New YouTube video: All of my Custom Stablemates!

Hi Magicians,
I just posted a detailed tour of all my custom Stablemates!  It was a requested video, and a lot of fun to make.  Enjoy!  :)
~Miniature_Magic

New Video ~ Breyer Stablemates English Play Set Box Opening and Review

I just put up a new video on YouTube - it's a review of the Breyer Stablemates English Playset.  I had a lot of fun unboxing and reviewing this awesome set!  Blue roans and palominos are so pretty~

New Breyer Stablemates unboxing and review up on YouTube!

Hey Magicians!  I just uploaded a new unboxing and review video of three Breyer Stablemates painting kits to my YouTube channel!

In this video, I'll show you two of the Paint & Play kits, the Spirit Paint & Play 3-piece assortment, and the Paint Your Own Farm kit.  Exciting stuff!

Yay! Stablemates Collection Tour 2017 is up on YouTube!

Hi Magicians!
Here it is...the moment you've been waiting for...my 2017 Breyer Stablemates Collection Tour is up on YouTube!  So sit back, get comfy, and enjoy a tour of all the residents of Thor Creek Stables!

I've been trying to put together a collection tour for about two years now, but each time I tried, the technical difficulty of taking all those photos, stringing them together, and labeling them had me beat.  Now that I've finally got some skills in miniature photography, and I've learned how to edit videos, it was a snap!
It still took forever, just because of the sheer number of animals (I believe the exact number is 125, including the non-horse Stablemates).  I was pleasantly surprised at how many names I was able to remember!

Anyway, thank you for watching - I hope you enjoyed the tour, and, as always, hit me up in the comments or at modelhorsemagic@gmail.com.
 Have a great day!

~Miniature_Magic

Stablemates Conga Lines (Collection Tour Teaser!!)

Hey Magicians!!
So, I haven't posted on this blog for a while, which is a cryin' shame but couldn't be helped because of school.  I've also been focusing on my other blog, the doll workshop one, so I've been ignoring my model horses.  But, I had a day off from school yesterday, so I went through my whole Stablemates collection, remembered all their names, and moved them to a new shelf, conga-line style.
So, I thought my lovely readers (all 2 of them) would enjoy some photos of my Stablemates conga lines - with the promise that I will be releasing a full collection tour video (WITH NAMES) to my YouTube channel as soon as school allows.  Woo-hoo!
Until then, here are the pictures.
Scroll, and enjoy!
~Miniature_Magic
P.S. Got a question/comment/video request?  Hit me up at modelhorsemagic@gmail.com!

DIY: Extreme Stablemates resculpt tutorial and results!

Hey Magicians!
So, a while ago I started to work on a resculpt of an unpainted Stablemates G3 Tennessee Walker from the high step to a rear/prance dual pose.  The resculpt took ages, but I documented it with photos and then strung them together into a video.  Here it is:

Just in case you need a quick recap, here are the steps:

Materials:

• Stablemates G3 Tennessee Walker mare
• Fine-grit sandpaper
• X-Acto knife
• Razor blade
• Boiling water
• Hot glue gun
• Superglue
• Wire
• Air-dry clay
• Toothpick
• Old paintbrush
• White acrylic paint and a working paintbrush

Step 1: Break off the tail.

Step 2: Sand the rump smooth.

Step 3:  Use a razor blade to weaken the back leg at the knee.  Watch your fingers!

Step 4: Snap off the back leg where you weakened it.

Step 5: Sand the end of the back leg smooth.

Step 6: Use the razor blade to carve out a deep notch at the upper back of the other hind leg.

Step 7: Continue carving until you have a deep groove circling the upper leg.

Step 8: Boil some water.  Ask an adult for help if you're little.

Step 9: Use tongs to dip the horse in.  Let her soak for 30 seconds, then pull her out.  While the plastic is still hot, hold the horse in a dishtowel and break off the leg at the weak part.  If it doesn't break at first, put her back in the water and try again until it does.  You should now have two broken-off legs.

Step 10:  Carve a notch behind the hoof of each broken-off legs.  Carve another notch behind the knee of the longer leg piece.  Repeat the hot-water procedure, but this time just bend the plastic, don't break it.  Be careful!  Bend the hooves back.  Bend the longer piece back at the knee.  If it breaks, don't worry.

Step 11:  Hot-glue the longer leg piece back onto the hip, but angle it back more. You may need to sand down the top.

Step 12:  Hot-glue the other leg pieces into the position shown below.  The horse won't be able to stand yet.

Step 13:  Use the tip of the X-Acto knife to drill a hole where the tail used to be.
Step 14: Cut a 5-inch piece of wire, hot-glue one end into the hole, and bend it so the horse can stand.  This is the tail armature.
Step 15:  Weaken and break off the straight front leg the same way you did for the back legs.
Step 16:  Cut a notch behind the knee. Weaken and break off the hoof just below the fetlock.
Step 17: Use the hot-water method to bend this front leg back at the knee.
Step 18:  Sand the upper leg remnant (shoulder).  Drill a hole in the front with the X-Acto knife.
Step 19: Drill another hole in the bigger end of the broken-off, bent front leg.
Step 20: Glue another piece of wire into the hole in the shoulder, trim it, and glue the other end into the hole in the bent front leg, thus reattaching the leg.  Push the leg into the position shown below.

Step 21: Hot-glue the hoof back on, angled down.  Sand the joint smooth.

Step 22: Start filling in holes and cracks with air-dry clay.  Use an old, wet paintbrush to smooth and blend the clay.
Step 23: Sculpt the base of the tail, covering the hot glue.
Step 24: Cover the tail armature with a clay snake.  Make sure all the wire is covered!
Step 25: Add body to the tail by sticking on more clay snakes, tapered at the ends.
Step 26: Carve the hair on the tail with a toothpick.  This part is tricky!  Take your time.  Use an old, stiff paintbrush to smooth the clay and get rid of crumbs.
Step 27:  As the clay, dries, it might crack.  Fill any cracks or breaks with superglue.

Step 28: Add a thin coat of white acrylic paint to prime the surface and fill small cracks.
You're finished with the sculpt!  Now you can paint her as desired!
Here's the photo gallery showing off what I did, but you can choose any color you like (bear in mind that etching is probably a bad idea).

Enjoy your newly-resculpted horse!

Breyer Product Review: Stablemates American Pharaoh

Here's a quick review of the Stablemates American Pharaoh model horse.

I think it's great that Breyer makes portrait horses not only in the big sizes but also at the Stablemates scale.  This is a particularly cool model, since American Pharaoh was the first horse in 37 years to win a Triple Crown!  The Stablemates portrait horse is gorgeous, too - just like the real horse!
The only complaint I might make is that, while American Pharaoh is a stallion, the mold used for the portrait horse is a mare.
However, it's a lovely and dynamic mold, the conformation is of course correct for a Thoroughbred, and the paint job is accurate.
Altogether, I would definitely recommend this model for anyone who has an interest in racing or even just wants a pretty model horse!