does the tail wire go on the outside through the skin or under the skin i cant tell on the videos thank u.p.s. do i just use clay to hold the eyes in , and do i need an eyelid on a mallard. thanks
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If you are talking about putting a kind of large z shaped wire at the tail for support til it dries (?), I piecre the skin under the tail and stick it into the butt of the form. Then bend a little more to get the shape and position I want, let it dry several days and then remove. If you are talking about the hook type wires you can use on each side to procude the spread fan on some ducks(?). I again piece the skin, but at the side of the tail push into the form and hook the last feather (on each side) etc.
Hope this helps. I haven't done any ducks in a while but am thinking that is what you mean. Sue
What do u mean hook the last feather? The wire i thought i needed when ive seen it done was shaped like a U and they pushed it in under the tail. I cant tell if they are going through the skin or under it, but from your response sounds like the wire goes on the outside of the body. Also how do i get the tail feathers to stay spread out. thanks
OH, okay U then. LOL I learned with a big Z instead of a U but I am thinking it works the same way. Do they (on video)remove it after the bird has dried? The hook was for spreading the tail for some poses. The "last feather" was the last (outside feather) on the tail. Maybe someone else can give you a more uop-to-date aspect of the "U" wire.
Well thats the problem, both videos dont tell u what to do with the tail wire. They dont say if they take it out or leave it in. I guess if u cant see it it wouldnt matter. Well ill keep looking but thanks for the info it is appreciated.
Well, I always took mine out as that is what I was shown and it did show and was just for support until the bird dried. Hopefully you will get more info on here. Good luck, Sue
You know they don't tell you in those video's I thought it was just the ones I learned from. But I guess your didn't either but like Sue said I believe that you only leave the wire in until the feathers have dried. Once they have dried they are positioned and will retain their shape so the wire is not needed anymore. The taxidermist that taught me used cardboard and masking tape to hold the feather position. He took the piece of tape and laid it across his pants leg to get rid of some of the tape tact and then placed it on the feathers. Best advise is to ask a couple of differnt taxidermist if they will show you what works for them. Most Taxidermist are more than willing to share their knowledge and experience
remove your tail when you skin the bird, remove all fat from the quill base, soak in aectone for 10 min.find a peice of foam insulation, small peice of plastic bag pinned where your quils will be. spread and pin your tail in the exsact pose you want. bend a wire in a u shape (this needs to fit inside of the feathers)with the legs of the u about 4" long. mix up some bondo and place on quils covering the wire u. the bondo needs to replace all the fat and stuff that you removed during the fleshing/degreasing. if you want to cup your tail place clay under you plastic before you pin it. after the bondo kicks take the u and jam it into the form. hot melt the upper and lower tail tail skin to the bondo once you have it in the desired position.this method is a little time comsuming but gives very good results--Rollie