Copperfox UK Tour - Scotland Stop! IMG INT

Months ago, when I first learned that Copperfox would be touring the UK and one of those stops would be up here in Scotland, my heart sang. We have so few model horsey events 'up north' and I just couldn't wait as for once, I could go to a show in a day, without having to travel and stay somewhere overnight!

Of course, it being me, I procrastinated to my usual ridiculous degree, only assembling my list of models and setups to take a couple of days before the show - some of which were only painted and/or made literally within the last couple of weeks.

Finally, the day dawned - rather unfortunately for me much earlier than intended, as for some reason my brain thought it would be a bright idea to wake up at ohdeargodwhy o'clock. (I was awake for ages, then finally checked my phone to discover to my horror it was 4:55am and I didn't need to be up til 7. Urgh)

Once finally vaguely conscious, I bundled all my models into the car, and Dad and I set off to pick up fellow hobby friends Eleanor and Arla, who we were giving lifts to as the hall was a bit of a faff to get to if you didn't drive. The drive up was nice, only about half an hour away and close to Loch Lomond, and we even spotted a couple of ponies in fields which is always a bonus when going for a horse themed day out.

(apologies in advance for some of the blurry photos - my camera didn't always like the indoor light levels and my phone agreed)

This post is going to be loooooong with lots of photos so if you'd rather just look at them without my rambling commentary, check them all out -here-. Feel free to save photos if you or your horses are in them!

Gartmore Village Hall was lovely - once a traditional church hall, it has been completely renovated, looking very sleek and modern on the outside, but they've actually built around the original church so the lovely carved stone doors and windows are inside now which is a really nice touch.

 Inside was just as nice and it came with lovely speedy wifi which proved exceptionally useful as I could upload all my phone photos to flickr as the day wore on.

They also had the most hilarious sign on the toilets at the back. XD

...and some old horsey photos round the corner!

The room was relatively quiet when we arrived, and after saying hello to everyone, we made a beeline for the Copperfox stand which took up the whole back wall. Those boxes are pretty distinctive so there was absolutely no mistaking their contents!

The area on the right hand side had non Copperfoxy things, like Stablemate bodies, some Schleich and lots of bits and pieces presumably left over from Utterly Horses stock. I bought some Fimo (down to 50p a block, so I couldn't resist!) some Sculpey, and a few bits and bobs I probably didn't need but they were cheap so I bought 'em anyway. XD

It's probably very sad that I could tell this was a Magpie bucket before I'd even got it out of the packet. XD

I also got one of the exclusive tour stop pins. At first I wasn't going to bother as I already had the plain copper one from the Kickstarter pack, but I thought, what the hell, I might as well get one while I was there and I'm so glad I did as they're actually very different and its always nice to have something a little bit special to remind you of a particular event.

The tour pin is a lot flatter as well as having the inset union flag design in enamel.
The kickstarter one has smooth edges and feels more sculptural.

Copperfox merch! I meant to have a closer look at the tshirts but I forgot.

Those lovely official Copperfox rugs were made by Eleanor of The Miniature Equestrian and are really, really nice - definitely well recommended!

 An example of each model was laid out on the table for everyone to get a good look at.

There were two lovely glossies as raffle prizes - a gorgeous grey Connemara and the bay ISH - the grey looked SO good in gloss as it showed off his subtle (and really nicely painted) dapples beautifully.

Right at the back of the stand stood the two prizes for overall and reserve champion - another couple of glossies, this time of Marble, the tobiano and Cadno, the bay Connemaras. I'm not generally a glossy fan as I find them awkward to photograph and much prefer the realism of a matte finish but I had to admit, these two were gorgeous, especially Cadno, whose shading really popped under the gloss.

 

I'd reserved a regular run matte Cadno in advance, and got to have a good look at him out of his exceptionally cosy box before any money changed hands and wow, he was so, so, so much nicer than I'd dared hope. Absolutely no flaws (other than a tiny rough seam on his ear and literally a couple of teeny tiny uneven bits on his socks) and with the best eyes I've ever seen on an OF. The sclera especially was incredibly neat and the painters have done a truly fantastic job.

Seriously crappy phone photo is awful, apologies,
there'll be better photos at the end of the post!

My section of the table was far neater than it usually is, mostly I think because they were almost all minis and the dioramas took up more space than they did! To make things run faster, as it was more of a fun live than anything too serious, we were limited to about 20 show horses each, although most folk brought more than that as table décor. XD I only took a couple of Julips as I never get the chance to show my customs and things, but I wanted some of them to have a wee day out anyway so they just sat and watched from the table.

 

 

With plenty of time before the show began, I had a nosy at everyone else's collections. It was so nice to see such a wide range of brands and types, especially as I hadn't been to a non Julip live in ages. The only real thing missing was resins, which were exempt to make things a little fairer for all entrants as it wasn't a hugely 'serious' show. There were a few on people's tables though as mascots were encouraged!

This was one of the resin versions of Finnegan and that paint job is just....wow.

It was great to see such a wide range of ages and quite a few newcomers to the hobby as well - for more than a few it was their first experience of live showing and in some cases, their first real chance to meet up with like-minded collectors. There were also a lot more people in general than we'd been expecting - around the 30 mark! This bodes incredibly well for future shows so fingers crossed, as I'd really like to hold my own one at some point and I'd love for it to be as successful as this one was.

Heather's dinosaur mascot never fails to amuse me - he's just so stinking cute, even when he tries to bite your fingers off!

The first class of the day was English Performance, for which I'd created a cross country setup with my most recent stablemate custom and tack, jump and diorama of my own making. The rider was a repainted Britains showjumper.

It wasn't a huge class but there were some really brilliant entries from everyone.

This one was my favourite - that picnic table jump was brilliant!

 

I really liked this one too - you get the feeling the horse is seriously focused on the approach to that jump.

I was pleasantly surprised to see my little setup take the first ribbon of the day and it set something of a trend for the next few classes!

 The second class of the day was Western Performance.

Karon's stunning CWP custom absolutely stole the show, and I still can't believe that's what it started out like...last week! Apparently she'd only heard about the show a couple of weeks ago and quickly rustled up this entry! I could maybe cobble together a quick stablemate custom in that time but certainly not a trad! O_O

In a moment of madness last week I realised that I didn't have anything to enter in that class other than a Julip, but I lacked a decent rider, sooooo, I broke out the leather and scalpel and settled down through most of the night - whilst binge watching The X-Files -  to make a stablemate western set because...reasons. The etchie was an old one, but I tweaked the rider a bit with a fresh coat of paint and some plastic surgery to his inseam so he'd sit properly on his new saddle. XD He was going to have a one-ear curb bridle originally but I got frustrated with the straps so I opted for a bosal instead, though I did go a bit cross-eyed plaiting the reins...
The base was new as well - I toyed with the idea of adding sponsor signs to the back but I decided against it in the end as I think the plain white fence shows the horse off more.

 The madness apparently paid off because it scored me a second place, behind Karon's gorgeous appie! (not bad for two setups thrown together at the last minute!)

Next up was Other Performance.

I love a good horse related disaster, so my entry was very much tongue in cheek, with some HO scale horses and riders trying out the cross country course and ending up slightly soggy. I painted both horses and made the base, but the riders are OF.

Looks like I forgot to paint the edges of the base, oops!

It didn't win, but got a 'Highly Commended' ribbon which I'm pretty chuffed with.

The other entries were brilliant!

This guy was originally the stablemate farrier - that's quite a career change!

After that was the scene class. It's always my absolute favourite class to look at, but something I rarely do well in, because shows are always so far away and transport is awkward for me because I don't drive, so I don't usually get the opportunity to bring anything bulky for a setup without sacrificing horse space. With this show only half an hour away however, I couldn't resist bringing one of my 1/12th scale setups.

I love my little feedroom, and apparently so did Kirkby the pit pony!

It does have a roof but I left it off so people could see the interior.

In hindsight I should have positioned the people to look rather more shocked by a tiny pony charging into the shed without permission but then again, he probably does this sort of thing a lot, so perhaps they're just not surprised any more.

I really loved the setup above - the dark arena footing reminds me of a place I used to ride at on holiday. :D

I made the base for the entry below and commissioner Caz picked it up at the show. I was really pleased with the water and it was nice to see it 'in action' for the first time!

Arla's carousel was brilliant - it even had lights!

Heather's Cinco de Mayo parade was very well received, not least because of the wonderfully pudgy cats in the dog cart! XD

I was really pleased to see that my little shed won the class and I got lots of questions about how I put it all together.

I wish I'd been able to find a bit of grass that actually fitted it but hey-ho. XD

Before we knew it the Performance Championship had arrived and all first and second placed entries were returned to the table for final judging.

Because it had won both Western and Other Performance, Karon's entry was adapted to account for both riders... XD

It took the Championship...

...and my little XC setup got the Reserve!

(I never actually got to eat any of those prize chocolates you know. I came downstairs that evening after uploading all the photos to discover that my parents had already finished the box!)

The rosettes at the show were really lovely, in the distinctive Copperfox colours of copper and blue. Better yet, they matched my nails! XD

They're really messy because I realised the day before the show that I
didn't actually have any copper nail varnish and had to improvise with copper coloured
poster paint and clear varnish, which really wasn't easy to paint with. XD

Now that the Performance section was out of the way, the in hand classes could begin. The first class was for Arabs, and it was very popular indeed.

I don't normally like Stone Arabs because they look more like giraffes than horses, but that dappling was just beautiful!

Next up was TB...

Harper wasn't expected to get anything at all, he just came along for the fun of it really. XD

...then Pinto/Paint...

This ISH was stunning!

Following on from that was QH/Appaloosa.

One of my customs - EA Wraithstone - came second in the Other American class. I was especially pleased by this as the ribbon matched the ones in his mane perfectly.

For someone who absolutely adores draught breeds I have surprisingly few of them in model form, so choosing who to enter in the Heavy Horse class was actually quite easy. Seamus the custom Schleich Clydesdale was originally resculpted and painted for a friend, but she recently sold him back to me as she was taking a break from the hobby and I was super chuffed to have him back for my show string.

I loved this guy!

After that was arguably my favourite in hand class of all - the British native class.

My little Magpie Shetland custom, EA Tattie Bogle did incredibly well and I was absolutely over the moon with his placing as I think he's one of the best customs I've ever done.

The Spanish class incorporated both the usual Iberian breeds and mustangs.

This one was originally the G3 cantering WB apparently, which I would never have guessed!

I don't have any proper photos of this lad yet, but I resculpted and painted him ages ago. He's one of my favourite roans to date and I really like his eyes. He got a nice 4th place ribbon. :D

The Warmblood/Sporthorse class was very competitive, with at LEAST four Valegros and a whole host of other OF delights.

One of my custom Schleichs - EA Dutch Courage - got a Highly Commended ribbon which I was pretty chuffed with. I think he has the best dapples I've ever painted.

Other European was filled with a lot of hairy ponies and cobs.

I approved. <3 br="">

These two were so similar I thought it looked rather like the one on the left was skidding to a stop. XD

 

I put in my lovely Julip cob mare Rosa purely because I wanted to enter her in something, not thinking for a moment that she'd actually win, so you can imagine my shock and delight when she did!

I must say though, red really is her colour. :P

Next up was Rest of World breeds and Partbred.

I LOVED this one!

I'd hoped for a placing with my Bouncer etchie but the quality of other entries was so high I really didn't mind not getting anything!

 

Next was the Youngstock class.

Apparently this is what happens to an iphone when someone's flash goes off whilst I'm taking a shot. XD

This Stone yearling was my favourite entry in the class and would likely have been my first pick had I been judging - just look at those dapples!

This one would have been my pick for second place - I love that mould.

Ultimately, it was my own little custom, Widget who took the red ribbon. She's one of my favourites and I suppose she does have the fluffy pony factor going for her. XD

Other Equines was next, so I entered my little Magpie donkey custom, EA Ted Tonks. The competition was fierce, with a lot of gorgeous donkeys and zebras to come up against, but he still managed to score a very respectable 3rd. I thought I'd taken photos of this class but apparently this was all I got. :(

 

The next class was for Special Runs and there was a lot of eye candy!

I threw EA Fantastic Mr Copperfox in, as it would have been weird to go to a Copperfox show and not enter one in something! XD

I absolutely love the plaited version of the Stone Pony and a bay on this mould is one of my grails. I'd have quite happily taken this one home if I'd been able to!

Next was 'Custom by owner' which was filled with a ridiculous number of beautiful customs - most of which I wanted to sneak onto my table..

When I first saw this custom, she was lying upside down on a chair, half covered in bubblewrap and its testament to how normal taxidermy is to me now that my first thought honestly was 'oooh, someone's brought an owl!' (because that's a totally normal thing to bring to a live show! XD)

 

FLOOF!

I entered my little Collecta Dartmoor without much hope of getting anything as although I was really pleased with the paintjob, in the light of the hall it was hard to see his details and shading. To my surprise he got second place! I don't have any photos annoyingly.

The penultimate class was for tack made by owner, and there were some really nice entries all round.

EA Quirtsquip's XC set came in second...

...and Arla's fantastic haute ecole set took the first!

'Fancy Dress' was the final class of the day and there were some very creative entries! Unfortunately my photos didn't turn out very well so I only got a couple which is a real shame as I'd have liked to have shown you every entry!

I'd run out of time (read: procrastinated too much) to make one of my Julips a costume, so I threw Harper in, with the excuse that he was 'dressed fancily' in matching rug and headcollar. My cheek paid off and he got a Highly Commended. XD

Before we knew it, it was time for the In Hand Championship, so all our first and second prizewinners were put back on the table for the judge.

Becky took a long time to decide and I don't blame her, I would have really struggled to pick a winner out of that lot!

 

I wasn't really paying attention when the winner was announced but when I did finally turn round I was utterly shocked.

Go, Tattie Bogle, go! :D

I'm super pleased with Tattie, as resculpting is something I'm not particularly confident in usually, but it seemed to work on him!

Unsurprisingly, Karon's amazing appaloosa won the Supreme Championship of the whole show, taking home the glossy Marble and another very shiny rosette.

She also managed to win that gorgeous grey glossy in the raffle...after only buying ONE ticket - it was definitely her lucky day!

The Reserve Championship however...

...went to me!

I had absolutely no idea when I came to the show that I'd come home with anything like this and I don't think the shock of it has really hit me yet!

This really meant a lot to me as I haven't really done many customs in the last few years as my muse for painting had vanished without trace, but Quirt almost seemed to paint herself and to get this level of success on her very first outing is just incredible! I love making dioramas and oddly, mini tack too, so perhaps I've found my showing niche? I hate making stablemate bridles with a passion though so we'll have to see what performance ideas I can come up with that involve the least amount of strapwork!

I found it slightly hilarious though that I've now ended up with twins as I now have both the glossy and matte versions of Cadno! I'll pop photos of the two of them in another post as this one is already enormous!

After all the excitement of the show, lunchtime was nice and chilled out ahead of the painting session in the afternoon.

The main tables turned into a sales area and I managed to sell some of the traditionals I've been meaning to part with for years as they've just been gathering dust and deserved a more appreciative home. Hopefully I'll see them again as part of someone's show string! Karon took my old rubbed up CWP and I can't wait to see what he turns into next! I was very good and didn't buy anything, although I'm now regretting that as there were some stablemate customs I meant to have another look at but didn't. :( I also bought some grosgrain ribbon in a variety of colours so hopefully my two newbies will get their own headcollars soon.

(Oh and just so I don't forget, before lunch someone misheard me saying that I volunteered with a taxidermist, prompting the question 'Did you just say you volunteer as tribute?!'  XD

I was looking forward to my lunch but not quite enough to fight to the death for it!)

Not everybody had a go at the painting, choosing to chat at their tables instead but it was great fun anyway.

The paint was that kind of generic cheap acrylic I think, which wasn't ideal as it didn't layer well and kept taking the last coat off even when you thought it had dried, so I didn't dilute it at all when I painted mine.(had I remembered in time I'd have brought my own paints and brushes as the ones used weren't great for minis, but never mind) It turned out a bit rough and thick as a result but I can always go over it with some fine sandpaper and/or just repaint it entirely. I tried to make one of the tobiano patches vaguely fox shaped but it looks more like a big dog. XD

Sadly all good things must come to an end and eventually the day was over, so everyone said their goodbyes and disappeared off with their ponies.

 It was an absolutely fantastic show, and so good to meet new people and put faces to names I'd known of for years but never actually met before. Half the fun of showing is the social aspect - meeting new people, ogling their ponies and just talking horse with like-minded folk. Obviously winning things is the icing on the cake, and I'm still gobsmacked that I did as well as I did!
 (I've been told I'm not allowed to win anything again from now on and will only be show photographer in future, haha!)

I can't thank Becky and her mum enough for hosting it all - we often feel a little left out up here in terms of shows and events, but this has really opened our eyes to just how many of us are up here and interested in shows, so hopefully this will spur us on to holding more!

I leave you with two tiny previews of the Cadno post to come, both matte...

..and glossy...