Tweaking Herter's Model 72 Mallard/Black Mallard Heads

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
All~


It seems that anyone who knows Herter's knows their catalogs....


1955 - cover.jpg



Most duck hunters of a certain era know their over-size, foam-bodied Model 72s....


Herters 58 page 11 - Model 72 Black Mallard Inset.jpg



And - we certainly know about the "any position" heads.....


2 Herters Model 72 excerpt cropped.jpg



I bought a dozen Mallards when I was 15 - and immediately re-painted them as Mallards and Blacks. The Hens had every feather painted on. When I moved here almost 30 years later, I re-painted the rig. I found my way of painting hen gunners without each feather but with the right effect - at least to my eye. More important - having carved lots of decoys by then - I wanted to vary the heights and angles of the heads - not just the left-right angles. My practical and expedient approach was to point my Bernz-O-Matic torch at the lower necks of about half my rig (which had grown to 24 or so) to soften the plastic enough so that I could squish it down ward. After discovering the "finer points" it worked well - and has held up over many hunts and seasons.



Herters 72 Mallard Hen - lowhead.jpg



I recently found a dozen Model 72 Mallard heads - all drakes - on eBay. A customer had 6 bodies but no heads. It gave me the opportunity to try a different approach to tweaking the head heights and bill angles. I used my hack saw (band saw was way too aggressive!) to cut through the Tenite and excise a portion of the neck.


72 Mallard Head - gluing with thickened epoxy.JPG



My approach was to put excess thickened epoxy (epoxy + fairing compound) into the lower and upper parts of the head - then tape them very carefully together until the epoxy cured. I trusted the epoxy from above - a tablespoon or 2 - would work it way down over and into the sawn seam.



72 Mallard Head - glued and taped - lower bill.JPG



The epoxy oozed out around the new neck seam - ensuring a solid bond. I wiped any excess before it cured. You can see,too, that I had coarsely (60-grit) sanded the entire head before gluing.



72 Mallard Head - glued and taped.JPG



I used Bondo to fill the hollow around the new seam - easier to shape and fair than thickened epoxy.


72 Mallard Head - bonda around neck - sanded.JPG



Stay tuned.....


SJS



 
Part 2~


I coated each head with epoxy + fine sawdust (from my bandsaw) - avoiding the bills and eyes. I then primed with Parker Marsh Grass - as these would all become Black Ducks.


72 Mallard Head - 4 postures - oblique.JPG



Here you can see the 4 bill angles. I kept 3 heads "factory" - the head on the right - and lowered the other 3.


72 Mallard Head - 4 postures - head on.JPG



Then they got my usual Behr latex topcoat - with Satin Spar Varnish on the bills and eyes.


72 Mallard - Black Duck Hen - lowered bill.JPG



Here is the whole herd.



72 Mallard Head - 6 Black Ducks for Matt Galati.JPG



I was happy with the process. Whether or not any live birds notice the difference, the rig will look more natural to the gunner's eye, I think.


It'll be a few days before the bodies receive these heads.


All the best,


SJS


 
Thanks, Gents!


I have 6 more heads to play with. I'm thinking I need to try at least one with the head tipped up - in one of my favorite postures: The Drinker.


View attachment 38-mallard-drinker-in-full-paint1.webp



BTW: I notice Mr.George Williams Himself uses "drinker" to describe a head with the bill down almost to the water. I'd call that posture a Sipper.....This is George's "Almost Drinker".



GW GWT Hen - Almost drinker.jpg



Totally appropriate for birds hunted during Shirtsleeve Seasons - but these Black Ducks I'm putting together are for Late-Season (January) Great South Bay....where any bill is an Ice Collector.....



All the best,


SJS

 
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