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Some helpful links
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Cascade Models. Lots of great customizing supplies
Grand Prix Studios web page. Some CMing and Showing hints. Melanie Miller is a GREAT CMer and this is a nice help
DaBar Enterprises Web Page. After you get good at painting, resins are challenging and fun to work on. You can order resins from this page without leaving the computer!
Welcome to Western Dreams Studio's Customizing Hints. Thanks for stopping by. If you have any suggestions, the e-mail link is at the bottom of my page. Have fun!
New items! This page is updated every now and then, but so you can easily find new information, look for this image - 
next to the description. There may be other spheres (such as 
or 
) but these do not signify new items. is the only current new item signifier. The others are just for decoration. ;)
NOTE-This page is meant to share some of my experiences as well as information picked up along the way from other customizers. If you are interested in getting into serious CMing, aside from these pages, look at the Grand Prix Studios link I've listed for more info on hairing and other stuff. Try looking at some other pages and see plenty of pix, or if possible attend a live show and see what types of horses are winning. Don't worry, you can't pull out a Sarah Minkiewicz paint job right away, but after you learn, practice, and work like a dog you might get it if you've got the dedication. (Don't worry, I can't paint like Sarah Minkiewicz. yet Good luck!
Some information about me-I've been customizing for over a year now and after looking at my first customs I realized how quickly you learn and grow! I've since last year, created some live show placers, done drastic remaking, tried my hand at original sculpting and much more! The pathetic litle drafter done with fabric paints looks like something a 2 year old did sitting next to my recent projects done with the tecnique discussed at the end of this page. I've done, hmmm, around 30 horses so far and I have learned something new while working on each one. (Like greys are REALLY hard to paint!) That's all for now, if I win any major championships I'll list it here. (But that's still a few horses away now!)
Heat Gun-A heat gun is probably the most important tool needed for remaking! A heat gun is used to move areas of plastic. It is harder to use on the legs of SM models since it will sometimes heat half the leg. My first remakes were done with a candel. PLEASE don't do this! You will end up ruining more models this way. Heat guns aren't that expensive either. They cost between $20 and $40.
Sand Paper-Sand paper is useful for sanding off heat bubbles, manes, forelocks, and tails. (although this takes FOREVER) You will need several different grits, ranging from very rough to almost smooth. If you are just going to work with SM models, you don't need a really rough piece, but these can be helpful if you have to sand off a whole attached tail. Sandpaper is cheap too. You can buy it from Cascade Models or your local hardware store from about a few pennies to a few dollars depending.
Epoxy-Resculpt manes and tails, heads and necks. Smooth over bumps, add muscling. Epoxy is a very important thing to have. Try to get hand workable epoxy. I have this stuff right now that you have to mix and apply with a stick. It's terrible! I'm ordering more hand workable epoxy right now. This is available at Cascade Models for about $10.00
Dremel-A Dremel sander is great. You'll need a few different bits which are available at Cascade Models for around $1-$5. A dremel with multiple speeds is great so you can slowly reshape an area or barrel through a thick mane in record time. This is an alternative to sandpaper and much faster. My two speeder was $80.00 at Target with some different bits. You can find the dremel tool at most hardware stores and now stores like Target and Wal-Mart carry them too.
Epoxy Glue-Use for attaching broken limbs. Not sure how much this is.
Plastic Wood-For some reason, I like resculpting manes in this. Just a personal preference, you really don't need it but if you want to esperiment and have some extra cash go ahead and try! I think this is around $5 or something but I'm not sure. Available at most hardware stores.
Paints in Black, White, Burnt Sienna, and Burnt Umber-The necessary colors for painting. You can successfully do a model in these colors. I use Liquitex Acrylics or Grumbacher Max oils. However, you must work quickly with acrylics, but oils take forever to dry. You can buy Acrylic Retarder so you can blend longer. If you go to a store with a big paint display, you can look at other colors and find some that are suitable to create nice shades and hilights. Carol Williams's Color Formulas and Tecniques can be helpful. Acrylic paints run anywhere from $2-$6 for a medium sized tube, and my oils were $5-$7 a tube.
Different types of brushes-You'll need all different shapes and sizes. Cascade Models has about every size and style you'll need. These cost anywhere from $1.50-$10.00. Stay away from cheapy brushes! They work terribly and get worn out quickly. Buying the nice, soft, brushes is a good investment. They paint better and they will last for a very long time.
Foam Rubber-This can be helpful for creating a model with a coat that is textured and it is also a great blending tool. You probably have a piece in your basement somewhere. I found some on the top of some of my hangers too. Just look around.
Krylon Matte Finish Spray-Use for a coat of protection after you are done painting. Can be found at craft stores or Cascade Models. I think it's about $4.50 a can.
Primer-If you are painting a resin, you should spray on a coat of primer before going to paint.
Airbrush-Use for applying a base coat, doing dapples, adding shades or hilights. It's an extremely helpful tool and I love them! You can buy them with a compressor or canned air. I like compressors, but I don't have one. I used my friends a few times and loved it. Cheap airbrushes won't take you very far. I got one for Christmas and it was pretty cheap and I can't do anything but apply a basecoat. (Yes I' whining, it's my webpage) You can pay anywere from $30.00 for a cheap one (like mine) to $500 for the finest available. Available at craft stores or from art catalogs. My friend uses a Badger and it's super. After I finish buying some stuff, I'll be saving up for a nice airbrush and compressor.
Acrylic Retarder-Use for slowing the drying process of acrylics. There is something similar for oils except it quickens the drying process so the paint will dry in about 24 hours. Not sure of price on these.
Try not to hold the heat gun too close to the horse, you'll get a ton of air bubbles this way. It's hard to prevent them, but I've found if the heat gun isn't really close you get less.
When you are heating a leg, don't move it until it's pretty flexible. I've broken many legs (especially on SM and LB models) moving when the leg isn't hot enough.
If you have a model that you cut the head off (or if you are head switching) stuff a piece of wadded up aluminum foil in the neck cavity going into the head. It will make putting it back together a lot easier.
To remove a tail not attached to the body, heat it up really well and pull it off. You can heat the remaining part of the tail and smooth it out to make a better tailbone.
When you are handpainting, apply the basecoat and slowly (if possible!) blend the colors in. Using a brush for each different color helps, because you can blend around the edges much easier.
For using airbrushes, let each coat dry well. Have a box or something to test the stream on. When you get a stream that is the right size, go and use the different color for the shades or highlites.
After you are done using your airbrush, clean it, clean it, clean it! If you don't, they will hate you and not work.
Make sure you clean your brushes well, especially if you have invested in an expensive set of them and want to protect your investment.
Try spraying on a black basecoat with Krylon spraypaint or an airbrush. Then, using your oil paints (I guess it works with acrylics too!), slowly brush some black on the area you are working on. Slowly work lighter and lighter shades into it until you have the desired shade of seal brown. Areas you want shaded, just paint around and leave black. I started working on this style a few weeks ago and I'm in love w/it! Be sure to be very careful on the head, if you aren't careful to blend correctly and keep your shading, it can look really cheap. Yes, it can take awhile, but the results are well worth it!
Let oil paints dry for a loooooooonnnnnnggggg time before you do anything to them! At least a week for most, more like two or three for black! If you spray something over the oils before it's totally dry, the oils can NEVER dry, and if some of the stuff sprayed over it comes off, well, bad news. (especially if you are at a live show!)
