Nope, Not That One Either

Ugh. I feel like I’ve been moving in slow motion for the past several days. My back is definitely in a better place than it was last week, but getting anything extracurricular done – prepping a quilt for quilting, sorting out old mail, writing blog posts – has been an exhausting process. 

As you know, after several years of fruitless searching, I was finally able to find myself a Glossy Dapple Belgian. The search for an adequate Smoke Belgian still continues, however:

He wasn’t the main reason I bought that particular box lot – it was a good deal, and the majority of the models in the lot were not body quality, that’s why – but I was kind of hoping he’d be close enough. Nice shading, good pinking, no yellowing, snowy-white, beautifully executed eye whites and tail ribbons…

… but not quite nice enough for me to spend money restoring. Like all the other Smoke Belgians I’ve had in my life, he’ll probably spend several months here before moving along, like all the rest.

He’s not an especially rare model to acquire, but he is hard to find in good condition. Since he was primarily produced in the mid- to late-1960s (1964 to 1971, to be exact), the majority of them were specifically purchased as toys, not as collectibles: he’s a big, sturdy fella that I’m sure many parents assumed could stand up to some rough handling. 

And except for eartip breaks and rubs, they usually do! 

Smokes do seem more prone to rubbing than other paint jobs, too, which might have something to do with how they were painted in the first place: the paint was thinner and more lightly applied, and they were (except for a few Belgians on lamps) almost always Matte-finished. 

(By the way, the Smoke Belgian was never actually advertised as a Smoke: He is listed as a “Grey with white mane and tail” in all the known catalogs, manuals and other ephemera. Why that is, I have no idea. Just Breyer being Breyer, I guess.) 

Incidentally, I still haven’t gotten around to getting myself a Gibson; my work schedule hasn’t been very accommodating to casual shopping at Tractor Supply. That’s… probably for the best?  

I’m not in any hurry for either a Smoke Belgian or a Gibson: if anything, I need more excuses to sell more stuff, but until both my back and my work schedule clear up a bit more, sales are definitely not a priority.  

What is a priority, if it does happen? A vintage Chestnut Belgian with eyewhites! It’s been a couple of years since I’ve even seen one for sale, so I am not holding my breath. Catching my breath is hard enough, nowadays...

All That

So, here he is, at last! 

Just your garden variety #93 Gloss Dapple Gray Belgian. The one made from 1964 through 1966, and who used to be the Graili-est of Grails for collectors in the 1970s and 1980s. 

Time and the Internet changed all that. 

There were a surprising number of Gloss Dapple Gray Belgians out there for me to choose from, but finding one that was that unique combination of price (I could go low-end “retail”) and condition (the best I could buy on that budget) was challenging. 

And whenever I thought I did… well, I didn’t. He might not be All That anymore, but he’s still something. There were a lot of painful near misses! 

But I think I finally found my guy. All I have to complain about is that he’s very slightly yellowed, and one ear seam is a little rough. 

He’s also not a Dapple Black variation, and he doesn’t have his original box or Blue Ribbon Sticker. I’ve had a good year, and a lucky one too, but obviously not that good and not that lucky.

I also paid slightly more than I wanted to, but I’m doing okay right now, financially, so I was willing to pay a little extra. But just a little. The amount of money I see some people throwing around in the hobby will never fail to baffle and appall me. 

That, and clapping at auctions. They didn’t accomplish anything, they just spent a lot of money. Unless you’re the one getting the money, there’s no reason to clap. (And even if you are, it just seems tacky.)

Gibson and Stuff

This is (not) my week: I have maybe fifteen minutes to spare today to let y’all know I am not dead. 

Apparently there are like a bajillion Special Runs for Tractor Supply? Considering I don’t think I ever saw a single blind bag Stablemate last year, my hopes are not high on seeing any this year, especially if my schedule keeps doing what it’s been doing. 

I might try for the Traditional Belgian “Gibson”: aside from being a vintage mold that I already like, and something I presume will be in much less demand, maybe he won’t be as hard to acquire:

But what the heck do I know, I wasn’t even picked from the waitlists for Oriole. On the Forever Saige mold that all the cool kids love to hate. 

(FWIW, I’ve pretty much given up on the whole “Birds of a Feather” Series, anyway.)

The only complication here is that I could see the mold being popular here locally because of Kirk Gibson. And since getting celebrities to sign models for me has been a theme lately, it gives me notions…

Speaking of notions, I was also curious why I hadn’t seen anything about the Best Customs Contest this year yet – since I’ve been contemplating giving it a go next year, mostly for funsies and to motivate me finish a custom for once – but then I did track down some of the entrants this year, and oh good lord...

I have words, and as you might have guessed, they are not going to be entirely nice ones. 

But I won’t have time for that – to write it, and deal with the fallout – until next week.  

Sometimes Less Means More

I am the kind of clumsy you normally only see in sitcoms, so the BreyerFest crystal release Lorelei is not even an option: 

This is also why I don’t buy (many) china releases at retail: breakage is just a matter of when, not if. I don’t need that kind of guilt.

Plus, my shopping list this year is already a bit on the long side, which is partly my rationale for (probably) not getting the online-only Georg release who, oddly, doesn’t have a name beyond “Rhenish Draft”: 

They’re making 5000 of him, and that means he shouldn’t be too difficult to locate after the event, if need be. He reminds me quite a bit of the #777 Belgian release, down to the mismatched hoof colors. It’s not just a random style choice, it’s a thing that happens with flaxen-pointed Chestnuts whose points are so light that leg markings essentially disappear, with only the hoof color to distinguish them. 

I was kind of hoping that they’d offer something exclusively to online-only attendees, but all the online-only items are also available to in-person attendees, so far. 

Another complication for me with these online options is that I normally try to limit my online interactions during the event. The whole point of being there is to get the face-to-face interpersonal interaction I don’t get with my fellow hobbyists on a daily basis: any moment I spend online there feels like I’m taking away from the in-person experience.  

Plus the past two years has soured me a bit on the online experience: the less I am reminded of it, the better. While I acknowledge that it has been a boon for those of us unable to attend in-person, for whatever reason, it’s just not for me personally. 

If that means missing out on some items, so be it. 

W.H. Annie

Here’s one of the models I’m considering “deaccessioning”, which is just a fancy word for selling: the #710112 W.H. Annie, a 2002 BreyerFest Special Run Wixom in a pretty Dappled Rose Gray. 

She was released just a year after the mold was introduced in 2001, and was one of several Special Runs we were pummeled with at the beginning of the mold’s run, with one of the first being the gorgeous Gloss Dappled “Candy Apple” Bay Raffle Model Siren. 

She was also the QVC Special Run Equinox and the Connoisseur model Molly McGuire the following year, and in 2003 she was used as the Jamboree model Belle Fleur, the BreyerFest Live Show Prize Largo, and that Pink and Yellow Tie-Dyed BreyerFest Auction Model that I still think about on a regular basis. 

And then she was used as the BreyerFest Volunteer Model in 2005. Whew!

The only other Wixom out of all these that I managed to score was the QVC Equinox, but in spite of her very pretty color, I ended up having to return mine because she had too many goobers in her gloss. 

I’d eventually like to get a Belle Fleur, because the Chalky Fleabitten Gray really suits her, I think. But like a lot of earlier Special Runs on molds that aren’t super-popular anymore, she’s a little hard to come by now, though (thankfully) not too expensive when they do show up. 

But yeah, after having all those scarce or downright rare models thrown at us so quickly, it’s probably not a surprise that my potential enthusiasm got tamped down right quick. 

(See also: Esprit.)

Which is fine, really. Because I’m not really willing to give up too many of my Hess Belgians to make room for more of her. 

Wixom’s early history is also a good reminder that this particular release strategy is not something new.  

A Little Uffington!

Look guys, it’s a little Uffington!

In reality, it’s just Cloud from the #1728 Cloud’s Encore set, and part of the box lot of mystery horses I just opened up a few hours ago. He’s also one of the few that I’ll probably be keeping from that lot; the rest are duplicates, bodies, or things I’m simply not all that into. 

In spite of the fact that I actually like Cremellos, I don’t own many original finish ones, either Regular Run or Special Run. I have the first intentional Cremello – the #906 Goliath, the 1995 Commemorative Edition Belgian as an American Cream Draft Horse – but not much else. 

(Yes, I know that American Cream Drafts aren’t really Cremello. Phenotype, not genotype.)

One of these days I’ll get myself that neat Cremello Appaloosa Stablemates Club Iris, but not at the prices they’re going for right now. 

(I was not willing to take a shot at getting one in the Stablemates Grab Bags. My luck is not that good.)

I should be able to recoup my investment in the mystery lot, at least. That’s all I really ask of purchases like these, especially when there are keepers involved. Because that means the keepers are free, and who doesn’t love free horses?

Of course, that also means that I have to go through the effort of actually selling things. Now that I am finally back to my original schedule, that should be easier, but we’ll see what happens. 

(I hesitate to make plans because I have a feeling that “stuff” is going to hit the fan, very soon. Crossing my fingers that it is for the better, in the end.)

Also recently purchased: a stack of books from the local Book Sale, including several horse books for the sales stash and a couple more books for the Someday Wyoming Adventure:

I managed to make it to the other toy store earlier this week, and was delighted to find several Omega Fahims in stock. None of them were quite “right” – they all had small but distracting flaws – so I left them behind. 

I did almost buy a really nicely shaded Pearl Gray Trakehner on the Jet Run mold. Although I have no particular feelings for the Jet Run mold – beyond my original childhood one that I had Michael Matz sign at the Chasing the Chesapeake Event, because obviously. Depending on how the week works out (will this be the week the leftovers sale finally drops?) I may just go back and buy him anyway.

The rest of my weekend will be spent doing mostly nothing; I briefly considered going to an auction near Metamora this morning that had some horse-themed stuff in it, but I decided against it, since I’ve bought so much stuff already this week anyway.  

Rollercoaster

This week’s been a rollercoaster.

Up: I did get drawn for the La Molina and Masella! 

Down: I don’t have a Benasque, and I’m not about to go wandering through that minefield. I can actually afford it right now, but paying $600+ for a 350-piece release is not something I want to be a party to.

Up: I finally found the Walmart Bay Stablemate G3 Quarter Horse. Now I can see why he was such a toughie to get – the color is dark, rich and slightly metallic, and elevates an otherwise blah release into something special. 

This fellow (gal?) is almost Stablemates Club quality, not something I would have expected from a Walmart release. Woo-hoo, new Stablemate office desk buddy!

Down: Reeves decided to drop early access to the better bits of their Black Friday sale in the middle of the day during a workweek. Awesome for people who have access to the Internet at work or are glued to their phones 24/7. The rest of us? No Fylkirs for you!

Then there’s the latest Test Color Purchase Raffle Piece, on the Hess Belgian:

It’s obviously a Test for the 2002 Just About Horses Special Run First Frost, on the Five-Gaiter, and why they didn’t acknowledge this on the web site is a bit of a mystery to me, but whatever. 

First Frost was one of those Just About Horses releases that I bought first, and fell in love with later. It’s the kind of color that improves every model it gets put on, and I’ve been baffled by the fact that it hasn’t been used more since then. I’m guessing because it is hard to photograph well?

While I’m really trying to not get my hopes up, I’m actually in a position right now that I could comfortably pull off a $1000 Test Color purchase. And me being actually part (human) Belgian myself, I think it would be totally fitting.

But alas, my luck doesn’t really run that way. While it does sometimes seems like I have magical powers, they’re rarely of the kind that seems to benefit me directly. So – like everyone else who hopes to get drawn – I find myself wondering what this coaster has in store for me around the next turn. 

Dapple Belgians: A Love Story

My current favorite thing? Looking for horses on eBay wearing the wrong saddle – not the ubiquitous Western Horse/Western Prancing Horse switch: those, at least, make some kind of sense. It’s the pictures of Family Arabian Foals, Misty, and (my personal favorite) the Bubble-butt Belgian – that get me through my day. 

Researching Breyer horses can be hard, so I don’t necessarily fault the sellers, especially if model horses aren’t a regular part of their sales inventory. (Though if I ever see a Poodle with a saddle, I’ll know for sure they’re not even trying…)

But anyway, since I’ve obviously been on a tear with my eBay purchases lately, I was thinking about what other “wish list” items I could possible hope to acquire in the next few months – from eBay or elsewhere. And then I realized it’s probably been staring me in the face the entire time.

The #93 Gloss Dapple Gray Belgian.

Not the Dapple Black variation – that one’s definitely going to take the intervention of a higher power – but the “garden variety” Dapple Gray, made from roughly 1964 through 1966.

There is, naturally, a story to this.

Growing up, the lady that lived on the corner of our street had a Glossy Dapple Gray Belgian in her window, a window I had to walk past literally every day on my way to school.

Back then, any #93 Dapple Gray Belgian – not just the Dapple Black – was the grail of many a model horse collector, with nice examples typically going for $200-250 or more, far more than my model horse budget at the time could spare.

This is partly why a number of the earliest Special Run Belgians from the late 1970s and early 1980s were some form of Dapple Gray. Those of us who could not afford an original settled for a Special Run, instead: so much so that they kept bringing him back in Dapple Gray, again and again!

Eventually our neighbor retired and moved away, and she evidently took the Belgian with her; it definitely wasn’t in the house when we went to her estate sale. (I do not blame her one bit!)

Ever since then, I’ve been hoping that I could find one locally. But alas, it still hasn’t happened yet. And me being me, I’ve been too cheap to buy one retail.

Aside from amusing saddle placements, another thing I have noticed on eBay of late is that there are a ton of Glossy Dapple Gray Belgians for sale right now. Most of them are pretty darn nice too, and almost all of them are under $250. Sometimes significantly so.

That’s less than Appreciation Sale Glossies, and a lot of the more recent Web Specials.

Hmm.

If I hadn’t just dropped a wad of money on the Breyer web site yesterday – for Trailblazer, Jujube and Klaus – I would be much more tempted than I am now. And guys, I am seriously tempted. 

Pinto Decorators

Looks like they’re going to go ahead and do the full reveal on the Vintage Club after all. Say hello to ol’ Bubble Butt Belgian himself, Josiah, in Wedgewood Blue Pinto:

(I see that some clever hobbyists have figured out the origins of his name.)

Pinto and Appaloosa Decorators are not an unusual sight nowadays as Regular Runs, Special Runs and Test Colors. But prior to the Reeves Era (1985-present) the four “classic” Decorator colors – Golden Charm, Gold Florentine, Wedgewood Blue and Copenhagen Blue – were strictly solids.

Although there have been rumors of Chicago Era (pre-1985) Pinto Decorators for years, I have not seen one personally.

That doesn’t mean they don’t exist – as always, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence – but guys, you know I’ve seen things. If I haven’t seen it – or heard from credible and unrelated sources – by now, it makes me skeptical.

Especially since most of the Chicago Era Test Colors I’ve seen tended towards the more realistic, rather than the less so.

And rightly so: hobbyists have no idea just how much of a “flop” the original Decorators were, and how risk-averse Breyer management was to experiment with unrealistic colors in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Even Smokes, Charcoals and Woodgrains were pretty much persona non grata for years, though with the Woodgrains, it was also a matter of the painters not wanting to go back there, thank you very much…

Things are different now: in fact, I sometimes think the pendulum has swung completely in the opposite direction. Especially when it comes to Glossy finishes: it doesn’t take more than five minutes after a new release is posted that someone somewhere online has to make the comment “Oh, but I would look so much better in Gloss!” 

Not always, guys, not always.

(FYI: in case you (understandably) missed it, the toys that got into the Toy Hall of Fame this year were Coloring Books, Matchbox Cars, and Magic: The Gathering.

The first two I am okay with, the third I am a little meh about, and that’s all I am going to say on the matter until comes up again next year…)

Appaloosa Drafters

Yes, I am aware of the new shrunkified Traditionals and Classics in the latest (Series 3) MiniWhinnies now available at Walmart. And I am trying very hard to not think about them, since (a) I bought too much last week as it is and (b), I do not have time for this nonsense right now.

She’s not a new mold and she’s being released in a quasi-Decorator color (Matte Gray Appaloosa) that’s never been wildly popular among collectors, but I don’t care, Priscilla is my favorite Stablemates Club release this year (so far):

Like Matte Charcoal, Matte Gray Appaloosa doesn’t get a lot of love in the hobby – which is a shame, because when it’s well-executed – as it is here – it can be a very attractive color.

I can remember a time when Draft Horses with Appaloosa marking were an exotic and somewhat daring thing in both the “real” and model horse world. Norikers were one of the first “obscure, but cool” real-horse breeds that one learned about in the hobby back then – primarily as a way to justify some of your customizing choices!

However, the first Original Finish Appaloosa-flavored Draft Horse didn’t appear until 1986 – and it was almost completely by accident:

The Belgian was originally designed to come in a somewhat more mundane shade of gray – a variation of Smoke, actually –as seen in the original Your Horse Source flier:

(Beligans? LOL!)

But apparently that color was not well-received when it was shopped around to mail-order retailers, who requested something “more like Buckshot”.

Buckshot was the hot new item in 1985, mostly because of its fairly complex paint job (for the time). Initially they tried selling it as a Grulla AND a Blue Roan, but somehow forgot to mention the Appaloosa part:

Anyway, long story short, we ended up with… an Appaloosa Belgian! He was something of a thing back then, but he’s not so hard to find now – I just took a quick lookie-loo on eBay and found three, all well under a hundred bucks.

Another Old Favorite, Reconsidered

After a week of hard travelling for work, it’s nice to have a weekend off. Except for my usual trip to the flea market, I don’t plan on leaving the “pajama perimeter” until Monday.

Yes, I am actually looking forward to a weekend filled with paperwork and BreyerFest prep!

(“Pajama Perimeter” is a term we use in this house to describe all the places we consider acceptable to wear pajamas outdoors. Basically: the yard, up to the mailbox, and up and down the road to walk the dog.)

Speaking of the flea market, the pickings continue to be slim, though I think I’ve figured out why. If the weather cooperates, I’ll be taking some measures to correct the problem. Not that I need to plump up the sales list any further; I’ve been getting my fix from other sources, so I’m doing all right. But more is always better.

Since I am not particularly talkative today, and preoccupied with other horsey business, here’s a picture of an old favorite of mine who has been on my mind a lot lately:

He’s the Dark Palomino Special run from the 1980s, with a white mane and tail. There were a lot of Special Run Belgians at that time, and the Dark Palomino – along with the “Yellow” Palomino – was among the harder ones to acquire.

Nevertheless, he’s rarely that expensive when he shows up for sale now. Some of that is due to the fact that there are a lot of SR Belgians to choose from of the same time period, and visually he’s close enough to other Regular Runs and Special Runs that he doesn’t stand out.

The rest of it is that he’s a Vintage mold, with a relatively small fan base, who takes up a large amount of shelf space. In spite of his sheer rarity (a mere 200-piece run) he’s just not cool or fashionable as a Strapless or an S Justadream.

The Belgian mold, lately and in general, has been a bit of a bargain on the secondary market. (The Five-Gaiter, too, oddly enough.) I don’t know how many times I’ve been tempted in recent months by the rather cheap Dapple Grays that have been all over eBay.

(Except for the Black Dapple variations. Those are considered so distinctive – if not iconic – that I doubt they’ll ever be cheap.)

If I had a bit more money to spend, I would have given in and bought one, or two. The original Gloss Dapple Gray Belgian is one of those pieces that always seems to hover just a little bit out of my reach.

I guess I’m still holding out hope that a pretty and even cheaper one turns up locally, someday.

Chocolates

I was relieved that they didn’t do a Gloss Prize model of the new Fjord GVF Sjokolade at some point last year. I’ve grown quite fond of my cartoonish little Henries lately, and I had visions of completing my collection, sans the impossible-to-get 18-piece Special Run World Equestrian Games Reissue from 2010.

But now I have to deal with Truffles, this year’s Diorama Contest Prize:

He’s another "thematic" rather than realistic Special Run; according to designer Sommer Prosser (via Blab), he is/was supposed to be Silver Dapple Pinto - in other words, a "Chocolate" Truffle!

I had some reasons to believe that we’d be getting another Fjord Special Run sooner rather than later, especially after the mold’s return last year on Sjokolade.

Prior to the WEG Reissue, we hadn’t seen much of him since the original #482 Henry was discontinued in 2004. All of the other Special Runs of the mold - including the Silver Dun "Silver Wolfe" (in 2000) and the Just About Horses Gambler’s Choice Specials Naughty and Nice (in 2001) - were done during Henry’s generously long run (1996-2004).

Although mostly ignored by the hobby during his initial release, his popularity has grown in recent years. The appearance of Fjords in the insanely popular Disney film Frozen certainly hasn’t hurt the breed’s popularity either, especially among the youngest of us (chronologically, or otherwise).

And maybe influenced Reeves’s decision to promote the mold again? Especially now that they just announced a sequel to Frozen?

Breyer did have a brief dalliance with Disney, circa 1979-1981: they made a Special Run Black Percheron on the Belgian mold for the Disney theme parks. He can be distinguished from the other mail-order Black Belgians SRs by the color of his tail ribbon: Blue and White - as opposed to Red and White, or Red and Yellow. He's not super-duper rare, but he's definitely a harder-to-come-by Special, since a significant portion of them were sold to the general public first.

Just something to keep in mind. And an eye on, I suppose.

I was imagining a more conservative color for the now-not-imaginary Truffles, since the breed itself has a rather limited range of colors to choose from, about a half dozen variations of Dun: http://www.nfhr.com/catalog/index.php?colors=1

There used to be more: because of a genetic bottleneck in the late 19th/early 20th century and breed standardization, those colors have largely disappeared. At best, Truffles could be considered either an "historical" color or a crossbred.

I am more than fine with Sooty Palomino/Pale Silver Dapple Tobiano Pinto. (Or Silver Filigree!) My only complaint is that I wish they had made him a little easier to obtain. Time to go rooting around my body box for more and better ideas...

Cream and Colors Like It

My first reaction to the newest-latest-greatest Web Special "Orion" (on the Desatado mold) was "Ooh, daring!" I have no idea what color it’s supposed to be (Champagne- or Pearl-something? Or just straight up Perlino Dun?) and I kind of like how Reeves didn’t specify, either, leaving it up to our imaginations and mad research skills.

Although Palominos and Buckskins were an early staple of the Breyer line, double dilutes and other more exotically modified colors are a much more recent addition to the color palette. I believe the first official one was on the #906 American Cream Draft "Goliath" in 1995, a model I may or may not have had a hand in creating. (Long story, because of course it is.)

Breyer "Creams" existed before then, but they all started out as Whites or Alabasters and turned that way due to yellowing. (Often, not unrealistically so!) Every time I see a listing on eBay for a "Cream Colored Breyer Horse", it’s almost always an Alabaster who has seen brighter days.

There are a couple of reasons why it took so long for Creams and Colors Like It to show up intentionally.

First and foremost is the technical issue: the visual cues that make these colors distinct were - until recently - difficult to achieve in a production environment with any consistency. Even many actual and aspiring customizers have difficulty capturing the subtle qualities that make a Perlino Dun, an Amber Ivory Champagne, or a Bay Pearl.

Second, there were (and continue to be) prohibitions and biases against certain colors within some breed registries, which in turn influenced what both real- and model-horse people considered acceptable and/or beautiful. While some of these restrictions made sense (some colors simply don’t exist within certain gene pools) others were completely arbitrary. Horses in these "off colors" were not as desirable as horses in more conservative colors. 

Even though we’ve largely overcome those biases in the model horse world (thanks to the many genetics-nerds among us) you can still see some traces of in the general lack of acceptance for pintaloosas, and in discussions about show judging philosophies (i.e. how closely we should hew to those real-world norms and biases).  

Generally, though, we don’t raise as much of a fuss when we’re presented with something different. If we like it, we buy it - and find the necessary documentation later.

Alas, there are still too many horses in the house, and a couple of financial obligations I need to meet first: if my single entry into the drawing for Orion somehow makes it through, I might not be able to follow through.

Finally, Levi Himself

And here he is, in all his true splash-spotted glory:

There’s been a small bit of controversy about Levi not being an exact replica of the paint jobs and stickers of old. His whites are Chalky or Semi-Chalky, and the sticker refers to "Cellulose Acetate" rather than "Tenite".

I’ll tackle the sticker part first.

The sticker was probably altered for a couple of reasons. Tenite is the brand name of the Cellulose Acetate manufactured by the Eastman Chemical Company. What brands of plastics, and when they were used, is not something I’ve tracked much at all. If Reeves is using other brands of Cellulose Acetate, using the brand name from another company may not be appropriate.

(BTW, different brands of Cellulose Acetate are basically the same, with some minor chemical differences - sort of the way all chocolate chip cookies recipes are nearly, though not absolutely identical. You’d still want to avoid mixing different recipes together because the results might be a little unpredictable, depending on the blend.)

Also, by making the sticker somewhat different from the originals, it removes the temptation to transfer the sticker to someone else.

As far as the Chalky points go, that’s a Vintage feature - most notably seen on releases such as #27 TV’s Fury and the late 1950s version of the Black Beauty Western Horse and Pony.

It seems a little odd to include in a rereleased version of the Appaloosa Mustang’s paint job, especially since I can’t recall ever seeing any Chalky Appaloosa Mustangs.

The first theory that pops into my mind is that it was done to minimize unscrupulous people in the near or distant future from claiming the items as true 1960s vintage.

There may well be some actual vintage Belgians floating around in this color. I don’t know of any, personally, but enough oddball discoveries have been made in recent years that I’m not willing to discount the possibility. (Remember the Gloss Gray Appaloosa Quarter Horse Gelding?)

As I’ve all hammered into your heads, there’s still tons of stuff we don’t - and probably will never - know about the early history of Breyer. Vintage Glossy Chalkies are scarce enough that making that addition to a new Vintage-style release at least seems like a safe bet.

There was one instance of Reeves releasing a Vintage-style item that turned out to have been released before. Though we’re still not sure whether its status was a Test Color, a microscopic Special Run or exceedingly brief Regular Run: the Charcoal Five-Gaiter.

Reeves probably didn’t know about it when they released Rhett in 2001, and I was only familiar with it because I had met the then-only-one-known Vintage Charcoal at a local live show. At the time I assumed he was merely a Test, until another turned up on eBay, which made me think there might be more to his story than that.

A much less elaborate explanation (and thus, more likely) could be this: they liked the way it looked. That was pretty much the explanation they gave us for the Red Bay coloring on the original Traditional Sham, when we protested.

The lack of eyewhites on my Levi doesn’t bother me one way or another. Eyewhites on Gloss Gray Appaloosas were more the exception, than the rule.

Almost Like The Real Thing

My schedule is continuing to be uncooperative, as is the weather. And the body: it did its best to catch up on Saturday with all the sleep I lost during the week. Caffeine can only take you so far, apparently.

But I did make a little progress on Levi - I opened the outer box, but the inner box will have to wait until my next truly free moment, which should be…late Wednesday? I’ll be so glad when this January is over.

As far as what I can see, so far - so good! The box isn’t an exact replica of the White Boxes of old - it’s not shrink wrapped, and it’s made of higher quality materials. But in every other regard, looking at it makes me feel like I’m a 12 years old at Circus World again, trying to decide between the Belgian, the Yellow Mount, or that neat new San Domingo.

(Took me forever - until last year, actually - to find just the right Yellow Mount, but I am still without a worthy San Domingo. This year, perhaps.)

If you're curious, the iconic Breyer display font is called Neil Bold, and it’s not too hard to find a legitimate copy nowadays. I tried locating one a few years ago, but I could only find the knockoff versions in those "1001 Fonts!" collections you’d find at the dollar store. I don’t know if it was a question of rights or lack of coolness that kept the real thing from getting digitized until recently, but I’m glad it’s available now for our graphic designing pleasure.

http://www.identifont.com/similar?2EEN

Oh, the T-shirt possibilities!

In case you were wondering, yes, I did have a little bit of input into this year’s Vintage Club offerings. The Powers-That-Be asked for some opinions and suggestions, and I offered some. Well, actually, a lot. (Others were asked too, I am guessing. I am not the only Breyer History Nerd out there, just the most vocal one.)

Some of what I asked for came to pass, particularly the boxes and ephemera. I am glad that the response to those improvements has been very positive. It gives me some reassurance that I know what I am doing, at least some of the time.

That’s something everybody could use, model horses or otherwise. (Speaking of: Miss Susan - nice job on the Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt top! Not quite brave enough myself to do a hexi quilt just yet.)

It will be interesting to see what, if any, of my other suggestions get implemented.

Hot, or Not?

I did not think it possible to work 40 hours in the space of two and a half days. It sort of felt like BreyerFest, but with more air conditioning and fewer horses.

(Still haven't decided if this was a good thing, or a bad thing.)

So, there’s also this guy:

The box says "#430018 Arabian - bay" but he looks like a Huckleberry Bey. Sort of.

The color and finish is a little off from most Regular Run Huck Beys that we’ve seen. Those tend to have more contrast between their lighter and darker areas, way more black on their bodies in general, and are a little more brown than red, too.

While any one of these Ninja Pit Hucks wouldn’t look out of place in a random assortment of Huckleberry Beys produced over the years, collectively the Hucks in the sales tent all sort of looked…different, but in the same way. And they weren’t called Hucks.

So I bought one just to be safe, because I sold off my Huck Bey a few years ago, and have sort of been regretting that decision of late.

There were four other models of this type in the tent, as well:

430002 Old Timer - palomino
430008 Draft Horse - bay (Bell-bottomed Shire)
430009 Clydesdale - bay (Clydesdale Mare)
430013 Belgian - bay roan (aka "Trait du Nord")

(Rough reference only: I didn’t see any examples of the Belgian/Trait du Nord personally, and only saw the Shire in passing, so the labels/descriptors are likely off on those two.)

Anyway, they all looked like recent - or not so recent, in the case of the Shire - Regular Run items in new packaging, with Special Run style numbers. So the initial assumption was that that’s what they were: repackaged Regular Run leftovers, knocking around the warehouse.

But what were they, really? A new type of Store Special? A cancelled Special for an event or store? A part of the WEG reissue program/idea that wasn’t fully implemented?

The one that’s been getting the most currency is that they were repurposed leftover (whiteware) bodies from previous recent Regular and Special Runs, and not intended to be true "Special Runs". There was some second or third-hand information being passed around on Blab that this is more or less what a Reeves employee told them.

While I am not generally inclined to believe anything a Reeves employee says at face value, especially second hand, this makes some sense. The Old Timers = leftover Gus bodies. The Shires = leftovers from last year’s Cheerio Special Run. Huck Bey = leftovers from the Color Crazy Redemption Horse and/or upcoming Collectors Club SR Enchanted.

Belgian and Clydesdale Mare = I just happen to think they have a metric ton of those bodies lying around, for some weird reason, as they’ve been showing up for sale as "whiteware" in the Sales Pit for a few years now. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

I’ve heard one report that a VIN number was found on at least one of these models, though I haven’t had the chance to open up mine to see if this is true. If that’s the case, it bolsters the argument that they were very recently made, and not (just) leftovers.

The quantities are unknown: there were definitely more of the Clydesdale Mare and Huck Bey, and fewer of the Belgian and Shire. Although some were seen in the first wave of Ninja Pit action, they did replenish the stock in the store from time to time, and I was able to pick up my Huck late Sunday morning.

The only one of the others I really regret missing is the Old Timer, who was without hat or blinkers. As I’ve got a small collection of blinkerless Old Timer culls going now, it feels incomplete without its Palomino "kid brother".

If Reeves’ intent was to simply pass them off as Regular Runs, they need to study the minds of us collectors a little more closely: new number + new box + new paint job (even if it’s an "old" one) = new release.

Or maybe they do know, and it’s some sort of reverse psychology/Jedi Mind Trick/11th Dimensional Chess they’re all playing on us.  If so, mission accomplished.

Shades of White

Okay, so now the scuttlebutt is that the Shetland Ponies I mentioned last post might/will be a Vintage Club release, so the reference to last year’s e-mail photo was probably the correct one.

I am a little ambivalent about the concept only because, duh, there never were any Decorator Pintos. There were rumors of Decorator Pinto Test Colors floating around back in the day, but I found those rumors even less substantial than the Christmas Decorator ones.

(I swear Reeves does these sneaky reveals on the "Kid Tours" just to mess with us, knowing the kids are going to be fixated on the newer molds in more realistic colors.)

I found some charged batteries, so here’s the Calf I mentioned previously, with his Regular Run cohort:

So now you see why I am not so eager to send the little bugger back!

Yes, I know my Regular Run Calf is yellowed, but it looks worse than it actually is because the Oddball is very stark white - not Chalky or Opaque White Plastic, but I could see how some people could mistake it for such.

That sort of thing happens, from time to time: someone at the factory - possibly by accident - came up with the perfect mix of virgin (fresh) plastic, plasticizer, and colorant. I have an Alabaster Western Pony that’s so white it almost glows in the dark. (Discontinued in 1970, if you’re trying to do the math at home.)

It’s been recently reported on Blab that someone found an older Chestnut Belgian that was actually made of a mix of standard white and Chalky white plastic, which only really reveals itself when held up to a strong light. (Ooh, swirly!)

This does not surprise me at all. Breyer was experimenting with whatever plastic they could get their hands on in the early 1970s (the Chalky Era), and it undoubtedly included many different colors of white in addition to all those funky reds, browns, grays, purples and greens.

In the sometime questionable light of a factory, the mixing of these various whites would become an inevitability, if not an economic necessity. 

It’s even happened more recently, with some of the Stablemates molds: at some point, the Glow-in-the-Dark plastic that was used to make the Giveaway Andalusian Keychains was mixed in with the standard white stuff, giving some later releases a faint luminescence.

Other colors sometimes got swirled into the standard white plastic, especially in the Chalky Era, but they generally got painted over - either by a solid dark (or black) paint job, or with a Chalky basecoat first. Reeves does this even today, as many faux finishers have discovered first hand.

And…I just opened up my Yellow Mount that I bought from That Guy, and guess what? Aside from being one of the nicest Yellow Mounts I’ve ever seen, his plastic is also snowball-white.

Interesting.

(His variations are pretty subtle - tan instead of pink shading, more gray on his muzzle - but I bought him mostly because I wanted a nice Yellow Mount at a nice price. Done, and done.)

Dropping the Other Shoe

The Copenhagen Belgian is only half of the story. The other half?

The ephemera.

How significant is the estate’s stash? Well, it’s taken me a couple of weeks so far to clean, sort, separate and inventory (so far!) what amounts to a filing cabinet’s worth of papers. I am not exaggerating when I say that I’m seeing things I’ve never seen before, like this backer card for Tiffany:

I always wondered if they were going to sell Tiffany separately, like they did with Benji. Looks like they were planning to!

Most of these papers are from the 1970s and 1980s, and the stuff that’s here is just amazing. Like this photograph from Bob Koberg and Chris Hess’s trip to the Garrison Ranch in January 1978, to get the final approvals for Legionario and the Andalusian Family:

(You all should know who Chris Hess is. Bob Koberg was Breyer’s Sales Manager back then.)

There are fliers, photographs, negatives, transparencies, original artwork, ad slicks, comps…and more. It’s like a dream come true for a history nut like me. Considering the extremely ephemeral nature of some of this ephemera, I’m amazed that it even survived at all.

As of this writing, the dispensation of it is still being worked out. Naturally, I’d like to keep as much of this archive as intact as possible, for the sake of research - and hobby history.

However, while there is a great deal of unique material here, there’s also quite a bit of duplication. I know that there will definitely be some significant interest among my fellow Breyer historians and ephemera dorks in acquiring some of these items for their own personal archives.

But like I said, that’s still being worked out. Selling paper is a slightly different game than selling models. Do we sell them in lots, or on an individual basis? On MH$P, or via eBay?

And if the decision is made to sell them, rather than auction them off, how do we determine value of things that literally have no market history to go by? These are the issues that have been keeping me up nights.

To clarify on the monetary issues: I am not making any money off of this "deal", other than having first dibs on the archive materials, which will all end up in a university archive anyway (eventually).

To make this extra clear: all money from the auctions and/or sales of the models and duplicate ephemera will be going to the estate, not to me.

Let’s be open and honest here: there have been some similar situations in the past (i.e. estates of exceeding interest and value to hobbyists) that were not necessarily handled in the most transparent or equitable way.

In light of the historical significance of the items in this estate, I’ve tried my darndest to make sure everyone involved - both the estate, and hobbyists/buyers - are treated fairly as possible. I made the seller aware of the standards of packaging hobbyists expect - and warned him of the behaviors he was likely to be on the receiving end of.

While I’m fairly certain my conduct was not perfect, I’m hoping that dispersals of future estates are handled more fairly, by example. Just because life’s not fair doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to make hobby life more so.

I will also be up front and say that I did confide in two fellow hobbyists about the contents of the estate from the get-go, and also swore them to the highest secrecy. Neither one of them has received any compensation or favors, other than serving as an outlet for my screamy, exclamation-point-riddled e-mails. If they want to purchase anything from the estate, they’ll have to go through the same channels as everyone else (and me! Darn tooting I’ll be bidding!)

It’s their decision whether or not to out themselves.

Some of my coworkers also heard about all this as it was going down, but the vast majority of them had no idea what I was talking about in the first place. Some of them are vaguely aware of Breyers as a product, but all they know of the hobby is that I go to "my convention" every year and dress up in crazy outfits.

That One!

Didn’t I tell you it was worth the wait?

Yes, the Copenhagen Belgian is THAT THING - or part of that thing - that I’ve been keeping a secret for the past two months.

Of course he’s real. I’ve seen him in person. I even have pictures of myself with him, though I’m not going to share them with y’all because - well, because I’m not wearing a silly hat or wig in any of them. You should know the rules by now.

I was contacted by the proxy seller - the person selling it on behalf of the estate - at the beginning of September. Let me tell you, that was one of the most mindblowing e-mails I have ever gotten as a consequence of this blog. (And I’ve gotten some pretty wild things in my in box, let me tell you.)

I pretty much started hyperventilating the minute I clicked open the pictures. I also got up out of my chair and started running around my office screaming like a ninny. And swearing.

I mean, seriously, wouldn’t have you? One of the Great Mysteries of Breyer History was found.

This model is legendary. Hobbyists have been wondering about it since it first appeared in Just About Horses back in 1980: Was it a test color? A really rare special run? Something made specifically for a particular client, like the Ford Pinto Family Arabians? Nobody knew.

Well, now I know - and momentarily, all of you will, too.

From my examination of him, and based on the dialog I’ve had with the seller and the estate - I am fairly certain that he’s a vintage test color. The exact date of his manufacture is unknown, but the color and quality of his paint job suggests to me that he is from the 1960s. The color and finish is identical to that of the "regular run" Decorators of the 1960s.

He’s also in darn fine condition, too, with just a few minor issues: slightly yellowed, of course, and faded pinking. Maybe a tiny scuff or two, nothing out of the ordinary for something of this vintage.

Who and how did this estate come by this fabulous treasure? In the interest of discretion - and at the request of the estate - all I can say in public forums such as this (or Blab, or anywhere else) is that it is from the estate of someone formerly associated with the Breyer Molding Company. It was given as a gift - and compensation - for work done on behalf of the company.

You’ve also noticed that the seller has several other models listed, too. These are also a part of the estate, and while not as scream-worthy as the Belgian, they are not without interest to my fellow Breyer historians: I’m pretty sure that many - if not most of them - are early photography samples. Most of them from this photo shoot:

(The 1978 Dealer Catalog/Collector’s Manual, in case you’re blanking.)

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Benjis might be Tests or Preproduction pieces, but again, I wasn’t able to determine that conclusively.

I’ll tell you why I have that suspicion in my next installment, tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll be fielding your questions on Blab, and Haynet, because they’re a little more suited to the discussion format than the comments section here.

(Note: both the proxy seller and the estate will be lurking, but I’ve been more or less authorized to answer any questions you may have about it.)

Salt and Pepper, Cream and Sugar

Today’s prayer: that some of those beautiful American Cream Draft centerpieces from the American Horse Publications awards dinner (as seen on Breyer’s Facebook page today) end up in the NPOD, and if I should miss them in the melee, that someone should hand one to me.

Oh, I’m not asking for it as a gift: I’m perfectly willing to pay for it. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, should someone else other than me happens to lay hands on mine, you know.

(Another long story, one that will be told only if and when one of those beautiful boys should join my herd. Yes, I am fully aware of - and own - the #906 Goliath, the 1995 Commemorative Edition. In fact, it’s part of that danged story.)

The Salt and Peppers are starting to show up, but mine’s not due here until tomorrow, I think; very nice of Reeves to send us UPS shipping notifications without prompting. (See, they’re learning!) The pattern on the mare is pretty much just like Western Prancing Horse’s, not the Shetland Pony; the composition of the original photograph did obscure it, though.

I’ve been trying to skim through the various online discussions about them because, well, I don’t need the additional grief, and I’m really not in the mood for more whining and whinging today.  Besides, y’all are amateurs in comparison to the Vita Monster: we cut back a bit on her snacks recently, and she’s not having it.

(Her tantrums are way cuter, too. Though the knocking of stuff off the tables, not so much. Terriers, man.)

I think I’m liking this year’s BreyerFest auction pieces better than most hobbyists; all these odd patterns and mold "mash-ups" give me the feeling that a greater percentage of them are actual test pieces, and not just whimsies done to please the hobby hoi polloi.

Like the red dun brindle Smart Chic Olena: there have been a couple other attempts at brindling in previous years’ auctions, and this SCO may be representative of where they are from a production standpoint. Still not there, but getting warmer.

I certainly wouldn’t turn it down if it were offered to me as a gift. (Not asking, just saying.)

Though, like everyone else, my favorite is the "Blackpool" Brighty in an adorbs mahogany bay pinto - with tack! We really do need a few more production run Brighties; the last two Specials were the BreyerFest 2005 Ticket Special Oliver, and the 2010 Contest prize Cameo, both of whom are just about impossible to acquire.

Another Brighty might make a nice Special Run for the Collector’s Club, don’t you think? Wouldn’t need to be spotted; I’d be happy with a Dark Bay or Black.