Final Accountings

I had every intention of going to a farm auction Saturday morning, but I got up and said to myself “Do you really need another adventure this weekend?” We had received an insane amount of rain over the past couple of days, so I had a wee bit of concern about roads and bridges not being driveable, too. 

So I finally (FINALLY!) got around to starting my post-BreyerFest inventory. It’s not completely done because there are a few things I need to make some decisions on. (Keep all three Stagecoach Surprises, or surrender one? Does Nemea stay, or go?) 

Hopefully I’ll be able to get to those remainders dealt with next weekend, and get my online sales started in earnest shortly after that. This week I need to focus on cleaning up the garden, since the rains (and the several hundred pounds of debris that came with them – long story!) did quite a number on it.

I also did the final accounting of my BreyerFest Live placings: 

• Fifth in the Stablemates Collector’s Class
• Sectional Champ: Unrealistic Color, Section 2 (!!!)
• 4 NAN Cards: 1 Breed, 3 Collectibility
• 23 total Flats: at least one of every color!

The flats total is a little deceiving, because some of those ribbons were what I call “pity placings”: low placings in classes with a low number of entries. BF Live is also one of the few shows that still does placings to tenth. Most only do to sixth nowadays. 

If you just counted the placings to sixth, I still got 14, which is still pretty decent, all things considered. Certainly far better than I expected, and better than that show I did last September that still occasionally keeps me up at night. 

I am most pleased by my Gloss Silver Bay Stoneleigh Surprise, who earned me the NAN Breed Card with a Second in a fairly large Morgan class of 45 entries! 

I sometimes take my Collectibility placings for granted, but never Breed. I don’t know if it’s just me and a consequence of my focus and buying preferences, but the judging standards for Collectibility feel less subjective than the ones for Breed. 

Oh, and if it is any consolation to anyone out there about my current run of luck, it’s worth noting that (a) it is highly unlikely I’ll see either one of the Tractor Supply Stablemates Chase Pieces, and (b) my luck on biddable eBay auctions continues to suck. 

What kind of crazy market is this that even box lots of busted up and otherwise undesirable bodies still go for a premium? Gah!

About that: since I was planning on doing some serious customizing soon, I was looking to add a few less desirable bodies to the stash to experiment with. Since I have a rather high rate of failure, I feel a lot less guilty tossing three-legged Hess Classics and Rugged Larks into my free box. Until recently, those kinds of bodies to be cheap, bordering on free...

It looks like I’ll have to make do with what I have, which is probably plenty. Should do an inventory of what I do have, while I’m at it.

Showing, Not Telling

So I go away for a few days to deal with some stuff, and this is what I come back to?

Look, I absolutely detest the concept of both-siderism – the notion that in certain arguments and situations that everyone is equally awful – because 99 percent of the time, it’s not only is it intellectually lazy, it is also almost universally untrue. 

But let us all agree that both in-person and online BreyerFest attendees have the capability of being either terrible people, terrible to their fellow hobbyists, or both. 

I doubt there is a solution to the Special Run distribution problem that will satisfy everyone. We can make things better, but we can’t make it perfect. I’d like to think that what I proposed last time isn’t necessarily “the” solution, but might lead to some improvements. 

I am still working on my dissertation on the Best Customs Contest, but technical and work-related difficulties are holding me up yet again, with a little bit of bad weather thrown in. I’m hoping everything is better by Tuesday. 

(Laughs nervously.) 

To compensate, here’s a picture of the model that won me the Gloss RD Marciea Bey at BreyerFest Live this year: my Chalky Dapple Gray Hanoverian, who I bought directly from Horses International way back in 1986!

His name is Counter Espionage: that was his original name when I showed him in the 1980s, and I saw no reason to change it. I had gotten some advanced intel on him before he was officially released, and college-age me thought it was an oh-so-clever play on words.

(Countertops, get it? I know, just terrible....)

Since there are not any local live shows around here in the next couple of months, my heart wants me to enter the Online Open Show, but my brain is telling me otherwise; I’ll wait and see how this week pans out before I make that decision. 

From KY to WY

Just passing through, obviously, since I am in between vacays here, but I thought I’d share a few things I picked up in Kentucky:

Yes, that’s a Glossy Marciea Bey. 

First I swore, then I started crying; I was doing pretty lousy at the show prior to that, and even briefly contemplated leaving early. But things got better, and I managed to exceed my goals in the end. (I mean, obviously: winning a Glossy Prize Model wasn’t something I imagined was possible!) 

Even so, if I ever get the idea to do show at BreyerFest Live again, you are all invited to come to my house (unannounced!) and hit me with a 2 x 4. With a nail in it, if necessary.

Because dang, that was hard work. I probably could have eaten an entire pizza afterwards and not even felt it. 

I also got Fifth in the Stablemates Collector’s Class, but didn’t do diddly in Commonality: it’s kind of hard to compete with people who are willing to spend $15,000 to win a $1,500 prize model. At least I gave it a shot, and I can now check off a couple more things off the Bucket List. 

Yes, that Surprise is Glossy, and represents the first time in over ten years since I’ve been able to pull a Gloss Surprise at in-person, from-the-actual-line BreyerFest. I ended up getting a second in the same color, but traded that for the Decorator; (I almost got the Gloss Roan Pinto, but there was a communications issue. Worked out in the end, anyway.) He’s super nice, too, so he might end up in the showstring someday.

I got both Scurries, thank goodness, so my Emma collection (except for the rerelease, and Test Colors) remains complete.

I also tried to get the Roan Araba variation in the Leftover Line, since my Gloss obviously needed a sister, and because I usually always end up with a Roan every year at BreyerFest. But she was just the regular Black one, alas. When my credit card was declined on the fourth(!) pass through the leftover line, I figured it was time to surrender.

I laughed a little when I saw that the BreyerFest Chevaliere was a Roan, because the majority of my Volunteer Models have been Roans. I ran into more than a few people who assumed (incorrectly!) that I was volunteering, but I just want to remind everyone that that was definitely not the case this year. 

It was a little annoying to see so many Chevalieres for sale, but that’s all I’ll say about it. Eh, I’m more “Team Smoky Black” this year…

I did end up with a Volunteer Model (not Chevaliere!) from a kindly benefactor, but that is another story, for another time.

As far as quantities on the variations, I have no idea what’s going on. They’re pretty scarce, but they don’t seem excruciatingly rare: I have a feeling that they’re going to be in the same range as the Horse of a Different Color variation quantities, so a few hundred of each, perhaps? I think that is a good number/range to shoot for, if they continue to do this sort of thing: that quantity range means that they’ll still be expensive, but theoretically “gettable” for people who collect those molds, especially less popular ones.

Jump and Drive and Wells are both 50/50; the loose mane JD and the Gloss Wells just seem a little rarer right now because those are the variations most people want right now. I also have a feeling the Stagecoach Surprises were evenly split, or close to; the Decorator seems a little rarer because the color is exciting and new and everyone wants it. 

The only other variation I “need” is the Action Foal, since I got the standard Standing Foal, and I don’t think that one will be hard to come by. I will not be in market for one for at least a couple of weeks, and by then we’ll know what the splits actually are and we will all be able to negotiate more fairly.   

There’s a lot more, of course, including some not so nice stuff, but now is not the time to dwell on any of that; I have to finish packing and printing my itineraries and stuff. And also apparently I have been assigned Encore Baby Watch, and I need to make sure my camera is in good working order!

Model Horse Melodrama

Generally I’m not a big fan of Victorian Melodramas: it’s not so much the style that bothers me (though it sometimes does: it can be so emotionally exhausting!), but the fact that all too often it feels like I’m living in one.

 

(I picked up a small stack of these at the local flea market years ago, because seriously, why wouldn’t you?) 

I had a couple of really rough days last week and was feeling pretty low, so you guys don’t know how much it means to me that y’all are (mostly!) sticking up for me on this incredibly bizarre BreyerFest Test Color Adventure. I don’t know where this is going, but I am definitely not taking my hands of the wheel until the car comes to a complete stop.

As a minor reward to all of you, I’d like to point out that there’s a seller on eBay who has a couple of Unpainted Sherman Morgan bodies up for sale – the older lumpy ones with the turd-shaped tail! (They are listed as Mustangs, so might not come up in you saved searches.)

I know there’s lots of Shermie fans out there who might go for that sort of thing, history buffs who’d want a cull of an obsolete version of the mold because history, and Unpainted collectors looking for something rare and cool.

Anyway, moving on…. 

I’m going to be extremely busy for the next month or so, because absolutely nothing is finished for BreyerFest and beyond. This week I’m hoping to get the Sampler and its associated paperwork done, or mostly done, and then I can spend the rest of my time working on the live show stuff.

I am trying not to get too worked up about the show, either, but I want to at least not embarrass myself. And I am setting my sights pretty low for success: one NAN card, and 5 to 10 placings total seems reasonable, considering the size of the show. (Unlike a lot of shows nowadays, they place to tenth. Tenth counts!)

Any prize model would be a delight forever, but I am not betting on it. Two factors that do seem to have some effect on the quality and quantity of one’s placing are (a) spending big [I don’t] and (b) being lucky [for the most part, no]. Fortunately, the Overall and Reserve aren’t on molds that are must-haves for me, either. 

The color on the Roxy Tilbury is gorgeous – one I was considering for the custom of the Classic Quarter Horse Mare I’ve been playing with – but I prefer the loose mane to the braided on her. Most of Breyer’s newer braided manes just don’t do it for me. (Except for the ones on the Gabriel version of the Nikolas mold. Those are pretty adorable.)

 

The problem with the Big Ben mold is that he has a lot of unattainables in his back catalog, and they’re all the ones I want the most (Silver Twilight, Sonnet, Serengeti, the FEI Dark Bay). It is hard to get my hopes up when all I see when I look at Stanhope is the newest member of that exclusive club. 

Dealing With The Dealt Hand

For what it’s worth, I am fine: this is just the Universe reminding me I am not that special after all. There is no need to get angry on my behalf. 

The main thing that threw me off guard about it is the fact that I’ve been rejected, denied, ignored and overlooked for a lot of nonhobby things lately (I’m still trying to find a collision shop that will even call me back about my car!) and having the one thing that’s been a safe call for a while now not be took a little wind out of my sails.

I decided to make something of that frustration on Sunday and pulled some weeds, worked on a quilt top, and researched horse butts for a couple of customs languishing on craft table. 

I also bought another rehab project off of eBay, this time a vintage OF thing; if I can fix it up, it might lead to a pretty keen Collector’s Class entry, since that’s possibly my best shot at scoring something sweet at BreyerFest this year. 

I wasn’t going to enter any of those particular classes, but since they’re reopening them for entries and there’s now space in the car, it might be worth a shot, especially since there’s (ulp!) 181 other entrants to compete against in the actual show-show. No pressure there, yikes…

One of my more reliable showhorses, one I am considering taking to BreyerFest Live, is an exquisite example of the 2011 BreyerFest Special Run Jasmine:

They only made 1100 pieces of her, which seems rather small now, but she was one of the higher piece runs. She was outnumbered by the 1200 piece Spun Gold Surprise that year: even though it was just the second year for the Surprise (after 2009’s Quarter Horse Gelding) it was already one of the most popular items on the BreyerFest Special Run menu.

I didn’t participate in the Treasure Hunt in 2011, but I did go out of my way to get “Thunderstorm” because Black Arabians are definitely a thing for me, and I was lucky enough to get drawn for a Mont Tremblant, too.

My Mont Tremblant doesn’t get out as much as my Jasmine; lately I’ve been taking my Zugspitze when I want to bring a Silver Filigree to live show (everybody loves Zugspitze!) She keeps me company in my office with Jasmine and Thunderstorm, and that’s good enough.

The only Weather Girl I’m in serious need of – but it won’t happen, so I try not to think about it too much – is the Liver Chestnut variation of the BreyerFest Natasha from 2019. The Red Bay version didn’t do anything for me, but gosh the Liver Chestnut was a dream.

(I was never much interested in the Sunshine Celebration Exclusive Event Gloss Silver Red Bay Winter Haven – just not a fan of that color.)

Gwendolyn

I have a million and one things to do today so I’ll be ready to go when I get up tomorrow morning to drive the two or so hours to get to the live show. I’m not in terrible shape – certainly better than the last show I tanked at – but I’m freaking out a little bit because it’s just far enough away that there’s no turning back once I hit the road. 

Here’s one of the ones I’m leaving behind, incidentally. My Gwendolyn:

She was a 2005 BreyerFest Special Run, and a pretty limited one at that, even in those less-crowded times: they only made 550 pieces of her! I got super-duper lucky and managed to snag one of the last ones in my ticket time that year.

The other models I got that year included the Moody Andalusian Galahad – who was way more fabulous in person than his pictures suggested – and the Isabel & Chloe Unicorn set, which was also cuter than I imagined them to be. 

I wasn’t attracted to the Gwendolyn because of her piece count – the lowest of all the Special Runs offered that year – but because I thought she was the prettiest. When I saw what her piece count was, I did get a bit nervous. Hobbyists are hobbyists, you know...

I would have been fine with the Belgian Arthur – and I’ve even priced them occasionally, because his paint job is really well-shaded – but I’ve never had the gumption to pull the wallet out and actually pay up.

That was a bad year for Reeves in terms of piece counts: they miscalculated the demand for the plastic Specials in favor of the Porcelain Romantico. There were a lot of unhappy campers at the end of the lines that weekend.

The reason Gwendolyn got the cut from the showstring was because she’s just every so slightly yellowed, and the experience of my also very faintly yellowed Premier Club Marwari finishing second – in BREED!!! – to an Old Timer at the last show still stings. 

I mean, you could make an argument for the placement in terms of Collectibility, but Breed? Old Timer? Judges, man....

Silver, Gold and Gloss

Another scattershot post; the past few days have been pretty rough personally, and I have that show to get ready for next week that I’m still not ready for. (I do finally have all the supplies, though!) 

First off, one of these days I’ll get one of those Gambler’s Choice Micro Run surprises in the mail, but yesterday was not that day:

Not that big of a surprise, really. The bigger annoyance was that my shipping box was not only not fully sealed – just a single piece of cellophane tape between it and total shipping annihilation – there was no ephemera. Yeah, I know, I actually wrote the darn thing, but the fancy-fancy actual printed and distributed copy that my archives demand was not there. Bummer.

Second, I wasn’t quite as enamored over the Test Color Rose Gray Sabino Big Ben as everyone else was this week, though if I had “won” him, I certainly wouldn’t have hesitated to take him. In spite of the fact that I have several varieties of Test Colors, I think it would be neat to own one of the publicly “raffled” ones, and it is impossible to dictate which one the Universe chooses for me. 

But again, this week was not that week. At this point I think I’ll have odds of finding a random old BreyerFest Test Color on eBay. And speaking of that, that vintage Froelich I was pining over was relisted at a much more reasonable starting price. Hmm, something to reconsider…

Third, RIP Joe Giella, one of my favorite comic book artists; he inked many pivotal Silver Age stories, including “Flash of Two Worlds” (The Flash #123, September 1961) which introduced the comic book fandom to Earth-2 and the concept of the Multiverse. I was also faithful reader of the comic strip Mary Worth for many years (yes, really!) because of his work on it. 

And finally, there was the explosion in the chocolate factory in Pennsylvania that has me a little on edge, considering where I work. 

Back to paperwork. 

Miniature Family

The only thing keeping me awake right now is more than the daily recommended allowance of those new Oreo-flavored Oreos. (They’re my new favorite flavor!) 

I woke up last night with a pretty intense sinus headache that had me seriously considering a trip to urgent care; I took some pain meds and managed to get another couple hours of sleep, but I’m still feeling a bit woozy. Though the mini cheesecake I had for lunch probably didn’t help, either…

Even though my weekend was significantly shortened by work and by Daylight Saving Time, I’m pretty close to finalizing my showstring for BVG Live. I dropped a few Collectibility entries and added a few more Stablemates, since working on my Stablemates was supposed to be my big experiment this year anyhow. 

The documentation is also coming along adequately: if I pick at it a little bit every day, all I’ll have to do the night before is toss the totes, binders and toolbox in the car and head out the door in the morning. 

(I decided to not take the night before off, so that’s just about all I’ll be able to do!) 

Since I’ve either given up most of my worst vices – and am working on the others – just about the only thing I could give up for Lent this year was buying stuff on the Internet, aside from the obligated “club” purchases. I’ve missed a couple of pretty sweet Buy It Nows on eBay, but otherwise it hasn’t been too terrible an experience so far: I need to buy less stuff anyway. 

I just opened my Stablemates Nadira and Zaahir, incidentally:

Much nicer than I expected them to be, especially the Foal Zaahir. The original G1 Standing and Lying Down Foals have come in a Gloss Finish before, as the 2017 Charcoal Vintage Club Bonus Stablemates Licorice and Jellybean. But in spite of the multiple releases the Mare has had, this is the first time she’s come in a true Gloss Finish – and it suits her quite well, I think!

I’m not the first one to point out that, of course, Nadira and Zaahir pair up quite nicely with the 2020 Stablemates Club release Sultan, the Gloss Dappled Bay G1 Arabian Stallion. I would have paired them up here for a photograph myself, but I didn’t feel like digging him out again, especially since I didn’t have any plans of going back into the Stablemates storage boxes until next weekend at the earliest. 

I’m sure it was intentional, and most likely a callback to one of the original Christmas Stablemate Special Runs: the “Miniature Family” featured in the 1975 Sears Wishbook, which included the Bay Arabian Stallion, Thoroughbred Mare, and Standing Foal. 

(It also happens to be the toughest of the Wishbook Stablemates releases to find in its original box, which says something!)

A Wee Trio (No, Not That One)

Experiencing some scheduling issues again; as a consequence of that, I only got 4.5 hours of sleep last night, and I’m feeling a little loopier than normal.

(Long story short: I’ll be fine tomorrow. No worries!)

I didn’t get quite as much done on my live show documentation as I thought I would over the weekend; I’m still debating over the last handful of cuts. (I’m aiming for half Collectibility and half Stablemates…)

Oddly enough, my main problem wasn’t obsessing over the minutiae of Breyer History, but falling down the rabbit hole of rare or obscure horse breeds and freaking loving it. It’s taken me back to my elementary school days, when little horse nerd me would check out the big encyclopedias of horse breeds over and over and stare at pictures of Frieburgers, Lokais and Vladimir Heavy Drafts.

Anyway, I’m a little short on time (needs sleep, I do), so here’s a small assortment of my favorites that are in the running:

The Flaxen Chestnut G2 Saddlebred is from the 2018 (Series 2) Walmart Horse Crazy Surprise Assortment. Nothing especially remarkable about the release itself, other than the fact that most of them in that particular series had remarkably attractive and well-executed paint jobs: the Saddlebred was the prettiest one of the bunch I eventually found.

(It was the beginning of the Stablemates Chase Era, before we got bored and/or irritated by it, and all my nearest Walmarts were plundered early, and often.)

The Black G1 Arabian Stallion is a rather fetching release of this mold, from the 1991 Sears Wishbook Special Run Stablemates Assortment. My Bay one always does well, and I wanted to add another G1 Arabian to my live show mix: he was the best of the rest, aside from my NIP Dapple Gray (who I only show in Collectibility). 

And finally, that’s the Florida Cracker Horse from the underrated 2007 BreyerFest SR “All-American Trio” Stablemates Set, the one that included a Black Pinto Tennessee Walker and a Chestnut Appaloosa Colorado Rangerbred. All three were super nice, but I just adore the detail they put into the paint job on the Paso Fino mold.

Well, that’s it for today. Off to water some plants and get some serious sleep.  

Over and Out

Ugh, I am 100 percent over the weather this week. I am absolutely not leaving the house this weekend if I don’t have to.

(I don’t have to.)

The Volunteer application is up, and there’s only a twenty-day window to apply. So, go forth and apply, if you’re so inclined. Thumbs up, would recommend the experience…

Speaking of new experiences, after surviving my brush with death earlier this week, I decided to do this after all:

I went with a half table because of space issues: I still have a lot of sales stuff to bring with me again this year, so I genuinely don’t have the room for a lot of Traditionals anyway. It will also help keep me from blowing up my showstring beyond a manageable amount: I want this to be a fun experience, not a stressful one. (This is also why I chose not to do a Collector’s Class.)

As long as there are no other weather-related catastrophes, I should be able to go through my Stablemates stash for viable candidates for BVG Live over the weekend – and from there, I can figure out who and what to bring to BF Live. 

(I already have the Collectibility stuff for BVG Live kinda-sorta figured out, except for the paperwork. You know that’s my happy place, yo…)

I need to get to bed early today – the chaotic weather and post-apocalyptic driving conditions ate away at my soul this week – but here’s a little model horse content: I finally opened up my Ponies & Palm Trees Strapless Sarong! 

And as I feared, I got a real pretty one with nice dapples and everything. Nuts! I need less stuff, not more. Maybe I’ll show her at BVG Live and see how she does before I make a decision. I’m thinking Hungarian Warmblood, maybe? 

Goodie Bags

Not dead! Just exhausted and probably a little overscheduled. Throwing an ice storm and a health screening into the mix didn’t help things, either. 

(We didn’t lose power, but I could stand to lose 25 pounds.)

Anyway, since I’m short on time here and I’d like to get in a little extra sleep before the weekend (a full weekend off!) I’ll cover a few quick topics as I prepare something a little more substantial in a day or two.

First, I’ll jump right into it and join the chorus of people excited about the contents of this year’s BreyerFest VIP Swag. A Bento Box and an Insulated Lunch Bag? A Picnic Blanket and a Cooling Towel? 

https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/breyerfest-blog/vip-exclusive-swag

The only problem here, of course, is that I actually want to use all this stuff. Generally, the only swag I use on a regular basis are the tee-shirts, because I can turn them into quilts later. (I also make quilts to display my pins on, but I’m not sure that counts as something I “use”.)

Onto the next one…

I ditched all the reference photos I pulled for the two Diorama Contests. I decided I’d rather focus on my sewing instead, at least until the weather warms up and I can start customizing more. It was a little sad to give up on the Diorama dream so early, but my time is not infinitely expandable, and I really need to kick my multitasking habit.

And finally…

Maybe my confusion stems from the fact that this is the first year I am seriously considering entering the in-person live show, but is there some reason why there are two resin shows for BreyerFest? 

Although much of the antipathy between Breyer collectors and resin aficionados has dissipated, I come from a long line of people who have held grudges forever, so part of me is a little miffed that resin collectors/showers have both an online and in-person option, but Breyer collectors/showers don’t. Breyer Boot Camp is tailored to Novices only, and I am most definitely not a Novice! 

I know they wouldn’t necessarily want to have a photo show with the same number of classes as BreyerFest Live, but maybe a theme or specialty show with a pared down classlist would be more manageable: Mini Only, Custom Only, Specific Breeds Only, Collectibility Only. It could be a different every year, both for the challenge and to cover all the bases over time. And make it open to everybody!

If I don’t enter BreyerFest Live this year for whatever reason (sells out, I have other commitments, or I end up in traction and unable to travel due to my tragic lack of coordination), I’m definitely doing Breakables. I have enough decent chinas to be competitive but also not so many that I’d lose much more than a weekend preparing for it. 

And on that note, guess what I’ll be doing this weekend, probably… 

A Few Random Thoughts on Emma

It was not a huge stretch of the imagination to believe that the Carltonlima Emma was going to go up in price after the Queen’s passing, but even I am a little taken aback by some of the prices. Nearly $200 for a NIB one? Yikes!

Especially since I sold an unboxed one (I received it as a duplicate in a box lot) for $20 at BreyerFest back in July. 

There was no way of knowing, of course. It was a very good box lot, priced very cheaply, and I more than made my money back on it. 

I think that’s one part of the problem with the rather “optimistic” pricing I see on the Internet: the haunting possibility that you might have missed out on even more profit if you had just waited long enough. 

I don’t have the time or room for that nonsense. 

I’ve sold, quite probably, thousands of models over the years, which isn’t as mind boggling as it may seem: a thousand models is about 100 models a year for ten years. I sell an average of 50 to 75 pieces at BreyerFest alone, and I have been going to BreyerFest for a very, very long time...

It does bother me when I find I undersold something, or that I took a gamble on something and lost (which has happened to me so frequently that I’ve become very risk-averse), but I can’t go back and make people pay me the profit I missed out on. Whether it’s bad timing, or an honest mistake on your part, you have to let it go. 

Tangentially related to talking about Emma: one thing that does boggle my mind is Original Finish models with solid black, unshaded paint jobs doing well at live shows. 

Back when I was first live showing back in the 1980s, Solid Black horses – other than the occasional Test Color – rarely placed well in halter, because it was assumed that minimal effort was made to paint it.

Even now, when I’m making my selection on who (and who not to) take, the unshaded black ones rarely make the cut. I think the only one I show semi-regularly is my Stablemate Quarter Horse Stallion Pancho, and that’s because he also has that very sharp, early mold detail that negates the “no shading” bit.

(And the fact that he’s a rare, early Stablemate Special Run!)

(FYI: The one on IDYB is not mine, but looks almost identical to mine. Not in a mood to dig mine out at the moment. He was one of the handful of horses that did NAN at the last live show I was at.)

But back to Emma: I think it’d be neat if Reeves brought Emma back in a special edition of some sort – Gloss, or maybe with a ribbon or bit of tack – and I’d definitely buy it. Buy just like my original Emma, I still couldn’t see her as live show material. 

Real and True

Highlights of the show: my scheduling issue was resolved (so I didn’t have to leave early), I didn’t miss any classes, I got to pet a cat in the parking lot, and I finished piecing a quilt block. 

But I have no big winners to show you because I didn’t have any. 

I did walk away with seven NAN cards and about 25 ribbons, but a lot of them were lower placings in small classes. Not terrible, but not the experience I was hoping to have. 

We all end up having less-than-ideal showing experiences at some time or another, and this was one of mine, alas. I even tanked in the two Collectibility classes I entered: I think that was the point where I mentally checked out and went in whole hog on my sewing project. 

(I usually bring one anyway because I’m the kind of person who has to overprepare for everything, but I rarely have to break it out.)

I probably won’t be live showing again until early next year. Not because of this experience, but because I have too many other things I need to take care of in the next three months, including the health-related issues I’ve been alluding to. And I have to start planning my next great “adventure” later in the Fall (this is something completely different from next year’s Grand Wyoming Excursion. She says mysteriously...) 

I have also been informed that I “need to” show at BreyerFest Live next year, which means I have to ramp up my sales now, because there is no way I can fit both a show string and a ton of sales items in my car simultaneously. 

The selling part is something I’ve been planning on doing anyway; I wanted to get some of the prep done for that this weekend, but the weather and my slightly bummed disposition got in the way.

In the meantime, here’s a picture of a thing I bought a little while ago that’s not what you think it is:

Aside from the fact that the Clydesdale Stallion was not officially a part of the Presentation Collection, he also lacks the USA mold mark, which means he was manufactured no later than 1970, or a year before the official introduction of the program in 1971. 

The base is different, too: it’s beveled along one edge, not all four. 

I’ve seen a few other Breyers floating around with similar bases, and there’s always been a bit of a mystery about their origin and/or authenticity. Personally, I have come around to the idea that these oddly-based models may have been a part of the “Desk Trophies” program offered by Robbins Metal Craft:

http://breyerhistorydiva.blogspot.com/2010/04/charolais-specials-part-ii.html

Robbins was based in Missouri, and a sticker on the bottom of the base indicates that it was made by a company in St. Louis that (I assume) manufactured trophies and such. Hmm.

The only problem here is timeline. The weathervane brochure dates to the mid-1970s, but the Clydesdale itself is pre-1971. If the trophy program ran for five years (or so), these things should be… slightly more common than they actually are, right? Or at least as common as the official Breyer pieces.

Then there’s the possibility that the Clydesdale might have been a promo item relating to the Budweiser Clydesdales, also based in Missouri. Maybe the company that was tapped to do them was later contracted by Robbins? 

I could spend all day spinning crazy theories to explain his existence. But like most things, chances are that the real and true explanation of his existence is going to end up being a very simple and obvious one.   

Winning

Let’s start off on a happy note: some the nasturtiums I planted a few weeks ago have sprouted! I was fearful that the chipmunks had dug up and eaten all the seeds, but it appears that some were spared. 

The seeds were an accidental gift (a mistake in my order) so I didn’t have anything invested in them emotionally or financially, but it’s still a happy and welcome surprise. The last time I attempted to plant nasturtiums (several years ago) those blasted chipmunks didn’t save me a single seed! 

I had another emotionally rough day here yesterday (and I am considering therapy for it, not gonna lie) but I did, at least, finish unpacking the car. (That shoebox of Stablemates is staying right where it is, though.) Here’s a group shot of my winners:

To recap: the Misty (Marigold) won Sectional and Division, the Thornycroft (Presto) Sectional Reserve (as a Spanish Mustang), and the Gloss Liver Chestnut Ginger Horse Smart Chic Olena (Forty Winks) won a very competitive Quarter Horse Stallion class. My fourth NAN card of the day came from my Stablemates G1 Bay Arabian Stallion (Trajan) who is still packed in the shoebox.

The Misty has NANed in both Collectibility and Breed before, incidentally. I think the Arabian has NANed in Breed, too, but I am not 100 percent certain and I would have to look up the particulars to be sure. (Not that it matters to me, since I don’t do NAN for lots of reasons. I am all about the ribbons!)

Winning a ribbon in any class is a thrill, but to do it in a very competitive class like Quarter Horse Stallions almost feels like more of an accomplishment than winning Sectionals in smaller, slightly less crowded Sections. (Though I’ll still take whatever I can get!)

Originally I was going to bring my Matte version, because I like him better personally, but Glosses tend to show better and my example really does have excellent dappling. 

Glad I did, since most of my other Stock breeds didn’t do a darn thing. Even the ones who had done alright in the past two shows. The mysteries of live showing, alas…

No more live shows or model horse-related road trips until after BreyerFest. It looks like I’ll have to skip that big estate sale on the other side of the state next week because of other commitments, unfortunately. I was not going to buy, just observe, but even that is a stretch with my schedule now.

Decision Fatigue

Another short post again today – not only did I have entirely too much fun over my long weekend, I came home to a rather prodigious pile of work that I need to attack tout de suite. 

I haven’t really unpacked anything yet either, or even downloaded the picture from our epic Legion of Doom meeting… 

The driving part was more or less successful. Other than getting lost in the same place twice, but I’m putting that little incident in a box, taping the box shut, tossing it in a dumpster, and setting the dumpster on fire. As one does. 

(FYI: I am, and always have been, directionally challenged. And GPS doesn’t really help, but that’s not a story you need to hear today.)

I was also good and didn’t buy anything other than food, though the temptations were there. I have a pretty specific shopping list this year, and nothing on that list happened to be at the Swap Meet. 

In terms of showing, I didn’t start off well, but I finished with a Sectional Reserve (my Thornycroft) and a Sectional and Division Champ (my airbrushed Misty). Not quite as good as the last show I went to, but the selection of Collectibility classes was limited, and I decided to avoid them this time around as a challenge to myself. 

My goals were one Rosette, five NAN cards, and 15 placings. I think I ended up with only four NAN cards, but the other goals were met. 

My Morgans that all NAN’ed last time didn’t even place this time. Which kind of blew my mind, but I guess I should have expected that: as I remembered from my old showing days in the 1980s, every time I crossed a state line to show, the judges’ personal preferences seemed to flip completely, too. Lesson (re)learned, I guess.

Since I probably owe you all at least one picture, here’s that dilemma I briefly touched on a little while back: 

So, which one of these Old Mold Appaloosa Stallions do I keep – my original, sentimental favorite (R) with the darker shading and heavy speckling, or the new arrival (L) who is in better condition, but is a little on the light side, both color and spot-wise?

Keeping both is not an option, by the way. Despite my family’s insistence to the contrary, the house is not a museum. 

More Spring Cleaning

I had a few minutes to spare today so I made a rough list of items I had that were eligible to enter the Breakables show and… I had a lot more than I realized! There is easily over three dozen show-worthy pieces here. Interesting. 

Most of them I would classify as fairly common, or at least not exceptionally exceptional or rare, but there’s also nothing I’d be embarrassed to enter either. It never hurts to enter it anyway: sometimes you’ve owned a model so long you become inured to its beauty or quality, and it takes the fresh eyes of a judge to remind you of it.

I am reminded of everybody squeeing over my Test Color Chestnut Stretched Morgan at the show Saturday before last, for instance. I knew he was great, but seeing so many people over the moon about him was an unexpected highlight, especially since he was virtually ignored at the last show I took him to. 

I have a couple of long weekends coming up here so I could probably get all the photos done and ready to go for Breakables when the time comes. But my priorities right now are finishing my garden prep and spring cleaning. (Dusting, specifically. Ugh.) 

FYI: I am very aware of Shatner’s failings as a human being, and all the potential problems inherent in this scheme. Fortunately, it appears that you do not need to preregister for signatures, so my only commitment here will be to take a model and keep it in the car just in case. 

If it’s possible, I’ll do it; if not, there are plenty of other things to do and to see at the convention, so I’ll go do them instead. (Hello, Freddie Stroma!)

No cosplay this time around, though. Gotta lose about 25 pounds before that’s a possibility again!

Anyway, no e-mail has been forthcoming, so I’m going to write off the drawing for those Glossy Unicorn Tests as another Not-A-Win. I know so folks are upset that sales tax has to be paid on it, but seriously, in my case it would come out to about sixty dollars. Even though sixty dollars is considerably more than what I’ve paid for the majority of my Test Colors, I’d gladly pay it, and so would most of you. 

(If you’ve seen the majority of Test Colors, you’d realize that this in most definitely not a humblebrag!)

But yeah, not likely happening. 

As I was saying to a friend of mine at the show, if you don’t have luck and you don’t have money, all you can do is hustle. So back to hustling, it is…

The Signature Issue

It looks like the decision about BreyerFest Live has been made for me, which is actually fine: I’m already signed up for two other live shows this year and possibly a third, and I’d rather get a little more experience under my belt before I tackle something that big, anyway. So next year it is, maybe? 

I’d also rather focus on my more immediate needs, like socializing and selling. And unlike a lot of other hobbyists for whom BreyerFest Live is the only show they either have access to or are comfortable attending, I have more options.   

Breakables is still a possibility, of course. The resin show is not: I only own one resin – the 2011 BreyerFest Store Special Sorcerer’s Apprentice – and honestly I’m too afraid of breaking him to even take him out of the box, except for the occasional photograph.  

I still have a little bit of lingering resentment from when resins first became a big thing, too: some the early adopters were not the least bit nice to us OF Breyer enthusiasts, and I have a hard time forgetting. 

I’d rather not rehash the old arguments, though. Our worlds rarely intersect nowadays.

I’ve finally – well, more or less – finished unpacking from the show last weekend. This week I’ll be working on mostly nonhorsey things, like my taxes, some early gardening prep, and an applique project (some vintage Dresden Plate blocks that I found at the local Salvation Army, years ago) that’s coming along a little more quickly than I anticipated.

Oh, there is one model horse related thing I should probably put to a community vote: guys, should I get Shat to sign a horse for me?

Normally I am not a signature-oriented person at these conventions: I go to shop, people watch, and attend panels and stuff. For those of you who do no conventions outside of BreyerFest, just imagine BreyerFest without the horses or the room sales. 

Motor City Comic Con has been my go-to comic convention since the late 1980s, when I have had the time or inclination. There have been a few times I’ve (almost) run into model horse people at the Motor City Comic Con, but that’s more of a “nerds being nerds” thing than a “me being weird” thing. 

There’s always been a lot of overlap between those two worlds: an enterprising soul could probably get a pretty good research paper or thesis out of it, but I am not that person.

But back to the signature issue. Signatures on model horses, by and large, don’t add a lot to the value of a model, unless the signer is someone who is historically important outside the world of model horses. It never hurts the value though, and if it has a personal or historical meaning to the person getting the signature, monetary gain is irrelevant.  

And that’s where I’m at with this. Value is not that big a consideration for me, except where it becomes so high that it impedes my ability to buy something I want or love.

As awkward as it is sometimes, I love it when my worlds collide. A memento of that collision might be worth the price. I also think Shatner might enjoy the possibility of signing something that’s horse-related for a change, as well. 

(I may have to get a signed copy of Danny Trejo’s cookbook too, because how dope a Mother’s Day gift would that be for Mom?)

The Accounting

I still haven’t done the full accounting – I’m having to deal with some actual work-related stuff that has put my brain in a completely unrelated place – but the rough numbers are: six rosettes, 41 flats, and 13 NAN cards (three Breed, ten Collectibility.)

My best show horse of the day was my Gloss Silver Bay Flash “Manny’s Boy”, who got a second in Collectibility and a fourth in Breed (as a Morgan). The most photographed models included my Showboat, the Test Chestnut Morgan, the Angel Kitten and the Ghost Moose. 

The most complimented upon model was my Gloss Bay G1 Morgan Stallion Antares, who also took home a rosette. He also happened to do well at the last show I was at (three years ago!) so I know at least one model who’s definitely making the cut if I ever decide to do BreyerFest Live.

I did okay in Breed, though I think I could have done better if I had had more time to work on it. My sweet Semi-Gloss Malik, the #40 Lady Phase who photographed so well but did nothing at the BreyerFest 2020 Online show, and that nice Pinto Icelandic I bought during BreyerFest last year all placed in very competitive classes.

I really enjoy doing breed research in general – I mean, who doesn’t like looking for pictures of pretty horses online? – and when I do have the time to do it, it tends to work out well for me. The next show has no Collectibility component, so that will simplify some of my choices and allow me a chance to focus on that.

I also signed up for another show in September: it’s a smaller show and hyperlocal – I mean, literally, it’s less than ten minutes from where I work! – and the class list is definitely up my alley. Though that means I’ll have to find the time to finish a couple of those customs I have sitting on the workbench in the garage.

(After the BreyerFest stuff. And the gardening stuff. And dozen or so quilts currently inhabiting the sewing table. Hmm. Maybe I should add “invent a time machine” to this “To-Do” List of mine…)

Some general notes about the show:

The venue and its bathrooms were spacious and excellent. The sound system was a little wonky, and the distance between my table and the Mini showring was a bit of a hike. The latter was entirely due to my choices though, since a full third of my showstring was Minis and I was really pushing it with the number of entries I brought.

Both the judging and the competition were excellent, especially in Collectibility. A few tweaks will need to be made to the classlist for Collectibility, though: there were definitely some classes that were spare for entries. And in Breed (in general), there was some confusion about the classification status of all the various Mustang subtypes.

But overall I had a pretty positive experience. I’ve made no secret of the fact that of all the things we’ve had to do without over the past three years, the thing that I’ve missed the most is just being in the presence of other people who “get me”. This was lovely, gentle on ramp back to that world.  

Live Show Stuff

My showstring is apparently half Morgan, half Warmblood, with a smattering of Mustangs and Arabians. At least this show has separate classes for Morgans – the last one I attended in person did not, which made things complicated. 

But Tests are also being handled completely differently this time around, which means I had to reconsider some of my choices there. I had to cut a few anyway…

If there was a class for damaged or homely Tests, on the other hand, I’d totally clean up! I love you, my Fragment, the Splatter Dapple Gray Family Arabian Mare with a missing leg and ear that I found in a body box lot on eBay:

And let’s not forget my delightful trio of “gently used” Classic Quarter Horses – two Mares, and a Foal – that cost me less than ten dollars, combined:

The Mares I found in the Bentley Sales “clearance” boxes of miscellaneous models they were selling at the 1985 Model Horse Congress. The boxes consisted largely of loose (or casually bagged) things they found as they were cleaning out the Chicago factory, post-Reeves purchase. 

I found the Foal in those same boxes at MHC a year later; I was hoping to find the father of the family eventually, but that never happened. And likely never will: if he were to turn up now, he’d probably be unaffordable anyway. 

It looks like I partially got my wish with the BreyerFest shows: Breakables is online, as well as a Boot Camp-style show for Adult Novices. 

The Boot Camp is obviously out for me – I’m definitely not a Novice! – but I am seriously considering Breakables. I only have a few dozen show-worthy models to curate, compared to the few thousand (!) of the plastic kind. And I’ve always wanted to show this little fellow somehow, somewhere, without the anxiety of actually taking him out on the road: 

(Any clues what he is? What’s left of the sticker is not helpful!)

With less than 50 pieces worth showing, the indecision and waffling that goes with winnowing 2000+ down to a manageable 50 is… simply nonexistent. Conceivably, I could get everything done for that show in the space of a weekend. 

It’s something to consider, if the BreyerFest Open Show ceases to be a possibility (I am still thinking about it.)

Anyhoo, I’m heading offline again. Only about half of my show documentation is done, which is – believe it or not – better than I was anticipating at this point. And I am still undecided about bringing sales items; it will all depend on what the situation looks like on Thursday. (I took Friday off of work for last minute prep and stuff.) Toodles!

The Waiting Game

A shorter one today: the weather turned frigid cold and all I want to do is hibernate until Spring arrives. 

(FYI: this is typically late April or early May in Michigan, and lasts all of two weeks until Summer arrives. Not even kidding.)

Just as I suspected, I got picked for Puffin, and she’s already been rehomed. As I mentioned before, I’m all in on the series concept, but it’s just a bad time for me and I am not in the best mood right now anyway. (See above.)

One of the many delights of our garden last year was the arrival of a family of Orioles that made little piggies of themselves at our feeding station (Turns out that they really do love grape jelly. Like, a lot!) so if an Oriole turns up in this series somewhere down the line, I call dibs.

A Hummingbird would be nice, too. (On either Newsworthy or Bristol, maybe?) Even if they can be little jerks sometimes. 

I’m assuming there is going to be at least one actual winged model (Silver?) and that’ll go for crazy bucks no matter what bird/color scheme it ends up being. The 2016 BreyerFest SR Estrela do Carnaval was widely derided initially, but good luck finding one at a decent price now! 

I finally decided to forego the Breyer Bootcamp thing entirely: the photo show was enticing, but then I realized that (a) I had no time for that nonsense in the first place, (b) the photography studio is out in the unheated garage and it’s insanely cold out there right now, and (c) while the class list was to my liking, the unlimited entries per class thing is not. 

Among other things.

I am undecided on the BreyerFest Photo Show, partly because I’d like to know how they’re going to handle previous winners. At the live version of the show, Overall Champs are disqualified from entering again, but they suspended that rule last year on the assumption that there’d be an actual Live show this year. And there isn’t. 

While it’s true that a different set of judges will judge things differently, I am still not entirely comfortable going up against the last year’s winners.

I have the opportunity to take new photos, and I have several new additions to the herd who I think could do well, so my showstring would be improved over last year’s. But still. I guess I will have to wait and see when the details are posted.

Same goes for the online Swap Meet. The fact that I wouldn’t have to pack, move, unpack, repack and move all my “stock” is definitely a plus, but it appears that I’d also have to build an online store from scratch, unless they are going to offer a basic platform/template for everyone and just have not told us yet.

Building a basic online store isn’t necessarily hard and it is something I have been meaning to do anyway but again, it does involve time to set up, something I haven’t had a lot of these days.