Just Beachy

(Work ran really long today, so tonight’s post is really short.)

Breyer has issued a lot of really weird accessories over the years. But what would be the weirdest? Was it the Baby Gorilla from the Pony Gals Wildlife Adventure Gift Set?

http://www.identifyyourbreyer.com/images/720601set.jpg

(Because of my current infatuation with the Classics Duchess, I might be adding that one to my want list for BreyerFest.)

The scary-big Fly that came with the Summer Turnout Set? And the newer Turnout Set?

http://www.breyerhorses.com/summer_turnout_accessory
http://www.breyerhorses.com/2065-turnout-set

(Not a big fan of the mutant bugs, so not on the want list. Nope.)

However, my personal favorite has to be the original head scratcher:

Yes, the Bitsy Breyer Beach Set. It came with a surfboard.

My first thought upon seeing this set back when it came out in the early 1980s was – hey, it’s a Mr. Ed gift set! Because of course I remembered that episode where Mr. Ed goes surfing:

(Season 2, Episode 23: Ed the Beachcomber)

Because being the horse-centric girl that I was, my first assumption was that the surfboard was for the horse. The board was a bit small, but eh, most of the accessories then (and to a degree, even now) were never quite to scale anyway. Seemed perfectly logical to me then.

The only part that was not logical was that none of the Little Bits Arabians issued at the time came in Palomino. Just the standard and kind of boring actually Chestnut, Bay and Slate Gray. And Mr. Ed himself was not an Arabian.

Oh well, maybe someday...

Trying Not to Worry

The past few days have been exceptionally rough. I really can’t elaborate in public, other than to say if you have any virtual hugs to give, they would be most appreciated.

One thing that has gone well is my (potential) diorama entry; I gave myself the free time I had this week to see if I could pull something together from what I have on hand. Remarkably, I think I might be able to. Here’s a hint where I’m going with it:

(Coincidentally, this also doubles as a fair approximation of how I feel about everything else in my life right now.)

And like my last entry, I’m trying not to invest too much in it emotionally, other than the joy inherent the creative process. I find working with my hands very comforting, emotionally.

The BreyerFest program was released earlier this week, and the most important information (for most of us) was the piece counts and price points for the Special Runs:

Store Specials:
Dag Dia – 1250 pieces - $75
Diablo DC – 1100 pieces - $75

Mercado Merchandise:
Auriverde – 1000 pieces - $30
Copacabana – 2000 pieces - $8
Mancha y Gato – 100 pieces - $40
The Girl from Ipanema (crystal) – 750 pieces - $45

Ticket Specials:
Namid – 1800 pieces - $55
Zebu – 800 pieces - $65
Bozeman – 1500 pieces - $65
Furano – 1400 pieces - $50
Sheila – 1600 pieces - $55
Mamacita y Chico – 1700 pieces - $60
Samba Surprise – 3700 pieces - $85
Estrela do Carnaval – 725 pieces - $65

Nothing too unusual, other than the lower-than-I-thought piece count on the Estrela do Carnaval; that factor alone may help spur a sellout, though I haven’t been following that discussion too closely to see if the tide of public opinion has turned on that piece yet.

The most “affordable” ticket options are the Furano (on the trendy/popular Make A Wish mold) and the Mamacita y Chico (the first “affordable” release on a new Mare and Foal set) so those will probably go quick. And also probably Bozeman: newish mold + elaborate spotted paint job = winning formula (see also, 2014’s Bonne Fete).

The upped piece counts on the Mercado merchandise is encouraging, but probably still not enough to get me to stand in another line.

There’s been some concern that there might not be enough Special Runs to go around, per the amount of potential number of tickets being distributed. Yes, there have been a couple of years where there were either insufficient Special Runs or Celebration models. But oddly, I am not hugely concerned that this is going to be that big of a problem this year.

The fact that they have printed up 475 tickets per ticket time doesn’t mean that all will be distributed, redeemed, or even partially redeemed.

I am not familiar with how Reeves handles its inventory (as an inventory pro, I’d love to know, though!) so my guess is that they have been taking a look at the sales numbers, comparing the number of tickets sold to the number redeemed, and trying to making projections accordingly.

You can’t account for every variable, and some stuff will sell out regardless. But I’m pretty sure it everything will be fine, more or less.

For me, it will have to be regardless: I have too many other things to worry about, so I’m choosing not to worry about this one.

On the Periphery

Not much in the way of goodies again, this week, other than another unfinished quilt project, a giant bag of vintage gumball charms, and a few Josef Originals miniatures. Oh, and one other little thing:

A customized Classic Quarter Horse Mare. What’s interesting about her is that this isn’t the typical kind of custom I find in the field. Most of those are either pro/am hobbyist creations (not all that rare around here, actually), or nonhobbyist pieces that were either repair jobs, or someone with a creative itch to scratch.

The nonhobbyist pieces are usually a bit cruder – like this gal – and don’t feature any significant customizing beyond hairing. The person who worked on her roached her mane, docked her tail, tweaked her ears, removed her logo and even tried to square her hind legs.

That’s a lot of work, and definitely not something I expected to see with this kind of paint job. She kind of fascinates me!

Sometimes I run across people I call peripheral hobbyists. Although they either were never directly involved in the hobby, or even aware of its existence, within their own enclosed communities (or even just their own homes) they pretty much did everything we do in the hobby anyway.

Basically, they invented the hobby for themselves. Sometimes they happen to meet other people who do the same things, and sometimes some of those people have some contact with even more people, and eventually that’s how they get into the hobby proper.

(From what I hear – I didn’t formally enter the hobby until 1978 – that’s pretty much how the hobby created itself. We needed it, we created it. Breyer is just along for the ride.)

But sometimes they don’t, for whatever reasons. Interests change, they get frustrated by the state of their artistic skills, money becomes an issue, or that crucial “first contact” never happens.

Was that the case here? Someone who either made some tentative steps into the hobby – the larger one, or the one of their own making – then stepped away?

I found her in a dump bin of toys – almost literally the definition of no context – so I’ll never know.

I plan on keeping her around for a while, and possibly making her a rehab project like some of my quilts, trying to take her where her original artist intended.

The Unlikeliest Color

It is Green, right? The most unlikely color for a horse is Green?

Yet when I was looking at the Auriverde – the latest (last?) Pop Up Store/Mercado Special Run, I realized that Green has been a relatively common color for Breyer horses.

Certainly more common than even a lot of more horse-like colors! Off the top of my head we’ve had…

… the Running Stallion Jade, his mini-me on the Stablemates Running Mustang, the Fighting Stallion Translucent Carnivale, last year’s Christmas Decorator Ivy, the Horse Crazy Stablemates G2 Saddlebred and G4 Driving Horse, and the May “Lily of the Valley” Horse from the Blossoms Series. Those are all entirely or primarily Green.

Some of the Unicorns (like the Little Bits/Paddock Pals ones), some of the Zodiac Series, and the Year of the Horse Esprit all came with noticeable and distinctly Green body shading.

There are ornaments and keychains, too, that are also partially or mostly Green, like the G2 Appaloosa from the Mod Squad set and the Lime Green G1 Standing Thoroughbred Foal.

And finally, there are some horses that were meant to be something else other than Green, but turned out that way anyway, like some of Reeves’ early attempts at Blue Roan and the infamous Dappled “Green Bay” Sham from the 1994 half-year #3163 Arabian Stallion and Frisky Foal Set.

Some Breyers were even molded in a Kelly Green-colored Tenite in the 1970s – it’s one of the many “off” colors they purchased and overpainted into Chalkies. We sometimes see stripped examples being sold as something rare or unusual but they aren’t, not really.

There are a few light, limey green plastic Classic Quarter Horse Foals floating around the hobby, too. Those appear to be genuinely Factory Unpainteds. Those are probably the rarest and most collectible of the Greens, outside some Mod Squad Test Shots Reeves parcels out as prizes on occasion.

We don’t know the situation with the Auriverde – piece count, or overall hobby demand – so whether or not it becomes another Caves of Lascaux is still to be determined.

I hope not, because I’m still stinging a bit from that one.

Speaking Conditionally

That Quarter Horse Gelding cleaned up pretty nice, actually:

He has chipped ears, and rubs on his near side, so he’s still technically body box material. But his color and shading are so pretty, I won’t argue with anyone if they think he’s worth keeping as-is.

(I’ll actually have quite a few “shelf quality” pieces like that for sale at BreyerFest this year: another reason to come dig in my ginormous body box!)

I have tons of models in questionable condition, myself, that I still consider valued members of my herd. Like this little fellow:

Yep, a Test Color. As you can see, this Classic Quarter Horse Foal is especially… special: as in, he has so many rubs he’s very definition of a body. He was one of those things that the Bentleys found while cleaning out Chicago factory ca. 1985. Then he was bagged, tossed into one of several large cardboard boxes, and brought out to sell at Model Horse Congress, where I was the lucky person who found him.

I don’t normally like to go around quoting the prices I get stuff for – lest I find myself in the awkward position of having to sell it – but he’s one of those pieces that isn’t going anywhere, so I guess I’m safe here.

I found him in the “One Dollar” box.

I can’t confirm it one way or another, but I suspect that he – and the two very similar Classic Quarter Horse Mares I also found in those fabled boxes (for a little bit more) – weren’t simply Test Colors, but Preproduction pieces.

Everything about them felt cobbled together: the paintjobs are uneven, the seams are mismatched and unfinished, everything about them feels slapdash and rough.

And although I haven’t done a point-for-point inspection with actual production pieces to be sure, I think they might even have been made from mold test shots, before the molds were finalized and okayed for production.

In a sense, they may be the most Test Color of Test Colors. (Beat that, Benefit Auction Test Color Brindle Pinto Man o’ War with the fancy tail!)

It doesn’t matter if they are or not, though. They’ll always have a home here.

A Smoke Western Prancer Hoof Variation?

The flea market was better for me yesterday:

Two more bodies, and a pretty decent Zippo Pine Bar. Good enough to consider keeping, but I’ll have the look at the budget in a week or two before I make that decision.

I’m also hedging a bit on the Quarter Horse Gelding, since he’s a “transitional/in-between” body – toned down muscles, but no tummy tuck – and I’ve always wanted to make a Suffolk Punch out of one. (And I just bought a fresh batch of epoxy. Hmm.)

The weekend was productive on a number of fronts. In the process of doing a bit of research on my Sampler, an interesting little something jumped out at me that I hadn’t noticed before. Notice anything unusual in this picture of the Smoke Western Prancing Horse from the 1963 Dealer’s Catalog?

His hooves are black! Typically Smokes have gray hooves. In fact, it’s what distinguishes darker Smokes from Charcoals, which have pink or tan hooves. I can’t recall ever seeing a vintage Smoke Prancer with black hooves.

The color Smoke debuted around this time – 1962/1963 – so it might just be a case of an early Test or Preproduction piece being used for the photo shoot. (Check out the fancy feathering on his mane, too. Sweet!)

It’s also possible that the photographer or graphic designer who put the catalog together might have done a little photo retouching, and assumed that the hooves were supposed to be darker. Or it just did it because they thought it looked better that way anyway.

I had “seen” this photograph before, multiple times, but it was usually a black and white photocopy I was examining. I alway assume that any odd color shifts I see in black and white copies are the result of the copier distorting the image. But as I was examining my color original –  researching another topic entirely – it became obvious that there was no distortion: those hooves really are black.

Yet another example of why it is so important to have access to original source materials, and not just copies.

As I said above, I’ve never seen a Smoke with black hooves – on the WPH or anyone else – so it’s likely just a Test. If one ever did show up, though, I would be all over that….

Another Old Favorite, Reconsidered

After a week of hard travelling for work, it’s nice to have a weekend off. Except for my usual trip to the flea market, I don’t plan on leaving the “pajama perimeter” until Monday.

Yes, I am actually looking forward to a weekend filled with paperwork and BreyerFest prep!

(“Pajama Perimeter” is a term we use in this house to describe all the places we consider acceptable to wear pajamas outdoors. Basically: the yard, up to the mailbox, and up and down the road to walk the dog.)

Speaking of the flea market, the pickings continue to be slim, though I think I’ve figured out why. If the weather cooperates, I’ll be taking some measures to correct the problem. Not that I need to plump up the sales list any further; I’ve been getting my fix from other sources, so I’m doing all right. But more is always better.

Since I am not particularly talkative today, and preoccupied with other horsey business, here’s a picture of an old favorite of mine who has been on my mind a lot lately:

He’s the Dark Palomino Special run from the 1980s, with a white mane and tail. There were a lot of Special Run Belgians at that time, and the Dark Palomino – along with the “Yellow” Palomino – was among the harder ones to acquire.

Nevertheless, he’s rarely that expensive when he shows up for sale now. Some of that is due to the fact that there are a lot of SR Belgians to choose from of the same time period, and visually he’s close enough to other Regular Runs and Special Runs that he doesn’t stand out.

The rest of it is that he’s a Vintage mold, with a relatively small fan base, who takes up a large amount of shelf space. In spite of his sheer rarity (a mere 200-piece run) he’s just not cool or fashionable as a Strapless or an S Justadream.

The Belgian mold, lately and in general, has been a bit of a bargain on the secondary market. (The Five-Gaiter, too, oddly enough.) I don’t know how many times I’ve been tempted in recent months by the rather cheap Dapple Grays that have been all over eBay.

(Except for the Black Dapple variations. Those are considered so distinctive – if not iconic – that I doubt they’ll ever be cheap.)

If I had a bit more money to spend, I would have given in and bought one, or two. The original Gloss Dapple Gray Belgian is one of those pieces that always seems to hover just a little bit out of my reach.

I guess I’m still holding out hope that a pretty and even cheaper one turns up locally, someday.