The Planet Stablemates Project, Part 2: Complete!

 Hi Magicians!
Wow, it's been just over a year since I started this project and posted about it here and on YouTube.  It's taken me this long to finish it because a) grad school has been consuming my life force like a vampire and b) I didn't have my painting supplies in the UK.  I started the project while over there, using Pebeo Studio Acrylics, but quickly discovered that they aren't opaque or matte enough to make for good model painting (they are great for canvas and paper, though).  My usual horse paints, DecoArt Americana craft acrylics, were all back in the US, so I had to wait until I was able to come home to finish the project.  As soon as I got back, I rushed to finish everything, and now I'm ready to share the results!

I named the horses after their planets, but using the Greek names instead.  The only exception is Uranus, since that's the only planet named after a Greek god instead of a Roman one - so I used the Roman name (Caelus) instead.

1.  PSP Hermes (Mercury): Rose grey Arabian

Hermes is the least similar to his reference photo.  I think I painted him a bit too dark, but I'm still pleased with the outcome.

2. PSP Aphrodite (Venus): Fire chestnut Appaloosa Peruvian Paso

I had to use boiling water and pliers to fix the lifted leg, since it was bent outwards.  It took awhile, but I'm glad I did it before painting!

3. PSP Gaia (Earth): Dapple grey pinto Tennessee Walking Horse

Gaia took the longest out of all of them, because all her dapples are painted by hand!

4.  PSP Selene (Earth's Moon): Dapple grey scrambling foal

Now that I've made the Moon, I'm tempted to make a Sun horse as well.  But at the rate I'm going, it'll take me another year!

5. PSP Ares (Mars): Fire chestnut mosaic chimera Mustang

I'm not sure if this color actually exists in real life - chimera horses are super rare and the only reference images I could find were all black/bays.  I went out on a limb here because I knew it would look cool!

6. PSP Zeus (Jupiter): Bay silver dapple Andalusian 

I've never painted a silver dapple before, so Zeus was a learning experience.  I really love his feet.  I usually just do black hooves, or shell-colored hooves for white feet, so it was fun to do something different this time.  

7. PSP Kronos (Saturn): Splashed white cremello pinto Andalusian

Kronos was the quickest to paint, but he's one of my favorites.  I especially like his blue eyes, even though they're maybe a little creepy.

8. PSP Caelus (Uranus):  Blue roan pinto rearing Andalusian

I tried out a new technique here, using removable masking fluid to cover the white areas so that I wouldn't have to repaint them after flicking on the roaning, and it worked great!  When I was finished, I just peeled off the mask, which was also super satisfying.  Pro tips :)

9. PSP Poseidon (Neptune):  Blue taffy Friesian  

Poseidon is the one horse that I mostly finished in the UK.  You can see that the studio acrylics created a beautiful blended effect on his body and legs, but it took way longer to get here than it would have if I'd been able to use my regular paints.

9. PSP Hades (Pluto):  Liver bay few-spot Appaloosa standing foal

Hades is so cute that the fact he's named after the god of the underworld is kind of hilarious.  I gave him a 'medicine hat' (dark marking on top of the head/ears); horses with these markings are believed by some Native American tribes to have the magical power to protect their riders.

And here they all are together: 

How did I do?  What should I do next? 

As always, feel free to comment below or email me at modelhorsemagic@gmail.com. If you like doll sewing, customizing, and restoration, my other blog is the New Life Doll Hospital and Miniature Workshop.  And don't forget to check out my YouTube channel, Miniature_Magic, for unboxings, collection tours, DIY tutorials, and more! 
Bye Magicians!
~Miniature_Magic

The Planet Stablemates Project, Part 1: I'm Back!

Hi Magicians!

Yikes, I've been gone for a looooong time. The last couple of years have been really busy.  I'm studying aerospace engineering and was finishing up my Bachelor's degree last year.  This year was even crazier because I've moved abroad for two Master's degrees. So I'm currently in Scotland, and my access to anything Breyer is extremely limited!  Needles to say, I have had almost no time for art, and certainly not enough time to get into my favorite sorts of super-involved customs and restoration projects.

That's not gonna stop me, though!  I've got a bit of time, so I'm going to try and get back to posting as often as I can.  I really miss this, and model horses are still a huge passion for me, so don't worry...I'm not going anywhere!

I've put a few videos up on my channel, but I'd like to take this post to announce the project that I'll be working on for the next few posts.  I've decided to call it the Planet Stablemates Project.

Here's the basic idea: since I'll be getting an MSc in Astronautics and Space Engineering next year, I thought it would be cool to paint a series of custom Stablemates inspired by our solar system!  So, one for each planet.  Plus a foal for the Moon, and a foal for Pluto (sorry, Pluto...you'll always be a full-size planet in our hearts, though.)

The coloration of each of the planets is so beautiful.  I've done some research and was actually able to find some real horse colors that match each of the planets quite well!  So I've planned out the series by first deciding which coat color each of the planet horses will have...

Planet Stablemates Project: The Colors

Mercury: Rose Grey

(Images: Mercury and Rose Grey Horse)

Venus: Fire Chestnut Appaloosa

(Images: Venus and Chestnut Appaloosa Horse)

Earth: Steely Dapple Grey Pinto

(Images: Earth and Steely Dapple Grey Horse)

Earth's Moon: Dapple Grey Foal

(Images: Earth's Moon and Dapple Grey Foal)

Mars: Fire Chestnut Chimera (Mosaic)

(Images: Mars, Fire Chestnut Horse, Chimera Horse)

Jupiter: Bay Silver Dapple

(Images: Jupiter, Bay Silver Dapple Horse)

Saturn: Splashed White Cremello pinto

(Images: Saturn, Splashed White Cremello Pinto Horse)

Uranus: Blue Roan Pinto

(Images: Uranus, Blue Roan Pinto Horse)

Neptune: Blue Taffy

(Images: Neptune, Blue Taffy Horse)

Pluto (Dwarf Planet): Liver Bay Few-Spot Appaloosa Foal

(Images: Pluto, Liver Bay Few-Spot Appaloosa Horse)

Planet Stablemates Project: The Models

Unfortunately, I can't order direct from Breyer here in Scotland.  And, since Breyer isn't popular over here in the UK, I also don't have many options on eBay or Vinted.  Amazon only had two painting kits available (Fantasy Horses Paint & Play and Colorful Breeds Paint & Play), so I bought both.  Serendipitously, the number of horses in both kits combined is PERFECT to complete the project.  So, I've also decided which of the molds each of the planets will be on (All images from Identify Your Breyer):

Mercury: G3 Walking Arabian (From Fantasy Horses Paint & Play kit)

Venus: G3 Peruvian Paso (From Fantasy Horses Paint & Play kit)

Earth: G3 Tennessee Walking Horse (From Colorful Breeds Paint & Play kit)

Earth's Moon: G2 scrambling foal (From Fantasy Horses Paint & Play kit)

Mars: G4 Rivet (From Fantasy Horses Paint & Play kit)

Jupiter: G4 Andalusian Stallion (From Fantasy Horses Paint & Play kit)

Saturn: G2 Andalusian (From Colorful Breeds Paint & Play kit)

Uranus: G3 Rearing Andalusian (From Colorful Breeds Paint & Play kit)

Neptune: G3 Friesian (From Colorful Breeds Paint & Play kit)

Pluto (Dwarf Planet): G3 standing foal (From Colorful Breeds Paint & Play kit)

You can see the video of me unboxing the models and talking about the project here:

As always, feel free to comment below or email me at modelhorsemagic@gmail.com. If you like dolls and doll restoration, my other blog is the New Life Doll Hospital and Miniature Workshop.  And don't forget to check out my YouTube channel, Miniature_Magic, for unboxings, collection tours, DIY tutorials, and more! 

Bye Magicians!

~Miniature_Magic