Thursday, January 18, 2018

Blog Update and Vlog #2

First up and most important: Thank you SO much, everyone, for the great feedback on my first vlog.  That was absolutely terrifying for me to do (and share --- eek!).  I can't thank everyone enough for the support.  ((hugs)) all around!

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I promise I am not going to give up on this blog!  The current computer situation is:

For Christmas, Jeff bought me a new laptop.  Which was a total dud.  He spent hours on the phone with tech support and ended up returning it.  Then he bought me another one.  It worked great!  It was beautiful, powerful, the screen colors and resolution were Ahhhhmazing!

Notice how all of that is past tense?

Turned out my beautiful new laptop wasn't charging.  It didn't recognize it's own power cord.

Jeff spent more hours on the phone with (another brand's) tech support, before being told it would have to be sent off for repairs".

Sigh.

I'd gotten very much in the habit of doing pretty much everything on a laptop.  Even now, sitting at my old desktop computer feels strange to me.

During the day, Jeff is at work and I'm at home with Max, downstairs.  (He's still with us!  Doing well, but doesn't like to be alone and has a hard time going up and down the stairs)  In the evening, I'm either downstairs hanging out with them, or in the Studio making stuff. (!!)  There's not much desktop computer time in the current schedule.


So, that's the long story short on why my blog here has been seemingly neglected again.  I'm hoping to at least sit down here and get some posts scheduled, maybe this weekend. 

All that being said... here's something to hold you over.  (haha)

"Oops, I did it again"




As always, I'd love to hear any suggestions for future videos and also some feedback on a good length for videos.  Also, frequency?  I was thinking once a week for a vlog, but let me know what you guys think! 


Tuesday, January 9, 2018

I Did A Scary Thing! (First Vlog)

Jeff just had a couple of weeks off over the holidays and we watched a lot of stuff together.  I watched a few vlogs (video blogs) from some people he follows on YouTube.  They were neat to see.

I've been considering trying to do more videos and decided it might be fun to start a vlog of my own...? 

For this year I had decided I would try to worry less about trying to be a perfectionist and just DO things.

With that in mind, *gulp*, here is my first vlog! 

Eeeeee....



It was kind of fun, kind of...  I am SO not an "on camera" person, but I think I might try and do these on some sort of semi-regular basis.

I would love some ideas on what kind of videos you'd like to see!


Tuesday, January 2, 2018

First BIG Project of 2018

A few months ago, I mentioned that I was planning to do a Clydesdale mare for the MEPSA Extreme Model makeover contest. 


It took me a bit of time to get rolling, but on Christmas day, I broke out my trusty 20-year-old (yes, really) Dremel and got to work!


This was the first time I'd cut this much material away to do repositioning.  I mostly work with Stablemates, which are solid plastic.  I've dabbled in moving some larger (hollow) horses around, but in the past I've always tried to preserve as much plastic as I could. 

This time I decided to do things a bit differently, because of a much different plan for filling the hollow space.  More on that in a bit. 

It took a couple hours or so of careful work with a cut off wheel and the bur bit that I use to get into tight places.  What you can't see in these pictures is that I cut all the way around between the front and back legs, and up the rump/along the base of the neck.  So each limb and attached shoulder or hip was floating and easily movable. 


Here are the results of the first round with my heat gun. 


I was happy to see her underway; she looked neat here, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for.


My heat gun is a Wagner brand with two heat settings and an extra metal tip that focuses the heat in a smaller area.  It's very nice. 

Pro Tip: If you find yourself shopping for a heat gun and are having trouble finding one, be aware that they are sometimes called a paint stripper. 

Also, be VERY careful with them, they can get HOT and easily burn you or other things.  Mine is rated to get to 1,000 degrees on the high setting. 


After a second round with the Dremel and heat gun, here's how she looked. 


My end goal was a BIG, flying trot, and it seemed counterproductive to tighten things up at this stage, but I was getting ready for a part that I was dreading (and quite frankly trying to avoid, haha).  That would be bending the stifles and having to cut into the huge solid hunk of plastic in that area in order to do it!


I got on a roll on New Year's Eve and  skipped documenting the third, fourth, and fifth rounds of fine tuning with the Dremel and heat gun. 

Then...  attack of the marshmallows!


I used expanding foam insulation to fill the hollow areas and it worked wonderfully!   I can't take any credit for this technique, it comes from this blog post and I've been wanting to try it out ever since I came across the idea. 

This stage looks pretty spectacular.



Here's a quick picture of her, at the whacky stage, with the picture that inspired this whole adventure.


Much better!  Here she is after I tore off the excess foam. 


I confess, I couldn't stop smiling when I saw her at this stage.  It was a bit of a challenge to get here, but I'm so happy at this point!


My goal from the beginning was for a BIG horse that was really moving out and I think she's just about there.  I'll be fine tuning her legs a bit more (is something like this ever really done??) and more Dremeling (sanding).  Then comes the scary stage - resculpting.  I know she won't be perfect, but I'm looking forward to getting back to work on her.

Right now I'm taking a few days away, so that I can look at her with fresh eyes.  Also, I apparently pinched a nerve in my shoulder/back at some point during the past week  (Ow.) so I'm on the mend from that.  I'm hoping to get back to work on her later this week.  I've only got about a month to get her done. 

Yeah.  I'm crazy.


Monday, January 1, 2018

Motivation Monday - 2018

Yes, I'm still alive!  I've been quietly at work on several fronts, but have neglected my blog during the busy holidays.  

I've mentioned in several of these posts that I actually like Mondays; I view them as a fresh start.  I suppose that makes this the best of them then - it's not just a new week, it's a New Year!

I hope everyone has had a good holiday season and I hope you have a great New Years too.  Let's make this a good one!