Today's theme is back to tack. In this guest post, customizer, performance shower and tack maker, Lauren Byun shares her 2026 BreyerFest Best Customs Contest Excellence in Tack Making entry. Thank you, Lauren!
The Desert Hunt
by Lauren Byun
Okay, reveal time! I think most everyone right now knows me as a customizer, but not everyone knows I was a tack maker long before that.
This year I went back to my roots in the hobby as a tack maker, and WAY WAY back in history for my BCC Excellence in Tack Making entry. Presenting "The Desert Hunt", King Tutankhamun as depicted on the famous casket found in his tomb.
This was especially challenging given the age and rarity of my subject - only a few chariots have been brought out from tombs and not a single complete harness known to exist.
Everything else comes from paintings, so I focused on the Desert Hunt Casket, a particularly detailed painted wooden chest found in King Tut’s tomb. Each side of the chest has a scene depicting Tut’s activities in life, several of which feature him in a chariot. I combined elements from each version.
I also watched and rewatched the Nova documentary “Building Pharoah’s Chariot”, which is available on YouTube free to watch. I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone interested in how chariots were designed and built.
It was exceptionally helpful in understanding the shape of the center pole, how the wheels were made, and how thoughtfully everything was engineered. The cab of the chariot is intentionally angled downward for balance and shock absorption. Most chariots look level in drawings because horses are so often depicted as rearing!
I spent an entire night weaving the leather lace for the floor of the chariot.
I went to bed just as the sun was coming up!
One funny detail - several people have asked how I got the texture of the chariot… well surprise! This is a modge-podged paper towel backed with craft foam for stiffness then trimmed with leather and painted with liquid gold leaf! I tried a variety of methods with different types of leather and this actually worked the best out all of them. Never overlook odd supplies that might be used in a new way.
I was especially fascinated by drawings and accounts of carved yoke’s that I found in a few research papers and can also be seen at the Grand Egyptian Museum in the King Tut exhibit.
I wasn’t able to find many images detailing how the yokes were tied on, but I did my best based on what made sense from what I could find.
For the elaborate headdresses, I used a combination of beads and charms. I hand trimmed a bunch of feathers to match the look of ostrich feathers that Tut was so fond of hunting. The bits on the bridle are handmade and drilled from aluminum. These bits were held in place by a low noseband which is believed to have encouraged the horses to keep their heads down for optimal pulling.
There are also “bronze” rowels that were tied to the outside of each horse and are believed to have aided in keeping the horses from turning away from each other. These were made from another type of bead and wire.
The blankets are fabric with hand drawn leopard spots (they faded out a bit more on the fabric than the suede I used on the doll, but I actually liked how that turned out), and then trimmed in leather.
Of course it wouldn't be a pharaoh's chariot without the representation of the god Horus and his sun disk. This was very fun to sculpt and was surprisingly the ONLY element on this entire set that didn’t take multiple tries!
Even Tut himself received the royal treatment in details.
A microbead collar with gold eagle head clasps in the back. I hand drew all the leopard print spots on suede for his shirt and the horse’s blankets. I also hand spotted the suede representing the goat skin trim and hoods.
I hope you enjoyed a few extra pics and details about my entry! I love the BCC, it's one of my favorite model horse activities of the year and I always try to challenge myself to one up a previous idea. I’m already brainstorming for next year!
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