Semi-Pinto Charolais

It rained yesterday, so no flea marketing to report. I’m not as upset about it as I should be, because we really, really needed the rain. My garden was looking pretty pathetic! (With all the weeding and cleaning I did today, I think I can safely upgrade it to just "sad-looking.")

I see Reeves added a charm bracelet to their jewelry line, in addition to adding a new charm "Passion" (Huck Bey). A charm bracelet - what a surprise! Not. They’re also selling the charms and the chains separately; the chunkier chain’s more my style, but everything’s still a little too pricey for me.

I certainly wouldn’t object to a piece or two if someone were to give them to me as, say, a birthday gift… (Which is this week, in case I’m being too subtle here.)

To wrap up the bull kick I’ve been on this week, here’s one more oddball from the herd; I call him my "semi-pinto" Charolais, for obvious reasons:


Both sides are similar: light brown airbrushed "pinto" patches on his chest, hindquarters and behind his shoulders, similar to the airbrushed chestnut pintos of the early 1970s, or the later Medicine Hat Thoroughbred Mare and Suckling Foal. The areas are quite distinct; there’s little attempt to blend it in to the rest of the body.

I found him on eBay several years ago; I’ve seen a few others since then, so it must have been a short-term production variation. Most run-of-the-mill Charolais Bulls have little in the way of body shading - some on the legs, a little on his chest and underside, but subtle and more gracefully shaded, usually.

I have no idea if he’s from early in the production run, or late; the other qualities of the paint job suggest "later" to me, but I’m just guessing. He could be early; he’s very reminiscent of the well-known early "super-shaded" Charolais variation, a model much in demand by Breyer aficionados everywhere. They look much like the photograph seen in the 1975 Dealer’s Catalog:


Sigh. So handsome.

I don’t have an actual "super-shaded" Charolais myself; he’s one of those models who, while not exceedingly rare, always manages to slip from my grasp. (The early Traditional Man o’ War with eyewhites is another who taunts me this way.)

Jewelry Type Stuff

I’ve been mired in spring cleaning and administrative non-horse nonsense all week. I also managed to resolve to long-standing problems, both in my favor (though one will mean slightly less income. Totally okay with that.) That means I should be back to my regular posting schedule by next week.

The posts about the injection molding process will be delayed slightly, however, since my research materials on the subject are still lost in the chaos. I’m also trying to find the right balance of trivia and useful information that’ll make you all sound both smart and funny at your next live show, dinner party, or job interview.

I did find a little time today to skim the BreyerFest Supplement. In particular, I was looking over the workshop descriptions. I’m not really interested in attending any - heck, I could probably teach at least half of them - but I am curious to see what’s going on in those parts of BreyerFest that I don’t normally attend. A lot of hobbyists (myself included) get a little too wrapped up in their little niches, and I think it’s necessary and useful to go exploring outside of one’s comfort zone every once and a while.

Even still, it did seem a little odd to see two jewelry workshops in the lineup at BreyerFest. Looking through my BreyerFest ephemera I see that it’s something that’s been going on for a few years now. I know jewelry making a popular activity right now, but I didn’t realize it was popular enough in the hobby to support two workshops. Interesting.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; I took a class at a local community college couple of years ago myself and loved every minute of it. (I got to play with fire, hammers and anvils!) Jewelry of an equine nature is in plentiful supply in the hobby, and there’s no shortage of jewelry artists plying their customized wares at the HIN every year, either.

But I can’t help but think of these workshops as marketing support for Reeves’s "Equine Jewelry Collection," the new Enchantmints Jewelry and Music Box line, and possibly as an exploration of the market for jewelry making kit in the Craft Kit lineup.

Don’t get me wrong - I’m totally down with all of these ideas - especially a Craft Kit if it manages to incorporate MiniWhinnies somehow (like a charm bracelet. I’d totally buy that - one to make, and one to keep MIB, ‘natch.) While I may not have much room in the house for more plastic ponies, there’s still plenty of space in my jewelry box.

Alas, the price points for the Equine Jewelry Collection are just too rich for my blood, even for the Sterling Silver pieces. Until the prices drop, or my income increases, most of my jewelry acquisitions will continue to be of a DIY nature.

The Enchantmints stuff is cute - maybe a little too cute. The market may skew heavily to the feminine side, but that doesn’t mean we’re all into the girly-girl stuff. I like jewelry and shoes and shopping for clothes, but I’m definitely not down with the pink and pastels. I wanted to be a princess, too, but the kind that got to carry a sword and fight dragons and ride horses. In addition to wearing a tiara and a sash and having lavish parties with foreign dignitaries and all that jazz.

What does any of this have to do with Breyer History? Not a whole lot, other than the usual hair-pulling documentation issues. I’ll have something more model-related in my next post.