Description

This is a urethane plastic replica cast of the jaws and teeth of a very large (original skull scored about 27 3/4″) polar bear. While the original skull isn’t as large as the full skull cast I also have for sale, it has the most impressive set of canines I’ve ever seen in a bear. The longest one (upper canine) is almost 2 3/4″, which is longer than many African lion upper canines. Polar bears on average tend to have longer, sharper canines than other bears due to their exclusively carnivorous diet, but this one is exceptional. I have shown this cast next to the huge African lion jawset I also sell (which has the largest canines of any lion I’ve ever run across) for comparison (this listing is only for the polar bear cast – please see my other listings for the lion). This cast measures 6 1/2″ long (from the front center incisors to the last upper molars, on a diagonal, only the upper jaw measurements are given) and 3 7/8″ wide. It includes all the detail of the real thing, down to the pores in the bone and wear on the teeth. The cast is filled with yellow urethane foam for stability, and the foam makes it easy to machine and accepts hot glue (and other non-waterbased glues) really well. This would be perfect for mask making or educational use. The cast can be painted if desired, but you will need to do some minor surface preparation. I get good results from light scuffing with a very fine grain foam sanding block (120 grit or finer) and then cleaning the cast thoroughly with denatured alcohol (rubbing alcohol would also work, as would acetone), since there will be some mold release naturally present that will repel paint. Then you can prime it with ordinary canned automotive-type primer (white primer works best and is easiest to paint over) and then paint with pretty much any kind of paint, including water-based acrylics. Then you can seal it or clear coat it to protect the finish.