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Salty - It would be much easier to deal with a local plastic injection company, certainly a lot less risk, more accountability. I really don't know why people prefer to deal with China Dave

Mark - a concave face, which is what you are talking about, is going to increase the vortex strength, a convex will reduce the action. As for '.....to the back', I am not sure what a concave cut into the back of the lure would have. I think it may have an effect on roll. I have just checked a few of my under water videos, and I think that a hollow feature down the back might reduce roll. I am thinking that it would have a similar but lesser effect of having a dorsal fin down the center of the lure. To kill the roll would only require a short dorsal fin, say 5mm (3/16"). But again, as with all my stuff, this is theoretical, but it does fit. Often it is difficult to see what effect, if any, such features have. I am thinking back to my 'various lips' video, were I compared round, square, coffin and shaped lips. It was very difficult to see any difference between round and square, also coffin and shaped. Likewise, your concave back will be a subtle effect. In order to confirm an effect, you have to exaggerate the feature; a wide shaped body with an exaggerated concave back, directly comparing with the exact shaped body with a rounded back. And then, you may need close video, preferably submerged, head on, to observe the difference if it is too subtle, but if the effect is too subtle when exaggerated then then there is hardly any point in taking it further. Who knows, there may be another new idea waiting to be discovered. Whether roll is a good or a bad thing, I do not know. What I do know; is that fish do not roll when they swim. Personally; I do not like roll, but I know other very experienced builders do. So, after pouring my thoughts out, getting back to your point; I think more action due to the concave front end, and a more stable swim (less roll) due to the concave back. Boy I wish I had my workshop and a test tank, I would be out there right now. carving up a bunch of test lures, to test this idea and the lip/body funnel effect. I hope someone takes on these ideas and comes back with a report. BUT, they re only ideas, they not pan out. Of course, rattle traps swim back first, and so the whole of the back length is effectively the lip. Dave

Those are sweet looking!!..Great job Mark! ..Nathan

From my April 2018 post: "I have now finished 300 baits with just 2 1/2oz of each part of Devcon 2-ton epoxy. Included in this number are 30+ spooks, sammy's and WP's. I use 2 oz. plastic cups. Place a cup on a digital postal scale and set the tare. Then weigh out 145g of hardener and 155g resin. Mix the epoxy for 30-40 seconds, then add 4ml of 91% isopropyl alcohol. Mix another 30 seconds. For application I wear a 5 mil latex glove from Harbor Freight using my index finger only. I have a small craft paint brush to hit tight spots gripping with my other fingers. Using this mix I can finish do 8-10 baits in 10 minutes depending on size. The isopropyl extends the work time also by 4-5 minutes. All baits go on a rotisserie for 30-40 minutes, then get hung to complete curing. I achieve a fairly thin coating so the blank's scales and gill plates show nicely." Yes you can feel the surface textures of the plastic blank. After using this finger method of application I would n't use a brush again! Update: After having a season that 4 of us made hundreds of casts with Warts, 1.5's and DT's in river and lake rocky bottoms I can attest this finish has not chipped or released in any manner. Of course some have break-in scars and scratches, but without finish coming off.

SHOW ME THE MILLION FIRST Small unmarked bills preferred. Everyone wants to be like Salty. I'll sell you my business for 1/2 of that. You too can then learn how to lose a half million bucks in the fishing industry. Further comments redacted because Curt would delete.

There are tricks depending on if you prefer to work with surfaces or solid models. I tend to work with solid models, but sometimes the trick is to create a surface and use one of a number of methods to convert into a solid model either in itself or to be merge with another solid model. On the original LBS Shad I cut the scale pattern by creating an array of tiny arcs, and then mapping the lines to the surface for engraving. On another I literally sliced a scale pattern out of a solid model, and offset the resulting segments a few thousandths to create a 3D scale pattern. I have not yet found a way that isn't painstaking and tedious. Often I cut a gill plate, by making copy of the solid body model, slicing it, offsetting it, changing the angle, and deleting the duplicate tail. Sometimes it looks good. Other times it looks like a hack job and has the be redone 40 times to find a good look. I've spun a swimbait or other minnow model around so many times checking for things that will look stupid that the minnow puked all over my screen.

Z... Please let David know I think of him often and that he and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.