New Breyers

It's only January now, and before my birthday (just two days away now...) I already got new models from Lahjakas.fi. I think I'm going to recycle their box to make another, BIGGER studio!

I choosed three models, this is the number I can get once, no more. Money is not free. Still, my mum has rights to my money and she sticked her fingers to this, and... I got four Breyer Traditionals.

This is so damn very weird for me, but well, I like. He he! Let's see the horsies.


Brunello... A Finnish hobby friend of mine had this model already, and we both know this is a good mold. I could have bought this anyway in some moment - she just kicked me to choose this now, no later (eh eh). Now I have another good tack rack, AND no need to curse that ugly toy horse (Remu)... Brunello tells us the difference between toy and model. Also, chestnuts are good. Named this Lost Wits Of The Halter Creators and it's a joke since I'm a mad halter-maker, and also that friend makes tack... For nickname he got Lanttu, have no idea where, it just popped in my head. It means rutabaga.

He looks good with my far away from high quality tack. That bit actually works, I mean, the shanks move...

Slick by Design... I was quite surprised with this model. He is very, very large! And immediately I recognized the sculptor, it's same as with Cortes "C". Even clearer as both of my ones are black. Slick has a bit more blue in tint, and I like that, it's easy to see in photos although not so much with eye. The sculpt is simplier than with some others from same sculptor (who's models I like a lot, I see). This guy got called as Okay Mister Blue, and I think it can be quite matching for a quarter since, well, quarters and the way people name them... And because this horse really IS blue!

Dreamy is small next to Okay!

Valegro... With this, I can't start well, it's so good as a model. Just a thing I'm happy to have now. I named my model as Reizvoll due to the fact that for me this represents enough a horse I once met in a dream. Not as weird as it sounds; I simply was meant to test ride him, and he was awesome, friendly. Valegro is also difficult to photograph since he's a bit glossier than the others I have, and his dark surface yet feeds it. Damn flash, I should soften that off.

Valegro has great face. It's just nice to tack him up.

...and Secretariat! This is a model I have drooled some time, but have hesitated as he has a bit difficult mane (for tackmaking, just a hole in the scrag instead of a area for straps to lay on) and he is a racehorse - gallop races don't exist in Finland! And my model stable is Finnish. Well, at least they can buy former racehorses from Sweden and then fail with re-training them... Sounds safe. But the mane hole works surprisingly nicely, and if I get lazy with it, I can also just lie the bridle over the ears, although it doesn't look that perfect. I've seen a lot worse examples too. Named this boy as Cage Breaker xx, and it has deeper meanings.

One thing I've always liked in Smarty Jones mold is the expression. It doesn't look so generically happy.

Jewellery pieces make nice hackamore parts. (There's extremely bad leather used... Because I've already used off most of the better pieces.)

Wait what, I just realised I got the basic colors only. Haha, nice! This is what I collect (and also paint, really); those boring, general colors. At all, I've realised I am not into very "weird" or "interesting" colors or patterns, I like when horses look more evenly colored. At same time I know how common weirdnesses are in model horse hobby.

I already tacked up all these, just because I make tack and like to capture moments. Could post more of them later. But, check Valegro, he tells me what my level in tackmaking is (= not very high...):

Really Offhand isn't so experienced that he could have any persmission to ride a professional dressage horsie. Luck my dolls ride just for fun at home... And don't even mention that gothic style doesn't belong to dressage arenas?

Apologies from extremely bad photos. I have no idea what had happened to my phtography skills; if I ever even had them, hmmm...

Should just blog...

I should just blog. Continue to blog.

But I haven't felt right for it lately, although I - honestly - think this practically daily. I simply can't write and have no brains for anything. Nothing serious really... I just am not in the blogging mood; writing doesn't work and I have no idea what to photograph next and how.

OK. It's not so simple. It's not that harmless. I really don't like the situation that I have not had blog brains for some time!

I should do something for the backgrounds if I ever want to improve my photo stories, but I don't want to start anything yet if I am not sure how to do and what. I have no space for anything that's left to lie around if I decide not to finish it. And a box with random cloth is not realistic background for a landscape, let alone stable yard.

Juoru on Wishmeluck. Cloth background.

I've thought some... If I do things from paper; draw and cut pieces and place them interestingly, to make some illusion that doesn't force to really build mini buildings or anything - as said, I have no space. I want to do stories now. As a visual artist who draws, I've learned that at least something little and simple in the background is always better than 'emptiness'. It should look like a world, not a studio box.

Easierly said than done.

Anyway. When waiting that, I must publish stuff I've already done, and that includes some photo stories or riding set-ups that do not behave as a story at all. Grrrr. But I really want to publish stuff!

I also should already have published my newest Breyers, that I got for Xmas: GG Valentine and Heartbreaker, who I renamed as Sweet Zone (mare) and Danger Zone (colt...). The names are a small joke since mare's older foals (just fictional, hah, not modelled) are also named with puns, and create a story when coming from oldest to youngest. I choosed standardbred as their breed, since it is... the most generic horse breed in Finland, and the one I have met so often compared to the truth I have no horse life really.

Sweet Zone "Namu" and her brat, Danger Zone "Dani".

I have no idea if anyone else had ever suffered from a problem I do have, and it's this, I can write and read but have no map in my head about what I actually had read. Stupid. (Writing and reading English doesn't make this any easier, haha. And here I am, using this language I'm not naturally familiar with...) Or is this just my too-often-dying skill to focus on things I am reading?

A banner and news

Once I decided that this blog is OK enough without a banner, but now... I just know it's too interesting to design them, so I made one. This blog has long name that's not too easy to fit there. I got a bit lazy and just drew the title and shaded a bit (with a tool I don't usually use for anything).

I just think... Cigar is a good mold. I like that I have one to see this physically. So of course Overkill (Sam model) is right dude for the banner.

Wonder if I don't have problems today when publishing this, because it's a tradition when I publish a new blog banner.


I also have a problem... It's about those photo stories I want to publish and have a nice stack waiting that happening. I want to improve with them, to make them better, more realistic, less stupid. I am too perfectionistic with my own works, and I count dolls and tack pieces as artworks too. Sometimes I just can't see a photo having any quality, if there's one or few pieces that make it all look failed - for me, having no skill with saddles. Also I wish my dolls could have real clothes, but I simply have no idea how to make any (I'm not a sewer). My dolls have rough anatomy because they're meant to work well and to be hidden under clothes. I could of course test to sculpt also lower pars of their limbs (except hands and feet that need to be all bendable), instead of gluing some soft materials there, but right now I haven't the right type of wire to make armatures, so I can't try.

Is it OK to say that don't read it wrong if you see some crazy looking dolls sitting on my models? They can be funny, but they also ruin the realism.

Lack of realism makes me easily not to want to publish things that generally could be worth posting. (Now don't ask why I then replace humans with rats and cats, haha.)

Photo stack: Juoru rides Vissy

Grrrr, imagination and the titles don't meet. But this is called as a photo stack instead of story, because I don't know a story for this. It's again just one moment I captured in many photos. These also aged fastly, because the bridle seen there are already retouched... And they were made just before these pics.

A black cat boy on Vissy (Cortes "C"). I left Asko visible in one photo as I somewhat think he kept a riding lesson for Juoru. If that explains the over-long reins...? I've made shorter reins afterwards.

That bridle has at least two or three different types of leather in it. The reins aren't from the same set but from some older. I also can say I stopped using blue-tack for attaching bits after finding glue that dries to be sticky enough to stay in place (and it doesn't harm the plastic, like I think blue-tack can do if kept on too long).

Those straps just look too clumsy now when I have improved quickly a lot in making bridles... Only the noseband is nice as it is OK to be wider.

This also could be an update for the first 'riding lesson' photo story. If this new one just could be a story...

Artistic info:
Here's pics of those bridles after two retouches. First, I added tongue buckles and a flash noseband, also changed shorter headpiece strap, and knotted the browband (it was ridiculously long). The flashie was made for another bridles, so it's metal pieces are 'silver'. I didn't care because the bridle is not the best I have made. At the second retouch I got the flash noseband off and straightened the bit mouthpieces and added glue to them, so they stick without help.

After the second retouch (flash noseband off). Ignore the crazy rider, hehe.

That browband doesn't really fit well there, after I added the knot...

I also injured a finger while making tack, so, using it felt creepy when I wrote the upper part and oldest photos. (Now when I publish this, the finger is fine.)

Photo stack: Asko and Dreamy

I don't really like adding names to the titles because I can have same names in several photo folders at my computer... But anyway, I've been abandoning this blog too long now. My Finnish blogs are quite dead too, not saying I could not use anything of these anymore. Let's go to the thing.

I took these photos some times ago, when I had just got my newest Breyers. This time it's Dreamy (Lil' Ricky Rocker) with one CM doll Asko. Breyer dolls don't work as nicely as those I have made by myself, so this looks a bit ridiculous, I think (and the doll was customized too long time ago, without any skill...).

Anyway. Did force Dreamy to wear a random thin halter that fits him. Hehe. He's perfect for this kind of art photos. (Now some serious photographers there rip their eyes off when they see my "art photos"... Hey, it's just a miniature studio!)

I think Dreamy is a easy horse, so it's just the look why he has chain around his chin.

Yea, the cheekpiece wasn't strong enough for the chain. Stronger halters can't be this flexible, I guess. Older paper-thin (thinned) leather, ha!

Me and the fact that I can't decide which of all places to focus is most important. So I take hundred photos of one thing to make sure I capture all needed.

Some of these got heavier editing to make them lighter. I personally am not a fan of heavy photo editing, after which people still call them just photos, since it's too different from what it was fresh from the camera.

And, as a nice (...?) plus, or bonus, some pics of Dreamy with Roz. And again, I can't focus on two things at same time.

Girl stares to the sky and holds a horse. Clever.

Please understand the fact that I'm Finnish and not the best Finn with English language. Many, MANY, hmmm most of Finns are much better in this than me. And I even don't care that much, only stupidest mistakes need to be corrected.

Artistic info:
I have no idea what was happening in those photos, when thinking in story way. I simply wanted to capture a moment from many angles, to photograph a nice horse while he has halter and rope on. So there's no story in these photos. Others then can have.

The dolls are a couple. Yea. And Roz is really good rider. Compared to her, Asko can't ride at all. Rider doll that can't ride, very ironic!

The halter and rope are older; but they work, so I use them in photos. OK. 

...

I also mention that I have nice stack of photo stories to blog. Be warned. My photo stories are far away from normal, it's a thing I know!

If any non-Finns read this blog, please give me some critique of these photo stories. Or, THOSE photo stories, since these random stacks aren't always them.