Al McCormick Goldeneyes - finishing a pair of very rare Whistler Drakes

Steve Sanford

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
All~


As a followup to the Al McCormick tribute at the March 7 LIDCA Show, a couple of old friends asked me to paint - for the first time - 2 Drake Goldeneyes they made with Al McCormick.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 01 - pair.JPG



Al made tens of thousands of decoys - mostly with his "students" (gunners who wanted to make their own rigs under Al's tutelage). Note the classic McCormick-style flat keel.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 02 - bottom.JPG



I need to learn more of the back story. As it happens, I was given a couple of cartons of "in process" McCormick heads at the Show. One box contained these Whistler heads.


View attachment McCormick Whistler heads from Nartin Nasadowski.JPG



The keel extending beneath the black cork stern provides great structural support.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 04 - stern detail.JPG



The keel was bored and countersunk for anchor lines both fore and aft. Were these my decoys, I would re-bore these holes to 5/16" to ease rigging.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 05 - anchor line hole.JPG



I was surprised to find glass eyes. Most of Al's decoys had no (Black Duck, Brant, Canada Goose) eyes or painted eyes (Broadbill).


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 03 - head closeup.JPG



The galvanized finishing nail makes replacing the heads easier. It would be driven all the way through then pulled out entirely so the head + dowel could be removed and replaced.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 03B - finish nail detail.JPG



First step was to seal with Satin Spar Varnish. The flat oil base coats for the "nuptial plumage" begins tomorrow morning.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 06 - spar varnish - hung up to dry.JPG



Stay tuned.....


SJS



































 
Last edited:
You are correct that Al always did 1/4" hole for the anchor line. He often did the fore and aft holes on divers. Where did you find the "Tolmie" bodies?



Joe
 
Steve

These decoy restorations of yours are fascinating. All the little details brought forth for our consideration. Bravo!

Eric
 
Joe~


Jim asked me to paint them when I saw him in Hauppauge. He and Martin are teamed up and mailed them to me. I believe they'll be sending me another pair of Whistlers - a Drake and a Hen.


I cannot wait to get out in the shop tomorrow morning!


All the best,


SJS





 
Good morning, Eric~


Glad you enjoyed this post. I purposefully made it a separate post, rather than burying it within the Workbench thread. My hope is that such topics will be found and enjoyed more readily by new readers/members. My commitment to keeping duckboats strong and growing.


More boat restorations in the near future - but I'll keep posting these briefer topics to help the cause.


All the best,


SJS

 
Good morning, All~


Back from the shop. The stove is stoked and I put the base coat of White - Rustoleum Flat White - on the pair.


First job was a light sanding of the cured Spar Varnish, then marking the major areas with chalk. I used a Wildfowler I had restored several years ago - albeit with a Sanford paint scheme - as a reference.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 07 - sanded and marked.JPG



I used the 2 smaller brushes.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 08 - brushes and paint.JPG



The paint goes on quickly but carefully - coloring within the lines....


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 09 - white base coat.JPG



Note the location of the White spot - right behind the bill and lower than the eye. The White also encircles the neck but the head color dips lowest about mid-cheek - then rises slightly toward the back of the head.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 10 - head details.JPG



The aft edge of the side pocket feathers is not round - as in most ducks - but tapers to a point. The speculum (wing patch) is the upper shape, the side pocket is the lower shape.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 12 - speculum and side feather details.JPG



Nestled next to the stove to help the paint cure - and to let me put some Rustoleum Flat Black on later today (I hope).


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 11 - drying by stove.JPG



All the best,


SJS



















 
Nice to see these style of McComick's decoys. I've been wanting to post up some pictures of some of my decoys as you were doing the tribute at the show. I had a commitment that day but wanted to share the Canada goose sleeper Al made for me at my insistence. I have been working given that I'm an essential worker, but my Son is home from West Point so maybe he can help his Dad tackle the tech issue of posting pictures.
 
Good morning, All~


Thanks for the kind words.


The Rustoleum Flat Black base coat went on next.


I learned from the owner that the head pattern was by Charles Murphy. He sold box sets of decoy plans. The set I have has only 6 species - and not the Goldeneye.





View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 13 - Black basecoat wet.JPG



I used a small brush around the cheek spots and some of the edges - and then a larger brush when I can.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 15 - Black on cape.JPG



The points on the tertials and side feathers are kept crisp.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 14 - Black on back and tail.jpg




A view from above.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 16 - Black on tertials and rump.JPG



The bottoms get Pettit 3303 - Dull Dead Grass duckboat paint - and then cure overnight by the stove.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 17 - bottoms curing near stove.jpg



All dry the next morning.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 18 - bottom dry.JPG



The White areas get their topcoat of Flat White latex - with small brushes in the detail areas and larger for most of the job.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 20 - White topcoat.JPG



BTW: The owner wants the cork texture showing - as do I.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 19 - cork texture retained.JPG



Al McCormick filled the cork voids with a slurry of cork dust + polyurethane varnish. Such a coating can be brittle in hard use.


View attachment mccormick 18 poly varnish.JPG



Getting close....


SJS



 
One of the things I enjoyed the most about making decoys with Al was how he stored and used paint brushes. He would not clean after use but instead let them harden up with dry varnish. On next use he would smash the brush with a hammer to loosen the bristles and then comb out the dried paint and broken bristles. When I suggested he clean them with thinner after use he scoffed and said the had been doing it this way for 40 years and then he would have to buy thinner.

I have goldeneyes with similar heads made by Jim Caramore. Might be the same pattern. I have the Murphy patterns and they are very well thought out and make attractive functional decoys.

Joe
 
Good morning, Joe~


Does Murphy have a low-head Whistler like these sawn-out blanks I got from Martin?


View attachment McCormick Whistler heads from Nartin Nasadowski.JPG



In any event, I will finish the pair later today.


Even though these decoys are gunners, I decided to add some color to the heads. I am mindful that Drake Whistler decoys were probably painted with nothing but Black and White - most likely Lamp Black and White Lead - for over a hundred years of very sucessful gunning. But, Shang Wheeler did put green on his famous "Turnback Whistler"....


View attachment Wheeler CAPTION.jpg



I began the heads by mixing up a very dark green by adding Black to the color I use on the backs of Wood Ducks - Behr BROADWAY PPU 18-20. I painted the entire head save for the bill and the cheek spot.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 21 - Dk Green with Black topcoat on head.JPG



I apply the highlights via stippling - using one of my old, beat-up China bristle flats and rounds I keep for this purpose. I used the round one for this job.



View attachment Stippling Brushes - old bristle flat and rounds.JPG

I then painted the highlight areas on the cheeks and brow with straight BROADWAY.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 22 - Dk Green highlights.JPG



Here it is once dried.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 23 - Dark Green highlights dry.JPG




Finally, I put a narrow band of a slightly brighter green - Behr PASTORAL PPU 10-20 - within the highlighted area. I think of the head contours as I would a topo map. The brighter paint goes on only the "highest" contours. And,I opted to NOT add a truly bright green to make the iridescence pop as I would on a Drake Mallard, for instance.


View attachment Tolmie Whistler 25 - highlight with Pastoral.JPG



I will coat the bill with satin Spar when I am all done painting - so it can cure without me handling it.


All the best,


SJS













 
All~


The home stretch - painting the feather details....


Every gunning paint scheme is an abstraction of the "true" conditions on the live bird. My style overrides some of the biology with a passion for order and curves.



I first developed this Whistler pattern in the early 80s. It has served as my corporate logo ever since.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 29 - LOGO - contrast.jpg



I later applied it to a true gunner - with flat bottom, hard chines and a keel.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 39 - Sanford Whistler Pattern - darkened.jpg



First, I painted the Black back and stern with Flat BLack latex and let it dry thoroughly. I began the details by lightly drawing in (limning in art speak) the line that distinguishes the side pocket from the wing feathers.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 30 - Line top of side pocket.JPG



Next come the edges of the scapulars. Note how each scapular gets a big longer and the spaces between them gets a bit wider as one goes aft. I have decided that Whistlers show 7 scapulars on each side. In life, both edges of each scapular feather show a black border, but I have simplified things for the sake of style.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 31 - 7 scapulars drawn.JPG



Next I drew the shape of each scapular edge - tapered from its base to its tip.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 32 - scapular shapes drawn.JPG





Next, I drew each edge of the side pocket feathers - each a bit longer toward the stern.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 33 - 7 side pocket edges drawn.JPG



Then - as always - I began painting from the stern and worked my way forward. I use a round #4 or #6 with a good point - synthetic or sable - for this job.



View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 34 - first scapular.JPG



All 7 done!


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 35 - rest of scapulars.jpg



Now the side pocket edges....


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 36 - side pocket edges.JPG



One detail up forward. Note how the side pocket edges begin just aft of the scapular borders.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 37 - detail.JPG



Final bench portraits and sea trials in a day or so....


All the best,


SJS









 
Good to hear from you, Fritz~


Thanks for the kind words!


Here are the final portraits and sea trials.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 41 - on bench.JPG



Sea trials at last....


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 43 - sea trials 2.JPG



Starboard bow....


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 44 - sea trials 3.JPG



Profile


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 45 - sea trials 5.JPG



On the beach.


View attachment Tolmie Whistlers 46 - sea trials - on the bank.JPG



Next stop UPS on their way back to Long Island.


SJS

 
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