Favourite Breyer Repaints, a look through my shelves...

I was pondering on my shelves full of past repaints earlier, and thought it might be interesting to draw up a sort of chart, featuring my favourite repaint on each Stablemate mould.
I'll quite happily paint the same sculpt many times in different colours, but some suit better than others, some colours turn out more detailed or vibrant than others, some just look nicer for no reason I can ever put my finger on.

So here's the full list of Stablemate moulds in alphabetical order, with my own personal favourite custom picked out. Any with a line through, I just haven't painted that mould, usually because it's vintage or too new to have had a regular run yet, and therefore too expensive and collectable to buy for painting!

Alborozo

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Harecroft Altanero, possibly the nicest bay I ever painted and I wish I could remember which colours I used cos I've never been able to manage this shade again!

American Saddlebred

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Harecroft American Belle, I've done a LOT of this mould but I think she's probably my most detailed

Andalusian (G2)

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Harecroft Enzo, one of my horses-copied-from-antique-art customs, not a current colour for this breed but I love the way it works on him

Andalusian Stallion (Spanish walk pose)

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Harecroft Eclipse, the first one I painted on this mould but still narrowly my favourite

Appaloosa (G2)

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Harecroft Wild West Wind, I've painted more of this mould as quarter horses and paints, but this is my nicest appaloosa attempt

Arabian (Endurance)

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Un-named, my only one on this mould so far!

Arabian - Rearing

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Harecroft Al Kimiya, one of my better attempts at greying out

Arabian - Walking

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Harecroft Shantih, chestnut arabian, portrait of a character from 1970s equestrian fiction (a series of books I liked because it wasn't all posh rich girls with competition storylines!)

Arabian Mare (G1)

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Harecroft Rosetta, the only one I've painted on this mould but would've been my favourite no matter how many, as she's a portrait of my first horse.

Arabian Stallion (G1)

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Harecroft Askari - the only one I've done on this mould too!

Belgian

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Harecroft Romhilda, Brabant mare in bay roan. I struggle with getting roans pale enough without turning them pink, she's my best try yet!

Cantering Foal

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Harecroft Trick of the Light, appaloosa filly

Cantering Morgan

Cantering Stock Horse

Cantering Warmblood

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Harecroft Nutmeg, chestnut may have a reputation as the most 'boring' colour to paint, but I just like the way this one turned out

Citation (G1)

Clydesdale (G2)

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Harecroft Digger, bay sabino, portrait of a real horse who I met when he lived with the cavalry

Clydesdale Stallion (vintage mini)

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Harecroft Johnny Cash, portrait of a real horse I knew

Cob

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Harecroft Felix, this mould was just made for patchy colours!

Connemara Mare

Django

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Harecroft Artful Dodger, this was a close call cos I've done three and love them all but I think he's just about the best of the trio

Donkey

Draft Horse (G1)

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Harecroft Bluebell, Suffolk Punch

Drafter (standing)
(I did buy one of these to paint once, but he turned out to be a paint variation and I had to keep him as he was )

Fell Pony

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Harecroft Talisman, my only custom on this mould so far

Fighting Stallion

Friesian

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Harecroft Baledwr, welsh cob

Frisky Foal

Galloping Arabian Stallion (Darley)

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Harecroft Fourth Of July, National Show Horse (arabian x saddlebred) with little thread braids

Hanoverian

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Harecroft Mele Bürgüt, Akhal-Teke stallion, more of a drastic transformation than most of my breed-change reapints, and a bit rough round the edges cos I'm not very skilled at resculpting and don't have the tools and materials for it, but he does exactly what I wanted to create for my herd so I'm really pleased with him anyway

Highland Pony

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Harecroft Bullfinch, exmoor pony. Kind of ironic that I've painted these in every shade of dun higlands come in, yet my favourite is painted as a different breed

Icelandic Horse

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Ýruskjóttur fra Harecroft, portrait of the first horse this colour to appear in his breed

Indian Pony

Irish Draft

Jumping horse

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Harecroft Beltane Fire, an Irish sporthorse - I'll always remember how entered him in a photo show before his paint had hardly even dried, and he won the championship (the prize was a rosette plus a CollectA model, the very first one of that brand to join my collection and look what it started, now I have them all and a load of repaints too, hahah)

Lipizzaner (Darwin)

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Harecroft Neapolitana Furiosa, faintly fleabitten grey Lipizzaner stallion, a predictable colour but I couldn't go for anything else as my first on this mould!

Loping Quarter Horse

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Harecroft Pepper's Ghost, my only repaint on this mould so far

Lying Foal

Magnolia

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Harecroft Krilya, tersk mare and one of the nicest dappled greys I've done

Mirado

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Harecroft Fénix, mulberry grey lusitano

Missouri Fox Trotter

Morgan (G2)

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Harecroft Paragon, another historical horse copied from antique art and illustration, he was a barb stallion and belonged to the first Duke of Newcastle in the 17th century

Morgan Mare (G1)

Morgan Stallion (G1)

Mule

Mustang (G3)
(I have one in my body box, but haven't painted him yet!)

Mustang (G4)

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Harecroft Dunraven Hill, my favourite of the mustang herd

Native Dancer (G1)

Norwegian Fjord Stallion

Paso Fino

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Harecroft Pachamama, buckskin tobiano pinto mare, usually my attempts at this colour go badly wrong but hers was soft and lovely!

Peruvian Paso

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Harecroft Caramelo, sooty palomino, my only repaint on this mould but this tricky colour turned out exactly as I had in mind

Playful Foal

Prince Charming

Quarter Horse (WEG)

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Harecroft Silver Moon Sparkling, my first on this mould but turned out so nice she thoroughly deserves a place on the 'best of' list!

Quarter Horse Mare (G1)

Quarter Horse Stallion (G1)

Rearing Andalusian

Reiner

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Harecroft Diamond Darlin', my attempt to make myself like the mould more by doing it in a very dramatic colour - it worked!

Running Mare

Saddlebred (G1)

Scrambling Foal

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Harecroft Red Horizon, paint filly. I've painted more on this mould than any other SM foal, but she's my favourite of the lot

Scratching Foal

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'The foal', portrait of my own horse as a baby

Seabiscuit (G1)

Shetland Pony

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Harecroft Brodgar, inspired by seeing a roan pinto and loving how the patches fade in and out of colour!

Silky Sullivan (G1)

Smart Chic Olena

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Un-named - palomino frame overo pinto

Standardbred

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Lacahan Moss, portrait of the real horse of this interesting colour, Macahan Loss

Standing Foal

Standing Stock Horse (G3)

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Harecroft Plum Velvet, rabicano roan quarter horse mare

Standing Thoroughbred

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Harecroft Orion's Bow, inspired by a vintage photo of an Irish horse market, with a single spotted hunter standing out amongst a sea of bays and greys

Stock Horse Mare

Swaps (G1)

Tennessee Walking Horse

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Harecroft Stormy Autumn, bay tobiano pinto mare

Thoroughbred (G2)

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Harecroft Sprinter Sacre, one of the best racehorses in my own lifetime, and one of the most handsome too!

Thoroughbred Lying Foal (G1)

Thoroughbred Mare (G1)

Thoroughbred Standing Foal (G1)

Trotting Foal

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Harecroft Roxana, Akhal-Teke foal to match my adult pair

Trotting Warmblood

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Harecroft Ballymena, Irish sport horse

Valegro

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Harecroft Valiant, the only one I've painted so far

Vanner (mini trad)

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Harecroft Hawkeye, cob stallion

Walking Thoroughbred

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Harecroft Altior, another famous racehorse I really loved, recently retired

Warmblood (G2)

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Harecroft Tullius, interesting colour copied from a real horse I saw out competing

Warmblood Mare

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Harecroft Tarantella, Argentine Criollo in manchado pinto, with a homemade thread halter

That's the lot!
Hopefully I'll be able to update this post at some point in the future, when those exclusive new moulds have filtered down to the regular run line and I'm able to start painting them. I even have colour ideas for sculpts I haven't seen yet, let alone got as far as my box of bodies to customise

So many stunning and glorious repaints,you have a great talent!!!

Wow! You have so many stunning repaints! I'm very impressed that you can add so much detail on such a small horse. I really love the foals and the Andalusian

While your repaints are  simply beautiful and always a joy to see, I also love the dioramas you made to display them, the tiny environments truly make them come alive.

Your repaints are really beautiful, you made my day

Taos wrote:

So many stunning and glorious repaints,you have a great talent!!!

Thanks! This is a summary of a lot of years work, so I was able to pick the best and most successful! I think the oldest out of them is either the bay exmoor pony, or the grey arab-pony with the ratty mane.

Joliezac wrote:

Wow! You have so many stunning repaints! I'm very impressed that you can add so much detail on such a small horse. I really love the foals and the Andalusian

I've been doing some even smaller horses, which stand about half this height, so Stablemate scale doesn't feel tooo tiny at all

Burgerenby wrote:

While your repaints are  simply beautiful and always a joy to see, I also love the dioramas you made to display them, the tiny environments truly make them come alive.

I'm so glad you like them. The little scenic settings are a big part of photography for me, and the photography is a big part of model collecting somehow - I don't ever take their pictures on a plain background cos it doesn't feel right (even for original finish models, not just my repaints). It's nice to hear they're so appreciated!

Kikimalou wrote:

Your repaints are really beautiful, you made my day

So pleased that you enjoyed them. I wasn't really expecting people to care all that much, I only had the idea for this post cos I was curious which model I'd pick as my favourite for each sculpt, and putting it on the forum was easier than anything other way I could think of compiling it (I haven't a clue how to work Word documents or anything else to make it happen offline on my computer screen, hahah)

Wow!
Looking at all these repaints, I can only imagine the number of hours you must dedicate to creating so many beauties!

They are superb. When I started this topic at the top, I thought I was going to list the ones that I like most, but there are too many to list. Many have very real-looking hair, like the Andalusian G2, Arabian rearing, Paragon, Warmblood mare and others. It's amazing how you manage to get this hair effect.

Truly supreme repaints. I LOVE the ones modelled after real horses you knew or historical paintings. But truly, they are each magnificent.

What a list! I see some of these are over on your customs thread, so I'll comment more specifically there, but this is really an excellent portfolio. A summary of your skill in many things - smooth, well blended colors, attention to details, complex markings as well as simple solid colors, portrait work, the whole gambit! It's interesting to see what YOU have decided are your best. Such a variety of colors and patterns.

Oh wow, can't tell which one I like most! All so very beautiful!! Wonderful repaints!

Bonnie wrote:

Wow!
Looking at all these repaints, I can only imagine the number of hours you must dedicate to creating so many beauties!

I dread to think how long it's taken, but at least it's kept me busy

rogerpgvg wrote:

They are superb. When I started this topic at the top, I thought I was going to list the ones that I like most, but there are too many to list. Many have very real-looking hair, like the Andalusian G2, Arabian rearing, Paragon, Warmblood mare and others. It's amazing how you manage to get this hair effect.

Ahhh, thank you! The messy hairy effect was done with tiny brushstrokes, sometimes with two colours of wet paint applied together so they make a streaky effect, other times with a pale layer applied over a darker one.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Truly supreme repaints. I LOVE the ones modelled after real horses you knew or historical paintings. But truly, they are each magnificent.

A lot of my favourites are the portrait models, there's just something really special about them when they're recreating a real individual, either one I know well, or one I've got attached through from art or books.

Jill wrote:

What a list! I see some of these are over on your customs thread, so I'll comment more specifically there, but this is really an excellent portfolio. A summary of your skill in many things - smooth, well blended colors, attention to details, complex markings as well as simple solid colors, portrait work, the whole gambit! It's interesting to see what YOU have decided are your best. Such a variety of colors and patterns.

Thanks! I like to vary colours and techniques, it'd get too repetitive to stick to a design that'd been successful once already. I do tend to paint a lot of bay skewbalds, but I try not to let them take over

It would be interesting to see how the mix would alter if I picked an over all favourites list, rather than strictly one per mould like I've done here. There's a fair few who made it in here just by being the only time I've painted a mould, or at least the best of a selection I don't rate as up there with my best work, and they'd never be included into a top twenty, where others are only my second-favourite reapint of a certain mould, but would definitely be vying for a place in my 'very best of' compilation

Shanti wrote:

Oh wow, can't tell which one I like most! All so very beautiful!! Wonderful repaints!

Thank you so much, I really love sharing my customs with people here, you're all so appreciative and kind

So many beauties [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I love the color of the Peruvian Paso! And dapple grey Magnolia They are all very beautiful customs!