Thanks to Andrea Press -Publishing Manager César Alvarez for his cooperation on this review.

introduction

Most of figure painters hesitate or feel uneasy when they decide to paint a mounted figure and the results of the painted horse usually don’t make them fully satisfied. They know there is no big differences on the techniques of painting a figure or a horse, but having less information about the anatomy, different breeds,manes and coats, natural movements of horses and also not having a helpful document on how to paint horses estranged them to convert and paint mounted figures. At this point, Andrea Press – Painting Horses book came for help in January 2006.

This book is published as a complete guide in step-by-step processes to paint and convert metal and resin horses. It explains various techniques such as painting in oils, acrylics and airbrushes with didactic notes and numerous photographs of horses painted by Julio Cabos, José Caballero Delso and José M.Palomares. Basic conversion techniques are also explained in useful tips and informative photos of conversions made by Fernando Gomez.

Besides being a beginner manual on how to paint a horse for the first time, what steps will make the task easier and what-which steps to follow at each moment of the process ,the book is also a good resource for experienced painters to find some inspiration to improve their techniques.

the book

The book is in A4 format (20 cm x 29.5 cm) with soft cover. It includes 182 color photographs and 4 b/w illustrations in 68 pages. The paper quality and printing quality is very high as in other Andrea Press publications.

First chapter;The Horse in History and Miniature is the introduction part of the book telling briefly the importance of horses in our lives and explaining the aim of this book to figure enthusiasts from beginners to advanced.

Other chapters are;

• Morphology of the horse : This part gives general information about horse anatomy in short notes about legs, thorax,hooves, bones and joints, senses and coat.
  
• Breeds of horses : Different breeds like Appaloosa, Palomino, Dappled, Arab, Spanish, Frison, English Thoroughbred, Holstein, Selle Francais, Mongol, Shire Horse and Clydesdale are described and shown in photographs.
  
• Horse in History : The appearance of horses in human life, their roles in agriculture, breeding horses, domestication and sports are mentioned in this chapter.
  
• Horse at War : The horse accompanied human in wars since antiquity. This part tells about the role of horses in battlefield in middle ages, modern age, conquest of America, Napoleonic Europe, World War II and today. An additional part about Napoleonic cavalry units follows this chapter and a photograph of Gericault’s famous painting Lieutant Dordoine, an officer of Chasseurs of Imperial Guard is shown in this chapter. Keep an eye on this photo because I was informed that Andrea Miniatures will release a 90 mm. mounted figure inspired with this photo very soon.
  
• Step-by-Step : The most attractive and useful part of the book. It explains different techniques in many useful photos of different models painted by Spanish master painters.
  This chapter includes the following articles;
  Painting by airbrush - Chasseur, Le Cimier, Resin, 200 mm
  Painting in oils - French Carabinier, Andrea Miniatures, Metal, 54 mm
  Painting a white horse - Samurai on horse, Andrea Miniatures, Metal, 90 mm
  Painting a dapple-grey horse - Norman Knight, Andrea Miniatures, Metal, 54 mm
  Painting an Appaloosa - Apache on Horseback, Andrea Miniatures, Metal, 54 mm
  
• Saddles : This part explains how to paint the saddle, harness, blankets, fringes and plaits of some specific models like Hussar saddle in leopard design, Carabineer, Samurai, Norman and Indian.
  
• Conversion : A simple conversion is described in this part by turning the neck of the horse and changing position from walk to trot.
  
• Study of the horse movement : The horse movements like walk, trot and gallop is explained here in many photos and can be used as a good reference when converting horses.
  

There is a two pages photo gallery at the end of the book with 10 mounted figures from different periods of history , painted by famous painters all over the world.

On the last page of the book, you may find a list of other Andrea Press publications with photos of book covers and short descriptions.

conclusion

As noted on the book cover, you may find all you need for painting and converting miniature horses in this book. I believe this is a very useful and didactic modelling manual for all painters who intend to paint a horse for the first time and also for experienced painters to improve their techniques.

Highly Recommended