Repair a Broken Micro Mini
An EquinArt Creations Exclusive "How to Article"

How to Repair a Broken Micro Mini
By Katrina Michaels
Katrina Michaels is a model horse collector, artist, and an EquinArt
Creations "Ambassador" whose micro minis and minis have graced the
live and photo show worlds and the pages of EquinArt Creations' website.
 In this article, Katrina will share with you her method for pastel painting a
model horse.  This method works on all size EquinArt Creations models.   
To see examples of  Katrina's work, please visit our Micro Mini pages
(sales pages and gallery).

Article is copyright 2006 by EquinArt Creations and Katrina Michaels.  All
rights reserved.
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There is nothing more discouraging than picking up a model horse and
discovering a break!  But not all is lost.  Here is a method I have used
more than once to repair my pewter micro minis after they have
discovered flying isn’t as easy as they thought it was!  This method works
well on breaks that are not complete, where the limb/tail is still in some
way attached to the model.  It works well on both finished and non-
finished models, although with the finished ones you will have to do
some repainting to match the repaired area to the rest of the horse.  

Pewter is an amazingly sturdy material, but it doesn’t hold up to
everything, lol!  My example model is the running Thoroughbred micro
mini sold through EquinArt Creations, sculpted by Candace Liddy.  She
wasn’t content to be the fastest horse in my herd, she thought flying would
be spectacular, and therefore leaped off of a 5ft. ledge onto a carpeted
floor.  At first I didn’t think it hurt her, but on closer inspection she
sustained three hairline cracks, which would definitely make her less
than live show quality.  Thankfully her paint job was still in progress, so it
won’t be as hard to match up the repaired area to the rest of the horse.

Supply List (1)

1.        Dremel, or other moto tool (a drill with a very small bit may also
work)
2.        Dremel Bit that leaves a rough surface when used
3.        Apoxie Sculpt (or other 2-part Epoxy)
4.        Sculpting tool
5.        Sandpaper or sanding stick
6.        Damaged model

The Process (2 & 3)
Here are the pictures of the worst two hairline fractures she sustained.  I
had a hard time getting them to show up on the camera!

Our first step is to make sure that the pewter didn’t bend further during the
fall (gapping the crack), and that the legs are all still straight.  If they’re not,
slowly and gently bend it/them back into position, so the cracked edges
are snugly aligned.  Our next step is to take the Dremel or other Moto tool
with the textured bit, and drill out the area immediately surrounding the
cracks, making the “hole” bigger and deeper, enough so that the Apoxie
sculpt will actually fit in the crack and be able to hold it together.  (4)  In
this next picture you can actually see the bit going around and the little bits
of metal and paint flying off!  Be careful to only drill on the immediate area
and not everywhere else!  The more you drill off, the more you will have to
re-sculpt.  It may help to take a kitchen towel and wrap the horse up
except for the one area you will be working on, to protect the rest of the
model.  As with all Dremels and tools of that nature, don’t put too much
downward pressure as you drill.  That can make it “skip” and you can
easily mess up other areas, or even your fingers (ouch!) Just lightly stroke
the area back and forth with the side of the bit, almost like you were
pretending to “draw” on it as if it were a pencil!  (or maybe playing a violin?)

Here are the areas after drilling. (5)  You can see how the drill left the bare
pewter areas slightly textured.  This is important, as it will help the Apoxie
to bond to the metal better.

Now, get out your Apoxie Sculpt or other 2-part epoxy and mix up a small
amount.  I personally prefer Apoxie Sculpt, as it is smooth, relatively soft,
and easy to “feather in” the clay to smoothly match up with the
undamaged surface.  It also bonds well with metal (which is important!) ,
is non-toxic, and is white, so I don’t need to prime over it in some way
before doing any repainting when doing repairs.  With Apoxie Sculpt, you
use equal amounts of each part, and then knead them together until the
color is even.

Then, take a tiny amount, stick it to the damaged area, wet your finger, and
smooth the “glob” of Apoxie into place.  Then take and sort of gently
scrape off the extra Apoxie.  You don’t want your joints looking too lumpy!  
(6)


Take your time with this stage.  You have at least 1-2 hours working time
with Apoxie, so there is plenty of time to get it right, or redo it.  Once I have
the area generally filled in and the same level as the rest of the leg, and
smoothly “feathered” or blended into the undamaged areas, I take my
sculpting tool, wet it, and re-sculpt the muscle groove in the back of the
leg.  I then usually take my finger and brush it across the new groove to
soften it a bit so it doesn’t stand out too much.


I now repeat the same process with the tail area, this time trying to match
the tail hair strands to blend with the original.  Here are the finished
results.  Now set the pretty horsie away in safe spot, try to convince it that
you will never torture it again in this fashion (providing it doesn’t try
leaping off of shelves again!), and let the Apoxie set for about 24 hours, or
just overnight, depends on the room temperatures and such.


Now, depending on how smooth you got your Apoxie Sculpt, you may
need to smooth it out a bit with your sanding stick or sandpaper.  I won’t
need to on my tail repair here, but the back of the hamstring area (just
above the hock) turned out a bit rough on this one, so here I am doing a
little sanding.  The Apoxie Sculpt and pewter sands very easily, so it won’t
take much.   

Ta Da, your horse is now repaired!  If it was an unfinished pewter model
to begin with, it is now ready for your regular prepping and priming
process.  If it was a finished model, or a semi-finished one, like mine, you
can now touch up the repaired area by whatever method you first painted
it.  This particular horse already had high white stockings partially painted
on, so for the leg repairs, I will simply be extending the white markings up
a bit higher than originally planned.  This might be a good excuse to give
your horse white leg markings, or maybe even give it a minimal pinto
pattern!  For the tail, I will be painting over the repair with plain white
acrylic paint, and then shading it with pastels as originally planned.  If I
had already done that before she broke, I would probably repaint the
whole tail.  As far as this little lady is concerned, once I get her finished
up, I’m going to be gluing her permanently to her base to prevent future
flying lessons!

I hope you enjoyed following this process, and that it has given you hope
for your poor broken and abused pewter horses!
To purchase this Thoroughbred micro mini model horse, please
click here.  Price is $15.00 unpainted.
EquinArt Creations Inc
Serving collectors since 2004
NEW ADDRESS AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2007
1220 Hixburg Road (Rt 627), Prospect, VA 23960
General email equinartcreations@yahoo.com
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