Arrow

I've been feltie making! Having done a load of key chains I decided to do an actual horse.

Arrow is a very sweet little red leaping pony. She has a sparkly red felt finish with pink and blue highlights.





She's kinda simple but very cute at the same time.

She is for sale here if anyone would like to rehome her: http://www.chestnutridge.co.uk/arrow-35848-p.asp

Headcollars, Bridles and My Latest Project Piece

Yesterday was a new week which meant a new beginning? And maybe an end to my obsessive bridle making? Well apparently that didn't happen.

So having taught myself how to make nylon halters my latest project is slightly more ambitious and much much more time consuming.

I have literally hundreds of horse books, piles of them, boxes full of them. So many of them! I've always wanted to go through one and use them as reference to recreate the pictures. It is one of the bizarre things I've always wanted to do and well now I've decided to do it.

The book chosen is the DK Complete Guide to Horse care.

Obviously I can't recreate every picture, but the aim is really to go through and use each page and inspiration and help to push myself out of my comfort zone and create something new and a bit different.

Page one and image one and I've made a start. I was instantly stumped by the Eohippus. I did think a resculpt but I can't sculpt for toffee so I think I may just create a sort of unusual decorator repaint.

But behind the little Eohippus is a nice bay hunter with gold and brown leather headcollar. That seemed like a pretty good place to start.

So the body chosen (my body box is a bit thin on the ground right now) is a Classic Duchess.

I started off with the headcollar before I prepped her for painting.



So she now has a smart brown leather headcollar.



Next stage is to prep her and paint her to a nice light bay. She is currently in the priming booth (having had her ear resculpted, she seemed to have been bitten by something in the body box and lost a chunk).

Be nice to see how she turns out!

But I'm afraid to say the bridle bug has not left me.

I made another Classic one yesterday, this time a black fixed cavesson with a gold kimberwicke bit and gold hardware.



I actually quite like this one. It's up for sale at www.chestnutridge.co.uk though



And before you ask...yes I've started on another bridle...brown leather with silver hardware and another kimberwicke bit!

Final Two Customs of the Batch

Last week I finished off the last two customs of the batch *yay*

Of course that simply means we are starting over with a new batch (more about them later).

First up is a blanket appaloosa that I had planned to finish in time for Amazing Amarillo AR & AC Live. But as with all things model horse that didn't exactly go to plan.



Named Bitter Glass he is a Horsing Around Flaxley resin.



He has been painted to a bay blanket spotted (appaloosa) pony. He would make a lovely little riding pony.



His base is done in airbrushed acrylics (I use the Games Workshop range). He has had details added in hand painted acrylics, the blanket took many many layers!



Using an old damaged brush is great for creating the splodging effect of white around the outside of the blanket and over the body. You can also dab it into some white paint and then some pink pastel to create a good mottling effect.



The final details were done in hand painted acrylics and with pencilling for the hoof detail. I would have liked more mapping around the spots I think and a smoother finish to the blanket. But nothing is ever perfect...



He is for sale at: http://www.chestnutridge.co.uk/bitter-glass-35731-p.asp

Next up is a little mini whinnie.



This little guy has been painted to a palomino minimal splash.



He has been named Black and Gold and his base coat was done with air brushed acrylics.



His shading was done in pastels and then he was sealed with several layers of Games Workshop Purity Seal before I started on his white markings.



The white markings were all done in hand painted acrylics and he was finished off with pink pastel around the nose and a bit of yellow pastel in the tail. All of his details were then done in hand painted acrylics with some pencilling on the hooves.



He is for sale at: http://www.chestnutridge.co.uk/black-and-gold-35740-p.asp

Now I promised some talk of the next batch!

I've already mentioned a bit about who we are using and what we are doing but here is the low down and links to their reference pictures.

Horse 1 - Number one is a Schleich Hanoverian stallion. He is being done to an interesting chestnut with white markings (thought to be caused by fungal infection). His reference can be found here: http://equinetapestry.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/needymare11.jpg

Horse 2 - Number two is another Schleich this time the Dartmoor mare. She is being painted to a yellow dun. You can find her reference picture here: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t121/taliskeralbum/howard.jpg

Horse 3 - Number three is the third Schleich (having a bit of a Schleich frenzy). This one is the Knabstrupper foal. She will be painted to a yellow roan: http://www.outlawperformancehorses.com/assets/upload/boon%20sale%20pic%20010.jpg

However, I messed up on this one and thinking she was the yellow dun gave her a dorsal stripe! So she is now a sorta yellow dun roan? I dunno she looks kinda cute anyway!

Horse 4 - Number 4 is a Breyer Stablemate Athletic pony. She will be palomino sabino when finished. Her reference picture can be found here: http://horsezone.com.au/category/228/Palomino/listings/28572/Gorgeous-Palomino-Gelding-15hh-8yo.html#DQdlPTp2z1M1U0KB.97

Horse 5 - Number 5 is a teeny tiny Night Heather resin (I'll only have one left after this girl is done). She is going to be painted to a primitive (or wild) bay: https://40.media.tumblr.com/fb4fdac37fc581195d15f5615740ac6f/tumblr_inline_nmcef0PEQO1rsmrkk_500.jpg

So there we go, the last two of the old batch and the details of the next batch. Still can't believe I had such a blonde moment over the foal, but that said she does look quite nice and should finish up quite pretty even if she has sort of morphed into a bit of a cream dun (suppose she could be chestnut + cream + dun + roan).

Bozeman

Check out the latest BreyerFest special run.

A gorgeous pinto on the Wyatt mould

Halter Making

OK first up before my massive achievement of the day we have a very nice colourful rainbow halter (such fun).



Definitely should have trimmed that purple strap more...



Anyway that was nice and colourful.

But check out my achievement! After years of trying I finally mastered the art (well OK so I actually completed one...mastered probably isn't the right word) of making a nylon rope halter.



I cut too little cord on the first one but still looks reasonably OK



Cut more cord for the second!

I only had this annoying waxed cord (I swear I had normal cord somewhere) so I've ordered some normal cord so I can make more (by normal I mean I discovered I could buy hemp cord and ordered that because normal would just be too boring for me)!

Also found some multi coloured cords, definitely going to give those a go at some point!

Two New Customs

My current batch is nearly done, just two left to do.

First up is this snowcap appaloosa that I've been working on for months!



The flash image above shows off his shading a bit better than without flash.



Named 'The Bishop' he is available to buy now: http://www.chestnutridge.co.uk/the-bishop-35656-p.asp



He's definitely unusual, but took soooo long. I don't like doing larger horses at the best of times so why I decided doing one that would require a million layers of white paint I don't know.



Second up is a little resin Clydesdale foal.



At large stablemate scale she is far more in my size range!



She's very cute but I already have a Churchill resin painted to a bay sabino Clydesdale so I decided it would be best not to upset Cody and sell her



She is £40.00 and like Bishop you can buy her at Chestnut Ridge: http://www.chestnutridge.co.uk/bistra-voda-35654-p.asp



Obviously with these two done it means it is time to choose two more colours and horses!

For the first we are going for yellow dun, I've gone with a Schleich Dartmoor mare for that one.

For the second we are going with yellow roan foal. For that I've gone with the Schleich knabstrupper foal (the newer one).

So we'll see how those get on!

My Girl

First of all thank you Breyer for having water proof packing boxes! My sister clearly failed to notice the parcel getting drenched on the drive way.

Thankfully inside box, COA and pony were all fine.

So my order of preference had been:

Bay
Palomino
Alabaster

So I can't say I am disappointed with who I got :)

Meet CRS Sonique (aka My Girl)







I'm rather fond of her. She is now chilling on the shelf with Smokin' Doubledutch, they are my only two CWPs, think I may need more...there's a rather nice one for sale on Chestnut Ridge at the moment...