Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

[Kevin WS]

Gentlemen - Thank you all for all the input here – lots of it! And most welcome as always!

To respond.......

Dave – I paid Euro 4.50 for it – sent you the shop by PM.

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Doug – thanks for the tips. Will look at everything a little closer!

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Johnny – will not forget the edge colouring – painful as it is! Thanks for the tips and look forward to seeing the eagle one day!

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Didreick – thank you also for the tip on the flaps – appreciated!

[SCEtoAUX]

Originally Posted by Diderick A. den Bakker

The two flaps in part 1 should not be glued - when folded open, they help preserve the shape of the large white area.

I did not write anything about those two flaps being glued. They do appear to provide access to the inside of the part when it is being glued into shape. The flaps do help in preserving the shape of the part. Don't squeeze it too hard.

As JohnM mentioned it is necessary to edge the parts to have a good looking result. Gets to be tedious sometimes but well worth the effort. You can try to match the color, but various shades of grey would work in a pinch.

I also found that on all of the birds with pointy beaks it helps to put a little dab of CA glue at the point to help in preserving the shape. Not too much, though, because sometimes it changes the color that becomes very noticeable.

My source for the birdmobile models was the Northwest Nature Shop in Ashland, Oregon, USA. Online order.

Diderick A. den Bakker has them available at Zeist Bouwplaten

[Kevin WS]

OK - basically I decided to cut out all parts in one go - not that there are so many that there will be confusion!

Picture 1 - The parts cut out and trimmed. Notice that 5 parts still have a white surround. These parts are folded, glued and then trimmed.

Picture 2 - This shows the 5 parts, now folded and glued - the 2 wings, a cluster of tail feathers and two small sets of feathers that go on the wing tips.

Score and fold guides are given at either end of each part but is is easy to "misfold". What I did was apply the glue and then hold it up quickly to my modelling lamp. I was then able to "see through" the card and adjust the fold so I had more accurate registration. There is overlap on the one side, so strictly speaking the registration is not critical, but I wanted to be as accurate as possible to avoid any "imbalance" in the appearance of the finished model.

[Vermin_King]

Originally Posted by Kevin WS

Score and fold guides are given at either end of each part but is is easy to "misfold". What I did was apply the glue and then hold it up quickly to my modelling lamp. I was then able to "see through" the card and adjust the fold so I had more accurate registration.

I keep a special light for that. Looks like you are off to a good start.

[Kevin WS]

Putting the body together was interesting.

First step was to study the instructions and figure out what was going on – both at this and later stages.

I then started to shape the body prior to gluing – this I did by rolling the central body part around a paint jar to get the curve started to prevent any creasing. I then carried on, shaping the curve of the body freehand.

The main body was then glued together.

Take to align the matching marks and arrows accurately, as these determine the actual shape of the body. Lots of “dry fitting” is essential before you glue so you are certain of how to exactly line everything up when you glue!

Pictures 1 and 2 show the partially glued body.

Picture 3 is labelled and is self-explanatory – it provides some idea of what was going on and the steps in gluing the body together!

Picture 4 shows the completed body. The arrows visible are guides for attaching the wings and “wing cover” at a later stage.

All in all an enjoyable build so far.

[JohnM]

Originally Posted by legion

And a 1:1 rock lizard would be cool too, but you'd need to go full mony there and burnish all those scales individually...

There's a pretty large Iguana under my TV, done in shiney photopaper. Will that do? But even then, I don't think it is life size. I believe they can grow up to 150cm long.

PS: Your website is working OKI for me now.



The woodpecker is looking good Kev. Small tip though ... Burnish that chest ridge with something hard and smooth. Best done when the card is still damp from the glue.

Johnny.

[Kevin WS]

Very nice Johnny indeed. The shiney paper does indeed work well.

You do not have a cat I take it?!

[Kevin WS]

Johnny - thanks for the tip on burnishing the chest join! But alas I had already progressed on, so too late. But will bear this in mind for future kits.

Picture 1 shows my next stage of preparation. Assembly has started on the two wings - just a case of trimming the wings and then attaching the wingtips (already attached in the photo). After the wings are attached to the body, the other two wing sections and wing coverings shown also in the photo are then attached. The head and beak are ready for assembly as well.

Picture 2 shows the underside of the body with wings attached - both the main wings and the second smaller wing sections (which serve the purpose of largely hiding the "wing to body" joins).

Picture 3 shown the topside of the bird with wings on.

I have however made a mistake here which other builders should look out for.

What I did was add the second wing sections by folding them flush around the main wing sections. What I should have done in fact was pay more attention to the instructional!

The second wing sections in fact attach slightly proud so the leading "buckles" into a curve. This then will give the leading edges of the wings a little bit of thickness and a curved edge. Following the instructions to attach only exactly to the edge of the marker line printed on the wings (and not over as I did) will get this right!

Fortunately my mistake was not major and does not detract at all really from the model. A case of "not knowing really is not seeing"!

[JohnM]

Originally Posted by Kevin WS

You do not have a cat I take it?!

Err No, but the three from next door regularly patrol past my windows to check out my bird tables. I'll have to move Iggy lo look out the window to see how they react to it.

As you are finding, although these bird models look simple they are ingeniously designed and can present quite a steep learning curve. My best recomendation is to start with the many free downloads available. That way you can just print off another sheet when things go wrong. You did scan and copy the kit before you started, didn't you?

I first made these paper bird models under my Dad's instruction over 50 years ago now. Back then they were printed on paper not card, but Corn Flake boxes were used to beef them up a bit. My proudest acheivement back then was a life size "Little Owl" in full flight. I have located this on the web, but have not made it up yet.

Come to think of it, it is on the archive HDD that has just nerfed out on me, so I'll have to find it again now. Hopefully it will be tucked up in my bookmarks among the many unreadable oriental sites.

Johnny.

[Kevin WS]

Yup - i did scan the kit as a precaution - i generally do this in case I hash a part up.

I am enjoying the build at the moment, and it is nice to do something that requires a bit of thought! Trouble is I don't have much time to do it, what with working and renovations and being tired!