Boot windows 7 from an external ssd/thunderbolt drive

I have an iMac 27", Mid 2011, 3.4 Ghz i7 Quad core with a 2TB internal HDD OSX 10.7.5 and a MacBook Air 2014 - Mavericks.
I want to create either a 64Gb USB 3 Flash stick or, if necessary (as I would have to buy it) an external thunderbolt drive to run Windows 7 rather than partition my internal hard drive on either computer.
Basically I want to create a totaly portable windows boot drive to run windows 7 and some software I need for work (I just really hate using my slow, POS, work laptop) to run on either mac as I need it
Is this possible?
Will bootcamp recognise either of these types of drives to switch between OSX and Windows - I know USB drives are not recognised?
Can someone point me in the right direction on idiot proof instructions on how to create this?
Thanks for your help in advance

That is true, and may indeed work. You'll likely know during the installation of Windows if it allows you to select a partition on an external drive to install it to.
I'd be very interested in hearing your results.

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