Im about to start on my first wood duck. I have only done a couple of other ducks and those were mallards. I had purchased the David Luke standing mallard video to help me along with those projects.
Can I pretty much follow the same procedures in the mallard video and apply them to the wood duck or would you recommend that I pick up a video that deals specifically with a wood duck? Also two areas I have had problems with is putting the neck wire through the excelsior I had used for the skull base without messing up the clay work around the eyes. Could this be because my wire was the wrong guage? (I used a kit). I thought the wire end was sharp enough on both mallard projects. I also had trouble with the wings setting properly in the wing pockets. The last 1/3 of the wings wanted to stick out to the sides. My uneducated guess tells me that perhaps I had the legs mounted too far forward on the form. I do have the Breakthrough bird manual and now subscribe to both Breakthrough Magazine and Taxidermy Today so Im sure these will help me progress. Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Mike
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Think about purchasing Stefan Savides' videos. If you do anything for yourself in this lifetime, do this. He has at least six videos out I believe, and all are excellent, not to mention his witty sense of humor that keeps interest at a peek. If you do not know who Stefan Savides is, you can look through almost any Breakthrough Magazine to find out. He has received the highest recognition in taxidermy as Master of Masters, not to mention he judges umteen national shows. He teaches how to think from the inside out of a birds anatomy, and it just doesn't get any better then this. Look through WASCO magazine, they have a large selection of his videos. He also has his own line of bird products, bird bodies, heads, etc., from Research Mannikans. Good luck, and my suggestion would be to hold off on mounting that Woody. Woodies are extemely thin skinned/delicate birds to work with. You may need a little bit more experience before you plunge into a Woody, unless this bird is a mount for yourself, but I would still wait.
Good luck to you,
DW
He will be doing a seminar and judging the International Guild of Taxidermy Competition and convention June 9-12, 2005. It will be at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center in Columbus, Indiana. Check out the IGT website if you need more info. Also any of the board members listed should be able to point you in the right direction if you have questions.
Todd B
todd@buckspromounttaxidermy.com
(317) 861-4783
Thanks DW for the reply. I will look into getting one of Stefan's videos. The wood duck is mine. I actually have a total of 3 drake wood ducks, a goose, a ruffed grouse and a chukar which are all mine to do so I will get some practice on birds over the next few weeks. Mike