Dog Shaped, Dog Themed, or Just a Dog?

Ah, my head’s all messed up today! I had to do a double shift on Saturday, go to a wedding shower on Sunday, and deal with Daylight Savings Time on top of all that. And then the devastating news about Duran Duran… 

Today is still Monday, right?

At least I know I am not alone. This week promises to mess with the heads of all of us. I am kind of nervous about a potential Breyer Hall of Fame announcement, and might actually be mad if they don’t get in this time…

I didn’t bother entering for Kalahari; aside from trying to avoid any extraneous hobby purchases until the end of the year, I prefer dog-shaped Breyers to dog-themed ones. 

Speaking of Breyer Dogs, I’ve seen both the White Boxer and the Test Color Benji on eBay, yes. I’d love either (or both!) but their listing prices are a little out of my comfort zone. 

It’s become rather obvious that the White Boxer is not quite as rare as we thought it was, so I harbor a faint bit of hope I’ll randomly find one somewhere. 

Oh, and I’ve also seen that BreyerFest Test Color Donkey on eBay too. While it meets all my necessary criteria – it is a verifiable, documented BreyerFest Auction piece from before 2000 – the price is way too high, and I already have a Test Color Donkey anyway. 

For the record, I’m willing to go as high as $1200 to $1500 for an early BreyerFest Auction Test, but cheaper is always better, and I am not concerned about it being live show quality or not. I’d also prefer a mold I don’t already have a Test Color in, but I’m not going to turn down a Traditional Man o’ War or Trakehner if the price was right. 

I might be picky, but I am not stupid. 

I have a pretty busy week ahead of me, so that’s all for today, folks. 

Happy Coincidences

The weather’s been yucky, and I have not been feeling all that good myself the past few days (sinus headaches.) To cheer myself up, I finally got my Khalid out of my car:

I am happy to report that he appears to be nearly flawless, after spending nearly a month in my car. (I know, Bad Andrea.) And to prove to you that Dun Sabino really was a thing of mine, here’s that Stablemates Seabiscuit custom I had done by Judy Renee Pope a bajillion years ago (the late 1980s):

We all like to think that something we’ve written or said online – or communicated with Breyer/Reeves in some way – directly affects or influences what eventually gets released.

To a degree, that’s true, especially when there’s a groundswell of hobby interest in a breed, celebrity, or discipline: the more voices you have, the louder the chorus gets. Maybe it was your thumbs up or comment that finally pushed the idea into the “let’s do this” column.

And of course, some of us are lucky enough to directly influence or participate in the creative process.

But I know for a fact that Khalid was not something I had any hand in. Other than the passing interest I expressed in a similar piece done for the BreyerFest Auction back in 2016 or my happiness at acquiring the ASPCA Stablemates Hermes, they likely had no idea that this particular color and marking combo was something that I was really into.

They also wouldn’t have known that the name they chose for this model has some personal significance for me. One of my long-term fiction writing projects is a loosely connected trilogy (actually, a trilogy of trilogies) of books that includes a character named Judge Khalid.

All I’ll say is that he’s basically my take on the “sexy vampire boyfriend” trope. I am very fond of him as a character and it is entirely within the realm of possibility that if this model had not been named Khalid, that I would have named him that, anyway. 

But this is all – well, and truly – a happy coincidence.

Nazruddin and Sokkar

We already knew that this year’s BreyerFest Celebration Horse was a Chestnut Marwari; the only question any of us really had was what mane and tail option they were going to go with on the Marwari mold.

The original short mane and swish tail it is, then!

The Early Bird Raffle piece is, umm, different? As in a Glossy Black Icelandic named Sokkar? (That means socks, in Icelandic. She has four big ones, so that makes sense, at least.)

Early Bird Raffle pieces are another one of those unpredictable BreyerFest things. Sometimes they seem to have a vague connection to the theme, like last year’s Smarty Jones Polo Pony Polomar; Polo is popular in South America. Other years are baffling, like the infamous Stretched Morgan Bennington in 2012 – one of the most quintessentially “American” breeds for a British-themed year? Okey-dokey!

So this year it looks like we get something more the latter than the former.

If there was any model from last year that I could have taken home, aside from the treasures that I did, it would have been one of the live show prize Glossy Carrick Cortes Cs. So Black! So Shiny! So of course I’d be happy to take home a Sokkar.

It might just be me, but I am also getting a bit of a Vintage vibe/callback from Sokkar, too – specifically, her similarity to the original #27 Fury Prancer. (Great. Now really like is turning into I think I want. Always doing this to myself, I am.)

But as I might be on the other side of the Park for the “Bollywood Bash” Costume Contest when they draw for them, I will have to persuade myself to not worry about the tiny possibility of getting drawn.

I like that the Diorama Contest rules have basically done away with all of the nuance and boiled it down to a generic “Make it something about India”. That’s what I think these contest entries have been judged for all along, regardless of whatever silly copy they wrote up in the rules. Whether that realization will help me or anyone else I know who is pining for the glory of a win, though….

I already have somewhat solid ideas for both the Costume Contest and the Diorama Contest, but since I’m currently putting in some OT at work and am tied up with some other creative projects, they’ll have to wait.

The “good” bodies and craft supplies are packed away in the garage anyway, and January is being very January. All I want to do when I get home from work is snuggle myself underneath one or more of my fifty or so unfinished quilt projects.

French Connections

Such a long week, but capped off nicely with a picture of the latest and greatest BreyerFest release - this year’s Platinum Star, Haute Couture:

It’s the Marwari with a few mold modifications: different mane, different tail, and the much-rumored-about "normal" horse ears. And one of the most fabulous leopard appaloosa paint jobs ever.

"Runway-thin" and sporting a bold and daring print? High Fashion, indeed! It makes sense to me, thematically. Plus, I think he’s pretty, and a lot of other hobbyists apparently think so too. 

It’s funny, just a few days ago I remembered I had a scrap of vintage rayon fabric with stylized pink and brown racehorses; I pulled it out to see if I could repurpose it into a scarf, since I can’t afford my own (real) Hermes. I wanted to find a few pieces of haute couture to wear around BreyerFest with this year; while I have (we have some pretty fashion-forward people in these parts) I’ve found nothing I could squeeze into my modest budget.

When I first saw the sneak peek photo earlier in the week, I assumed that it’d be a different "French Connection" being played up with it: the Georges Seurat-themed pony I was hoping for. How better to honor the artist who created Pointillism than with an Appaloosa, right?

Seurat did do a few paintings with horses, most famously The Circus, ca. 1890-91. Maybe they're saving the artists for the Stablemates or something....

There’s a third possible "French Connection" that could be made to work with this release: the possibility/likelihood of the French cave painting horses depicted spotted (rather than dappled) horses. There are several articles online about it, but I like this one because they used an actual - and accurate! - Leopard Appaloosa as a reference model:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/science/spotted-horses-in-cave-art-werent-just-a-figment-dna-shows.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

So while Haute Couture itself doesn’t specifically depict a French breed, a little bit of research and creative thinking can make it (quite) French in spirit.

While I understand the desire for more French breeds (I want a Merens Pony!) I’ll take a nicely executed "theme" horse like Haute Couture over an existing mold made to "fit" a specific breed. Or a new mold that will be nitpicked to death before it even gets officially released.

Want? Yes, want. Like everyone else, I’m fluttering between hope and dread over the possibility that this one gets the half gloss/half matte treatment.

Also Not Levi

Because Thursday was not the day off it was supposed to be. And some unrelated computer problems. The cold is not helping either.

The week was not completely horseless, however, as I found this little beauty during a rare moment of respite at the local Salvation Army: a Walker-Renaker "Horse of Different Color"!

Missing a couple of flowers on the other side of his head, but otherwise perfect. My three other Walker-Renakers - all dirt mall rescues - are also damaged in some way (as am I), so he’ll fit right in. I’d rather they be broken before I make their acquaintance, than have my clumsy self finish the job.

(FYI: I was tipped off to the existence of possible costuming items at said store, hence the side trip. I have been getting …notions…. Family is being unusually helpful in this regard. Strange week, all around.)

Rajah also made his appearance this week; thankfully the grace period for placing a pre-order runs through next week, giving me some time to actually think about it instead of jumping into the decision feet first.

I’m leaning towards Yes. The price is very good, the deposit is doable, the mold is lovely, and the native tack designed by hobby tackmaker Vicky Norris is an awesome bonus. It is very reminiscent of the much-coveted Proud Arabian Mare Gift Sets of the early 1970s, of which I only have a box. I’d show you a picture of it, if I could find it - the problem being my mind is slightly more disorganized than my stuff.

I also have the flier, and the horse, but those were obtained separately and cribbed together into three-fourths of a set, so I’m not sure it really counts as one. Especially since the odds of me completing it by finding the halter in a random box of goodies is about the same as me finding a diamond ring in a box of gumball machine jewelry - i.e. not very likely.

I won’t discount the possibility entirely, as I did find a pewter Jorgen Jensen ring in a box of junk jewelry once.

Considering the scary high prices that the Arabian Mare Gift Sets bring nowadays, I find it a bit puzzling to see some dismissive chatter about the tack part of this Special Run. Especially so soon after the funky Totilas wooden base Web Special offer that now has others (including me) wondering why I didn't take Reeves up on that offer.

Although I am not one of those people who collects tack, there are many hobbyists who do, so I don’t think it’d be all that difficult to sell it off if need be. Or do what I did when I was younger: throw all the loose and unwanted bits into a spare shoebox in the closet, until I decided they weren’t unwanted anymore. Or if I really, really didn't want it, toss it into a "free with shipping" box. I used to do a lot of those back in the day.

I haven’t had a chance to do more than a light skimming of the discussion of the Rajah - heck, I can’t even remember the last time I trolled for research data on eBay - but from what I’ve seen most of the criticism has been focused on - the paintjob?

I agree that the Light Dappled Gray not the most exciting choice, and perhaps a bit overused at the moment. We should all know by now, however, that the photos Reeves provides are only an approximation of reality: a middling Photoshop retouch of a likely Sample piece, at best. If I’m going to decide to the contrary on Rajah, it’s going to be something that I know is a problem already (the eternal triumvirate of time-space-money) rather than what might be.

Justify My Love

Work got out unexpectedly early yesterday, so I spent most of the day puttering around the house in my pajamas, attending to all the odd bits of business that came up last week, including organizing the family garage sale. (Labor Day/Peach Festival weekend, if you’re interested. Model horse stuff available by privately, if you’re in town/need a fix/escaping your family.)

The flea market was a quiet one this week: just an Action Stock Horse Foal body and a nice piece of Aquarium Furniture (it’s a bubbler, too!) I momentarily considered buying a very large and somewhat disturbing outdoor Christmas display: a child-sized sled being pulled by something that vaguely looked like a pony, made out of (I think) random pieces of horsehide.

Yes, it is just as freaky as your imagination is making it. (How much you want to offer if it reappears next week, T?)

In other news, I got picked for a Glossy Lucy. Yay! I hadn’t been picked for many/any drawings lately. So, awesome.

Next up on the photo shoot is this lovely Sample Marwari:

The only significant difference I see between the Sample and the Production model (aside from the lack of a VIN number) is the finish: the Production pieces have the opaque, Semi-Chalky finish Reeves has become very fond of, while this beautiful creature has the standard Semi-Translucent finish we’re more familiar with. It’s hard to detect in photos - especially mine - but it is quite apparent in person.

I had been intending to buy a Marwari at BreyerFest anyway - our local supply has already been heavily picked over - so I was delighted to find this one in the Sample boxes. Some of the Production pieces have more pronounced dappling, but this one’s dapples are more subtle. (Just a notation, not a complaint. I had no preference in that matter.)

I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but the more I see him, the more I like him.

That is probably not the coolest thing to say right now.

As is the current fashion nowadays, I’m supposed to justify my opinion with documentation and proof and stuff. Which I suppose I could do, if I were to show him, but I’ve also just finished reading all those showing/judging/let’s-fix-it-all-good-this-time discussions making the round of the model horse Internet the past few weeks.

I think my horses will be more the stay-at-home types until this latest round of introspection passes. I do think something needs to be done to "fix" some of the perceived problems, but it's not what you might think I think.

Just a few more Fest finds to spotlight, before we return to our usual fare.

A Certain Lack of Intensity

I’m still not quite up to snuff yet, but I have (what I hope will be) a three-day weekend coming up that should finally give me the chance to reset the internal clock back to Andrea Standard Time.

(Note: AST is about two hours behind any time zone I actually happen to find myself in. But, ironically, I also have a reputation for being early. Not sure how that works, but when it does, it does.)

And getting back to doing normal-person-type things, like going to the bank, opening my mail, and returning phone calls in a timely manner. I did manage to catch up on the e-mails a bit earlier this week, though. (More to follow, if you’re still waiting.)

Shopping, too. I’ve been off my regular thrift/antique/toy store/eBay circuit for nearly a month now, and it’s making me antsy. The positive buzz I’m seeing about the new Palomino Marwari release has me especially curious to see that one "in the flesh". I don’t have a need to buy one right now; I’m good with just looking.

I haven’t been putting much conscious thought into BreyerFest preparations, even though my dream time seems to be obsessed with it - to the point where it might actually be the thing interfering with my efforts to get back to a normal schedule. (OMG I FORGOT MY WALLET. Wake up, cuss to myself, roll over and try to go back to sleep. DID I PACK MY SALE CHINAS? Wake up, again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Urgh.)

I think part of it is because there really hasn’t been all that much new news about it since the info dump at the beginning of the month, and because, duh, that whole country music thing. I’m just not that into it, no matter how hard I try.

And I’m now thinking that maybe I shouldn’t.

There have been some moments over the past couple of weeks where I’ve seriously entertained the notion of doing a completely stress-free BreyerFest this year: no contests, no competitions, no embarrassing and quixotic quests for the rarest or finest. Just pick up the horses, sell stuff out of the room, and socialize.

That’s what we’re all ultimately down there for anyway, right?

And frankly, I’m sort of tired of trying to figure out what it is that judges are looking for. What amuses me and what amuses them are clearly not simpatico, and I probably should just learn to live with it.

The most shocking part is now that I’m thinking that the NPOD might even be a stretch. I know it’s mostly just hot air at this point, but the uptick of interest in the NPOD this year from newbies is starting to unnerve me a bit. That some of them think it’s actually worth skipping out on whatever happens at the hotel on the Thursday night before.

Look, I’m not saying this entirely out of self-interest, but it’s not. Thursday night is probably my favorite time of BreyerFest: the hotel is a beehive of activity and gossip. That's where I get to experience that rare and wonderful sense of truly belonging to something. Even if I don't get myself something, I always get something out of it.

Sitting in a line, in the dark, on the cement, for hours on end, on the chance that you might find something rare and awesome? It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. Sure, you get to do some socializing and gossiping, but with a rather small subset of people, many of whom would be more than willing to impale your foot with a sharpened spork if it means the difference between getting - or not getting - a Silver Filigree Alborozo.

It can be awesome, if you’re prepared for it, and you’re in the right frame of mind. In fact, I’d recommend everyone try it at least once. But I think most first-timers would have better BreyerFest experience if they stuck to the hotel on Thursday night. Like any other high-risk investment, your chances in the Ninja Pit comes with a rather high rate of failure. Not the best way to start out an epic experience for most folks, I think.

And also: if I do decide to go ninja this year, I’m bringing the bullwhip.

Peeling Turnips

I’ve been trying to lie low, finish old business and all that, but with limited success. I can only sit still and work for so long to work on a project before I have to get up and do something else for a while, even if it is only washing the dishes or taking out the trash.

Or hopping on the Internet for a few minutes. This I really, really need to stop; not because it’s a time-suck (because it is) but because the hobby has gotten really dark over the past week or so.

It’s been going way beyond the usual carping and moaning; I got a couple pages into the griping on Blab about the 2013 BreyerFest Celebration Horse - Lyle Lovett’s Smart And Shiney - before I decided that peeling and chopping turnips was infinitely more preferable than watching hobbyists do the same with Breyer's latest and greatest.

(I’ve been experimenting with things I’ve been finding on the discount produce rack at the local grocery store. With mixed success.)

I don’t know if it’s Seasonal Affective Disorder, or the events in Connecticut contributing to this, but dang, folks. Log off and go self-medicate with hot chocolate or something. (Probably not turnips, unless you're into that sort of thing.)

As for the hue and cry over a lack of imagination (Another Palomino Smart Chic Olena? The horror!) Y’all do realize that when it comes to living, breathing horses, they’re not quite as variegated as our imagination? And that the owner, in most cases, is the one who gets to make the final decision on what mold gets used?

If you got a problem with it, talk to Mr. Lovett about it.

If anything, this makes me somewhat more hopeful about next year’s BreyerFest. I’ve made no secret of my general dislike of country music, but Lyle Lovett is one of the few modern country artists I don't mind so much. And I love the Smart Chic Olena mold, so no complaints from me, there.

Speaking of palomino paint jobs, it appears that the Marwari mold is getting released in just that color in 2013. Looks nice, but I’ll wait until I see one in person before I buy/order, mostly because it'll give me some time to resolve my space issues.

Also included among the 2013 releases will be a Bay Tobiano Brishen; as for the third 2012 Premier mold, I saw or heard no mention of a new release on the Desatado/Criollo mold, yet, but I imagine that will be coming shortly - sometime around the release of the Traditional Totilas mold, I presume? If not, he'll be a safe bet for a BreyerFest release, I think.

Marwari

I can tell BreyerFest is only days away: the chaos is increasing. I came home from the store yesterday (an emergency craft supply run) and I tripped and fell on the step up the porch. I scraped up my knees pretty bad, but the worse injury was to my dignity: all I’ll say is that I required a change of clothes afterwards.

Before I get to discussing the Marwari, please also allow me to pout a little about this year’s volunteer model. Dang it, she had to go and be all nice and stuff.

I take some small consolation in the fact that the piece count’s now been upped to 150, though I wonder where the extra 15-20 pieces are now going towards. (Hey Reeves, if you have a spare, I certainly won’t turn it down.)

Anyway, the Marwari, who can be seen on the Breyer web site here.

My first reaction - other than, "Ooh, pretty!" - was "Hmm, I see they went with something trendy."

I have nothing against the breed personally; it’s just that I was sort of expecting an Akhal-Teke first, though. (Lonesome Glory makes an okay Akhal-Teke, but the "real thing" has been a long overdue.) But everywhere I look online it feels like everyone seems to be doing Marwaris resins and customs, so I suppose it makes sense.

I have nothing against creating molds of more exotic breeds. Some of my favorite breeds (ahem, Dales Pony) are a bit on the rare side. Creating molds of rare breeds also helps raise awareness of them, and perhaps lead to their preservation and survival.

The only problem with the creation of molds of rarer or more exotic breeds is that it fosters a certain level of unreality in the model horse world.

There’s definitely a strong undercurrent within the hobby that wants to emulate the real horse world as much as possible. However, when you have just as many production molds of a somewhat more common breed - such as a Missouri Fox Trotter - as you do a significantly less common one - like the Marwari - that’s simply not going to be the case.

It’ll be hard to argue that a "model horse" show is just like a "real horse" show, when you will inevitably have an overabundance of Marwaris compared to Missouri Fox Trotters, or even Akhal-Tekes.

A true and accurate representation of the "real horse" world in miniature has never been - and will never become - a reality in this hobby. There will always be more stallions than geldings, and more exotic colors and patterns rather than the more mundane grays, bays and chestnuts. And always more rare and exotic breeds than most normal horse people will ever see in person, or in their lifetimes.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’d be nice to see a greater acknowledgement of the fact that the hobby is more its own thing than a downsized version of another.

I am curious if there is - or will be - a mold change out for the ears? With the ears that the mold has, it’ll be hard to sell it as anything other than a Marwari, or the closely related Kathiawari. Marwaris come in just about every conceivable color, it’s true, but switching out the ears with something more standard might make the mold a little more versatile in the long run.