Introducing...Prince!
Yet another late post, this project was actually done in March 2025, but for me that’s still a pretty good timeframe from completion to blog post. 😂
One of my long term hobby goals is to make Max a horse. Not just a static statue, but a fully poseable articulated 1/6th scale horse so she can go out on hacks and jump and gallivant to her heart’s content.
(As per usual, I don’t give myself easy projects!)
I’ve made articulated creatures before (obviously Baxter, and a handful of other art dolls from back in the day) but horses are very different beasts, and something I knew would be considerably trickier, especially considering the fact I’d need it to be sturdy enough to support the weight of a doll and tack, whilst still being able to be posed. Once upon a time I made a 1/6 horse; Inky, whose decidedly wobbly and battered body still leans precariously against one of my shelves; her wire core being far too weak for the rest of her. She was a labour of love, and while I do cringe a bit looking at her now, she was a good first attempt all things considered.
I’ve got lots of ideas for a new horse using much improved techniques, but at the moment I don’t have all the materials to get started the way I want, so in the meantime I thought I’d do a test run and start off with a pony. I’ve got a few 1/6 child dolls, so I thought it would be fun to make a Shetland for them to ride. Unfortunately as you’ll see, it ended up not turning into one so I just dropped down a scale to 1/9th (better known in the model horse hobby as Traditional scale) and decided he could be a crossbreed instead. The irony is that I don’t really do much in trad scale, so he’s become something of a rarity in my collection. 😂
Anyway, onto the step by step!