Meet Susan

 I told myself that I would finish five of the little resins and pewters I had been painting for Hen Party Live. I was a bit apprehensive that I would not be able to because, you know, life but actually just an hour or so painting yesterday and I finished off the first one!

This is CRS Satanic Bible (aka Susan). We are back on the 'banned books' names hence the slightly unusual name for this girl! Although I do think the name suits this little girl! That face! Bambi pulls this exact face all the time.

Susan is a 'The Warden' pewter micro by Maggie Bennett. She is an Arabian mare although obviously this little girl is going to be a PBA. I don't have many little resin Partbred Arabs (I have a fair few purebreds) so I thought partbred would be better. I also don't have a buckskin micro so it seemed like the right choice of colour!

She isn't perfect but she is kinda cute and she does look nice in photographs. I'll definitely be after another of this model to paint, I think she needs an equally angry sister!

Also I put her in the moss on the side whilst I was setting up the blanket and she looked so pretty! Like a tiny little fairy horse, especially next to this little flower. So I took like a THOUSAND pictures trying to get one that was perfect (my camera is very much on its last legs, as is my lens so they aren't great)!

I also managed to finish the gorgeous pinto Warmblood so I'll pop some pictures of him up tomorrow!

Popular Votes Photoshows - May Show

I honestly cannot believe we are nearly half-way through 2023 already! As we welcome in the horrific May weather and hope for something warmer we also welcome our fifth photoshow of the year.

This May's theme is 'Northlight'. The show is open to all Northlight models, both original finish and custom finish.

There is a range of breed classes which I have tried to split up with reference to the moulds that Northlight have actually produced. I have also now added a partbred class having realised that I forgot it when doing my entries!

This is a great show if you are a Northlight Collector but is also a nice show to enter if, like me, you only have a few Northlight models. 

If you would like to enter head along to the group now:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1493893527541574

If you are new to Popular Votes Photoshows then please make sure to read the group rules. This is important because we rely on voting for the show to function so if you like photos in the group before judging opens then this causes problems and you will be banned from the group!

The show closes on May 24th 2023

There is a rosette for the show champion.

Enjoy :)

Marvellous May Postal Show

This month we are running a short, free postal show that is open to all. Postal shows are great as all you need to do is send the details of your model, no photograph or real effort required!

The show is completely free and open to all

The class winners will get a certificate to print and the show champion will receive a Safari Palomino Mustang Stallion:

Class List

One entry per class

1. Stock Horse
2. Gaited
3. Mustang & Feral
4. Other American Light Horse
5. Other American

How To Enter

Send your entries to: competitions@chestnutridge.co.uk

Title your email: Marvellous May Postal Show

Information to include:

• Horse's Name
• Class entered
• Breed
• Colour
• Gender
• Your Name
• Your Email Address
• Your Postal Address

One entry per class. Each horse can only enter one class.

Entry Deadline: May 30th 2023

Terms & Conditions

1. One entry per class
2. Horse's can only enter one class each
3. Entries without the required information will not be accepted
4. Class winners will receive a printable certificate
5. Show champion will receive a Safari Palomino Mustang Stallion
6. International winners are responsible for postage (we cannot ship physical prizes to Germany)
7. Entry deadline: May 30th 2023
8. Winners will be chosen at random from all correct entries for each class
9. For full terms and conditions please email competitions@chestnutridge.co.uk

Truffles and Bon Bon

 Please excuse me whilst I die of cuteness!

The mother's day plushies from Breyer are THE CUTEST THING EVER I NEED THE FOAL NOW PLEASE THANK YOU

Now available from the Breyer USA website

Wild Boar Live Awards

 We've had a couple of parcels over the last few days containing the first of the awards for Wild Board Live.

First up we have the trophies. The big ones are for the Supreme Championship and the smaller ones are for each of the section champions

I much prefer glass trophies than the plastic ones, I think they look nicer and more expensive, even if they aren't actually that expensive! I had hoped to get ones with pigs on but that wasn't really possible, clearly pig showing needs to become more of a thing!

Now we have the certificates. These have been externally printed but I will need to put them through the Cricut to cut, that is going to take a LONG TIME, *sarcastic enthusiasm*

They are going to be so cute when they are cut out! 

Breyer Misty Test Run Set

 Last week Breyer listed this adorable little pair on their eBay account:

The cute test run Misty and Stormy have been done in a beautiful gold pinto colour. The auction was being run to raise money for Beebe Ranch.

For those who don't know Beebe Ranch is the museum and ranch based in the Chincoteague where Misty and Stormy lived.

The auction ended yesterday and reached a very impressive price of $12,875! These are an adorable pair and someone is going to be very happy to own them and that is a great price to be raised for the Ranch.

You can view the listing and final price here

Five Style of Customising You Have to Try

Happy Friday everyone :D It's currently so cold inside my house I can see my own breath. Isn't this country fun. I just love it so much.

Well, if you are capable of feeling your own fingers this Friday you might want to celebrate the awful weather by trying something new. Well do not fret I am here to inspire you! Here are five styles of customising that you just must try.

1. Mohair

The first technique that everyone must try at some point in their customising career is mohairing. Mohair (or similar) is applied to the model instead of a sculpted mane and tail.

If you want to mohair a model horse here are the supplies you will need:

• Model horse body
• Dremel (or similar) to remove mane and tail
• Mohair
• Glue
• Epoxy Putting (to sculpt a new dock)

You can purchase mohair online from model horse dealers and others. I even have some awesome pink ombre mohair that is just beautiful!

Sana is a custom Weathergirl by Deb Brown. You can see her beautiful mohair mane and tail that just enhance her gorgeous colour and look.

2. Dip Painting

I first tried this a few years ago and it is so much fun! You may have done this previously as an art project as a child but it also works really well for model horses. 

The basic principle is that you put a hydrophobic substance like spray paint or nail polish onto the top of a jar of water. Then (wearing gloves) you just dip your primed model horse into the water. The substance will adhere to the surface of the model horse creating a cool marble effect.

If you want to try this technique you will need:

• Primed model horse
• Nail polish, Spray Paint or Marbling Paints
• Old Jar
• Water

It doesn't really matter which substance you use. You can buy specialist marbling paints online but your old nail polishes will work absolutely fine if you just want to try it once.

This little guy using nail varnish for this technique using blacks and pinks, it is really cute.

3. Etching

Etching is a method of customising where instead of adding paint you remove the original paintwork to create a new pattern.

To do this all you will need is a sharp blade or carbide scraper. You will gently remove parts of original paint work until you get the pattern you want.

If you want to try this technique you will need:

• Sharp blade or carbide scraper
• Original Finish model horse

There are lots of online tutorials showing you how to properly remove the paintwork. The key is to do so gently so you don't scratch the plastic and take chunks out of the poor horse!

Sunshine is an adorable little etchie that was one of my first custom models I purchased. The pattern is just beautiful.

4. Pencils

Pencils are often used in combination with other technique but did you know you can use them exclusively to create a model in its own right?

All you will need is some good quality pastel pencils (other pencils also work but I prefer pastel ones). You then use these to draw your pattern. This works best with colours like fleabitten grey rather than solid ones.

If you want to try this technique you will need:

• Primed model horse
• Pastel pencils (or similar)
• Sealant

Just like with pastels you will need to make sure you regularly seal your model as it is very easy to smudge pencils with your fingers!

Pastels were used in combination with pencils to create this adorable little fleabitten grey.

5. Colour Shift

Colour shift paints are so much fun! You can purchase good quality specialist model ones from Green Stuff World. They create a lovely metallic effect that shimmers in the sun.

If you want to try this technique the most important thing to know is that your base colour will impact your finished effect. The manufacturer will usually recommend black as a base to create the colour shift effect, but other colours can be used to create a beautiful shimmer effect.

If you want to try this technique you will need:

• Model horse painted solid black
• Colour shift paint

Experiment with the paints to create different effects on different models.

This cute dressage horse is painted with colour shift paint on his body with metallic mane, tail and hooves.