Tales from the Body Box - South American Special!

Ever since reading Tschiffely's Ride I've been a fan of the Argentine criollo horse, but shockingly my collection has been lacking any custom finish models of them! I've got a Julip Mancha and Gato, as well as the Breyerfest classic-scale set of that same pair, but it was about time I got round to creating a Stablemate criollo for my mini herd.

The mould which seemed the most likely candidate in my body box was the relatively recent standing warmblood. The main change was removing the unicorn horn mine came with, but I also filed the original loose mane away - criollos are frequently hogged, whether working or in the showring; not quite the same low tight clipper-cut as you'd see on a hogged show cob or polo pony, but often left with an inch or so of spiky mane upright along the crest.

Of course, the colour I most wanted to do was the fascinating manchado pinto pattern, despite the fact it also seemed one of the most difficult to recreate realistically with paint, but I decided to be brave and go for it...

...and phew, it worked out ok!

I based the rough idea of the colour and pattern on the stallion in these stunning photos on Shutterstock, but decided against copying the markings patch by patch because that would've made painting needlessly complicated when it's not a portrait custom, just inspired by a good colour!

Looking very alert, and quite at home in this bit of scenery (which is secretly Ireland not Argentina, because it came out of a Breyer Connemara box!)

I think this mould makes a pretty good basis for the criollo breed, despite being intended as a warmblood. Oddly, it's listed on Identify Your Breyer as the 'warmblood stallion', but all mine are mares so far (I have an OF from last year's horse & foal sets, and these clear bodies from the Paint Your Own Suncatcher Unicorn set), so unless there's two versions, I think that's just a mistake on the site.

Although she seems finished already, I had further plans for this custom, and did my first ever piece of Stablemate scale tack making! 

I don't think I'd have much success trying to work real or fake leather at such a tiny scale, buckles and keepers and all, but criollo halters and bridles are made with plaited rawhide, leather, or cord, and so I was able to do a tiny version with plaited embroidery thread, damped down with glue to prevent any fluffy edges.

I think this last shot will be her future show photo, whenever I've managed to give her a name.

Next up, and keeping in the same continent, this time it's my first ever Peruvian Paso custom! Yes, really - I've done quite a few of the G2 Paso Fino, but this is the first ever G3 Peruvian Paso to have found his way to my body box. It was a lovely little mould to work with, and I wish I'd got round to painting some years ago!

I went with the colour I've always had in mind for him, a rich golden-brown sooty/smutty palomino, based on some lovely reference pictures I saw ages ago but regrettably didn't save a copy or a link for. The closest I could find on the second time of hunting was this beautiful boy, so I based my paint mixing on him but used different markings, as again this is an 'inspired by' rather than a direct portrait paintjob.

I'm so pleased with how he turned out! I'll readily admit that these are the kinds of colours I find hardest to paint, something about the blending and shading of tans into richer browns or dark points is incredibly difficult to get looking smooth and natural, and it's taken me years to have any turn out in a convincing and tidy way.

At this point I thought I'd done enough South American breeds for a while, and ought to vary it a bit, but no, for some reason the creative whisper in the back of my mind kept on suggesting that the criollo needed a friend more than I needed more breeds ticked off my painted list, and so that's what happened - meet manchado criollo number two!

This one's a bit darker, based on the common dun colour of the breed, but mottled and mixed into the distinctive white markings, splodgy spotting, and roaning. 

  

Again, the mould had a little alteration, this time I had to add a little resculpted milliput mane along the crest, and for the tuft traditionally left long at the shoulders. I wonder if it's used for the rider to grip, a bit like jockeys and XC riders will rub out a few plaits so there's loose mane to grab in an emergency, or how I used to jump a particularly spring-loaded barrel of a pony when I was a teen, wrapping one hand into her big fluffy thelwell mane as an anchor for when she inevitably put in a cat-leap twice the height of the poles and would've launched me independently over them if I hadn't been holding on!

This poor SM body had also seen better days when it arrived with me, missing one ear & one leg entirely, and with another leg sellotaped to it's side. The repairs aren't perfect, and the reason the forelock and tail ended up a bit bulked up - to cover and strengthen the joins!

 

This one also has a little braided halter, and I think I'll use the final photo with it as her display and show picture.

Lots of very fiddly plaiting went into these, but I think they were worth the extra time they took, making the little models look finished, and helping to emphasise their breed, seeing as these two were sculpted as warmblood and stock horse originally.