In My Easter Bonnet

Another disquieting thought: Reeves may have more pictures of me than my friends and family do. The most recent example:

http://www.breyerhorses.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=1859

Gah! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing pictures of myself, even in costume. That’s what I get for nosing around the Breyer web site looking for fresh material to complain about.

If nothing else, it should make for some interesting news stories, lest I ever fall into sudden fame, or disrepute.

It does illustrate the conundrum I face regarding this year’s costume contests: I didn’t win last year. But they’re using me for promotional purposes. (Actually, most the photos they’ve been from promotional purposes are nonwinners - I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence, or intentional.)

I’m flattered and all, but what do I do now - do I break out Princess Beezus again, or go with a completely different idea? Because you know me, I have ideas.

Man, my life is way more complicated than it needs to be!

Due to family commitments, I am unable to provide y’all with something substantial today, so I shall present to you another photograph of another Test Color type thing from my herd:


A Bay Pinto Roemer! Yes, it’s the same pattern as the Black Pinto "Domino" from the Domino Gift Set issued in 1994. Couldn’t tell you anything more about him or where he came from; when I bought him, I forgot to ask the seller for any more details about his origins.

I don’t care what anybody says, I kinda like the Roemer mold. Like the Misty’s Twilight and the Touch of Class molds, I consider him more of a three-dimensional representation of an antiquated style of equine illustration than a faithful reproduction of an actual horse.

Showring-worthy? Probably not. I still think he’s pretty fabulous.

Being Good

I was so good the other day.

I had a couple of hours to kill between assignments, and it wasn’t worth the effort (or the gas) to go home in between, so I stopped at a hobby shop nearby to peruse the latest Breyer selections.

The prices were excellent, as was the selection (over a half dozen of the Man o’ War version of the War Horse Gift Sets on the shelf, alone) but I didn’t walk out with a single one. The Brookside Pink Magnums were especially tempting, but then I remembered I still had King in the box at home waiting for me. And a flea market opening up in a couple of weeks.

(My King is lovely, by the by. He may not have a dorsal stripe or scrotum dots, but his color is spot on.)

I suppose I am contractually obligated to mention the controversy that’s sweeping the model horse world this moment: a 2005 Early Bird Raffle Model - the fleabitten gray Lonesome Glory - that ended up in a picker’s lot on eBay.

I have nothing against picking; it’s essentially what I do to support my hobby "habit." I have an aunt who does it, and a great many items I buy at the flea market - judging from the contents of the booths I shop at - are from storage auctions. Heck, if I had the time and money, I’d be buying storage lots myself.

What’s at issue here is the quality of the picker, and the nature of the pick itself.

The picker, judging from his feedback and his merchandise, doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of respect for said merchandise. It’s one thing to not be knowledgeable about everything you end up with in a storage unit: that’s essentially impossible, unless you’re a professional auction house with in-house researchers and stuff.

But what distinguishes a good picker from a questionable one is respect for the merchandise. Stuff that’s been put into a storage unit was put there because it had some value by the owner. True, that value may be subjective, or highly personal, but it was there, presumably. You don't pay good money to store things you don't value.

Taking the extra effort - such as doing a bit of research, or putting a little more care into the selling or packaging - may not pay off with every transaction, but it will in those odd cases where a truly rare or valuable item shows up.

Take care of the small things, and the big things will end up taking care of themselves. Or something like that.

Even if I had the money to invest in that auction, I wouldn’t do it, because it feels like I’m rewarding unethical behavior. I have a hard enough time with a few of the vendors I deal with at my local fleas, and the sums I’m dealing with there are sometimes (literally!) pocket change in comparison.

The nature of the pick itself troubles me even more. How did this model this rare, and this coveted end up in these dire circumstances in the first place? All of the scenarios I can imagine are sad ones: job loss, foreclosure, illness, or death.

Many of the things I buy at the flea market are a result of some sort of loss, too. What is so striking about the Lonesome Glory was the rapidity of its decline in fortune - less than seven years, from raffle model to a picker's inventory.

He’s a disquieting reminder of how quickly things can go bad for any of us.

A Queen, instead of a King

His Highness arrived today, but he shall be residing in his uncomfortably small box until Wednesday - his opening, my reward for what is looking to be a very long day at work on Tuesday.

I’m a little short on time again today; the weather’s been rather pleasant, so I’ve spent most of my free time over the weekend trying to get the garden back in shape. In spite of the relatively mild winter, many of the perennials were decimated - new and old plantings, alike. (All my lovely Sweet Williams, gone! Sniff.)

After the clean up, I might just take the lazy way out this year and (gasp!) buy a couple annual flats to fill in the empty spaces, and give myself time to peruse the nursery catalogs for replacements.

Following up on the well-received post about the Classic Quarter Horse Family, here’s a picture of another interesting variation on the old Love Classics - this time, the Arabian Family Mare, with two stockings instead of the standard four:


This was another one of those "early in the run" variations that disappeared within months of the original release, ca. 1973. It’s the way she appeared in the 1973 and 1974 Collector’s Manuals. Here she is on the cover the of the 1974 catalog, with the rest of her family:


She’s shown with four stockings in the 1975 catalog onward.

This was not the only notable variation within the Classic Arabian Family. After the Mare gained a couple extra stockings, the Stallion lost his star a few years later, and then the both of them had their tan hooves replaced with gray ones some time after that. (The Foal, oddly, didn’t change that much over the years.)

The Two-stocking Arabian Mare is about as uncommon as the Star-faced Classic Quarter Horses, but probably slightly more sought after. Although the Stallion himself is looking a wee bit "dated" to pass as a pure Arabian these days, the Classic Arabians overall seem to have retained their showability better than the Quarter Horses have.

(Not passing judgment here - just noting the change in tastes. Personally, I prefer my Quarter Horses on the beefy and compact side - and my Arabians more in the mold of Ferseyn, too.)

Plus, there’s the fact that she looks so different - showing yet again, just how much a difference a bit of paint can make. Even though I’ve long since upgraded mine, I still pause every time I see one for sale.

Big Money

That Reeves charged Vintage Club members for King a few days before the start of April, without any advanced warning, is not something I consider outrage-worthy. This is what they do: I’ve been around long enough to know that they don’t generally get things right on the first try.

They do it so often, it’s almost as if it’s a part of their Standard Operating Procedures.

I’m a little surprised that more people are not surprised at Reeves’s ability to screw things up on a regular basis. It’s not something intentional, or done with any malice: it’s part and parcel of being a smallish, independent business. You can’t afford to hire a person to exclusively be in charge of just one thing or another: everyone in the company has got to wear multiple hats.

Sometimes, those hats don’t fit.

I make no secret of my rather tiny horse-budget. I know, more or less, how much money I can spend in any given month on the hobby. Last year was a little unusual in the respect that I sort of lucked into several collections, more or less hit the jackpot in the NPOD, and had an rare run of luck on the Web Special drawings at the end of the year.

Luckily for me, my year was just a bit better financially than the previous, so I was able to compensate a little. I am also hoping that my luck is a little less generous this year, to make up the difference.

(So far, so good: no mega-millions winning tickets here! Truthfully, those giant jackpot lotteries kinda scare me. Yeah, it’d be great to win a gazillion dollars and have the freedom to do whatever the heck you wanted, but money of that magnitude warps reality - and seems to stupidify everyone in proximity to it.)

Anyway, when I signed up for the Vintage Club, I automatically assumed the money from all four releases as "spent", and adjusted my budget accordingly. It only made sense, especially since we weren’t given a precise shipping schedule in the first place. Better to assume the money already gone - and simply unredeemed - rather than budget around it.

As much as I complain about (my lack of) money, I’m not all that materialistic a person. If I came into a boatload of cash, I’d probably (a) pay off my bills, (b) buy a new car - something practical, like a Subaru Outback, (c) buy an old "money pit" city house in Detroit to fix up, (d) build myself a little art studio/colony type thing on a few acres out in the country, and … that’s about it.

New and improved "horse rooms" would be attached to the country studio, of course. Where I’d periodically host awesome model horse get-togethers/clinics/mini-shows/seminars/swaps/retreats. It'd be like Model Horse Camp! (But with better leathercrafting instructors.)

I’d still shop at the Salvation Army and the flea market. I wouldn’t spend much more than I already do on the horses; I’m not going to pay more for something just because I’d have more money. I’d rather pay what I think it’s worth, and if there are people out there who think it’s worth more, then it’ll be their financial problem, not mine.

I've had my fill of this topic for now; something less contentious next time.

Eyes of the Beholders

I didn’t get one of the leftover Fontanas that were made available to Collector’s Club members on the Breyer web site on Tuesday. I would have if I could have, but I really couldn’t afford it this week. (New license plate tags for the car + magazine subscription renewal = no extra spendy cash!)

I wasn’t surprised that they sold out in a matter of hours - even though there were well over a hundred of them to be "disposed" of.

Just because something doesn’t sell out at the event it was made for doesn’t mean there wasn’t any demand for the model hobby-wide. Lots of hobbyists couldn’t make it to BreyerWest to purchase it, or didn’t want deal with the hassle that goes into arranging for a pickup, or just flat out didn’t have the money then. (As opposed to now - it being tax refund season, ya know!)

And as for the current online aftermarket - or lack thereof - for the item, that’s really not a good indicator of demand, either. A significant portion of collectors don’t really participate in that arena, at all. They’d rather deal with the safety and security inherent in buying straight from the manufacturer, even if it means a slight markup over the going price in the aftermarket.

(Can you blame them, really? A quick skim of any of the hobby-transaction-monitoring-type places would give most folks the willies.)

Kudos to Reeves for making a leftover SR available to members this way; we can only hope that similar items - like certain BreyerFest leftovers - do, too. Especially if it means more room in the NPOD for weirder, newer, and more exotic stuff!

I suppose I should talk a little about the next Vintage Club piece, which IS a Buckskin Fighting Stallion, with the rather unimaginative name of "King" - the nickname he originally came with.

I am pleased - not just at my guessing skills, but the model itself, who’ll look faboo next to both my Buckskin 1993 Jamboree Rearing Stallion, and my old Buckskin Mustang with the extra body shading and eyewhites:


(See what I meant about those "black points"?)

I couldn’t see eyewhites in the photo on the web site, which is a bit of a bummer, but I’m still hoping the dorsal stripe might be there.

Some hobbyists are obviously displeased that he is neither Glossy, nor "Not Boring" in some way (i.e.: spotted, speckled or dappled). I was sort of afraid of that - and why I’m so concerned about the web site forum content and contributors.

(BTW, I’m not going to muddy myself any further with them for now - I’ve had my fill of unpleasantness this week, both online and off!)

As someone who’s obsessed with Breyer History, as per the title of this very blog, I’d rather the models reflect the actual scope of Breyer History, and not some narrow (mis)interpretation of it. Vintage does not equal Glossy - or Decorator! Some of my favorite oldies, like my Mustang, are neither.

I certainly wouldn’t object to a Christmas Decorator release, though. The evidence for them is so tenuous, but the desire is so palpable. They may never have truly existed, but they need to exist, right? Close enough for me.

More recent Stablemates molds in the four alleged Christmas Decorator colors would also be acceptable - as a little boxed set of ornaments, maybe? (Oh goodness, yes!)

Suggestions, Boxed

More drama at work, sheesh. So glad the schedule is rather light for the next two weeks, I'm hoping it’ll all blow over in the meantime.

The next Vintage Club release clue is a picture of a foot with a footpad on it, which looks like the hind leg of the Fighting Stallion. It’s black, which rules out the Performance Horse color (rats!) but not my original guess of Buckskin.

(Wouldn’t that be freaky if I got it right on the first try? Why can’t I get that lucky on an actual cash money lottery?)

Other vintage colors that came with black legs include the Black Blanket Appaloosa on the #127 Running Stallion, or even the Black Splash Spot Appaloosa that appeared on the #115 Western Prancing Horse, an old favorite of mine:


None of these choices "match up" exactly with the reference photo that appears to be solid black. Older Buckskins came with points that were more grayish or charcoal, rather than black, and frequently came with unpainted/buckskin shins. The earlier Running Stallions came with gray hooves. The Western Prancers were glossy, and sometimes had gray points, rather than black.

The hoofpads aren’t technically the right color, either, so I’m probably just fussing over nothing. The Palomino/Brown Pinto of the Dandy wasn’t an exact match with the Palomino/Brown Pintos of yore, and I was totally okay with that.

Close enough is good enough, most of the time. Just as long as they don’t start messing with the colors too much - like glossing Red Roans or Wedgewood Blues, or putting pink hooves on Honey Bays. Those aren’t "tweaks" or adaptations - in my opinion, those are completely different, nonvintage colors. (And if you start putting those nonvintage colors on nonvintage molds - that’d be downright heretical!)

There are tons of fascinating vintage color and mold combinations that could be utilized, without having to resort to making up new ones. These are just the first few that flew off the top of my head:

• Gloss, Red-eyed Albino Stretched Morgan, with muscle shading
• Gloss Wild Dapple Gray Five-Gaiter, with silver and gold ribbons
• Gloss Gray Appaloosa Western Horse, with Black snap saddle
• Matte Five-Gaiter Sorrel Mustang
• Matte Indian Pony-style airbrushed Brown Pinto on the Running Mare and Foal
• Gloss Honey Palomino Balking Mule
• The Appaloosa Performance Horse colorway, on anything

I haven’t gotten around to tossing my ideas into the Breyer web site forums yet because I haven’t really had the time or patience to deal with them. There’s nothing much there to mention, anyway. They’re awkwardly implemented, slow to load, and there’s not a whole lot of the kind of "interactivity" there that gives a good forum its vitality.

http://www.breyerhorses.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=2133

The biggest liability there (so far) is that it is rather lightly populated by hobbyists either with very narrow agendas, or without a whole lot of imagination. This I would attribute, partly, to the fact that they were soft launched via the Facebook page, and I haven’t exactly been impressed by the level of discussion on any Facebook pages I’ve seen, much less Breyer’s.

I’m hoping that Reeves gets a little more aggressive in its promotion of their forums via media other than Facebook, because I really do not think that the comments and suggestions expressed there so far are in any way representative of the true imaginative vigor of the hobby as a whole.

Blind Spots

So much drama at work this week - what is it about me that draws people to confess their innermost secrets?

While I do take some pleasure in it - I love the reaction I get from coworkers when they drop the latest gossip on me, only to I find out I already know more about it than they do - being the keeper of all that confidential information does wear on the soul. (FWIW, I never "spill" any data until the story’s out and about, though. And only if it helps add context to the story. It’s just not kosher, otherwise.)

I guess I missed my calling as a therapist - or a gossip columnist. (Well, I guess I’m kinda-sorta a gossip columnist…)

The latest clue about the next Vintage Club release is another vague one:

Hint #3: "Three points touching."

Hind hooves and the tail: still doesn’t rule out the Fighting Stallion. The rabble seems to be moving slowly to that conclusion too, though a not-small portion of them are now fixated on the old Mustang for some reason.

If the unique feature they’re thinking of is that it can be posed in more than one way - on its tail, or on its from hoof - well, I covered that already. I called it "multiple posability" when I discussed it here back in August of 2009. And the Mustang isn’t unique in that regard either - both the original Robin Hood and the Bucking Bronco have that feature, along with newer molds like the Nokota Horse and Rain.

Someone on Blab made a brilliant observation today, however, pointing out the little something we’ve all forgotten about: "Eagle", the G2 Rearing Arabian in the Appaloosa Performance Horse colorway.

You know, the little gift that Vintage Club members will be getting in the mail around the same time as the second release. Could he be the "Mini Me" of the Fighting Stallion in that color, complete with striped hooves and resist dappling?

Does it not make perfect sense? Especially in light of the overwhelming positive reception - and huge selling price - that the Proud Arabian Mare and Foal in the same colorway generated at the BreyerFest auction last year?

I don’t know how I could have missed so obvious an idea, especially since I totally love the APH colorway, Everyone has blind spots, and I guess that was mine!

Even if it turns out to be something completely different, they should still do it as a Web Special or as some sort of generic Collector’s Club "Special Offer." Good grief, I can’t imagine that not selling well.