If you are gong more to actual interpretation as opposed to impression, a freezer with specimens indigenous to your hunting locale might be appropriate. They take up less space than mounts and you will have no gathering and removal of dust. The big plus is that the colos, except for bill and eyes remains pretty much as it did the day the specimen was taken--no UV in the freezer.
I use my freezer stuff quite often for color reference, ENEN though i have been doing this stuff since 1975.
In lieu of that, and if you have lots of space and plenty of maintenance time, an aviary might be a good solution.
In most cases, all you need to do is figure out a half pattern, then you can just turn it over to lay out the other side.
Making your own will certainly lend a spirit of individuality to your rig. The more you observe, the more you will begin to resolve the probblems with minutae-bill shape, length of primaries/tertials-whether or not side pockets are really necessary, etc.
