# Kind of OT: Chopping up Ponies



## GoslingFever (Jan 31, 2006)

I hope this is okay to share here... as a horse lover, I know many horse lovers collect Breyers. 
For those that don't know what a Breyer is, let me start at the beginning: There is such a thing as a Model Horse Hobby, where people collect plastic or resin horses. They show them in classes that mimic real horse shows. Competition in the plastic arenas can get just as fierce as it gets in real horse showing too.
Some people just like to keep them on a shelf. They are so pretty, after all. Others like to repaint their horses. Some people make tiny little accurate tack and riders. And some people like to cut their horses up. 
It's called Customizing. With that preamble out of the way, this is a commission, to make this Breyer Model Proud Arab Mare into an Arabian gelding.





























Plastic Surgery, anyone?










The mouth is heated and opened to allow room for my fingers to shape little teeth, a tongue, and gums.


















However, after looking through my reference photos of the real life horse, I found a pose that I really liked and his mouth is closed. No worries. TAPE!


















The Mummy Horse may work for a future creepy Halloween sculpture, hmmm.


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## GoslingFever (Jan 31, 2006)

__________ Wed Dec 03, 2014 7:30 pm __________ 

Now we get to the hard part.
The eyes.










Make them too big, they look weird. Make them too small, the face just isn't right.

And my problem with this model... I think I made the eyes sit more "in front" of the head, instead of the sides of the face.























































Yep. They need to be dropped down and slid over a bit. Going to have to Dremel them off and start over. Shucks!


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## gracielagata (Jun 24, 2013)

Oh my gosh! So you are making that from a Breyer?! Too cool. Of course, your title fo chopping up horses did have me wondering! I can't wait to see it finished!


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## weedlady (Sep 26, 2005)

I'm impressed with your work, but I must say, I find it kinda creepy. Just me I guess. I don't like dolls or clowns either, lol.
M


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## CJBegins (Nov 20, 2009)

I am so impressed with your skill. Would have never thought to customize a breyer.


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Now I'm really looking forward to the rest of the horse.


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## Classof66 (Jul 9, 2011)

I believe at one time the Breyer animals were made in Rockford, IL. My late S/O was a local truck driver and he had several. When my kids were little, they had a cow and calf sets, a Holstein and a Guernsey.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

I've seen people do all sorts of custom Barbies and My Little Ponies. (And done a few myself.) I didn't know they did Breyer horses too. Very cool!

Can you use spray paint on Breyers? It's an absolute no-no on My Little Ponies, you can only use acrylics. Spray paint does nasty things to the soft vinyl.


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## brody (Feb 19, 2009)

Very neat to see. Do share the finished product too please.


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## GoslingFever (Jan 31, 2006)

Thanks guys!  I will definitely update with photos soon. Right now this project is in rotation with a few other commissions so it has been slow going. 

gracielagata - indeed, from a Breyer! It's so fun to do 
Here is an example of another custom of mine:



























Classof66 that is so neat!! And nowadays, the old model bovine are quite the fad among the collector community. 

weedlady when the clowns look like this, I totally sympathize:









Cygnet I've seen some custom Barbie and MLPs too - incredible customs, I just love the creativity. Interesting about the vinyl surface!
Like the MLPs, Breyer's plastic is sensitive to the chemicals and although some sprays (like Fixitive) are used in the hobby, odd things can still happen. The plastic bubbling up, bunching, and tackiness are the major complaints. Customizers use brush-on acrylics, pastel powders, and oil paints.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

That donkey is fantastic!! I am very impressed!


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## gracielagata (Jun 24, 2013)

That is quite cool.


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

With MLPs, you can use RIT fabric dye to get the base color you want before you use acrylics for detail -- wonder if that would work on Breyers?

I've recently learned that the people who do custom BJD dolls use watercolor (prismacolor, derwent, etc) pencils on them. Been meaning to try that on a MLP and see how the plastic reacts.


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