blanket over a horse

[scarandy]

i want to put a blanket over my horse!

how do i go about this any tips?

i guess i use some green stuff rolled out very thin then try to add folds here and there?

also any body know what you call the blanket then i can try and google it for some tips many thanks

[eBob]

It's refered to as 'barding' - and is a bit more that merely a blanket - it's normally covering some kind of protection either chainmail or padded jackets.

The process is not easy.
I am currently working on barded horses as you will see from the greenroom.

The way I do it is to spread a thin layer of milliput onto tinfoil - apply that with tin on the out side - set it off and then apply more milliput or green to the outside - but as I say, it is a tricky process.

[blackfly]

scarandy-

The 'blanket' part of the barding you are talking about is called a caparison. That may help your googling efforts.

-nmb

[scarandy]

thanks for your reply blackfly
im no painter or sculpter lol though i do enjoy painting my minis,
i think ebob is well on the case have you seen his mounted de bohun its awsome
i bought 3 horses from front rank with there blanket lol wich are ok i will upload some pics if u want? wich will do the job for now
this forum could do with a battle map or an oppenent finder e.g. were oppents can meet
i live in scarborough (for now) im travelling up to scotland at the end of the month so if any one fancys a battle get in touch
once again thanks for your reply
scarandy

[blackfly]

Mar 9, 2008 10:35:54 GMT -5 eBob said:

The way I do it is to spread a thin layer of milliput onto tinfoil - apply that with tin on the out side - set it off and then apply more milliput or green to the outside - but as I say, it is a tricky process.

eBob- just wondering if I'm reading this right: you make a tinfoil+milliput layer, and attach that to the horse to harden, tinfoild side facing out. Then once that hardens you use it as an armature to build on with the greenstuff.

Do you put the major folds in the foil+milliput layer? Or is it essentailly a flat hanging layer on the side facing the horse, and all the folds and furls are only represented on the visible side. . .?

I'm considering giving it a go and adding a caprison to one of your rearing horse blanks. . . might drive me crazy, but it might be fun too.

Is milliput hardening accelerated by altering the mixture, or using heat? I'd be worried about having the shape deform while hardening since it'll be free hanging. Any advice on that point?

Thanks,

-nmb

[eBob]

Ok.. you've understood it correctly, but I'll clarify.
I make measure out a tin foil template for the cloth, basically a rectangle - one for the front and one for the rear (doing one side of the horse at a time).

Then I spread a thin layer of standard milliput over the foil - nice and thin.
apply to the horse using the milliput side to stick to the horse.
Get the folds how you want them to be now.
This is tricky - but I use the rounded rubber shaper tool to push folds from inside and outside untill I have some nice looking folds - the foil really helps as it form natural folds for you - at the top it might get a bit scrappy - but once set you can sand that down - and when you put the green on the outside you can smooth out any folds that you don't like.

The milliput is set by heat - I just use a desk lamp.
The cloth won't sag - because tin foil holds its shape.

Give it a go. Takes a bit of practice.

[blackfly]

Thanks for the added description, that makes sense, and reading that helps. And sounds tricky indeed. Hopefully I'll get to trying it before too long.

Thanks!

-nmb

[Toshach]

I just read a post over on the Miniatures Page where someone uses a square piece of paper towel soaked in white glue. It might work, but my guess is that it would not be anywhere near as durable as the method Ebob uses.