Saturday, November 16, 2019

That Color Purple

Reeves is doing its darndest to drain my Paypal account!


No joke: I happened to be at the fabric store the day before shopping for material to finish an old quilt project, and one of the colors I was seriously considering was the same exact shade of purple as Zenith.

It’s always been one of my favorite colors anyway, but I went into the store thinking about a completely different color. But my eye kept wandering back to that purple fabric, which means it’s probably the color I am going to go with when the project reaches that stage.

(It’s a project to use up all my scrap flannel, and I won’t know how much of it I’ll need until it’s almost done.)

Purple is a relatively “new” color in Breyer’s palette; until the arrival of the Legionario III Centerpiece model Bourbon Street at the first Exclusive Event in 2002, Purple was limited to minor decorative touches and some accessories. And even after Bourbon Street, it took a few more years for Purple to catch on as a Decorator color, most notably with the BreyerFest 2009 One-Day Funfetti Stablemates.

The problem with Purple pigments is that – like some shades of Pink and Orange – is that they tend to be fugitive: they fade or change over time, due to environmental conditions. That’s why Vintage Palominos, especially the Glossy ones, are that lovely shade of Honey. Find a vintage Gloss Palomino that’s been kept in its original box or packed away in storage forever, and they tend to be much more orangey.

In other words, for those of you considering buying Zenith, I wouldn’t recommend keeping him in or near any sunny window.

I put Zenith in my cart – along with a Starry Skies Unicorn and a Stablemates Justify – and they’ll probably sit there a little while longer. Presumably until a couple other eBay auctions I am watching are over and done with: after my two most recent scores I probably shouldn’t even be looking at eBay, but sometimes you have to strike when the iron’s hot….

(Both of those have arrived, but my schedule hasn’t spared me the time to open them and revel in my luck. Next time, guys.)

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