Rabbit ear repair
Since leaving the comfort of his shelf in B&M Thumper has had an enjoyable life with his adopted family amongst the Hydrangeas.
Things changed a bit when they ventured into the less sheltered part of the garden. He got a bit of a soggy bottom in the birdbath and recent gales resulted in a couple of falls with a consequent hearing loss. Both ears were damaged and the left one completely severed with a large hole.
The right ear was easily solved with an application of super glue but the left ear was a bit the worse for wear with large parts missing.
Clearly this was a case for Sugru, the magic mouldable glue.
A trip to Hobbycraft for the purchase of a pack of three Sugru portions was needed. No grey was available which would have been ideal so white had to do. Sugru has a short mouldable life, about 30 minutes from opening the foil sealed pack. It is fairly easy to handle but can stick to the skin which could be an issue if you have sensitive skin.
It was easily moulded into a 2-3 mm thick piece which was applied to the broken ear. A good 24 hours setting time is advised before applying more. A second section was added with a further full day allowed for curing.
The central part of the ear was sagging so a built up part was added in the centre of the ear using some black Sugru which I had in stock. This was not so pliable, the shelf life of Sugru is fairly short and they advise keeping packs in the fridge to extend the storage life, mine was a bit over the three months limit and did not mould well but it adhered to the inner part of the ear.
The Sugru was scratched to match the simulated fur of the model. An aerosol can of steel grey auto paint was applied to approximate the colour, not a great match but a bit of winter weathering should soon mask the join.
Thumper is looking forward to a few more years decorating the garden.
Metal sculpture in brass, mounted on an 1800s French Coin
Love it. Well done for not just chucking them away. I need to try some of that glue too.