Urethane Fish Carving Tools

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No more drawing fish scales with a pencil or pressing them in one at a time wasting hours of valuable time on urethane fish carvings.  Now with my new scale roller series scale a complete urethane fish carving any size in less than 3 minutes!  Click on any of the above images for a closer look.  Each scale pocket is shaped for a uniform curve and depth.  Simply roll from head to tail overlapping each stroke slightly.  If you make a mistake just roll over the area again, the urethane foam will conform to the last pass leaving perfect scales.  I designed these rollers with a taper so the edges never touch the carving surface allowing for an easy blend into the previous row.  Available now in four fish scale sizes. 

Also available-

• Cheek Roller - for creating that mottled look to operculum's and other areas of the head that need a little subtle surface texture to look realistic without looking "carved."  I also use this tool to texture the surface on foam rocks when I want a smoother look than the Rock Roller produces.  The combination of the two for texturing rocks works well. 
• Rock Roller - A great, easy to use tool for creating the rough texture on carved foam rocks.  Simply roll it across the surface in all directions pressing soft or firm, depending on the depth of texture you desire for a realistic look rock.  This texture looks great after painting several thin washes of color that weep down into the cracks and crevices giving the surface more of a 3D realistic look.  And best of all one size does all!

E-Z Scale Roller™
Size 1 (3/16" scales)
$25.00

Perfect for trout carvings from 14-26" and most baitfish.  This roller is the most used in my collection.  It is directional roller, meaning there is a front and a rear to the scales it produces so you need to roll from head to tail so the scales are pointing in the proper direction.  All the other scale sizes are uni-directional, you can roll them from head to tail or tail to head - the pattern has the same look regardless.

E-Z Scale Roller™
Size 2 (1/4" scales)
$25.00

Designed for the larger trout and salmon in the 24-36" range, this roller is used almost as much as the Size 1 roller and for the same things - just a larger version.  This scale roller is uni-directional so it can be used head to tail or tail to head with great results. This is the tool used to scale the Chinook Urethane carvings in my last two Chinook classes. Each fish was completely scaled in less than 3 minutes each.   Click here to see the results.

E-Z Scale Roller™
Size 3 (3/8" scales)
$25.00

E-Z Scale Roller™
Size 4 (7/16" scales)
$25.00

Perfect for XXL gamefish and panfish.  The larger scale size of the 3 and 4 give these rollers broader species coverage.  Now with the larger scale size this roller opens itself up to a larger fish coverage than just large coldwater fish.  It works well for medium to large size warmwater gamefish and panfish. This scale roller is uni-directional so it can be used head to tail or tail to head with great results. 

E-Z Scale Roller™ - Cheek Roller
$25.00

For creating that mottled look to operculum's and other areas of the head that need a little subtle surface texture to look realistic without looking "carved."  I also use this tool to texture the surface on foam rocks when I want a smoother look than the Rock Roller produces.  The combination of the two for texturing rocks works well. 
 

E-Z Scale Roller™ - Rock Roller
$25.00

This roller has produced some of the most realist rocks I have ever used in my habitat work in literally less than 1 minute per rock.  And what's nice is the texture can be changed with pressure while rolling the roller across the foam surface so you get a different look each time.  The surface left behind looks great when painted with washes of different colors.  This roller can be used in any direction and multiple passes over an area in different directions gives you a tighter texture.  One pass over an area in one direction leaves a broken rock look to the surface.  The texture possibilities are endless and with a little experience you will be able to achieve a variety of "looks" with this one tool.

E-Z Scale Roller™ Fish Scaling Set
Sizes 1-4
$89.95

In this set you get all four sizes of the E-Z Scale Rollers with instructions and tips for their use. 

E-Z Scale Roller™ Master Set
Scale Sizes 1-4 - Cheek and Rock Rollers
$129.95

Everything you need to scale fish and create realistic rock effects in one set.  Printed instructions and tips for their use are also included.

8" Stainless Steel Fillet Knife
$9.00

This is my favorite knife for carving fish bodies.  The thin blade slices through urethane foam with ease and the stiff blade allows me to apply a little side pressure to shave away paper thin slices of material with ease.  And unlike most other knifes, it holds up well to the abrasive qualities of urethane.  Because of the low angle of grind on the blades edge the knife seems to get sharper as you use it cutting urethane. Not the case with other knifes.

6- 6" Stainless Steel Hemostats - $12

Perfect for doing mouth inserts or holding fins for painting.  I use them in my studio to hang just about all of my carvings from harms way.  And if you get paint on them just toss them in a jar of acetone overnight and they are like new again.  A well used and very handy tool in my studio.