Dear Wildlife Artists,

Every time that my business partner, Ken Edwards, shows me the final proof of the latest WASCO Catalog, I always think that it is the greatest one we've ever produced. I am always wondering how we will be able to top the current catalog with the next one. But this, our largest catalog ever, I am especially proud of. And I am so pleased to finally present it to you because I really do feel that this is our best catalog yet.

As you look through this catalog, you'll find many new and innovative supplies and tools to improve the quality of your taxidermy work, as well as a much greater selection of items that you use every day.

In the gamehead department, we've got a great new selection of African and exotic mannikins from award-winning taxidermist Ron Schaefer. John Sanzo makes his WASCO debut with an excellent new bear series, inclusing shoulder mounts, half-body mounts, rug shells and a full body mannikin. In addition to Jan Van Hoesen's outstanding lifesize small mammal line, you'll also find Jan's new small mammal pedestal gameheads in bobcat, coyote, grey fox, red fox, lynx, raccoon, and wolverine. With the addition of three excellent new whitetail deer lines from Mike Noonkester and Dwayne "Bones" Johnson, it now brings to TEN the total of whitetail deer lines WASCO has to offer, including the exciting new pedestal and wall pedestal series.

In addition to our excellent existing boar lines from Rick Carter, we have added a new "razorback" series by Mike Noonkester, which are also available in pedestal and wall pedestal versions, as well as boar rug shells. With this new line, we now have over 200 different wild boar shoulder mount mannikins in inventory for the largest selection available anywhere in the world.

On the small mammal front, you'll find some great new sculptures from Jan Van Hoesen and Tab Hinton, and new squirrels from David Ellzey. Check out our new competition-quality squirrel and small mammal eyes on page 59, featuring a soft oval pupil for squirrels that has never been available before, and a white base that will add drama and realism to your otters, raccoons and skunks. We also have new earliners, noses, and jaw sets from Mohr, Noonkester, Van Hoesen, John Cargill, and Rick Carter.

Fish taxidermists have new sizes and species to choose from with Matt Thompson's mannikins and Dennis Arp's reproductions. Taxidermists Mike Ross of Colorado and Allan Ritch of Florida are providing outstanding new photo reference sets for freshwater and saltwater fish artists. Matt Thompson's and Paul Borkowski's new Fish Skinning Tools are now available. For fish carvers, we've got the new 1999 World Fish Carving Championships Seminar Videos.

Bird taxidermists now have an even greater selection of quality products from WASCO. We are proud to offer the highly acclaimed bird mounting accessories from Joe Ferebee. With over 150 new artificial bird heads, plus a full selection of waterfowl and game bird mannikins, plus Ferebee's outstanding bird necks and turkey products, WASCO is the only major supplier to offer such a HUGE assortment of bird products all from one source.

Several new and exciting products have been introduced with great success to the industry in the past year and WASCO is happy to offer them to you. Epo-Grip Products have been endorsed by the top taxidermists as a versatile new line of adhesive products. The Quebec Lite, a less expensive version of a full-sized rotary flesher, has been highly praised. The Gene Smith stainless steel mounting stand is in a class by itself. Art. Rocks, introduced at the 2001 World Show, has already developed a loyal following. The Tillie Meyer fleshing machine combines the best qualities of a hand flesher and a stationery flesher at an affordable price.

Frank Newmyer has several new books featuring the latest techniques in bird taxidermy, which he wrote in conjunction with some of the top bird artists in the world. Check out "Swan and Goose Taxidermy" with Stefan Savides, "Waterfowl Taxidermy" with Shane Smith, and "Predator Taxidermy" with Glen Bowning and Jim Day. Frank also has designed several new artificial rock bases and panels to make habitat creation easier and more profitable.

Wait! Did I mention the new Badger and Iwata Airbrushes? Trent Meyer's Snaketan¨? Protective display domes from Jean Lavallee? Or the new clear acrylic rods? How about all the new World Taxidermy Championships seminar videos? Driftwood? The Pocket Deer Aging Tool? Mike Biggs' new whitetail video? There's way too much for me to tell you about here. You'll just have to look through this catalog and discover all the other new items for yourself.

As always, we want to thank you, our loyal customers, for the trust you place in us each time you place an order. Thank you for calling our 800 number. Thank you for visiting our website. We realize that you had a choice and we really appreciate your choosing WASCO for your supplies and patronage. We will continue to strive to provide you with the best service and products the taxidermy industry offers.

Sallie Dahmes, President
e-mail: sallie@taxidermy.net

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