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Molding a crayfish

If some little thing is missing from it, you can
reattach it or else fill it with goldsmith's
cement, because it .

Thecrayfish is one of the most fanciful to mold, but also
provides an example for casting many other very difficult things. Males
are distinguished by the eggs that females carry, and by the four
legs little white leglets at the back that males
aphave inside their tail, after the
eight main legs. It is only a good thing to dry them out a little,
because the lumps only come out hard rougher & more
beautiful, for everything that is of shell does not diminish. It is true
that if you let them dry too much, these little inside leglets diminish
& rendered more slender & do not have as much body. If also they
are too dry, the flesh separates from the scales. Take heed, therefore,
to use moderation. They have some hair between the legs & at the end
of the tail. And because all hair is troublesome to mold, because it
gets mixed up with the sand & is not released, you can burn it with
a hot iron on the crayfish, so that no one sees
it. As for animals that have hair or feathers, it is necessary that you
smear them with oil of olive, of wheat, which
is quickly dry & which will keep the hair flat & spread out.
Thus, you will have the form of your animal and the hair will also show,
but made in waves, and this is something which can be repaired. If your
crayfish has eggs, which are delicate, and which
would be awkward to uncover without breaking, you would do better to
make the first cast on the belly & eggs, in order that
you you only need to uncover the back, which is hard &
easy to handle. And the belly & the eggs will remain in the
mold, and one will need to burn them inside before opening your
mold& en for the second time. Thus,
all it will open easily, for what is burned will no longer be
attached. Thus, the second cast, which is made on the first one, which
has set well, separates easily from the first, after having been
reheated, which is a singular secret for similar molds.

The gate is made by the tail, very
thin.

Do not forget to rub with
eau-de-vie before molding.

Stag beetles, crayfish
& crabs are molded in the same way.

If your crayfisha
d has no eggs, mold the back on top & the belly on the
bottom. You can give it some.

It can be molded hollow as for the body,
but the legs cannot. And to do it well, crayfish are already
fanciful enough to mold without looking for the hollow, this ought to be
reserved for turtles.

When you open your mold, you
will find the crayfish with white bones, but not in
powder. And without opening it, the ☿ will have
done nothing.

Layer these oil colors very
transparently.

To paint it, boil it with wine & a
little salt in order that they become very red & take this as
a model. Paint the back with vermilion mixed with lake,
& the sides & underneath the belly & the legs with
vermilion & yellow ochre and white.

