WING"TIPS" #2 Excelsior wrapped necks

[wingman]

I had time to put up another topic, there are many ways to reconstruct the necks on birds I think I Have tried them all in some form, I personally like the excelsior wrapped bodies and necks BUT do use foam bodies on birds such as geese swans etc, I also use preformed necks on my swan mounts Anyway here are a couple pics of excelsior wrapped necks Basically self explanatory, You can certainally use this method and still use foam bodies, just hot glue the neck to the foam instead og wrapping it into the body, One other trick is to wrap the neck in black electrical tape after your done with it Usually best done on geese and flying birds to allow the neck to insert into the skin easier. I will post on how I attach the artificial heads or real skulls in another posting. One of the pics shows a pheasant and the other a pintail hen. The black markings are wing and hip attachment points. I certainally am open for suggestions myself Thats why I think this thread can be helpful to all, Have another method? How about sharing it?

[wingman]

And one more of the finished pheasant body.

[JP a.k.a Taxi-lover]

Hi Wingman! Cool topic,I hope you will continue it! I have one question about neck's..when you use electrical tape on a neck. Do you use acrylic caulcing to glue the skin and does the tape hold the glue still? Just thought,never used tape on the neck,just in attaching wire to the wing and legbones. BTW nice bodies those you have wrapped!!

[jeremy]

I like to use the round foam that come in different diameters, I will take on larger ducks, pheasants and geese a 1/4" foam and lightly hot glue it to the larger foam neck to replace the trachea. Than I finish out the body/neck transition { ie: crop area } with cotton and use thread to lock it all in. Ill try the excelsior method next though just to compare the two. thanks

[jeremy]

Hey Wingman where do you get your string from, im having a hard time finding great body wrapping string at any of the local stores, and I dont want to buy a $35 spool from Reasearch unless I know its the good stuff. By the way your wrapped bodies look great, some times it feels kinda like a bummer to put them in the bird after you spend 20 min putting the correct measurements and detail into them. But I guess people may not enjoy looking at a excelsior body mounted to a piece of driftwood preening its wayward fibers. LOL

[wingman]

taxilover, I occasionally use caulk in the neck area especially on eiders and seaducks but the tape on the neck basically is to make it smooth and allows the neck skin to taxi easier jeremy, It takes me about 7-10 minutes to wrap the body and neck, I wish I could post HOW to wrap a body but it would be difficult to explain a lot of the shaping is done by comression from the string and hands, a properly wrapped body is rather firm and holds wires well, I buy my wrapping thread from Vandykes at 11 bucks a cone I can consistently get about 45-50 bodies from one spool, a bargain!

[Tereza Revis]

After measuring the neck, I wrap the wire with macramae cord with hot glue until it's almost the same diameter as the original neck.  I then take a yarn and go around the whole length twice to smooth it out and then wrap it with electrical tape.  This will allow for easier insertion as well.  I wet an excelsior smooth it out and hot glue it to smooth out the neck body connection. 
I haven't tried wrapping bodies.  I hope to see Harry Paulson do one at the World Show.

[ludvik]

hi
i have some tips to put the neck in the body for a low profile ducks.
i put the neck mutsh lower on the body becouse i don`t wrapp the v in front of the body.
you  see it in the pics. and you get some more right necks.

ps:
the body, neck, and heads its not i shoud use. only for this great thread.

ole

[ludvik]

here is one i have make wrong.
i have  push the neck back all i can. you can see the neck is wrong and the body to long.
the bird was ment to be in flying pose but my frends call me when i was close finish and he want it in a low profile.

ole

[George Roof]

Don't you guys sew the bodies?  I don't recall ever making a wrapped body where I didn't run a long needle through the body and pulling indentations into it or  wrapping the trachae separately and then sewing it to the neck.

Ludvik, IMO your neck juncture is way too low on the body.  The neck is simply an extension of the backbone and needs to be on top.  Just my opiniion however.

[ludvik]

i don`t wrapp the brest hole for the neck. so for a low profile i set the neck lower(pic 2) if you try to take a skinned bird and ben the neck for a low profile  and see it from the side you will see were it cames out. if you wrap the body with the neck hole(brest) you most set the neck hi. if you set the neck hi on a wrapped body witaout the brest hole.you will get the neck forms like pics 1.
i see wingman don`t wrapp the body with the brest hole to.
when i skinn the nekst bird i will post better pics.
i put the neck so low only for a low profile and if you see the heads came at the same plase. but thr neck is going more right from the body.

ole

[wingman]

Here's a pic,  the hen pintail with the neck shown in the prior pics.

[ludvik]

wingman
how did you set your neck if you want a duck whit low head profile. like my godeneye?

[JonHarleTX]

Nice pinny WIngman,

Ludvik,  I am perplexed as to what you are acutally doing with the neck skin when you place the neck that low.. On the living bird, the neck skin does not actually go down that far on to the body, and rather rides up on the nape of the bird.  the neck itself moves freely within the skin to some extent.  With your method, it seems as though you'd be pinching vital feather tracts down behind the neck.. thus causing major taxi'ing issues when it comes time to groom. 

Please explain.

and actually.. I don't think the Goldeneye looks that incorrect.

Jon~

[AliciaG]

Great thread!!!  Keep the great "wingtips" coming Wingman!