Whiter Shades

That was a surprisingly productive weekend, especially considering it was only 24 hours long for me. Finally finished that one stupid quilt project that refused to be finished, started another, cleaned out some old financial paperwork, and did a bit of prep work on my taxes!

I know I told myself not to buy stuff this year, but (alas) I relented again. My rationale this time: it was cheap and something I wanted!

He’s the later black-eyed version with not a lot of shading, but he’s snowy white and in excellent condition, other than a couple of small stains and hoof edge rubs. And I got him for about the current cost of an off-the-shelf Traditional.

I’ll still need to get the original pink-eyed “Albino” version one of these days, but I suspect I’ll have to cough up a little more cash for that one. They command slightly higher prices not just because they’re earlier pieces, but because they tend to look a little bit fancier, with the pink eyes and extra shading.

I’ve noticed that regardless of the variation – black-eye or pink-eye – the White Five-Gaiters don’t seem to yellow as much as other White/Alabaster/Albino models from the same era. 

Even back then Breyer was aware of Cellulose Acetate’s tendency to yellow or mellow over time, especially when they used a lot of regrind (reground, recycled plastic). I wonder if they purposefully used fresh CA whenever they manufactured the Albino Five-Gaiter because the yellowing would be just that much more noticeable? 

Or was it the fact that he wasn’t as popular as his Palomino or Sorrel siblings? The Albino Five-Gaiter was discontinued by the end of 1966, while the Palomino stuck around through 1971, and the Sorrel until 1986. Fewer models = fewer models that will turn yellow.

Or with him being one of the fancier paint jobs of the era, maybe the majority of them lived the decorative life in a window?

There is also the strong possibility that it is all just a coincidence and I am reading way too much into it. That happens a lot in historical research, especially when so much of the evidence is lost and we have to deduce things from what was left behind: in our case, the models themselves.

That Dapple Gray Shire

Lafayette is here, but I won’t be able to open him until Friday or Saturday, depending on how my schedule works out.  (It’s been a “Where am I? What day is it? Who bought this cheese?” kind of week.)

I just ordered a new computer yesterday, so there may be a little wonkiness with my posting schedule for the next week as I get everything switched over and reconfigured. 

To be honest, I had been needing a new computer since last year, but I put it off as long as possible because it’s always such a hassle to get everything just the way I want it. But with the ongoing video project and a couple of small but tidy sums coming in the mail that would amply cover the cost, it was time. 

We also got some new lighting installed in the basement that’s a huge improvement over the previous lighting. Here’s a plain, unretouched test shot of the Dapple Gray Shire from the “Dirty Pony Lot” that’s been slowly deyellowing in the window:

Because Winter Sun is weaker than Summer Sun, she’s still got a long way to go, but she is getting better. As you can see, she has some amazing dappling and shading; what is a little less obvious are some condition issues, first and foremost these two factory flaws:

The smudge in her dappling is underneath the clear topcoat, and was obviously something that happened during the actual dappling process. 

The weird bubbly mark on the middle of her barrel is a contact mark: either she was touching another model on the painting rack while she was drying, or she fell over or got knocked over before she was dry and her barrel made contact with another surface – table, wall or floor. 

Both of these flaws passed QC because (a) standards were a little bit looser then, and (b) they both kind of blend in with the paint job. Yellowing has definitely made the contact mark more visible, and will become less so as she whitens up again.

When I hear some collectors complain that “paint jobs were so much better THEN” (i.e. in Chicago) I have to take a deep breath before I respond to any of it. 

If you look at older pieces like this Shire objectively, it’s… simply not true. Either one of these marks on a newer model, and some hobbyists would be ready to fly to New Jersey just for the satisfaction of yelling at someone in person for this. 

But what many hobbyists are actually saying when they make comments like that is expressing a justifiable admiration of the skill and dexterity of the painters of the Chicago era, who were able to do so much with so little. 

Colored by nostalgia: the Breyers of your youth, alas, are not immune to the powers of the Suck Fairy.

I still haven’t decided whether she’s a keeper or not. I’ll stick her back in the window and see what she looks like, come late April or May. 

Soap, Water and Sunlight

You know me, I love a good fixer-upper, and I couldn’t resist this one when I found him on eBay for less than a price of a new Traditional at current retail:

While I am certainly not averse to a challenge, there’s nothing better than finding a rare model for cheap who only needs soap, water and sunlight!

The soap and water part almost done; the hard part now is in finding an open windowsill. Many members of my “dirty pony box lot” are currently occupying most of the available real estate, and they are as yellow – or even more so – than the new kid.

But I hope to sell most of those guys this year, and the Mustang is staying, so I’ll just have to be patient.

The #85 Alabaster or “Albino” Mustang isn’t a particularly rare vintage model: he was made from ca. 1961 through 1966, and that was a respectable run for models made in that era. The hardest part is finding one without significant rubs in his gray body shading and mane and tail.

Because it requires a light and delicate touch, gray shading on white or nearly white models can be quite fragile, especially on Matte-Finished models from the 1970s onward. Typically, the gray shading was one of the last layers of paint added to the model, sometimes on top of the matte clear coat that gave those models their soft, powdery-matte finishes in the first place.

Gloss-finished models, on the other hand, are a bit of crapshoot. Sometimes the gray shading was applied first and then the model was glossed, and sometimes the gray shading was applied over the Gloss. 

The ones with the gray shading under the Gloss, understandably, tend to weather the years better than the ones with the shading over the Gloss. 

My newest addition appears to be the “shaded under” version, but I’m still taking my time cleaning him – partly to be cautious, but also because I’m rather enjoying the process.  

Soap and Sunshine

Here’s an updated picture of those two Gloss Alabaster Family Arabians that came in an especially dirty box lot a while back:

Originally I was going to leave them as-is, as an “ultimate” example of grubbiness, but after nearly a year of their sad faces peering over the monitor in my office, I had to do something.

They still have a ways to go in the unyellowing process, but here’s what the other side still looks like, to give you an idea of how far they have come:

You might think that’s bad, but it’s a considerable improvement over what they originally looked like before they even hit the bathtub:

They were literally so grimy you could not even tell they were Gloss! The grime was so thick in spots that it actually came off in chunks, which kind of freaked me out a little bit at first. Was something else coming off as well?

Nope, just years of neglect.

And it really didn’t take much serious effort, beyond a little soap, sunshine, and patience. (No actual bleach in this case: it tends to do more harm than good on Gloss Finishes.)

In the weeks that they’ve resided in my bedroom window, I’ve kind of gotten attached to these two; they were slated for my sales list after rehab, but right now it’s 50-50 on whether or not they’ll stay.

I already have a really nice Gloss Mare, and several superlative Gloss Foals (because of my obsession with tracking ear/mold variations on the Foal mold), so I shouldn’t. Since Family Arabians have been trending up of late – especially now, with a Family Arabian Stallion in the Vintage Club lineup this year – finding them a new home shouldn’t be hard.

Intensity

The first big box lot is in the house and it was…challenging. Everything was dirty, one horse was partially filled with sand (!) and many of them are a very entertaining and/or distressing shade of yellow. This Alabaster Family Mare and Foal set is a perfect illustration of what I was dealing with here:

The snowy-white FAF next to them is there for comparison: he was a previous restoration project who turned out almost perfect. (His muzzle is unretouched – it really came that way, that gray!)

At this point, I’m not sure if I even want to do any work on this pair. In fact, I’m seriously considering keeping them “as-is” (dust and all) for any demonstrations I may be called in to do in the future: they are such perfect examples of the grungiest Breyers can be.

They are textbook candidates for restoration, too: in excellent condition, underneath the yellow and the grime. (Aroma-free, too. Thank goodness.)

I don’t even see many significant rubs or scuffs in the gray areas, which is very unusual for Breyer Alabasters of this age. For some peculiar reason, Breyer often painted the gray areas of their Alabasters after glossing and not before, leaving them unprotected and very susceptible to rubs.

Cleaning those gray areas is one of the biggest Breyer restoration challenges: a little bit too much pressure with a cotton swab or toothbrush, and you can kiss that beautiful shading goodbye!

One technique I’ve found that keeps additional damage to a minimum is a variation of “power washing”: warm water, mixed with either a high-quality dishsoap (like Dawn) or a degreaser like Lestoil, repeatedly applied with a squirt bottle at close range.

I usually do it on a towel or in a shallow pan to contain the mess, rubbing and blotting only when absolutely necessary, if at all. I managed to clean a very dirty Horse-Over Clock this way, keeping the super-delicate “patinated” mane and tail intact.

I love doing this kind of restoration work – making the once beautiful, beautiful again – but that box lot took a lot out of me. I sure hope the next batch is a little less intense.

Cream and Colors Like It

My first reaction to the newest-latest-greatest Web Special "Orion" (on the Desatado mold) was "Ooh, daring!" I have no idea what color it’s supposed to be (Champagne- or Pearl-something? Or just straight up Perlino Dun?) and I kind of like how Reeves didn’t specify, either, leaving it up to our imaginations and mad research skills.

Although Palominos and Buckskins were an early staple of the Breyer line, double dilutes and other more exotically modified colors are a much more recent addition to the color palette. I believe the first official one was on the #906 American Cream Draft "Goliath" in 1995, a model I may or may not have had a hand in creating. (Long story, because of course it is.)

Breyer "Creams" existed before then, but they all started out as Whites or Alabasters and turned that way due to yellowing. (Often, not unrealistically so!) Every time I see a listing on eBay for a "Cream Colored Breyer Horse", it’s almost always an Alabaster who has seen brighter days.

There are a couple of reasons why it took so long for Creams and Colors Like It to show up intentionally.

First and foremost is the technical issue: the visual cues that make these colors distinct were - until recently - difficult to achieve in a production environment with any consistency. Even many actual and aspiring customizers have difficulty capturing the subtle qualities that make a Perlino Dun, an Amber Ivory Champagne, or a Bay Pearl.

Second, there were (and continue to be) prohibitions and biases against certain colors within some breed registries, which in turn influenced what both real- and model-horse people considered acceptable and/or beautiful. While some of these restrictions made sense (some colors simply don’t exist within certain gene pools) others were completely arbitrary. Horses in these "off colors" were not as desirable as horses in more conservative colors. 

Even though we’ve largely overcome those biases in the model horse world (thanks to the many genetics-nerds among us) you can still see some traces of in the general lack of acceptance for pintaloosas, and in discussions about show judging philosophies (i.e. how closely we should hew to those real-world norms and biases).  

Generally, though, we don’t raise as much of a fuss when we’re presented with something different. If we like it, we buy it - and find the necessary documentation later.

Alas, there are still too many horses in the house, and a couple of financial obligations I need to meet first: if my single entry into the drawing for Orion somehow makes it through, I might not be able to follow through.

Priceless

One good thing about the massive amounts of snow in the yard? All that reflected light means it’s been a good time to unyellow horses! The Little Man (Palomino Stock Horse Stallion) that I was considering selling is looking almost nice enough to keep now.

As I’ve mentioned before, older Palomino paint jobs are notoriously fugitive: they change with exposure to heat and/or light. Breyer Palominos tend to turn honey-brownish - often attractively so - while many Hartland Palominos turn lime or chartreuse green. Which, depending on your taste, could also be attractive.

The Yellow Palominos of the 1980s? Apparently not that fugitive. Three months might not be enough to effect a change, true, but so far my Little Man is just as painful to look at now as he was back in December. (Whether this is a good thing or bad thing? You decide!)

A Bay Fighting Stallion I picked up in a box lot a while ago, however, is still an unpleasant shade of Cigarette Orange. My lack of photographic skills, for once, are doing him a great kindness:

He was cheap, is relatively common, and is not in the bestest shape anyway; once a few other projects are out of the way, he may become another restoration test subject.

I do have a little bit of guilt about that: he does have footpads, no USA mark, fully modeled and shaded boy parts, and has some pretty nice shading overall. I’d be perfectly amenable to selling him as is to someone who’d look past his relatively minor imperfections. (Postage plus a nominal amount to cover fees and stuff?)

Speaking of, I noticed on the Breyer Calendar of Events that they actually listed - in addition to the usual Fun Days and Live Shows - a Swap Meet! Alas, it was in Missouri, so it’s not something I would have been able to attend, being in Michigan and having to work.

http://www.breyerhorses.com/calendar?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=1937

I do like that Reeves is tacitly supporting something like this. Not everyone wants - or is able - to show, and many don’t have the financial means (or fortitude!) for bigger events like BreyerFest. Sometimes all we want to do is hang out with our fellow oddballs and talk horses.

Heck, that’s a huge chunk of the appeal of BreyerFest. The shopping is great, but confabbing with a bunch of people who sort of "get me"? Priceless.

Sure hope it’s something that catches on. I don’t see why it couldn’t, since it’d involve far less prep than a live show: just some space, some tables, and some refreshments. I wish I could do another one in these parts, but I’m not sure it’d be feasible with my schedule.

I’d be more than willing to pitch in, though! Especially on the refreshments part. 

Spring Cleaning: Getting the Funk Out

Honestly, I have no idea if I got one of the Mother Lode models listed on the Breyer web site tonight. Like everyone else I spent 10 minutes trying to log on, and then having it taken out of my order queue when I went to pay.

Then they reappeared again, about an hour later, and my order allegedly went through. I figured that the worst that could happen is a cancellation phone call or e-mail from Reeves, right?

Look, I can accept not getting a super-limited model. I’ve been really lucky the past couple of years, with the Glossy War Horse, the White Moose, the Buried Treasure Lusitano, and the first Vault Sale. So missing out on a pretty gold Lady Phase would be no biggie. (My favorite was the Gold Buckskin! The "common" one of the three, allegedly.)

It’s the waiting that kills. If I’m going to be disappointed, I want the pain and suffering over with quickly, like pulling a Band Aid off. That’s all I’m asking.

Moving on…

I had an interesting experience with a piece of vintage fabric over the weekend. I wanted to give it a quick rinse or two to get the flea market "funk" out of it, but it turned into a two-day-long ordeal to vanquish the "Old Lady’s Ashtray" smell emanating from the washtub. I’ve had stinky fabric before, but this so bad I was having flashbacks to a particularly odoriferous family road trip in 1979.

(Four chain-smoking adults in a GMC Jimmy with the windows rolled up most of the time because of the rain. Good times!)

"Destinkifying" is a topic that comes up with regular frequency in my e-mails, and since flea market season is in full swing, it’s probably a good time to bring it up here again, for reference.

The Cellulose Acetate that Breyers are made of is semi-synthetic, and semi-permeable. In other words, it can absorb stuff it comes into contact with: water, grease, oil, cigarette smoke, perfume, and all manner of airborne pollutants.

Cigarette smoke is among the worst: not only does it make the model smell bad, the nicotine from the smoke also makes the plastic look dingy - and in more extreme cases, darkly yellowed.

The first step should be a basic cleaning: dunking and soaking in very warm water with a good amount of high quality dish soap. Dawn seems to be the brand of choice among most hobbyists, but if some other brand works well for you, it should work for your horses, too.

This should get the top layer of grime off, and unyellow the model slightly by consequence. I wouldn’t recommend a dunk any longer than overnight, because the model will start to absorb the water as well, possibly lifting the finish. (Glossies are especially prone to this!)

Naturally, this is not an ideal solution for any model with labels or stickers. And surprisingly, anything with metallic paint - either as tack trim, or as the base body color. If you’ve ever had any experience with vintage Decorators, you know that the gold paint that Breyer has used in the past has been of variable permanence: it fades, it tarnishes, it corrodes.

It’s not that those models can’t be cleaned or unyellowed, but they should be done with extreme caution.

Squirt bottles are a useful tool for those models that can’t or shouldn’t be dunked. Mix up a solution of warm water and a little bit of dish soap, and set to stream. Spray and blot quickly, as necessary; a cotton swab comes in handy for the nooks and crannies of the mane and tail. But again, be gentle: there are some finishes that are prone to rubbing (Alabasters and Dapple Grays), and the less pressure you put on their finishes, the better.

Once the initial cleaning is done - by dunking, or by spray bottling - put the model in a sunny window with cool exposure: this should dissipate the remaining odor after a couple of days. If not, either repeat the procedure, or take the cleaning process to the next step: baking soda.

Sprinkle the model liberally with baking soda and seal it in a plastic bag, preferably with the rest of the box, and let it set for several days. Periodically pull it out and check to see if the funkiness has reached an acceptable level.

I’ve also been told that dryer sheets could do the trick, but this is something I haven’t risked yet, as Vita finds them to be a treat of the same level of desirability as the "candy" the deer leave on the lawn. She hasn't shown any interest in my horses lately, no need to give her any incentives, right?

Old Yeller

At a BreyerFest several years ago, I remember getting into a mildly heated argument with a hobbyist who insisted that her heavily yellowed Palomino Rearing Stallion was, in fact, a special run. Or a variation, at the very least - there was no doubt in her mind that this model was special. It was issued in yellow plastic, had always been that yellow, and how dare I even suggest that it could merely be yellowed!

(He was also sprayed with an aftermarket gloss finish that was not only uneven, but flaking off in places, too. And probably contributing to his yellowness. Pointing all of this out did not dissuade her opinion one bit. At that point I did what a normal person would: I walked away.)

That story came to mind while observing the kerfuffle last week about the heavily yellowed Old Timer on eBay. Of course it’s heavily, and quite obviously yellowed - the fact that it was yellowed to the point of looking like a chestnut did not change the fact that it was, and still is, an Alabaster.

It’s also another case where a little knowledge leads to a lot of trouble: in this case, it’s the existence of at least one genuine chestnut Old Timer. A picture of one was published in the July/August 1985 issue of Model Horse Gazette, in an article about test colors and special runs by Jill Rademacher (now Guitterez). Even though the pic is in black and white, it does seem to bear some similarity to the heavily yellowed fellow in the eBay auction:


At first glance, a black and white picture in a defunct, 24 year-old hobby magazine may seem like a rather obscure reference to cite. But it’s not: many hobbyists are packrats of the highest order, especially when it comes to old magazines, newsletters and other reference materials. (And woe to you being the one trying to buy that old ephemera from them: been there, done that.)

I’ve seen hobbyists use more obscure, and much less reliable sources to base their buying decisions on. So while the $75 final selling price was disappointing, it was not unexpected. It just takes two hobbyists to bid something up, and there were certainly more than two hobbyists watching that auction.

What complicated the argument over the Rearing Stallion is the fact that Breyer did - and still does - use colored plastic as a deliberate decorative technique. For a brief time in the 1970s, Breyer used unpainted light gray plastic as a base for some of its gray and black painted models, such as the Donkey, Elephant, and the Spanish Fighting Bull (and less successfully on a few non-gray, non-black models, too!)

As far as I can tell, yellow plastic was not one of those deliberate techniques. Not in the 1970s and 1980s, anyway.

What causes yellowing in Breyer horses is actually quite a complex subject - worthy of it’s own post, easily. To keep it short and simple for today, I’ll just state that it is not unusual for a model to yellow out evenly over its entire exposed surface. It’d be far more unusual, and suspicious, to have a model that was unevenly yellowed.