[cobalt]

A couple of more toppers on the go decided to mount them on a hazel shank with a 45 degree cut without any collar for a change.

The black bellied duck breeds in the southern states although there are sub species which go up as far as Florida

 

[CV3]

I want to see the topper with the pair of toppers! (-: But the duck does look good.

 

[cobalt]

I am hoping by cutting the topper and shank at a 45degree angle it will sit well ? just as long as thers no hunters about whilst walking with them i value my hide to

much. but come to think of it there may be some who would love the excuse to take a pot shot

I am thinking about doing a pair of wildfowl as a thumb stick ie duck and drake

even drawns some images of laruel and hardy and tweedle dee and tweedle dum for a thumb stick but there not good enough.There is enough pairs you can do with thumb sticks as far as images go they would just have to be smaller

 

[JJireh]

I like 45 degree cuts on toppers. Used them a couple of times. Can't wait to see them finished.

 

[cobalt]

A bit more done on the mallard

I dont think i will be painting it all just the beak with a tintof colour.

a few photos to show progression

 

[CV3]

Very nice cobalt. The 45 degree attachment to the shaft looks nice.

 

[MJC4]

Another good looking piece Cobalt and an interesting concept with the 45* attachment.

 

[cobalt]

just about finished tinted the head and neckof the mallard hen with a thin wash of burnt sienna,the beak tinted with cadmium orange the highlights with orange and sienna had its 1st coat of varnish.

its not as bright orange as the photo dont know why its deepened the colour so much

I did make a cock up of the mesurerments forgot to allow for the angle of cut so it was a tad short when i cut out the blanks but i can rectify that when i mount the piece

 

[cobalt]

Both of the ducks are finished ,just need to clean there eyes when the varnish has dried,.fitted ferules onto a couple of shanks just needs the topper fixing to it and tidy up the shank with a tad of epoxy resin paint that and just some danish oil on it .

couple of photos one before painting one just painted

 

[CV3]

Another nice project cobalt. I enjoyed watching you progress.

 

[cobalt]

Yes i enjoyed carving them

Got the pattern for the black bellied duck out of a book . But made the mistake of trying to follow there colour recomendations , should know better .It was the colour mix for a american paint , suprising how different they are to mix, so not to happy with there colours so may sand back and repaint

I did check the colours of the duck on the interenet but they variey so much ,colour could have been h the photo but think i would like a crisper cleaner finish so will redo it later in good daylight

 

[cobalt]

The carving patterns you can get are pretty good now, Still find its better to redraw the pattern to the size i want as they always seem to have to be enlarged. so i ususally miodify the pattern myself so it sits on the shank better ,its only a matter of quickly drawing them as the neck never seems to fit in with what i want..

Also the pictures on the internet are pretty good although massive differences in the colour .both in the bird itself and also caused by the camera/ photographer, Also find that my printer is rubbishnever prints anywhere near the colour of the phot i look at. Its oftern bett to use a good bird book for the true colour

 

[rootcane]

Very nice. I like the burning effect too.

A bit more done on the mallard

I dont think i will be painting it all just the beak with a tintof colour.

a few photos to show progression

mallard 001.JPG

mallard 011.JPG

mallard 012.JPG

mallard 014.JPG

mallard 017.JPG

mallard 022.JPG

mallard 023.JPG

mallard 029.JPG