More Retail Therapy

I’m feeling a bit better today after doing a bit of shopping. Aside from some necessities (a new winter coat, and a new barn jacket) I also found a grab bag’s worth of goodies at the local Salvation Army, along with a non-equine Beswick:

Since I live relatively close to Canada (less than an hour away) Beswicks are not an uncommon sight around here, even in Salvation Army stores. There’s a note on the bottom of this Kitty McBride figurine, however, that notes it was a souvenir of a December (Christmas?) 1977 trip to England. Not everything I buy comes with a provenance, but I’ll take it…

I was momentarily excited when another Salvation Army store I visited had a nice collection of Japanese clinkies, but they were all overpriced, and one of them was even missing a leg! There was a Wooden Breyer Stable there, too – the big fancy one with the cupola – that I ultimately walked away from, because I don’t have room for that kind of nonsense right now. 

(My inner 9-year-old, on the other hand, is still pitching a fit.)

I also bought something indulgent on eBay, but I’ll talk more about that when it gets here. I don’t normal buy vintage models at “full retail” but when I found out last week that I didn’t need to save up as much money as I thought for the new sewing machine, that money had to go somewhere. 

It’s almost time for the Winter Web Special to drop, and I am secretly hoping that it’s not something I am going to want: it’s not so much a money thing as a I don’t want to get my hopes dashed again thing.

My initial suspicion – since the release of Frozen II is imminent – is that it’ll be something on the Fjord, but it could just as likely be something on the Traditional Icelandic, and that would be a problem. I love that big floofy boy, even though I don’t currently own one.

My platonic ideal would have been the 2017 Early Bird Raffle Sokkar, but that didn’t happen. I will eventually get myself the Berries Ponies Series Honeysuckle in Palomino Roan, but as I appear to be one of the few people in the hobby that didn’t consider her a complete disappointment, I think I can afford to wait.

Actually, my biggest concern right now is a potential Winter Animal Special, like the Longhorn Olaf or the Eldora and Sol Cow and Calf set. I somehow had the misfortune of missing both of them utterly, in spite of them being both rather plentiful for a Web Special (350 pieces) and sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

I don’t even care what it is, and I might not even buy it regardless: I just want to be online when it’s actually still available for sale. As I’ve explained before, sometimes it’s not so much about the buying as having the option. 

Things I am not worried about at the moment: a Collector’s Club Appreciation Sale (as I already have several order options available at a moment’s notice, if/when it happens) and the Christmas Day Special Run, because that’s… not going to happen until Christmas Day.

I am also likely passing on the Premier Club next year. I can wait for a Regular Run of the Akhal-Teke, especially since the model looks about three feet long. Lynn Fraley’s work is hit and miss with me, and I am not as enamored with Kylee Parks’s stuff as the rest of the hobby is, though that’s partly a matter of me being leery of anyone with a short resume, no matter how impressive.

Boundaries

It was a pretty good day at the flea market, all things considered:

This wasn’t all of it, just the most interesting bits. (Looks like I’ll be doing that Christmas-themed Western Horse custom after all!) The ceramic Dinosaur came out of a box lot of figurines that one of my regular vendors gave me a sweet deal on, and the MiniWhinnies were in a bag of Schleichs and other plastic/rubber toys.

In other words, it looks like I am well on my way towards restocking my Dollar Table for next year!

(Before you ask: that Dimetrodon is definitely staying.)

Normally I’d be way more excited about the two aquarium figurines I found, but I happened to watch a video of the auction I had to miss on Saturday, and there were dozens (dozens!) of vintage ones there sold in box lots. I hoped a few of them would have shown up at the flea market but alas, I had to content myself with just these two.

I am a cheapskate, so buying them piecemeal on eBay or at antique shows/malls is not my preferred option.

How much is too much? I won’t pay more than five dollars per piece usually, and it has to be pretty special to me to cough up a fiver (or more) for it.

In comparison, my model horse spending limit is $350 for a single item. Not counting the two “Exclusive Events” I’ve attended, and all of the associated costs of BreyerFest, I think I’ve come close to that limit maybe two or three times?

However, relatively speaking, it is really quite a low boundary – especially when you consider how my tastes run.

While I don’t begrudge hobbyists who have higher spending tolerances, I sometimes do find myself casting a slightly skeptical eye their way. I’ve been in this hobby (and a few others) long enough to be wary of folks who spend a lot of money in relatively short periods of time: I have sometimes seen it not… end well, not just for the person or persons involved, but the hobby as well.

One of the foundational aspects of the model horse hobby was that it was an affordable alternative to the “real” horse world, and I’d hate to see price escalation push people away.

But this is also one of the reasons why I got into researching Breyer History in the first place: while I will probably never be comfortable competing with money, competing with knowledge I can totally do. And one of the reasons this blog exists is so that you can, too. 

That’s Entertainment

It’s amazing how much you can get done when your allergies leave you largely housebound.

(I did make an exception for the flea market this morning: my sales list has been a mere shadow of its former self since BreyerFest, and the pickings have been pretty good there lately.)

I even started a custom, but I’ll talk about that later: I started with a Family Arabian Mare missing three legs and an ear and covered in brown enamel spray paint. It’s going to be a while before I have something worth showing.

Here’s one bit of older news I’ve been meaning to cover for a few weeks, about Breyer’s upcoming horse-themed TV show and other projects:

https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/breyer-horse-toy-imagine-tv-series-1203262655/

This link provides a little bit more info beyond the press release:

http://kidscreen.com/2019/07/18/breyer-saddles-up-with-imagine-for-its-first-series/

It’s also mentioned in passing in a New York Times article about Imagine Entertainment from a few days ago:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/business/media/imagine-entertainment-brian-grazer-ron-howard.html 

The news initially dropped during BreyerFest week – which makes sense, since it’s referenced in the press release – and it did not surprise me in the least. In fact, I made the assumption that a TV show would happen sooner rather than later when they added Rick Rekedal (formerly of DreamWorks Animation) to the team in late 2017.

I thought they’d go with an animated show first (for obvious reasons!) And also because, as some of you may know, I am not a fan of most fictional live-action equine-themed entertainment: it tends to be formulaic and overly sentimental. Though this quote from the Kidscreen article gives me some hope it won’t be the Hallmark Horses Channel:

For example, while humans will play an obviously important role in the upcoming show, horses will be at the foreground, with an emphasis placed on their own social relationships, trials and challenges, and an element of magic will also help bring the animals to life, she adds. This insight comes straight from Breyer, who found that, among fans, the animals’ interactions and dramas are just as interesting as that of their owners and riders.

Though this part of the original press release is what made me go Wait, wait, what?

Along with the series, Imagine Kids and Family and Breyer are working on several other development prospects including a documentary about the history of Breyer.

(Looks at my giant wall of historical materials.)

That sounds... interesting.

Dear Flea Market: The Cowboy Cull

Originally I was just going to whinge about the new Unicorn Stablemates and how I am super annoyed that I will probably just have to order a box of them from somebody just to get some at a halfway decent price, but then I went to the flea market and this happened:

I found an authentic ca. 1950s Breyer Cowboy Cull.

With his hat.

(That was the best part. I didn’t even see it when I picked him up, and the vendor was “Don’t forget his hat!” If he had pulled out the guns or a box, too, you would not be reading this because I would be in the hospital right now still recovering from the shock.)

Seriously, flea market: we need to talk.

I thought we were safely out of range of Chicago for this sort of nonsense to happen.

The closest I’ve heard of such things happening was Lansing and Lansing is, at best, two hours away. We’re close enough to Canada that the occasional Beswick or Royal Doulton piece wanders by, and that I’m totally cool with and grateful for.

You might remember that I found a New Jersey Cull (the Quarter Horse Gelding Splash) here last year, which is why I’m understandably a little freaked out about this.

The rest of the flea market shopping experience was fairly normal. A few body-quality Classics, some craft supplies, a few groceries. I did end up leaving some stuff behind, including a pretty decent Gray Plastic Donkey, because after the Cowboy I was pretty much “I can’t even, anymore.” 

Technically there’s not a huge market for this thing: Culls are a bit of a niche item, and so are the 1950s-era Rigid Riders.

So a niche of a niche is what, exactly? Is it like a nook or cranny?

Since I dwell in that subniche – I own a Test Color Roemer, over a half dozen Black Stretched Morgan variations, and a three-legged Dapple Gray Family Arabian Mare that I’m not even sure I know what she is anymore – it’s a moot point. It’s not going anywhere.

Interesting way to get “model horse holy week” off to a start!

I have to go finish packing now. It is not going well, but I’ll manage.

The Homestretch

The flea market’s offerings this week are acceptable:

The boxed Walmart Mustang sets and the Stablemates were pretty… unpleasant to the touch when I found them. They’ve since cleaned up well, but I don’t even want to imagine where they were being stored previous to their arrival at the flea market.

The photos appear to be late 1970s or early 1980s vintage, and professionally framed and mounted. I originally thought the jumper on top of the one was Might Tango, but I think it was just the early morning mugginess that made me think that.

They are super-nice, though; I am still deciding whether or not to drag them to BreyerFest or not; I am at the point where I may have to leave a few things home, and they might not make the cut.

I took a quick look at the program – for the prices and quantities on the Special Runs:

711283 Newmarket - 800 pieces - $65
711284 Inari - 750 pieces - $60
711285 Dark Horse Surprise - 4000 pieces - $85
711286 Dead Heat – 1800 pieces - $70
711287 Straight Bet - 1600 pieces - $60
711288 Julep & Pim - 1700 pieces - $65
711289 Sierra Rose – 1450 pieces - $60
711290 By A Nose - 1400 pieces - $65

1765 Foiled Again - 750 pieces - $55
711311 Lonesome Glory - 750 pieces - $55
711337 Scamper - 750 pieces - $35

711291 Old Ironsides – 1250 pieces - $75
711292 Icabad Crane – 1700 pieces - $70

711293 Born to Run (Classic Deco) – 1500 pieces - $30
711295 Home Straight (Crystal) – 1000 pieces - $45
711338 Winner’s Circle Autograph Horse (Adios) – 2000 pieces - $25
711304 Hands Down (Stablemate Scale) – 3000 pieces - $10
711294 Furlong (Plush) – 1500 pieces - $18

Surprised that they’re doing 1450 pieces on the Proud Arabian Mare Sierra Rose. I mean, we knew a little while ago that she’s the 50/50 Gloss and Matte model, but it’s still seems like a lot for something that’s technically a Vintage mold.

The Elk Inari is at 750 pieces, in line with most of the previous Nonhorse SRs. He’s my primary want, and I’m not too worried about getting him.

4000 pieces on the Dark Horse Surprise? That’s a lot! Secretly I am hoping that they split the four colors and two finishes equally – 500 of each, basically – but I’m pretty sure that’s not going to be the case. I have to wait and see on that one.

The 1700 piece run on the Store Special Icabad Crane is also a little nuts. But a good nuts for me: that means he shouldn’t be too difficult to acquire.

The “BreyerFest Special Editions” (the Reissues) might be, though. Only 750 pieces of each of them? Sigh. I know that the Pacer isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but being a significantly lower piece run than most of the other Specials being offered, and being Glossy, I suspect a lot of attendees will get a little mercenary about him.

Everybody else I need to look at in person. I haven’t seen any of the newer Premier Club models in person yet, so I am most curious about seeing Straight Bet and the Julep & Pim.

The Classic Translucent Decorator Born to Run looks mighty pretty too, so that’s another possibility for me. Normally I try to get the Pop-Up Store Stablemates, but if this year’s piece is actually resin, I might reconsider: I am clumsy, and with dog.

Back to prep: reviewing the final draft of the Sampler, and doing my final sort on the sales items. (Something I usually do back in May, but stuff got in the way.)

Finding the Reasons Why

Another box of horses at the flea market, yay!

There are a couple of salvageable pieces in there (one of the Chestnut Merrylegs is drop-dead gorgeous) and one is being pulled for a possible project idea I have, but the rest are headed for the Body Box section of my sales list.

One reason I love finding boxes full of horses isn’t just because of the group discounts or the sheer thrill of discovery, but the story in the lot itself.

Every model may be a memory, but a collection tells a story.

Two identical Merrylegs (the one from the Slumber Party Gift Set) and two complete 2010 WEG Three-Horse Sets? This was the collection of two young siblings, not one. But did they actually go to the World Equestrian Games, or did a relative bring them back from a trip?

That they ended up at the flea market, selling for not much more than a song, could mean so many different things. Perhaps like most horse-crazy girls, they grew out of it, or thought they did. Maybe they finally got “real” horses of their own, and had no time (or money!) for imitations? Or… boys?

Those are the most common explanations. I was too excited to find a Box of Cheap Horses to stick around and find out the real reason why. It was a blustery day and I hadn’t slept well the night before, so once struck the proverbial pay dirt, I took the horses and ran.

The WEG Classics are a bit on the scarce side, so I feel bad about tossing the majority of them into the Body Box; while they’re not terrible, the demand for most of the more modern Classics molds – even scarce releases – is not high enough to merit an effort to restore on my part. One of the Gray Best-in-Show Thoroughbreds looks like he might clean up, though:

He’s very appealing in this color, and I do not have an example of this mold in the herd just yet; I missed out on the American Pharoahs on the short-tailed version when they were clearance out at Tuesday Morning last year.

This fellow might do. I’ll have to think about it. (It’s the pink hooves. They slay me.)

Here’s one thing I don’t have to think much about: some of these bodies are going up on MHSP by the end of the week. Since it’s still a couple of months until Kentucky, and the flea market season has just gotten underway, it’s probably best that I thin the box out a bit before it gets any further out of hand.

Opening Day 2018

Kind of busy here this week – aside from catching up on all the errands and odd jobs I can now do due to the improving weather, I’ve also been prepping my sales stuff for BreyerFest.

It is taking a little longer than I expected: that is because while I have about the same amount of inventory dollar-wise as last year, I have more physical pieces.

That includes lots of miniatures, dollar table items, books and bodies. Not counting the ones I’ve pulled out for my own amusement, I have about 30 bodies now residing in my Body Box, including a these additions I made on Flea Market’s Opening Day:

An Appaloosa Strapless, a Secretariat, a Roemer Flim Flam, and a Classic Johar! I probably overpaid slightly (there will be no significant resale profit), but they were the first things I spotted when I walked into the flea market, and the reflexes kicked in.

If the Flim Flam had been mint, he would be staying. Same goes for the Secretariat: he has the best shading I have ever seen on that particular release, but he is just a little bit beyond even my lower-than-average standards for a shelf-quality piece. Not that I was looking to upgrade, but if the opportunity arises, I will take it.

I also bought some non-horsey things I’ve already turned a small profit on, so no worries. Except for the fact that my Body Box is now shaping up to be as large as those of the previous two years.

Sigh. I do NOT want to rent a bigger vehicle for the trip. Nope, nope, nope, nope…

So far it looks like I made the right call with the Surprise Boxes: there’s nothing in any of them that makes me want to blow my Paypal account.

I suspected as much. When I took the e-mail claims into consideration – $300 in retail value, with at least 8 items per box – that meant, at most, you’d be getting only one or two really good-to-great ($75-135) items per box.

Theoretically it is possible to put a $200-250 item in there and then load it up on Pocket Boxes and Stablemates, but that would have felt a little bit of a cheat – and the weight of the box would also be a dead giveaway. Hijinks could ensue if people knew they had an extra-special box in transit.

While there are a few items that fit in the $75-135 range I’d be willing to consider, so far nothing that I’ve heard about or have seen (other than the Vintage Club Cantering Welsh Pony My Girls) are things I really want or need enough to buy a whole box worth of stuff for.

Back to bagging and tagging!

Clearing Off the Desk

Cleaning off the desk here today, so a few odds and ends follow…

You probably do not know this, but I am a huge fan of novelty socks, so I am very pleased to see Reeves kicking up their branded clothing and accessory program a notch and giving us Breyer ones!

http://www.breyerhorses.com/breyer-socks

My only issue with them, naturally, is that they did not appear on the web site until the day after I paid for my Vintage Club Clara and Mae.

If they’re still around when the next Stablemates Club purchase is available, a couple pair will hitch along for the ride. (One to wear, and another for the archives.)

My local Tractor Supply finally stocked the two TSC Specials earlier this week; I stopped by the Salvation Army next door for my weekly shopping run and decided to check in to coo at the chicks and ducklings.

I managed to walk away without buying anything feathered – horse or fowl. The Clydesdale Mare was tempting, but then I reminded myself that I’m saving up to splurge on museum-quality archival supplies for my recently reorganized hobby papers.

Since it appears that these Specials may be more limited than the standard TSC Specials, I may live to regret it. But considering my most recent attempts at speculating, maybe not.

Sigh. 

Not everything in my last box lot was a body when I bought it, but by the time it got here, they most certainly were. I’ll still break even with it – if it’s one thing I’m good at, it’s salvaging something out of nothing – but darn that luck of mine, again!

The box lot of unicorns I bought back in February was a little less derelict, mostly because I had a chance to repack it myself before driving it home from a local auction house. Among the treasures in it I didn’t mention before was this lovely pair: Hagen-Renaker releases of Freeman-McFarlin designs, I believe?

I’d love to keep them, but as I am clumsy and in possession of a small and highly destructive dog, they’ll be packed up for BreyerFest. (Sorry, guys: I don’t ship larger china figurines.)

Looking over my saleslist, I have to say I’m pretty pleased at my assortment so far. Since my vacation spending money is drawn from my sales, it looks like in this one regard I am already ahead of the game. I won’t have to put too much pressure on myself to “stock up” once flea market season gets underway in another month.

I’m considering taking a similar approach to all of BreyerFest this year: ditch all the self-imposed pressure of trying to win something, and just chill.

My Contest attempts are memorable and (so I’ve been told) inspirational, but they are bigger emotional and financial drains on me than you might realize. And there’s not a lot in my trophy case to show for it.

To put it in business-speak, my ROI has been terrible.

I do have some ideas, but as I am also on a bit of an efficiency kick, I am beginning to think my time and resources might be better invested in something else.

The End of the Season

The past few Octobers have been a bit of a wash at the flea market; aside from the weather becoming colder and more unpredictable, the vendors start tailoring their merchandise – and their prices – more towards tourists than regular customers.

Happily, that wasn’t (entirely) the case this past Sunday:

I could have brought home even more, but since I wasn’t expecting to find much, I didn’t bring much! There were a lot more books especially, but I wasn’t in a mood to haggle, and my sales stash is looking pretty good anyway.

The Breyers are all body quality, the Royal Doulton Pekingese and Norcrest Horse Head are from the same vendor who’s been supplying me with the quality Clinkies this year, and the Monty Roberts book is signed. Not shown: some groceries, a couple heads of cauliflower, and a big shopping bag of vintage quilting fabric.

Oh, yes, that really is an authentic, race-worn jockey’s helmet and cap.

It’s my size, too, because of course it is.

I have to admit there was some trepidation about buying that. It was not about the price – it was actually pretty cheap – but the pain and suffering that will inevitably follow.

I’ll interpret it as some sort of sign that I need to incorporate it into a costume idea for BreyerFest, because next year’s theme is “Off to the Races”, and it’s not every day that a jockey’s helmet and cap just shows up at the local flea market for cheap.

I’ll get all excited about it, and after finally come up with a “good” idea, spend way too much time fussing over the details. Then I’ll show up early, dressed to impress, and inevitably lose to someone(s) who either slapped their costume together at the last minute out of construction paper and duct tape, someone who’s costume is only tangentially related to the theme, or someone wearing almost exactly the same thing as me but not me.

And then my picture will show up either on the Breyer web site or their Facebook page.

Hey, it’s October. This is how I get in October. Winter is coming and I’m not a fan.

The latest Test Run Raffle thing – a Freckle Red Roan Quarter Horse Gelding – is also not helping. Another dangling carrot, so shortly after Cornelius?

Dialing back the depress-o-meter a bit, the flea market itself was a treat, a weird and mostly happy close to a weird and mostly happy season: there was no spontaneous karaoke, but there was a (taxidermied) Bobcat, a (live) Catalina Macaw, and some guy walking around with not one but two swords strapped to his back.

I was tempted to grab one and yell “There can be only one!” But I figured that fantasy was best left inside my head.

(I totally could have taken him, though. You know that, right?)  

Necessary Treasures

The flea market has been mostly a wash the past few weeks, but darn it all if the rest of the retail market is trying to make up for it. First up:

Yes, I managed to swing by one of the local participating stores yesterday, and they still had a Markus on the shelf. He’s obviously not the best of the lot – he’s got mane masking issues, like a lot of them seem to do – but considering I didn’t think I’d score one at all because of my work schedule, I am perfectly okay with that.

I’m not 100 percent sure he’ll be staying – that’ll all depend on what other necessary treasures Reeves decides to foist upon us through the end of the year – but until further notice, he’s here.

The Bubble-dappled Gray Stock Horse Mare and Black Tennessee Walker/Bear Reissues, along with the latest Stablemates Club release, are also on their way. It appears that the web site photos of the Warehouse Finds are more or less accurate, and these “reissues” are as different from the original releases as we suspected.

In other words, if you’re a fan of one of these molds or releases, go get ‘em! (FYI: discount codes work on the Warehouse Finds. So if you got one, use it.)

Oh, and this thing happened earlier in the week:

On the way home from work one day I decided to swing by one of the more upscale Salvation Army Stores, ostensibly to see if the vintage fabric that piqued my interest the week before was still there. (It was – and it was on sale!)

I had also noticed that this same store had received a fairly high quality figurine collection donation – including a (sadly, broken) Boehm. There was nothing that had to come home with me during the previous visit, but since I was there again for the fabric I thought I’d take a quick swing by the scary-clown-and-Precious-Moments section of the store to see if they had put out any fresh stock.

And obviously, they did! So in addition to the fabric, I came home with a Zsolnay Hedgehog and an early DW Hagen-Renaker Mallard Hen with extremely crisp detail.

So my luck with both Hagens and Hungarian porcelains continues!

(As for why there are so many Hungarian porcelains to be had, this area of Michigan has one of the highest percentages of people of Hungarian descent in the U.S., including me. I haven’t been to Hungary myself to visit the alleged family castle, but maybe someday.)

I’m just going to take all of these goodies as the Universe’s pre-emptive “so sorry for your loss” consolation gift stash for the latest Micro Run Cornelius, on the Brighty mold.

I’ve been trying to remind myself that I am not a fan candy corn. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s one of the candies served in the waiting room to Hades, along with Circus Peanuts, Spearmint Leaves and Ribbon Candy. 

But I am pretty sure I am still going to be disappointed anyway.

At Long Last...

Here’s a sampling of the goodies I recovered from the flea market on Sunday:

Yes, the Man o’ War is Chalky!

He came with his original box as well, but I’ll spare you the sight of it: let’s just say it did its job, and leave it at that. The model, on the other hand – well, other than a couple of minor mildew marks and pinpoint rubs, I couldn’t ask for a better example!

As you may know, my very first model was a Chalky Man o’ War, but I’ve been wanting to add another to my MOW family for a while. With the market being the way that it is for Chalkies, I had to bide my time until something showed up at the flea market. And finally, one did!

(Ah, if only he had shown up before BreyerFest, instead of after. I really could have used him in the Man o’ War display at the Horse Park.)

Honestly, I was actually very lucky to get him at all.

Just a few moments after I spotted him and his cohorts (the dealer had about a dozen pieces, of various vintages and conditions) and made my way not-too-leisurely to the booth, an old guy literally ran up behind me and started grabbing horses as well. I had to shoo him away from my “pile” – including the Smoke Western Prancer, above – a couple of times, actually.

And then he proceeded to badger the vendor about the price, rather aggressively and persistently. The dealer and I both knew that his story about buying them for his granddaughter was probably bunkum, but she eventually relented, if only to get him to go away.

I did a bit of negotiating as well, but (I hope!) not quite as obnoxiously. I was pretty excited to get the Man o’ War, and I did not try to hide it. So paying a bit more than I normally would have seemed fair.

Guys like that are one of the reasons why hobbyists get a bad rap at flea markets: it’s one thing to haggle, but it’s quite another to badger. And never assume the person you are dealing with, on either end of the deal, is an idiot.

Yet it is a behavior so ingrained in some of us that it plays out with distressing frequency, even at BreyerFest. (And I am not immune to attempts!)

The Western Prancing Horse I am on the fence about; his shading is magnificent, but I really don’t need another Smoke variation. He was the fellow covered in a gravy-like substance I mentioned before. He’s still a bit yellow, but considerably better looking than he was on Sunday.

The Beswick puppies also exist in a similar fugitive state; until I decide their fate, they’ll be chilling on my desk with the little Britains Donkey that came in the Hagen-Renaker box. (I don’t normally collect Britains, but he’s so cute and little!)

Meanwhile, Back at the Flea Market...

I am feeling a lot better today; I’m finally caught up on my sleep, cleaned up the office a bit, and even puttered around with some of the craft projects. (I decided to go with “carousel horse” on the Ponies body, since I already have a Unicorn in process. Nothing too fancy, probably in either the Looff or Dentzel style.)

The first official day back at flea marketing was also good. And weird.

Like, spontaneous Neil Diamond karaoke and two people arguing over the price of a monkey’s skull weird.

I had to periodically remind myself that I was not on a movie set, and that the things I was overhearing were not scripted. (And if you knew the demographics of this flea market, that’s not necessarily a good thing, but I digress…)

Here’s a small sample of what I found:

These three Royal Doulton Spaniels came out of the same estate as that box of Hagen-Renakers, so I’m guessing they’re the same early 1960s vintage; the two adults have been out of production since 1968. Even more exciting, the vendor told me he hadn’t finished going through everything in that estate yet….

Other findings included a Hollohaza Goose, some assorted china miniatures, and a fairly nice older #3123 Breyer Deer Family. There were actually two sets of Deer to choose from, because that is just how this flea market rolls; the set that came home with me was (a) a better deal, and (b) came with a story that might lead to a Vintage Breyer-filled adventure later in the week.

More actual Breyer stuff, next post. I still have some serious unboxing to do!

And Then, This Shoebox Turns Up...

Well, that was a pretty spectacular start to the flea market this morning, as I found it:

Yep, that’s four Monrovia Hagen-Renakers in a shoebox, including a DW Arabian Foal Fez, a Buckskin Quarter Horse Stallion, and a Bay Thoroughbred Mare and Foal.

Except for a tiny flea bite on the Foal, all mint. The shading on the Mare is especially pretty, too!

I don’t normally brag about the prices – or at least, give them out – but since those four aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, this time I will.

Five dollars for the whole box!

I nearly passed out, quite literally. As in, I had to lean against the car for a moment to steady myself. It’s about the best find I’ve had in years, in terms of cost-to-value.

I find the occasional broken or chipped H-R, and there are always a few Miniatures floating around somewhere – I found an Eaglet to match my Bald Eagle last week, for instance – but Hagens of this age and quality are a real rarity for me.

I knew I was about due for some good Clinkies (well, more Clinkies after the Boehm Schnauzer) but ooh boy, I was not ready for this. I would have been happy with a box containing their Breyer counterparts, for the same price. And those I could have sold, at least….

(FYI: All the other non Hagen bits are coming to Kentucky.)

The rest of the flea market was pretty darn good, too. No Breyers, but just about everything else a girl could hope for, including a cute Walker-Renaker Dog, another piece of Aquarium Furniture, an odd little wooden purse made out of an ancient cigar box and a plastic suitcase handle(!) and a beautiful little oil painting of a woodland scene that looks straight out of Tolkien. (But isn’t. Probably predates it by a couple of decades.)

So yes, a very good day at the flea market. The kind of day you want to capture in a bubble forever.

Back to my prep.

Comfort Food

Since I’m deep into “BreyerFest Crunch Time” and I’m running on not that much sleep, here’s a picture the most relevant finds from an amazing flea market Sunday:

Not going to lie, the most exciting find of the bunch (for me) was the Gloss Palomino Family Arabian Stallion. He’s not particularly rare, or in superior condition, though this one does have really nice color and shading (Gloss Palomino is one of those few colors that can get away with the overspray).

No, it’s because I didn’t have many Family Arabians on the sales list, outside of my Body Box, and the Vintage Club Family Arabian Stallion Ali just came out.

Even prior to the Vintage Club announcement last year, the fortunes of Family Arabians have been on the rise, and I haven’t had any issues turning them over on my sales list. There’s apparently such a “shortage” that the past few years I’ve even had people asking for them at BreyerFest.

I’ve been trying to keep a few in reserve this year, but the temptation to sell plus the lack of local finds have left me with a serious Family Arabian deficit.

This hasn’t always been the case – even now, I’d wager, there are people who’d be more than willing to dump all of their excess Family Arabians at my door and run.

(But seriously, don’t. I’m already at “how am I going to fit all these things into my car?” territory, and my latest box lot hasn’t even arrived yet. Yikes!)

It’s a combination of things working in the Family Arabians favor: they’ve come in a ton of different colors, they’re still relatively cheap (with some exceptions), they can be challenging to find in good or better condition, and oh-so-many variations.

They’re not the prettiest, or the most correct, or very typey, and outside of a few rarities (the Sorrels, the Solid Blacks, vintage Chalkies, etc.) not very valuable. But most of us have had one, two, or a dozen in our collecting lifetimes, and the sentimentality tends to trump all those qualms.

I guess they’re sort of like the comfort food of the model horse world.

The Five-Gaiter is older with very neatly painted ribbons and is also going on the sales list; the Hartland Buckskin Polo Pony has some marks and some seam splits, but might be staying as an upgrade.

A Different Kind of Blind Bag...

I wasn’t planning on going to the flea market today – it rained last night, and that tends to scare off some of the more delicate flowers – but I threw caution to the wind, and I was rewarded for my efforts:

Not quite the “blind bag” I was hoping for, but I’ll take it!

Don’t freak out, they’re mostly bodies. I got them inexpensively enough that I didn’t object when the lady decided to stuff them all in a single bag. One of two of them might end up in my personal project box, but the rest are going to ‘Fest.

And here I was worried I wouldn’t have as plentiful a body box as I had last year! Piffle…

Incidentally, I have now reached the point of my BreyerFest prep where I want to do nothing more than hide in the basement and work on my quilts.

Everything is actually going fairly well and according to plan. The only hangups I’m having are my sales list – I haven’t had the time to dig through my storage boxes as I planned – and the costume, which I am just not feeling right now. I know what I have to do with it, and I have all the supplies on hand, I’d just rather work on other things.

There have been a few scheduling issues at work that have been distracting me too, but there’s nothing to be done on that front until after Kentucky.

Not much else I want to say today, other than I finally broke down and bought the Web Exclusive Fiona and Rory set. (Still available on the Breyer website, though you do have to do some searching.)

I had a little extra cash in the Paypal account, and I’ve been really good this year, budget-wise. So I figured I was entitled to a couple of sparkly black ponies!

Patina

I wasn’t holding out much hope for the flea market this weekend – the weather reports were a bit iffy, and that tends to depress the turnout – but look who showed up in the last aisle during my last walk through…

… a mid-1960s Matte Bay Clydesdale Stallion with gold bobs and big handpainted eyewhites! He has just a few minor condition issues – slight yellowing, a couple of nicks, eartip rubs – all the usual stuff you’d expect in a fifty year old model, and what other hobbies would classify as desirable “patina”.

(He was actually a little more suspect-looking at the flea market, but he managed to clean up better than I expected.)

Desirable is definitely a word to describe him! He’s such a pretty boy I am tempted to keep him – I’m almost certain that I don’t have this particular variation in my multitudes of Bay Clydesdales, and his shading is outstanding – but I have a lot of things on my plate right now, and I haven’t had the time to cull the herd for potential sales items as I planned.

I am not letting him go for a lack of fondness for the release: none of my other Bay Clydesdales are going anywhere. It’s just easier to let more recent arrivals go, especially this close to BreyerFest.

There is also the issue of space: there is only so much room in the house for variations. (Perish the thought!)

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.

Not Basic Black

You could say my first visit to the flea market this season was successful. Lots of odds and ends, but I suppose it’s the horses y’all are most interested in. One of my regular dealers had a large and plentiful box of 1990s Traditionals that I had my pick from, and these three tickled my fancy the most:

Since I’m still on budget lockdown, I’ll be limiting myself to just keeping one of them, and it’s most likely going to be the Friesian. I only have one other Friesian in my collection currently – the Celebration Model of Fire Magic – and I’ve been meaning to add another example of this Jeanne Mellin Herrick mold to the herd for a while now.

Especially one of the “Dark Gray/Charcoal” variations. And this fellow is, happily for me!

The late 1980s and early 1990s are considered one of the lower points of Breyer’s quality control; it took a few years for Reeves to get the hang of actually manufacturing something, rather than just distributing it. It also took them a few years to cultivate a stable of new sculptors and moldmakers to fill the very big void left by Chris Hess’s departure.

One of the things they managed to get right in this time period, or at least made more interesting, was the color Black.

I’m not sure why it was decided that, of all things, they needed to focus on their Black paint jobs. Perhaps because the beloved body-shaded Black of the 1960s, seen on the likes of the Stretched Morgan and the Grazing Mare and Foal, wasn’t coming back, either? Like Hess, the painters who had mastered that technique were gone by then, too.

Out of this experimentation we got the “Black-pointed Charcoal” of the early Friesians, the purplish “Plum Black” of the 1991 Show Special Saddlebred Weanling Raven, and the near-black “Mahogany” of the Adios Mesa and the #822 Morgan release of the Justin Morgan mold.

Among others: even good old-fashioned Gloss Charcoal came back after a nearly 20 year hiatus, on 1992’s Midnight Sun release Memphis Storm.

Just more reasons why I’m not as quick as others to dismiss a Black paint job. Or two, three or four of them. They could be all the same. But they could be all different, too! It is practically a cliche by now, but you really cannot judge a model by its promo picture.

Speaking of... I had previously been somewhat indifferent to the Carrick mold, but I saw some Cortes C models in person last week, and by golly he looks amazing in Black. I was not expecting that!

Not the Surprise I Was Expecting. Still Good!

Well, Wednesday was a surprise – just not the one I expected!

So anyway, here’s what happened. I was feeling my oats a bit on Tuesday, and decided to take a quick cruise of the local Craigslist. I normally don’t have a whole lot of luck there; either I’m too late, or it’s too far away, or prices are in the “You want What for What?” range.

I found an ad, and it was local. And the ad had been posted the day before. The work event that I had to be at on Wednesday was rescheduled for next week, so I had the time.

When I got there, here’s what I found:

Whee! Horsies!

It's a collection of about 90 or so models, mostly Breyer but some Stones and Resins. Most are from the late 1990s and early 2000s, the collection of a former hobbyist who lost interest in the hobby a while ago. The collection has been packed up since then. They are in fairly good shape overall, though some have minor nicks, dings and slight yellowing. The Silver Comet (Polo Pony) is bloated, and a few of the older models probably fall into body box territory.

There don't appear to be a lot of matched sets – it looks like the QVC horses were bought individually, for instance. Many models were bought at BreyerFest in the late 1990s - as the Bold, Excalibur, Rhodonites and Shannon attest.

The Eustis wasn’t technically a part of the sale, though I was told that offers would be considered. He had two chipped ears and a cracked tail, but seemed otherwise lovely.

Off in the upper left of one photo is a small box of tack, some by Elaine Sulser. (That Legionario over there had a broken/missing foot). There were a few boxed items, including a Cream of Tartar, Belgian Toby (without tack) and a Chestnut Pinto Lady Phase. Maybe a Gifted, too, I forget; I was so busy chatting that I forgot to take notes on that little group. The boxes were not in collectible shape, but the horses appear to be.

Yes, that’s an Extreme Justice laying on the table below. Not something I expected to find out here! He seemed fairly nice, but I was too busy chatting it up to take extensive notes on him. You know me, I’m not a huge resin person anyway:

So anyway, the ad is still up on Craigslist – I’m in Southeastern Michigan, to give you a head’s up where to look – and I’m about 25-30 minutes from the seller, if you want me to go take additional pictures or do pick ups for you. The seller is very motivated to get them sold, and the prices were reasonable, and negotiable.

And I know you’re ready to ask the question: Yes, I bought the Excalibur and the Shannon for myself!

(My office doesn’t normally look that bad. No, really! Dog + Holidays + Work, I swear.)

I had been wanting these two for years – the circumstances of the BreyerFests they were distributed at basically prevented me from even really trying to get them. I was on strict orders from my dermatologist to stay out of the sun the year they sold Shannon. And I was delayed for some reason getting to the KHP with the Excalibur; by the time I did get there I was way too far back in the line to make it worth my while, especially since they were having both technical and communication difficulties.

So I chalked these up as two models on my "not likely to get, ever" list. Either the timing, or the prices were never right.

Until today! Yay!

The flaws on these two are fairly minor – nose rub and a burnish mark on the neck of Excalibur, and a couple of pinpoint chips and a slightly bent hind leg on the Shannon. Moot, really, since they aren’t going anywhere.

My two "Surprise" boxes are still sitting on my porch, and have been there since I got home. Whether or not I got anything special is almost moot now, you know?

I attained two grails, and came home with a fun story to tell: anything else I got today will be the candy sprinkles on a chocolate cupcake day.

Cheetahs and Memories

I’ve had this picture for a couple of months now, and I’ve been wanting to post it here, but I haven’t quite found the right angle. But now I think I have, so here you go:

Yes, it’s an old taxidermy mount of a cheetah. Wearing a hat.

So, what does this have to do with Breyers or Breyer History, other than being an indirect reference to the Cheetah in the Chris Hess Wilderness Animal Series?

More than you might think.

Those of you who know me well (or better) know that I have a wealth of stories to tell – some about my family, some about the strange things that only seem to happen to me (a potential blog in and of itself), and quite a few about the hobby.

I alluded to one such story – about the Cheetah, above – in a post from about a year ago about the Solid Black Morgan:

http://breyerhistorydiva.blogspot.com/2014/10/solid-black-morgan.html

Whenever I do tell the extended story of the weirdest things I’ve ever found at the flea market, the Cheetah usually comes up, partly because of the fabulous punchline: Oh, and by the way, it was wearing a hat.

It never fails to get at least an eyeroll from my audience.

It wasn’t until I was doing a search for something else entirely that I ran across a photo of the fabled beast. It really is him, and not something just like him, though I suppose with my track record that wouldn’t be out of the question, either…

Anyway, I knew it was real, but everyone else has just assumed that it had to be real because (1) it’s me doing the talking, and (2) the story is just too strange for it not to be real. There was no actual proof that this thing ever existed, except in my stories.

This is actually a significant problem in the model horse hobby. Because of the Breyer’s lackluster recordkeeping, and significant gaps in our ephemera stockpiles (especially for the 1959-1962 era) we tend to rely a great deal on stories that have been handed down, told and retold.

While there does tend to be a kernel of truth in many of these stories, there’s often no actual proof, other than the believability of the narrator and whether or not it fits the narrative we’ve already constructed.

That’s why I continue to look for evidence of things that we “know” to be true – because, in actuality, it might not be. Memory is a funny thing, and not 100 percent reliable, especially as the moment the memory was made rolls further away into the past.

That Cheetah is pretty much the way I remembered it though. Which is both reassuring, and disturbing.