Another Live Show

I entered another live show. I am going to BreyerFest in July, but I did not want to enter the BreyerFest Live show. I did once, and it was fun, but it was a huge show and very time consuming. Plus, I do not want to haul a bunch of tubs to Lexington and back.

But as I looked at Breyer's web site, I noticed Breakables Live was being held the day before BreyerFest began. Breakables is one of the biggest model shows in the world for... breakables! (Models made of china, resin, porcelain, etc.)

Hmmmm...

I have some high quality pieces - did I dare bring them to Kentucky? The "breakable" portion of my collection is much, much smaller in number than the plastics portion, plus the pieces are smaller sized, too. I could probably get by with only one or two tubs. That's doable!

The class list is huge!

I expect I will see some of the most breathtaking model horses in the world, but I also think some of mine can hold their own and I'll maybe win a ribbon or two!

Breakables and BreyerFest, here I come!

NAN Qualifiers!

At Laughing Bear Live, I qualified seven horses for the North American Championships (commonly called NAN). To qualify, you must win a first or a second place ribbon in a show that has been approved by NAMHSA, the governing organization of the model horse show world. (NAMHSA stands for North American Model Horse Shows Association.)

When NAMHSA was first organized, I attended the first NAN and the third. (I don't remember if I went to any others.) And, I won Top Ten accolades with several of my models, too, at each one. The competition is incredibly fierce with the best from the continent present, so it's a very big deal to be able to say you have a piece in your collection that is Top Ten for the USA, Canada, and Mexico!

But then I went back to school, started teaching, was putting children through college, having weddings and grandchildren born... I just have not had much time to show for the last decade or so, although I have kept up with the hobby by reading various publications and actively collecting.

Attending Laughing Bear rekindled my desire to campaign a few pieces, and I have a good start with these models that will be attending NAN 2014 in Lexington, Kentucky!

 Cee Hunt, a portrait model of my former real horse, Cee Hunt.

2nd Place - Resin Solid Colored Stock Foals

(Okie Rio resin sculpted by Carol Williams and painted by Janis Whitcomb)

 Vader

2nd Place - China Other Breeds

(Cheval Friesian)

Harry Potter

1st Place - China Other Breeds

(Hagen Renaker Harry Donkey Foal)

Dartagnan

2nd Place - China Spanish Breeds

(North Light Lippizaner)

Ring the Bells

1st Place - OF Breyer Gaited Ponies

Reserve OF Breyer Pony Champion

(Breyer Hackney Pony Aristotle)

 Dolly

2nd Place - OF Breyer Draft Mules

(Breyer 1999 SR Mule Dolly)

 Lazy River

2nd Place - OF Breyer Missouri Fox Trotter

(Breyer  SR 2006 BreyerFest Special Pierrot)

The Model That Started It All

This is Brownie, the model that started my collection. Santa brought him to me as a Christmas gift in 1963. I was just six years old.

Brownie is an ordinary Japan china - not valuable in the least if you think dollars, but incredibly special to me. He was played with constantly, and I even have memories of being very, very ill and in bed with Brownie by my side to keep me company.

You can see how well-loved he is - his ears are broken, there's a chip on his nose, and his legs have all been broken at least once. But as I said,  Brownie is VERY special to me, and so he gets to reside in my china hutch where my very best chinas and porcelains are displayed.

Thank you, Santa!

Overspray/Mold Stick

(from Breyer History Diva, June, 2012)

Like this very oddly oversprayed mane:

And what I call "mold stick" - a roughly textured surface caused by the model sticking to the mold itself:

I’m not sure what the actual technical term for the problem is, that’s just what I happen to call it when I see it. (BTW, I worked in the offices of a plastics injection molding plant for several years. Very useful in terms of my research, but I didn’t get out into the plant much, though.) Molds are usually sprayed or otherwise coated with a mold release agent to prevent molded pieces from sticking to the mold, but it does need to be reapplied from time to time, and especially after one has been cleaned and/or repaired. 

Laughing Bear Live Show

Today JC, Trinity, and I attended Laughing Bear Live in Cedar Ra[ids, Iowa, a benefit model horse show for Lynn Fraley who is battling cancer. We had a great day together, and we won a few ribbons, too!

 A view of the show hall.

 A judging table with my Scojeadon (Parr's Dream Doll) and Cee Hunt (Okie Rio) resins. Cee took second and qualified for the national show and Scoj took third.

 We got our first ribbon in our second class - Sweet Abby took sixth in a class of 26 OF Breyer Appaloosas. (Recognize the name? I have had a Breyer named Sweet Amy for years, so it was only natural that I name a model after Abby.)

 Lazy River took second in a huge class of OF Breyer Missouri Fox Trotters and qualified for NAN.

 A local baker donated a cake for the showers to enjoy. It was delicious. JC and Trin loved how it was decorated.

 Dartagnan placed second in the Resin Other Spanish Breeds class (which qualified him for NAN.)

 JC shows off my OF Breyer Clydesdale, Gorgeous George,who placed third in the Clydesdale class.

 A reserve championship! Ring the Bell won the OF Breyer Gaited Pony class and then was reserve champion of the OF Breyer Gaited class.

 Trinity bought this little Breyer Quarter Horse lying foal and then placed second in the OF Breyer Other Breeds Foal class - another NAN qualified piece!

The pony packs I'd made earlier this spring worked very well, but I did not have enough and need to make some more. I'll do that later this summer.

We won 26 ribbons and eight horses qualified for NAN, plus JC, Trinity and I had so much fun together, so I'd call my first show in nearly a decade a success.

Metlox/Poppytrail

There are many, many brands of model horses on the market, both past and present. Breyers are easy to tell as are most Hagen Renakers. "Japans" is the term used for china models made in Japan during the 50s, 60s, 70s, and even beyond. Then there are British companies (Beswick, Juleps, Royal Doulton) and other European companies that produce fine china along with an animal line that includes horses. (Can't afford those!)

I've had some pieces in my collection since I was a child that are a bit different. They tend to be chunkier, lighter (they're usually hollow) and have eyeliner-style eyes. I have wondered about them over the years, and think I have finally identified them - they're Metlox Poppytrails.

I don't know much about the company, but yesterday this photo, identified as a Metlox Poppytrail piece, was listed on the Model Horse $ales Page:

(Photo by Liz Strauss. Model owned by Liz Strauss.)

Right away I noticed the similarity to several of my pieces:

A piece I found this spring at Raven's Roost Antiques in Lafayette and purchased for only $3.

Similar eye detail and hooves to the drafter above.

 Falda - a favorite from my earliest days of collecting.

Why? Because she was black, my favorite color at the time, and she had eyelashes!!
Her hooves and paint detail look remarkable similar to the drafter's.

(Photo by Liz Strauss.)

This is the sticker under the drafter's belly clearly says "Metlox."

 This is the sticker under Falda's. It says, "Trimont Ware Japan."

There is also remnants of another sticker under Falda's belly. Could it be another one that said "Metlox"?

And notice that the drafter's sticker only said "Metlox," not "Metlox Poppytrail." Is it possible the two companies merged? Or they both put out a very similar product, along with Trimont Ware?

Certainly something to do a little research on as I document my collection.

Preparing for a Show

I have not been to a model horse show in probably eight to ten years. I have simply been too busy, and many of the shows within driving distance have been held on weekends when I have other commitments.

Laughing Bear Live, a benefit for long-time hobbyist Lynn Fraley (she's battling colon cancer), is being held Saturday in Cedar Rapids. That's just north of Sarah, so I entered the show. (Sarah will also be getting her teaching certificate from the University of Iowa on Friday!) Bonus for me - Trinity is going to come with me and help me show!

Preparing, planning, and packing for a show is quite an undertaking. You begin with the class list, sorting your horses into the classes in which you want to show them.

 The plastic model entries (Breyers) are done - since they are upstairs, I packed them there and Curt brought the tubs downstairs for me.

The tubs of Breyers are in our bedroom, ready to go!

 I used almost all the pony packs I'd made earlier this spring in packing the Breyers. Good thing I bought another bolt of fabric and can make some more!

I put a label inside each tub so I know what is inside. That way I can pull the horses out as needed.

Resins I plan to show. They're older models and may not do too well as a result - some simply stunning pieces have been produced in the past decade, and they're too costly for me! The blue roan was a gift from Kathleen Moody (her LDS Rockwell Moyles horse that she sculpted for her Mormon friends) as was the Moody Magnificent. (Kathleen is a very generous friend.) Also going are my Okie Rio painted like Cee, my Parr's Dream Doll, and some North Lights. Oldies but goodies!

I will be wrapping the resins and chinas in bubble wrap, so the tape is necessary to secure them.  I am not taking too many chinas as there is always a breakage risk.

 Tagging the models can be a time consuming task, but a necessary one as well.

 The tub for the resins, chinas, and customs along with a few pony packs and the bubble wrap.

 Essential to showing are cloths for wiping off dust and fingerprints before putting the model on the table.

 Cosmetic brushes also work well in getting dust and dirt out of tiny crevices in manes and tails.

The felt pads are used under tippy models - you lay the model on them, the judge looks at one side, and then you flip them to the other for judging. This limits breakage. (I use blue as a subtle hint that my models are first place worthy!!)

 Some of the chinas I am taking. My Cheval Friesian (very hard to find but not sure he will do well as this is a halter show, not a collectibility show), my HR Windsong Sherif (Top Ten at the very first North American Nationals in 1995!), my Lakeshore Marshall, Pour Horse Hadrian, china Okie Rio, and HR Donkey, Harry.

 The new table cover I made with my stable name on it. I love how it turned out!

 A close up of the table cover.

I will finish up packing today as we are leaving for Iowa tomorrow. JC and Trinity have baseball and softball games tomorrow night, and we get to go! And, since Trinity is going to come to the show with me and help out, I really hope we earn some ribbons for her sake - I've even got a horse named after her that I will be showing. (One named after JC, too!)

Family Arab Information

(From Breyer History Diva, June 11, 2012)

Ah, so it is the Mustang after all: "Over 25 years for one color".

That’d be Buckskin, from 1961-1986. The Running Mare came in Bay from 1962-1987, but there’s some controversy over her start date, ranging from 1961 to 1963. I’m pretty sure it’s actually 1962, but that’s not something that’s become "common knowledge" yet, the way the start date on the Mustang is.

The FAS also came in Palomino for 25 years - from ca. 1961/2-1987, but that included a switch from Gloss to Matte, so I’m not sure if that counts. (Note: The Family Arabians were released in Charcoal and Palomino some time after the Bay, Alabaster, Gray Appaloosas and Woodgrains - possibly as late as 1962.)

I’d have no problem at all with an Appaloosa Performance Horse-style Mustang. None at all!

In other news, the flea market continues to be very good to me. Every year I think I’m not going to be able to find enough stuff to sell for BreyerFest, but somehow I always manage to. I’m even contemplating leaving a few things behind. Either that, or manage to find those missing hours in my day and actually get some stuff posted on MH$P.

Now the matter of the model that got me thinking:

An Alabaster Family Arabian Foal? Yeah, really.

First, he’s a true Semi-Gloss: he’s neither Gloss nor Matte. You can’t even describe it as the "High Satin" seen on some of the earliest Matte Finishes, most famously on the Bay Running Mare. You see this little baby in person, and you’d be hard pressed to call it anything other than Semi-Gloss.

It’s true that Breyer was very inconsistent with its Gloss Finish on their early Alabaster Family Arabians. Sometimes they were bright, thick and shiny, and other times they weren’t. There was a reason for this: they seem to have been designated as the " low budget" item of the 1960s. You’re not going to watch the quality control quite as closely with the lower budget items than with the higher ones. 

The pricelists, up through 1968, always listed them at a significantly lower price than all of the other available colors. From a ca. 1966/7 pricelist:

The sticker, and all of the models that the Foal came with, dates him to the 1966-1967 era. Around this same time, the Family Arabians transitioned from Gloss to Matte - exactly when is a mystery, though. A price list dated November 1968 makes note of the "attractive matte finish new for these items", but that doesn’t necessarily help us that much, other than give us a latest possible start date.

You’ll also note the Foal’s heavily grayed muzzle. What’s unusual about it - aside from the amount of gray - is that it’s gray at all.

You see, most Gloss Alabaster Foals (and Mares, for that matter) came with pinked muzzles and gray nostrils. (Family Arabian Stallions are no help in the matter, most of them came with gray muzzles from the start.) It’s the Matte Alabasters that tend to have the gray muzzles. (Just a little splotch of it between the nostrils, usually.)

I spent years trying - in vain - to find Matte Finish Alabaster Family Arabians with pink muzzles, on the assumption that the switch to Matte Finish occurred before the switch to grayed muzzles.

Looks like I was looking at the problem all backwards! 

Unless she’s something else altogether.

As stated above, the Foal was found in a group of models that date to ca. 1966-1967. Aside from some dust, dirt, and a little wear and tear on some of their stickers, they were in excellent to immaculate condition. The lot also came from a Chicago suburb, which as any astute hobbyist knows, is usually a big flashing red light: WARNING, FORMER BREYER EMPLOYEE COLLECTION AHEAD.

Throw in a piece in the lot that’s just a little more peculiar than average, and then you’ll know why I think that might be the case here, as well.

I Won Magnus!

You've Been Selected to Purchase Our Father's Day Web Special - Magnus!    Congratulations! You have been chosen to purchase   Magnus, our Father's Day Special Run! On the third Sunday of June, we celebrate our fathers! In honor of this day, we've created "Magnus,"our Father's Day web special! Magnus is a lovely chalky dappled grey with a high gloss finish and features "Magnus 2012" written in silver on his belly. Decorated with silver and blue bobs and bows, Magnus would be a proud addition to any collection! ThisCollector Club exclusive limited edition would be a great gift for yourself or someone special this Father's Day!   Click Here to complete your purchase! (must be logged in)  Your price: $135.00 + S&H  Limited Edition: 222 pieces How to Buy and Conditions of Sale: Price: "Magnus" (Item# 712068) is a limited edition of 222 pieces and is offered for purchase by random drawing for $135.00 plus shipping and handling (limit one model per individual chosen). Order requests will be taken via the Breyer Website Entry Form from Tuesday, May 29, 2012 to 5pm EDT, June 5, 2012. One entry will be accepted per day, per person only. Entering more than one time per day will not increase your odds of being chosen. Duplicate emails or emails received outside the order request window will be rejected. By Wednesday, June 6, 2012, two hundred and twenty two (222) order requests plus a stand-by list will be selected at random (but not posted). Please do not call to see if you have been selected. We will contact those individuals who have been selected by email within 24 hours with instructions on how to complete their purchase. Shipping & handling is determined by ship method chosen at checkout (individuals with an international ship to address must choose international shipping). Individuals selected and contacted who are not available and/or have not supplied valid credit card or shipping information by 5:00 PM EDT on Thursday, June 7, 2012 will forfeit the opportunity to purchase the model and are automatically disqualified and the next individual on the stand-by list will be contacted. No exceptions. Please note: Unclaimed web special models may be sold by Reeves at a later date, at Reeves' sole discretion. Models will ship during the week of June 11, 2012.     Only credit cards will be accepted. No checks or money orders. Breyer retailers are not permitted to purchase web specials. Order requests by Breyer retailers will not be accepted. Sales tax will be charged for individuals who are chosen from NJ (7%). Breyer and/or Reeves International are not responsible for misdirected emails or incomplete/incorrect order requests. Void where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law.

Chalky Magnus

(From Breyer History Diva, May, 2012)

The extra special secret ingredient to the Father’s Day Web Special Clydesdale, Magnus? He’s Chalky. Didn’t see that one coming. 

He’s glossy too, which certainly doesn’t hurt. There aren’t a whole lot of vintage Glossy Chalkies of any stripe floating around: the Gloss Finish was mostly discontinued by the heyday of the Chalky Era of the 1970s. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are the Brahma Bull and that small batch (five pieces) of Dapple Gray Shires.

There are some earlier Gloss Chalkies - the Walking Horned Hereford and the Bay Old Mold Mares and Foals being the most "common" of these, relatively speaking. Common the same way the "Full Rough" Walking Polled Hereford is compared to the "Poodle Cut" version, I mean.