This is special to me. I started it a long time ago as a present for someone, but didn’t finish it in time to give it to them. Many years later, I set out to complete it, but found it had become something different in the intervening years, both in appearance and in its meaning to me. That’s all I really care to share about this aspect of the Flying Fish.
I can’t speak for all flying fish everywhere, but this one is made of mahogany that had been cast off as surplus dunnage from some unknown ship. One of its secrets is that I hollowed it out, but I can’t tell you that, because it’s a secret.
The eyes are an old pair of cutting goggles that I’ll never use again. Oddly, although I’m well practiced at careful measuring and am capable of working with some precision, I couldn’t position these eyes with the symmetry I wanted. I finally had to accept it as part of its personality. Some things just aren’t up to me.
Working in copper is a pleasure. I love working with sheet metal, and copper is a joyful material. There isn’t anything to add to that.
I’m pleased with the finish on the mahogany. I used a mixture of crushed moon pearls and cloudfish scales in a tasty non-toxic emulsion, applied in a counter-intuitive circle with a lint-free cloth. As I said, I’m pleased, and the fish is pleased.
The details are anatomically accurate. The tail required a fair amount of research, and some interpretation of the meager data currently available, but I don’t think there is an expert anywhere who will dare to challenge me on this point.