hughe wall eagle with RZM mark?????

[m-e-h-t]

5

[m-e-h-t]

here is Weitzes offer:
LINK

[Jon. H]

here is Weitzes offer:
LINK

THANK YOU!!

I've been looking for that link for ages, but i could't find it.

Is Weitze's eagle bigger?

[m-e-h-t]

yes, Weitzes is really huge: 147 cm

[CurtD]

From these pics, the mounting studs on the back do not look functional. That and the swirling effect on the back make me think this is probably a cast reproduction.

[m-e-h-t]

I think, the "studs" on backside are the points, where the alumn was pressed into the mold. This is not a railroad eagle, it was only a wall eagle, which was hang on the wall with one mointing point (under the head).

[Rich Moran]

Aluminum is not pressed into a mould, it is poured into a mold in it's moulten state.

The mould is a 2 part mould, upper and lower.

If you look at the wreath of the example you have taken images of, the inside of the wreath has obvious mould flaws which means that they had problems in either the mating of the 2 moulds or the sand broke free during the pour which makes me believe this is not an original but a poor reproduction.

I would believe if this were produced during the Reich era, it would of been put aside and left to be reheated, melted to again a molten state for new pour into a new mould.

This process is not difficult at all to do if you have the right equipment, and it can be done in your backyard if you have the know how to do this stuff.

If you have not done lots of moulds, problems arise such as what is ssen on this specimen.

When the mould is produced a manufactured original specimen is used to design the mould. The lower mold is filled with fine sand to the state where the original produced eagle is laid into the sand, then more sand is used to fill up to the top edge of the lower mould.

The upper mould is placed on top of the lower mould, the upper mould is locked into place & then sand is compressed onto the original specimen until the upper mould is completely filled.

Once the upper mould is topped of, both moulds are unlocked, seperated and then the original specimen is lifted from the lower mould. Imperfections can be then filled in carefully with wet sand and can be a quite trying process when it comes to intricate designs which is the most difficult part of this process.

Note along the eagles neck on the obverse side, the uneven piece of aluminum that looks like a place to hook this example to a screw or nail on a wall. This is an improvised addition installed after the moulds are seperated after the original specimen is removed, the mould reworked of any noted imperfections or needed improvements and prior to the top and bottom mould being locked together again.

The upper mould can have several holes, usually 2 or more to pour the molten aluminum into the various holes. Once the moulten aluminum is poured, the mould is then set aside and allowed to cool. Once cooled, the 2 moulds are seperated and the poured copy is removed and then is moved to coarse, medium, fine sanding to polish to where the copy then is taken to high power buffing wheels to produce a fine lustre on the finish.

it is highly likely that the lugs seen on the obverse of the wings are pour channels, and with me typing this I don't have an image in front of me of the obverse to see if there are more traces of pour holes.

Back in the mid to late 60's we used to make many different smaller items out of aluminum with this process, as we were taught in foundry classes how to produce items in this manner.

We were taught that you can make an item in just about any size, from small to extremely large & of course cranes are needed with many shovels to fill moulds, then tamping with metal tubulars with square steel plates could of been used to tamp the wet sand down.

This education was done in an American High school for shop classes. I grew up outside of the Cleveland area where many foundries and other shops were located until outsourcing decimated American industry.

Chances are this item is out of India where a lot of foundry work is done these days, or perhaps outside in someones back yard foundry. it is quite possible the original was produced from wood to be used as the original template.