The Tinkerbell Effect

Another lightweight topic day - work was absolutely brutal, so I’m not in much mind for heavy thinking.

I made some comments about the complicated history of the Modernistic Buck and Doe on Blab over the past couple of days, but it’ll probably be another week or so before I get the article I wrote for my Sampler last year rewritten and repurposed for the blog.

I also want to spend a little quality time with it because, judging from the frequency with which the topic seems to come up - both online, and directly towards me, personally - I have a feeling that it’ll be one of my more linked to pages.

Since I’m feeling a little numb from the neck up (and the knees down!), I’ll just spotlight another one of my BreyerFest treasures - the Tent SR Shire "Cheerio":

I was really surprised when I finally opened her up a couple of days ago - she’s drop dead gorgeous. I was already predisposed to like her - hello, she’s a Bell-bottomed Shire, and she’s glossy - but dang, Reeves really stepped up their game with her. Clean mapping, tri-colored eyes, fabulous shading, and the super-thick gloss that squeaks to the touch - pretty much everything you’d want in an exclusive Limited-Edition-Exclusive-Special-Run type model.

What struck me was the hint of sparkle that Reeves is now putting into the gloss - not quite enough to make it iridescent, but just enough (I’m guessing) to make it difficult for scammers to duplicate. I had seen some comments that the Gloss Mariah’s Boon models also had this bit of "Tinkerbell" sparkle, but hadn’t really given it much thought (because, you know, that model being a delicate subject in these parts).

The Prince of Chintz also has it, but my Glossy Silver Bay Stoneleigh Surprise does not. (Different factories, different production times? Hard to say why.)

It’s an interesting solution to the "fake glossy" problem, one that certainly didn’t come immediately to my mind. I’d still want to see decals or notations underneath the gloss as a failsafe measure, especially if some enterprising con artist manages to duplicate the "Tinkerbell Effect". Because you know they’ll try.

I was kind of surprised that Cheerio didn’t get a little more love in the Special Run line - I think it was because everyone was so fixated on the Stoneleigh Surprises (and, to a slight degree, on the Cantering Welsh Pony, the mold that got the Half Gloss/Half Matte treatment this year) that everything else just sort of fell by the wayside.

There were quite a few Prince of Chintzes, Aintrees and Tunbridge Wells’ left over for Sunday, too. The Prince of Chintzes because they were a little too outre for most people’s tastes (then again, so were the original Decorators), the Aintrees were actually quite pretty, but they made a ton of them (1400 pieces!) and the Tunbridge Wells wasn’t that impressive in person. (The roany paint job obliterated a lot of his finer details, and the crest of his neck had virtually no definition.)

Cheerio’s price was a wee bit on the high side, for a modestly popular older mold - $65 - probably a reflection of the time and effort they put into her paint job. Personally, I think she’s well worth the price. If they happen to offer her on the web site as a Collector’s Club Special Offer, you really ought to give her some serious consideration.