My custom Indian birds

In the last few months I have made some more birds for India. I have posted photos of the diorama and you could see a bird here or there, and I have posted on the flying peafowl that I made last year, but here are what I have worked on this winter. Some you will recognize, the comb and fulvous ducks, the swamphens and the bronze wing jacana, the other three, a red headed and Indian vulture and from Africa a vulturine guineafowl.

Here are some photos, this first one is all of the birds as a group. I labeled them but the text came out smaller then I thought so it might be hard to tell what is what.
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Second is the vulturine guinea. This bird is the largest guinea, it has very long neck feathers and on the diorama this one will be fluffed up and running away from a hunting caracal or serval, I still have not decided which one I will use but both eat birds, the serval is a specialized bird hunter.
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Finally, since I have posted and shown the others in their own threads I just wanted a close up of the two vultures.
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They're fantastic Phil!

Thanks Harriet, I'm glad you like them. I did the vultures last week but didn't paint them until today.

I forgot to mention in the first post, the legs and feet are not done yet on most of the birds. For those I use a 2-part epoxy putty and apply the mix to the wire, then as it hardens I can sculpt and file it to the shape and thickness I want. The model shop where I get my supplies has been out of it for quite a while so I may get it from a different source because I can't finish any of these until I have the right product. Right now I just use wire so they would stand on their own. I also am going to add some detail to the paint. I literally just finished painting what you see minutes before and on the two vultures the paint was still wet when the photo was taken.

Philter4 wrote:

Thanks Harriet, I'm glad you like them. I did the vultures last week but didn't paint them until today.

I forgot to mention in the first post, the legs and feet are not done yet on most of the birds. For those I use a 2-part epoxy putty and apply the mix to the wire, then as it hardens I can sculpt and file it to the shape and thickness I want. The model shop where I get my supplies has been out of it for quite a while so I may get it from a different source because I can't finish any of these until I have the right product. Right now I just use wire so they would stand on their own. I also am going to add some detail to the paint. I literally just finished painting what you see minutes before and on the two vultures the paint was still wet when the photo was taken.

They are really great, you're very clever to be able to do them that small, they must be very fiddly to sculpt. I love the brown coloured ducks too (I can't read the name) I may copy the way you make bird's legs - as I'd like to make some cranes.

We need some closer pics Phil

HKHollinstone wrote:

They are really great, you're very clever to be able to do them that small, they must be very fiddly to sculpt. I love the brown coloured ducks too (I can't read the name) I may copy the way you make bird's legs - as I'd like to make some cranes.

Harriet, the small brown ducks are fulvous ducks.

The legs are 4 wires twisted together and left open at the end for the toes. Normally I then cover them with the epoxy clay and smooth it down, then insert the wire into the sculpture and finish it off and pose the legs. It is easier to make the legs while they are not attached so I normally have some "false" legs that I use to bake the figures and then switch them for the epoxy coated ones.

I'll try to get some better photos for you Kiki.

They look great Phil. They will look awesome on the diorama.