Before I leave for Australia, I need to finish these two sets. One is a classic scale general purpose set in dark brown, the other is, highly appropriately, an Australian set!
So far for both sets I have made the trees and covered the seats. Next the leather pieces will be cut, dyed and then the rest of the saddles can be assembled. Since coming up with my new tree technique I have had to re-design my patterns, so this stage has taken a little longer than I hoped it would. But the tree has to be right! If the tree is wrong, the saddle won't look good no matter what you do. I'm really pleased with both tree designs, and also very happy that my new technique transfers well to classic (1:12) scale.
Sorry about the photos, they are particularly rubbish today!
The Australian saddle is a bit of a hybrid. Many features are the same as an English saddle, like the base tree (although much deeper), and stirrup bars. But then many features are Western. For this particular saddle the customer wants to use a western cinch, so I'll be making what is known as a Bate's rig which uses dee rings like a western saddle. An additional over-girth can also be used and the rigging straps use Tackaberry buckles. The buckle has a hook on its base which the cinch goes on - allowing for very quick cinching and uncinching. I'll try and figure out how to make these buckles when the time comes to make the girth....
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