A complete tutorial with all the tools and color recipes needed to paint a leopard appaloosa on a Breyer, Schleich, CollectA, artist resin or other brand of model horse.

Many of us are visual learners. You can learn so much from watching a video on painting model horses that an article just doesn't quite compare. It helps techniques click when you can see it in real-time. Which is why I'm so grateful to other hobbyists who took the time out of their day to make video tutorials, and why I make my own. And, since it's NaMoPaiMo time, I've collected some of my favorite tutorials from YouTube, along with a few of mine, just for painting model horses. Maybe there's something in here you'd like to try on your 2020 NaMoPaiMo horse?

Today's NaMoPaiMo post talks about prepping and priming your horses for next month's National Model Painting Month. The video covers seven tips to make prepping easier and more fun, as well as how to work in the cold for those in the northern hemisphere. In today's blog post, I'll also cover tools, supplies and how to troubleshoot common primer issues.

My first ever tobiano (and one of my first ever customs) placed next to my latest, and a perfect illustration of why you stick to your passions. If you've ever felt like your work will never amount to those created by more established or professional artists, then you need to read this.

Apoxie Sculpt and other brands of two-part epoxy clay is the heart and soul of model horse customizing and a great air-dry clay. For this post, I'm featuring a great tutorial video by Darynn Bednarczyk of DeeJayBe model horse customs to get you started in all things apoxie. Be sure to visit the video on YouTube and click on the description since she has a TON of great resources and tools listed there.

A couple weeks ago, I asked my Instagram followers what sort of tutorials they would like to see from me. Video tutorials won the majority for preferred format, so I figured it was time to actually do something with that channel I set up a while ago. Many people wanted to see sculpting and painting tutorials, so I'm taking advantage of a long Christmas stay-cation to record some of those videos, starting with how I sculpt ears. That video is live now.
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#NaMoPaiMo is National Model Painting Month, an international painting challenge in February between model horse hobbyists. It was founded and is run by Jennifer Buxton and is a fun online (and sometimes in-person) gathering of sharing progress, tips and fun.

Now in its second year, I will be participating again with another stablemate custom. I've chosen a Breyer G1 Thoroughbred mare who I am transforming into an Arabian mare. My January month will be spent finishing her sculpting and prepping her for next month's painting.

While I'm at it, I thought I'd walk you through her major changes, which I also thought would be a great insight for those wanting to know how to make stablemate customs.

After the prior article on craftsmanship, I thought it would be great to have a super short and illustrated look into why craftsmanship is so important to prepping. 

Before I sprayed my NaMoPaiMo mare with primer, I honestly thought this girl was super smooth. But look! The first coat of primer showed that I couldn't have been more wrong. While not bad for the first pass of primer, clearly she needs more sanding, especially around the areas where I added epoxy.