Hey guys–here’s the last of what’s been consuming me the last 2 months or so; the last of Jenn’s Christmas/birthday presents. These are 5 Historex horses that I painted up after Jenn picked out the coats she liked in a horse book (that was all she knew; the little vignettes were made as a surprise). The bases were all made with Celluclay; the horses all painted in acrylic base with oils over that. Questions and comments are always welcomed!
“Best Friends” The doog is from “Doug’s Miniatures”.
“Goin’ OffRoad”
“Sooo Tired!”
“Hello Neigh-Purr!” The kitty is from Tamiya’s “Tank Crew Reloading” set.
…and my favorite, “Snow Dancer”. This was airbrushed with Tamiya acrylics, and only oil washes on the mane and tail. The base was a piece of soft green potting foam, overlayed with white glue and Woodland Scenics’ Snow powder. This is really great for simulating deep snow; I may do a mini-tutorial on it soon.
Thanks so much, aj, Rick, Bill, and Buddho–and especially thanks to aj for that link with all the great horses! There’s enough “gifts” there to last me clear into 2010! [:D]
I’ve never even heard of the Merklein line, much less seen them, but they are beautiful! I’ve actually been looking for the horses by Doug’s Miniatures too, and they have 'em there–I’ll be placing an order tomorrow!
I appreciate the kind words, guys! These are a good way to get away from the road wheels and recharge myself for the new year! [swg]
Way cool…I’m sure you scored major points with this gift! Nothing better than incorproating modeling into a personal gift…art is a gift that cannot be beat. I modeled an a/c for my dad who was in the Vietnam war a few BD’s ago and he displays it proudly to this day!
I tried my best to “figure out” the play on words…lol…think i may have cracked a few…[;)]…I particularly appreciate these horses as I know how difficult they can be to paint under the best of conditions…I must say my favorite “camo” job is “neigh-purr”…
Did any of these have that elusive disc-scheme? LOL…great job, doog!
HA ha! --an astute observation about the “play on words” Manny! I did indeed try to “name” each one of these with something that would put a twinkle in Jenn’s eyes. I won’t bore readers with the shmoozy sentimentality, but suffice to say that she “got it”! [swg]
It is indeed always a challenge to paint a good coat on a horse. I think I’m getting better at it over time; the oil-over-acrylics seems to work right now pretty well.
Hey doog,first happy anniversary.It’s nice to see a parent take the time to do some thing really special like this for thier child.They look great by the way.I’ve been wanting to do a dio with horse’s in it,hope you don’t mind if copy a little of you’r work.
NO no, panzerguy; Jenn is my girlfriend of 4 years this February; she’s a horse-lover, so I indulge her every year with some additions to her growing collection!
Feel free to be inspired! [:D] I’d love to see your pics of the horses in your new dio. Judging from your fabulous work here so far, I know they’ll be something to really behold! If you copy anything from my finishes here, I would be honored! [swg]
Would you recommend Woodland Scenics Snow for say a general snow covered area? I am planning to model a vignette of two Korean War Marines at the Chosin resevoir. You’ve probably seen the kit, it’s 120mm by Warriors.
[#oops]…well anyway, a great gift and a great job.I have the Italeri horse drawn convoy kit, been sitting in my closet for a while guess it’s time to pull it out.
agentg, I would recommend this product–I like it alot, although if you look at the horse’s back, some might think it’s too grainy to lay onto a model like I did there. In fact, I really like the way it covers the ground, and I like the effect a lot, but I think that if I had to do it again, I just might use talcum powder on the horse’s back just to look smoother on that particular spot.
In fact, when I do the tutorial, I may mix a bit of the two–I’m going to do the Tamiya Field Kitchen in a deep snow setting, and I think I’ll use talcum powder on the surface of the cart and the horses’ backs to get a little smoother of a finish. It’ll be interesting to see the harmony of the two.
Sorry, though–I’ve got to finish a late Brummbar first, so it won’t be for at least a month! [:(]
I really like them. Seriously, these are some of the best horse figures I’ve seen in a while. But there were a couple of minor things I noticed on two of them.
The “Best Friends” horse’s tongue is too pinkish red. Most horses I’ve seen have a mouth that is a darker red. However, in the end, it might just be a matter ot taste (pun intended).
On “Snow Dancer” I loved the colors and the painting. The deep snow and the dusting of snow on the back of the horse is great. But I am afraid the way the horse is posed, he has just broken is right foreleg. With the left foot up, the right foot should be planted, especially when trotting. All the weight on the right side has come down below the knee and above the hoof right on the fetlock. Poor thing is about 2 seconds from a face plant and a possible trip to the rendering plant.
That’s a really interesting observation, IAnovice–I think that this horse may have been intended to be posed as a jumper, but I just posed him in a “wheelie” type position, where he’s just ready to jump. I actually noticed that when I was assembling him, and I thought it was a bit odd, but that was the way the two body halves were molded, and they didn’t “go” with any of the other sides really, so I figured the manufacturer knew whatever they were going for–you’re right though, looking at it now, I probably should have straightened the leg with a little modification.
Oh well…In the end, it’s not a huge deal for Jenn–she’s a rider, and didn’t mention anything about it, so I am satisfied that it looks acceptable–but thank you for that enlightening perspective–all stuff to keep in the back of my mind for the next batch!
Excellent painting on all the horses Doog, I am pretty sure that your girlfirend is more than happy with such presents…[:)] Indeed, they all show the hard work that put in them, but the final result is awsome.
I really like all , but my favourite one is Sooo Tired, I like its colour very much as well as the facial expresion that you gave to it.
Thanks for you comments Doog. My kids ride, so that’s where I picked it up - I guaruntee you I am not enlightened. Honestly, I was a little nervous. First the comment about posing a dead cow in the jousting scene, and now this. I didn’t want you to think I had some odd dead animal focus.
Anyhow, I figured you assembled the horse as presented and was wondering if it was meant to be jumping - although it’s not really a jumping pose either. Is it a Doug Lee figure? I do know he has one that is supposed to refelct a horse either being shot or rearing back suddenly as if spooked, of course it has a frightened face to match…
Anyway, they do look great and make a very picturesque set.
BTW - Going off Road and Hello Neigh-prrr are my favorites. Very realistic looking poses and great painting!!
Hey IAnovice, no problem at all with the commentary; I appreciate the input! I’m actually surprised at the great variety of whuch “favorites” people have chosen; it seems there’s no consistent “winner”. That’s very cool and interesting!
These are Historex horses. They’re pretty hard to fing; they always seem to be “temporarily unvailable” just about everywhere. I found these on ebay–sheer luck!
I wonder if that one horse is supposed to be rearing? I actually have used this set in another horse-related dio here that I made for Jenn–the “Snow Dancer” horse is the Appaloosa in the back here–see how it kinda makes more sense as a jumper?
I love dappled greys…I think that I’m gonna try painting this one for one of the horses towing the supply wagon. Hey Manny…here’s your “Disc-Scheme” [:D]
