How To: Breyer Horse Custom Base Making

Sometimes a small model will need a little something to stand out on the show table, sometimes you need a nice prop to take photos with, and sometimes you might just want a pretty base to set your ponies on to display. Whatever your reason, its easy and simple to make a creative base to display your models.

For this project you’ll need the following items:

• Wooden Plaque, available at most craft stores, choose a size based on your model, most Stablemate scale horses will do well with a base 4-6 inches on its largest side, for this I chose a round shape.
• Sandpaper
• Brown craft paint
• 2- 1 inch Sponge brushes
• White craft glue
• Craft Sand (I chose tan, brown also works well)
• Optional- Dried florals, Lichen, or other greenery, there are lots of great products made for model trains that also work well for this.

Once you have all your materials, the first step is to sand the wooden base. Most times there will be some roughness, and sanding this out will make your paint go on much smoother. I’ve chosen 320 grit sandpaper to do this.

After your sanding is done, you can start painting your base with the brown paint and sponge brush. Cover the top and sides completely and be sure to get in all the crevices. Let it dry completely before going on to the next step.

When your base has dried, use your other sponge brush to cover the top with white glue. Be VERY careful not to get any glue on the sides and to also put on the glue thick. Be sure it is put on as evenly as possible during this step so that you don’t get unevenness in the next step.

Now you can begin pouring your sand on the base. Pour slowly and cover the base entirely. Let it sit for a minute or two and dump any sand that didn’t stick into a papertowel.

Most times you’ll need to do a second coat of sand. For this coat of glue don’t smear the glue on, dab it on. After the second layer of glue is on, cover again with sand and dump the excess after its left to dry for a moment.

Your base is now technically done, but you can go on from here and add a little bit of flair! I chose to put some dried baby’s breath, lichen and a rock onto my base to jazz it up a little. I suggest doing this on one side only, because you don’t want to block your horse.

Using small amounts of your chosen material start building your small floral arrangement, using white glue to adhere it to the base. Slowly build up so that you don’t overwhelm your base.

Once you are happy with your base let it dry completely.

After it is dry your base might look something like this!

It can be used for both perofrmance and halter and can serve many purposes. Have fun, experiment and you’ll have a beautiful base in no time!