Superb Bird-of-paradise (Johan Scherft)

Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972

The superb bird-of-paradise or greater Lophorina (Lophorina superba) of New Guinea is a somewhat inconspicuous species among the group of Paradisaeidae. Unlike a lot of other species, the males are just black with a bit iridescent blue color on the breast and top of the head, no obvious elongate feathers or other striking coloration. However, this inconspicuousness is set aside once the male begins its courtship. A formerly hidden cape of long neck feathers hides the head in a pitch black dish so that the iridescent breast shield and the small patches on the head are rendered the only visible features within this black void. The effect is most stunning and one of the most sought after moments for bird watchers; nevertheless, females reject an average of 20 males before choosing a partner.

Despite their striking appearances, the group of birds-of-paradise are much less popular than, let’s say, parrots. That may be, because they make poor pets and few zoos ever kept these birds. Since the toy industry did also not consider these birds, and it is my great pleasure to introduce you to two magnificent paper models.

Made by Dutch artist Johan Scherft, the pair of superb bird-of-paradise are roughly life sized, both animals around 22 cm long; the male’s cape 26 cm wide and 21 cm high at top, including the base. Scherft created a nice variety of paper models during the last years, mainly birds of European or North American origin. His style is very organic, forms are rounded rather than being polygonal. This uncommon method makes assembly a new, but intuitive experience. While the artist supplies detailed instructions with pictures or videos, most forms and cuts just flow together once you got them ready for assembly and try to fit them together. Nevertheless, the pair introduced here is not a beginner’s model.

The pair shown here is a “test” run, printed out of cheap office paper with a standard office printer and not touched up after assembly. For the best results, 120 gram paper, printed on a professional printer, and double printed for the cape of the male, would be in order. For the most perfect look, a careful touch up of the paper`s rims with water color would be the way to go.

However, even without these, I find the pair a striking model to look at. I am unaware how Mr. Scherft creates his models, but their organic look and the texture of the feathering looks like the most dedicated manual work. In this model this can be best appreciated in the female, as the black coloration of the male disguises a lot of detail.

If you have an interest in paper models that do not fall short of any other serious animal models, check out Johan Scherft’s website. The template for the female bird-of-paradise is free of charge, so you could try out to see if you like that kind of assembly; the male’s cost 7 € and is definitely worth it to complete the pair.