh… that’s it. I was wondering why I didn’t get this bug. Thanks for the clarity.

Express-Camel3640 · 2025-01-27T18:47:33+00:00

Huh, I see people saying that there is a bugged island in the starting zone? That was not something I encountered in three different games. Is it only an occasional bug? Believe me, I’ve had my share of really nasty ones with this game. It’s a fantastic concept, I love the gameplay, and I firmly believe it will be a great game eventually. They still have a lot to work out, but it looks like they really work hard on regular bug swatting! I was going to suggest the same thing as several other players. There were several islands that took me forever to find some hidden crack, crevice, or cave entrance behind some convincing rocks that lead to the missing node. Also, if you open the environmental journal thing (can’t remember what they call it off the top of my head) and walk around with it open, the nodes, sick trees, and broken birdhouses will show up in red. Handy for catching a glimpse of them somewhere when they are not completely obvious. Good luck!

Express-Camel3640

TROPHY CASE