FYI: I didn’t get that good a look at the new weird plastic Stablemates on Saturday because aside from being distracted by the very attractive Sable Island Horse, the place was extremely busy I didn’t want to stick around in the place too long, with things being the way they are right now.
I did give them a quick look over but I didn’t buy a set, so I didn’t get a chance to get an in-hand feel to assess what plastic it is. I’m assuming it’s something a little softer and less breakable in little hands than the standard ABS is.
My general impression of them is that they’re being marketed as toys for young children, and directly competing with Melissa & Doug. And as such, they are perfectly fine for what they are.
People in my orbit who are the actual target market for this – parents and grandparents of young children who are equine-curious – have responded positively to it. Sturdiness, cuteness, and having a half-dozen ponies to play with are bigger factors in their purchasing decisions than realistic or high-quality paint jobs, especially since they’re going to get dinged up from the get-go.
I also like to think of it as a hobbyist starter kit: if and when some of the ponies get lost, individual replacement ponies are right there in the same aisle. And once they get a taste of “real” Stablemates…
Anyway, the Universe is playing hardball with my spending moratorium and I found this earlier this week at my local Salvation Army. I swear I was only there to check out the fabric and craft supplies, but lo and behold, there was a Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Forever Friends Resin Diorama sitting right there on the knick-knack shelf:
I do not, generally, collect Breyer Gallery items. I am big and preternaturally clumsy and anything remotely breakable is at a high risk of being damaged. That is why I am perfectly okay with buying broken Clinkies at the thrift store or flea market: someone else broke it for me and got the stress and heartache out of the way!
I was going to leave it behind initially – look at all that pointy breakableness! – but then I remember what happens to delicate things at this Salvation Army. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the damage it already received happened at the Salvation Army before I even got there.
So I rescued it. I am now going to put it someplace (presumably) safe from both me and Vita until I am able to either get the repairs done, or sell it to someone else less accident-prone.
5 comments:
I’ve had the horses & unicorns from those play sets in my hands. My local dealer removed two sets from their packaging & put them on display. They’re molded from the same plastic as normal/regular SMs except it’s colored plastic. For example, the bay horse is molded from brown plastic with the black points painted on. The blue unicorn is molded from light blue plastic. It make sense to do it that way because the models won’t show scratches & dings from being played with by kids.
I share that attitude about avoiding the grief from damaging an object, but with cars. It's nice to have no guilt about dings, and I even lodge my grocery cart right up against the fender- no worries!
I went to the Breyer site to see those Stablemates, wondering how similar they were to Hartlands. I hope this is another case of Breyer's own photos not doing the product justice...or maybe it's just that those are probably my least favorite molds. Neat idea- test the waters with cheaper, more playable horses. But if they're the same ABS, this could backfire, not only from breaks but from those sharp pointy ears. I wonder why they couldn't use that waxy looking plastic that cowboy & Indians sets were made of.
I am right there with you with the clinkies. The only ones I feel any peace about owning are the broken ones. Between me being clumsy and living in an earthquake prone area, it's just not a good idea for me. Although I seem to do much better with the ones on bases, like your lovely new find, or the Breeds of the World resins. I would absolutely love to find a not-perfect Justify resin someday. <3
There are pictures of those Stablemates on IDYB, and I've changed my mind: that palomino looks great on the American Saddlebred! The Andalusion looks interesting with his squared-off mane. The Stock Horse is still just the Stock Horse.
Hi!! I've loved reading through your recent posts. I see here you might entertain the idea of selling this Spirit/Rain breakable. I'm a huge Spirit fan, have been all my life, and I've been searching for this item for a while. I was wondering if you'd be interested in parting with it and how much you would ask for it :). pronghornqueen@gmail.com
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