Too Long, Too Long

Welp, that was a very long hiatus! I am alive still, I promise. Despite the silence things have been productive...ish. DeEtta Hope is 3ft long from nose to tail, and still thinks she can fit in my palm, which makes bedtime a little awkward for this Bengal momma.

 

My face was sweating, and she was very very very smug about it.

 

She also tried to gift herself to me for Christmas. I still have no idea where she found that bag.

She has become quite the cat, one moment acting like a rebellious teenager and before I can react she's being a clingy kitten the next. I am honestly surprised she isn't in my lap trying to help me type this very second, it has become her favorite hobby. Gizmo is not as flip-flop with her behavior, she spends her days acting like the happy puppy cat she is unless her younger sister is antagonizing her. They both really enjoy being around what I do which really helps me with getting bored. 

 

I finally put a shelf up in my room last month, and they love the perch quality of it. 

In the world of Starshore Studios, things have been slow but steady. I acquired some neat vintages over my absence from here, along with more micros from Maggie Bennett's monthly subscription. Best. Drunk purchase. Ever.

(I do not endorse drinking and browsing the Internet, or drinking and prepping models. I was miraculously lucky in both cases and also learned a lesson) 

I also remembered to sign up for the Breyer Collector and Stablemate Clubs this year, and pretty happy with what it has given me (once I dish out the cash of course). I got the green Christmas Sherman Morgan with only one minor flaw in his gloss, and got my Coco the other day with one gloop of lint on her off side. In my opinion they're both really nice since I live where there's no live shows. 

Despite no live shows I have been participating more within the hobby. How, you may ask? Well for those who are on Facebook and follow Jennifer of Braymere Custom Saddlery, you would have either been caught up in, or observing, the National Model Painting Month event she kicked off in February. I missed the sign up deadline, but she still encouraged folks to take part in the spirit of the hobby getting together and helping each other. I normally don't paint in the winter since I can't use the matte sealant outdoors but I decided that it shouldn't be too hard to guard the model's paint job until break up season; and I was getting rather bored of going to work, coming home, sitting on the computer gaming, go to sleep, repeat routine. Around this time I got an unpainted Peter Stone Morgan (the 1997 one, or "old mold" as I've heard some people call him) and as soon as I laid eyes on him he wanted to imitate the Vintage Appaloosa Performance Horse (Breyer #99) coloring. Of course I couldn't say no, so out came the paints and frisket!

As you can guess, there were mishaps. First it was the frisket/sneeze incident. I had the jar in my hand and didn't put it down when I felt the sneeze coming. On the plus side, some of it splattered on the horse nicely; as for my nose and desk...well I lost alot of fine nose hairs getting that out of my nasal cavity and I'm still finding specks of the latex doom on my computer monitor this very second. Second mishap was color choice. The frisket dries orange, and my base coat I chose was an orange based burnt sienna. I was hating myself for that, along with the third mishap which was painting in too thick of layers. This meant that not only was the frisket hard to find, it also was taking off too much of the paint surrounding it or just stretching it out like a limp noodle. There was also the heated discussion with DeEtta who was thinking it was okay to sit above the desk and droll on me and the horse's freshly laid down paint...

Despite those blunders (and mild hypothermia from an ice fishing day) I got him finished! I will admit the Traditional scale is intimidating to paint but it was a fun challenge. There are some things I need to improve on, like fading the color into the bare plastic and not using a stiff bristled paint brush. I also need too improve on color matching but that will get better with time. Next post will feature some of my new additions, but until then enjoy these progress photos of Sharp Dressed Man!

Cataloguing and the mystical modern chalky

I got the crazy idea of photographing and cataloguing all my models. Have found out a few things, like I have over 100 Stablemates and way more micro minis than I expected. Also found out the two times Gizmo and DeEtta toppled over my box holding the little fellas, it damaged and scuffed them more than I initially thought. Not only that, my phone doesn't tell me that it's overheating, unless I try using the flash on the camera.

 

I also had these fellas for 10 (left) and 2 (right) years and didn't realize they were identical!

Can see the difference in painting methods over 8 years with these guys.

And onto the damage...two horses that broke and I repaired back in my "carpet herd" days broke again, in the same spots, and a third one lost its ear. Most of my white horses and leopard appaloosas got scuffs on them, and one blanket appaloosa that came with the Hidalgo Buffalo Bill play set has a boatload of scuffs that make her look like a poorly executed pintaloosa (yikes!).

 

I don't remember the white going that close to her shoulders, and the other side is worse.

My old customs fared well, one stallion yellowed, but back then I was using shellac that my dad also used for his woodworking projects. Mohair fell off of a Classic sized model I had in there also.

 

Had a random butterfly photobomb my micro minis from Grand Champions.

This is the only one I saved, where he wasn't whapping them with his wings.

 Then there's this guy. When I packed everyone away he was in PSQ condition. I was appalled when I pulled him out at the damage, and then was curious at what was underneath.

 

This is his pretty side, but you can still see alot of scuffing on his ears and back hooves.

And underneath the gray....

 

IT'S

 

WHITE

 

PAINT??!!!

Obnoxiously opaque white paint under the steel gray topcoat! Only thing I could think was why??? It is something I only heard of with vintage chalkies, or white horses (duhhh), but this is neither. Granted he's from 2002 which some people call vintage which I strongly disagree with. He isn't vintage or white, so why.... I dug around and found out about modern chalkies. The people I have asked say he has the characteristics of a modern basecoat chalkie. I was floored. Never knew there was such a thing until today, and would have never known his little secret if the kittens weren't destructive. I almost wonder if I have any others, but I'm not about to hand my unscathed models to DeEtta to chew on!

 

 

Perplexing

Good 'ol eBay knows how to drive me crazy. Here's the recent confusion.

Flocked Rearing Stallion. Says that it's the Classic scale (aka Rex). The problem is to date the two rearing stallion molds made by Chris Hess have only been confirmed to be flocked once. And it was King (the Traditional scale) as a white circus horse. So I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this black flocked Rex as a circus horse. I almost want to get him to see in person what the blazes is up with him, maybe a possible custom....

I also have acquired one thing that is a few different weaknesses of mine in one. He's rather beat up but I love him because a) he's the vintage style dapple b) a Maureen Love mold c) an oddity. Behold a mislabeled Arabian stallion!

I got him with scuffy alabaster Arabians from the same time period, a mare and stallion (in his proper mold). Plus side to getting vintages is that DeEtta isn't too interested in eating them. I also have a dapple PAF on it's way to my mailbox; sad part is the cutie got shipped with standard shipping so we are on day 6 out of possibly day 8-12 for the journey through Canada. Also eagerly awaiting some reference books for vintage Hartlands and Breyers. Finally got my first Traditional scale Peter Stone horse! He's the older morgan mold in a seal bay coloring and is nearly flawless. At the price I paid I thought I was getting a Chips scale, so it was quite the surprise. He came with his tag from live showing with the name Dracula, so I decided to keep that as his name.

In the subject of names I have someone who will be needing one soon. Since it is the first day of working on her I'm not too worried, I have hopes of her becoming a pretty appy.

Unique little ponies

Why hello strangers I'm still alive! Just been busy and sick, but doing things nonetheless. Been spending alot of time on eBay acquiring horses and wishing I could get others...

 

 I am really coveting this guy, his shading is beautiful! But alas, I am already at my horsey budget for this pay period, so I had to say farewell to possibly giving him a home with me.

 And then there's this beauty that is far too above my budget. I feel honored just being able to see that he exists, very mystifying coloring for the Adios mold. Backstory included!

 

I might have missed out on some beauties, but I still have become victorious. I had two unpainted Hartland arabian foals come in the mail, each one very unique on its own, along with a couple more models en route. One is a model I identify as one of my "childhood holy grails," and I will definitely be showing him off when he arrives, and I got an older Peter Stone model coming also. Once they arrive I will be taking a respite from adding to my collection until I can get a DeEtta proof display cabinet to put them in. Something about the smell of the newer Breyers seems to scream "eat me" to the cute terror, so thankfully my vintages are safe...for now. They do have a new toy to keep them occupied for a while, I already woke up a few times last night to them enjoying it.

 

Finally a picture of all five! Sabbat at the top, Bear to the right, Gizmo on the left, DeEtta on the new toy and Spot at the bottom. The Bengal babies love it.

Speaking of Bengals, DeEtta has been getting restless and wanting to go on an adventure lately to the point of trying to walk out the door when I go to work, and Gizmo has been very clingy to me. It's almost like they know that I'm struggling with this infection with how Gizmo soothes me to sleep, DeEtta wakes me up when I stop breathing, and they greet me as soon as I get home. I even have an editor for tonight's entry, but it might be because I'm extremely exhausted from the day. On that note, I better rest up and get ready to help the shelter kitties tomorrow get love until they find forever homes.

 

Yeah, Gizmo doesn't look smug at all.