A Model Horse Artist’s Worst Enemy!? What is it and tips on how to combat it
May 21, 2025
If you are new to the model horse community or just starting to learn about model horse customization, you most likely don't know what a model horse artist's worst enemy is. And the answer might surprise you.
The art of model horse customization is a difficult craft, which requires a trained eye and hand for details, perfection, and precision. Artist look into the smallest features of their horses and thoroughly inspect their model to ensure optimal condition. Because model horse customs are generally exchanged and sold from artist to artist, the model must be pristine to pass its' inspection at arrival. This is where the hard part comes in.
The nightmare of a model horse artist is to have dust on their art. The model horse must be completely dust free to pass through a collector and artist's standards. This is why artists must ensure there is no dust between any of the layers they add to their horse.
Although this task is hardly achieved entirely and no one has perfect horses, there are a couple of things artists can do to prevent the disaster as much as possible.
Always wear gloves to avoid bringing dust near your unfinished model.
Never allow your horse to rest uncovered for long periods of time. It is preferable to use a clean box to cover the horse.
Tie back your hair when working on the horse.
Move your horses away from the area when cleaning their shelf so the dust doesn't rise and settle on them.
Avoid fans or flapping material near your work area.
Work in a settled and undisturbed environment to prevent other people or pets bringing dust near your model on their clothes or fur.
Store your horses in an calm area and avoid fussing with them. (This is so hard! I always find myself saying "I just need to shift it a little!" or "Maybe the tail's in the way, let me just check." And every time I do touch it I mess it up more 🙈 Trust your initial thought process and just don't touch it 😆)
If you pay close attention to these aspects you will have less dust on your model horse customs.
If you haven't already, don't forget to to check out my previous post where I talk all about the prehistoric Przewalski's horse and I unbox a Schleich model. I'm also reminding you to look at the photography page of the blog, I add all kinds of pictures from my artistic photography and my work in progress to pictures from my day. If you are a computer user, that can be found at the top of each page, next to the home button. For my phone or iPad users, it's located at the very end of each page, next to the home button. It's quite hard to see, I'm so sorry.
I really hope this post was helpful and I wish you all a happy craft day!
Until next time!
