Props Making an Early 19th Century Hussar and His Horse

Yeah 3D printing is great for getting things the right size for BJDs, but sometimes the learning curve is frustrating.

I do have an airbrush. I might shade the fur a bit, not sure yet

 

3 pieces left of printing (unless I need to print a new head).

20220611_092930 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

I lost a game of filament chicken which is why it swaps to white. =_= though due to being lazy I think I will only buy from one company in the future. I have been using Overture filament and the white roll is Jayo and the Jayo spool is just thin enough that I had to adjust the width of my spool holder. I hate the default spool holder for the CR-10s pro v2 because it like hangs above on the frame and I had the spool just come crashing down a few times so I just have like a stand with ball bearing wheels for the spool to spin on, less friction and less chance of catastrophic failure.

20220613_164649 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

Ordered some plastic armature for the neck. This has caused Etsy to think I want a Long Furby.

 

better than the time the etsy algorithm became convinced I wanted NSFW Pokemon pillows and customer service was like "it'll go away eventually" and did nothing.


I have learned Jayo brand filament is kinda of janky. =_= The prints are more flimsy and the last body piece print keeps making spaghetti... I am just ordering more Overture.

20220618_134653 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Ordered more filament, Overture sent me the wrong filament because some one at the warehouse put both a PETG Black and PLA gray label sticker on it (on the flip side, I got 2 rolls of PETG for free!), got the replacement PLA, think the nozzle might be worn out, not sure if the bowden tubes are having issues, change the bowden tube and fixtures, change the nozzle, WHY ISN'T IT PUTTING FILAMENT ON THE BUILD PLATE, change the BLTouch probe...

....and I can finally start on the last piece...

 

After a little over a month, the body print is all done.

Just gotta sand down some of the excess foam and start glueing and filling the remaining pieces with foam and then filling some of the gaps.

20220625_065620 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Observations:

The normal version instead of the big gap variant is much less of a mess with spraying blind.

In hindsight, maybe I should have just printed these with a big hole on one of the flat sides so I could see where I am going...

The weather says 75 degrees but the sun still managed to cause the plastic to warp slightly.

 

Welp, after much cussing and attempting to mitigate the warping, it's still a little gappy.

The worst point is the front of the chest. Might need to use some epoxy and sculpt it a little.

The smaller gaps, I just filled with hot glue and I am gonna use my soldering iron to melt it smooth later. I need to wear respiratory protection to avoid the melty plastic smell, but as it is the middle of July, it's not that comfy to wear it a long time.

A little texture isn't the end of the world since it's gonna be covered with minky.

20220714_181640 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Not a lot of progress, smoothed out the gapping more. I want to iron the minky because it's wrinkly from storage since this project has gone on basically foreverrrrrrr, but the weather is so warm even at night. I don't wanna.

But now we have the doll on for scale.

20220811_074854 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

I recently commissioned a human-size shako for myself and holding a real one in my hands made me wanna redo the shako now that I understand the construction of them better than just guessing from pictures. Also getting an overstitch wheel so the leather stitching will look nicer.

3D printed a new hat form. This time, instead of being an idiot who used hydroscopic resin (Sirayatech Simple and other water-washable resins will weaken if soaked in water for too long), I used Sirayatech Sculpt which is waterproof and can handle up to 160C/320F so it won't crack it open when I put some hot water on it.

Also now that I have a Saturn instead of only a Mars, I could print it as one piece.

Also gonna try again with slightly thicker leather so it will hold its shape better.

 

Started putting minky on the barrel since it is the least complex surface and going to be covered with saddle hardware most of the time. It's working pretty well.

Need all the good vibes in the universe to have good invisible seams when I do the next sections.

20220822_151824 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

Shako 2: Now With Buckram

Stiffer, but not waterproof (they put oilcloth covers on top of their shakos in inclement weather) and not going to save you from cannonball shrapnel to the head which is how my fave historical figure Louis-Francois Lejeune had military retirement thrust upon him (he didn't die, at least).

Using Siraya Tech Sculpt which does resist heat for the hat form is 200% a better idea than a weaker resin.

20220822_151940 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

As someone who is not always the sharpest knife in the drawer, I started gluing fabric to the leg and was like.... maybe I should paint the hooves first so I don't get paint on the fur...

20220831_090202 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Did a few practice seams with minky glued on one of the misprints.

I was worried minky would be too short to hide seams. I can see them (probably partly because I did them), but they aren't too attention grabbing. Just need to make sure I keep the stitches small and even.

hiddenseampractice by Kaxen6, on Flickr

Also I watched a recent Pinsent Tailoring video about pantaloons a la hussard and now I am trying another pants pattern.



This design is interesting and since dolls are displayed more often than played with (for me at least), so hiding the leg seam in back can be useful.

Reading the Cutter's Guide broke my brain a little bit. I do not have the mental wherewithal of the Old School Tailors.

Despite that, the first cut was not bad. A little too loose, but in the ballpark

And then second cut is better, still need to tighten the top part and cut the fall front. =_= Used some scrap wool, but this stuff is disgustingly thick for doll scale compared to the broadcloth I am using. Also it is so humid today that it smells faintly of wet animal.

The seam looks insane due to the thickness of the fabric, but the cutter's guide alleges you can steam it real nice until it is invisible.

20220912_103145 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Yeah, I am not perfectly sure how comfortable putting a seam there is for riding.

There's also no inseam pants and no side seam pants. I might try the no inseam design later.



The Cutter's Guide is on Archive.org

 

Now that it is not a bajillion degrees and sticky, got way more fur attached the horse.

A few places where I probably should have sanded the body more, but eh. Now to have the mental wherewithal to sew some joins.

20220916_150340 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Wanted to avoid the seams having too much bulk but then trimmed to close. =_= will need to glue some fluff in the seam by the hip.

But like the other seams are not too bad at a distance view

20220928_145747 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

20220928_145753 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

My cat was mad I was working on it instead of paying attention to her lol

 

The horse has a tail now.

It is poseable for no reason.

Still need to get through sewing down the darned legs. x_x It really sucks to do because I am laying on my back most of the time to get in there.

Need one of those lifts like mechanics have. xD

20221027_122537 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Yeah I love the glossy coats that Akhal Teke's often have!

My character is supposed to have some type of European Warmblood, but he has a shiny golden horse just because. Main Character Privileges. lol

----

My joints and my back are going to punish me tomorrow, but the legs are done except for the pasterns which I left off because I am hitting up the hooves with gloss varnish so the paint doesn't chip and later adding foam horseshoes because the legs are very slightly uneven and it is better for traction than plastic.

Using my chair to lift the horse helps for working on the hooves, but it blocks too many angles for sewing. So there was lots of squatting and laying down.

if I was to do this again, I think I would add fur to the legs at least partially before 100% assembly. oof

20221028_161832 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2022-10-28 at 4.32.37 PM by Kaxen6, on Flickr


Sculpting the saddle frame in zbrush. Holes aren't cut out yet as I fuss with it. It's not the prettiest sculpt, but it is also going to be almost entirely covered by the shabrack.

 

Still got a bit of the belly to sew, but the legs are all done. The pasterns were so troublesome! Darn horses and their fingertips for ankles nonsense.

Test fitting for the saddle.

The foam of the neck still needs to more carving to look more natural.

20221102_162519 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

A crescent moon charm was a really common element on bridles during the period. I am not sure how easily visible this will be in practice, though.

Screen Shot 2022-11-02 at 4.11.35 PM by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

saddle frame… unexpectedly troublesome!

Haven't glued everything down yet.

Need to use filler to cover up how I lost at Filament Chicken so the last top layers didn't get printed on one piece and smooth out a little of the filament texture.

Then I need to drill holes for leather lacing the seat.

20221103_172151 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Used some rub n buff on the bridle hardware. For some reason the gold leaf does not want to stick very much today. Weird. It worked fine on a different thing I rubbed and buffed.

Medusa heads are a more common motif on curb bits, but I decided it was more in character for my guy to ask for little horses on his bridle. I just didn't want to sculpt a medusa head.

I need to reprint the crescent moon charm. It chipped a little when I was too aggressive with the supports and I over sprayed primer so it's both too textured and not textured enough.

The snaffle bit is from 3D Printable Horse bit for stick horses by Daniel Persson

20221105_104203 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Still need to needlesculpt the neck more.

Though I am torn on how tightly to do the head-to-neck seams because I need some stretch for the horse to be able to move its neck, but it looks jarring if it's too baggy...

The neck also crinkles up a bit when turning. RIP I guess Brutus will only turn mane-side lol I don't think I will change it for now because the San Diego BJD Con is in less than three weeks (IS ANYTHING DONE??? NO????? ), but maybe I will try engineering it a different way later.

20221108_154301 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Stress testing the saddle because I do not want it to break while my doll is on it. Will trim the wire "nails" to look nicer and swap out the green yarn for something more color appropriate later. It is supposed to be leather lacing but I am not sure if I am just gonna swap in white yarn or drill the holes larger so I can use leather string.

I wish I had a few grand and a horse because I am really curious how the suspension seat feels like. I'm not sure if the design died out because it's a bad idea or the type of riding that hussars do isn't really necessary anymore.

20221110_150536 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

The stirrups are too modern (and proportionally a bit large due to being for a child's rocking horse), but I do not have the time/inclination to model historically accurate stirrups before the SD BJD Con and I am in "finished not perfect" mode (which honestly I need to do more often with some projects. The longer a project goes, the more progressively unsatisfiably insane I go)

20221118_170026 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Got the bridles like 1 and 1/2 done. The snaffle bridle is done, but the curb one is not. There are so many buckles. So. Many. Buckles. Also I rather dislike working with leather. It is all the annoying parts of hand-sewing... PLUS A HAMMER TO SMASH MY THUMB WITH.

Sewed down the head. There is a certain unavoidable amount of wrinkling as long as I want the neck to pose, but I tried to reduce it and the bridle covers some of it.

Did the eyelids. That was scary to glue down. x_x

20221121_163632 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

Did the curb bit today.

20221122_163605 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

Test patterning the shabrack... just... covering all my saddle work. xD

I don't really understand how a crupper works. I know it's supposed to help stop the saddle from sliding forward. But are horse tails that strong? A saddle plus a guy sitting in it is like 100-200 lbs???

20221122_163522 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

Once the shabrack is sewn (plus dabbing a wee bit of glue on knots and a few other tiny things. I used gum tragacanth to burnish and stop the leather from getting crumbly, but I missed... at least one strap...), the horse tack will be done enough for the convention.... I didn't do the halter, but like I am not sure if I want to use the craft wire I have or get split rings. I managed to run out of the 1/2" leather and need to trim some of my extra wide leather down to size.

I don't think I will be finishing the pistols and pistol holsters before the convention. I am probably gonna just stuff a rolled up blanket under there, since part of the shape of the front of the saddle is caused by a soldier's blankets/overcoat in addition to the pistol holsters. And like no one is gonna see the pistols so I will save yelling about painting wood grain for later. x_x how do I paint wood grain for 1/3 scale pistols...

Now I will somehow sew 100s of buttons and so much soutache in 3 days. If I am too weak, I will only finish the dolman and save the pelisse for later.

Edit: oh and the breast collar isn't attached yet because the glue is still sticky.

The fact having little hearts on your horse tack is 100% historically accurate is very important to me. lol

 

Now with shabrack and breast collar on. I did kind of a quick and dirty attachment of all the gold embellishment, might go back and sew it down better later.

20221123_120344 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

20221123_120335 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

The dolman....

The more I work on this, the more I am surprised the hussars weren't naked half the time (the lowest rank of hussars had a very bland campaign uniform. It doesn't show up as much in art because guys wanted Maximum Cool Parade Uniform for portraits the most often. It is like looking for hen's teeth to find more of the "boring" outfits like stable dress). And soldiers would get in trouble if they were too disheveled. There's one report in the history of the 6th hussars that they were a mess and somehow they misplaced like 100 swords.... the leaders were not so happy about that.

Maybe this is why it costs like a thousand dollars to get one in human size from anywhere that isn't a shady shop with stolen photos...

Anyway.... the soutache has been difficult...

20221124_104407 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

The sleeves

20221124_160904 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

I used thermo-web to stick it down on some thin yellow fabric so it was easier to handle as one unit which saves time over hoping I can individually tack down all the braid. Thanks modern inventions!

It still amuses me that at the upper levels, guys basically had at much gold trim as they had legs. As a captain, three is not as extreme as it could go.


20221124_160907 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

A little uneven and the collar is a little more chunky than I wanted.

Might just rip out the lining on the collar. =_= the eternal struggle with doll clothes is that lining looks nice (the jacket is an absolute bird's nest due to the buttons and braid) but it's really easy for things to get too chunky really fast.

Wool broadcloth doesn't fray at least. It's like felt but with more structure.

20221125_210502 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

 

He is done enough. Alas, I did not have time for Shako 2.0... and I forgot his sword belt and portmanteau... lol glad he is not actually going to war... and kind of funny since I literally just mentioned the 6th hussars losing 100 swords...

I need to buy some split rings for the halter and sword belt later. I need to potato for a little after this 5-day sewing marathon though. My fingers are killing me and my cat is mad at me for not sitting still at the computer like I am supposed to so she can sleep on my lap.

Hat Mold 2 worked really good! So using Siraya Tech Sculpt with its higher strength and heat capacity is better for hat molding than the default resins.

20221124_083612 by Kaxen6, on Flickr

The faux leather of his boots ripped off slightly at some point I didn't notice. It was a quick cover with leather paint in the back, but uuggghhh. I hate faux leather. It's not resilient and it's bad for the environment. If I am gonna destroy Planet Earth to have this, it outta at least be the superior product.

Which means I may talk myself into learning how to cobble shoes with real leather. I already have the leather working tools so I might as well.

I want sturdy hessian boots!!!!