Four Main Styles Of Weathervanes
General Information
Below are examples of our four main styles of Weathervanes.
 Simple Swell-Bodied Style Heart Weathervane – Double All copper Click image to enlarge | Simple Swell-Bodied Style Weathervane We use a standard gage copper when making Simple Swell-Bodied Weathervanes. The weathervane sculpture piece has two shaped sides which are soldered together. Musculature and other details are kept to a minimum. The sculpture pieces are hollow inside and have a vertical mounting tube that goes up inside the sculpture piece, increasing its strength. Simple swell-bodied copper weathervanes take less time to make than more detailed swell-bodied vanes and can be an attractive compromise between silhouette and detailed swell-bodied vanes. |
 Silhouette Style BANNER WEATHERVANE – GOLF All copper with optional milk glass globe Click image to enlarge | Silhouette Style Weathervane The sculpture piece itself is flat with the emphasis being on the silhouette. These types of weathervane are best viewed against a clear sky background. Very little texturing or shaping of the metal occurs with silhouettes which usually reduces the time it take to make one. Because silhouette style weathervanes consist of flat sheet rather than two halves that are shaped and soldered together which results in increased strength, we typically only offer them in one-foot or two-foot sizes. |
 Full-Bodied 3-D Style CAR WEATHERVANE – MERCEDES Copper, brass and optional nickel silver Click image to enlarge | Full-Bodied 3-D Style Weathervane Our Fully Three Dimensional Weathervanes are typically the most complex and time consuming style of weathervane to make. They are based on true proportions done in reduced scale. Because of their complexity, we rarely offer fully three dimensional weathervanes in the small (one-foot) size. |
 Detailed Swell-Bodied Style St George & Dragon Weathervane Copper with glass eyes & optional gold leaf Click image to enlarge | Detailed Swell-Bodied Style Weathervane Most of the weathervanes made here at West Coast Weather Vanes are Detailed Swell-Bodied Weathervanes. Like our Simple Swell-Bodied Weathervanes, they also have two shaped sides, but typically consist of many individual pieces that are shaped and contoured before being soldered together. They have musculature and other personalized details such as glass eyes, etc. |
Hybrid Style Weathervanes: We also make weathervanes that are a combination of two styles. For example, our Cat & Mice Weathervane can be made with either silhouette style mice or swell-bodied mice (except in the small size). Our Stagecoach Weathervane is made with detailed swell-bodied horses and drivers and a full-bodied 3-D stagecoach.
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| Swell-Bodied Cat with Silhouette Mice Weathervane Copper Cat & Mice, Brass Tube Click image to enlarge | Swell-Bodied Cat with Silhouette Mice Weathervane-Mouse (Detail) Copper Cat & Mice, Brass Tube Click image to enlarge |
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| Swell-Bodied Cat with Swell-Bodied Mice Weathervane Copper Cat & Mice with optional gold leaf Click image to enlarge | Swell-Bodied Cat with Swell-Bodied Mice Weathervane (detail) Copper Cat & Mice with optional gold leaf Click image to enlarge |
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| Full-Bodied Stagecoach with Swell-Bodied Horses and Drivers Weathervane-Detail Copper, Brass, Optional Nickel Silver, Gold & Palladium Leaf Click image to enlarge | Full-Bodied Stagecoach with Swell-Bodied Horses and Drivers Weathervane-Detail Copper, Brass, Optional Nickel Silver, Gold & Palladium Leaf Click image to enlarge |