A/B foamers

[newguy]

thanks shermie
we are learning as we go so every tip is a bit more info to use in the learning curve
I am still trying to decide on keels or no keels with a "river keel design being a must try"
we are going to do a keel less sampling as they move very nice on the water and with a weighted bottom they self right nicely

the way they are turning out I can see my days of buying decoys becoming few and far between( which means more money for Ammo and other stuff)

[chezz]

one version without keels




And with a keel..usually installed as the last step

[newguy]

I have learned that most keel less decoys have 4 to 8 ounces of lead or steel in the bottom of the foam for a lower metacentric center (Stability talk for "makes it flip up right naturally") it is burlaped over so you never see it and the smooth bottom allows for movement in very light winds

[South Shore Hick]

Well, I repainted one of my plastics this evening. As well as the first foamer Garey & I turned out. Although they were both still wet when I snapped the pics. The only thing left to do is set in the keel. Then finally match the bill color of the real thing. That will be a challenge. I've been shooting birds off the greyish blue but the real bluebill bill color is hard to match. Anyone got any suggestions?

When I color matched my blacks, I actually cut off a bill from a drake I shot that evening then headed to Home Depot. When I asked the clerk behind the counter to scan the bill to match the color I could see in his eyes he was trying to figure out what he was holding. When he figured it out what he was holding in the palm of his hand, he was a little quick to place it on the counter, to which I laughed at him.... He then told me he couldn't scan it because it wasn't flat. Bad dummy! Down came the hand. Crunch went the bill. Results, flat as a sheet of paper. After which I handed it back to get scanned. I think the poor kid was horrified. I thought it was a riot. Poor city bumpkin.

Anyway if anybody has a good idea for the proper color before I started sifting through swatches or mixing paint it would be greatly appreciated for the advice.

Here's thye results of the first 80% finished coy sitting next to one of my plastics

Cheers............. Johnny-G






And for the grand enterance the real flying / floating roast beef.

[South Shore Hick]

Last few today with the bill color on.. Cheers.

[newguy]

looks like friday afternoon burlappin and pourin foamers is it
lookin good the bill color is more real looking now we get to do its 70 odd neighbors in burlap and paint
can't wait to shoot one --- er i meant over em

[dans]

if they get close enough to see a differamce then they should be dead. Paint looks good to me

[jaydog]

Wow, those look incredible! You think they cost you about 3$ each in materials?? Heck, I could build a garage to build them in for what I would save......

[newguy]

Dans you would think that close would equal dead bird but we have missed a pile of birds that we were already tasting in our minds all part of the addiction I guess
Jaydog if ya figure in time they are abit more expensive but what else can ya do when huntins over and the water is all hard like
plus they are fun to do

[crockett]

Feb 26, 2009 6:06:04 GMT -5 newguy said:

Jaydog if ya figure in time they are abit more expensive

Shhhh,don't blow his cover. He was trying to justify the cost of a new garage to the wife!
-Croc

[newguy]

Johnny figures about 75 dekes out of one kit and figures less than 2 bucks a deke at most and that is with River keels on the 40 we decided to put keels on
so Jaydog you can add another car/decoy storage section to the garage with what you save now

[newguy]

finished pouring the kit yesterday and 66 decoys in total
now the fun part of burlapping them and painting them all

[South Shore Hick]

Well spent some time tonight finishing up the drakes 34 in total. All thats left is to install the river keels on this lot. That will leave Garey and I thirty-one hens to paint up and that will finish up the kit we poured out. After all is said and done purchasing the supplies to complete this project the coys come out at a whopping $3.00 a piece.







I`ll post up the final pics of the entire flock after the hens and all the river keels are installed. I really enjoyed this project but I can`t wait to gun over these.... Cheers gents.

[jaydog]

Thats quite the sausage-fest you have on the deck of your boat!! I can't believe how good those dekes look, you must be pretty proud. The bill colour matching story made my missus laugh her ass off imagining the guys face.
I don't imagine I will have the time or space to try it soon but do you think I could use a generic duck mold (any species suggestions??) and then paint the dekes up to be a half dozen different species? It seems to be a freak show out here with a new species every time I look and I'm afraid to invest in a big spread of any one thing.

[South Shore Hick]

Hey Jaydog,

You know over the years I've painted over some bluebill decoys turning them into puddlers and vice versa. I've found that if looks like a duck and has the correct color markings the birds will still set up into the coys. Although I wouldn't paint up puddler into a canvasback or surf scooter because the body, neck and head proportions are different. Same as a freakishly gigantic teal out of a black or eider coy. It just wouldn't look right. But after all is said and done, we've gunned lots of ducks over painted Javax jugs and eel grass mud tollers on the flats down home around Yarmouth county.