2 – Custom-Models.com | Martha.net

Category Archives: 2 – Custom-Models.com

Customised Model Horses

2012 Commission Slots Open!

Posted on January 1, 2012 at 11:30 am

Pretty much what it says in the title– now that I’m officially a business I can start taking orders! *grin*

For 2012 I will have two concurrent slots running (plus a donation-only slot), since I’m not sure how long they will take me to do. You can place an order either by contacting me directly or by putting in a custom order request through my Etsy store (aptly titled MarthaBechtel). Continue reading →

Keno

Posted on December 31, 2011 at 2:00 pm

Keno

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Paso Fino (G2)
Color: Black Tobiano
Gallery: Tobaino
Medium: Acrylics
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

This little guy is a portrait of Jet’s Chief Keno owned by Sherry Foxworth of Rocking S Farm. He was one of the last portrait horses that I painted and the one I’m proudest of. He’s the best match so far from horse to model, although he wasn’t quite as complicated as Sierra. Continue reading →

Southern Fire

Posted on December 30, 2011 at 6:00 am

Southern Fire

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Standardbred/Pacer (G2)
Color: Orange-Red Dun
Gallery: Solid Colors
Medium: Acrylics
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

This little guy was my second attempt at the orange-red dun coloration that first appeared on Sonata Sunrise. Even though I’m not fond of orange, I really liked the way she turned out and wanted to give it another go. Continue reading →

Landshark’s Shadow

Posted on December 29, 2011 at 6:00 am

Landshark's Shadow

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Warmblood (G2)
Color: Bay
Gallery: Bay
Medium: Acrylics, Pastels, Prismacolor Pencils
Status: Painted 200? and Home Herd

This little guy was one of my favorite customs and I regretted selling him almost as soon as I’d put him in the mail. Amazingly I stumbled across him on MH$P a few years later and was able to bring him home again! He’s now safly ensconced in the Home Herd and won’t be going anywhere (except a photo show or two). Continue reading →

Samuel

Posted on December 28, 2011 at 6:00 am

Samuel

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Saddlebred (G2)
Color: Black Tobiano
Gallery: Tobiano
Medium: Acrylics
Status: Painted and Sold Nov 2003

Okay, so per the paperwork the buyer’s name was Samuel and I have no idea what the horse’s name was. That’s what I get for loosing track of my notes! Continue reading →

Philosophers’ Stone

Posted on December 27, 2011 at 6:00 am

Philosophers Stone

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Morgan (G2)
Color: Green-Black-Gold Faux-Stone
Gallery: Other Color
Medium: Acrylics, Liquitex Phthalocyanine Green
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

This odd little guy was an attempt to recreate the look of Gold Digger, except starting from a primed body instead of using the original finish. As you can see, it didn’t work as well as intended, but I still think it looks pretty cool (and I used the same technique on Blaustein later). Continue reading →

Checkerbox Tequila

Posted on December 26, 2011 at 6:00 am

Checkerbox Tequila

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Saddlebred (G2)
Color: Red Chestnut
Gallery: Chestnut
Medium: Prismacolor Pencils, Acrylics
Status: Painted 2001? and Home Herd

Ah Checkerbox, my very first attempt at a Hackney Pony custom of the Saddlebred mold (but certainly not my last!) Continue reading →

ROL Lida Rose

Posted on December 23, 2011 at 6:00 am

ROL Lida Rose

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Saddlebred (G2)
Color: Rose-chestnut
Gallery: Solid Color
Medium: Liquitex Venetian Rose, Acrylics
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

This little gal was a custom order for Christa of RayovLight Creations and is painted in a faux-chestnut shading with flaxen mane and tail. She has the same color scheme as Kentucky Rose, but I think she wears it better. Continue reading →

Scoville’s Ghost

Posted on December 21, 2011 at 6:00 am

Scoville's Ghost

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Trotting Foal (G2)
Color: Bay Tobiano
Gallery: Tobiano
Medium: Acrylics and Pastels
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

This little guy is quite the show-off! He’s got a rich bay base, complex tobiano pattern, and a Sculpy base that has been covered in sand and train grass. It’s models like Ghost that remind me I might possibly know what I’m doing… and there’s nothing like sharp looking foal to kick in the ego. Continue reading →

Savannah Daydreams

Posted on December 19, 2011 at 7:00 am

Savannah Daydreams

Make: Breyer
Scale: Little Bits/Paddock Pals
Mold: Unicorn
Color: Brindle Springbok-ish
Gallery: Unicorns
Medium: Acrylics and Prismacolor Pencils
Status: Painted 200? and Home Herd

This little guy is one of my favorite customs and he will never ever leave my home herd. He may be a bit rough in places, but Daydreams is what I picture when I think of wild unicorns—phooey on glowing white horses! Continue reading →

Chasing Down The Last Of The Herd

Posted on December 15, 2011 at 11:00 am

Almost Done!

There’s eighteen days until the new business goes live and I still have a lot to do!

I’m finally putting the last touches on the color galleries, although there is a lot of interlinking that still needs to take place. Tracking down the last of the missing photos is proving to be more of a challenge than expected and I have a feeling I have more horses painted that I just haven’t stumbled over yet.

265 horses are a LOT of models… how on earth did I manage to paint all these little guys?? Continue reading →

Spock

Posted on December 14, 2011 at 6:00 am

Spock

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Saddlebred (G2)
Color: Black
Gallery: Black
Medium: Acrylics
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

Spock is a simple resculpt and I’m not sure if this guy was the first portrait horse I did or if it was Billy (another black lightbreed resculpt)– such are the joys of doing almost identical horses! Continue reading →

Ladybug

Posted on December 12, 2011 at 6:00 am

Ladybug

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Shetland Pony (G2)
Color: Red and Black Ladybug
Gallery: Darwin
Medium: Acrylics
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

Bringing a new high to truth in advertising, this little guy is just what he says on the tin. Based on the Coccinella septempunctata seven-spot pattern, Ladybug is leaning more towards ‘artistic license’ rather than ‘realistic’… but you have to admit he’s cute! Continue reading →

Last Day To Bid On Elmhurst!

Posted on December 8, 2011 at 6:00 am

Elmhurst Donation

Looking for the perfect Christmas present for a horse-lover? Why not make a donation to Our Mims Retirement Haven, help support retired racehorses, and get an awesome little medallion in the process!

Offered in this eBay auction you’ll find a medallion sculpted by Morgen Kilbourn and painted as a portrait of Elmhurst, the 1997 Breeder’s Cup Sprint winner.

I’ve been out of the hobby too long to know if he’s LSQ or not, but I have a large selection of photos here, and I’m more than happy to provide larger ones on request.

And yes, this is way more spam that you will normally see for an auction… but all the proceeds go to charity so I’ll be darned if I won’t do my best to bring in the eyeballs!

Catbird’s Fancy

Posted on December 7, 2011 at 6:00 am

Catbird's Fancy

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Arabian (G2)
Color: Golden Palomino
Gallery: Dilutes
Medium: Acrylics and Pastels
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

This handsome fella was a custom order along with Magpie’s Six… and that’s as much information as I have on him so far. While his mane is slightly brighter than I’d like now, I’m going to pretended it was just washed really well for a show. Continue reading →

And He’s Off! (of Auctions and Signal Boosting)

Posted on December 5, 2011 at 9:00 am

Elmhurst Donation

My donation to the Elmhurt Medallion fundraiser for Our Mims is now on eBay– so if you’re fond of racehorses and even more fond of non-profits who give retired racehorses a home then please check him out!

He’s only a five day auction and I’ve been hopping about trying to find ways to make sure people know he’s out there. The auctions are hidden down in the racing collectables instead of in the normal model horse section of eBay, so unless I can reach folks outside of Blab, no one’s going to know he’s there!

So how do you boost the signal? Continue reading →

Senza Sordina

Posted on December 4, 2011 at 6:00 am

Senza Sordina

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Andalusian (G2)
Color: Bay
Gallery: Bay
Medium: Acrylics and Pastels
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

This little guy was a basic custom order along with the Add-a-Foal, Baby Grand. Not a whole lot else to be said for this little guy, since he’s a very simple bay. Always nice to paint something sans-chrome now and again! Continue reading →

Magpie’s Six

Posted on December 2, 2011 at 6:00 am

Magpie’s Six

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Trotting Foal (G2)
Color: Palomino
Gallery: Dilutes
Medium: Acrylics and Pastels
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

“One for sorrow, Two for joy… Named after the old nusery rhyme, this pretty little gal was and Add-a-Foal for a custom palomino Arabian (Catbird’s Fancy) and is one of the better palominos I’ve done, I think. The color is nice and soft and there’s a lot of the baby coat fading that’s missing from most of my other foals. Continue reading →

Irish Ayes

Posted on December 1, 2011 at 6:00 am

Irish Ayes

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Quarter Horse (G2)
Color: Green-bay Frame Overo
Gallery: Overo
Medium: Acrylics, Liquitex Phthalocyanine Green
Status: Painted 2005? and Sold May 2005

This little guy was a lot of fun to paint and he’s one of the few horses that ended in a bidding war on eBay. Well, he did end up under $30 I think, so more of a bidding skirmish, but still. Continue reading →

The Elmhursts are coming! The Elmhursts are coming!

Posted on November 28, 2011 at 12:03 pm

Elmhurst Donation

Remember this little guy? Well him and seven of his twins (one be’horned) are galloping off to eBay starting on the 27th!! (Which, erm, yes, was yesterday, but I was busy driving back from Buffalo and not able to get online to do the Snoopy dance.)

All of the auctions are five day auctions, so if you are looking for a) and awesome sculpture/ornament/le horse and b) a great way to donate to help out the retired racehorses (and Elmhurst himself!) at Our Mims Retirement Haven– then search no more. Just hop on over to the Ourmims-org eBay account and start bidding! Continue reading →

Nachtlied

Posted on November 28, 2011 at 6:00 am

Nachtlied

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Paso Fino (G2)
Color: Dark Bay
Gallery: Bay
Medium: Acrylics
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

Nachtlied Is German for ‘Night Song’ and this started the dark bay German silliness that followed in Nachtmaus and Nachtkatze. I know that these little guys are probably renamed as soon as they head out the door to their new owners, but coming up with names is one of my favorite parts of the process. Continue reading →

ROL Partly Cloudy

Posted on November 27, 2011 at 6:00 am

ROL Partly Cloudy

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Standing Foal (G1)
Color: Blue-bay Frame Overo
Gallery: Overo
Medium: Acrylics
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

This little guy was a custom order (Add-a-Foal?) and is owned by RayovLight Creations. He can be seen on their website along with a few other G2 SB’s that might look familiar. *grin* Continue reading →

Firefoal

Posted on November 25, 2011 at 6:00 am

Firefoal

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Scrambling Foal (G2)
Color: Fire (Red, Orange, Yellow)
Gallery: Other Color
Medium: Acrylics
Status: Painted and Sold Jan 2005

This little guy was an Add-a-Foal for Infernal Whimsy that I painted in the same color pattern. I was planning on giving him a ‘real’ name, but Firefoal had a nice ring to it—so it stuck. Continue reading →

Nobody’s Fool

Posted on November 24, 2011 at 6:00 am

Nobody's Fool

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Trotting Foal (G2)
Color: Bay
Gallery: Bay
Medium: Acrylics and Pastels
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

Nobody is a simple resculpt, with some added feathering and smidge of epoxy added to his face to change the profile. He was created as part of a custom order– yet another unnamed foal that got a moniker post-sale (I just got bored of all the ‘Unnamed’ showing up in the galleries). Continue reading →

ROL Blue By You

Posted on November 21, 2011 at 6:00 am

ROL Blue By You

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Saddlebred (G2)
Color: Blue Roan Tovero
Gallery: Other Color
Medium: Acrylics
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

This little gal was a custom order of Captain Erroneous‘s color on the Saddlebred mold. She’s owned by RayovLight Creations and can be seen on their website along with a few other G2 SB’s that might look familiar. Continue reading →

Elmhurst

Posted on November 17, 2011 at 6:00 am

Elmhurst Donation

Make: Morgen Kilbourn (Artist’s Website)
Scale: Medallion
Mold: Elmhurst Medallion
Color: Dark Bay
Gallery: Bay
Medium: Acrylics (Liquitex Gesso, Ivory Black, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Green, Turquoise, Blue, FolkArt 662 Metallic Silver Sterling) and Pastels (Sargent Art Earthtone Chalk Pastels)
Status: Painted October 2011 and Donated

This little guy was painted as a portrait of Elmhurst as a fundraising donation to Our Mims Retirement Haven. You can see the WiP posts for him here: Part 1, Part 2.

Right now the plan is for Old Mims to auction them off sometime around Thanksgiving, but I’ll keep everyone in the loop! Continue reading →

Red Baron

Posted on November 14, 2011 at 6:00 am

Red Baron

Make: Breyer
Scale: Stablemate
Mold: Paso Fino (G2)
Color: Red-bay Frame Overo
Gallery: Overo
Medium: Acrylics and Pastels
Status: Painted 200? and Sold 200?

This little gal is something of an oddity in terms of painting techniques. Normally I paint a solid base color and then go back and add white markings, but in this case I left the primer coat alone painted ‘around’ the white markings instead. Continue reading →

Elmhurst Donation Medallion – Part 2

Posted on November 11, 2011 at 6:00 am

Second Round - Fight!

(Back to Part 1!)

After some feedback at the folks at Blab, it was time to put my nose back to the grindstone and kick this guy up a notch!

The general consensus seems to be that he needs to go darker, so I’m going to rough in his mane with black so that I have something to balance against. I have the feeling he’s darker than he appears, but the flaxen mane is making it hard to see. Continue reading →