Easy-Peasy Make Your Own Scale Poles

As far as prop making goes, making ground/jump poles is just about as simple as it gets. It’s a great started project because it’s easy and because a set of poles gives you a lot of options for performance events. I’m making these for use in trail and gaming classes, but they have a myriad of uses in set ups.

Here’s how I went about making my new set of poles.

First, materials. Poles are really just dowels that have been cut and painted. You’ll want to make sure you buy the right size dowel for your scale. For 1/32 scale (Chips/Stablemate) I’m using 3/16 inch diameter dowels from a hobby store. Before you go, you’ll want to calculate how many pieces you need. They’re generally sold in 36″ lengths. I wanted my poles to be equivalent to 12′, which in 1/32 scale is 4.5 inches. I increased that to 5” just to be safe, multiplied that by 8 (the number of poles I wanted) and got 40 inches. So I bought two 36″ pieces. To do my scale conversions I used this handy scale calculator.

In addition to poles, you’ll need sand paper, a saw or dremel, masking tape, and acrylic paint. I also used sealer (Krylon) and play-doh (an idea adapted from Friesian Fury Studio’s post on using play-doh for masking).

Next, you’ll want to measure out the poles on the length of dowel.

I left a bit of space between each poles length so the dremel would have room to cut. You wouldn’t need to leave so much if you use a hacksaw (and/or aren’t such a klutz like me).

You end up with poles a little over the intended length (in my case, 4.5 inches). If your poles are close to that, you can probably just move right on to sandpaper. Since mine each had several millimeters to lose and I had the dremel handy, I used that. You have a lot more control with the dremel when you can cut straight down, instead of at an angle as you have to do when cutting a long piece. That allows you to get a lot more precise and get the pole just a hair over the goal length.

Then a bit of sandpaper on the ends will take off any roughness and get them to a uniform length. You might want to sandpaper the whole piece, depending on how rough your dowels are. Keep the ruler handy so you don’t overdo it and end up with a pole that’s too short (I just plan ahead for failure and start with extra poles. I need seven, so I’m making nine).

Once your poles are all cut and sanded, it’s painting time. Poles come in just about any color or combination that you can imagine, but mine are going to be a relatively staid blue and white stripe.

I start with doing a layer of white. I do half a pole at a time, and stick the unpainted end in a lump of playdoh to dry.

Once those are dry, simply paint the other half. To make the stripes, I taped off the areas I wanted to remain white and then painted blue over the exposed white. There are a lot different striping styles out there, but you will want to measure out the taping if you want the poles to match.

This is blue tape with blue paint, but hopefully you get the idea. The ends and middle of each poles are taped up to keep them white.

You may need to do a couple layers of color. Try not to put it on too thick or it’ll look funny later. Once you pull the tape off, you may need to redo some of the white where it bled through or the taping was off. And then you’re done!

For longevity and durability, you may want to seal the poles with a matte fixative. I did mine using the same playdoh base technique, one half at a time. For some scenes, you might want old weathered poles. Handily, they’re pretty easy to make so you can create a whole arsenal in different colors and conditions, a pole for every possibility!

Playing with Dirt

As of last night, the arena base is finished! I’m moderately pleased with it. I think it would look better if the dirt covered the whole base (which wasn’t possible due to fence measurement requirements) and if I’d found a way to keep the cool little hoofprints I made in the dirt (alas, they were destroyed by the fixative). But for anyone who would like to use nice, free dirt in a diorama, here’s what I did.

First, I marked off the area I wanted with blue tape. If you’re doing the whole top of a base, you would only need to tape off the sides. I put toothpicks in the fence post holes to make sure no glue or dirt would clog them.

Then I slathered the area in modge podge, making sure to cover the whole surface thoroughly.

Using a sifter, I gently shook fine dirt onto the modge podge base. The dirt should be thoroughly sifted before this step so you don’t end up with big clods which are out of scale. Cover the base in a thick layer of dirt to make sure you haven’t missed anywhere.

Dump off the excess dirt. I would probably be better to do this outside than on the dining room table like I did.

The last step is to fixative the dirt in place. Leave the blue tape on for this step to avoid fixing dirt or dust in the wrong place and to keep the rest of the diorama uniform. For fixative, you’ll want something stronger than the stuff you use on horses. In this case, being gentle will get you nowhere because the dirt won’t stick. I use hairspray- the cheapest, nastiest stuff I can get. It smells awesome but it sure does the job. Use several coats. I finished my base with a coat of Matte fixative over the top to reduce any glossiness from the hair spray.

Here is the finished base with the arena fence (above) and the dressage fence (below). Sorry for the bad late-night photos- but you get the idea. Thank you to Caryn Peck of Mountain Home Models for the interchangeable fence concept.

I couldn’t resist adding my dressage letter and flower pots.

Christine asked what the dressage fence is made of. Here’s a close up:

 

 

It’s pretty simple- the rectangles are just 1/4″ square dowels cut to size with a hole drilled in them and a toothpick in the bottom for a peg. The chain is white 2mm oval cable chain from Amazon. The chain is glued into the two end fence posts and just slides through the middle two.

It sure is nice to have that crossed off my list. In fact, my to do list for the show is getting delightfully short. I have a halter to make (that’s this weekend) and some odds and ends, but nothing else major until packing day. Hurrah!

Sneeze, Cough, Craft

I am getting very sick of being sick- it’s been nearly a week now. I’m feeling a lot better overall, but it’s difficult to sleep because of my very sore throat and I am constantly coughing and letting out terrifying explosive sneezes. Blarg!

My arena base is finally somewhat presentable, and nearly finished. Here it is with the arena fence up:

The sandpaper is there because I wanted to see how it would look with some arena footing. I have decided, once it’s all painted, to add a fixed layer of dirt. And that is why this lovely Easter Sunday morning found me outside, digging in a cemetery. (There’s a wonderful old pioneer cemetery behind my apartment, and that’s where I found the nice dry dirt).

The dressage fence is done and I’m very pleased with it. And the two fences are nicely and easily interchangeable, which is great.

My other success today was making the perfect carrying case for my racehorse diorama, which I’m bringing to the show. I went to Goodwill and found an almost perfect container.

Before

Happily, a little quality time with my dremel got rid of that annoying protuberance and some foam provided just the right amount of cushioning.

After

Rumble Strip and friends will travel in style and comfort, with no risk of smooshing.

Weekend Performance Progress

This is one of my few free weekends before the NW Expo, so I spent much of it working on the props I’ll need to tackle the performance division. And as per usual, I started with something ugly from Goodwill…

…And went from there. First there was a lot of measuring and cutting.

Luckily, I had help.

Then there was some sanding. And sanding, and sanding, and sanding. And glueing.

When I stopped late this afternoon, I had an arena panel fence, eight white poles, the start of a dressage fence (the little pieces on the left), and two partially painted cones.

I also have a nasty blood blister, because I am careless and clutzy and apparently you can’t cut a nail with a pair of old pliers. But I am not unfamiliar with bleeding for the sake of crafts. Whenever I’m crafting or baking, I pretty much assume that I will sustain some bodily harm. But it’s always worth it, and I have a good stash of band-aids at hand.

I won’t have any time for hobby stuff this week, but I’ll be back at it next weekend and step one will be painting over that terrifying child.

Building a Race Course!

I am really excited to be getting so close to finished on my race horse diorama. I am also excited that I haven’t gotten too terribly distracted during the process (at least, not by other pony-projects). This post is a review of how I did the base, complete with tote board, finish line, rail fence, and footing.

First step was to find a suitable base. I was lucky to have one handy in my box of supplies. I got this secondhand, probably at a garage sale or thrift store. I always snag super-useful things like nice wood bases if I can find them on the cheap. These are often available in craft stores, but the cheap skate in me balks at paying $6-$10 for a piece of wood, however nicely shaped.

I used a dremel to make these holes. I don’t have a drill, and a dremel makes a decent substitute for small scale projects. You can see I had to get a little creative for my finish line hole the correct size.

I first planned the base out and drew guidelines with pencils. Planning the size of the rail fence and spacing between posts was crucial, since I needed to drill holes to “plant” the posts. Similarly, I measured out where I wanted each horse. Their acrylic rod supports will be similarly planted.

I decided to build the rail fence right onto the base instead of building it and then attaching it. I hope this will make it sturdier and my measurements will remain more accurate with less option for error. For each post I inserted my square wood dowel firmly into the hole and then measured to the correct height (see the pen mark). Then I pulled it out, cut it, and stuck it back in. Voila, posts!

Mini safety pins are invaluable for model tack and props. I only wish I had more of them.

To make the top of the rail fence I simply cut a piece of the correct length (and double checked the length). Then I carefully glued it to the posts, trying to keep them as straight as possible. Then I clipped them to keep them in position while the glue sets.

Making the finish line pole was a careful balance between creativity and realism. Most poles have some decoration on top, but some of the examples I found were too elaborate for the scale or simply unattractive or impractical. I looked a a bunch and then designed my own, while is simply a wooden pyramid that will be painted red and gold. I made it by using ever-smaller pieces of balsa wood stacked and sanded. That top piece was very pesky- it’s about 3 mm long and easy to drop or loose. Or inhale.

Along the bottom are marks to remind me how much of the pole will be buried in the base (bottom), and where the rail fence comes to. In between the two I mounted a flat piece of foot that mimics a finish line’s camera.

The rail fence has been glued into the base with wood glue. The tote board and finish line are propped there, and all three are painted white as a base.

Before gluing the finish line in, I painted on the itty bitty details. Meanwhile, the fence and base get more paint.

Tote board and finish line are attached, painting continues. It starting to look like a race track!

As with the finish line, I didn’t want to have to do tricksy detail on the tote board while it was glued vertically into the base. Once I made sure everything was the right size, I used that every-useful modge podge to attach the printed tote board picture to the wooden base.

Planting grass seed

Over the painted base I’m gluing footing. The “grass” I’m using is Woodland Scenics dark green turf (fine, not coarse). It’s messy and sort of annoying to work with, but has a lovely effect. I hadn’t used it since my last diorama and didn’t remember the technique. I tried laying down glue and then scattering the turf, which is pretty ineffectual. What worked for me was laying down more glue with more turf, and then pressing it down with my finger. It looked kind of bad at first, but remember that glue dries clear! In the picture at right, the bottom right corner is where I used my improved technique, and the other areas are where I tried to simply scatter the grass.

For added detail (and because I have a TON of faux shrubbery) I planted bushes along the edge of the track. I simply lay down tacky glue and pressed my formed bushes down firmly on top.

Voila! Bushes.

I need to wait a bit before I can put down the track footing, because I used apoxie to fit each horse’s acrylic rod to the dremeled hole and it needs to dry. The track will be done in much the same manner as the grass, only I’ll use sand or another “dirt” base. I still need to decide if I’ll be permanently attaching the horses to the base or not. That would mean finishing up jockeys and bridles. Coming right up!