Charcoal on Steroids

The interminable Winter and the car shopping have left me exhausted and in little mood or desire to write today. Things should improve now that the car shopping is done, at least, and I have seed catalogs to tide me over until it’s actually warm enough outside to do something.

(We’re hoping/planning on a nice little vegetable garden this year. Nothing fancy, just beans, tomatoes, squash, and maybe some greens. And a few exotic annuals, just for fun.)

But I am also not in a model horsey mood right now; most of my BreyerFest projects remain on hold as I work through more pressing personal and professional business. Even my soon-to-be-beloved Rockford remains unopened.  

The latest Test Color Raffle piece is definitely stirring something inside me, though:

He’s described as a “Glossy Dappled Black” but I’d describe him as more of a “Glossy Dappled Pearl Charcoal”. “Charcoal on Steroids “ and “Give Him To Me Now” also come to mind…

Actually, he’s a fairly close reproduction of Hartland’s version of Charcoal, as seen on the Regal Series #9913 Arabian. They didn’t call it Charcoal, though: they described in their literature as “jet black with silver pearl mane and tail”.

The similarity to the color of the Test piece is so strong that I think it’s fair to call it the direct inspiration – with a funky Breyer Resist Underdappling twist! Hartland’s version came out ca. 1967 – about six years after Breyer “invented” Charcoal in the first place, so fair is fair, I suppose.

I’d love to show you a picture of the #9913 Regal Arabian, but I have neither the model in question (not for lack of trying: he’s a pricey one on the secondary!) nor a decent picture of it in my files; your friendly neighborhood search engine should be able to point you in the right direction of more recently expired auctions and such.

(And give you an idea of why I still don’t own one. Yikes!)

I’ll put all my allowable entries in for the Mustang, but as always, I won’t get my hopes up. All I wish for is that he goes to someone else who actually wants him for his own beautiful sake.