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.
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.
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