Everything Else

Another one of those all over the place days.

First, RIP John Romita, Sr.: Steve Ditko may have created his iconic look, but Romita was the definitive Spider-Man artist.

Second: what’s up with the price of knock-offs lately? I’ve been trying to pick up a couple of them just for novelty’s sake, but in some cases they’ve actually been selling for more than the Breyer mold they’re copying!

Or is just another case of everyone getting on the same page again and collectively deciding this would be a cool thing to do? I kind of get it: who does not love a Wee Western Prancing Horse?

But darn it all, I really wanted to get a few more of those Hong Kong Mini Me’s! Just another thing to look for at BreyerFest, I guess.

Third: I wish there was a better way of defining what names go with what molds. Reeves has been attempting to give molds generic, descriptive names, but the problem with that is that “Loping Quarter Horse” and “Working Cow Horse” don’t really convey the personality of molds like Latigo and Bobby Jo. 

And what happens when they come out with another, but slightly different Loping Quarter Horse? Do they start getting numbered at that point, or are they described by their size compared to the other(s)? That kind of naming scheme just replaces one problem with another.

Picking an actual name-name, or giving them a very specific descriptor or kooky nickname is just easier. Except there’s never been a real formula for this sort of thing, either: sometimes it’s the first release, sometimes it’s the most popular one, and other times it’s something hobbyists make up out of thin air (hello, Foalzilla!)

And getting everybody on the same page is hard, regardless. (Remember the Othello vs. Winter Song Wars?)

With older molds with already established names, I’d just do a gentle redirect with newer collectors: if someone at BreyerFest looking for Zenyatta, tell them your Lonesome Glory models are on the top shelf and to the right. Unless you genuinely don’t have any Lonesome Glory molds, or have absolutely no idea what they are asking about.

The only time I visibly got angry with someone over misidentifying a mold is when I had to deal with someone who repeatedly referred to the Desatado as the Marsh Tacky, several years and several releases after the 2013 BreyerFest Special Run. 

(In their defense, I’m not sure the kid was picking up anyone’s social cues.)

And finally, for the curious: the blog averages about 500 page hits a day – that’s for the whole blog, not any specific post – though the stats have been a little messed up recently because all US-based web sites are getting slammed due to overseas interference. 

More would be better, but I can’t complain. About that, anyway. 

Pencil Sharpener Knockoffs

Here’s another horse on a different kind of base:

Mint in Box, even! Here’s a picture of the back to show you why this is Breyer-related:

The horse itself - a knockoff the Hartland Tinymite Morgan, in this case - is about half the size of a standard Stablemate.

I vaguely remember these sharpeners when they were new, ca. 1976; they were a part of the glut of antique-looking dime store merchandise manufactured to capitalize on the Bicentennial. There was a huge range of sharpeners, usually in the shape of something old or antiquated like a treadle sewing machine, gramophone, steamboat, or coffee grinder.

These sharpeners are still pretty plentiful both online and offline, though finding a boxed item is unusual. This was a little bit before people started obsessing over keeping their collectibles Mint in Box. Some of these might have actually been used as - gasp! - actual pencil sharpeners!

This one was definitely kept as a "collectible", as it was one of several pieces in a nice-sized collection at the flea market. This is the only one I bought because it was the only horse-shaped one the dealer had. Some of the nonhorse ones were kind of cute, but saw no reason to get into pencil sharpener collecting beyond the model horse knockoffs.

I’m assuming that the manufacturer decided to appropriate these molds to represent an antique horse figurine of some sort: a bookend, a pull toy, or a doorstop. The molds that were copied were far from antiques, though: the G1 Morgan Stallion and Thoroughbred Mare were just released in plastic the year before.

Hartland Tinymites were discontinued a few years earlier, but I suspect the manufacturer might have copied him from the Hong Kong knockoffs that could have still been available at the time. These sharpeners were made in Hong Kong, too, so they might have even had an example already in hand.  

Of course, the only other sharpener I had in my knockoff collection was also the Tinymite Morgan. It’s an excellent upgrade, at least!

If Reeves is looking into another way of repurposing Stablemates into a quasi-useful object, pencil sharpeners might be a fun alternative to another keychain.

Meritus

Here’s a photo of the knockoffs, from a manufacturer called Meritus:

As far as I know, Breyer didn’t do a whole lot to combat companies making knockoffs of their molds back in their Chicago days. The reasons are obvious: a high percentage of their own molds at that point were knockoffs themselves. If they did decide to pursue, the manufacturers that Breyer copied from might have started getting ideas, too. Things could have gotten very messy - and very expensive - in a rather short period of time.

Pot, I’d like to introduce you to kettle.

One company that they apparently did fight - and win - against was Meritus.

At some point I did buy a Mint in Box Meritus horse - I think it was the Classic Arabian Stallion - for my archives. I no longer have either the box or the horse, but I do remember that the legal disclaimer sticker that was slapped on the box had a rather wonderfully indignant tone to it.

It was something like: Those jerks made us put this stupid sticker on the box! Except a little more polite and legal-sounding, though not much.

I can’t locate the original ad or sales list that I bought it from, but here’s a clip from one of Marney’s sales lists, ca. 1984, where she was selling some herself (click to enlarge):

The reason I believe Breyer pursued legal action in this case was that Meritus copied no ordinary molds: they were the Classics Quarter Horse and Arabian Families. These were molds leased from a company - Hagen-Renaker - that sued them back in the late 1950s.

If they were not legally obligated to do so, Breyer may have felt it was the right thing to do anyway, to keep in Hagen-Renaker’s good graces. And possibly to keep from losing the leases.

I’m not sure if I’ll be keeping these particular guys. I’d love to locate another Mint in Box example with the legal disclaimer, again, for my knockoff collection; I’m not sure why I got rid of it in the first place.

Feeling My Oats

What do you do when someone offers you a basket of horses?

You buy the basket of horses, of course! Especially since the basket got thrown in for free! Sweet!

No actual Breyers or Hartlands, just some Hong Kong copies and a Barbie Dallas. There’s nothing here I intend on keeping, though I will be talking about the Classic Quarter Horse copies later in the week; there’s actually a really interesting story behind them. But today is definitely not the day for me to go rummaging through my reference files.

(If there’s anything here that’s interesting to you, by the way, most of these guys will be in my very well-stocked Dollar Table selection at BreyerFest this year. The Barbie Dallas won’t be, though - he’ll be a couple dollars more, and either be sitting on a shelf or in the body box, depending on the space situation.)

I also picked up a nice - though not mint - Adios, some cool minis, a couple of adorable handmade ceramic Bloodhounds from ca. 1971, another stack of old quilt blocks, and a vintage fluorescent pink floral muu muu. Apparently I'm going as my Grandma Jankowiak for Halloween this year. (Tillson Street, here I come!)

There were a few other horses I passed up. Most of them were a bit overpriced - 18 dollars for a slightly yellowed and bloated Bay Running Mare? No can do.

I also got into a slightly heated shouting match with one dealer whom I normally respect. He picks up Breyers from time to time, and they tend to be both decently priced and in good shape; I always try to give his booth a little extra attention when I happen by.

Yesterday, he had a Hartland Regal Saddlebred. You know, this guy:

(Link to recently ended eBay auction)

It was a little rough, with some dings and a few sloppy old paint touch ups - about average for the 11-inchers. The price was actually good for the mold and the condition it was in, but he insisted that it was a Breyer, and I must have been feeling my oats that day because I insisted on telling him that it wasn’t.

"It’s a Breyer."

"No, it’s not."

"Yes, it is."

There was about five minutes of that, followed by him walking away, and me just shaking my head and laughing, not believing the whole thing just happened.

I’ve been going to this flea market long enough that I like to think that I have earned the trust and respect of most of the regular vendors: they know I am not going to baldly lie to them when it comes to the horses. If they ask questions, I answer them honestly and truthfully, and I’ve even occasionally given some of them advice on pricing and marketing! So it came as quite a shock that this guy went almost immediately into "You want to rip me off" mode. 

I never got around to telling him that it was a Hartland. Didn’t buy it either, even though I could have made a nice profit from it. I had already bought my basket of horses, and my glorious you-can-see-it-from-space muu muu, so it’s not like the purchase was going to make or break my day anyway. 

Knock-Offs

I finally found that photo I was looking for. Behold, one of the strangest Breyer knock-offs you'll ever see: a Bucking Bronco mechanical bank!


It's from a 2005 mail-order catalog from Betty's Attic. I love how they didn't even bother to change his name! I was quite tempted to buy this little marvel of modern engineering, as I've always been a big fan of the Bucking Bronco mold, but I managed to resist the urge. If I ever should come across one at a flea market for a not-indecent price, however, I won't hesitate.

I do have a few knock-offs in my collection – they've been something I've kept a small interest in for a number of years now, though I only have a handful of them in the herd due to space issues. My most recent acquisition was this remarkably faithful adaptation of the Elephant:


He's from a company known colloquially in the hobby as “Diamond P.” On their inside hind legs, where the Breyer copyright horseshow would normally be, there's a small, four-pointed diamond shape with a capital letter “P” in it, along with a three digit number and the phrase “Made in Hong Kong.” Here's a shot from the inside hind leg of a Running Mare copy to illustrate:


The actual name of the manufacturer, or the “brand” name the Diamond P models were marketed under is unknown to me: it's another one of those numerous topics I haven't followed up on yet. The extent of my research so far has been to keep a small list of known models and a photo reference file, mostly of pieces that have passed through my hands on their way to someone else.

(FYI: I'm keeping the Elephant.)


Some Diamond P models, like the Elephant, are really good copies; their copy of the standing Donkey is also very good, as well as their version of the Rearing Hartland Mustang. Others, such as the Running Mare in my possession, are just a little off in size, color, and the overall details:


From the selection of models found so far, I'm presuming this particular brand was in its heyday in the late 1960s to early 1970s. There have been other knock-off manufacturers both before and since, some quite notorious. (“Antique” Chinese Big Ben Bronzes, anyone?)

The irony is that Breyer itself started as a company that produced knock-offs - slightly classier and better quality, but still knock-offs. Most of their molds from the 1950s were direct, or near direct copies from other sources:

Western Horse and Pony (Hartland, among others)
Boxer (Boehm)
Poodle (Rosenthal)
Old Mold Stallion, Mare and Foal (Hagen-Renaker)
Racehorse (Grand Wood Carving)
Brahma Bull (Boehm)
Walking Polled Hereford Bull (Boehm)

Most, but not all: the Lassie mold is definitely an original Breyer design, and the Small Poodle, the Rin Tin Tin, Fury, and the Rigid Riders were probably originals. (We have a dated letter and sketch for the Lassie, but nothing for any of the others, yet. Those darn fragmentary records from the 1950s!)

After the Hagen-Renaker lawsuit, Breyer did cool it a bit with the direct knock-offs, for the most part (the jury is still out on the Bassett Hound, and the Adios's story is … complicated.) And those that were knocked-off were modified just enough to keep the lawyers at bay.

All that could change with further research, naturally.