Excitement!

About half an hour or so ago the Copperfox Model Horses Shop opened for pre-ordering of the new Copperfox models!

I have anxiously been waiting for this as I am really interested in this brand of model horses from what I have seen in pictures (I have yet to see them in person). There where several of the models that I would've loved to have Cadno, Fabio and Sovereign where high up on the list (even though I wouldn't mind owning one of each of the 11 models!). Bertie was also one I really liked but he is only available at the tour events.

Anyway I had a hard decision ahead of me as I could only afford one model.

I followed my heart and decided to order Finnigan! He was the first one I saw and as I adore chestnut horses (and warmbloods) I think that my mind was set from the beginning :) I have yet to see an OF model horse with my preferred shade of chestnut but Finnigan is looking VERY promising and I can't wait to see him in hand!

I am beyond exciting to have one of these models coming as I see so many options for him! He will be shown in halter so I need to figure out a name for him and a colour scheme because I have plans (long-term :p) to show this guy in performance where I can see him in several classes, Show jumping, eventing, gymkhana, OH the possibilities! I can't wait :)

Old picture, just because I hate pictureless posts and because performance ideas!

Brego

I got the chance to take out the mini Haggis I painted last year, to take some more "proper" photos as the only photos I have of him are bad and taken indoors in bad lightning. He also got himself a new name. He used to be called Brigand but the name never really struck me as being THE name for him (I just gave it to him as I was to show him and I can't stand showing models as "unnamed"). 

Lately I've been watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy over and over again or at least have had it on in the background while doing other things, like cleaning and studying (which reminds me, I actually passed the anesthesia exam!). And I got reminded of the name Brego. I think it's a beautiful name and it seems so regal (which I always thought about the big draft breeds like Clydesdales and Shires) so I think it suits him to a t. So from now on his name will be Brego.

A few more photos of Brego can be seen on my Facebook page. Which you should be able to access even if you don't have a facebook account :)

Study break

Anesthesia exam tomorrow or not I've studied so much the last days weeks that I decided to just do a small repetition round and then leave it. Wish me luck tomorrow, I will need it :)

Anyway I rewarded myself with some soothing sculpting work 

The Andalusian got his mane and forelock done (details to the braids will be done during prepping). Tail still to be done.

The Warmblood also got his mane and forelock done (details to the braids will be done during prepping). He is now ready for prepping and primer and then paint!

The to-be fjord got her mane today, inspired by this. And she also got her forelock done.

Here is the entire gang! (I apologize for the messy desk). I now have 3 tails to sculpt, one tail to attach and then it's on to prepping and priming :)

My barn

Seeing all the model barns pop up in my blogfeed a while ago makes me want one too!

I do have a barn but it was never made for my Breyers. My grandfather made it for me when I was younger and collected Grand Champions, so it's actually made for them (which makes it too small for traditional size Breyers).

My grandfather suffered from ALS and my mother asked him if he could make a really simple barn for me (partly because I wanted one and partly because he needed something he could do to pass time during the days as he, due to an older injury, couldn't work). The thing is my grandfather kind of left the "simple" part out. I had imagined 4 walls and two stalls. Well, i got that, and so much more!

Unfortunately I don't have any good pictures of it so these will have to do. When I get it out (which probably won't be for a while yet) I'll take some better pictures of it! Because it is really wonderful and detailed

Imperia in front of the stable

The barn features working double doors on one side and a working, single door at the other side. The outside is made out of square pieces of wood that my grandfather carved to make them more rounded, to give it an old, rustic look (almost like a log house-look). It also has a working "door" from the outside into the hayloft (at the same side as the double doors).

Fuego in one of the stalls

He also gave it a removable roof and a removable hayloft with an opening for the stairs. The hayloft is not seen in the picture above because, if I remember correctly, Fuego got a tad to tall to have it on when taking this photo.

Butterfly in one of the stalls

The barn features two stalls and a small storage space (the storage space is on the other side of the whole stall wall which you see in the picture below). Both of the stalls feature working stall doors and wall-mounted cribs. The stalls also have one small window each. There is also two windows on the opposite side.

Question outside the stalls

Outside the stalls there is room to tie up a horse and there are also stairs to the hayloft. And the space under the stairs are perfect for storing boxes or maybe lockers with equipment or tack.

Zahrat and Sadeek in the stall

Between the two stalls my grandfather even made bars so that the horses can see, but not hurt each other.

A quick, not in scale sketch I did of the lay out to give you a better overview than my less then optimal photos.

My grandfather didn't stop at just the stable. He made me a mini stable, for my small grand champions (about the sizes of Breyer's Micro minis). It was not as detailed as the big one but it features a lot of stalls, all with working doors, working doors and a removable roof. And besides that he also made several smaller things to go with the barn (the big one), he made me two pastures (I'm not sure these would be called small things) which would work great as a small pen for a horse that has been injured and are not allowed out with the others. He made a wheelbarrow, with a working wheel, a small doghouse, some smaller garden tools, like a hand rake, shovel and an axe. He also made me two wagons (one of them was a covered wagon kind of like these).

My grandfather is not with us anymore but I will always remember him and appreciate all of the things he made for me. And I bet that if he would've still been with us when I discovered the model horse hobby he would've been my "partner in crime" creating different kinds of jumps and props!

Organizers

I got a small package in the mail today. And it contained my new organizing solution for my pastels. I have been looking for some small jars so that I can shave down my pastels and store them like a powder as that will make things easier for when I will use them.

I was so happy when I found these (at an okey price too!) jars that are stored in an acrylic box. That way it will be easy to keep track of the pastels and easy to bring with me if I need!

The jars are just the perfect size and they are exactly what I was looking for so I am very pleased :)

I can't wait until I can put my pastels in them! But that will be for another day, I have a huge exam on Thuesday and two presentations, one tomorrow and one on Friday so I won't have time to do that for a while... Oh well... At least the subject is really interesting, but it won't be easy so back to the anesthesia studies.

The Story Behind The Model

Back in the fall of 2012 I was working a lot to save money for when I'd begin studying. I worked all hours I could get and even managed to save some money for hobby funds. So I decided to treat myself with a little more expensive model from my wishlist.

Chester VS

I put out a wanted ad for some models on a Swedish model horse mailing list and soon got an answer from a Swedish artist. She didn't have any of the specific models I wanted but since most of them were Eberl Warmbloods she wrote to me as she had another Eberl Warmblood for sale.

The Warmblood in question was an Eberl Caitano resin that the artist had painted in a beautiful bay sabino with one blue eye. I had seen him before (I believe at a liveshow but also in pictures) and I liked him. I was also a little drawn in by the fact that he had proved to be competitive in the showring.

So even though he wasn't one I was looking for, I couldn't turn him down. The seller was very generous so I got to pay him in two time payments (I could afford him but it would be a tough month if I bought him directly so I thought it best to divided it in two).

I got his pedigree with him as well so I didn't have to name him! His name was Chester VS and it just suited him too well to change!

Champion at a liveshow

I have never ever regretted buying this boy even though he wasn't on my wishlist, he is a piece of art on the shelf and makes me happy every time I see him and at shows he usually does rather well! I love this horse!

Champion reserve at another show

Now on facebook

I have now created a facebook page for my blog! I will not stop blogging as I much prefer it to facebook but I will use facebook as a complement to this blog!

I plan to use the facebook page mostly to keep track of and interact with all the great artists and hobby people out there who showcase their work or collections on fb. I also plan to post pictures from shows and such on there since I always take more pictures at shows than I can post on my blog. Pictures of my collection, new additions and my hobby related endeavors will of course also be shown there :)

At the moment there is not a whole lot up on my page but hopefully I'll have something interesting to show in a not too distant future :)

Small progress

I can only squeeze in very small sessions of work at the moment so I won't have very much to show.

I finished the forelock on the Paso mare so now she only needs her tail done.

The para-dressage horse got some fetlock hair so now I only have her mane and tail left to sculpt.

And the morgan got a braided forelock.

Manes

I managed some more work today, only on two of the horses though :)

The morgan's right ear is now fixed with apoxie and I gave him a braided mane. I also had to fix his private parts as they, some how, had been smashed. He now only needs his forelock and tail before prepping and priming!

The paso mare got a long flowing mane and the beginning of a forelock. The mane needs a bit more detailing put that will be done in the prepping stages so now all she needs is the rest of her forelock and to have her tail attached.

This picture is only to give you an idea of what she will look like when she's done :)

Ears and parts

My little customs are coming along. Today they got their ears and private parts :) With some help and good advice from Laura Skillern's tutorials.

My little to-be-fjord decided that she wanted to be a mare so aside from new ears she got her "lady parts"

The Warmblood finally got some work done so now he got ears and he is now a gelding.

When looking at the picture it seems like she hasn't gotten any work done but the Paso mare got "lady parts" as well.

The andalusian got some work done to even out his profile as Briar, who he will be a portrait model of, has quite a straight, almost convex face. He also got his private parts so he is now a stallion

I had a little trouble with the Morgan's right ear. I glued them on a few days ago and today I added apoxie to blend them into the model and to strengthen so that the ears would stay on safely. The thing is that his right ear snapped of where I had glued it so I had to glue it in place again. Hopefully I'll finish his ear soon so that I can get on with his mane and forelock. The morgan-to-be-hackney is now a gelding.

My next plan for the models is fetlock hair, mane and forelock for the para-dressage horse and mane and forelock for the rest. And of course the right ear for the morgan.

After that they will need their tails and a good round of prepping and priming but that will probably have to wait until I am off for Easter break as I have a very intense course in school at the moment and won't have a lot of time for anything but eating, sleeping and studying! I'll barely have time to breathe!

More stars

A while ago I got the qualification cards that my model earned at the last live show I went to. That means that some of my models climbed a bit higher in the chase for the star cards. I really want to see if I can reach a Gold Certificate and if I do, with what horse.

Ancient Gold is the model I own with the most cards at the moment. He earned all of them in different live shows. He is almost halfway to a gold certificate! 

Model name	Qualification cards
Ancient Gold	7
Royal's Mexican Heat	6
Sunny Side N	6
White Phantom	6
Bocelli	5
Chocolate	5
Epsilon	5
Lord	5
Milda	5
Shaniqua	5
Athame	4
Illusions Fade Away	4
Imperia	4
Since You Don't Love Me	4
Acuatico	3
Deja Vu	3
Fallen Warrior	3
Fuego	3
Kiss of an Angel	3
Verdict	3
"Takoda"	2
AR Brigadör	2
Belize	2
Black Pepper	2
Chester VS	2
Diamond	2
Farasha	2
Gemini	2
Helios	2
Lotus	2
Qarneval	2
R. Peppermint	2
Remembrance	2
Silver Echo (In The News)	2
Troublemaker	2
A Star Is Born	1
Bailey	1
Bellini of Decorima	1
Brigand	1
Carmen	1
Charisma	1
Colibri Daughter	1
Daydreamer N	1
Dixi	1
Dunbar Prince	1
Liten	1
Lost All Hope	1
Lovely	1
Northern Lights	1
Pharao	1
Royal's Frozen Hope	1
Shabha	1
Shot In The Dark	1
Swaps cm "Amulette"	1
Symphony D	1
Treasure	1
Viking	1
Zahrat	1

The ones written in a kind of bronzey colour (or whatever) are the ones that I have enough cards for to send in for a bronze certificate and will keep showing with the hopes to earn "higher" certificates! The ones written in red are the ones I will probably not actively try to earn certificates for. The ones written in green are models that I actively will try to earn certificates with.