There are options to purchase premade flights for draft horse sculptures for various scale pieces but not micro minis! And yet, thankfully they are stupid easy to make. Here is a /very/ simplified version anyone can easily add to my Micro Mini Porthos sculptures or can be applied to any micro mini. The key word here is SIMPLE so let's keep it easy. You are welcome to get as fancy or as complicated as you feel capable of tackling but this is as basic as I could make it for anyone who's not used to fabrication of such things. This general tutorial can also be upscaled for minis, venti, or even traditional scales easily. The larger you go the stiffer you coat your materials.
First, materials: All you need is a narrow strip of paper, very thin metal, mylar, holiday ribbon, whatever you think is suitable. Use scissors to simply cut back and forth to form tiny triangles. This can already be painted or colored, or can be added unpainted and colored later, whichever you think is easier for you. I suggest making them a little larger than you will want them on the finished piece.
Shown here is a Micro Porthos that I was in the process of painting to a dappled grey. I am using plain printer paper that I cut into a narrow strip and painted both sides with red acrylic paint before cutting the triangles. Mane flights and tail bows may be added to either an already painted piece or to an unpainted micro. Cut 7 tiny triangles for an American draft breed. European draft showing may require more mane flights or non at all.
Once you have 7 tiny triangles cut, turn your micro up side down and simply glue the narrow tip of each triangle along the mane braid. Space all 7 out as evenly and as straight as you can. I used plain super glue for my demo piece shown here. If your triangle has a very sharp point, cutting the pointy tip off very slightly may be easier to glue.
When you have all 7 mane flights glued on and dried, turn your micro back right side up and use a pair of scissors to trim the entire row to the same height, mimicking the curve of the neck. Make the tiny flights about the same height as the ears. A little shorter or a little taller is fine if you prefer. Then clear coat the paper flights with clear fingernail polish or other sealer to stiffen them up and help reinforce the attachment to the neck braid. A couple coats built up may be needed to achieve the desired stiffness. Whatever material you use, you want the upright flights to be bendable and not so brittle that they will break off if you bump them with a finger later.
Here is a micro mini Porthos with red paper mane flights added. Once I had mostly finished painting him I added a white painted stripe up the center of each and clear coated the mane flights with clear fingernail polish. They are now stiff but not easily broken off. I have also painted the tiny mane braid to match, alternating red and white down each side with one red, and one white trailer down his off side shoulder.
The tail bow is simply a tiny single oval 'donut' shape I cut out with a hole in the middle, then pressed on over the 'bun' of his braided tail. I used a couple layers of paper so it would help give it a more ruffled form. Glued to stay on, I then painted it and clear coated precisely as I did the mane flights. Only paint and a slight pinching on each side makes it look a bit like two bows over lapping. The tail bow can also be made of paper, layers of heavy duty aluminum foil, or any other material you find easy to work with including thin epoxy putty or even real ribbon!
Kerry Walsh, who is my guest artist for the mini Porthos editions, has another method for the tail bow. Here she's taken a very thin decorative cloth ribbon and cut up the middle so it's extra narrow and thin for a micro Porthos. Then she ran a thread through the lower edge with a needle. Snugging the thread gathers and makes pleats in the ribbon which she then could glue or tie to her micro's tail bun. Here, a second quality micro Porthos test print is standing on top of a mini Porthos getting his own tail bow! SO CUTE! Kerry's photo used by permission, thank you Kerry!
The closer to one edge of the ribbon, and the smaller the pleats, the better. Once you tighten your thread it should snug up at the bottom edge of your bow, ready to tie on. Stiffening and coating the ribbon is recommended with any clear coat or Modge Podge so it won't fade as easily and can be washed off if dusty later.
There are many ways you can do mane flights and tail bows for your micro mini Porthos resins. If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me to ask for help. I don't want this to be difficult! Have fun with it!
And if that isn't ENOUGH, here are TWO MORE options for making mane flights and tail bows for ANY scale draft horse from Traditional to mini Porthos. You can trim ordinary bread twist ties down to make instant home made made flights! They are well suited for traditional scale sculptures as they are, then paint and clear coat them. Holes can be drilled to set the wires into or just leave the wire off the bottom and simply glue them along the mane.
This also works for making tail bows using a bread twist tie or folded over strip of heavy duty aluminum foil. Simply fold it back and forth like making a paper fan, then unfold and bend it around the top or bottom of the tail bun. Width can be adjusted as needed, then glue into place! How stupid easy is that? Then paint and seal it as usual to give it stiffness and color. My bottom photo is of a mini 3D printed Porthos being fitted with crinkled tail bows just using a bit of aluminum foil. DO NOT BE AFRAID to make these! This is idiot proof and easy. You got this! ;)
