[Lurks in the shadows]

I found cheap little blackbirds at the local Dollar Tree the other day.

They are in dire need of improvement, as the white styrofoam body form shows through the feathers and flocking in several spots.

I bought them all, (of course!) then Pup and I fixed them by dabbing automotive trim dye on the bad spots. I think black liquid shoe polish would work just as well and be cheaper, too. After we let them dry in the sun for a few hours they looked good enough perch in the graveyard.

So if you're looking to scare up a flock, check out the dollar stores!

 

[Glass 'eye']

excellent idea!! I have always thought the ravens and crows were too expensive. Thanks

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

Sorry your birds are looking kind of plucked. In a lot of places across the country DOLLAR TREE has had them out on the shelves for weeks if not a month or more. Maybe yours have just been picked over and handled a lot. Mine are pretty nice but I bought them shortly after they put them out. But for those that don't have much choice in selection, for the price a little repair work is well worth the price especially if they are getting put outside and exposed to the weather and such.

If you don't regularly look for the "Halloween Watch" or "First Halloween Item Sightings in Stores" -type of threads here on the board, you should try to. It's always nice to get first pick on things when they hit the shelves and people are really good about sharing their finds.




BTW here's a link (click on underscored link) to a post I made back on July 14 with pics of some of the Dollar Tree crows found at that time. I know there were mentions of them prior to that maybe as far back as first week in July. I should also mention that I'm still seeing crows on our DOLLAR TREE shelves so they are still out there.

 

[LadyAlthea]

today i found

severed hands and feet, blood soaked gauze, skull and crossbones coasters, cups and wine glasses and they also had a ton of skull garland and things like that. im moving so i cant keep buying things!! and yet i did.

 

[Lurks in the shadows]

The birds I bought looked the same as those in Ghosts pic, not abused, just typical Chinese quality, worth a buck and good enough to be in the background.

 

[Frankie's Girl]

I just got back from looking at my closest Dollar Tree. Those are NOT the same crows they had last year! They are crap compared to the 08 versions!

As you hopefully can see from this shot I took last year, the birds were feathered all over their bodies. Sure, they were the same poses as this year's and the feathers are a bit mussed, but they had all feathers.

What the he!! is this crap flocking and just feathers on the top - a feathery racing stripe with flocking [email protected] applied?

I was going to get a bunch of these this year, but I'll dig out my few from last year and see if I can make do with them.

 

[prestonjjrtr]

That is too bad that the crows aren't as nice as last year. I was hoping to pick up some more.

 

[sweet&sinister]

I bought a few of those crows. They did have alot of white spots showing through so I just colored it in with a black magic marker. The whole box of them were messed up like that. I want to get some more but I think I'll check another store to see if they look any better.

 

[Junit]

Hmm... that's disappointing to hear they are worse than last year's blackbirds. Last years I had several small spots to touch up with black paint, but they worked out well.

 

[Pumpkin Torture Guy]

Picked some up yesterday and a couple of skulls.

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

How bad are some of your birds? Do you have pics before "surgery"? Maybe they are molting? I know, not funny

 

[Pumpkin Torture Guy]

Heres a picture of the ones I got. Have some white spots, but not too bad. Will touch up with a sharpie.

 

[Elza]

I just hate that this stuff is getting made cheaper every year!

 

[Buzzard]

I got one of those skulls at the Dollar Tree today, but it sort of looks more like an alien head than an actual skull. It will work for what I need it for, but it's definitely cheap!