Lost Goodies

I wish they didn’t post that picture of the Gloss Bravour 54s on the Breyer web site: I made a commitment to finish my unfinished projects this year, and nothing I am currently working on can be shoehorned into a Diorama Contest entry. And it is making me a little bit sad, because I do love the old Hess Trakehner, and there are already a couple of them beyond my reach. 

A couple of the customs I’ve been tinkering with are looking better than I expected, but nowhere near Custom Contest territory: all my creative energy went into the garden this weekend, instead. It was the first truly nice weekend this year, and I had to make up for lost time. (Buckets and buckets and buckets of weeds…)

I suppose I could be optimistic and say that since this year’s Celebration Horse was not overly well-received, acquiring a Gloss one second hand might not be as expensive as I anticipated. Kind of like the latest addition to my herd: a Glossy Bandera!

Even though he was clearly the least popular of the Glosses distributed in the Collector’s Club Appreciation Event in 2017, there were still only about 125 of him made. 

Despite his lack of popularity, he’s not all that easy to come by now: I had been looking for one half-heartedly for the past few years, and the ones I did find weren’t at a price I wanted to pay. 

This one I happened to find on eBay, advertised as a run-of-the-mill Bandera, and I ended up getting him for less than I paid for my Regular Run Bandera. (Though, admittedly, I did pay “full price” for an extra dark one in the NPOD that year!)

It kind of fascinates me how more recent models specifically designed for the collector’s market can end up misidentified and/or essentially abandoned in the secondary market. 

Some of it is due to a lack of popularity (like Bandera, obviously) and some of it is via the distribution method: I always wonder what the actual percentage of “chase” Stablemates randomly happen to end up in the hands of people who just grabbed a blind bag or two just for funsies and got lucky. 

I’ve found WEG 2010 models and Vintage Customs at the local flea market, a BreyerFest Shannon and Excalibur at a sale advertised on Craigslist, and over a dozen MOC Special Run Hagen-Renaker mini Cocker Spaniels at an antique store in town, so I know it’s possible to locate these lost goodies on occasion. 

But in today’s super-heated collector’s market, it is increasingly unlikely, even with a mold as “unpopular” as the Hess Trakehner. BreyerFest Glosses, regardless of the mold involved, make collectors a little bit crazy, too. 

That’s about all the thought and consideration I can give the Gloss Bravour 54s, though: I have to focus on getting ready for my “one shot” at potential BreyerFest-specific treasures – the Live Show! – and finish planning for the other vacation. 

(I just booked the tickets and the rental car, so there’s no going back now: I am simultaneously excited and terrified!)

Bravour

I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised to see them using a vintage mold – Chris Hess’s Trakehner – for next year’s BreyerFest Celebration Horse, Bravour 54:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=2J2l1EiS44A

The original Trakehner’s mold number is also 54, which I’m sure is just a happy coincidence.

As a big fan of the Hess Trakehner, I do have some mixed feelings about this mold selection. 

The first being that I still prefer the first version of the mold with his rougher coat and thinner tail. I suppose it’s possible that they might have a few unpainted bodies of the original mold floating around the warehouse, but I am going to assume that any models painted from these will be pricey and difficult to come by. 

The second one is that we know there will be Gloss Prize models of him: I do not have a good track record of obtaining these things. Even though the mold is not as popular as it once was, rare Glosses of almost anything drive collectors (and prices) mad.

(The prices for the Gloss Nikolases are still straight up ridiculous!)

And third – something I’m already starting to see – is that there’s going to be a backlash against using an older mold to begin with. And when I mean an older mold, I mean anything that predates Huckleberry Bey. And he was released in 1999!

Sure, there was a period in the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s – the immediate post-Hess period – where Reeves was still searching for suitable sculptors to replace him, with mixed results. 

But it is a little disheartening to see hobbyists and collectors being so dismissive of the first fifty or so years of Breyer’s output. The Trakehner’s underpinnings are a bit light in comparison to his body, and he’s not quite as clean or refined as newer molds, but I consider him one of Hess’s better efforts from that era. 

I just wish he showed better: I’ve got some darn fine examples, and they straight up get ignored in the show ring nowadays…

Some hobbyists also fail to realize that with most portrait models – and especially the Celebration Horse – the owners are actively involved in the development process. Newer molds may have been considered, and rejected. 

As I have said before, mostly in relation to the more recent Arabian releases, cleaner and more refined sculpts are not necessarily more realistic or accurate. 

When I took my car in for a bit of work at the dealership last week, I found out the service rep was also a horse person, and in fact owned a Paso Fino. I showed her a picture of the new Premier Club Paso Fino mold Cancion, but she much preferred El Pastor: the new Vivaldi de Besilu release looked just like her old mare!

And I have to say that the prototype for Bravour is also a pretty good likeness, too. Thumbs up from this old fart!

Das Model

Today’s going to be a bit of a mixed bag. I spent most of the weekend pulling weeds and dodging tornados:

https://weather.com/storms/severe/video/possible-tornadoes-leave-trail-of-damage-near-detroit

Armada is where my infamous local flea market is, the place where many of the things you see here were found. Though I haven’t been there since the pandemic began, for many reasons.

And for obvious reasons the paper Samplers are still delayed. Just a few more days though, I think.

But back to happier thoughts! Like a thing I bought!

Although superficially similar to the 1987 Just About Horses Special Run, this Trakehner appears to be a Test for the Samsung Woodstock, on the Morganglanz mold. And since I’ve been casually window shopping for both Trakehners and Morganglanzes, I kind of had to have him.

In terms of Trakehners, the only ones that seem out of my reach are the Gloss Hicksteads, and the Solid Chestnuts that randomly popped up in Grab Bags back in 2008. I’m not sure I am even going to count the Trakehner Society Trakehner, because unless it comes with paperwork or an ironclad provenance, I am going to find all of the ones advertised as such extremely suspect.

This Chestnut Trakehner is also slightly suspect, but there was enough there to hang my hat on, so I went with it. I try to limit myself to only a handful of extravagant purchases a year, and this was it. I wanted the Classic Andalusian Stallion Unicorn from the same sellers too, but I decided not to push my luck after winning the Trakehner.

I am not going to see him as a portent of next year’s German-themed BreyerFest; I am a little skeptical that they’d pull the mold out again after it was used last year for Thorn. Morganglanz might be a nice choice for a Diorama Contest prize, but I’ve already committed myself to getting my ENTIRE STORAGE UNIT OF CRAFT PROJECTS (no lie) done instead. 

Besides, all the ideas I already have in my head are either too obscure (making a Breyer look like a Steha!) or kinda terrifying (I don’t have the legs for a Klaus Nomi costume anyway.) Kraftwerk, Fritz Lang, Der Blaue Reiter….

(Am I the only one that thinks a Wedgewood Blue Cleveland Bay with a darker blue mane and tail would be perfect for the Decorator offering, though? Pretty please?)

I am also thinking that if BreyerFest next year (crosses fingers) is in person, that it might be time I host an Ice Cream Social/Meet and Greet at the Kentucky Horse Park at some point during the weekend. The idea is only notional at this point, and dependent on my getting my nonsense together. But if it looks possible, that’s where my extra energies will be directed.

The Trakehner, Again

Well, the review of the Midyears will have to wait, because apparently my Magic Breyer Summoning Powers have manifested themselves again: there’s what appears to be a Black Trakehner in a box lot on eBay.

I’m not going to link to it because I’m assuming everyone already knows about it. It’s already at a higher-than-I’m-comfortable-with price, so it’s not like it needs the pageviews. 

Also, it’s fairly obvious that it’s not the identical model in my photograph: the hooves of the one in the auction are a different color. 

Because the hooves are even different colors from the front to the back, I gave it a passing thought that it might be a repainted Hanover, and possibly not even Original Finish. 

(And as if the matter wasn’t already confusing and fraught enough, there is also the possibility that it was a Hanover but it was repainted at factory, which can be a thing. Yeah, I know.)

Black paint jobs, like Gloss Finishes, are incredibly easy things to fake, and they can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from the real thing, even in person. I have a hard time investing a lot time or effort into something that has a nonzero chance of not being authentic.

This is, of course, all rationalization: something I tell myself when I know something is probably out of my reach.

Look, you know I’ll put in a good faith effort, but you also know that I am cheap and many other people in the hobby have legit lost their minds moneywise, so my odds of getting him are about the same as me finding an authentic dollar Rolex watch at the local Salvation Army for five bucks.

Not impossible, but it might as well be. 

The Telephone Game

I’m busy as heck right now and can’t come to the phone right now. Please accept this random assortment of Test Colors and Oddities I do not own while I try to catch up on my sleep.

I do have to say that out of this whole bunch, I’d probably pick the Trakehner because, you know, I’m a big vintage Trakehner fan. But I must confess, that’s one sweet Proud Arabian Stallion! 

I’m so glad that mold has gotten a recent reevaluation; he really was a teenaged girl’s Dream Arabian Stallion back in the 1970s. Now if I could only find myself a nice shaded Alabaster in decent condition...

Actually I could have owned one of these, but there’s a story there that I don’t have time to tell and it’s kind of boring anyway. Feel free to speculate which one it is while you wait to fill out your BreyerFest Special Run preference list!

Incidentally, since I’ve gotten a second complimentary ticket in addition to my VIP, my choices are (a) Seurat, because Seurat is one of my favorite painters and the mold looks great in that color, and (b) either Pollock or the Surprise, because the Pollock is probably going to look crazy awesome in person and I will then regret not getting him, and the Surprise because what the heck, I’m feeling adventurous. 

I would also not be unhappy with the Pinto Marwari Tassili, because I love these Chestnuts with the coppery undertones they’ve been doing recently. 

I don’t know if I really need another Esprit in my life, but I am also definitely warming up to the Apollo del Solis. Otherwise I think the only other shopping I’ll be doing that weekend is picking up the One-Day Stablemate and maybe hoping for an NPOD Grab Bag. 

I had no luck last time, but that was because I was so focused on getting everything else that it ended up giving up after a while.  

Apparently the Midyear releases dropped yesterday? I’ll talk about them more next time, when I actually have time to process them. 

Glossy Thorn

He took the scenic route, apparently, but my Gloss Thorn is finally here, yay!

Other than the “impossibles” – the Grab Bag Chestnut, the Gloss Hickstead, and Test Colors (naturally) – all I am down to are either easier to acquire releases and variations I haven’t gotten around to yet, mostly because of space issues. 

I don’t count “The Trakehner Society” Trakehner because I think 95 percent of the models being claimed as that are wishful thinking. The same way everyone was claiming back in the 1980s and 1990s that their lighter-than-average Sham just had to be a Golden Bay Kansas City Sham. 

Yeah. No.

Occam’s Razor, people: the simplest explanation is usual the correct one. 

The original #54 Trakehner release came in an insane number of variations – from light sandy bay to nearly black. If you find a random Trakehner that’s different than the one you currently own, it’s probably just another variation of the #54 Trakehner. 

And when you think about it, the likelihood that your Trakehner is a Trakehner Society Trakehner is almost vanishingly small, especially when you consider that when it was allegedly released, hobbyists (for the most part) were unaware of its existence. 

Look at how hard it is to find the Spiegel Catalog Pluto. Most hobbyists assumed from the photograph in the catalog that he was a garden variety Chalky Alabaster Pluto, and not actually an unadvertised Special Run. And consequently didn’t buy him.

They still managed to sell over a thousand of them – five times the higher end of claimed run of the Trakehner Society SR – but you’re lucky to see one for sale in any given year. That’s what happens when you sell something like that to the general public: for all intents and purposes, they disappear! 

I only happened to get mine because I literally logged onto eBay less than five minutes after it was posted at a cheap-enough-to-take-a-risk Buy It Now price. Back when my eBay luck was absolutely golden.

If I do happen to run across an exceptionally nice or distinctive Bay Trakehner, I’m certainly not going to pass it up. But I’ll just be happy that he’s a variation; and not hang my hopes on him being something even better. 

Suddenly Shiny

I spent a significant portion of the weekend working on my garden, which has improved my mood considerably. 

While I’m still not happy about the ongoing Collector’s Club Exclusive situation, I’m now too tired and too busy to raise any more fuss about it. People have chosen their sides in the matter already anyway, and I doubt I’ll be able to persuade them further.

Another thing that happened was that I also managed to finally score something I’ve been looking for: a Glossy Thorn! You know, the BreyerFest Special Run Appaloosa Trakehner from last year that nobody cared about, until it was revealed that it was the 50/50 Gloss-Matte Split model. 

I got the Matte one, naturally, and all the Glossies either disappeared entirely, or doubled in price overnight.

Man, I hate it when that happens. 

It’s part of my frustration with the “Gloss All The Things” trend in the hobby: those of us minding our own business, collecting more modestly popular molds, suddenly find themselves either having to pay a premium – or do without – because OMG GLOSS!!1)!!

It’s like my mild annoyance at the existence of honey-roasted peanuts. Don’t get me wrong, I like honey-roasted peanuts too, but if sugar-coating peanuts is the only way you’ll eat them, then my belief is that you actually don’t like peanuts, just the sugar-coating they come with.

But what do I know, I actually like ketchup with my steak, which apparently makes me a heathen. (Hey, I’m not a monster: my steak does have to be medium-rare.)

Sorry for the weird tangent. Back to the Trakehner!

I got lucky on eBay and found one at a not completely irrational price, which probably takes care of my retail therapy for the month. 

If I’m brave enough and not completely exhausted by the end of the week, I might actually go to an antique show this coming weekend – more for the experience of actually going to a public event for the first time in a year and a half, than for the actual buying of things.

Though if something happens to show up, I am not going to complain. 

(No worries, people: I’ve had all my shots and take all the usual precautions.)

BreyerFest in a Box

More technical difficulties this week, that (I hope) are finally worked out.

On the plus side of being mostly offline, I’ve been able to (a) finish dusting, (b) clean the garage, (c) sort and “triage” my quilt projects and even work on them a bit.

(The situation there is not as bad as I thought – I may still be able to hit my original pre-pandemic target by the end of the year!)

I’ve also – mercifully – been able to avoid most of the Online NPOD/Grab Bag “reveals”, which have become something of a sore point with me this year. While I am glad that I managed to get what I could get when others could not, that was one thing I was really hoping to “participate” in this year.

But alas, like so many other things this year, I could not.

My “BreyerFest in a Box” arrived Tuesday, and I’ve slowly been opening pieces throughout the week, as my emotional needs warranted. The first model I opened wasn’t the Surprise, but the Thorn:

I knew when they revealed that the Thorn was the Gloss/Matte Split model that that meant I was still probably getting the Matte, because my lack of luck with Glosses extends even to releases where I have a 50/50 shot (or better, with Lancelot!)

And as chance would have it, the Gloss Thorns are especially nice, and all the people who had him as their 5th or 6th choice and ended up with the Gloss are now either deciding to keep him, or using his “new hotness” to procure something more to their likings.

As you know, I do not play that game, so it’ll probably be a while before I add a Gloss Thorn here. I’m hoping it’ll only be a year, maybe, but the prices for a lot of not-that-rare things are absolutely nonsensical now so it’s hard to judge. Either way, it means I’ll have to wait.

(I was not expecting to see Kochab – the Stablemate MiniMe of the Duende North Star – going for nearly a hundred bucks on eBay, but that’s where we are right now.)

So I didn’t have a whole lot of hope when I finally decided to open my Surprise Friday night. When I took off the orange outer bag I could see that it was the Silver Dapple Black, so I immediately and logically assumed it was the Matte – who appears to be the most common color/finish combo of the Surprises this year.

And I was fine with that, since the color is beautiful and something that they could definitely put on all the things going forward. So when I took off the inner plastic bag and discovered this instead:

My brother and I used to joke that if Mom ever had the luck of actually winning the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes, they’d never be able to use the footage in their commercials. Instead of immediately bursting into tears or screaming for joy, she would yell something along the lines of “It’s about [expletive deleted] time!” grab the giant check from the hapless Prize Patrol people, and slam the door in their faces.

And only then she would have cried.

Yeah, that’s what I did.

One tiny bit of redemption in a BreyerFest that was otherwise not what I wanted, or expected.

Dusting and Revelations

My weekend was messy and complicated. The Samplers will be done tomorrow, and I’ll give everybody an update on them then.

Anyway, the power kept flickering in and out, the computer was being glitchy, I lost an auction on eBay last night that was important to me emotionally, I developed a sinking feeling that my BreyerFest purchases are stuck in limbo for the duration, and I’m in the middle of dusting which is not exactly my favorite activity in the world.

While I am generally of the same opinion as most of you when it comes to dusting – I only do it when (a) I need to take a picture, (b) I am getting ready for a show, or (c) the spiders are starting to get entirely too comfortable in the house – my family has been most insistent that I get this done as soon as possible.

And of course, it’s the only project this weekend that I made any significant progress on at all. In fact, it is going well enough that I might be finished by tomorrow, and thus salvage my week, if not my weekend.

In the meantime, here’s a picture of one of my old favorites who did diddly-squat at the BreyerFest Virtual Show, my beautiful #54 Bay Trakehner who doesn’t look like an off-the-shelf Regular Run Trakehner from 1979, but he is:

It’s funny, when I used to show him in the 1980s, he’d either get totally ignored, or he’d attract a huge crowd that would stand agape at his insanely awesome shading and ask me how I acquired such an amazing specimen of Trakehner-ness.

(Santa. The answer was Santa.)

At Pansies and Ponies last year several people came over to my table to do much the same, but the judges had other thoughts on the matter. I had high hopes for him at the Virtual Show too, but again, he became invisible. I could see that other Hess Trakehners were considered but alas, my beautiful Revelator was not.

He’s one of those models that I keep going back to when I think about entering the actual live show next year, maybe. Would seeing him in person persuade the judges? Or is my time better spent focusing on winning the Customs Contest first?

Inexplicable Things

FYI: Both Winx and Crystalline are currently out of stock on the Breyer web site; the Winx because of PR like this:

https://www.horseracingnation.com/news/Winx_is_the_newest_addition_to_the_Breyer_stable_123

The second photo of Winx on the Breyer web site looks very similar to the BreyerFest 2018 Celebration Horse Brass Hat, so I’m more than willing to wait for the luxury of handpicking.

They also dumped two more BreyerFest reveals on us this week, both Appaloosas. First it was the Sunday Raffle Model Fields of Heather, a Nez Perce Horse on the Akhal-Teke/Altynai mold because sure whatever:

Yeah, yeah, beautiful. I’m trying not to get too excited about this one either because aside from the fact that it’s a Raffle Model – and by its very nature, virtually impossible to get – it’s also on a mold I have some apprehensions about.

Mostly by virtue of its length: I’ve already given my heart to the Shagya Arabian mold, and I don’t need another three-foot-long beast competing for shelf space here.

And is it just me, or does this model bear some significant similarities to another Appaloosa release on another dimensionally-challenged mold: namely, the Traditional Black Beauty Sir Wrangler? (More of a coincidence than a callback, I think.)

What I am more excited about is this inexplicable creature: a Buckskin Appaloosa Trakehner? Named Thorn? This is also not a release I would have expected from this theme, but in this case I do not care:

While I’m “old school” and I’d prefer the mold the way it used to be – with the textured coat and the original tail – I’ll still take him. In Gloss, in Matte, and any Decorator surprises they might be throwing in the mix, too. All on the easier to find side, I hope.

(I am also assuming that the actual model will be somewhat less yellow in person, just like last year’s Clydesdale Mare Pepper was.)

With this final reveal of the ticket models, it’s very odd that there’s apparently no true “Decorator” in the BreyerFest mix this year. Makes me wonder if that means… something? Most curious.

The Trakehner mold has only had two other spotted releases, neither one of them an Appaloosa: the #732 Spotted Trakehner in Black Pinto, and the #702395 Kaleidoscope in Red Bay Pinto, both in the 1990s. Otherwise it has been all solids, all the way back to 1979.

And Bay. Mostly Bay.

Aside from my fondness for the mold, he shares a name with another character in another on-again, off-again writing project. While Khalid was my interpretation of the “perfect vampire boyfriend,” Thorn is “your best friend who may – or may not – be an actual dog.”

(A fairy curse may be involved.)

So that settles it: my two definites this year are Hamish (the Standing Black Angus Bull) and Thorn. Everyone else I need to see in person before I make a decision.

Partial Overpaint Special Runs

Man, I wanted Koh-i-Noor so bad, but the budget is definitely said nope:

Aside from the free postage, I do like that they added the extra incentive of variations: most will have 4 stockings, but some will have fewer, or none at all!

I’ve been wanting them to do the intentional variation thing for a while now. One of the weaknesses of shipping the bulk of painting to China is that it’s resulted in a almost boring consistency: with strict quotas to meet and Station Samples to match, significant variations like missing (or added) markings are even more of a rarity.

This is, of course, not the first time that Breyer has added some paint touch-ups to overstock and repurposed them as a Special Run. (Beyond Gloss, obviously.) One of the most famous – and one of my favorites! – was the “Golden Bay” Trakehner, made from leftover 1987 Just About Horses Special Run Chestnut Trakehners:

Approximately 467 pieces were made as a Special Run for Small World, who also received an even smaller run (97 pieces) of the 1985/6 JAH Special Run Dapple Gray Cantering Welsh Pony with gold ribbons painted over the original red that year.

A third Partial Overpaint Special Run occurred in 1989, when Black Horse Ranch had a 146-piece run of the 1988 JAH Special Running Stallion, with added black manes and tails.

The Cantering Welsh is almost impossible to find nowadays – there are less than 100 pieces, and it’s the Cantering Welsh Pony.

The BHR Running Stallion is moderately hard: although it’s relatively scarce by nature of its low piece run, prices haven’t been too outrageous when they do come on the market. While his paint job is quite lovely, especially for a late 1980s release, the similarity to the original #129 Bay probably suppresses his value a bit on the secondary market.

With the continuing popularity of the Vintage Club Decorator Gambler’s Choice Sailors, however, that may change. (I haven’t seen enough of the BHRs on the market recently to judge.)

But Koh-i-Noor? I don’t know. The Christmas release that he was leftover from was pretty popular on its own, but 750 pieces feels like a fairly large run compared to other Partial Overpaint SRs.

I see two different possible scenarios happening.

The first is that the stated fact that there are 750 pieces total of this run is going to skew the market. While it won’t necessarily affect the buying habits of most active-hobby hobbyists (who realize 750 is kind of, well, a lot), it will affect more casual collectors, who will see it as A Big Deal. Thus the prices will remain artificially elevated for a while.

(Remember the first JAH Special, the Saddlebred Weanling? Same situation. Prices are still a little too darn high for her, IMHO.)

The same kind of thinking significantly boosted sales of Reeves’s “Limited Edition” models of the 1980s and 1990s, well beyond that of the Regular Run models issued the same year. I remember getting into a super-awkward discussion years ago with a casual collector/dealer at the flea market who insisted that her mint-in-box #833 Dream Weaver was really, really rare because it was a “Limited Edition”!

The second (and more likely) is that – like other similar offers that had random rare variations – the rarities will almost all end up being resold very quickly and at some ridiculous prices, then the bulk of the “ordinary” four-stockinged ones will end up on the secondary market pretty quickly also, and at a minimal mark-up.

I have other things to worry about right now, so whether I get a Koh-i-Noor sooner – or later – is not a looming concern.

Grab Bags and Trakehners

As I was going to or coming from work on Tuesday (possibly simultaneously!) the notion of Grab Bags popped into my head. As in, "It wouldn’t surprise me if they broke out a Grab Bag offer while I was away."

Of course they did! I was home just long enough - and at the right time - to order one if I wanted to. I decided to take a pass on the offer because I haven’t had the time or energy to deal with the small handful of packages I’ve gotten in the past two weeks. Another box of stuff could possibly send me or my family over the edge.

(Even Vita. The little weirdo loves to peel and eat packing tape off boxes.)

Generally I’ve had pretty good luck with the Grab Bags in the past. I think some people are being overly optimistic on what "special items" may be contained within, though. I’m guessing it’s more along the lines of BreyerFest SRs, Mid-Years, recently discontinued items, Blossoms and other web site doodads - you know, similar to before.

Cigar Aintrees and St. Bernard Beethovens, rather than Vintage or Premier Club anythings. (I’ve been wanting a Beethoven, but they’ve been trying to sell the leftovers in the NPOD for the past few years at original retail, which I thought was a tad high.)

The super rare or desirable stuff has tended to be the exception, not the rule.

Here is a picture of my fabulous #54 Trakehner, who I received for Christmas in 1979. I’ve shown him around before, but I think you can understand why:

Most models have some degree of variation in their paint jobs, as a consequence of having multiple painters over multiple years of production.

The original release of the Trakehner seems to have had more variation than most in his six year run (1979-1984). I’ve seen him light and dark, brown-based and red-based, with extensive shading and none at all.

The earliest ones, like mine, were a bit fancier and more seal brown than the others, but the other variations I haven’t been able to date and track as closely, nor distinguish quite as distinctly. Sometimes I think they painted him the shade of bay they happened to have leftover from whatever they were painting the day before.

Whenever the topic of "The Trakehner Society" Trakehner comes up, though, I always take a deep breath. Like the Kansas City Shams or the Florida El Pastors, he’s another one of those models for whom many are claimed to be, but few truly are.

In fact, I don’t think there’s been a single verified one outside of the one with the unassailable provenance. The paint job is a solid bay - somewhat different than many/most #54 Trakehners, but not that far out of the normal range of variation we see on the original release.

So unless someone is able to give you some solid, inarguable documentation or provenance, the best answer to the offer of a Trakehner Society Trakehner is "No, thank you."

Adding Some Texture

Just when I thought I’d be getting one or two nights of reprieve in my schedule - boom! - out comes the revised schedule.

Money good, but sleep also good. Crossing my fingers for next week being slightly more plentiful with the latter.

For what it’s worth, I wasn’t meaning to be sarcastic at the close of my last post. Over the past several weeks I’ve had a number of people in my circle - friends, coworkers, other hobbyists - comment on the recent outbreak of "niceness" on the Internet. And not favorably!

While we all claim to desire less rancor, conversations and debates are a little less lively or textured if we completely suppress every bit of negativity. So I find it comforting to see that the hobby - to a degree - is still bucking the trend a bit.

I wish the orneriness was a little less predictable - especially the writing off an entire BreyerFest based on a handful of the 30-35 different releases they’re going to throw at us part. If you want models made to your exact specifications and desires, there are other avenues for that. BreyerFest is - or should be - about way more than the pursuit and purchase of more horses, new or used.

Anyway, back to some actual model horse talk. I had about a half an hour to kill last week between assignments, and I had a chance to stop at a toy store I don’t normally go to because it’s way on the other side of town.

They had some Icicles! I was all excited until I got to examine the three they had left on display: they all had overspray and/or those gloss "goobers" that have been a real problem for Reeves lately. Darn it! Oh well, that’s what I get for trying to save a little money on gas.

What was even more interesting to me was the assortment of Trakehner Hicksteads they had. I have commented before that the ones I saw previous had a very buffed or polished look to them, which I found a little off putting. I missed his slightly textured surface, which I think is part of the mold’s charm.

They had Hicksteads with the old textured finish. Sitting on the shelf next to the smoother ones.

What does that mean? I’m not sure. Did they manufacture some from previously molded stock, or are the "buffed" ones just subjected to a more rigorous prepping process? Gah! I haven’t seen enough Hicksteads in person to judge, and the ones I’ve seen on eBay mostly use the stock photo of a textured Sample piece from the web site, which is not helpful at all in judging the relative rarity of each version.

http://www.breyerhorses.com/hickstead

My guess would be that the textured one is scarcer. But that really is only a guess.

Of course I want one now, but it doesn’t look like I’ll be over in that part of town any time in the next two weeks, which may turn it into another Icicle for me - i.e., another item to add to the want list.

More on the Trakehner, next time.

Test Color Teasing

Just to show you that I am not always a complete tease, here are a few of those Test Color photos I mentioned in passing last time:

These are all fairly typical of the kind of Test Colors available to hobbyists in the 1980s, in terms of both molds and colors. Neat, but there’s nothing to them that makes them stand out from the regular Breyer rabble, especially to newer hobbyists or those not particularly versed in Breyer minutiae.

I wouldn’t mind owning any of them, mind you, and I suspect a lot of you feel likewise. Yet I rather doubt most of them would be competitive outside of Collectibility today. (That is a pretty shade of bay on the Phar Lap, though!)

The term "Test Color" is an awfully generic one: at its broadest and least specific, it can refer to any model that was not made as part of a production run. This could even include items that were once in regular production, but were not when it/they were produced. (My NPOD Big Ben might fall into this category, for instance.)

A Test Color could be a Cull, a finished/touched-up Cull, a happy accident (i.e. a mistake) of the painting process, a lunchtime frolic, misinterpreted painting instructions, a gift for a friend or family member, something done to fill up some downtime…

Or it could be an "true" Test Color: an item painted to demonstrate/illustrate/test a new or potential production run item, either a Regular Run or Special Run.

Some newer hobbyists, who are most familiar with the term through the BreyerFest auctions, tend to think of Test Colors almost as Factory Customs, since many of the ones that are offered for auction nowadays have a higher degree of finish than most production items. (I am always amazed that some get a little indignant when the tested color actually, you know, gets used a short time later. What do they think the word Test in Test Color means?)

The models you’re seeing above are likely the kinds of Test Colors that originated via Marney Walerius, a hobbyist who had somewhat free rein at the factory in the 1970s and 1980s. Sometimes she rescued genuine Test Colors from the various nooks and crannies of the facilities. Sometimes she fished stuff out of trash barrels and finished/fixed them.

And sometimes she made them herself: to satisfy a notion, to propose an idea to the Powers That Were, for compensation, or for various promotional purposes (live shows, raffles, tours, prizes, etc.) So in a sense, many Chicago-era Test Colors were Factory Customs, too.

Sorting this all out after the fact, as you can imagine, is something of a headache. An item that’s classified as a Test Color could have been multiple things: it could have been something Marney did on a whim, AND later got used in production somewhere along the line. True Test Colors were often given away as gifts or tokens of appreciation (or compensation!)

In most cases, it’s been easier to refer to a nonstandard model - something that goes above and beyond being just a variation - as a "Test Color", because more often than not, we will never know the specifics of its creation.   

Like Clockwork

Every year, just before BreyerFest, I always get the most …interesting hobby e-mails and phone calls.

This year is no different. Fortunately, none of it was "bad" (hit my quota a while ago, thanks) but unfortunately, it’s nothing I can share - right now.

Been spending most of the day finishing up the paperwork and printing stuff out. No major issues with THAT either, so far, knock on Woodgrain. All the phone calls have been made, and the proper authorities have been notified. All that really needs to be done is a bit of grocery shopping, vehicle packing, and (of course) the printing.

We’ll be in Room 312 again this year, or so the slightly annoyed clerk at the CHIN confirmed to me. (Must be someone new! S’alright, we understand. All we ask for is fresh towels and fully functional ice machines and ATMs.) Take the main/center entrance on the north side of the hotel, turn right and look for the flowers that usually adorn the room.

I’m hoping to not get too spendy this year; the only models I might be looking for with any conviction are going to be Performance Horses, Trakehners and a few variations you probably never heard of/wouldn’t care about anyway. And whatever strikes my fancy, naturally. (Test Color Roemers? FAM Culls? More Polled Hereford Bull variations? FAFs with belly stamps?)

I did buy a Trakehner recently. This guy, the Black Pinto one:

I’ve been ogling this release for a while. Not sure why; I guess it’s the combination the two things that always catch my eye: Black Pinto paint jobs and the Trakehner mold. The pinto pattern itself is not all that exciting or interesting, but he looks good in it. Plus this one has the brand - something I haven’t seen on most of the ones I’ve looked at. I’m not sure if he’s a genuine oddity, or just a scarcer than average variation I haven’t noticed before.

That happens more than you might think. With dozens of releases added to the mix per year - and sometimes, per month - it can be hard to keep track of what’s supposed to be "standard" for any given production model, and what constitutes a genuine deviation from the norm.

Sometimes I’m even the last to know, though I am loath to admit it. I swear I was the last person in the hobby in the 1980s to know about the mold change on the Stock Horse Mare (from "leg up" to "leg down").

Regardless, I’ll still be looking for another Spotted Trakehner - the more common one (I presume) without the impressed brand.

I don’t know if the Hickstead will be a priority, though. I saw one recently when I happened to be working near one of the better toy stores in the area, and stopped by for a quick look-see. The new tail was very nice, but he sort of looked like someone parked a floor buffer over him just a little too long.

His slightly rough texture was always part of his charm, for me. While some models have benefited from some "cleaning up" (I’m looking at you, John Henry) the Trakehner wasn’t one on my list.

Wabi-sabi and the Model Horse

I wasn’t expecting Halo to be the second Vintage Club release this year, as long time readers know by now. I interpreted Reeves words cleverly rather than obviously, which I should know not to do by now, considering my recent success rate on predictions.

So I won’t even hazard a guess on the mold for the BreyerFest Gambler’s Choice/Surprise model this year, except to note - as others have - that the descriptive term they’re using for it (CC Shuffle) is a reference to a style of line dancing. (So, something gaited?)

What I want is something with a saddle - Western Horse, Western Pony, Western Prancing Horse, Fury/Prancer - but realistically, I don’t see that happening. (Wouldn’t a Leopard Appaloosa Western Horse be awesome?)

Speaking of, I did finally get to see the Retro Release Roany Chestnut Appaloosa Western Pony last week and liked him a whole lot more than I thought I would. I didn’t buy one - trying to keep a tight rein on my budget, still - but if they should offer it up at a discounted price later in the year like they did with the Pinto Prancer, I just might.

The other new release that really caught my eye - and by surprise - was the latest on the Smart Chic Olena mold, a portrait of Topsails Rien Maker. I’m not the kind of person who gets super excited over Another Chestnut Quarter Horse release, especially on a mold that’s already seen a more than a few, but it was darn hard walking out of the store without him.

I loved the fact that - aside from the bang up job on the color, overall - they also incorporated the real Rien Maker’s Bend Or spots into the paint job. I’m not ashamed to admit that it’s those little details that make my heart grow fonder.

I think the first time Breyer actually incorporated a natural-occurring color "imperfection" into a portrait model was with the 1989 Limited Edition Abdullah, on the Trakehner mold. I was just as taken with it then - it being the Trakehner mold and a rather detailed paint job overall didn’t hurt, either.

(Sorry for the subpar picture - he really is much prettier in real life.)

The incorporation of these natural "flaws" has received rather mixed reviews, however, from hobbyists. While some appreciated the extra effort made to capture the unique characteristics of individual horses, others were dismayed by what looked like (to them) obvious manufacturing errors. There was quite a bit of consternation, for instance, when the 1999 Special Run Five-Gaiter Will Shriver came with only one eyewhite, and the 2003 USET Special Run Brentina came with white flecks, both reflecting actual characteristics of the portrait horses themselves.

Hobbyists are so accustomed to striving for perfection that any deviations from it - even if it’s something actually seen on the horse they’re trying to duplicate - tends to stand out. And not favorably so, in some eyes. 

That desire for a perfection that cannot be (realistically) achieved in real life is one of the reasons why I tend to think that the hobby can never truly be a "re-creation of the real horse world, in miniature". As I’ve said before, I think the hobby is more it’s own thing than just a shadow of something else. 

Striving to create the "perfect horse, in miniature" is totally fine, if that’s your goal. The wabi-sabi aesthetic is not for everyone. But surely there’s room enough in the hobby for both approaches - and the entire spectrum in between, right?

Letting Sleeping Molds Lie

This is the kind of week I’ve been having: the post I was working on for today just vanished, completely and utterly. I was typing along, making a few grammatical corrections, and then the file just disappeared. It left no evidence behind of even existing: no recovered files, work files, error messages, nothing.

Great, just awesome. As if I wasn’t already in a pretty cranky mood. It’s mostly due to work, the circumstances of which I’d rather not talk about in public. All that can be said is that I’m very much looking forward to Friday.

The horses have also been the furthest things from my mind. I did get a package on Monday that I’d like to talk about, but it won’t be until Friday before I get a chance to even open it. The anticipation is probably the only thing keeping me from randomly smashing things with my fists.

I did see, in passing, that the old Trakehner mold has a newly resculpted tail, for the upcoming Hickstead release. I haven’t had a chance to take a good look at the photos yet, much less see one in person, but I have to say that I’m feeling a little apprehensive about the whole thing.

I understand the need to freshen up molds to keep them viable, but with the Trakehner, I’m not quite seeing the point. We already have another, more modern standing Warmblood mold: the Idocus. Why try to make the Trakehner into something they already have?

I have nothing against change: my entire life has been defined by the fact that I seem to do nothing but. What’s jarring to me is the dissimilarities in the style of these more modern hairdos compared with the molds they are applied to. As someone who was trained as an art historian, I find conflicting styles within a single artwork jarring and obvious: that’s one of the things we look for. Sometimes, it’s the only thing we’ll see.

Hess’s sculpts, particularly his pieces from the mid-1970s onward, tend to be loose and impressionistic, in stark contrast to the tighter and cleaner styles that are more in fashion today. I may be committing a great heresy by even mentioning them in the same sentence, but I think the only current Breyer sculptor who comes close to capturing that impressionistic feel is Brigitte Eberl.

(Before some of you get your knickers in a knot, remember that style and quality are two completely different things.)

Anyway, like I said, I’m not quite seeing the point with this particular change in the mold. I’m a little concerned that the tail isn’t going to look like it "goes with" it, the same way the new tail for the Stock Horse Stallion doesn’t look quite right to me. I am a little too fond of the old Trakehner mold, and I don’t want to find myself reduced to obsessing over his tail.

Back to work, again.

Happy Grab Bag Day!

Darn these Grab Bags - I didn’t get anything done today! Grab Bag "Y" landed on my doorstep around lunchtime. The contents consisted of:

• WEG Mandiba
• WEG Jamaica
• Enchanted Forest
• Bats in the Belfry
• Pokerjoe
• Pharaoh
• Patagonia
• WEG MiniWhinnies Set
• Ponies Gone Wild "Gina"
• Pony Gals SM Swedish Warmblood
• WEG SM Reiner

Yep, definitely worth it.

I’ll be keeping Jamaica, Bats in the Belfry, Enchanted Forest, the MiniWhinnies Set, and the PGW "Gina." I may or may not keep the Stablemates (as bodies). Everything else will be put up for sale (preferably) or trade.

I haven’t settled on prices yet; I want to wait a bit and see how the market shakes out. I’m not too concerned about making all of my money back on my investment, but getting a little of it back before the end of the year wouldn’t hurt. I just wish other hobbyists would be a little less cagey about revealing their pickings so far.

I’m not surprised to hear that there are multiples occurring from box to box: it seemed overly optimistic of the "8 boxers" to think that there’d be 48 to 54 unique Traditional-scale items spread across the eight different assortments. Haven’t heard about too many porcelains showing up yet, which I find odd, but it is still a bit early yet. How I ended up being one of the early birds this time around, I do not know…

Disappointments: no WEG Snow Globe or doggies. Guess I’ll have to wait ‘til next year’s NPOD for a Beethoven. I was also hoping for one of the bigger plushie horses, for Vita: I’m thought she’d dig having a plushie as big as she is, to play with. (No, not THAT way - that’s what the doggie bed is for.)

My favorite of keepers is the Enchanted Forest. What a lovely paint job on this boy!


You know me, I’m a sucker for a simple, well-executed color. Which, in this case, is a rich, shaded chocolate bay with subtle dappling.


The Jamaica is really nice, too, even if he is just another bay on the Trakehner mold. I’m glad that that mold has had something of a comeback in recent years: whatever his faults, I’ve always considered him one of better of Chris Hess’s later efforts. In this era’s obsession with wild paint jobs, crazy hair, and increasingly extreme action poses, it's nice to see a lot of other hobbyists are rediscovering his understated charms.

Idocus and the Replacement Theory

Wow. I won a Valiant - third Connoisseur in the last six tries, and with just one subscription, too! Wish that kind of luck would rub off on the rest of my life.

I wasn’t all that impressed with the Idocus resin I saw at BreyerFest last year - he was pleasant enough, but seemed a little stiff looking. I finally got a look at a plastic one in person a few months ago, and changed my mind: being molded in plastic actually improved him. (Though I know some sculptors will never, ever admit that’s the case.)

He’s like the Trakehner mold’s sexier brother with a better haircut. Mon-el to Superboy, in comic book geek-speak. (With Smallville renewed for two seasons, there better darn well be at least one Mon-el episode in the works. But I digress…)

With the Idocus, though, I am reminded of something I call my "Replacement Theory": every so often, Breyer either consciously or unconsciously "upgrades" a model with an entirely new, but strikingly similar one.

The first "replacement" mold was the Western Prancing Horse: he "replaced" the Fury-Prancer. The Fury-Prancers were discontinued in 1961, and the WPH came out in 1962. They’re similarly posed, have molded on tack and removable saddles - and even their names are similar!

The second "replacement" mold was Man o’ War: he "replaced" the Race Horse. The Race Horse was discontinued in 1966, and the Man o’ War debuted in 1967. They’re both standing chestnut Thoroughbreds with molded on halters, neatly groomed manes and long tails. And the Man o’ War’s original name: Race Horse ("Man o’ War"). Here's a scan from the 1968 Collector's Manual:


Cue the spooky music!

See where I’m going with this? Is Idocus the "replacement" mold for the Trakehner?

Probably not, only because I don’t think the original Trakehner mold is going to disappear down the memory hole like the Fury and Race Horse mold did when they were replaced. (The Fury mold did continue on its own for a few years after - but only as the Fury, and that may have been a contractual thing.)

The original Trakehner mold, as far as I know, is just fine - physically, and aesthetically. What’s going on here is that Reeves is just adding another standing Warmblood to their repertoire - something in a sleeker, more modern style, much like the Rejoice was sort of an updated and more modern looking Saddlebred-like horse to complement the Five-Gaiter, who certainly hasn’t disappeared. (Hello, Gala!)

(No nattering about how neither one is a good representative of a Saddlebred - work with me here, people! We’re talking a matter of type, not quality!)

This isn’t my only silly Breyer theory. Most aren’t worth talking about, though, or even have much relevance to discussions of history. Though I might get around to discussing the "15 Year Rule" eventually, since the flea market season is in full swing…