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New Stablemate Molds

Mirado by Maggie Bennett, Cob by Sommer Prosser, and Running Mare by Kitty Cantrell

I’m excited about the new Stablemate molds that are now a little easier to find! You may find both the Cob (in the surprise pack) and the Running Mare (part of a mystery foal set with the Andalusian and G4 Standing Foal) in stores, while Mirado is a 2017 Stablemate Collectors Club model.
Mirado mold with Andalusian tracing
At first glance, I thought Mirado was a little long in the back, but then I looked at photos of Andalusian horses and found him to be a wonderful fit for that breed. Here is a tracing of a real horse (in blue) over the model.

Some thoughts on customizing this mold would be to look at his nostrils—maybe they could be more open because he is cantering; and his front pasterns might need a little cleaning up.


Cob Mold with Glypsy Vanner Tracing 

The little Cob horse is a cutie that we first saw as a Christmas ornament. I have traced a Gypsy Vanner horse over his photo, and other than an odd camera angle (my apologies) he is a nice choice, although I wish his head had a little more width.

If you are looking to customize this guy, you might want to think about how a breeze might  affect his mane, tail and feathers—would they all blow the same direction? Or if your custom is romping in the pasture, is his motion causing a little mane whirlwind? Look into evening up his nostrils, one is higher than the other. If you’re up for a little close inspection, take a look at his forearms vs. cannon bones. His feathers have made his cannon bones chunky, while his right inside forearm needs more muscle—you may not want him to look like he has Popeye arms. You may want to even up how much of each hoof is showing from under the feathers (to me, the two left feet show more hoof than the right).

Running Mare with Arabian yearling tracing
The Running Mare has a slight build, long legs, and a long mane and tail and I’ve been on the lookout for a model to customize into an Arabian, so I’ve traced a photo of an Arabian yearling over a picture of this model. While the leg length was in the ballpark, I found that she’d need a little more girth and a more delicate head to make this project work.

As for customizing, this gal might be a boon or a challenge—I haven't decided yet. She is small, so swapping out her head for a smaller one didn’t pan out for me—G1 heads were about the same size. And once I removed the three forelocks, I found that the mare’s eyes don’t line up—the left is lower than the right. With long legs, I’d encourage artists to check that her legs didn't get bent in transit. Check the bottoms of her hooves and sand them flat, check her legs for missing details at the joints or pasterns in need of a little clean up.
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