Noseband detail

 After lots of waiting for help on using the new decal machine at work, and plenty of trial and error (mostly error), I think I finally got the noseband detail pretty well set.  I know it's a tad tilted, but that's about as good as I can do with this.  I end up putting it on blindly, so that's not too bad for not being able to see!  Very happy for today :-)

Saddle and a haircut?

I think the saddle is finally done (yay!).  

I started working on my pattern idea for the bridle stitching this morning.  In my head it looks good, but we'll have to see how this translates.  Fingers crossed the tranfer will work!  This should work for the noseband and browband.

 

And, I gave my poor pony a haircut.  She looks pretty unloved in her current state, with gaping holes, and some boo-boos I made with the dremel.  Oh well, necessary step if she's going to ever wear a bridle.  I just don't like that thick, molded, tack unfriendly hair!

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!

Affinity

Does anyone else get tons of spam rereferrer traffic on their blogs?  I've been getting lots ofhits from vampirestats.com, filmhill.com, and topblogstories.com.  Don't click any of those...I read that they can link you to porn or viruses.  But, I was just curious if anyone else gets that too.

My new Affinity came the other day...she (he in my horse's case) is a really cool looking model.  I have lots of racing tack that I want to make, just need to narrow it down a bit.  I almost think another Secretariat set might be cool.  I made one once before and it's a shame it isn't being shown.  It's a very striking combo.  I have a prototype hood on him just for fun...I don't like that one too much.  I'm embarrassed to say what the fabric is too! :)

I'm plugging away...

Little progress

I don't know why I'm going so slow.  How's it looking today?

What's "writer's block" called if you're a tackmaker?

I don't know why I have tackblock!  I've been stuck in the same place with this saddle for about a month.  I think the shape is great, I don't love the shiny finish of the spray dye.  It's not bad or anything, but I was hoping for the finish of a new leather saddle.  Not glossy, but has a healthy sheen to it.  I bought some matte sealant, but oddly enough it just enhances the shine so I won't be using that on the saddle.  What to do!

Also, I need to sort out the suede knee rolls.  I think I'll just do some backwards skiver, but I don't think I have anything that's the right color.  Maybe just some backwards natural leather...it'll compliment the mahogany saddle tone anyway.  We shall see.  Going to Milwaukee today with my mom for her 2nd Mother's Day celebration, so maybe I'll feel inspired when I get home.

On a side note, I went to the Boston Terrier Nationals in Chicago this past Monday/Tuesday and we earned another Rally title - Rally Excellent in the B level.  We got 1st place, 2nd place, and 4th place with scores of 98, 90, and 90.  I was happy with the 98 because we beat out people who were working on RAE (already have their Excellent title).  There were two other 98's but I was the fastest!  I wasn't too happy with the 90's, but taking into account that we haven't trained at all since July 2012 and I basically plucked my dog off the couch for this show, I'll take it!  He was so tuckered out when we got home...he was extra sleepy for like 3 days after :) 

Thank ya, thank ya very much!

I was just getting ready to pack it in for the night, and look what I found...couldn't resist taking a picture :)

Classic saddle - not much to report

Time for bed, but I wanted to post a couple saddle pix.  I think its looking pretty spiffy.  I also got a cool new harness part!  Can't wait to try it out!

Classic Saddle -- few more updates

I had to snap a few pix from my cell phone before I left for work today.  Now, I haven't attached the flap but I have it placed just to see how it looks.  Lookin' pretty good!  I still need to do the contrasting stuffed knee roll, but you need to have the main shape down first.  I think we're a go!

Classic Huntseat Saddle -- 1st classic of any kind for me!

I'm just writing a quick note before I'm off to work.  This weekend, I started work on a 1:12 classic size huntseat set for the Eberl Haflinger pony.  For some reason, I've made saddles in all other scales except classic!  Why?  I don't know.  Couldn't easily find a classic saddle tree from my suppliers, so I decided to make my own so I could actually begin work right away.

So far so good, but you can't see too much progress :)  I just got some new paper-thin leather in from eBay, and it was perfect size for making the seat.  I need like 1/4oz to 1/2oz leather, and boy is that hard to find.  The main body color is called mahogany, though in the picture it looks pretty chocolate.  I'm using a spray dye which makes for a nice even finish.   
   
(I don't know where my photos went -- I think I deleted my folder they were in.  Doh!)

And I'm just using the photo below for size reference.  It's so much easier to have reference photos on the blog so I can view them on my mobile devices.  Beats having to always come back to the PC just to see a picture.

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!

New harness beginnings

I've decided to start on a new harness, this time with a collar instead of breastplate. My sewing doesn't look so nice, but some will be covered by the hames and hopefully the rest just kind of blends in.  These are iPad shots...not all that crisp.  Hmm, oh well.  I don't have too much to say today!

New Arrivals

Today turned out to be a pretty good day :)  Work wasn't too bad, and when I got home I had a nice surprise waiting at the door....my Breyer Totilases? Totili? Totilas's?  Whatever, you know what I mean!  I had checked Breyer's website yesterday and say they were backordered, so I wasn't expecting them anytime soon.  What a nice model too!  Question to the viewers:  Who should the large one be paired with in a harness team (AR or OFP)?  I want to get him CM'd so that the front legs look more carriagey, but I was wondering about maybe a CM'd Salinero or CM'd Valentine mare?  Similar body sizes.  I like Valentine's head (I think Salinero is too muley or too much like Cleveland Bay mold), but not sure she'd look good with Totilas.  Send me your thoughts....

Before I came home, I stopped at HobbyTown USA for some brass, a pin vise, a mini drill bit assortment, and to take a look at the Breyer selection.  They're one of the only stores, if not THE only store, that carries Breyers here.  They had a dapple gray pinto Weathergirl that I almost got, but I ended up leaving with a little resin Totilas instead.  I don't know what it is about minis & me right now, and I don't even know what I'm going to do with him, but I really like minis!  I noticed when I got home that he has a big popped bubble in his paint, so he may just have to end up getting CM'd sometime.  Into what, I don't know!  I feel like making a dressage set for him though :)

I'm going to try my hand at making some parts.  We shall see what happens!  I really have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to raw metal.  I like the pre-made stuff I can get from my trusted hobby supply folks online!      
 

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?