Traditional Scale (1:9)
Traditional Scale (1:9)
About the Hair-Prep versions of Valor and Victrix
Prior to completing each of these pieces, I had opted to go ahead and cast what I've called "Hair-Prep" versions. This means, the models had no mane or tail attached (although I provided both loose and braided tails for each that came with the models.) Initially I had thought that other finishing artists might have a bit of fun customizing the manes (and tails) of these pieces to produce their own unique variations, without having to go to the work of grinding off an existing mane and tail. Also, for those people who have an affinity for mohair manes and tails, hair-prep versions would make that task much easier as well.
I sculpted tails, because I was going to need to sculpt them anyway . . . both for the ultimate final versions, as well as for copies I would finish myself. Manes can be a lot of fun, but tails . . . they tend to be a bit time-consuming and not as fun as they first seem. So I decided to go ahead and include tails (which the artist could use as they see fit.) Since it naturally would follow that some people would want braided tails for sculptures such as these, those were included as well.
Since the molding of these copies had to be done before the final version of the mane and tail were added, they necessarily would be limited in the number of copies that would be available. The only other alternatives would be to either "hack up" the original and remove the mane and tail and cast the result (which of course, would mean the original would no longer be available for further casting) or to remove the manes/tails from a copy and re-cast that. Since the casting process does produce a certain amount of "shrink" in each copy (the amount and how and what shrinks, can vary quite a bit!) it isn't always the best option to make copies of copies.
Once the molds were made for each piece, the originals returned home, where they had their final manes and tails added and any other alterations I felt compelled to do were performed. Yes, there are some differences in the bodies between Valor and ValorHP, and likewise between Victrix and VictrixHP.
It was decided early on, that the Hair-Prep versions would be of solid-cast resin. The reasons for this are entirely practical. It is much easier to securely attach the tails (or tail wires) in particular, to solid castings than hollow ones. Also, solid castings may be less prone to reacting to fluctuations in temperature, etc. when added customizing comes into play. They do weigh more, and may be a bit more difficult to paint (due to the weight), and generally cost more to ship. Since there were no compelling reasons of this sort to solid-cast a piece this large for the "final" versions, the finals were produced as hollow-casts.
What Is A "Mold Run"?
A mold run simply is the number of copies you obtain out of a mold before the mold deteriorates to the point where the quality of the copies is too poor to bother making any more (or the mold starts tearing apart.) In general, depending upon the individual piece, a mold can be expected to yield anywhere from 50-70 copies (sometimes a little more or less). Therefore, each of these pieces will be limited to somewhere between 100 and 150 copies per horse. Final numbers on each edition have not been tallied.
Sincerely,
—Carol Williams
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