yes the latex is kinda holding out. i have done some vigorous testing and its has slightly split in some places. im looking at stripping it back down and adding some padding and maybe even using some form of silicone foam.
Great work. The skin makes it much better. Feathers over the skin would probably give it even more added real-ism. 
thanks mike,
im planning on adding the feathers some time this weekend. been rather busy this week so not really had any time for it. 
lots of testing has help me figure out the best solutions for the skin and also helps me see were problems are regarding the mech… no problems yet. 
i havent spent much time on this lately due to other activities but i will hopefully bring you a finished and final video in a few weeks or so.
i have added half of the neck feathers so i only have the back of the neck left to do. oh and the head. thats the tricky part.
… 
I’m looking forward to see the vid Jonny!
Me too! You are quite the skilled person.
thanks guys, well i do hope to get some time for it. at the moment its scaring the birds and cats from my garden as its on my lounge window. 
thank you, its just a shame i dont get paid for it. would be great to get paid doing a hobby.
update soon.
Good. The Hawk is still around. Thought maybe the Alien Xenomorph ate it!
Alan KM6VV
Well its been a while…
i had some time tonight to work the feather for the hawk. im not 100% happy regarding the work but improvements can be made. been told that feathers are a really hard medium to work with. and to get them looking natural is hard. they are right!
anyway here it is so far…
using latex to attach the feathers:
http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd355/innerbreed/SAM_0299.jpg
http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd355/innerbreed/SAM_0300.jpg
http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd355/innerbreed/SAM_0303.jpg
http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd355/innerbreed/SAM_0302.jpg
http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd355/innerbreed/SAM_0305.jpg
http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd355/innerbreed/SAM_0306.jpg
the camera really picks up contrast on the feathers but really they dont look as bad as shown.
i might be able to spend more time tomorrow night working on the feathers but for now im charging up the battery for another test.
Looks great!
Just wondering, have you tried it yet as a decoy? My guess is it would really scare off most of the other birds!
Kurt
lol. iv had it sitting at my bedroom window for a while but the birds and cats are not phased by it. makes my dog go nuts though!
Looking excellent! I appreciate your eye for detail and it is demonstrated with your work on the feathers. I can’t wait for a new video
thanks, i have used mini clippers to shave down some of the feathers so it looks more natural but i still need to make improvements.
i have done a video but just waiting for YouTube to upload it. taking a while…
Now that the hawk has been feathered i thought it would be a good idea to see how it performs. the feathers and latex skin add extra stress to the servos but it pulls it off i hope. maybe a bit of TLC will make it look better.
Also i thought it would be a good opportunity to show some of the production pictures for those who are interested.?
Unfortunately there is not much “hawk time” but i do plan on another video when i improve it.
Here it is:
Cool!
Very professional made video! I love the end-result.
I hope you agree with yourself next time to include the wings too.
The video was great. Really looks like a live bird!
Alan KM6VV
thanks for the comments on the video. spent a bit of time playing with clips etc while waiting to finish the hawk.
i should make a few improvements to the hawk it self. its a good start as now i can see how its limited or restricted by the feathers. by having the feathers attached to static and moving parts it makes them move very un-natural. so i think the next goal would be to make a separate skin that can move over the body shell better… maybe other project.
anyway thanks guys, glad you liked it.
The head jerks look very realistic. I’ll bet you’ve been studying nature films!
Alan KM6VV
in actual fact i had been studying birds and the way they move. after a while it became a sad obsession. lol
if you look at some of the earlier videos the motion is exactly what i was after especially in the first design:
i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd355/innerbreed/th_Video004.jpg
wow looking back on that, it would apear this project has come a long way. 
Anyway, i feel that the latex/feathers have dampened this jerkiness slightly and in doing so dampened the effect of nature.