Sunday, June 21, 2020

The Three Body Problem

By popular request, here’s the other two Quarter Horse Gelding variations. Since I don’t have the time to dig out my Buckskins, a Gloss Bay and Special Run Matte Bay will have to do:



The only immediately noticeable difference between the Variation Two and Variation Three is the very obvious tummy tuck on Variation Three.

As far as when the third variation occurred, I am less certain. Because of the lack of notable production variations and few newer releases of the mold during the time period in question – other than the #97 Appaloosa Gelding in 1971 – it’s difficult to pinpoint the change the way we could with the second.

All I can say for certain is that it was done before 1980, or when the Appaloosa Gelding was discontinued.

And to be honest, pinpointing the change has been a low priority because (until this week) outside of me I didn’t think there was that much interest in the mold to actively pursue.

(And while I have a lot of Appaloosa Gelding variations, it is true, but just how many do I need?)

Because the tummy tuck can be difficult to see if it’s not photographed properly (it can kind of disappear if taken at a slightly elevated angle) it’s also something that benefits from the in-hand field research BreyerFest provides, and that’s not happening this year, obviously.

Speaking of that, gotta get back to my BreyerFest prep.

While everything is going fine in the general sense, this weekend has reminded me just how much I really, really do not enjoy photography. Like painting, I can be more than competent at it if I try, but it just really stresses me out when I do.

4 comments:

Carrie said...

I have the tummy-tuck versions of the Appaloosa Gelding and the QH Gelding, purchased in 1978 and 1980, respectively

Lynn Isenbarger said...

Thank you for the photos of the other two versions. :)

Corky said...

Many thanks for posting these -- this is something I'd been entirely unaware of. Thank you!

Suzanne said...

Nicely clarified! Now I’m going to compare Splash with my two Apple geldings (not that this will provide any insights, they’re both eBay orphans).
Yes, photography is something else. I have a palomino Hartland who must have been sitting on a high shelf by a sunny window for a long time. He is faded to a greenish from below, and has a reddish tint from above. I think I could replicate this effect with an airbrush if I tried- but apparently it is impossible to capture on camera!