Tail of a Tale Replacment

Just recently I brought home a Northern Dancer to repair it for my cousin. 



This is a tutorialish on how I did it. From a beginner to a beginner, here it is:

Supplies:
  1. Super Glue
  2. Baking Soda
  3. Round Pliers and Wire Cutters
  4. Thick Wire
  5. Sand Paper
  6. Epoxy Sculpt
The first step of fixing the horse was measuring wire for him. I made sure he had wire all the way down his body to see that it had plenty of leverage to hold the tail.

After the wire was measured and aligned, I then took my super glue and baking soda and got ready to fill in the massive hole where the tail belonged. He had been super-glued three times before and his tail had fallen off every time after (except for the third time. I took over before that could happen).


I built up the super glue layer by layer, closing the wire where it belonged.




Finally! There was only a small hole left by the end of the process. It took awhile, but it was finally time to check tail fit.


That was a big gap so I did a lot of sanding. I had a hard time finding where the high spots were so I tried a new technique. I painted black on the tail where I thought it might be touching. After that, I put the tail to it. Wherever the black came off on the tail, that is where it needed sanded.



There came more sanding and a second fitting. The gap was better but still a pretty wide chasm. I decided it was time for epoxy.

First I put baking soda and glue on the tail to make sure that it was secure.


Then came rolls of epoxy and sculpting it to match the old style of the tail. I have sculpting tools, but I am sure a person could make a pencil or paintbrush handle work.



I let it dry and then, ta da! the tail was finished. I only made the mistake of not sanding around the tail stump so that the epoxy would stick better.. It was already having a tendency to pull away when I handed Northern Dancer back to his owner. Oh, well. At least it won't fall off now. As long as she doesn't make him do circus tricks of standing on the tail, or hold him by it upside-down, it should last for the rest of his life.









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Odd Horse Color

Image
I just recently received a new order for a custom, and this is the picture I received: I took a look at the picture and had the typical thought process of, "What a pretty horse. Plain, simple bay. That will be easy enough. Silly guy has clearly been laying down, look at all that dust [I realized my mistake later]! What a nice barn... etc." And the the detail pictures started rolling in and I got the shock and thrill of my life. What a fun custom to do! And what a strange color. As her o wner says, " I like to say she’s part zebra."  Yes, I would say that is accurate... Look at those legs! Part Okapi might be more accurate. And look at that back! Does this count as counter-shading? The colors doesn't stop there. It also extends to her front legs... And her brightly colored face. Thank you C for letting me post these pictures on my blog! Your mare is stunning and I look forward to getting started on her!
Read more

After A Couple Of Years (And multiple customs)...

Image
 Okay, it has only been couple of months since I last posted...  I have to give so many updates! Here is what I have finished... I felt like these took forever with canceled family vacations, visiting family, and college starting back up. This picture makes their eyes look scary! Oooh! My Horse of an Odd Color is done. She took FOREVER! Here is what I am working on right now... 40,000 hairs and counting... The bull looks much better now. I have colored his legs and shaded his muzzle down. I don't have picture. And finally, I survived Breyerfest and added, ahem, one horse to my herd. At least it is a mold and color that I really like. Oh, make that two... The long desired Padron's Psyche finally made his way to my house, and for a flat $100. I think he's gorgeous. And of course, he had to be named in the typical pattern. He is now named after the carrier Natoma Bey (Bay)... I also got a Breyer Classic Arabian Stallion for my Birthday. His name is Remey, a Cruiser. Apparently
Read more

More Customs...

Image
 Once again, I put months in between blog posts. Well, at least that is a lot of updates of the portrait horses I've painted. But first, here is a new resin I recently bought to add to the shelf herd. She will be painted dappled grey. I also just recently traded my Beachcomber, Constellation, and Padron's Psyche away for this guy. He is OOAK and worth at least $250. Not to mention the fact that he is LSQ. Now, enough of this. Back to my customs that I have recently finished. Trip is finally done. She took forever, and was finished with over 50,000 individual hairs. Her owner was very pleased with the portrait. I also finished Jewel. She too was a hard one, as she was my first white grey. I am also working on an SCO and Giselle. The SCO will soon be done. Giselle is not quite as close to being done. Three more ponies are also getting their finishing coats of gloss, and will soon (haha) be posted here.
Read more