The Three Body Problem

By popular request, here’s the other two Quarter Horse Gelding variations. Since I don’t have the time to dig out my Buckskins, a Gloss Bay and Special Run Matte Bay will have to do:

The only immediately noticeable difference between the Variation Two and Variation Three is the very obvious tummy tuck on Variation Three.

As far as when the third variation occurred, I am less certain. Because of the lack of notable production variations and few newer releases of the mold during the time period in question – other than the #97 Appaloosa Gelding in 1971 – it’s difficult to pinpoint the change the way we could with the second.

All I can say for certain is that it was done before 1980, or when the Appaloosa Gelding was discontinued.

And to be honest, pinpointing the change has been a low priority because (until this week) outside of me I didn’t think there was that much interest in the mold to actively pursue.

(And while I have a lot of Appaloosa Gelding variations, it is true, but just how many do I need?)

Because the tummy tuck can be difficult to see if it’s not photographed properly (it can kind of disappear if taken at a slightly elevated angle) it’s also something that benefits from the in-hand field research BreyerFest provides, and that’s not happening this year, obviously.

Speaking of that, gotta get back to my BreyerFest prep.

While everything is going fine in the general sense, this weekend has reminded me just how much I really, really do not enjoy photography. Like painting, I can be more than competent at it if I try, but it just really stresses me out when I do.

Muscles

Most of us are familiar with the Clydesdale Stallion, who went from originally being a bit of a blobby beast in 1958 to something a little more buff shortly after.

Hobbyists are less familiar with what happened with the Quarter Horse Gelding, who went in the opposite direction – going from ripped to “dad bod”!

This happened in the very early 1960s, shortly after the introduction of the Buckskin, since the Buckskin version of this mold variation seems to be the rarest of the three early Quarter Horse Geldings.

I sometimes call him the “Supermuscled” Quarter Horse because, well, look at him! He’s awesome. 

I presume the mold change was either a consequence of another mold alteration that necessitated removing some of the extra detailing, or the “bulldog” body type was already trending out of fashion and Breyer did an update to tap into the market for less beefcake.

There was a second round of alterations that softened the detail even more and eventually gave the mold a tummy tuck, but I haven’t been able to determine when that happened, exactly.

I only discovered this alteration by accident when I bought the above pictured Quarter Horse because he had eyewhites, a very rare feature on Buckskins. When I opened him up and looked him over, I was astonished at how well-shaded he was… then realized it wasn’t just the paint job I was looking at!

Surprise - Another Palomino Ruffian!

Well, that is interesting. The Dead Heat is going to have variations, but by color, not finish or mold:

It’s been a while since Reeves let us know about a BreyerFest Gambler’s Choice model ahead of time. The very first one, in fact: the Quarter Horse Geldings in 2009.

Even then they didn’t clue us in on the extra rare ones – the Charcoal, Smoke and Silver Filigree – and this is why I can’t completely dismiss the possibility of other variations (long tail/short tail, or Gloss/Matte) of Dead Heat showing up.

The Traditional Ruffian mold hasn’t come in a lot of lighter colors or dilutes, but she should, because I think she looks darn good in them. It’s a nice a visual antidote to all the darker colors and more conservative patterns she’s been released in so far.

But I can see the Palomino variation is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea – in fact, I see a lot of features and details others may shake their heads disapprovingly at: a Vintage “orangey” hue, unstriped gray hooves, a pearly mane and tail, and blue eyes?

No surprise here: I like her, a lot. Aside from all her weird and funky details, she could be a big sister to my two Classic Palomino Ruffians!

I am unsure if I’ll be penciling her in as a possible addition to my herd: it’s partly the budget thing, partly the size thing, but also because my luck on getting the Gambler’s Choice I want has been rather dicey in recent years.

If they do a 50/50 split, a Chestnut one won’t be that hard to trade, but I’m all about minimizing the hassles of BreyerFest this year.

This is also why I decided to forego the Customs Contest a while ago – that, and the fact that the body I wanted (a Carrick) is still too new and too expensive for me. I just can’t imagine paying more than $10-15 for a body that I might end up ruining completely anyway.

(I’m the same way with quilting supplies, incidentally. Having to pay more than a couple bucks for a yard of fabric practically gives me the vapors.)

I’m happier experimenting with the body box leftovers anyway: I’m currently eyeing a Standing Stock Horse Foal with a broken leg and a dinged up Mesteno’s Mother body as potential victims, when the weather gets warmer.

Both of them came out of that doomed box lot I bought a while back: they’ve already been written off as a loss, and a Mesteno and one of the lesser Hess molds didn’t have much salvage value to begin with. I can mess with them to my heart’s content, guilt-free.

Splash Cull

Because of recent time constraints, I was expecting to pull the bulk of this year’s sales stock for BreyerFest from the herd (just the usual edge and hedge trimmings, no worries) but my wonderful flea market has other plans:

A framed print of English Triple Crown winner Bahram, by Wesley Dennis, and a Cull(!) of the 1998-1999 release Splash, on the Quarter Horse Gelding mold.

The Gelding was part of a box lot that included ten Traditionals in various states of disrepair. He was only keeper in this lot, while the rest will fill out a body box that is on its way to being as deep as last year’s horde.

He was also the only “interesting” model among them – everything else appears to be garden variety Regular Runs from ca. 1998-2000. While he is not in the best condition, his color is pretty and all his limbs are still intact.

And he’s a Cull. That I found at a flea market 15 minutes from my house. That is about 12 hour drive from New Jersey.

How he got there is a mystery. The dealer wasn’t able to give me any information: he hadn’t even noticed it was any different from the others.

The most curious part of the story is that the rest of the models in the lot were from roughly the same time period.

While it was not unusual for some Culls to make it into retail store stock even at that late a date, it was usually pieces in a more finished state. The hooves, the eyes, or the mane and tail might not be painted, but it could have passed for a finished model otherwise.

Though this dealer certainly didn’t notice, so maybe the previous owner/s did not, either?

A couple of other possibilities include (a) a friend or family member worked at the factory in New Jersey, (b) this might be directly or indirectly related to the “newtoymens” factory escapees.

Or it could be one of those random weird and unexplainable thing that just shows up from time to time. This flea market seems to be good for that.

Speaking Conditionally

That Quarter Horse Gelding cleaned up pretty nice, actually:

He has chipped ears, and rubs on his near side, so he’s still technically body box material. But his color and shading are so pretty, I won’t argue with anyone if they think he’s worth keeping as-is.

(I’ll actually have quite a few “shelf quality” pieces like that for sale at BreyerFest this year: another reason to come dig in my ginormous body box!)

I have tons of models in questionable condition, myself, that I still consider valued members of my herd. Like this little fellow:

Yep, a Test Color. As you can see, this Classic Quarter Horse Foal is especially… special: as in, he has so many rubs he’s very definition of a body. He was one of those things that the Bentleys found while cleaning out Chicago factory ca. 1985. Then he was bagged, tossed into one of several large cardboard boxes, and brought out to sell at Model Horse Congress, where I was the lucky person who found him.

I don’t normally like to go around quoting the prices I get stuff for – lest I find myself in the awkward position of having to sell it – but he’s one of those pieces that isn’t going anywhere, so I guess I’m safe here.

I found him in the “One Dollar” box.

I can’t confirm it one way or another, but I suspect that he – and the two very similar Classic Quarter Horse Mares I also found in those fabled boxes (for a little bit more) – weren’t simply Test Colors, but Preproduction pieces.

Everything about them felt cobbled together: the paintjobs are uneven, the seams are mismatched and unfinished, everything about them feels slapdash and rough.

And although I haven’t done a point-for-point inspection with actual production pieces to be sure, I think they might even have been made from mold test shots, before the molds were finalized and okayed for production.

In a sense, they may be the most Test Color of Test Colors. (Beat that, Benefit Auction Test Color Brindle Pinto Man o’ War with the fancy tail!)

It doesn’t matter if they are or not, though. They’ll always have a home here.

Quarter Horse Gelding: First State

I’ve been meaning to get better pictures of this guy on the Internet, and now seems as good a time as any:

This is the earliest version of the Buckskin Quarter Horse Gelding, released ca. 1961; he came out a year or two after the Gloss Bay and Woodgrain versions. This particular example has eyewhites, which are an unusual feature for models in this color, and were the primary reason I bought him. He wasn’t cheap, but he was definitely worth it.

His color and shading are pretty awesome too, which was a bonus.

All that fabulous shading and detail isn’t just painted on, however, it’s molded in: this is the fabled “supermuscled” version of the Quarter Horse Gelding mold. He’s big, he’s beefy, he’s superdefined: he’s the epitome of the “bulldog” type of Quarter Horse that predominated when the mold was first produced.

Here's a shot that shows the muscle detailing on the shoulder and barrel better; there is scarcely a smooth surface anywhere on this guy:

Since the late 1950s, the preferred body type has changed dramatically, and so has the Quarter Horse Gelding mold – at least twice.

I’ll get to that some other time, though, when I have the time to draw up some diagrams that highlight the changes. I still want to do a bit more research on the subject, too: I’m still trying to figure out when the last major change (a belly tuck) was made to the mold.

In art historical terms, what this particular example above represents is a mold in its “first state” or “first impression”, before any significant changes were made.

Almost all Breyer molds have had modifications throughout the years, mostly as a consequence of maintenance. An eartip might get shaved a bit, a small flaw or bump in the mold might be polished out, undercuts or projections eliminated to reduce molding issues.

In other cases, as with the Quarter Horse Gelding, it’s done to update to mold to more current tastes.

The Buckskin version of the Supermuscled QHG is a lot scarcer than the Bay and Woodgrain, since it was introduced later. I’m guessing – based on its scarcity – that the first major mold change (eliminating/smoothing out most of the muscling) occurred not long after.

Tacked Up

It may have been a holiday weekend, but model horse business kept me occupied for most of it. I purchased items for the costume, tinkered with the diorama, rewrote several articles, reworked the sales list, did a bit of design work on the BreyerFest paperwork, and I just finished archiving about a year’s worth of hobby e-mails, because that’s ephemera, too: it just happens to be of the electronic sort.

FYI: as far as the Midyears go, many online dealers already have them listed on their respective web sites. It’s not my policy to recommend one online dealer over another, because I am fortunate enough to have several local toy stores from which to handpick, and my experiences ordering online (beyond the Breyer web site) have been rather limited.

If you need any other assistance, the Halloween Horse’s name is Ichabod and he’s a Fighting Stallion covered in skulls. And he glows. So awesome.

Some of the other Midyears include the Best of British releases, and a Pacer. Others, too, but I noticed the Pacer because it is a Pacer - with a yellow halter! I love it when they use more unusual or flamboyant colors on halters like that. My favorite, in that regard, would be the beautiful "Payne’s Gray" halter on the Matte Bay Quarter Horse Gelding in the 2001 Riding Academy Gift Set release for JC Penney. The funky colors used on the 2009 Surprise Quarter Horse Geldings are also cool, though maybe a shade less so because of the unattainability of the Silver Filigree, Smoke and Charcoal ones.

Molded-on tack is definitely not a thing with collectors nowadays: they want their horses clean and unadorned. All of my first three horses - the Man o’ War, the Pacer, and the Western Prancing Horse - came with molded-on tack, so I have not had much of an issue with it personally.

It’s been years since any new Breyer injection mold has come with molded-on tack or accessories (excluding ribbons and braids); the Balking Mule was the last "new" mold with any, in 1968. It wasn’t until 1995, with the release of the Fine Porcelain Premier Arabian Mare, that we started seeing new molds with molded-on tack again. Just about all of the newer molds with molded-on tack have been Nonplastic releases designed to appeal more toward the "home decorating" crowd than the collecting-playing-showing ones.

Two factors put an end to mold-on tack on plastics. The first was the moving away from the questionable practice of adapting and appropriating of molds from other companies for their own use; as I explained before, most of those early tacked-up molds were based on preexisting molds from other companies.

The second was hobbyist influence: by the late 1960s, Breyer was taking the hobbyist movement, and the advice of the individual hobbyists, more seriously. We didn’t want molded-on tack interfering with our own tack, for play or for show. 

Always Room For Another

FYI: I made some changes to my links; more may be added in the future. For the record, adding the OMH link does not mean I am leaving Blab. As far as drama goes, it’s not a topic-specific problem, but a people-specific one. Same people? Same dramas eventually, whether it’s over politics, preferred brands of mustard or judging standards at NAN.

I am of the opinion that more forums lead to better forums. Heck, I’d start my own, if I had the time. My recent forum activity has been somewhat minimal lately because I’m (a) currently in the busy season at work, and (b) working on some other personal and professional concerns that are a higher priority now. I’m hoping most of what I need to get done will be done by the middle of the year, and I can get back to my more usual level of intensity.

And now back to the show.

From its earliest days, this mold has always been known as the Western Prancing Horse, or Western Prancer:

So to see this in the solicitation e-mail for the Vintage Club Two-Bits made me do a double-take:

Two Bits' glossy leopard appaloosa pattern is borrowed from the Western Prancing Pony, and the color has rarely been seen in the Breyer line since the 1960s.

Western Prancing Pony? The only recollection I have of this mold ever being called a pony is with the Red Dun #889 Ranger - Cow Pony, from 1994-1995. The WPH mold did "replace" the Fury/Prancer mold in the Breyer line ca. 1962, and the Fury/Prancer is ponyish in size compared to Breyer’s other horse molds then.

But the WPH is clearly intended to be horse-sized.

The part about the splash-spot nature of the Vintage Club Two-Bits’ paint job is true: it was a very rarely seen color even back in the old days, and best known as a color specifically associated with the Western Prancer. There was a brief renaissance of the color in the early 1990s, most notably with the release of two Special Runs - on the Pony of the Americas mold, and as a part of the BHR Balking Mule set - though in those two cases they were Matte, not Glossy.

It’s a color that’s also known for its great variability. Some have big spots or little speckles, many spots or only a few. The points vary widely too, from high to low, and from black to charcoal to light gray. You could spend a lot of time collecting many different variations of the Appaloosa Western Prancing Horse, and I have:

Always room for more!

Love, Love, Love?

First they promised us the G1 Draft Horse as the Gift Stablemate for the 2014 Vintage Club. That was easy to rationalize: all the Warehouse finds were from previously molded - and warehoused - bodies. You can fit hundreds of Stablemates in a single storage drum, easy-peasy.

Then they offered us Cosette - the Classic Arabian Mare in Chestnut Pinto. Another Hagen-Renaker mold. An apparently open-ended run, too - though limited to two per customer - but still available on the Breyer web site as of my writing this. Well, maybe that one could have been warehoused too, but I was beginning to have my doubts.

Then they sent us a picture of the cover of the soon-to-be-mailed Just About Horses Annual:

Ooh, a new chestnut Carrick! The Zodiac Collection that they hinted at a while back? I’m cool with that. Fan-niversary - is that what they’re calling the next Exclusive Event, or is it just another themed anniversary promotion? Interesting; whatever it is, I hope the Western Horse is involved. The Maureen Love Story…

Whoa, wait a minute. Does that mean what we think it means? 

Then we received notice about the offerings for next year’s Vintage Club:

Oh Good Heavens, a Gloss Palomino Pinto Proud Arabian Mare? I suppose we’ll all find out in a few weeks, as the Annuals make their way out into the world, the circumstances behind the return of the Hagen-Renaker molds. For now, or for good?

Rats, just when I thought it was safe to start upgrading my Proud Arabians!

While everyone is squealing in delight over the Proud Arabian Mare’s return, the model that made me melt into a puddle was the Quarter Horse Gelding. In Black Splash Spot Leopard Appaloosa, like the Western Prancing Horse? Oh, goodness.

The full lineup, in case you haven't heard:

• Black Splash Spot Leopard Quarter Horse Gelding
• Gloss Red Bay Pinto 4-eyed Misty and Stormy
• Gambler’s Choice Decorator Running Stallions
• Gloss Palomino Pinto Proud Arabian Mare - Yellow Mount pattern
• Bonus Model: Dark Dapple Gray Loose Mane Cleveland Bay, aka "Murphy"
• Gift Stablemate: Gloss Alabaster G3 Rearing Andalusian

Interesting that they’re doing a Gambler’s Choice on the Running Stallion; presumably for the benefit of those lucky ones among us who have vintage Running Mares and Foals in need of a match. I thought they'd go with a Gloss/Matte Gambler's Choice first, since there was precedent for that back in the 1960s and 1970s, when they transitioned from mostly Gloss to mostly Matte finishes.

So signing up for the Vintage Club this coming year gets you a rare and lovely PAM, and a super-scarce (125 piece) Decorator? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

There goes my hard-earned Paypal balance.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Easter was a bit of a bust, here: chaos, burnt food, and the dog being naughty. Then I had to get to get up for work today at 2:30 a.m. - something I don’t normally do unless horses are involved, and they weren’t. (Tomorrow, maybe.)

Halo did arrive today, but I only just opened the Moose Ghost yesterday, so I think I can wait a day or two, to enjoy him all by his lonesome. He really is as nice as everyone says he is, with just a hint of that iridescent sparkle in the gloss they’ve been experimenting with since last BreyerFest (on the Mariah’s Boon, and the Bell-bottomed Shire Cheerio.)

My BreyerFest ticket also arrived late last week. So far, so good: no ticket trade needed, yet. Unless I find something fabulous and inspiring at the flea market this year, I am forgoing the costume contest this year: the rule changes are still a bit too vague for my liking, and I’d rather minimize the exhaustion and inevitable heartbreak if I can.

I’ve also only committed to one ticket so far: I just finished last year’s inventory paperwork, and well, ouch. Fortunately, most of the models I’m interested in so far aren’t time ticket specific: the Store Special Pinto Brighty, the Other Store Special Bucking Bronco, and the actual Celebration model (Smart Chic, FTW!) I might cough up cash for another ticket depending on the finances, mostly to double my chances of getting one of the Surprise/Gambler’s Choice models, whatever it is.

Because my mind is spinning all sorts of elaborate fantasies about it at this point. (Not sharing, because I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up for nothing.)

And speaking of surprises…they announced the actual Vintage Club Exclusive/Made to Order model today: "Lucy", a Balking Mule in a loud dun appaloosa who (not coincidentally?) looks a lot like one of the first BreyerFest Gambler’s Choice models, the 2009 Quarter Horse Gelding in Appaloosa. The first thing that popped into my mind, however, when I saw her was this cover:

The Fall 1979 issue of Just About Horses - the first one with a full-color cover! (A brief bio of the Balking Mule mold is featured inside.) Kind of an obscure vintage nod, but a clever one. I like it.

So much for the tight reins on my budget. At least the price is not too unreasonable, at $99.95.

The Balking Mule mold and I have an interesting history. It took me YEARS to finally acquire the vintage ones for my collection. In the pre-Internet days, before you could swipe one off of eBay for slightly more than body price, Balking Mules were not easy to come by, and not cheap.

They weren’t completely out of my budget range, but I was determined to find one locally - like I had most of my other "rare" models. It became a thing for me. I wasn’t going to buy one "retail" if I didn’t have to.

I had to wait a very, very long time. I bought the Black Horse Ranch Special Run ones in 1994, and they were awesome, but they weren’t Vintage. Back then.

And then - no joke - I found four in the space of two months, three of them in the same weekend: one at an antique show, and two from a local dealer who I had given some reference material to, and had helped with pricing some of the models from his personal collection.

He later told me that when he found them, he knew he had to save them for me. As a favor for helping him sell off his collection.

I still have those three, because they really were worth the wait. (I also because I overspent a little bit, because of that danged principle!) I justified keeping a second Bay one because it was a variation: so light, it looked like a chestnut.

More on them, next time.

Crash and Burn

Wonderful. The computer crashed before I had a chance to save the post I was working on for today. Awesome. All that lovely nuance and carefully crafted wordsmithing is now just a pile of unrecoverable bits floating somewhere on the hard drive.

I did make good on my promise to sleep most of my day off away. Aside from the manic work schedule, I think a contracted a bit of whatever unpleasantness was floating around at work. Nothing particularly nasty, it just made me even more tired than I should have had any right to be.

My car was also sick this week, and that was something a little extra sleep couldn’t cure. It’s definitely an incentive to generate a little extra revenue; as long as ol’ Sherman can last another 4 to 6 months, that should be enough time to cultivate a decently-sized down payment - after I’ve finished paying off the bill to keep him running in the first place.

All these model horse commitments I’ve made aren’t going to help, either: aside from Harlequin, there’s also a Lionheart and a Gus on the way, not to mention any Web Specials or other nonsense coming at us over the next few months. (Outside of the Pinto Fury/Prancer, nothing on this year's Discontinue List is begging to be brought home. Thank goodness.)

Like the Mid-States Specials, for instance: a Bay Roan Roxy named "Constellation", and a cute dun Classic Warmblood Mare named "Fawn". Fortunately, there are no Mid-States stores nearby to tempt me. I’m too cheap, and a bit too lazy, to order them online.

(No, seriously. Don’t even think about offering a pick-up or a trade. No room. No money. Not happening.)

There was a bit of a stink on Blab about the fact that a couple of pieces from this year’s Breyerfest auction were rather obviously tests of these two gals. My first reaction was a bit of pride: my intuition about the auction pieces being more "actual test pieces" rather than "factory customs" was right.

My second reaction was Do you people not know what the term "test color" means? It means that they’re testing a color, which also means that they are considering it for production. You shouldn’t be surprised if it does turn up a few months (or years) from now. That is their actual and original function. The fact that they can use them to generate money for charity is just a nice bonus. 

I’d think that finding out your auction piece was a Test Run for an actual production piece would be a huge plus: instead of being some fancy, but ultimately meaningless factory custom, you’d actually have a piece of Breyer History. Like this fella:

Yeah, he’s beat up, dinged up, and on an unfashionable mold, but I wouldn’t trade him for something newer or fancier. He’s quite obviously the test color for the #819 Dan Patch, on the Pacer mold. Why would I?

More Random Pictures

My experience over the past three days has convinced me that creativity is just frustration leaving the body.

It wouldn’t be so bad if that creative energy was more focused. One day I’m working on quilts, the next I’m baking cookies, then the day after that I’m taking pictures and writing up descriptions for eBay listings.

Today I’m prepping the leftover/broken/unwanted bodies in my body box. Because I know what it’s like to not be wanted. (TMI, and not entirely true: the job did want me for the weekend, but it was a last-minute gig, and other plans had already been made.)

But ironically, I’m not in a mood to write a blog post today. Go figure. I’ve got plenty to talk about, but sitting down and actually composing my thoughts isn’t as much fun as drilling holes in things.

Rather than leave you all totally bereft, here are a couple more pictures of Ninja Pit finds, instead. First up, a Sample of the 2009 Surprise Quarter Horse Geldings, in Dunalino:

The handwriting on his belly indicates that this particular version was "rejected", but since I do not have the corresponding Production piece, I couldn’t tell you what for. One of my roommates said he seemed a bit on the "greenish" side, and that could be it. It’s not an uncommon issue when you’re working in the buckskin/dun/sooty range of colors: yellow + black = sometimes green.

I heard that the two other Surprise QH Geldings also showed up in the Sample boxes, but I was happy just to get the one of the three I didn’t already have. For some strange reason, I have the hardest time acquiring anything Breyer slaps a Dunalino paint job on.

(I completely missed getting a Music City Zippo, for instance, because I just happened to take a much-needed nap five minutes before they went on sale on the Internet. An hour and a half later, I get up, get back on the computer, and proceed to get very mad at myself when I find a half dozen Music Cities for sale on MH$P. Grr!)

Next up is my Western Elegance Zippo Pine Bar, who is drop-dead gorgeous, with some factory handpainted mapping and touch ups. His tag reads: "Western Elegance horse as-is". This is hilarious to me, since other than a slightly scraped (and easily fixed) ear, he’s almost perfect.

I had been eyeing the discounted Western Elegance sets they’ve had in the Pit the past couple of years. I really like Zippo, and the set itself is pretty scarce - like, within the Connoisseur/Web Special range - so the price they were asking was more than reasonable. Cheapskate me just couldn’t justify it, though. 

And now I have the Sample, at a fraction of that price! Woot! His show name, if I ever get around to live showing again, will be "As-Is". That’s what his tag says, right?

On Uniqueness

Since my scheduling situation was only partially resolved, I’ve been spending most of my free time over the past two days trying to get my tax paperwork finished up. I’m hoping for a decent sized tax refund to make up the shortfall in the meantime. I needed to do it anyway, but the sooner, the better.

So, Reeves released a "clue" about the next Vintage Club release the other day:

Hint #1: "Had unique feature that no other Breyer had."

Depending on the degree of specificity you take it to, almost any vintage mold could be said to have a "unique" feature. The Five-Gaiter was the first mold to have molded in horseshoes. The Western Prancing Horse was the first to have an "overo" paint job. The Fury version of the Prancer came with a paper saddle. The Elephant was the only Nonequine mold to have a rider (Corky!)

For some crazy reason, most hobbyists seem to be fixated on the Old Timer. Sure, he’s the only horse to come with his own separately molded hat, but he’s not the only Breyer mold. Most of the molded/rigid riders did so, too - like Davy Crockett, the Cowboy, the Indian (sorta), and the Canadian Mountie. Corky and Robin Hood had hats, too, but they were integral to the mold.

While I’m certainly not averse to the idea of an Old Timer - my avatar is the Old Timer’s hat, after all - I think the Fighting Stallion is a far more logical choice in the "unique" feature department. It was the only model that came with factory footpads.

From time to time other Breyer models turn up with footpads, but every one that I’ve seen or personally inspected has turned out to have store bought pads made out of felt, cork or flocked paper. You can still get ‘em today at your hardware or home improvement store of choice, if you’re so inclined.

(I’m not, but I always smile when I see them.)

It’s true that the Fighting Stallion has a limited range of colors to choose from; there have been roughly 40 releases on him so far, and that’s not including the variations. But there are still a few notable vintage colors he hasn’t been seen sporting, yet.

For example, there’s the old Buckskin paint job that was featured on the Quarter Horse Gelding - and for a brief time, on the Running Mare and Foal. Just think how nice old "King" would look in it, complete with a bald face, dorsal stripe, eyewhites and a satiny, semi-gloss finish. Love it!

Or Matte Black, a la the Stretched Morgan and the Grazing Mare and Foal, sporting a bald face, four stockings, jet black hooves, and lots and lots of body shading. Or if not that shade of Black, one of the original "Black Beauty" paint jobs originally found on the Western Horse and Pony would also do: solid Gloss Black with gold hooves, or Gloss Black with chalky/overpainted stockings and facial markings (either starred, or with bald face).

Then there’s one of my personal favorites, the "Slate" Gray color found on the original release of the #191 Bucking Bronco, again with lots of body shading, bald face, four stockings, and with a slightly darker mane and tail.

Like I said above, the clue is vague enough that could pretty much encompass any vintage Breyer mold. The first thing that popped in my mind was the Fighting Stallion, and until I get other clues to the contrary, I’m sticking to it.

Back to my spreadsheets. Bleh.

Digging Deeper

I did not think that, on a personal awfulness scale, that Monday could have been topped. Then I ran into yesterday.

I’ll spare you the gruesome details, and only give you the one word sufficient to end all inquiries on the quality of that awfulness.

Sewage.

(See? I told you it was a conversation stopper!)

Now that that bit of nastiness is out of the way, onto more pleasant things. I had to do a little reorganization of the storage area yesterday, and in the process I just so happened to find one of my older Pit Samples:


It’s the Shaded Bay Quarter Horse Gelding, from the 2001 J.C. Penney XMAS Catalog SR "Riding Academy Set," sans Rider Doll and the Grooming Kit. He was wrapped in a bag with some bubble wrap, along with a bunch of other models heaped in a pile. Since I was, and am rather fond of the QHG, I picked him up and carried him to the register with the rest of my booty.

That year, by the way, was 2006. I didn’t think much of the disparity of time, assuming that he was just a leftover who overstayed his welcome in the office or warehouse. It was a reasonable assumption: I can’t remember if it was that year, or a year previous, that they had boxes of the spare Grooming Kits and Dolls for sale, separately.

He was - and is - in immaculate condition, so I know he was never boxed or packaged in any way, whatever the case. I haven’t had the time or inclination to dig any deeper, or compare him with other examples to look for any significant differences. In light of the more recent Samples found in the Pit, it might be a good idea.

The provenance is good enough for me, for now, though.

Molded On Tack

I never did get around to talking about the Quarter Horse Gelding, did I?

I was never much of a Bonanza fan - I have nothing anything Westerns per se, it just never clicked with me - so I have no idea how appropriate a mold the Quarter Horse Gelding is for Chub. I certainly don’t object to the selection: the more Quarter Horse Geldings, the better, as far as I’m concerned.

It does seem a little odd to me that we’re seeing him in Bay, again: he's now up to four Bay production runs:

• 99 Gloss Bay (ca. 1960-1966)
• SR Matte Bay (ca. mid-1980s)
• 410401 Riding Academy Set (2001 J.C. Penney’s XMAS SR)
• 1453 Chub

Dude's getting almost as bad as the Hanoverian or the Trakehner! To make matters worse, he’s even been used to test other shades of bay, including this one for the Dan Patch release of the Pacer:


(He doesn't seem like an obvious choice to test a Pacer's paint job, does he? It took me a couple of months to realize duh, it was the halter.)

Fortunately, each of these Bays is different enough in markings, shading or finish for misidentification to be fairly minimal. The only issue some collectors might have is with the Matte Bay SR, who is so rare that many are either completely unaware of his existence, or mistake him for something else entirely. (Something I discussed in greater detail back in May 2009.)

It’s funny that until recently, I never gave much thought to the Gelding’s molded-on halter, until the whining from hobby’s peanut gallery made it an issue again.

A not-insignificant number of the earlier Breyer molds came with molded-on tack and accessories: the Western Horse and Pony, the Fury/Prancer, the Racehorse, the Walking Angus Bull, both versions of the Poodle, and the Western Prancing Horse. What’s interesting is that most of these molded-on tack molds were derived from - or at the very least, were inspired by - molds from other manufacturers.

(FYI: The "most" part of the previous sentence will be addressed in my next post.)

It makes me wonder if the Quarter Horse Gelding was derived from a still-unidentified secondary source. It wouldn’t surprise me at all, if it did. Grand Wood Carving - the Chicago-based company that inspired Breyer’s Woodgrain finish, and at least three other Breyer molds - is the most likely suspect. My reference materials are a little thin in that department, though, so it’s going to have to remain a hunch for now.

The Power of Suggestion

Here's a little bit of history from my archives, postmarked August 21, 1982: a Breyer Animal Creations “Thank you for your suggestions” postcard. Yep, it was so common back then for hobbyists to write in with unsolicited suggestions that Breyer actually had to have preprinted postcards made to expedite their replies.


Indeed, unsolicited consumer suggestions were one of the main ways that Breyer used to gauge the demand for new molds and new products. Occasionally they'd get a singularly inspiring idea from a lone collector that might lead to a new product, but it was usually more of a numbers game: the more collectors who suggested a similar idea, the more likely they'd consider going forward with it.

(I can only imagine the sheer amount of mail Breyer must have received in 1975 after Ruffian's tragic end; I know it struck a chord with me and all of my other horse-crazy friends of a certain age: i.e. Breyer's target audience.)

Most of us had the common sense (even at that tender age) to know that we would not be receiving credit – or compensation – for our ideas. We were just thrilled to pieces that they had listened to us. And just maybe, we'd think, maybe it was MY letter that finally did the trick, the one that finally convinced them to make it. The only evidence we'd have (at most) would be a letter, or a postcard. But that was usually sufficient.

Things have gotten a little more complicated since then. For one thing, Reeves has now codified this long-standing practice into a concept unto itself: the Collector's Choice Series. Collectors suggest ideas, Reeves selects some of them for us to vote on, and the top vote- and attention-getters get the honor of being manufactured. And the suggester gets credit, and a model.

That hasn't stopped hobbyists from suggesting other ideas outside the parameters of the Collector's Choice Series. We know that Reeves prowls various hobbyist sites (including this one) and many of us aren't shy about expressing our ideas in these all-too-public forums. And like the handwritten letters of yore, it's usually the ones that have momentum, or the weight of public opinion behind them. But sometimes singular ideas get through, too.

I've taken a bit of flak for stating that this year's “Gambler's Choice” idea for BreyerFest was my idea. I had only taken credit for that idea by virtue of the fact that I had suggested it in a thread on Blab that Reeves had specifically requested in order to solicit ideas for this year's Fest. A thread that they obviously read, since they took several other ideas from it as well (the Pink Poodle, the Blue Tortuga Five-Gaiter, the Commemorative Stablemates Set ...)

I wasn't expecting compensation, or for Reeves to give me credit specifically. I only took credit because, well, the dated evidence of my suggestion was there for all to see. I didn't think that it'd be all that controversial. I wouldn't have raised an eyebrow if anyone else whose idea was used had trumpeted that fact, either. We can all stand to get a little ego boost now and then.

Was I upset and a little annoyed that I didn't get the Quarter Horse Gelding in Silver Filigree or Charcoal? Yeah. But I wasn't expecting Reeves to send me one, either. The fact that I had mentioned them specifically in a post back in the beginning of June (as suggested gifts) was just another one of those coincidences brought about by a deep knowledge of the subject matter.

In layman's terms: I made an educated guess.

I also hoped that some would realize from my self-appointed title as the “Breyer History Diva” that I don't take myself all that seriously, and that suggestion was made very much in that vein. My research I do take seriously, but myself, no. I know full well that this pond we swim in is a very small one, and even the biggest fish in this pond are still pretty darn small compared to the ones in the ocean.

Will I continue to make my ideas and suggestions known? Of course I will. That's part of the hobby for me, and for a lot of other hobbyists. Would I like to get credit from the higher-ups for some of those ideas? Sure! But I'm not sitting by my doorway waiting for the UPS truck to drop off my prize for being clever.

Bay versus Chestnut

Since he’s been getting a little well-deserved attention in the spotlight, I thought I’d spend a little time discussing a favorite mold of mine: the Quarter Horse Gelding. I was originally going to classify today’s particular topic as an Urban Legend, but it’s really just a case of mistaken identity: the persistent confusion between the Chestnut and Bay Special Run Geldings.

Here is the 1987 Red Chestnut Quarter Horse Gelding Special Run:


Approximately 1400 pieces were made - a pretty big piece count for a 1980s special run. He didn’t exactly set the model horse world on fire: it’s not the most attractive color, and he’s never been a terribly popular mold. It shouldn’t be surprising that in spite of the fact that about half of them were probably customized and flocked by one of the dealers who received them (Eighmey’s Wagon Shop,) he’s still a relatively easy and inexpensive model to pick up.

This, on the other hand, is the 1984 Matte Bay Quarter Horse Gelding Special Run:


It is estimated that about 300 pieces were made of this particular guy, though I think that piece count may be low: it’s only an estimate from one of the dealers who received him. That particular dealer was also Eighmey’s Wagon Shop. Like the Red Chestnut SR, they altered and flocked most of the models they received - 250 of the 300, supposedly, leaving only about 50 pieces in their original state.

Rumor has it that Caauwe Sales in Nebraska also received some. But probably not a lot: the only Matte Bay I’ve even seen for sale in recent years was my example, and I found him in a body box lot on eBay. (Thus explaining his less than minty state.) In an era that saw a lot of small, poorly distributed special runs, he’s right up there with some of the rarest.

Because they were similar looking 1980s special runs of the same mold, distributed by mail order, both partially "destroyed" by the same distributor, they’re frequently confused with one another. Most of the information I find about them online and elsewhere mangles the data about the two pretty thoroughly.

The fact that few collectors have heard - or seen - an actual Matte Bay QH Gelding probably contributes to the confusion. I know when I first heard rumors of his existence, I wasn’t inclined to believe them. I never saw one for sale, and I didn’t know anyone who’d cop to owning one. I thought it was just another one of those phantom special runs that only existed on collector want lists.


The body color between the two is similar - the Chestnut is more reddish than the Bay - but as always, it’s the details that make the difference. The Chestnut has gray hooves, and a small star. The Matte Bay has black hooves, a black mane and tail, a large star and snip, and a dark shaded muzzle - not unlike the original Gloss Bay release. My Matte Bay has higher than average stockings too, but that might just be a natural variation, not a characteristic of the special as a whole.

(And unlike the Gloss version, the Matte Bay will always have the USA mold mark. That should go without saying, but with all of the subtle mold mark changes lately, one can never be too careful...)

A few more Matte Bay Quarter Horse Geldings will show up eventually, as more collectors learn to distinguish them from their more common chestnut comrades - not a lot, but a few. I suspect that more collectors will suddenly discover that their Bay rarity is actually a more pedestrian Chestnut.