Triton

The flea market yesterday was a bit of a bust, for a variety of reasons. The past few weeks have been pretty good overall, so I can’t complain too much. Take, for example, a recent Salvation Army store haul:

Yes, that Dachshund is a Hagen-Renaker Brunhilda – with a broken leg and tail, but still a keeper. It’s been a little while since I’ve found an H-R Pedigree Dog, in any condition, and she has a sweet and nicely detailed face. (FWIW, I prefer them “pre-broken” anyway: I am clumsy and it takes the pressure off.)

While most of my most recent purchases will end up on my sales list – because my other rationalization for shopping is “I need inventory!” – nothing I’ve purchased will make me any serious money. Lots of bodies and mid-range Traditionals and Classics; I think the best piece, aside from Brunhilda, was an early and near mint Kelso with no mold mark. (Also not a keeper, but not for sale, yet.)

http://www.breyerhorses.com/triton

Not that there hasn’t been temptation to buy strictly for myself: the Appaloosa Classics Draft Horse Triton who appeared on the Breyer web site recently is adorable. He reminds me a lot of another recent release, the Let’s Go Riding – English Set Appaloosa Pluto:

http://www.identifyyourbreyer.com/images/1409_2014.jpg

I call this painting technique “splash dotting” as opposed to “splash spotting” because the spots look like dots. Reeves developed this technique – basically a much slower and more controlled splattering – to reduce the incidence of streaky spots that used to plague Dappled and Appaloosa paint jobs in the 1970s and 1980s.

Unfortunately, it turned out that this technique wasn’t any more realistic that the original splash-spotting: streaks were replaced with a handful of randomly scattered polka dots.

It looks like with the release of Triton – who is also Gloss, with metallic blue ribbons – Reeves may be acknowledging and embracing splash dotting as another technique in their Decorator arsenal, just as they now have with the original Freckle Red Roans and the Matte Shaded Resist Dapple Grays of the 1970s.

Those latter two colors, incidentally, were among the earliest attempts by Breyer to create more “realistic” paintjobs, per hobbyist demand. While they might not be realistic by today’s standards, they are still appealing on both a decorative and nostalgic level.

So yeah, bring on the polka-dotted ponies! (Just not right now for me, I need to buy some new tires soon.)

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!

Neat, or Messy?

I bought myself a little something when I went out Black Friday shopping on Friday - literally:

A Regular Run Stablemates G4 Driving Horse as a Knabstrupper! There was just something about his chunkiness and the black polka dots that said "take me home", so I did.

Another reason why I picked him up was because all the examples that I’d seen before had more random and irregular spots more typical of the standard splash spot technique, while this fellow (and the two friends he was hanging with on the clip strip) had the more carefully painted/placed spots. They are similar - but a little better executed, I think - to the spots seen on the Vintage Club Harlequin last year.

The recent Vintage Club Stablemates release of Jackson has a few of these "placed" spots mixed in with the smaller splashier ones. They are black, as opposed to dark gray/charcoal; if you take a look online, you’ll notice that the black spots on each Jackson are more or less in the same place.

I can understand why Reeves would want to perfect this technique: it would result in fewer spots in unfortunate places. This is especially important on smaller scale models like Stablemates, where a single bad spot could obliterate or distort a fine but essential detail, like an eyeball.

Yet I hope that this technique merely becomes another tool in the paint kit, and not the standard. As cute as this Knabstrupper is, he’s still a little too reminiscent of early hobby repaint jobs for comfort. The ones we did without benefit of reference photos and stuff, because our imaginations were better, anyway! (That’s what I told myself.)

What this means, of course, is that when I go to the store tomorrow, I’m gonna have to cruise past the toy aisles and see if I can get myself another Knabstrupper. The messier one, this time, because a Gallant needs his Goofus.

Making a Splash

Can you see why I think this Sample of the Retro Release Western Pony is so awesome?

Actual Splash Spots, yes!

I knew Reeves had seriously considered, at one point, going with actual Splash Spots instead of the masked ones: the Sample/Test on the back of the Retro Release box has them. Every time I’d go to a new or more familiar toy store with an ample Breyer selection, I’d always check out the Western Ponies to see if they might have slipped a few in the mix just to mess with us.

(My pony is not That Pony, though.)

Funny thing is, I didn’t notice that this little one was what I was looking for all along until several days after I had gotten home from BreyerFest. There were a number of items I had bought in the Pit that I hadn’t yet opened: it wasn’t that I had so many, but that I thought I’d appreciate them more at a slightly later date. Plus, it's always nice to have a few unopened packages lying around the house for a quick "pick me up" whenever a day's gone south.

This decision was made not long after I did open that Very Special Mariah’s Boon that, as I have already detailed, pretty much sent me over the edge. As much as I love that guy, I didn’t want to take any more chances of being gobsmacked, again. Those of you from Michigan know it’s hard enough driving the length of Ohio with a Michigan license plate; there was no need to complicate the drive home with an even-more-freaked-out-than-average Post-BreyerFest state of mind.

I had a hunch it was, though, and I know better than to question my hunches. Even if it hadn’t turned out as well as I hoped, I also gambled on the recent uptick of interest in "Vintage" collecting taking care of the problem, in short order. I sold a larger than average number of quality Vintage releases and molds in Kentucky this year, and it wasn’t just me: some of my friends also noted the trend.

Among the pieces I sold this year were a number of Appaloosas of the Splash Spot type, and I had several random hobbyists profess their undying love of the old-fashioned sloppy/streaky/random Splash Spotting technique to me, too.

I don’t know if there is any one factor contributing to this newfound interest in Vintage stuff, and old-fashioned techniques in general (Vintage Club, Retro Releases, or - dare I say it - moi?) but I’m glad, regardless.

Perhaps the next time Reeves considers another release in a similar vein, they’ll go all the way next time. We’re totally okay with the streaks and randomness, really.

Limbo

The flea market was lots of fun today, though it was mostly a "catch and release" kind of day. I’ve been attempting to reprice/rebag all my stock for BreyerFest over the past week, and it has made me extremely particular about the kinds of things I want to buy: not a whole lot.

I did find some nice china pieces, including a Ceramic Arts Studio Pomeranian who’ll probably be sticking around. If you had seen the box I found him in, you would be as amazed as I am at the fact that all his legs are intact and unbroken:

I also almost - almost! - bought a camel saddle. It’s not something you see every day, even at this flea market. The fact that I didn’t buy it is now bugging the heck out of me. That, and a big pile of African batik fabrics. I need more fabric like I need more horses at this point, though. (Oh, the quilts I could have made with them!)

I will be selling off some stuff via eBay and MH$P over the next few weeks, mostly because I doubt I’ll have the space or resources to haul it all down to BreyerFest. There will be actual choice items for those of you unable to go, for whatever sundry reasons.

Since I am too tired to go on any further today, I will conclude with a picture of a Chicago-era Test Color:

Awesome, ain’t he? Not sure what he was a test for - either for one of the Christmas Classic Appaloosa Quarter Horse Sets, or for the Traditional Stock Horse Family in Gray Appaloosa. His status - coming or going, selling or staying - is also currently undetermined. Just more unfinished business on my part, alas.

(Reeves, take note: now THIS is how I like my Gray Appaloosas.)

When, Not If

My standard work procedures involve me pecking away at several small projects simultaneously, based on my levels of time, interest and energy, with the goal of finishing them all within a relatively narrow time frame. (That’s similar to how work works, too - we run multiple work flows with the intent of finishing them up around the same time.)

It doesn’t always work out, but it works out well enough most of the time that there’s little reason to change it.

Most of the time. Every once and a while I get into a fit and I just have to see a project through from start to finish, RIGHT NOW.

Anyway, that’s my excuse for not opening up my Commander, even though I got him late Thursday afternoon. If I opened him, I’d have to deal with him, and until a few hours ago, I couldn’t. I have to work tonight (a new account, too, I think) so I’ll probably have to put off his unveiling until tomorrow morning, when my mind has room to roam.

One minor distraction I did allow myself was the one-question Vintage Club survey asking members about our preferences: Do you want Vintage colors on Vintage molds, or Vintage colors on Newer molds?

Y’all should know by now what I picked. There was also room to comment, but I didn’t: trust me, Reeves already knows. 

I am not philosophically opposed to Vintage colors on Newer molds, I’d just rather see them released in a different context or program - either as a extra release, like Gus, or as a part of some other program. (A "Retro" Club?)

The molds they selected to show us as examples were quite interesting, especially the Vintage/Vintage pieces:

 For balance, here were the Vintage/New pieces:

No promises were made about the models depicted in the survey - they were being used merely as examples of the kinds of items they were discussing.

Judging from the reactions I’ve seen to the Charcoal Adios, though, I think it’s just a matter of when, not if, on that pretty boy. (Next year’s "Exclusive", maybe, if he ain’t the next release?)

I liked the Gloss Honey Bay Pinto Yellow Mount more than I thought, too. When I initially saw him in that group shot they sent out last year (the one with the Morgan now known as "Halo") I thought "Nice, nothing spectacular". He looked like a glossed regular run Yellow Mount with added black points. (Something they've done in the past, by the way - anyone remember the BHR Bay Running Stallion, made out of leftover 1988 JAH Special Run? And the Small World Trakehner?)

No, he’s an actual Honey Bay, complete with four stockings and black hooves, just like an honest-to-goodness vintage Honey Bay.

And just to let you know, I’d buy either of the Nokotas in a heartbeat, especially the one in the Splash Spot Black Leopard. I like the mold, but I’d dig that color on anything. (As long as they actually do the Splash Spots as Splash Spots, of course.)

Black Leopards

Dealing with even more remodeling nonsense here: I had to clean out and move the other china cabinet. I sure do have a lot of breakables, for being a big, clumsy Buffalo!

Since so many hobbyists seem to be losing it over the Treasure Hunt Redemption Horse "Winter" - a Near Black Semi-Leopard Appaloosa - I thought I’d turn the spotlight on Breyer’s earliest attempt at the Leopard Pattern: the #115 Appaloosa Western Prancing Horse:


Yep, this one’s an oddity: no front stocking.

There are two variations of this paint job: some have dark gray stockings, and others have black. I don’t think there’s any consistency to the variations, at least I haven’t seen any. I used to think that the gray stocking versions came earlier, but my boy here with the missing hosiery has the USA mark, so it might be the other way around. It’s not something I’ve looked into yet.

When I first discovered that the Western Prancing Horse came Leopard Appaloosa, I became a bit obsessed with obtaining one. He had to be just right, too; I can’t recall how many times I upgraded mine. Then I discovered there were two variations to it, so I had to have primo examples of both. I found the guy above on eBay a few years back, and he became my representative example of the gray stocking version.

I have a pretty nice black stocking version too. And unlike Gray Stocking Guy, Black Stocking Guy has extra shading in his, ah, unmentionables. (A common feature on models from the 1960s and early 1970s.)


(The color difference is a little hard to see, I know. Like Chalkies, it's much more obvious in person.)

The Western Prancing Horse is another one of those models that was released sometime during the documentation gap of the early 1960s. Evidence suggests that he was a 1962 release, like the Running Mare and Foal, and that he was intended to be the replacement for the Fury/Prancer mold, who was starting to look a little dated by then.

The Appaloosa version of the Western Prancing Horse remained in production through 1973. In 1974, the Appaloosa Performance Horse premiered, as did a new style of Appaloosa paint jobs: masking replaced full-body splash spotting.

Splash spotting never went away, but today tends to be reserved for either reproductions of old-style paint jobs, or for models with airbrushed hip blankets (i.e. the upcoming Mid-States release.) Splash spot Leopards have turned up from time to time, too, but the Black Leopard varieties rarely come with the black mane-tail-point feature anymore. An exception was the 1990/91 Country Store Special POA:


I’m not sure what’s the big fuss over the new version of this old paint job. It’s not unrealistic; I seem to recall much oohing and aahing over a dark-legged leopard part-Friesian foal on Blab a few years back, whose photos inspired many custom copycats.

I think it’s a little bit of backlash over the two previous "owners" of this paint job: the Collector’s Choice Silver Matrix, and the BreyerFest SR Appydaze.

My negative reaction to Matrix wasn’t because of the paint job, but with the overuse of the Silver mold: he had already had his turn in the Collector’s Choice lineup, with Blue Suede Shoes. There’s no formal rule that a Collector’s Choice selection can’t be on a previously used mold, but with over 20 other releases in his relatively brief life, doing another CC Silver rubbed me - and many other hobbyists - the wrong way.

The Appydaze was a miscalculation on Reeves’s part. Having a model and paint job combo that was specifically designed for the younger set? A good idea. Making 1500 of them? Not so good an idea. You could sell over a thousand pieces of them - all of the other SRs that year were 1200 piece runs or less - and still have a ton of leftovers. When hobbyists see a lot of leftovers, they immediately think "That one must have been a dud." And regardless of their personal feelings about a model, most hobbyists tend to think twice before adding a "dud" like that to their herds.

It’s interesting that another model with a similar paint job - the Fest SR Ruffian "Heartland" - didn’t elicit the same negative reaction. Three factors at work with her, I think. First, the Ruffian mold definitely has its fans, or at least doesn’t get quite the negative press the other two sometimes attract. Second, she’s glossy: we’ve all witnessed the power of a Gloss Finish to drive hobbyists mad. And third, she’s a shaded Bay, not a flat Black: more shading and detail = greater perceived value.

It’ll be interesting to see what will turn up next. Most hobbyists are assuming a Gloss variation is on the horizon. A safe and logical bet, sure, but I’m kinda hoping for an old-school splash spot Leopard myself.