Why do I have rider dolls

I got this idea to my head when I read the Braymere Custom Saddlery blog just to use some time. I have read those same posts so many times before, but it didn't matter, they are too good to skip. This time the thing were dolls and how to use them, and why they make everything better.

Offhand, one of my best dolls, on Lacey.

It is very true: dolls make everything better, and everyone needs some. Most people who talk about dolls in the hobby are those who also do performance showing, which kind of explains most of it. It also is why so many dolls there are customized to ride better and have more fitting clothes. The Breyer factory dolls are a bit weird and don't really complement those top level art horses. 

While I read those posts and agreed to what was said, I remembered what happened when I got my first Breyer dolls: the whole modelverse scene thing exploded, it came to life! I remember the feeling when I had none and felt like I needed at least something that could use the tack I had just started to make for my horses. I could even call it desperation. So, when the two guys came, I didn't bother to even resculpt their heads before I tested how they could ride. I removed their clothes and tested how far all the joints bent, put them on everything's back. I (and my brother) bent them to stupid poses just for the amusement of it. Then I put their clothes back on and took some scene photos. It was the magic. 

These photos also show some of my oldest traditional tack. It was made from jewellery materials.

I want to mention one thing. Since I never thought I could have more dolls than those two rat guys, I wanted them to have moving eyes. That meant I painted some oversized beads and never glued them to place. The pupils got painted around the hole in the bead, so I was able to move them easily by tucking a wire or a pin into it.

Asko on the left, Omar on the right. These guys got new versions around 2019.

So, to deliver the message and main point of this post, I can just say I couldn't enjoy my horses as much if I did't have dolls. Those first ones were only customized from their heads, and otherwise they were those cringey factory dolls, but that didn't matter. I still enjoyed the fact that I now had something to use as horseowners and riders. 

That was it until late 2016. I had considered about buying more dolls for customizing, but unfortunately they could cost a lot and I couldn't be sure what I wanted the most and if I even could succeed with the resculptings and hairings, let alone give them tails (I prefer animal dolls over humans). That is why I tested if I can make a doll entirely by myself, using wire and clay. I hated the fact that I had to use wire and leave it visible for joints (and necks), but compromises are like that. It's a bit similar to how I designed the "mouthpieced" functioning bits I now can't live without (unless it's a hackamore, haha). It may not look the best but the function is what matters the most, so it will stay.

This was the second homemade doll. The first one didn't get many progress photos, I think.

I was surprised by how easy it actually was, or at least felt. But first attempts are often like that... The next ones weren't so good, though some were nicer than others. I used silk clay and foam clay, and then leather or some fabric for paws and tails (depending from the animal species). Eyes were beads which I glued to place and painted. 

My dolls are still ugly and anatomically stupid, but they can ride. 

Little Damage the domestic rat dude, and Maksi.

And I never wanted them to ride naked! I want clothes for them, and I wonder if there could be a technique to craft them boots without gluing them permamently on... But because I am incredibly dumb with especially textiles and can't sew, I haven't tried after a few fails (the first dolls got some really poor garments on, then I gave up). I tried to design trousers very recently, using a Breyer doll as a victim, and eventually came to the conclusion that I just can't process how that is done. Cloth designers are wizards, I guess. So Kave is a wizard then, since she sewed up some pants for one of my dolls and they seem perfect and comfy. 

One thing I need dolls for are definitely scenes. I like to study balance points and dynamics with them, as absurd as it may sound. (I have also studied bit functions with my moving bits; not that they could be totally accurate.) And, I can think about scenes and photos which could make zero sense if there was no doll, like those where the rider falls off. Their hands and legs play a big role for sure. So do their facial expressions.

Offhand and his twin sister Grievous.

I also like to cook up horse and rider pairs especially because of the variety in (my) dolls. Is the rider anatomically able to ride well? What sized horses do they require? Is that one an adult pony rider? Weirdly enough, I've found out that especially one of my dolls is a total western rider. I just can't make him look believable if he tries to do English, even if everything was as good as required. He just doesn't look natural if he doesn't hold reins in just one hand, for example. 

Anelma is way too small for her horse... But I bought the horse because he matched to one I saw in a dream, and Anelma should represent his owner who also appeared in it. I never wanted to make her so short, but things happen.

Sometimes I sculpt a doll with the idea that it does not NEED to be a good rider, or anatomically as symmetric as possible. It may sound dumb, but sometimes I need to allow that kind of mess for myself. I'm not able to make them symmetric enough anyway even if I tried my best, so most of my dolls don't know how to ride in full balance (if that makes any sense). And of course it goes so that when I don't care to make the doll perfectly, it rides better than I wanted it to. Meanwhile I made one as a dressage rider, and he is anatomically so bad that he should rather THINK he knows how to ride, since he is physically so bad. 

Kammo, the "professional" dressage rider in question. His facial expression is just as toxic as his personality.

I haven't made new dolls in a couple years now. That is because I want to stop using the wire only, and could test some ball joints and related, to see if it could work and possibly give them a longer life. They could also make it easier to change clothes between dolls, or dress and undress them in general. Ball joints I have thought to make by gluing a bead to a wire. Clay could do the rest, and some plastic film. I have yet to test that, of course, and I do not expect it to go well, honestly. 

I do not show, so that is not my motive for anything. I just happen to be obsessed with many things seen in this hobby, and that includes the fact that I like to cook up scenes and moments in time. These scenes then form stories. Of course, if I only wanted stories, I could just write and maybe draw. That just is not enough to me, so I use miniatures to get a step closer to knowing how things could and should really be. (As I said, I have studied tack functions and balance and all with these things. I could know nothing about saddle anatomy and fitting neither if I didn't start to make some.) 

Valtti the housecat and Roope.

I simply want to have dolls for the sake of them being dolls. They are characters, and they do so much.

Value vs. use, part 1.

I now try to find words for one phenomenon which I have pondered a lot about. (So the following writing is mostly just thought flood for the sake of thinking. There is no need to get angry, in case the reader disagrees with me.) If you have an expensive or rare model, and are afraid of tacking it up or traveling with it due to fear of damage... Is it worth owning?

I may be at least the third owner of this model. And he will remain as is.

Not sure if that helped. I really do have this thing in mind, but no words for it, seemingly. So, are limited editions or very special runs used in performance showing or just tacked up at home? Basically, are they used like some RRs? If not, why so? 

Now, I need to define what I count as "use" of a model horse: Tacking up, showing, photographing, taking it to the outdoors, traveling with it, handling it a lot. Only keeping it in a shelf doesn't count as use from my angle. 

I personally* think that a model "goes to waste" if I can't use it. So I don't feel the need for a model which can just sit on a shelf because I can't or don't dare to touch it, maybe for the fear of paint damage, dominoing, or whatever else. Okay, I can explain this by saying I have a limited space to use, and I don't want to impulse buy anything. 

* This, if anything, means that I am not against if someone else is afraid of tacking up or handling a model, and only keeps it in a shelf or show in 'halter' classes. Not everyone is into tackmaking, scene photos, shows, and so on... I know there are many who only want to collect the horses as is. I simply have found out that I myself need not only the horses but also the tack and dolls and related to enjoy this hobby fully. 

I've been as careful as possible with that chain - it is there for story (modelverse) excuses.

What is the point in owning a model so fragile that you don't dare to even look at it because everything could cause damage to it? I may not own anything super rare or special run models, but that doesn't mean I could not in the future.

At the same time there is a discrepancy called customs. People make custom models specifically to tack them up for shows, to which they have to travel, of course. Customs can often be way more fragile that factory models, plus are always one of a kind type. So why are people afraid of using a factory model but not a custom? The latter took way more work to become a piece, after all. Is it the fact that the factory model could lose its collectibility value if damaged badly enough and then fixed? Some people fix old models to their original look and specialize in that. It is a thing both with factory and custom models. 

An original sculpture made from some fragile airdry clay which nobody in the hobby will recommend.

Jennifer Buxton once wrote about the fact that maybe model horse people should be more accepting when it comes to damage risks caused by traveling. I agree with her - if you use a model, you are stressing it, and this can cause some wearing out. It comes naturally. And let's be honest, things can go downhill even if you just keep the horse as a shelf model who doesn't get tacked up or anything. Just take it off from its place in the shelf, knock your hand accidentally somewhere and oops - the model can fall! Dangers are everywhere! 

So why to waste it by overprotecting it? It's not worth it. I could carefully assume that show damages are way less common than there are show trips or participating models. (This comes from someone who has never traveled or showed with their models. Feel free to correct me with facts if I assume wrongly.)

Tripworthy, my Braymere giveaway marwari.

It is a dilemma. I like to adopt used OF models which are slightly damaged (ear tips, rubs here and there), exactly because I will not make them worse if something happens. At the same time I also look for really damaged models to use them as customizing victims. And what comes to my customs and their paintjobs... Well, I have still used them just like those OFs, too, and so far so good. 

I have noticed that the used materials and paints matter, when it comes to making models sturdy and damage-proof. Of course nothing is really damage-proof, but it can be bettered to some degree. I have no experience about anything Krylon so I can't compare it to Vallejo, which is the best sealer I've found so far. And I mean, my customs with some worse finish have suffered paint damage (bit glues/tapes rip paint off) while the ones with Vallejo have not. The bits have been attached with the same materials on both and the girths have been tightened to same degree as well, of course. The only issue I find with Vallejo is the fact that it doesn't dry exactly smooth. I've come to a conclusion that there are no smooth-drying varnishes when they are brushable. Only fixatives and maybe other sprayables can dry actually plastic-like?

In fact, I recently found out that some of my sculpts dominoed in the shelf and had heavy books fallen on them - and I didn't see any damage! So far... It was scary. 

This horse seems to have an opinion to everything.

So, I think, while damage is unavoidable, the goal is to find or develop finishing materials which are tougher and tougher. All this because we want to play with our horses. Or at least I want to play with mine. They will not only sit in the shelves doing nothing.  

I may do a second post about this topic.

I do not collect...

I have seen other hobby bloggers write about this topic, and I've wanted to do so myself, but for some reason I hadn't done so before. Weird. Well, now I do. So, people say they don't collect something, while in reality they have a suspiciously large pile of that same thing in their possession, and they use effort at it. 

I do collect Schleichs with factory flaws like this.

I mainly collect Breyer traditionals, and want my horses to be tack friendly and realistic. I am very much into base colors and do not look for anything too complex most of my time. So... How do I explain that I...

...I do not collect appaloosas. I really do not like spots and do not know why they are so popular. I think it makes an animal/model look visually restless and it also hides its anatomy and shapes. So, how the toe do I own so many horses with spots on them? Some are entirely covered in spots on white background, and some have blankets. I just end up getting these for some reason, although I keep telling myself that I do not like spots. 

Dreamy.

I do not collect stablemates. Why I still have a lot and get more and more of these? I don't even know where to keep all of them and what should I do with them. (Nope, there is a key: tackmaking... and sometimes customizing.) Blergh.

Formosus Ningor "Ninksu" and Chocolate In The Ballroom "Pallero", two lovely repaints by Kave.

I do not collect warmbloods. When I think about what kind of horse breeds I find interesting and what I have ridden for real, I can count drafts and ponies. Despite this, I do not have as many draft and pony models than I have warmbloods... I have never ridden a warmblood (seriously) and do not find them very interesting as a breed. It's a sporthorse, and I hate sports. Why do I keep collecting these? Maybe because they sure are tack friendly. (Nope, seriously, thoroughbred is one of my favorite breeds. It's officially not a warmblood, of course, but is a sporthorse, and I still hate sports.)

A precious red hannover gelding.

I do not collect Schleichs. I dislike them these days. Why do I keep buying them? Because I customize! To be able to fully compare the customs with OFs, I need to have a sample of an OF model. The factory models in my Schleich army will not get names or anything these days, they just aren't worth all the effort. But they are here entirely for photos... Dumb? 

 

Wow, why is the list so short... I could get a longer list about things I want but do not have. Of course. Everyone else could too.

Unpopular opinions

I got this idea after watching some "unpopular opinion" videos about art from Youtube. I mentioned this to my friend LittleYoungOne and we started thinking about a model horse version of such a list. Here it comes! (And these are indeed opinions, so don't pull a pea field into your nose if you disagree. I know that I write in an aggressive style, but I will not sand corners off from my words just to please others.) 

Rämä the rex rat boy with an ASB filly called Piiru.

Perfect is not realistic and realistic is not perfect. (Alias perfection is overrated.) I have talked about this before, though not so sure if I have published any of that yet. But I stick with this saying, as it's basically my motto.

I feel like the browband is too short...

Another reason why I think perfection is overrated is because ideal setups are rewarded, although the other option could be realistic despite not perfect. I mean, sometimes you see real horse tack being put on sloppily or just weirdly. Things don't always look clean, sometimes it is just messy or half-done. Why is that not okay for a model horse setup, if it still could be seen in full scale? I don't understand. 

(Just a note: I think this perfection vs. realism is a topic which most potentially gets misinterpreted and also the one which most likely makes people angry.)

Drafts and ponies are underrated. LittleYoungOne has felt that drafts have been underrated since her earliest years in the hobby. It can be true. I have noticed how drafts are underrated also in real horse life (which I mostly see through internet, ah irony), to the level that people describe them as "slow, clumsy and incapable". All that only because the draft is not going to help you to get towards your competition success. May I ask, why are people hobbying horses to begin with - to be around horses or just to ride to gain success? 

Limppu with a halter which I made to fit a Stone Percheron. (The halter now lives in USA.)

Showing is overrated. Have I mentioned that I have never done any showing? And that I want to learn to do quality horses and tack just for the sake of having them? Usually when I see people collecting tack or wanting to improve, it seems to be because they want to show. Why? Could you seriously put all that effort only because you want to compete? 

Maybe this is showing, or maybe it is just about posing for a nice photo.

And as Jennifer Buxton has mentioned in some old blogpost ages ago, the community often forgets that there (here) is also a herd of model horse collectors who don't show at all. I am one of them.

Common and basic colors are underrated. Leopard complex, pinto patterns and all kinds of fancy dilutions are really popular, and you see them way more than you could in real life. I personally am a weird horse person in the sense that I could prefer a "boring" color, like any kind of solid bay, over a spotted blanket, tobiano or - aaaaaa! - a frame overo. Seriously, people should study the base colors further... There's way more to see and paint than you could think. I recently colored a lineart and used a photo of a chestnut horse as my palette. I don't remember the exact number, but maybe I used seven or more shades and tones for the body and legs only, and then some more for mane and tail, then don't even make me talk about skin, eyes and hooves. That is your average 'solid' chestnut horse. 

The said solid chestnut.

Non-smiling dolls are underrated. I am biased with these, so believe me. Plus I am a pessimist myself, so overly happy and smiley people just annoy me. But the real reason to why I listed this, is because I don't see many Barbie-smiling riders in photos of real riding. Some kinds of confused or grumpy expressions could be way more accurate most of the time, especially for scenes where there is more action. And isn't a grumpy face often a sign that the rider is focusing on their riding, which should be a good thing...?

Little Damage focusing on a horse who is not his.

Non-teamworking (performance) horses are underrated. I don't even know where to begin in this... People can see a misbehaving model horse, for example a bucker or just... not moving perfectly. They think it's not correct or that it will not be successful in shows. To me, those are what gain my interest more than anything - it's the dynamics! And seriously, real horses misbehave, and that gets recorded in videos and photos all the time. Even at the big levels. As I have mentioned, perfect is not realistic and realistic is not perfect. The first thing I ever learned about this hobby is... the need for realism. One more motto: If it's possible in real life, then it is possible in model life. 

I didn't find any useable photos with imperfect horses, so have some pretty trot instead.

Vintage molds are sometimes more realistic than newer molds. This I have noticed accidentally... The oldies may be less flashy, less shiny, less muscular, less detailed, less colorful. But they are more authentic in many ways. They look actually real, unlike all those flashy show horses with balloon muscles and all that shine. (This was exaggeration.)

Ludi being ridden by Silly Silli, the only human in my modelverse. (Thanks to LittleYoungOne for getting Silli to me! He is one of my studio mascots these days.)

Plain tack is underrated. It's great that people want to reach higher levels and challenge themselves with more detail and decoration, but... Where are all the generic stable halters these days? Non-decorated bridle browbands? Flat, non-decorated bridle nosebands? Why is everything so flashy and fancy, like fashion? Simpliness to the clouds! Or wait what... I focus on tack which is more or less just functional but not exactly cool to look at. Or then the coolness comes from the proper function and clean seams and such. Basics. 

A very basic halter where the leather got sanded.

Okay, I eat some of my words now, because I personally try to challenge myself with complex tack exactly because if I didn't, then it could become uninteresting (and this has happened, with halters). But I still mean what I wondered in those tack questions.

What could you like to read next time?

Brainfall: a model horse photo challenge

I cooked this list up back in February 2022. It is not actually a challenge, but more like a list of prompts/ideas of scenes which people could photograph about their plastic animals, barns, etc. I hadn't thought about publishing this, really, but I got a reason to and so... Here it comes. The list is copyrighted to me, Afuze. 

Note: This is not a competition. It can be compared to performance showing, but it is not performance showing, and you do not have to know about any discipline rules or anything. Many are just scenes and scenarios and they have nothing to do with competitions. I only want to give ideas for creative model photography.
- This list can be used so that you complete the list for one horse or then use which model you feel is the best for each step. It's up to you. The attempts can be humorous or serious, how you like, I don't limit it. Interpret these how you want. 

There also is no deadline. Take photos when you want and feel right to. They do not need to be taken in any specific order. 

The lists got numbered during spring 2023, so now I know there are almost 100 prompts... I could add more if I manage to cook up any.

SIMPLE (15):
1. Conformation shot with a handler.
2. Headshot with tack.
3. English dressage.
4. English showjumping.
5. Western.
6. Gaited.
7. A new family member.
8. Gift horse.
9. Lake.
10. Snowstorm.
11. Thunderstorm.
12. Sandbox.
13. Best friends.
14. Getting ready for a trip.
15. Cookies.

COMPLEX (contains some negative/difficult topics too):

16. Horse therapy.
17. Riding therapy.
18. Sensory overload.
19. Animal rescue.
20. Rope jumping with a horse.
21. Circus pony.
22. A relaxing day.
23. A busy day.
24. Night ride.
25. Herd dynamics.
26. Trick horse.
27. Party pony.
28. Good horse!
29. A birthday ride.
30. Dancing horses.

31. Defying the odds.
32. Better option.
33. Helping hand.
34. Ugly duckling.
35. Distinctively different.
36. Unexpected visitor.
37. A learning experience.
38. Reaching the heights.
39. Exceeded expectations.
40. Prove them wrong.
41. Forest trail ride.
42. Neighborhood.
43. Something paranormal.
44. A bloodsucker.
45. Impulse buying.
46. Stolen horse.
47. A secret ride.
48. New outfit.
49. Nope, no that!
50. Black and white.

51. Writing a book.
52. History lesson.
53. Lost memories.
54. Famous last words.
55. End of an era.
56. Trick gone wrong.
57. Food allergy.
58. School bullying.
59. A crime scene.  
60. First try.
61. Trust building.
62. A photography session.
63. Painting a portrait.
64. Pride in pride.
65. Better late than never.
66. Enough is enough!
67. You are too early.
68. We don't do that here!
69. Social distancing.
70. Selfishness.

71. Generosity.
72. Money well spent.
73. I don't believe you!
74. That does not exist!
75. Latest news.
76. Common sense.
77. That's what I said.
78. The leader.
79. Ghost town.
80. Don't eat it!
81. Done for the day.
82. That's not good.
83. Question everything.
84. Old and happy.
85. Escape.
86. Worst enemies.
87. Appreciation.
88. Almost got hit.
89. A golden moment.
90. Everything is blue.

91. Big dreams.
92. Showing example (for someone).
93. Role model.
94. An idol.
95. A good listener.
96. Beating the odds.
97.
98.
99.
100.

And why is it called Brainfall? That was a brainfart which happened when I and LittleYoungOne tried to figure out a logical name for this mess of a list. Hooray for the overly active imagination. At least I don't think we can confuse this to any other hobby challenge now.

Why is my modelverse in traditional scale?

In my case, the whole craze for a modelverse, alias worldbuilding and scene making by using miniatures, started from Schleichs. I started everything by customizing them and assembling riding scenes, which I then took photos of. That was a thing until 2013 or 2014. 

I have tried many many times, and can't add more photos, so let's have this only one then.

That, exactly the Yule 2013, was when I got my first 1:9 scale rider dolls, two Breyer men. In the early 2014 I customized their heads, so they no longer were humans.

There was a time when I thought I will remain as a Schleich collector for... Forever? I wanted to specialize in them, making worlds for them. I wanted those worlds to be the kind I see for them in my head. I can genuinely say that my stuff is something I have never seen in anyone else's Schleich worlds to happen.

I knew about Breyers' existence already around the early or mid 2000's. That was when I saw them in Lahjakas, a webstore which currently specializes in animal figures. I tried hard to not get interested about Breyers, because it could have meant that I have to start a new collection, a new world from nothing. And of course I regret that a little, as I now windowshop those exact models I saw in Lahjakas ages ago from American online thrift stores. And by starting from nothing I of course mean starting a new modelverse from nothing, into a whole new scale and with new resources. At those times my Schleich collection was already rather large, and I had some tack and props for them, so it felt easier to stay at them and develop that modelverse further.

Well, as I mentioned, in 2013 I got those Breyer guys and didn't even manage to customize them before scenes already happened. I hadn't even managed to show a knife for those doll heads when I already had fun with them. I put them to ride my three traditional scale horses which I had at the time, of course. Only one of them was a Breyer. The other two were a Blue Box QH and a flocked horse. Occasionally the boys also tested riding classics (which Grand Champions and related are, to me, despite how much bigger they are when compared to Breyer classics). That looked unbalanced, so didn't happen much, I think.

There was no quality, and everything was rather rough and ancient, but still, it was totally different from what it is when I assemble scenes from Schleichs. And here we get to the whole point of this article. 

The exact reason why I prefer traditionals is because it's bigger, more detailed and more practical than little bit. Tack is easier and nicer to make. Its own aspect is of course the fact that horses by Breyer are more or less realistic no matter the scale. Plus, they come with more variety in positions, breeds, facial expressions and in just everything, when compared with Schleichs.

If a reader knows me as a collector, it should come as no surprise that I stopped collecting Schleichs years and years ago due to that worsened sculpting style. It alone does not explain why I switched to a bigger scale, but it has a part in it.

First, Schleichs have been released in a narrower selection of molds and colors than Breyers. Every "stable" has the same horses, and of course the usual unrealistic things like przewalskis or zebras (and in my schleichverse's case, fantasy equines...). I have come to a conclusion that I simply "burned out" seeing the same things repeating in every single Schleich stable I stumbled upon online. In other words, I lost interest towards reading Schleich stable blogs since story plots were too predictable. Also the humans and horses were never individuals. Meanwhile I also hated the fact that by that my own horses weren't unique neither. The only unique individuals were (are) customs. And I have a large herd of them - but I haven't seen customs in any of those story blogs I browsed... So that's it then.

So, buying Schleichs was no longer interesting. New horses didn't give me the joy and excitement they used to give, and eventually I bought them only for customizing and as something to compare customs with.

Same cannot be said about Breyers. With them I have the exact same craze and excitement which I used to have with Schleichs. This is why I windowshop Breyers for example form MHSP. I mostly hit my eyes at bodies, because I am a customizer.

One human simply cannot own a herd similar to someone else's. It's impossible even if two people had equally large collections, same molds and same eras - no, these have been produced for so long in so many molds, colors, editions and eras that it simply is impossible that someone could have all what you have. And this is why I like these and the modelverses people have in (especially) traditional scale. There is more variety in the horses. Also especially Americans customize and repaint way more than for example Finns do, and there's nothing weird or special in it.

One more reason for why I like the bigger scale is... Well... How should I say it? The fact that I get closer to it? Yes, when my horses, the tack and the riders are bigger, I see them better. I could say, I get closer to that world when so. I can get into that world much better than what I could get with Schleichs. Larger horses don't limit as much, and I also am able to see these literally from their level. Also photographing is way easier when I don't have to abuse my camera by forcing it to focus on microscopit details. (Though, my DSLR is already so old and used that he is often not into the traditionals neither.)

Since I am on the neuro spectrum (autistic), I am able to "dive into my mind" deeply and forget the rest of the world when so. That happens for example in the shower or in toilet. Years ago I liked to do this during long bus trips. Digging brains for fun is almost the best thing ever - but if I get that rich story stuff or thoughts out into a concrete form... That is the best. This is why I photograph each setup alias photo stack, alias scene. I want them to be preserved. So, only hallucinating is not enough, and I want that hallucination to be seeable also later.

It doesn't end there, into the picture level. I also like to write something about these scenes, and have a whole own text file for it. I write everything up to the degree that there has to be the photography date; usually it also becomes the date the scene happened story-wise. The photos get sorted and archived by a rider doll's name and each folder also will get numbered. That way I can see who has ridden how much and which horses. Keeping record of everything possible is nice.

So, I said what I was meaning to. What else? Hmmm, questions for the readers...

Are there any Schleich stables anymore, or did it die off when blog culture died off? Or did the phenomenon simply move somewhere else where I am not (like Instagram)? Do any Finns (else than I and Kave) hobby this kind of miniature worlds and stories based on them, by using Breyer traditionals? And since this is an international blog - if any reader has a modelverse, let me know!

Why only one is not enough

This is for all those people who question my need to buy more horses so often and despite how I 'already have so many'. These people never seem to hear it when I say that there in America are collectors, who have HUNDREDS of traditional scale models, shelves full. I have only... 50? That is not much!

These three were bought from a fellow Finnish collector.

So, why only one horse is not enough?

Well, let me explain.

One thing I want to point out is scale. Model horses come in many scales, and I quite like to know what the difference between them is by experience. There was a time I didn't know how small stablemates are, and had to ask it. I still remember the description: "lightly hand-wrappable" alias so small that you can almost close the horse into your hand. 

The palomino and the pinto came from my American friend, LittleYoungOne, the dark bay andalusian (who's barely visible) and warmblood came from Kave (who painted both). Behind the palomino is my NaMoPaiMo model Torsti, as you can't see.

Different brands. Sculptors and styles vary, and every horse is different. Every brand is different, and often brands don't share sculptors with each other. 

Got this mare similarly as most of my collection, but she's a pretty model and therefore worth photographing and sharing.

Breyers are better than Schleich. I have a rather massive collection of Schleich, most of them from the early 2000's to the mid 2010's. There was a time I enjoyed Schleich and genuinely liked to buy new ones. Then the quality went down, and at the same time I already may have known what Breyers were like. Now Breyers give me the same enthusiasm what I felt about Schleichs years ago. It is what it is - I could never have only one or a few, I want a lot!

I make tack. It could be boring to do a ton of stuff and only for one size. With both real and model horses, one size does not fit all. I could not make tack for my friends if I had only one horse. I like the fact that now I can compare different models to make sure the tack is accurately measured. There is a lot of variation even among 'equally large' horses like warmbloods. Oh, there's so much variety in that box!

I made this halter to fit specifically the exact mold it is on; though the horse it's going for is in someone else's collection. (The horse is not scratched - just dusty!)

I am materialistic. I don't understand why people are so scared of materialism, or think it's a bad thing. Having stuff around makes me happy, even better if I can see it! Model horse hobby is one of the most perfect forms to let it storm around. For me, it has always been an option, because I don't know how to organize (or keep things organized all the time), and as a traditional artist I've already gained a massive amount of art supplies and have zero space for it. It's completely natural... But basically I can just honestly say that hoarding hobby stuff makes me happy.

This is partially to the materialism part: I like to have several pieces of something matchy, for example models of a certain scale or brand. In fact, I need to have it so, no less. One or two is not a collection, but a ten is. I don't even know why I feel it like this, but as long as I have too few of something, I don't bond with it properly enough. 

Everything in this photo came from my American friend LittleYoungOne. The skeleton got named Silli (Silly Silli), and he's one of the funniest things I found from that package. He may be a potential studio mascot.

Modelverse. I know, you're already so fed up with this topic, but I can't stop. It's my life. I cannot see a world for a certain scale if I don't own enough models in it. But the big thing is, that I must have all the horses I have. And more. I have so many ideas and plans, so few horses (and dolls) to make them real with.

Back before late 2016 I had only three traditionals: my PAM (who was unnamed for too long), an unfinished Blue Box QH and a wrecked flockie. All of these were in standing position and therefore I had very limited options for scenes. I know that some people actually prefer standing models over anything else, but I think these alone are just boring. I want that famous variety I already mentioned in the beginning of the article. 

Sense of community. By gaining a large and growing herd of different brands, scales, colors and breeds I also may get a better feel that I'm in a community. I'm a sideviewer most of the time anyway, so this could be at least the one thing I can relate to others with.

So to put it simple, this hobby could be basically impossible and really odd if only one could be a thing. People with tens or hundreds - let alone thousands - of plastic (or rubber, flocked, carved, china, porcelain) horses cannot be wrong. In a randomie's opinion my collection of Breyers may be overgrown and waste of space. (I occasionally get those "you could make a lot of money by selling these at some point" type of comments.) They just don't know what are like the collections of people who have for example collected much longer than me; those people may also have used way more money on their models than I with mine... 

I made this horse. And tack. And the doll.

So, anyway. I keep spying what to buy the next time.

The good and bad sides in large and small collections

Once I read a blog written by some American collector who has been in the hobby for a very, very long time. Seeing photos of large collections gave me a strange feeling, which, for some reason, made me think the good and bad sides of having small or large collections.

My Breyers somewhere in 2017... The herd has grown a lot since!

I have a small collection of traditionals, if we compare it to what Americans often have at my age. But I also know what it feels like to have a large collection - I have over 100 Schleichs, and many of them are customs. When combined these to the traditionals and yet my old classic scale toy horses, I can actually have a room full of horses; I can't keep them all visible since there just is no space.

The scale doesn't matter when you have to list all your horses, write their infos, put all this on a blog... And it's a lot easier with a small collection, obviously. Also the way you write the info chart matters, and the simplier it is, the quickier it is to fill and publish.

I have listed my collection several times over the years, first on paper and later digitally on computer. Yes, I've made a physical list of my models in a notebook at some point. That was just the Schleichs, and at the earliest years, when I was a kid, I probably also wrote infos as well or only for my classics (Grand Champions and related).

My yet unlisted ornament mustang which I got from LittleYoungOne.

What are the good sides of a small collection?

Well, one obvious good side is that the models don't take too much space. You can put all of them in one shelf and no one needs to go into storage in a plastic tub. Hmm, I couldn't do that (for Breyers) even if I didn't have space (which is true right now)...

Small collections are also easier to list on paper or computer. You can update their infos easily, if you need to do an overhaul.

If you want your every horse to have personal tack, it's a lot easier to achieve with less models than if you have 10 room-tall shelves filled with all kinds of models. 

What are the bad sides of a small collection?

I constantly crash with the issue that I don't have enough variety in models in general, when it comes to traditionals. For example, I want some chances at times when I photograph a ton of halters, but have only a couple models who truly serve good in that. No, the ones with tucked heads aren't those, believe it or not. But anyone with their noses in or near the horizontal line will be nice for this. 

It gets even worse if you have to do tack for molds you don't have, and the fitting has to go right (of course, when shouldn't it?). Making tack for others is always a little exciting because of that, especially if there is nothing you can compare the description to. My solution to this could of course be buying something similar to my own collection, but it's not so simple really.

Don't mind the doll... But I bought this pony mainly because so many seemed to want halters for theirs!

And what are the good sides of a large collection?

Variety... As said. The more horses I have to choose from, the wider variety of options I have for scene photography, matching horses and riders, then that that I may more potentially own a model which can mannequin for a trade/commission piece of tack. 

I often feel like I have photographed everything. New models are fun because of that. I also enjoy naming (if I'm in a naming mood) my models and building new story-related things (deciding which horse belongs to which doll, and cooking up their stories). I remember how dead this stuff was back when I had only three (THREE!) traditionals, and none of them were very great. 

What are the bad sides of a large collection?

Storage space can be under a rock, or more like under a plastic tub lid. This is what it is for most, but for me, only for my Schleichs. Model horses also take up the shelf space which otherwise could serve for other things, like books, tools and just everything. The shelves even hold the plastic tubs where my Schleichs are... And even worse, I have to keep most tubs piled on the floor because there is no shelf space!

Also, rescuing that army in the case of an emergency could be painfully impossible. And what if you had to move and take them all with you? I have never traveled with these, let alone seriously packed anything for a trip! 

Listing them all up is easy, if I do that slowly over time as the collection grows. But if I had to do a new list for every scale? No way! I mostly focus on traditionals only, anyway, so I just keep listing them. I lost my track of my Schleichs already years ago, as many newer ones were bought just for customising and the ones to be kept as OFs were not worth naming, let alone "registering". 

So, that's the... collection comparison. Or collecting habit comparison. More stuff to come, in case I don't sink back into my "what if I make someone angry with this text?" pit. 

Do your effort

Last summer (So this article was written about a year before publishing...) Anne Field posted a good blogtext in her blog. I interpreted it so that it is about learning experiences, practice, effort and doing your own work in general. I thought the article was so good that it should be saved somehow, to be easy to find later, so I linked it to my blog and commented on the subject(s) while chatting with an American friend, LittleYoungOne, in Discord.

Not So Black, a draft stallion from 2020.

Here comes my comment speech: 

What I got out of that post was how Anne emphasized that you can't trick when you want to do something well. Tutorials, instructions and answered questions from others will help, but the only thing which truly helps you learn is making the thing you are working on.

Practicing to cut slots (for noseband hangers) in split crownpieces before doing the same for actual split crownpieces.

...it worked!

 

One can read books about riding and know how to do that in theory, but the same person can't do anything for real after first reading and then randomly getting on a saddle. Books are books, real life riding is riding. Same goes for customizing, painting, resculpting, even writing, and tackmaking.

Also being afraid of fail is not an excuse. You will fail a lot during your practice sessions, get a ton of ugly stages and so on. What's the key to solve those? Continue to create. The ugly stages and fails are not going anywhere - they can only teach you to improve and eventually push through them and finish your work.

In 2016, I asked and got taught how to braid. It may be the only "textile craft" I can enjoy, which shows in the number of ropes I've braided serially since then.

And then about competitions and chasing prizes: If one participates in a show or competition, they should be totally okay with the possibility that they will not win. Everyone can't win, but most do good stuff to try with. The idea should never be winning, but participating, trying your best and figuring out what you can do, learn more. Compete against your previous works, if something has to be competed against.

What works for me, is thinking that "if I do this for my friend, it has to be the best I can do". This is how my bridles and halters are in the stage they are in at the moment. I started making tongue buckles to bridles, developed the bit hooks and bothered to figure out nosebands because I made a bridle for Kave in 2017. Basically I could say that I wanted to impress my friend with... skill? What?

My first proper bridle where I didn't use sliding buckles. That was when I learned how precious tongue buckles are in the hobby! And I was afraid of their "complexity" for so long... As an old work, this bridle is more or less ugly, but I'm also happy that it has a good home at Kave's.

In 2021 my Swedish hobby friend, Decors, asked if I could do tack to donate for a Swedish liveshow, Vattenshow, whose co-hostess she is. Of course I said that yes, I can make a few halters. Among the batch to be donated, I also wanted to make pieces for both of the hostesses. For Decors I made also a bridle and some bits to go with it. The difference between my oldest proper bridle and this is like between night and day.

The bridle from June 2021, which moved to Sweden.

What else can I say? I have wanted to write about this stuff for ages! But blogging is hard. While it can be hard to believe, I am not a writer, after all. (I do blog stuff or story/world texts almost daily, and draw very very seldom these days... But yep, I am not a writer.) I am a visual artist, a drawer. I also can do painting if I bother to. Watercolors are nice. So are makeup sponge tools when you use them on graphite - which is the only use I have ever had for them. 

A travel set of watercolors and tank brushes (brushes which have soft, hollow barrel) pair very well together.

"What else"... Uh oh. I figured out that this is actually a good spot to mumble about my art life even further. I've drawn my entire life, and cannot remember the time I first scribbled something which should look like an animal or whatever the topic was (I remember drawing a carrot in kindergarten). I never drew with the idea that I "could become an artist". I just drew because it was a natural part of my life. It IS a natural part of my life. 

Due to having drawn animals from that young age, I have an odd angle towards those who first grow up and only then decide to start drawing. Good luck with practice... It is a lot of work. I can say I have an advantage here. Though, it does not mean I could be good. I have seen so many beginners being great in what they do. Meanwhile I usually stop thinking good about my own works after each doodle gets a couple of years old or if I can see it all the time. 

Outdated thumb rats, since 2014.

I often wonder what life could be like if I didn't draw or do my model horse stuff myself. Good stuff is pricey! (I guess my art room could also look very different than what it is. Supplies take a lot of space, so do projects and finished works...)

What could life be with aphantasia, as well? I can't imagine the lack of visual imagination; meanwhile I see everything in my mind. One ridiculous brain image I have had was about lemons flying downstairs with mosquito wings - thanks to how my dad tried to describe he had mosquitoes in his room. Don't ask how he managed to call them lemons, I have no idea. But I sure have some oddly rich hyperphantasia. I can see worlds while in the shower, and forget I even exist. 

There was a time I wanted to learn to draw horses as properly as was possible. I became an anatomy freak. Eventually I also learned that realistic and semirealistic drawing styles are my thing, while I also wanted to develop my personal way to stylize "cartoony" equines. The latter went so that the anatomy had to work, but stylizing to some degree had to be possible, too. I have a ton of good memories of those years, but most of the doodles are not worth seeing... Of course. 

Once I also decided to test if I can resculpt a toy horse in the BH-style, which is how I called my cartoony style. Now when I think it, it's strangely absurd and, ummmm... Impressive, in the sense that it really happened. I couldn't do that today. It's the same thing as what happened to my tack: I made a lot of Schleich scale tack at some point, learned to enjoy it, then switched to traditionals and no longer understood why and HOW anyone can enjoy crafting mini scale tack. It was impossible, and still is. 

I never knew my first(?) buckles with moving tongues were in a Schleich scale bridle, and I don't even know the year this is from.

My drawer background was why I got into model horse customizing ages ago. It was the idea that I could really make a model horse, not only buy it. By customizing I was no longer dependent on what factories provided. Buying commissions from others was never an option - because I never knew anything like that even existed!! And well, I still like to do my own stuff, anyway... Not that I could not want to have others' works as well. Collecting others' tack and customs is a nice way to learn something new and see different angles of doing things.

But the bond between you and your own work is something which you can never have with a thing you did not make. It also feels nice to be able to say that "Yea, I did all the stuff in this photo." (Shows don't exist here.)

Since I probably didn't make any sense with most of this text, I will continue to comment on other stuff. It's close to the topic, of course. How can people be so crazy about winning, indeed? I have never been that much into participating in anything. I'm not a prize chaser. Shows (even photo shows) have never been my main motivator to learn to make model horse stuff. Good horses, paintjobs, tack, dolls, performance setups... Nope, never done those with showing in mind. And then the rare time I bother to try my luck in something, it even didn't require crafting on anything but just writing a little - and then I won! That made this little pessimist super happy. I still can't understand that it happened. 

Tripworthy, my Braymere giveaway marwari.

Anyway. I wonder how much and how far could things have developed in the hobby if there were no shows, and especially, if the shows were not about competiting against others... This one has prettier horse, this one has the most blingy set of tack, here's a cool scene, aaand... So. How far can you go? What this logic has taught me about my species, is, that humans have an odd natural tendency to compete and try to win... It has to be natural.

I also want to say one more thing to the practice topic. I have found out that maybe I am unusual in the sense that I am less afraid of trying new techniques and tools when it comes to arts and photography. I struggle to start drawing anything I haven't drawn before (it is annoying, I wish I could draw many different species of animals), but I probably have tested various techniques and tools in more relaxed sense than most people I've talked about this with. I don't understand why it is like this. People are afraid of using a lot of colors, contrast, mixed media... They're afraid of shading with strong hand or exaggerating anatomy and expressions. And some are very afraid of starting their model horse customizer career. 

I brainwashed Kave into painting, taught her about how I layer colors, and her very first (very first!) repaint was this stunning tinker stallion. His name is Abundiantus Fructum. Photo by Kave.

To say it simply, I do my all to kick encourage my buddies to try new things and hopefully make them go crazy and enjoy it. This happened with Kave and went successfully, so I am positive that my other hobby friends can start a model horse artist career too. 

One thing I have wondered a lot is a stupid habit I have. Sometimes I find a way to do something, then go "nope, it's too much of work" or "that part will be weak" and it basically prevents me from trying it. Then when I finally give it a go, I probably get surprised and realise how much more sense everything makes when there is one more step in the process. It can both make the product better and also make me value my own work more than before. My halters are often better when they have paddings in the nosebands, and I always like my dolls better when I bother to paint shadings to their bodies. 

I also have learned that my brain needs challenges, and even works to stress about. One example of this could be one of my dolls, who is based on a character I designed in 2011. That doll had to turn out perfectly enough. It went almost so, but he's no way ideal... Of course. Finishing complex projects feels good afterwards. Another example of this could be my thumb rat cages. Sometimes I assemble them from a million of different pieces just because I enjoy the process. Weird. 

Enjoyable.

Do your effort.