THE BIRDS (all things bird model related!)

[SCEtoAUX]

And here are a couple of photos of the downloaded model.

[JohnM]

Johan's Flying Finch is released ... Goldfinch

Yes, I've ordered mine.

Keep on snippin' ... Johnny

[JohnM]

There he goes ...




Well up to Johan's usual standard and fun to build. Next time I think I might try butt joining the chest seams with backing tape, to cut out the stepped join effect, and maybe a mirror print under the feet ... which may also allow for a bit of 3D on the toes.

Keep on snippin' ... Johnny.

[Tonyceri]

Funnily enough Johnny - my 'work in progress' includes all of your list... and involves a lot of re-painting to hide the joins - should be ready in a couple of days. That breast construction is a nightmare - so many variables - surely there is a better way? A seam along the spine to close the body on Johan's design would involve less critical elements perhaps.... I may try that next. It is a fantastic piece of design and hopefully, the first of many - personally, I have waited most of my life for someone to do what Malcolm Topp did in the 70's. It is clearly born of a special talent and Johan Scherft is the perfect blend of artist and artisan - it is my dream to have all those stunning little birds on my birdtable represented in paper sculpture in my house for all to see - we have a new addition to the list too. Lesser Redpolls have moved in - they are supposed to be occasional winter visitors to Exmoor but we have at least three breeding pairs - more signs of climate change I suspect. Have tried to upload multiple pics, including one of our redpolls but website will only accept 1 pic so information first....

[Tonyceri]

...and here is a redpoll from our garden on Exmoor...

[JohnM]

Goldfinch looking good Tony. You've made a much better job of the chest seams than I did. Are they butt jointed?

The mirror image under the feet looks good too, but did you try to 3D the toes? Although Johan doesn't say to, I too permanently inserted tooth picks into the lower legs to strengthen them, using CA glue to get a strong joint.

Suggestion ... You could use the leg part of the mirrored feet up the back of the leg to cover the toothpick completely.

Any progress on making a template from your Euro re-paint of the perched American Goldfinch?

I've never seen a Redpoll myself. To be honest, I'd never even heard of them.

Keep on snippin' ... Johnny.

[firecrest]

Thanks everybody for the comments and compliments! I am afraid my english is not good enough to fully understand everything that is commented here. The body has basically the same construction as the other birds, like the american goldfinch. The strength is obtained by the two cross-over skewers inside the body and to which the wings are attached. Personally I prefer to put this bird on a mount, and put it on a place at eyesight so you can look at it from the side. This way the tabs on breast and belly are not so obvious. But ofcourse any sculpture should look good from any angle, also when you look it at it from below. Maybe it's an idea if I change the colour of the tabs?

[firecrest]

My own goldfinch, placed on a soundbox behind my laptop.

[frederico]

just a question. have you ever thought of making birds part of the accipitridae family? i would love to see how you implament your wonderful designing skills to such awsome, predatory birds

[Tonyceri]

Had a good go at finishing this morning so here is the result - one almost disturbingly life-like bird.... and that is the point, I think. Johan's sculptures are all about the life within them. Malcolm Topp's birds were a graphic exercise and lacking in 'life' whereas I think Johan goes to great lengths to preserve the nuances that make it a living creature - an artist's observation. Luckily, his engineering skills are strong too... hey Johnny - yes, all seams are butt-joined and do take a long time but the results speak for themselves. I think I have mentioned before that I design a cutting programme in Illustrator for everything I make so I can adjust and cut everything out by machine which makes refinement so much easier when it is exactly reproduceable. Because of the nature of the cut programme, I can relatively easily produce shaped butt-joints that are cut out automatically at the same time (picture included). I will have an example of my static goldfinch repaint for you shortly. Meanwhile, I sincerely hope Johan will be tempted to expand the range and life of his flying birds - it will be become the benchmark for organic paper design.