The Price of Knowledge

Apparently I was for sale on eBay? 

(LOL) 

If I were to self-identify as a model horse, it’d be some type of heavy warmblood (Cleveland Bay?), the Shagya Arabian or maybe a Lipizzaner like Pluto. The rationale: I am not petite, and am of Belgian-Polish-Hungarian descent. Probably Dapple Gray too, since going gray early runs in the family…

But for $37, you’re only going to get about an hour and a half of uninterrupted in-person time from the real me. While my time is free at BreyerFest, it’s usually limited in quantity, and I often have no idea when it’s available. 

I probably should organize a meet-and-greet this year, if only to get an hour or so of time to sit for an hour in one place and just shoot the breeze. 

(Hmm.) 

Anyway, in a minor follow up to the previous post about the other eBay auction, I am aware of that many of the various Western Horse Knockoffs that exist have value, and that the Gold Foil Sticker boxes also do. I own plenty of both!

It’s just that with the recent influx of newer and less savvy collectors into the market, I’m a little concerned that some of the bidders incorrectly assumed that the items do in fact belong together, when that’s not the case. It’s been more than once that I’ve observed someone buy something on the assumption that it was a vintage Breyer Western Horse or Pony, and then discover that it was not. 

All the Black Beauty Western Horses and Ponies that I’ve seen that came with their original boxes came in corrugated shippers. All variations of the original Western Black Beauties – with markings, and without – were discontinued by the end of the 1950s, while the White Border boxes didn’t debut until 1973. 

I can see why some hobbyists might assume that they reissued the model in that color in the 1970s, because a lot of models were reissued in the 1970s, or re-released as Special Runs. And Solid Black Special Runs were also a thing in the 1970s. 

But as far as I know, there were no Special Runs or re-releases of the Western Horse or Pony in the 1970s. There are some rare variations, including a Chalky of the Palomino Horse and Matte of the Palomino Pony, neither of which are too expensive. 

I’d be on board with a Solid, Matte Black Western Horse or Pony Special or Regular Run. Don’t think it will happen, though; while there is definitely a market for vintage molds – the expanded Vintage Club membership also sold out, and some of the Breyer Breeds releases seem to be selling well – a relatively plain black Western Horse or Pony might just be a little too plain for the current market’s taste.

(Make it Charcoal, however, and all bets are off!)

The Spiegel Pluto

First, a little bit of housekeeping: I thought I had downloaded a PDF copy of the BreyerFest 2020 Program, but (slaps head) I didn’t check if this was actually the case until Tuesday this week. So if anyone can pass along a copy to me, that would be much appreciated.  

Second, I’ve been engaging in some online retail therapy this week, since none of us had that in-person option at BreyerFest this year, the flea market – for many, many reasons – is simply not a safe place for me to visit right now, and I am still a little steamed about THAT Western Prancing Horse I lost out on eBay a few weeks back. 

This delightful little “Buy It Now” item came today definitely makes up for this deficiency:

A Spiegel Pluto! (Does wild, Kermit-style flail.)

I got him for a great price, too – the kind of price that helps me justify (a bit) other recent purchases I’ve made at full retail. 

In spite of the fact that he’s a relatively plentiful item (about 1150 made) the nature of his distribution actually makes him a hotly-pursued grail for many hobbyists, particularly now that Jeanne Mellin Herrick’s molds have seen a resurgence of popularity. 

He was sold in the 1993 Spiegel holiday catalog, alongside a Two-piece Dressage Set that included a Black Misty’s Twilight and a (super-duper pretty!) Dark Bay Hanoverian. The Dressage Set was very clearly a Special Run, but it was not as obvious that the Pluto was. The #475 Pluto was still current at the time, and the picture in the catalog appeared to be a #475 Pluto, so most hobbyists assumed that’s all he was. 

It wasn’t until several months later that we found out otherwise.

Roughly the same amount of Dressage Sets were sold – 1130, I believe – but both the Misty’s Twilight and Hanoverian are not especially difficult to acquire. There are a couple of the Hanoverians on eBay right now, and a Misty’s Twilight was listed (and relisted, twice) back in July. 

But the Plutos are few and far between. And why, you ask?

While hobbyists were aware of the Dressage Set as an actual Special Run item, and purchased accordingly, most of the Plutos were (presumably) bought as actual gifts for either children or horse-loving nonhobbyists. 

If hobbyists wanted a Pluto, he was still available from their favorite retailer. Probably cheaper, and with the option of handpicking, too.

So while most of the Hanoverian and Misty’s Twilights stayed within (and circulated about) the hobby market, most of the Spiegel Plutos ended up in the general market. When they do resurface, they’re either (a) in less than ideal condition, or (b) misidentified as a #475 Pluto. 

Mine fell into Category B: I swear I punched that Buy It Now button so hard I thought it would leave a hole in my computer screen. 

Technically he wasn’t a full-on “grail” item – I had half-heartedly hoped I’d find one at a thrift store or in a box lot on eBay or Craigslist, but didn’t actively pursue him – but both the price and the timing were right, so I couldn’t just pass him by.

My Three Emmas

And for a few brief glimmering moments, my Emma collection is complete….

… except for the one BreyerFest Auction Test Color, at least one Sample that I know of, and any inevitable Prize or Raffle models that are probably in the pipeline because we know how that goes.

But, it’s still pretty remarkable to be able to keep up with all the (technically) available releases of any mold for over four years.

It helps that she’s not insanely popular, and has had only three releases since her introduction in late 2015. And that I was lucky enough to attend Chasing the Chesapeake in 2016 to get a Black-eyed Susan first hand.

Everyone else was gunning for the Brishen Sagamore Rye or the Shire Testudo, but the heart wants what it wants.

With more popular molds like Silver or Othello, the sheer number of releases overwhelms all but the most resilient of hearts, minds and budgets. And with molds like Esprit, you were pretty much out of the running before you even got past the starting gate.

Actually, I was just thinking about this a few days ago: for collectors, most (but not all) Breyer molds that debuted from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s are not particularly challenging to collect. Sure, most have one or two really tough ones – the Pluto has the “stealth” Spiegel Special Run in Dapple Gray, the Stud Spider has Stetson, and even Morganglanz has Brigadeiros!

But being able to get most of the way there without emptying your bank account – and in the meantime possibly being able to save up for the one or two that just might! – is a not unappealing collecting strategy. One that I’ve been considering as I mull over what I might want to add to my BreyerFest want list this year.

Now that I have somehow, inexplicably, found most of my Man o’ War grails.

Wild and Crazy

I’m pretty beat today; most of my free time over the past two days has been spent gardening, and I hurt all over. I haven’t had the time to work on it seriously before, and it shows.

First, a brief recap of the goodies from Sunday:

A Breyer Embajador XI, an adorable Napco Bulldog, and a Beswick Foal!

I already have the Foal, and this one has a slight glaze flake on his ear anyway. The Bulldog is stinking cute - that wrinkly face! - but I’m trying to cut back on my non H-R Chinas due to space reasons. So neither one gets to stay.

The Pluto is a keeper; I’ve been eyeballing them on eBay, but I wasn’t quite willing to pay retail plus postage for one. The paint job is wildly unrealistic, but it just works on him, you know? Most of the other Pluto releases have a certain sameness to them. They’re not unattractive, but their similarity to each other doesn't exactly inspire any passion in my heart.

Some of it is a function of the breed the mold is supposed to represent - most Lipizzaners are some shade of Gray, it’s true - but with a color as variable as Gray can be, you’d think they would at least try to be a bit more daring with it, no? Or even mix it up with an historical color or two, maybe?

It's not like he's the most realistic mold in the line, anyway. He's a portrait of a Foundation stallion, and he doesn't even have boy parts! Why not put a wildly improbable Baroque-styled Black Pinto on him, just for kicks? The polka-dot leopard in this year’s "Let’s Go Riding - English" set is a good start; I would be such a happy camper if I could find one in the Sample boxes this July. (With even more spots, I hope!)

Some Embajadors do have that over-the-top quality; more conservative ones have fewer, more polka-dotty dapples. Lucky for me, I did get one of the wild-and-crazy guys. (Dapples in the tail for the win, yo.) I don't know which one is the scarcer variation; he's not a heavily collected mold in the first place, so I doubt it matters much, price wise.

The China miniatures that I left behind last week also reappeared. Unfortunately my "poker face" slipped, so I had to pay full price for them - no group discount this time! Ah well, the combined price for all 30 some pieces still works in my favor. Except for the keeping-most-of-them-for-myself part.

Many other oddments were purchased, including a sheepskin (for the car), some vintage quilt scraps, a stack of late Victorian magazines with amazing engravings, and a bag of silk ties for a future quilt project.

(BTW, for those of you who may be interested, I may be turning "pro" with the quilting thing in the near future - blogging and pattern making, at the very least. When time allows, of course.)

Next up, what everyone else is talking about: the Giant-Sized Foal-Thing!

The Other Rare Pluto

BreyerWest is on the other side of the country, and I am kinda broke, so the fact that it slipped my mind until about yesterday isn’t shocking. I do have a few relatives out that way I could have tapped for a pickup on Fortuna, but I really have to stick to my budget, now that work has officially entered the "slow" season.

I’m currently hemming and hawing on what to do next - another seasonal job, or ramp up the Internet biz? The former would be better for the budget, but the latter is long overdue and may eventually provide a small, year-round income stream. One more thing to think about…

Here is an example of another mold we’ve rarely seen in recent years - the Traditional Lipizzaner Pluto:


This one is the Pluto made specifically for "The Wonderful World of Horses" touring show, in early 1997. The show had been selling the Pluto for several years before it was discontinued, and I assume that Reeves continued to produce them for the show for some time after.

How do I know that this piece is from early 1997? Aside from the 1997 Collector’s Manual it came with, he has factory bi-eyes - a feature that didn’t start appearing until late 1996, and was discontinued by the end of March, 1997. The original #475 Pluto was discontinued at the end of 1995.

The sticker on the upper left hand corner of the box also identifies it as an "Exclusive 28th Anniversary Edition for The WONDERFUL WORLD OF HORSES Starring the ‘World Famous’ Royal Lipizzaner Stallions" (the funky punctuation and capitalization theirs, not mine.)

However, the box label reads "#475 Pluto, The Lipizzaner" - in other words, identical to the Regular Run - so I’d probably classify it more as a "Post Production Run" than a Special Run: a Regular Run item made after its discontinuation, per a standing order from a good (i.e. paying) customer.

Regardless of his status, you don’t see these guys too often; the vast majority of whatever quantity was made were sold as souvenirs to attendees of the show, and not specifically to hobbyists. Hobbyists walking past the sales booths wouldn’t have thought of them as anything other than ho-hum Regular Run Plutos.

Outside of his box, I doubt many would recognize him as anything other than the Regular Run. You’d think that the bi-eyes would be a big "tell," but a lot of collectors seem to be a bit fuzzy on their significance. That’s part of the reason why he’s one of the handful of models I still keep in its original box. If it ever comes to me having to sell him, I want to make sure there’s no mistaking him for a standard #475.

(FYI: that’s a bit of protective foam paper behind him, to prevent box staining.)

I found mine on eBay in late 1999 - not long after they were made. He was a little on the pricey side but well worth it, I think, since I so rarely see them for sale. He’s scarcer than the Spiegel Pluto, at any rate. (That I don’t have. Sigh.)