I would like to hear some different techniques for attaching tails on Strutting birds. I seperate my tail and usually bodo the fan. I used to use Van Dykes Tail Piece, but they dont make it anymore. My two thoughts were: 1. Bondo a solid U shaped wire into the tail,: or 2. carve a notch into the form and bondo it into the form.
That or a combonation of the two for stability. I realize there are many ways to skin a cat. I do a handful of turkeys every year. I would like some tips on this topic from the pros that do a pile of gobblers. One concern I have. If you bondo a wire into the tail section, is this subject to busting out if the bird is mishandled down the road?
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I use 12ga. wire with the sharpened "prongs" each being about 5-6" long. (I have never had a problem with them breaking loose.) I like having that little bit of flexibility so I can twist or tilt the tail if the pose needs to be adjusted.
A bird mount that is mishandled will definitely get damaged somewhere, (!) but in the case of tail mishaps I think it will probably be the feathers or the wire that give (by bending) rather than the bondo. Regardless, it's an easy repair.
Nancy M.