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Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

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Sunday, February 21, 2010

ALAN FRISWELL WRITES..

Hi Jon.

Reading your blog regarding casting the dog skulls, you can go to any art shop in Texas and purchase a can of silicon rubber. The instructions to mix it will be on the box. Then build a box from cardboard that the skull will fit into--with about an inch or so of space all the way around-- and stand the skull on a small piece of modelling clay--plasticine--so that it stands above the bottom of the box by about an inch. Pour the rubber so that it completely covers the skull and fills to the top of the box. When it is set the box should be completely filled with a solid block of sillicon in which the skull is encased.

Gently take the block out of the cardbord box, and take a scalpel--also available from the art shop--or a sharp craft knife, and cut the block of rubber in half, then pull the rubber back, so that you can pull the skull free. Don't worry about stretching the rubber; it will simply pull itself back into shape. You can also buy casting plastics from art shops, which also will have mixing instructions. Put the two halves of the rubber mould back into the cardboard box and turn it upside-down. Take the bottom of the box away and you should have a hole in the rubber where the plasticine stand was. Pour the casting mix into the mould, and 'slush' the box around so that the resin fills all the cavities, then pour in the rest so that it fills to the top. When it sets you can pull the mould apart and you should have a perfect cast of the skull.

If it was happening over here, of course, I could do it for you. If you need any other information, please let me know. Incidentally, why didn't you ask me about this directly in the first place?

Cheers,
Al :)

The answer to your last question, Alan, is that I am an idiot. I should have thought of you straight off. Thanks to everyone else who wrote in.

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