Horses for larger dolls

I cannot wait to see the new sculpt, Shulamite!
I've already got one of my doll/characters begging me to get him a Nahar or My Twinn Prancer and mod it into his horse. All he's got is a pack pony.

 

I am really curious what you will create this time. Nahar is already very pretty, but a more baroque type...sad that it will be out of reach for me.

Maybe I will make one by myself. I still have tons of Apoxie sitting around. But then I have to practice some weight lifting or buy a cart to carry that gigantic model horse around...

 

LOL Ipledreamer, no weight lifting skills involved! Really, I expect the new one to weigh no more than 20 lbs tops. But I do understand the cost, weight, and space issues. If you have tons of Apoxie go for it, maybe you could make it in removeable parts for transport and storage. I used around 35 lbs for my original, but I have since learned how to cut corners with the epoxie putty which saves money AND weight.
I went to a Dolly/Christmas sleepover last night (thank you Momo!) and brought a sketch-model of the new project. One of us has this gorgeous Soom 68 cm boy and I got some snaps of him for scale with the horse. Am I correct that most of the new Iplehouse guys are slightly larger? So if the new horse is exactly this size it looks like a good match to me, size-wise. What do you say? Input? Critique?

 

Slimgiltsoul, yes, I think that is what I am going for; that is if by "cart-horse" you mean a larger, heavier horse like a Belgian or Percheron. I want the feathers to be sculpted on and will leave the tail and mane blank for customizing as desired.

 

Shulamite : Wow oO I need to say it : That soom is just to sexy

 

No, the horse looks gorgeous, even if he is just on paper right now (well, the Soom isn't bad either). If you multiply the 68 cm by 3, we have a man of 2.04 m tall. Even nowadays, that is still rare. If you take earlier times, a guy this tall would have been considered almost a giant. But as we can see, the horse's withers are en par with the man's shoulders. Even today, that would be an okay match.

You could go a tad taller for the horse, as my Iplehouse man is even 2 cm taller. If you want to serve e.g. Mecha Angels or Spiritdoll Herculians, the horse could be considered something like a heavy Cob type. Thus I would not make the horse taller, you can always shift a bit with horse breeds. And there are smaller and taller horses anyways.

Ah, he already looks so fantastic.

 

the sketch looks great with that Soom boy!!

 

My only concern it the front weight. I worry you might run into balance issues without moving that front left leg forward a bit. I know it's not exactly movement accurate but perhaps that or making sure the feathers sclupting goes all the way to the ground to create a more solid base. I love love love the roman nose. I have asoft spot for real horses who have them.

 

Thank you audlydou, Ipledreamer, elf-ears and Pam for input. I hadn't even considered the weight distribution, yes Pam a great point about the balance with moving the front leg forward a bit. I am still wondering what to do about feathering so having more of it will be more of a stabilizer. I'm curious if this hobby will continue to go even taller than Iplehouse at least for regular bjd collectors! I don't think I want to make horses much bigger, oh no! A pony for a Dollmore Lusion?
That Soom boy IS gorgeous

 

Wow, that sketch is awesome. I have an Amazon Celtic Princess that NEEDS a large horse and this is a dream come true. I thought I would never find the right horse for her and here you have gone and started the perfect horse. I will be saving my money and praying this project works out!!!
By the way, the weight distribution issue is a very good point, especially when you add the weight of a rider to the mix.
I will be watching for progress and I am sending you much good luck!!!

 

I saw this post awhile ago and thought I'd send out a reply. I saw a huge model horse at Target about a week ago. It was in the miscellaneous doll aisle. It was so crowded I couldn't get in to see what the name of it was. Targets are pretty much the same though and it was huge. YOu couldn't miss it if your Target had one! hope this helps anyone looking.

 

Unfortunately, the huge Model horses sold by Target are Our Generation / Battat horses, and they are barely ponies for SDs. Thanks for the thought, though- that was really kind of you.


Our Generation horse, Leeds stuffed/plush horse, 60cm SD.

 

Oh wow, it seemed so big!! I am actually still waiting for my first SD sized doll. Should be here anyday! I have a YOSD and an MSD so I don't have a good idea yet of the size. I like the idea of the horse, so I'm glad I didn't go to Target to buy that horse before my doll even came!!

 

Go ahead and buy one, but they make great chargers or big breeds for MSDs, just not more than ponies to SDs.

 

Ooo. I love big horses! They are my most favorite. So huge and majestic, like giants.

Reminds me of Leonardo DaVinci's Horse Sculpture (It is gigantic!):




I love the curls in this horse's hair, the fact that he stands on two legs, and has his head leaning slightly to one side. The head placement makes for better movement and less static/posed look. Maybe you could consider these details in your final sculpting?

I will be keeping an eye out for availability of this large beauty!

 

It is a nice horse. However, to ensure a safe standing, 3 hooves, or even better 4 hooves on the ground work much better. With only these 2 hooves on the ground, the horse would need a stand. You have to consider that you want your doll to ride safely on the horse, without both falling.

 

Wow, that new horse is going to be gorgeous. Love the sketch!

 

Thank you guys for the input!
Mxion, YES! This sculpture is so impressive! If I remember right some soldiers blew up Da Vinci's original, or used it for target practice or something. Must read the story again... I have been planning on using this sculpture as a reference for my new one. I do wish gravity and balance didn't have to be factored into the work as I agree the turned head and 2 legs on the ground would be better art but less stable for our dolls.
Ipledreamer, yes 3 feet on the ground is what I'm going for but trying to keep a sense of movement there. Thanks for the input!
Brignasa, I really appreciate the encouragement

 

Johnny's Cash... MyTwinn horse.

Just chillin

 

A woman in my local group brought her My Twinn horse to a meet-up, and someone's SD was put on it to ride it and it looked amazing! So... yeah, I'd totally recommend finding a My Twinn horse if you want one for your SD (I have a My Twinn, and she's almost the same height as my SD, which is around 23 inches, so both could fit on a horse like that).