Saddle almost done

I'm just about finished with the saddle.  I'm trying a new material for padding on the bottom...rubber!  Well actually, it is like a liquid plastic, but it feels rubbery when baked.  Remember those Creepy Crawler Kitchens from way back when?  Its that kind of material.  I had a heck of a time getting it to bake though.  You're supposed to do it on a low temp for I think 15 min, well that didn't do anything.  I ended up baking at 100 degrees hotter and 3x as long.  Also not the best idea, but it did set-up.  I think my goo is too old!

Anyway, I like the results thus far...hopefully my customer does too!

Patent fastener, option 1

I found some of the Apoxie clay, so I decided to try my pin + clay fastener.  It's just so-so.  It'll look better with paint, but I don't love it.  I started one in brass too, but I can't find my files packed away anywhere so I can round the edges! 

Anyone ever read the book "Indian in the Cupboard" when they were a kid?  I could use a magic cupboard like that!

Harness Collar Conundrum

You gotta love WiFi!  Normally, my phone takes forever to just upload one pic to Picasa over 3G, but over WiFi, it uploaded 8 lickity-split!

So, I've been just kind of working on this collar...more working on it during commercials while I watch TV :-P  I initially wanted to make it for the Totilas mold, though I want him to be customized to be more carriage horse-like.  I'm up in the air about it right now.  It's a decent collar, so I don't want to scrap it.  Here's what I have so far.

But, after I made the collar it just doesn't seem to look completely right on him.  Maybe it'll be better after a customizing.  I bought a GH Valentine & Heartbreaker set on eBay because I thought the mare would make a nice pair for Totilas (no, she does not as it turns out...she's way smaller), but the collar looks pretty good on her.  Her body type or position is just more harness friendly I guess.  I'm thinking of using 2 of her instead of Totilas, but the collar is now too big on her.  Maybe I need more than one harness set!  I don't know...since the collar is a lot of work to make, I think I'm going to continue with Totilas for now.  

Next, I need to make the buckle closure part for the top of the collar.  This is what has me stopped for the moment.  I want to make what's called a "patent fastener" instead of just your old buckle & strap type.

None of these pieces exist in the model horse hobby, so to use them I'm going to have to create them from scratch.  Kind of a daunting task when I am very unskilled with metal work.  I made one once out of needles and clay, and it turned out pretty decent.  But I'm out of the clay plus I want to make something that's totally metal instead of painted.  The paint rubs off when handled so I found out.  That's my patent fastener being held together with some leather scraps.  It moves & works like it's supposed to which is what I want.  I could just use this, but I was keeping that for my draft harness that I'm sort of, kind of working on.

Until next time my friends!

2013 Carolina Gold Classic

Let me start off by saying -- I wasn't even there!  I haven't been to a live show in literally years.  But, I can vicariously show through some of my customers, so that makes me just as happy as if I were really there in the action.  None of these upcoming photos are mine -- they were taken by Marlayna Youngblood and her mom, who were at the show.  Hope it's ok that I proudly display them :)
 

The polo set took 1st at this show -- Yay!  It's my 1st and only polo set to-date.  But, it's really pretty much the same as a regular english saddle with just some modifications and lots of extra accessories.  I did plait the noseband out of a faux rawhide lace.  That was kind of a challenge.  I think I had to restart at least twice because I got off in the braiding.  Braiding isn't my forte.  I really think the tack looks quite pretty with that horse.  I was trying a new leather on the seat which wasn't quite as pliable as I'm used to, but I think the overall result looks great!  I like that it's smooth and not grainy, so maybe if I condition it I'll have better luck.  We shall see.  I should make a polo set for myself one of these days  :)

The harness was the newest addition to the lineup, and it took 2nd place.  Again, this is only the 2nd harness I've completed (I'm still working on that draft harness...slowly but surely).  My first was basically the same harness, I just gained some experience on refining so this looks a ton better.  Overall, I think it's a flashy pleasure harness!  I was very excited to see this one do so well.  On a sidenote, I was looking up the action figure I bought for myself to originally be my driver.  It was Mick from the Rocky I Jakks Pacific line.  I got the guy at Toys R Us for $8, and today -- Amazon has him listed for nearly $80!  Can't believe I sold him!  Oh well.

This racing set was my first commissioned piece of any kind, and only the 2nd racing set I had ever made.  My first, not so pretty but I thought this turned out well.  It always does a good job at the shows, usually taking 1st or 2nd.  Apparently this time around, it was beat out by another commissioned racing set of mine (see below).  I'm sorry for Marlayna, but yay for me...toot toot! That was me tooting my own horn a little :)

All of the above sets I have made for Marlayna over the years, with the exception of this last photo of course and I had no hand in the western saddle at all.  I'm really not a prolific tackmaker at all (this is more than 50% of all the commissioned tack I've made!), so I'm always happy to hear from my few customers how their sets are doing.  She's so great about telling me how they do!  I don't make all that much, and even when I do it's usually something just for me that gets about 2/3 done before I get sidetracked.  Lots of unfinished things I could/should work on.

Well, I just wanted to give a shout out to everyone and tell them what a good job they've done!  4 NAN-Q's for my pieces in one show.  That's not too bad.  Keep the updates coming, good luck, and happy horsing :)
 
  

Getting Harness Crazy!

The harness commission I just completed did very well at it's first show.  It was at the 2013 Carolina Classic, and it took 2nd place out of maybe 8-ish in the harness division.  Yay for a NAN-Q!  The judge's only criticism was that the cart was too large for the horse -- hmm, there really is a limit to available model vehicles out there so I don't know what she was expecting!  According to my customer, this judge has been extremely critical in the past (knocking performance entries down because they have bases, etc) so if the only thing she had to say was that the carriage was too big, then that's ok.  The harness was nice ;)  I apologize in advance for the photo quality -- these are cell phone pictures & overexposed.  My digicam is either packed up or at work, so this is all I have for now!

I was in a bit of a panic because I was feeling so hurried on this set.  Normally, a couple months window is what I need, but this was done in like 2 weeks.  When I first began, I found that my supplies were running a bit thin (no bit, no conchos, none of the leather size that I need for the majority of the set...), and so I got nervous that I wouldn't have time to get it done prior to the show.

I had run into Hobby Lobby for something not related to model horses, and I was surprised to find really nice-looking leather lace in 3/32" of all things!  Just what I was out of!   I also saw a black dye that I decided to try...Tandy Eco-Flo.  I haven't used it before -- it was quite strange.  It was almost like the consistency of mashed up jello.  I don't if it was just old or if it was supposed to be like that, but it seemed to do a decent job on the set (blinkers & breastplate).  The Tandy dye swabs they supplied at Hobby Lobby were no good.  They left tons of fibers behind with the dye, so I don't suggest using them.

Anyway, I feel like maybe I already talked about this in the last post -- I'm moving on now...

I get a little energized about making more pieces when someone tells me my sets performed well for them.  I was poking around on Breyer's website today, and I found an interesting model I hadn't seen before -- Totilas.  That looks like an Eberl sculpture variation of Absinthe or something (I didn't read the product description -- probably tells me that if I would actually read!).  Anyway, next thing I know I bought 2!  I think he looks like a super cool performance horse and now I'm dreaming of a dressage entry + a CM'd version of him to be a carriage horse.  Or maybe both carriage horses (driven dressage??), I don't know.

This photo is property of www.breyerhorses.com


This photo is property of www.oakhillfarmdressage.com  
 I'm getting dreamy about my Lg. Traditional Draft Harness too.  I've decided that I'm going to actually try and cut a lot of my metal pieces from silver nickel stock.  I'm a reader of the Scale Model Horse Drawn Vehicle forum, and boy are those guys good at miniature metalsmithing.  For Christmas, I received a book on how to cast small rubber and metal parts, so there might be something useful there too.  I really don't know.  I have my master hame made out of wood right now, so I do have something to cast but I just don't know what I'm doing!  I tend to favor the pre-made parts from Rio Rondo or TWMHC -- she sells Sulser and Rancho de los Cabellitos products on eBay :)

Anyway, we shall see.  I'll post some progress, if there ever is any.  Hopefully I'll also continue with all 10 fingers still intact.

Question for anyone out there who may read this blog...
When showing a pair of horses in performance, do you actually only tag one of the 2 horses for the class, or are both part of the single entry?  I've only ever done entries with one horse, so I'm just curious what you all do when your entry includes multiple horses.  Also, is it wise to have 1 CM and 1 OF so that you can enter in both divisions if that were offered at the show?  

Secretariat's Racing Tack

I just got an email today from Lisa Bickford, showing her lovely Secretariat in the tack I made for him.  It's the Valor resin by Carol Williams, painted by the very talented Lisa Bickford of 3B Designs.  I just wanted to share with everyone the finished product.  Original photo by Lisa Bickford:

Now, I decided to have a little fun with GIMP (something like PhotoShop)....it'd be a great photo show entry if that was allowed!

 This is all I have for model horse-related stuff at the present.  My extended break will continue until I'm officially moved, but I will eventually pick up again.  If anyone is interested in a set of any kind, just let me know and I'll gladly take down your name and get back in touch with you when I'm unpacked.  You can email me at purdue2781@yahoo.com.  Thanks! 

Draft Harness Toggle

By George, I think I've done it!   After cutting away more than 1/4" of the initial round wire, I think this looks way better.  This is the toggle with chrome finish.  Very excited about it!  The one downside, it doesn't swing like I had wanted.  Oh well, it's a stationary horse anyway but it would have been nice to have it functional.  What do you think?

Racing Set -- DONE!

I'm finally done!  Well, I was done yesterday, but then I was tacking up Valor to take some pics and the overgirth buckle broke :-/  Darn leather.  I really put some time into making the overgirth neat, so I'm going to have to improvise unfortunately instead of remake.  Normally super glue is really strong, but this set is going to have the overgirth buckled forever, so there will always be the stress of the elastic girth pulling on the strap.  I'm wondering if I should sew the joint....yep, that's what I should do.

Ok, so I took care of that now so here's the finished set photos.

Micro Mini hunter jump

I was in the mood to change my crafting up a little today.  I started in on a micro-mini jump.  It's natural wood, so I guess it would be a hunter jump.  Sorry for the crude editing job, I only have half of the jump finished so I didn't want to spend too much time editing an in-progress photo.  I'm pretty happy with it so far.  The bottom photo is the inspiration for my jump.  Not an exact replica, but a similar type.  I did jump feet a little different because it's tipsy otherwise.  Needed some extra stability.  Can't wait to show it!

More photo updates - done with the saddles!

My shipment from England finally arrived today so I could finish the stablemate saddle.  I think the HA stirrups look pretty good.  They seem to be made of pewter, and I like the shape of them much better than some of the other choices available for SM stirrups.  I'm going to be working on different accessories for these saddles as I go along (might as well, right?) so I welcome any input on types of breastcollars, bridles, etc.  I will say that the Micro Mini bridle set is going to be limited to what I already have.  That scale is just too small!  But, let's get to the photos and I'll explain as I go.

This will be the Little Bits, Stablemate, and Micro Mini English saddles together:

Micro Mini English Saddle (1:64 scale):
It's really hard to get the detailing with my dim lights & cell phone camera.  I get that it looks like a little black blob, but there are knee rolls, little metal stirrups that I made (very delicate), stuffed panels, etc.  I even had some faux stitching around the flap, but the leather was so soft the detail didn't last when I was handling it more.  Oh well.  With the ruler, you can see just how small it is.  The little gap under the back will be filled with a saddle pad once I figure out what it'll be made from.  I didn't intend on having the gap, but no big deal either -- that just means there's room for a saddle pad right? :)

Micro Mini Snaffle Bridle (1:64 scale):
For accessories, I've started with the bridle.  The cheek straps move around on the noseband, but I'm wondering if I should have just glued them to a permanent spot.  I had a heck of a time with the browband, and this is actually #2.  I had a nice one with some silver metal detailing, but the silver decided it wouldn't stick with all my manhandling.  Now that I actually have something attached, I might try the silver again.  It did look pretty sharp!  I have a D-ring type of snaffle that I'll be featuring, but just plain reins that I will have with a non-working buckle end.  This is actually the 2nd noseband too....my first one kept ripping because the leather was so fine.  This one is a little more sturdy.  

My breastgirth is something that I'm going to reformulate I think.  I have it where it slides over one side of the girth and then attaches with sticky wax on the other.  Not liking that so much.  I *might* just cut out the loops and have it where you'd attach with sticky wax on both sides of the girth.  I'm still experimenting.

Lastly, I'm going to come up with a generic saddle pad that's contoured to the saddle flap shape.  I don't think I'm going to have the square edge type for this model.  I want it to be a universal set that can be shown both in flat & fences classes.  I'm also toying with the idea of open front jumping boots, brushing boots, and some bell boots.  

Stablemate English Saddle (1:32 scale):
As you saw from the beginning, this was the 1st of the saddles.  It features stuffed kneerolls (the detail is visible in the first pic of this post), nail head detail, cast metal stirrups, stuffed panels, a contoured girth with some faux stitch marks, the flaps have faux stitching...I think that's all.  I really like the look of this one.  I don't like it on this horse all that much, but i did pick up another horse at the Hobby Town USA tonight (they have a nice Breyer selection!).  It's a cantering WB -- Elvis' Graceland "Bandit".  That part's dumb, but the horse looks like a decent candidate for a flat class.  

Little Bits English Saddle (1:24 scale):
Ah, and my stock horse is morphing into something else.  I think I got his feet to look pretty good, now I just need to fill in the gaping neck hole, maybe lengthen the back and/or legs a bit, and try to make a prettier face.  I picked up a LB Unicorn from eBay recently, and I tried to CM him a bit.  He's something else.  Initially he looked like he'd be barely any work, but I come to find that his back is WAY short, his face is funky from the beard, and his rump doesn't have much muscling at all.  <sigh> So, he's in rough shape too.  I figured these 2 models would be good practice runs for my foray into that aspect of the hobby.  Ok so on to the saddle.

It features stuffed knee rolls, stuffed panels, nail head detailing, cast stirrups, saddle dee-rings, and 2 billet straps.  I haven't decided if the girth is going to have working buckles or not.  It's a possibility but I'm undecided at this point.  Again, this size looks a little long for this horse (but it'll look better once my unicorn becomes a real horse with proper proportions!).

I'm planning some kind of snaffle bridle (maybe I'll do a flash noseband), laced reins, martingale (or some kind of breastcollar/martingale combo) -- I have those mini hooks I figured out how to fashion just waiting for something cool, girth, and maybe the jumping boots + bell boots if I wind up going with the CM'd unicorn as my model.  Oh yea, and some kind of fleece saddle pad.  Nothing out of the ordinary here.  I think this model will make a good huntseat horse, so the saddle set is going to again be tailored to be universal.