Mounting a Stuffed Animal As a Trophy

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My living room looks like a trophy should be mounted on the wall. I've got no interest in displaying a dead animal head, but a stuffed animal's a different situation and more aligned with my sense of humor.

It's not well known but the Spirit rover which landed on Mars in January 2004 had the capabilities to defend itself from any adversaries it might encounter. During a period where it was out of communications with the Earth Spirit defended itself against an attack from a native which wanted Spirit's Illudium Pew-36 modulator. Somehow that Martian ended up at a local thrift shop where I purchased it for $3. For another $3 I got a child's wooden shield.

Remove the straps from the shield. These were held on with heavy duty staples and easy to pry up.

Disconnect the head from the body of the stuffed animal. Depending on the stuffing material you may have to seal the opening. I was going to include a photo but was served an injunction from the society of prevention of cruelty to stuffed animals.

Attach the head to the shield. The exact method will vary depending on what you have available and the shape of your animal. I used a thumbtack, small nail, and nylon strap.

I used a laser cutter to make a plaque - “Ares Marvinus – captured Gusev Crater January 2004”. (Gusev Crater is where the Spirit rover landed on Mars in January 2004.)

I should have gone to more effort to center the head on the plaque.

The Gorilla glue I used for the nameplate expanded more than I thought it would and spread out from behind.

I had a lot of fun making this project. It was inspired by a “Far Side” cartoon by Gary Larson which showed a cartoon animal mounted on a plaque. Recently I've noticed some picnic baskets gone missing and there's a certain bear with a necktie who better watch his step otherwise he's going to become my next project.