How to make a pair of Angel Wings

Step 11 Feathers 2

Each wing needs to be covered with feathers front and back. Picture one shows the completed left wing at the back and the half finished right wing at the front. it really is worth paying attention to detail because although people won't necessarily notice individual feathers it will improve the overall impression of the wings. Birds wings are naturally very beautiful and so I though if I mimicked them as closely as possible my wings would be beautiful too.

Start gluing the feathers from the tip of the wing. I used the longest, nicest feathers for the trailing edge as they are the most visible. Apply glue to one side of the shaft of the feather and then hold in place until it stays on its own. It's important to look at the overall shape of the wing with each feather you apply to check it's orientation fits. Also, keep referring to your photos to check you are getting it right. If you are not happy don't be scared to pull them off and start again; it'll be worth it. Remember that we allowed 5 inches for the feathers to overlap the wing tip. Make sure you get the left and right feathers the right way round and also remember that feathers have a front and a back.

Each feather had fluffy fronds at it's base, see picture 2. I often cut these off but on the wing this part of the feather needs to be covered by other feathers either way. Try to stagger each feather in the second tier so that it's shaft lies between the two feathers it covers (picture 2). Again, refer to the wing you are copying. Notice how the feathers converge on a single point and how the ends are fairly evenly spaced. Remember how many inches short you made the snails and allow the feathers to overhang by this much.

Repeat this on both sides of the wing.

Covering the overlapping triangles uses the same principle but looks as though it should be harder although it isn't really. The only difference was that I cut the shafts at the unfeathered end so that they did not get jammed near the hinge or interfere with the ribbons between the triangles. I measured it so that the shafts of the first tier overlapped the triangle by about 2 inches. The knife was useful for this, although big scissors worked but catapulted the bit of shaft across the room at about 60ft per second.

Make sure that the feathers that run alongside the longest spar overlap the feathers nearer the end of the wing (see picture 4). They need to overlap by at least an inch, preferably more.

When you get right up into the corner of the joint cut the feathers short and tuck them right in. Some of the feathers need to be glued along one edge only to allow overlap and movement. Remember to keep checking the wing can still move.