Neat Acquisitions

As I said in my last post, I have gotten quite a few vintage models for my collection. So this will be a photo dominated post with some words about each one.

First up is my Classic Arabian Family, who came with their original photo box. They are in nice condition, and the stallion and foal have some neat variations. The stallion's star is crooked, while the foal has some over spray on one eye and half of a hoof unpainted. I was pretty stoked about those quirks, don't ask me why.

 

I also got the Classic Andalusian Family with their photo box too, which has a few water stains and the handle disintegrated in my hands (I did not expect that one!). Despite the box flaws the family was in lovely condition, and to my knowledge has no obvious variations. It's really nice having and seeing older models in their original release colors and with any ephemera.

 

 The two boxed families came from the same seller, who sent me a message making sure if I was fine with them putting in an extra model they couldn't sell. I agreed, and was curious. Will it be a loose classic, an uncommon Stablemate, or maybe a body quality model? To my pleasure it was the bald face black Stretch Morgan. I have a soft spot for not only Arabians, but Morgans, so he was a beautiful bonus. I understand the reason they couldn't sell him, there are a bunch of him and his more common masked star counterpart on eBay all the time. Despite that fact he's in rather nice condition, with minor ear tip rubs and hoof rubs.

 

This next guy is a proud find of mine. He is a common one, but I am still thrilled to own an albino Five Gaiter. He is yellowed, so I am attempting the sunshine treatment on him. He looks awesome as the light shines through him and the girls take care to not knock him over.

 

 

That's all for this entry! I have others I need to photograph when DeEtta isn't in my lap trying to send me to bed, but it is bedtime for this cat mom.

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!

I have returned!

Very very long absence due to the brain in my laptop crapping out on me and saving up for a new computer. I decided to go with a desktop this time, and I'm slightly intimidated by the large monitor. I have been doing some hobby stuff, mostly experimental painting, and of course spending my waking hours at home with DeEtta and the others. I'm not too sure what else to put for the night so I shall entertain you with a few pictures from my few months of silence.

 

After a trip to Anchorage for medical testing I made a shelf for Stablemates

 

DeEtta was heartbroken that Bengal Buddy couldn't fit in the box with her

 

One of my grails achieved thanks to Chelsea's Model Horses!

 

Somebody loves paper bags...

 

...really really loves paper bags

 

The sisters are the same size, and DeEtta keeps growing and growing

 

One of my many fails, but it has helped me get a better idea on what I'm doing

Daring to decorator

Small while again, but alive! Have been gradually working on some of the many projects at once, and really wanting to try non realistic, but popular vintage decorator colors. I figured I have the best victim, a G1 thoroughbred mare who I decided to try and prep after a few beers. Bad idea. I have her mostly fixed but decided that her fate is to live on my desk as a lesson pony about adult choices. I also tried to primer her while intoxicated (ugh!) and had to sand off half of it trying to fix her.

I have been driving myself mad with realistic colors not turning out as expected so I decided to find a new definition of insanity. Decorators. I have noticed that non-realistic colors really help me relax from the stress of making things look realistic. I even went as far as buying my first custom! She is a G2 running thoroughbred that I decided to name Tiger's Eye; and her color really resembles the Bengal girls. But when I tried getting a comparison photo of her to DeEtta's fur, the girls decided to be...."helpful."

 

"What'cha doin' momma?"

 -DeEtta

 

"It smells funny..."

-Gizmo

 

"It also tastes funny!"

-DeEtta 

I love the marbling on her, and I can't figure out how the artist does it. I got her from the eBay seller abcrv; and they have some rather gorgeous customs every week on auction. I want to get a couple more of their lovelies, but I'm also trying to save up to potentially go to next year's Breyerfest. I was considering doing a bunch of decorators on the models in the body box and selling as shelf sitters, but at the same time I'm still learning how to make my personal models look nice.

Too early for a New Year's Resolution, so how about I make it my Breyerfest Resolution?

 

And while talking decorator, I want to share a sneak peek of a WIP before calling this blog entry good.

 

 

Summer sluggishness and looney times

Okay Mother Nature, the constant 80 degree weather is getting very annoying! Granted it is nice for me priming a bunch of bodies, but it isn't fun working in a fast food restaurant in this weather. Not to mention how hot vehicles can get....ugh. Once the summer solstice hits I will be eagerly counting down to winter.

 

Bengal babies have been liking it.

One plus side to the warm weather is being able to catalog my models when I'm not at work or being lazy. It's nice knowing that I'm three quarters of the way done, and that much closer to getting a number of how many horses I have. I have found some I even forgot I have! Storage has taken its toll on at least one of my larger models, which I am really attached to. Goffert, my first Traditional scale model, has developed seam splits on his back and where the plastic holds the metal stand in his leg. When I packed everyone away last summer he only had a hoof rub, so finding him in this new state has had me bummed out of photographing the others lately. I have decided that once finances are kinder to me that I will look for another and give this old friend of mine a new life to the best of my abilities.

If that happens sooner than later, I might end up overloading myself. For some silly reason I thought it was a good idea to multitask with projects. So far the count is at Bengals Find Me Tasty (acrylics), a G3 Arabian Stablemate (acrylics also), a G2 trotting Stablemate foal (who I decided to do in pastels), a cantering Stablemate foal (who is being done in eye shadow to see how different it is from pastels), a G1 Arabian Stablemate (in resculpt stage),  and G1 and G2 Thoroughbred mares being primered for who knows what. I might have lost my mind. Big. Time.

 

And I don't know why I am using this to represent my loss of sanity but I'm going with it.

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!

 

 

Survived the sickies

Okay, that last cold I got was evil. I actually was out of work for a week, and I now have gunk in my lungs again. I do have some exciting things to share though. My Patriot came in the mail, and so did my dapple grey foal. In the midst of having a fever over 102 for two days I thought cleaning my desk was a good idea, took me this last week of feeling better to remember where I put everything but it is nice having my workspace back. Clumsy Gizmo knocked horses off my desk so I had to touch up the works in progress and finish them up to keep them safe. Believe it or not that includes Stonewall Lee!

I still can't decide what to call his color, but I think I know what my next experiment will be. I see this one being a possible black with a brown base coat.

 

Bengals Find Me Tasty is coming along well with her layers of white. She's almost done before I move on to the details and mohair.