I See Stars!

Another one of those got-nothing-done days; I’ve liked getting more hours at work the past couple of weeks, but I hate having to leave some of my more ambitious blog post ideas in my head. Anything that gets stuck in my head too long either ends up getting lost, or getting weird.

(Though a disturbingly large portion of you don’t seem to mind the weird, for which I am grateful.)

Anyhow, since I’m short on time, again, I’ll spotlight another relatively obscure (yet significant) variation from my fabulous herd: the original version of the Classic Quarter Horse Family, ca. 1974.


There are a number of small details that make the original versions stand out from the later releases. The color on all three molds is softer and less "bright" compared to later versions, with the Foal verging on Buckskin. Both the Mare and Foal feature dark tan or "natural" colored hooves, that were changed to gray later in the run.

The Mare also has what I like to call "black to the belly" points: instead of blending the black points on the legs into the base color, the legs are solid black all the way up to the barrel - and sometimes, then some. It’s a peculiarity not uncommon on Bay paint jobs from the early to mid-1970s; I’ve seen it on the Bay Cantering Welshies and the Mahogany Bay Proud Arabians, too.

The earliest Stallions also do not have the "copyright horseshoe" mold mark - although, oddly, the Mares always did; I have a couple of Test Color mares I believe were Preproduction pieces, and they both have it. The Foal never had it in the first place.

The most obvious difference between the earliest Classic Quarter Horses and the later ones, of course, are the small stars on all of their foreheads:


The stars are a charming little detail, but it’s pretty easy to see why it got eliminated early on: because they were so darn little. The painters probably found them to be a nuisance, and the vast majority of their customers at the time - nonhobbyists, mostly - wouldn’t have noticed them one way or another.

The Star-faced Classic Quarter Horses are definitely not common; I see a handful of them a year, at most, which leads me to believe that this variation was extremely short-lived - to the first few months of 1974, perhaps. The gray-hooved versions were featured on the 1975 Dealer’s Catalog and Collector’s Manual, though the Stallion (but not the Mare or Foal!) does have a star.

In spite of their rarity, however, there’s not a huge demand for them. A lot of new hobbyists that didn’t grow up with the Hagen-Renaker "Love" molds just aren’t all that into them, or can’t see past the rougher seams and less sophisticated paint jobs of the era. The absence of the molds from the Breyer line, due to legal reasons, doesn’t help matters either.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Brussels Sprouts and Buffet Tables

So the next "clue" about the next Vintage Club release is even more vague than the first one:

"Collector favorite."

Yeesh. What vintage mold isn’t some collectors’ favorite? The original Racehorse? The Modernistic Buck and Doe? The Family Arabian Mare?

No, even they have their fan bases, small as they might be.

This is why I find it so uncool when some hobbyists incessantly bag on many Breyer molds on a regular basis, and do so with great relish. Fine, it ain’t your cuppa, but there’s no need to do so to demonstrate the superiority of your taste and refinement.

I like brussels sprouts, and most people don’t. It doesn’t mean I have a more (or less) sophisticated palate. All it means is that I have more options to choose from at the buffet table.

Speaking of food, you know what got me out of my bad mood the other day? Homemade brownies, from scratch!

I found a real simple recipe, and I already had all the ingredients on hand, so I whipped up a batch Thursday afternoon when I had a couple hours to kill before work. They turned out great - thick and fudgy, the way I like ‘em. The rest of the household apparently liked them - and needed them? - too, since all that’s left are a couple of crusty corner pieces.

I might make some cookies tomorrow; not that we need more sweets in the house, but I got my BreyerFest tickets today, and they made me want to break a few more eggs. Why do I keep getting 9:30 a.m. Friday Line Tickets? Argh!

I’m not going to worry about swapping out for another ticket time until we learn a little more about the Schedule of Events, and whether I have to do or be something for the duration.

I haven’t watched the Full Metal Jousting show on The History Channel yet, but it is neat that Reeves managed to snag a demo for BreyerFest; that’s one thing I hope I can make time in my schedule for. Wouldn’t it also be cool if they shot a bit for the show at BreyerFest? Aside from some footage that they made available to the media sometime in the mid-1990s, I don’t think there’s ever been any "national" coverage of the event itself, on the level of the San Diego Comicon.

(I knew about that footage because a coworker told me he "saw" me on the news - while he was on a ski vacation in Colorado, the following February! I wasn’t actually doing anything interesting, just walking past the camera or pointing at some models or something.)

They did have someone from ESPN shoot a story about BreyerFest sometime back then, too. I remember, because it was one of the years my brother came with me. When we were walking out of the park near the stone gate, we noticed the camera crew and an overly made-up blonde woman trying to "file" the story; we stood off to the side and snickered at her for about 5-10 minutes as she did some retakes.

I don’t think the story ever aired, or if it did, it was at some ungodly hour on one of the ESPN channels nobody watches anyway. (ESPN 8 - If it’s almost a sport, we’ve got it here!)

(Not saying that that’s how I think of it, but how I think they would.)

Looking for Sunshine

My Paddy arrived yesterday. He’s no Pot O’ Gold, but he’s fine. Leans a little more than he should, but not enough to send him back. I probably should have waited a few days to open him, since I was not in the right frame of mind to receive him properly.

The weather’s been beautiful, but I’ve had to deal with a lot of grimness in the past few days, the kind no amount of sunshine can fix. One coworker’s ex-husband (her younger son’s father) died suddenly, and another’s father had a heart attack, and the prognosis is not good. And a third coworker lost her mother two weeks ago after a brief and frightening illness.

That much death - on the cusp of Spring, no less - is not conducive to a happy frame of mind.

Even if the sunshine didn’t help, walking the dog did, a little; there’s something to the act of walking, for walking’s sake, that always clears my head.

I even came up with a clever bit I wanted to do for the blog today, but when I came home I realized that was a no-go because, yet again, access to that part of my collection has been blocked off for another neverending remodeling project.

Dang it, man! Foiled again!

(Which is also one of the primary reasons why there’s been a shortage of pictures here lately. Anyone familiar with my home situation also knows it’s something I can do absolutely nothing about. Sigh.)

Let’s look for sunnier things to talk about …

Reeves "officially" announced the Esprit Brick and Mortar Special on both Facebook and on the web site, and confirmed that his name is indeed Lionheart. He has stripes like a tiger, spots like a cheetah, but they name him Lionheart because of … his color? The mane? Just because it sounds kind of cool? I’m sure we’ll find out the real reason why before they officially announce it anyway. Because that’s how this community rolls.

(Always cracks me up when The Powers That Be act all surprised that we know stuff.)

They also released a picture of another BreyerFest Line/Ticket SR, a Palomino Strapless named Bees Knees, that’s refreshingly free of frivolities like dappling, sootiness, pinto-ness, or wildly complex hoof detailing. Just a straight up, light and clear Palomino paint job.

She was another one of those models that was "leaked" early; that first picture didn’t impress me that much initially; I am much more enamored of her now. I think the Strapless mold looks smashing in palomino, and she’s definitely a contender for my pocketbook - depending on what she looks like in person, and the size of my pocketbook. (The latter, not so good right now.)

Palomino is a color that renders really well in Gloss, so if they do decide to repeat the half Gloss/half Matte experiment that they did with last year’s Bay Appaloosa Show Jumping Warmblood, I’d consider her a prime candidate.

It wouldn’t matter to me either way, since I’m already falling in love with her in Matte.

The High Cost of Good Fortune

I could not believe the technical difficulties I had this weekend. First, the power went out. Then, the computer went down for a day. I wanted to (finally) watch a couple of DVDs I got for XMAS in the meantime, but my brother had "helpfully" upgraded the DVD player, and I had no clue how to get it to work.

Even the toaster decided to get all up in my face last night. Seriously!

Everyone at work yesterday was wondering why I looked so surly. I had to keep my mouth shut; they already think I’m a little daft as it is, and listening to me rant about the toaster would not help matters.

After all that, I did manage to get a preliminary draft of my paperwork for 2011 done. One word: YIKES!

I had no idea how much my good fortune "cost" me last year. Several large purchases - including three collections, and a massive haul in the NPOD - are what did me in.

"Winning" all those online drawings didn’t help either - I was happy to get the opportunity to purchase things like Fall in Love and Mont Tremblant, but I’ll have to be a little more selective about the drawings I enter in the future.

I’m a little puzzled by the fact that Reeves hasn’t started offering exclusive items to Collector’s Club members for general sale, to assuage that portion of their membership who has not been quite so lucky as I have been. Having every "Club Exclusive" be a drawing you have to win is not a recipe for long-term success. (Those sale coupons club members get sent aren’t going to cut it, either.)

I will assume that they’re trying to figure out the logistics of it all. Make too many, and they’re forced to sell them elsewhere, as they did with their later JAH Specials - and tick off the folks who bought them on the assumption that they were "exclusive". Make too few, and you’ll get more hurt feelings.

Making just enough to cover orders, a la Pamplemousse, would seem to be the most logical solution. But that required a huge lead time that an online customer base - now accustomed to very short delivery times - would not cotton to. (It boggles my mind that some hobbyists have gotten their Paddies already! Not me, yet.)

I don’t foresee myself buying many off-the-shelf horses this year, and I’ve been trying to stay off eBay, save for my futile attempts at some ephemera auctions. As for what may come my way via the flea market/thrift store/garage sale circuit, I’ll just have to be a little more mindful of the budget when those opportunities present themselves.

I’ll probably be able to make up some of my shortfall this year, since a not-small portion of my purchases at the end of last year were on low-end, easy to sell items I do well with at BreyerFest - books, miniatures, bodies, commons, ephemera. I really don’t mind catering to the low-end crowd, especially since most of the retail model horse market - Reeves, Stone, and Hagen-Renaker - has essentially abandoned the low-end collector’s market.

Sure, the high-end of the market is where the money’s at, but if you don’t cultivate customers at the low-end of the market, eventually you’ll run out of customers. High-end customers begin to feel exploited, and low-end customers (who may turn into high-end customers, later in life) get frustrated by the lack of access, and both eventually move on to greener pastures.

On Uniqueness

Since my scheduling situation was only partially resolved, I’ve been spending most of my free time over the past two days trying to get my tax paperwork finished up. I’m hoping for a decent sized tax refund to make up the shortfall in the meantime. I needed to do it anyway, but the sooner, the better.

So, Reeves released a "clue" about the next Vintage Club release the other day:

Hint #1: "Had unique feature that no other Breyer had."

Depending on the degree of specificity you take it to, almost any vintage mold could be said to have a "unique" feature. The Five-Gaiter was the first mold to have molded in horseshoes. The Western Prancing Horse was the first to have an "overo" paint job. The Fury version of the Prancer came with a paper saddle. The Elephant was the only Nonequine mold to have a rider (Corky!)

For some crazy reason, most hobbyists seem to be fixated on the Old Timer. Sure, he’s the only horse to come with his own separately molded hat, but he’s not the only Breyer mold. Most of the molded/rigid riders did so, too - like Davy Crockett, the Cowboy, the Indian (sorta), and the Canadian Mountie. Corky and Robin Hood had hats, too, but they were integral to the mold.

While I’m certainly not averse to the idea of an Old Timer - my avatar is the Old Timer’s hat, after all - I think the Fighting Stallion is a far more logical choice in the "unique" feature department. It was the only model that came with factory footpads.

From time to time other Breyer models turn up with footpads, but every one that I’ve seen or personally inspected has turned out to have store bought pads made out of felt, cork or flocked paper. You can still get ‘em today at your hardware or home improvement store of choice, if you’re so inclined.

(I’m not, but I always smile when I see them.)

It’s true that the Fighting Stallion has a limited range of colors to choose from; there have been roughly 40 releases on him so far, and that’s not including the variations. But there are still a few notable vintage colors he hasn’t been seen sporting, yet.

For example, there’s the old Buckskin paint job that was featured on the Quarter Horse Gelding - and for a brief time, on the Running Mare and Foal. Just think how nice old "King" would look in it, complete with a bald face, dorsal stripe, eyewhites and a satiny, semi-gloss finish. Love it!

Or Matte Black, a la the Stretched Morgan and the Grazing Mare and Foal, sporting a bald face, four stockings, jet black hooves, and lots and lots of body shading. Or if not that shade of Black, one of the original "Black Beauty" paint jobs originally found on the Western Horse and Pony would also do: solid Gloss Black with gold hooves, or Gloss Black with chalky/overpainted stockings and facial markings (either starred, or with bald face).

Then there’s one of my personal favorites, the "Slate" Gray color found on the original release of the #191 Bucking Bronco, again with lots of body shading, bald face, four stockings, and with a slightly darker mane and tail.

Like I said above, the clue is vague enough that could pretty much encompass any vintage Breyer mold. The first thing that popped in my mind was the Fighting Stallion, and until I get other clues to the contrary, I’m sticking to it.

Back to my spreadsheets. Bleh.

I Want Candy

Not happy. Nothing model horse related about it - just a combination of nonsense going on at work over scheduling (they’re trying to put me on a team I’ve told them, repeatedly, that I do not want to be on), some family issues (best left unsaid), and a "surprise" dental appointment. (I lost the appointment card, missed the first phone call, and all the usual notices I get via e-mail went straight to the spam folder.)

A massive application of candy might have relieved the unhappiness a bit, but as I’ve given that up for the duration of Lent, you can see my dilemma. For the time being, I can only imagine decimating a one pound bag of Skittles.

(Any flavor will do. I’m not a picky eater.)

So, yeah, not having the bestest time right now.

Everything with the horses is going just hunky-dory. Won a Paddy - yay! Though there’s a possibility I’ll have to toss him up for sale to help cover the dental expenses; like everyone else, I’ll have to wait and see who’s actually in the box before I make my decision.

I kind of want to avoid selling any horsey stuff right now. I really don’t have the time for the kind of follow through that requires. (Not saying it’s a bad thing, just a thing I can’t deal with now.)

Since I have to head to bed here momentarily, I will cut to the chase and present y’all with a picture of one of my favorite Test Colors, the actual (I think) test piece for the original Phar Lap, done on the Traditional Man o’ War mold:


Isn’t he beautiful? I can’t believe nobody else saw him the Bentley Sales dump boxes at Model Horse Congress way back in 1986. I saw his head poking out of one of the "six dollar" dumps, noticed his star was different, yanked him out and saw the two little socks he was sporting - score!

(Yeah, six bucks for a Test Color. Now you know why I'm such a cheapskate about those sort of things.)

I don’t know the actual circumstances of his creation, other than the assumption that the Phar Lap mold was likely not available when he was made. He could have been a sample made as a proposal prior to the mold being commissioned in the first place, or he could have been made for a sales presentation or meeting while the mold was still in the process of being made.

Or it could be something else entirely (painters goofing off at the factory, a mold mix-up, etc.) All I know is that he did come straight out of the factory - as did all of the assorted goodies in those Bentley Sales dump boxes - and that I think he’s beautiful.

True, he’s not quite as tasty as a bag of Skittles, but he does come with fewer calories. And thinking about him makes me happier, if in a slightly different way.

Page Clicks

The most exciting thing about the WEG Chestnut Esprit giveaway for me was that they finally gave us an official name and item number for it: it’s the WEG 2010 Media and Athlete Gift Esprit (item#9142). Yes! And thank you! Another tiny hole in the data patched.

I’m putting my daily clicks in, but I haven’t cleared a space on the shelf for him quite yet; I still think I have a better shot at getting one via other means. Even after all this time, they still have to have more than just one knocking around the office.

If they are cognizant enough of the demand to estimate the value of the prize at $500, though, I’m becoming increasingly doubtful that they’ll dump them in the NPOD, but one never knows. They haven’t been averse to unloading high-end merch in there in the past.

I don’t take any pleasure in reading the commentary everywhere about how so confusing the Breyer web site is. (Other than pointing out that maybe now more people get my point about the confusing graphics.) Instead of trying to navigate around the site manually, I just visit via the link in the e-mail they send. They get sent to the e-mail address I have to check in on every day anyway.

It would be helpful, though, if the Powers That Be had most of the bugs worked out and the typos corrected before they send the e-mails out.

(And if you’re not getting your e-mails from them, could y’all just call them up and take care of it, instead of complaining about it Every Darn Time it happens?)

Reeves is just trying to generate page clicks, which is all well and good. I’ll start actually clicking around the site when, you know, they start putting up a little more content worth clicking on.

They did post a couple more Bfest specials today - a Store Special Irish Draft "Killarney" in a lightly dappled reddish bay, and Line/Ticket SR "Cheerio", a Glossy Dun Tobiano Pinto Bell-bottomed Shire. Just a couple of days ago I was thinking it was about that time for a few more photos to come out. Yay!

The Shire is the one I was (very) tangentially referring to in my last post about the Web Site Photo Fiasco. The first photo I saw was from a different angle, I think, but I like her even more from this one.

On my want list? Yep, so far. I love the Bell-bottomed Shire; a lot of others do, too. Gloss + Pinto + Vintage Draft mold = Winner! (Not if you listen to the younger set, who seems to think any mold released prior to Silver is "icky" and "unpopular", but I’ve been working on that for Lent, too.)

Don’t know if I’ll go for the Killarney yet. The Ballyduff mold looks wonderful in that color, but the Porcelains make me nervous. It is interesting that they’re putting him in the store instead of as a Line/Ticket Special. Does that mean that the resins from last year were a dry run towards putting the Nonplastic SRs in the store itself, or will they continue to do both?

I suppose we’ll find out in a few more weeks, as other SR pictures get (officially) released.