Repositioning a Breyer's Leg

After having a look at other collectors' photos of their Mariahs, it became clear that my girl's bent foreleg was not an intended part of the sculpture. So I decided to try repositioning it with heat. I followed Shoestring Stable's tutorial for this, with the exception that I don't have a heat gun, so I used a hairdryer instead.

Here she is before treatment. Her near (left) foreleg is noticeably bent inwards under her body.

 I aimed the hairdryer at the upper part of her leg, as this was the area I intended to reposition. I made sure to heat all sides of her leg, and I was worried about damaging her paint, so I didn't apply the heat for very long. Each side of her leg (left, right, top and bottom) got about 30 seconds of heat.

 After heating I turned off the hairdryer and carefully tried to move the leg. If it was still quite resistant I reapplied the heat and tried again until the plastic was quite flexible. I then gently manoeuvred the leg into a more natural position.

 Once repositioned I quickly dunked the model's leg into a glass of cold water to cool the plastic. My glass wasn't big enough to dunk just one leg in far enough, so my mare got both forelegs dunked :)

 The finished result. Her near foreleg is now much more naturally positioned. I'm not convinced that I've moved the leg quite far enough, but I'm anxious about doing anything more, especially as the upper part of her leg is much more solid than the rest of the leg, so it'd need much more heat to become flexible. As it is now I think it's fine, and I'm quite happy to leave it like this.

 

And here is a clearer comparison between the before and after photos, to clearer see  the difference. 

Oh, and I need to correct something I said in my last post: after looking at her a bit more closely, I think her near (left) ear actually isn't missing it's tip. It's just that the awkward way the ear is turned makes it look a bit square at the tip when viewed from the front.

Breyer 2013 Horse of the Year "Mariah"

Yeah, ok, I bought her.

She's lighter (in weight) than I expected. She's also second hand, so she's got the usual small rubs and marks that you can expect with a model that's had at least one other owner. Unlike the official promotional photos from Breyer she doesn't have any dapples, but she's a lovely silvery grey.

 Now that I can actually see her with my own eyes and turn her around in my own hands I can get a better picture of her conformation. She still looks a bit...off, to me. Her near (left) shoulder seems a bit disconnected from her leg, and she's definitely much more attractive from her off (right) side. In addition, from this side it looks like her neck is a little too long.

On my girl the charcoal airbrushing on her forelegs doesn't extend all the way round, so the backs of her forelegs are awkwardly blank. But that's a painting issue, not sculpting.

I've read another collector's comment that she looks like she's coming to a halt from a trot. I personally think she'd look lovely under harness, perhaps pulling a light trap (cart).

 She has one ear flicked forward and one flicked to the side: I absolutely love this! I feel it gives her real character. Her near (left) side ear seems weird, though. It's awkwardly sliced off at the tip, and seems weirdly connected to her head from the left side. It's not unheard of for real horses to lose the tips of their ears in accidents or fights, though.

I don't know whether it's just my girl, but her near (left) fore leg seems to bend in underneath her body, and the distance between her hooves seems very narrow.

As nicely as possible, she's got quite a big butt :) This makes her quite pear-shaped from above, as her shoulders are quite narrow. In fact, she's almost as pear shaped as a CollectA horse from above!

 All four legs have sculpted chestnuts (the hard growth on the inside of the leg). This is a nice touch and not something you see on every Breyer model. I wish they'd painted her hooves better, as they're just vaguely airbrushed in.

 Her mane is lovely and flowy, and I like the multi-tonal way they've painted her mane and tail.

 Her head is relatively attractive. She has large, gentle eyes, although mine has a bit of overpaint on her right eye.

 I can't quite tell for certain, but I keep thinking that her head is slightly too large for her body...

I like the dark tips to her ears, but does every model have a missing ear tip?

 What is up with that left ear??

 From the front her face seems a bit too narrow. You can really see it below, compared to the Johar (bay) and Duchess (chestnut) moulds.

So, what's my verdict? The mould still seems awkward to me, but that doesn't mean I dislike her. Whilst I don't think she'd win any awards for her looks, in my opinion she'd look quite nice under tack, either ridden or driving a small cart. She certainly doesn't have the body of a younger animal, but as an older mare or even broodmare I think she could work. And despite her flaws she does have her charm, and wouldn't look out of place in a stable set up.

Now I just have to find her a place on my shelves. Hmm, easier said than done...