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 Black Stallion's Resin Prototype

I just noticed this while doing a little research for something else:

This is a picture from the 1981 JC Penney Christmas Catalog, with the pre-catalog release of the Black Stallion Race Set being offered. The Black Stallion was officially released in 1982, but was available by the Fall of 1981, mostly via mail-order. (Sorry about the poor quality of the pics today - these are scans of an old color copy.)

This wasn’t an unusual thing back then: if a mold was ready for production, they put it in production, no dithering about release dates. My Aunt Arlene got me the Classic Andalusian Family for Christmas in 1978 - she bought it straight from Bentley Sales. (I stapled the sales list and order form to my wish list!)

Maybe it’s because the Black Stallion mold has never really made much of an impression on me, and that’s why I didn’t see that it’s not an actual Black Stallion in the catalog photo, or even a Sample or Test piece: it’s the painted resin prototype, still on its sculpting base. The copy even says "Base shown not included." 

Dur.

Prototypes in Christmas Catalogs are not unusual. While it is often not obvious when we see the catalog photo, it becomes obvious when we receive the ordered item. Either the mold ends up being different (like the Stud Spider scan I featured recently, for the Stud Spider Gift Set) or the paint job is off in a significant way.

In the case of the Black Stallion here, it wasn’t immediately obvious even after we had the models in hand because the model was the model, and it was painted black - there are not too many ways to change up a black paint job. The base could have been rationalized away as a prop for tippy model at an indoor photo shoot.

The reason why so many prototypes and oddballs end up as stand-ins in Christmas Catalog photo shoots is because the photos for these catalogs are shot in the Spring. If they were planning on doing a pre-release of a model being released the following year, there was a good chance that the mold and/or design would not have been finished or finalized at that point.

While I know the location of some resin prototypes, I don’t know where the Black Stallion’s would be. Even though he’s not high on my list of favorites, I wouldn’t turn him down if he did show up: I have lots of Samples, Tests, Culls and Oddities, but I still have no Resin Prototypes to my name.

In Other News

Is there more to the story of the Copenhagen Belgian?

Yes, but it’ll have to wait until next week. Partly to see what happens with the auction, partly because I’m way behind on everything else, but also because there’s plenty of other model horse news that needs to be attended to.

First, most of you know by now - or should know - that Reeves released/dumped a bunch of warehouse overstock at Tuesday Morning stores and the TJ Maxx/Marshalls chain in the past two weeks. The assortment there included Weather Girls, more Elvis items, Prince Jesters, Satos, Kongs, Stablemates sets, some of the creepy doll sets, the Breast Cancer Bluegrass Bandits, Kripton Senis, Cedrics …

You get the picture. Lots of good stuff.

When I did finally manage to escape my house earlier this week (I think it was Monday night? I can’t remember. NaNoWriMo is melting my brain, again.) I somehow ended up at a couple of Tuesday Mornings. Fortunately I managed to walk away with only a pretty nice Gathering Storm (the 2011 Online Collector’s Choice Big Ben) and a gorgeously shaded Sato, both of whom are currently chilling in the car until the coast is clear.

(Yes, dear readers, I also plead guilty to the "sneaking new horses in the house and pretending they were here all along" ruse.  I did sell a couple things this week, so that sort of makes it okay, right? Right?)

I tried finding a Priefert’s Kong that pleased me enough to take home, but they all either had minor flaws I couldn’t stop staring at, or had paint jobs that were a little too flat black for my tastes.

There were also no Weather Girls in my neck of the woods - all snapped up early, I presume. I was sort of hoping to get another Palomino Weather Girl as an accompaniment to the sample one I picked up at BreyerFest this year, but it looks like that will have to wait.

The second bit of news: yes, I was aware of the Heavy/Resin-filled/Home Decorating Show Breyers that turned up on eBay over the course of the past month. I was even an underbidder on a couple of them, but as you know by now, I was not one of the winners.

That’s what happens when your bank accounts are significantly closer to zero than your competition. Being distracted by the whole Blue Belgian business didn’t help, either. (A most pleasing distraction, at least.)

Make no mistake, it definitely stung - quite a bit, to be honest. I happened to be volunteering at BreyerFest the year that the Home Decorating Show leftovers were sold in the Pit. And with my first shift being first thing Friday morning. At the Help/Information Desk.

Yeah, I had to watch everybody else walk past me into the Ninja Pit.

Torture? You bet. It was the only possible way volunteering could have been made unpleasant for me, outside of being made to dance around in the Pal O’Mine suit. (That year was not good for me for a variety of reasons. The absence of the NPOD shopping experience was a relatively low on the list of grievances, believe it or not.)

With the prices that a couple of those pieces brought - and the added attention - it seems even more unlikely that I’ll be able to smooth that particularly rough-edged memory from my mind.

Not that all of them can, or should be. How else would the world know of pearls?

Clubbing, Pt. I

I will confess that the most exciting part of the JAH was finding out that there’s going to be a (somewhat) local Fun Day event! Yeah, there aren’t going to be any special models involved, but I just might go out and see it for the fun of it. I got a chance to help out, briefly, in the Craft and Activity Tent at BreyerFest this year, and the energy there was so amazing.

The other thing that I notice up front - wow, there were a lot of typos! You think they’d have put a little extra effort into the proofreading, it being the final issue and all.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand - the "5 New Programs" everyone is getting all hot and bothered about. Well, six, actually, if you count the Breyer Collectors Club, which I’m assuming is going to be an amplified version of the e-mail program they have now, coupled with exclusive subscriber-only content and offers available via the new web site. Sort of like an online version of JAH. Since no printing or physical mailing will be involved, I’m guessing the subscription fees will be nominal or even nonexistent.

The Vintage Collectors Club, and the Premier Collection are subscription-style clubs: sign up, pay up, and models and other stuff are shipped to you on a timely basis for a year. Either program will cost you around $500 a year to belong: $540 for the Vintages ($135 x 4 models) or $525 for the Premiers ($175 x 3 models). The former is for "vintage" mold enthusiasts, while the latter is tailored towards fanciers of more realistic newer molds.

The Vintage Collectors Club is limited to 500 subscribers, but the Premier Collection makes no mention of an upper limit. They’re also a little vague on whether or not pieces will be made available to non-subscribers at a higher price, or a later date. They use phrases like "Only members are guaranteed a reservation for all three pieces" and "Members also receive priority in shipping" in the copy.

The Breyer Blossoms thingie is described as a year-long "continuity program", which appears to be just like a subscription club, but with Classics-scale molds, no extra stuff, and with the ability to option out of the program after purchasing just four pieces. Items in the program can also be purchased separately (if you just want your birth month flower, I guess) at a higher price. I'm assuming they'll go with different themes every year: the Zodiac, Holidays, etc.

The Equestral Crystalworks are miniature crystal versions of Traditional molds, available exclusively through the new web site, starting in January. No subscription, prepayments or any of that required. (It’s a little unclear whether or not you have to sign up for the Breyer Collectors Club just to buy stuff on the web site.)

The Breeds of the World series are smaller-scale resins (in-between Classics and Little Bits/Paddock Pals) and will be available either via the web site or via retailers. In other words, they’re just Regular Run items that don’t require you signing up for anything at all.

I’ll comment more on the individual programs next time; I still haven’t had a chance to go through the magazine as thoroughly as I’d like. Company came over, there was some drama with the dog, carpets got cleaned …

Two Forward, One Back

When you’ve had the week that I had, the only logical response to it is cleaning, filing and sorting. I haven’t yet resorted to dusting though - if I’m not showing it, selling it, or photographing it, there’s absolutely no reason to dust it.

I mean, I do do it on occasion to keep the allergies and the cobwebs down, but anything more than once every year or so seems like an extravagance to me.

In the process, I finally got the "paperwork" for all of the newest arrivals done, too; this encompasses not just logging them into my personal collection inventory, but also jotting down all the relevant observational data about the models themselves, for my research. I hadn’t noticed until yesterday, for instance, that the Bluegrass Bandit mold comes with fully modeled horseshoes.

(Under the Sea is my first example of the mold, hence my not noticing it before.)

I also had a chance to unpack and enjoy my Sorcerer’s Apprentice:


I managed to get all three of the SR resins in the Tent; the Prince Charming has already been rehomed, and the Avalon will be, shortly. They are all lovely, but I break fragile things, so the notion of me keeping all three for myself was out of the question. One’s enough for me.

It’s not like I could have changed my mind and gone back for more, either. Silly Reeves people put every last one of them out Friday morning, with the usual consequences ensuing. So predictable.

If I’ve failed to mention it before, let me mention it now: I had the good fortune to have the honor of being the first person in line on Friday this year. Another BreyerFest accomplishment, checked off the list!

It was one of the coolest moments I’ve ever had at a BreyerFest: I felt like I was leading an Olympic delegation, minus the flag and the dorky matching outfits. (I’d be cool with carrying a flag, but no-can-do on matching windbreakers, serapes or berets. A cape? That, I could do.)

Anyway, what that meant was that for a brief, glorious moment, the NPOD all mine. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry, scream, or set up a blockade to defend my territory. Then I spotted the resins: it wasn’t just one, or a small selection of all three - it was clearly the whole wad.

So my thoughts immediately turned back to business: grab one of each while I can, before the horde behind me gets to pillaging. The samples could (momentarily) wait.

Good thing that I did, since the resins were pretty much gone, I think, by the time I managed to saunter over to the register. (Saunter? Okay, more like drag, with considerable assistance.)

If they do this resin thing again next year, they better darn well spread ‘em out like they were hinting before the event. Even though the NPOD was a little more sedate than it has been in the past few years, I think it has been, in part, because they’ve been doling out the other Store Specials that way. Even if it’s only tamping down the desperation just a tad, it’s a tad that seems to be making the difference.

If they’re going to ramp up the Store Special program with resins now, they might as well follow through.

BreyerFest Resins

Found a little surprise at the local Salvation Army today, on the way home from work:

Another Kay Finch Bunny! I already had one, but this one is in better condition - even with the broken ear. I don’t go out of my way to collect Kay Finch, but if the opportunity arises, I’ll go for it. I think I have four, maybe five pieces total?

I consider them more a part of the décor than part of the herd, along with all the crazy bird figurines that have mysteriously followed me home somehow. Hence, the fuzziness on the numbers.

I probably won’t be going out of my way to pick up any of the "Surprise" Resin Specials, either - unless the opportunity presents itself. I just have too much to do this year at BreyerFest to be loitering around the NPOD all day, stalking the movements of sweaty, stressed-out interns.

(Ahem, you know what I mean.)

I especially like the little one, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice; he sort of reminds me a bit of a Daniel Mueller Carousel Horse, minus the trappings. The other two are nice, too, but nothing stampede-worthy, for me. I might change my mind once I get to see them - like I did with the Radar, last year - but again, not worth worrying about.

If it comes down to choosing between a Sorcerer’s Apprentice, or a WEG Chestnut Esprit, though, I’m going for the Esprit. It has nothing to do with quality or potential resale value, I’m just going to go with what I naturally prefer.

(FYI: I have no idea if there will be Chestnut Esprits in the NPOD. I just picked something comparably rare and/or desirable for illustration value.)

Contrary to what some people might think, I don’t have anything against resins, per se. I have some Nonplastics in my collection - not a lot, but more than you’d imagine. I’m just not too fond of some of the attitudes that seem to come with the topic. Especially the one that assumes that Breyers are merely a stepping stone towards these "better" product.

That line of thinking doesn’t wash with me. First, there are a lot of less-than-quality resins out there that give lie to that. And second, quality - however you define it - isn’t, and shouldn’t be the primary factor for collectors of any stripe. It’s only one of many.

If you’re going to collect, you should collect something because you like it, not because other people like it, or say you should. I like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, so I might get one. It's not a stepping stone to anything but a bigger Breyer collection. End of story.