Steve Sanford
Well-known member
All~
I have always admired the E Allen decoys sold by Lou Tisch ( http://www.lockstockbarrell.com/ ). I have Mallards, Blacks and Wood Ducks but these Brant came to me for attention through another duckboats.net member.
The only concern I have had about my Allens is their smooth surface - which allows almost any paint job to shine in bright sunlight. So, I have been thinking about putting a rough surface on them for a while. So, this is a bit of an experiment.
I believe the master for these Brant was carved by member Paul Dobrosky from New Jersey. I had always admired Paul's birds when I would see them at the old U S National Decoy Show - and was pleased to meet Paul in person a couple of years ago. And, his leaning forward, swimming into the falling tide posture is the best for this species, in my opinion.
I have covered paint details previously: http://stevenjaysanford.com/brant-decoy-rehab-painting/
Here they are as they arrived.
It looks like about half the birds had been completely painted - others still needed work on the sides.
I do not know the original owner - but they did a nice job with the keels and ballast. The keel was very helpful - as a handle - during coating and painting.
I use marine epoxy thickened with Cabosil to keep it from running - and to give the epoxy time to soak into the fine sawdust. I work over a box of sawdust from my bandsaw. I sprinkle it over the wet epoxy then rap the bird with my hand to knock off any excess.
The birds hang to cure. I get about 6 birds out of 8 ounces of resin/hardener mix.
I'm not sure why the sides were not painted up to the molded-in "boundaries" carved by Paul.
White on the tail sections first. This is probably the most important field mark on Brant - and these would hunt well as is.
Next is the Black on the primaries and back feathers.
The back is a muddy Brown - blended into the Black aft. I cut the bristles short on an chip brush - to help push the paint into the rough surface.
The sides are a greyish-tan.
The side color is blended into the back just behind the neck.
I put 3 dark bars toward the rear of each side pocket.
Then some smaller bars up forward - just behind the Black chest.
The Grey barring should contrast a bit more - but will not flare any birds. The White upper edges are more important.
After the head and chest are painted Black - and it is good and dry - I paint on the necklace.
The owner's initials are W and A.......
Here is the flock - ready for lines and anchors.
Ready to go back home!
All the best,
SJS
I have always admired the E Allen decoys sold by Lou Tisch ( http://www.lockstockbarrell.com/ ). I have Mallards, Blacks and Wood Ducks but these Brant came to me for attention through another duckboats.net member.
The only concern I have had about my Allens is their smooth surface - which allows almost any paint job to shine in bright sunlight. So, I have been thinking about putting a rough surface on them for a while. So, this is a bit of an experiment.
I believe the master for these Brant was carved by member Paul Dobrosky from New Jersey. I had always admired Paul's birds when I would see them at the old U S National Decoy Show - and was pleased to meet Paul in person a couple of years ago. And, his leaning forward, swimming into the falling tide posture is the best for this species, in my opinion.
I have covered paint details previously: http://stevenjaysanford.com/brant-decoy-rehab-painting/
Here they are as they arrived.
It looks like about half the birds had been completely painted - others still needed work on the sides.
I do not know the original owner - but they did a nice job with the keels and ballast. The keel was very helpful - as a handle - during coating and painting.
I use marine epoxy thickened with Cabosil to keep it from running - and to give the epoxy time to soak into the fine sawdust. I work over a box of sawdust from my bandsaw. I sprinkle it over the wet epoxy then rap the bird with my hand to knock off any excess.
The birds hang to cure. I get about 6 birds out of 8 ounces of resin/hardener mix.
I'm not sure why the sides were not painted up to the molded-in "boundaries" carved by Paul.
White on the tail sections first. This is probably the most important field mark on Brant - and these would hunt well as is.
Next is the Black on the primaries and back feathers.
The back is a muddy Brown - blended into the Black aft. I cut the bristles short on an chip brush - to help push the paint into the rough surface.
The sides are a greyish-tan.
The side color is blended into the back just behind the neck.
I put 3 dark bars toward the rear of each side pocket.
Then some smaller bars up forward - just behind the Black chest.
The Grey barring should contrast a bit more - but will not flare any birds. The White upper edges are more important.
After the head and chest are painted Black - and it is good and dry - I paint on the necklace.
The owner's initials are W and A.......
Here is the flock - ready for lines and anchors.
Ready to go back home!
All the best,
SJS
