How do you get the nice natural curve to the wings on flying mounts? I have tried card stock and inserting wires under the wings but have not found a really good way to get consistent and balanced curvature so that the flying mounts look like they are actually flying. Thanks
Return to Bird Taxidermy Category Menu
with your mounting of the wings insert through skin of wings. tie wire with string to wing bones. after inserting sew up incision of wing skin. inject caulk inside the wing and flex to curvature. hope this will help.
I don't claim to be Stefan Savides or Dave Luke, but I use masking tape. I take a two inch piece of cheap tape to hold the feathers in alignment. Then I take a piece of 16 gauge steel wire and cut it the length of the wing. Then I center it on another piece of tape. I turn it over and carefully, but firmly tape this wire over the other piece of tape. Then I can bend that thin wire to hold the feathers in the curvature I want until the quills set in the mount. Using the cheap tape from Sam's Club, there's a low tack to it and it removes cleanly when finished (Half the time it falls off several times before the feathers dry).
The bend in the wing feathers from the downthrust of the wing?
If so, the only way to get that is to bend the feather shafts. Sure you can set the feathers during the mount and let them dry in that position. Just follow George's suggestion above. But, if you want the bend in the feather shafts, you will have to get physical on the feathers themselfs. They sell a tool that put a curve or bend in the shafts. It works, but in my experience, it puts kinks in the feather shafts. Or you can use steam to soften and the bend the shafts.