 |
||
|
A Mohair Mane & Tail in 20 Steps
Starting with a painted model that has had trench drilled in neck and tail trimmed down to size of a horse's tail bone. 1) Start with end of tail and work up. Measure a piece of mohair from end to ground or to where you want tail to end. Cut with embroidery scissors. 2) Apply glue to cut end and saturate the hair with glue. Cut straight across with children's small scissors. 3) Apply more glue and apply mohair around end of tail bone. 4) Keep cutting pieces of mohair and cutting as above piece by piece until almost at the base of the tail. Each piece of mohair should get progressively shorter as you work your way up. 5) Last area around base of tail will be three pieces. Middle one cut in a "V" shape and apply to base of tail. 6) Two side pieces cut at an angle and apply on each side to meet the middle piece. 7) Press completely haired tail with fingers up and down, and let dry about one hour. 8) Start hairing mane at the withers. Starting with the shortest piece and working up to longer as you go along the crest of the neck. 9) Cut each piece about 1 inch wide with embroidery scissors. Mash the glue into the mohair well. Cut strait across with children's scissors. Apply a little more glue on the edge of hair and push piece into the trench with round tooth picks. 10) Keep working your way up the crest of the neck until you reach where you want the bridle path to begin. 11) Cut three small pieces of mohair for the forelock - trimming them off after applying glue. 12) Place the first pieces just below the ears on the forehead. Next two pieces follow behind till right behind the ears. 13) Take a small amount of mohair and cut into fine tiny pieces with the embroidery scissors. 14) Apply glue to the bridle path area - then apply the finely cut pieces to the strip of glue and press down. 15) Allow to dry about 1 hour. 16) After glue on mane and tail has dried at least an hour gently brush out and trim as desired. 17) Apply mousse on mane & forelock till it is wet and style as desired. 18) Depending on style of tail apply either mousse or spray gel to tail and style as desired. 19) Allow to completely dry. 20) Trim off excess hair and clean off excess mousse. About Faye Cohen:
Starting out by playing around with customizing in 1998, it soon became a hobby for Faye. Then after loosing her job with a small film company due to downsizing, she decided to attempt to turn her hobby into a business. Faye has done just that! Only 60 miles outside of Las Vegas, in Pahrump, she started Anasta Customs. When asking Faye if customizing is something beginners can learn out of a book or if it just takes a lot of practice, she replied, “A little of both. With the help of a book I taught myself. But it took a lot of practice to get good at it.” If you would like to learn how to create your own custom models, Faye suggests getting a good book such as Color Formulas & Techniques by Carol Willams, a few plastic bodies, and start practicing. To create custom
models, you don’t necessarily have to be artistic. “It certainly
helps,” says Faye, Faye Cohen is known throughout the model horse industry as the “Queen of Mohair”. She loves the look of a mohair mane and tail, and her ‘hairing’ technique is second to none. Her customized models’ mane and tails are very detailed and precise. Any collector can almost pick out any model horse that Faye has customized because of the realistic appearance of the models mohair mane and tail. Faye has provided this special “How To” instructional article especially for ModelHorseGuide.com for beginners to try their hand at adding a mohair mane and tail to their own model horse. Find a few broken models and remember… practice makes perfect. Click here to visit Faye Cohen's website for a gallery of her custom model horses.
|
||
Materials
Needed: 
One
of the model horse industry’s well known artists is Faye Cohen. She
has been customizing model horses since 1998. Faye has been
collecting model horses since she was 5 years old. She still has a
large collection of model horses including resins and customs that
she has done along with Breyer Horses, Stone Horses, and other types
of models in porcelain, ceramic, wood, metal, etc.
“But I’m sure with lots of practice, you could develop the skill!”
To start off, you can buy models with broken legs to practice on, as
they are less expensive. As you advance, you will want to choose
horses that are confirmationally correct so you can keep your custom
models as realistic as possible.