First Decoy

Dan VanDeWoestyne

Dan VanDeWoestyne

Member
I needed a winter hobby so I bought Willy Mcdonald's beginner DVD and starter kit and gave it whirl. Here are pics of my first decoy. Made out of tan cork with a basswood head.

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Great Job! That does sounds like a great winter hobby. Where did you order the kit from?

Thanks

Dan Herrera
 
There is no doubt that you found the right hobby to expand on. What a wonderful job on your first stab at it. I think you will have fun from now on.
Al
 
Wow, if I can make a decoy like that in my first attempt, sign me up. Could you pleae let me know what it is that you ordered from Willy? Is there a "part #" or is it fairly self explanatory.

Oh yeah, did you airbrush or straight brush on the paint? On a scale of 1-10, how artistic would you consider yourself with one being - I can draw a stick figure and others would be abelt to tell what it is.

Very nice looking decoy.

Thanks -

Mark W
 
Thats a pretty amazing first decoy!! I can only pray and hope mine turns out that nice. We are going to try carve some foamers here in the next week or so.
 
willy beats the hell out of that learning curve. that dvd set takes years off of learning to carve vs starting from scratch on your own.
 
Hey, that's pretty nice. When I get done screwing around with my boat I want to start that also.

I like it.
Dave
 
Wow, if I can make a decoy like that in my first attempt, sign me up. Could you pleae let me know what it is that you ordered from Willy? Is there a "part #" or is it fairly self explanatory.

Oh yeah, did you airbrush or straight brush on the paint? On a scale of 1-10, how artistic would you consider yourself with one being - I can draw a stick figure and others would be abelt to tell what it is.

Very nice looking decoy.

Thanks -

Mark W
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Here is his web site.

http://www.theduckblind.com/index.htm

I bought his beginner kit and DVDs. I highly recommend the DVDs makes learning alot easier!! Very detailed! I brush painted the decoy, as far as artistic ability... I have some but if you follow the DVD its fairly simple. If you screw up just repaint it LOL I hand to redo the back. What sucks is Im a machinist so I expect everything to be perfect.
I have 2 more cutouts to work on, a mallard and a canvasback so I ll be busy for a little while.
 
I also have to congratulate Dan on a job well done.

You are on your way to a very rewarding hobby that can pay off in a lot of ways but mainly in the satisfaction of hunting over your own hand carved decoys. I teach via a step by step method and carve the same way and I think that Dan will continue to follow those steps but will build and add to them as he gains in experience with other species and repetition of the steps he's learned.

Dan...nice job in creating a realistic looking Bluebill hunting decoy. Let me know if I can help further....once a Duck Blind Student, always a DB student. We're here to help. And thanks for the kind words on the DVD series.

Willy
 
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I also have to congratulate Dan on a job well done.

You are on your way to a very rewarding hobby that can pay off in a lot of ways but mainly in the satisfaction of hunting over your own hand carved decoys. I teach via a step by step method and carve the same way and I think that Dan will continue to follow those steps but will build and add to them as he gains in experience with other species and repetition of the steps he's learned.

Dan...nice job in creating a realistic looking Bluebill hunting decoy. Let me know if I can help further....once a Duck Blind Student, always a DB student. We're here to help. And thanks for the kind words on the DVD series.

Willy
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Thanks guys!! No probelm Willy...your DVD set is a great way for someone to get started. I have a mallard and a canvasback to carve next then I ll need to buy somemore blanks since I dont have a bandsaw. After I get those done Id like to try carving some with more detail. Do you have any blanks and patterns that will allow for carving the wingtips on the back... like this pic?

magdecoy.jpg

 
Hi again Dan.......Yes I do have some patterns with raised primaries but I would suggest that you consider the Pat Godin series of patterns. They will give you evertything that you require in producing a realistc style decoy. Give me a shout or email and I can fix you up.

Willy
 
View attachment 2008_0828Aug25080012.JPGDan, very nice job on your first. I saw that you had mentioned wanting to carve wings/primaries on the next. This can also be accomplished by "notching out the back and adding inserts (wings). The inserts are "stepped and burned before being inserted and can come out very nice. It all depends on how detailed you want to get. If you are looking for a gunner, the simpler the better. "Decoratives" require a lot of time, but also don't see the water. The more decorative they become, the more fragile they are and can't be handled. I added a pic to show you what I mean. This is a rough beginning to a redhead but it gives you a good idea. There are plenty of better carvers on here than me, just trying to show different ideas. Hope this is helpful. dc
 
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