Chalkies and Decorators

From Breyer History Diva, March, 2013 (She is commenting on a Blab thread about the discovery that some chalkies originally were decorators.)

Chalky prices have been crazy for a while now, but with the recent discussion on Blab about the Decorator overpaints, the market for some of them - the molds used for Decorators, specifically - has really gone through the roof. 

(For those of you who are not familiar with them, they would be: the Five-Gaiter, the Running Mare, the Running Foal, the Fighting Stallion, and the Mustang.)

As more collectors hold their Chalkies up to a strong light (literally), more are being revealed. I’m now comfortable with saying that it appears that a significant chunk of the unsold warehouse stock of Decorators was probably "chalked" into other, better-selling colors. 

Not all Chalky Gaiters, Running Mares and Foals et al should automatically be assumed to be overpainted Decorators: only the ones without the USA mark have that potential. And the solid colors (Golden Charm, Wedgewood Blue) will be harder to discern in the light than the dappled ones (Florentine, Copenhagen). 

I have always wondered why the vintage Decorators were so gosh-darned-it rare, especially when other models from the 1960s with similarly short production runs aren’t quite as hard to find. A nice #191 Gray Bucking Bronco, for instance, can be tough, but not on the same level as almost any given Decorator. 

I just assumed that the rarity was a consequence of just how badly the sales did tank. Not entirely: it now appears that Breyer made aconcerted effort to make their first dismal foray into the home decorating market disappear, almost completely.

Breyer Elephant

Tuesday as I was driving to Sarah's I stopped at the Galesburg Antique Mall and found this elephant for $12. I suspect he may be a chalky.

 He certainly has nice shading.

 I compared him to the one I'd gotten years ago (at Gordyville?)  I am pretty sure the Gordyville one is a chalky but I am not sure about the new one.

He has the drainboard pattern on his feet, too.

Glossy Brahma Bull

I don't collect Breyer cattle, but who can resist a vintage glossy Brahma bull, especially when it is in this shape??

 I got him for $35 at the Galesburg, Illinois antique mall. He is distinctly "pinky", much like the one in this photo from Blab:

 Left to right from back: chalky, warm gray, black point, pink shading, cool gray with blue ribbon sticker. (Photo by Makoshika, 2/13/2011.)

It was that pink color that made me grab him.

You can see the pink much more clearly here along with a drainboard pattern on one foot.

Ghost - Breyer Surprise Special Moose

Didn't get a shot at this guy. Surprise web special and only 40 made. While it would be a great piece for my collection, the cost is awfully steep, especially considering I am not a fan of the moose mold.

Shockwave Variations

(Photos from Blab.)

Apparently the darker variation is the most desired.

Semi-Rearing Mustang Variations

(Photos from Blab.)

Some pictures of Semi-Rearing Mustang variations.

 Ruby

Vintage Glossy Grey Appaloosa

Giltedge Variations

(Photos from Blab.)

I remember when Giltedge came out, many were in an unroar over the fact that the piece, supposed to be florentine, was not necessarily so. Mine was, and so I did not pay too much attention to the griping at the time.

There are 3-5 variations of the piece:

 Florentine (white spots on a gold base)

Gold lace (the truck was an optional purchase, if I recall.)

Gold spots on a white base.

And more from Blab:

According to Nancy Young's book, there were 5 variations of this model--gold with white dapples, gold with yellow dapples (due to a problem with the dappling grease), gold leopard appy (aka white with gold spots), gold lace, and gold plated (almost solid gold with a few white spots).

There were leftovers and those were painted over in solid black. They were used as a SR named Excalibur at BreyerFest 1997.

They also had a sort of recall on them, when a lot of folks got ones that were real greasy and the white had turned very yellow. Excaliber was painted white and then painted black to cover the gold paint over the white body. So some of those have a really neat chalky appearence with a lot of steel gray hightlights. Some are just a thick boring black. 

Donkey Variations

From Blab, photos from PolarVrtX, February, 2012


chalkies:



battleship grey and grey plastic:



Bald face with socks and solid grey:



donkey with stickers:

Western Horse - Recent Variations

(Recent depends, of course, on your perspective... :D)

From Blab, Sande Schneider's post.

Here is a variation that was well acknowledged when these models first hit the market in 1999 but seems to have since been forgotten.



These are the #758 Trigger models from Roy Rogers' Gift Sets that included a video of the 1949 movie, The Golden Stallion. Note the obvious variation in which hind leg features a white sock. Most of the Trigger models have a left hind sock. However some were released early in the run -- June 1999 -- with a right hind sock instead. Reportedly the ones with the right hind sock were found at Toys R Us stores around the country. Toys R Us seemed to have an equal number of models with the typical left hind sock so it is safe to assume that they were a variation [error] and not a special run. 

Both variations featured chain reins with the typical twisted links, but they are "silvery brownish-gray" and not the traditional gold color. However, some of those early reins felt sticky, as if their paint wasn't as dry as it should be. By August of 1999, Breyer had switched over to a new style of reins -- still the same color, but with finer links that are best described as being a 'bracelet-style' chain. Presumably Breyer switched to that style of rein while they resolved the sticky paint problem with the original twisted link reins. Then a month or two after that, dealers reported that new shipments were arriving with the twisted link reins again but they were no longer sticky. Production continued with that style of reins until Trigger was discontinued in 2006. 



This photo shows a closer view of the two different styles of reins. 

So if anyone wants to own an example of each version they will need to find at least three different variations:
1 - with right hind sock and twisted link reins (limited release very early in the production run);
2 - with left hind sock and bracelet link reins (also a limited release fairly early in the run); and,
3 - with left hind sock and twisted link reins (general release for most of the run).

Yellow Mount - a Chalky Study

From Blab, 2010.

A Study in Yellow Mount

This is prompted by skidboots and the possible chalky Yellow Mount  Last week I was excited to receive a chalky plastic Yellow Mount to compliment my basecoat chalky YM. It's the first time I've ever had an example of the same model in both chalky versions, as well as a "normal" one. A perfect photographing opportunity!

Here they are! The normal YM is in the foreground, the chalky plastic YM is in the center, and the basecoat chalky (the darkest model) is in the back.



The chalky plastic model is molded all the way through with that dense white plastic. The basecoat chalky model is painted white over a grey plastic. I really like this picture as a demonstration. You can see the loss of detail from the extra coat of paint on the basecoat model... he's got kind of a chiseled look. Especially right down the front of his face, it's like a big flat plane.

Chalky plastic tends to still have a shine to it also, while the basecoat models are normally very matte.



Here's a shot of their feet. It's hard to tell in this picture, really, but the basecoat model on the far right looks as though he was painted white then set down while the paint was still wet to give that "pooling" effect. The other two have normal flat feet. You can see the seam and the grooves in the plastic.



I accidentally reversed them when I flipped them around. Now the basecoat model is in the middle





I hope this helps! I know sometimes people think that "chalky plastic" just means extra-white plastic, but in reality they really do look nearly identical to basecoat chalky models. It's a pretty subtle difference.

More About Chalky Plastic

From Blab, 2010.

 More About Chalky Plastic

I thought I'd share these photos with you guys. Two chalkies I've bought recently arrived broken and although I was really disappointed it was interesting to see what the chalky plastic is like.

Anyway, I thought you might be interested to see as well, before I fix them up 

They say chalkies look like bisque... doesn't this look like a broken china?







He needs some more restoration work, but at least he's got his leg back on 





I waited too long to fix the running stallion and the plastic has changed, probably with the weather. The two pieces don't fit perfectly together anymore  It looks like I'll have to use some epoxy to fix him.

D'Arry's Candy Jump

In the 1990s when I was holding my live show, Lincoln Land Live, D'Arry Joan Frank brought some of her marvelous props, including an M&M jump.

Looks like she still has it - I just saw this posted on Facebook. 

That's D'Arry in the photo - she still looks wonderful twenty years later! 

She was going to make me a jump like this one, but we never got the arrangements made.  I think it's charming.

Lomonosov - My First Piece

Last July when I attended the BreyerFest Breakables Live Show, I was struck by all the Europeanware and their beauty. Their cost was waaaaay out of my league, but I had fun looking (and drooling) anyway.

Today at an antique shop an animal figurine on a shelf caught my eye. It "looked" different, although I could not say just how. When I picked it up, it was heavier than expected.

 The price tag said it was a Lomonosov Cheetah.

Lomonosov Cheetah, $15

 Whoa! And it wasn't in a locked case! So I flipped it over to see if it had a backstamp.

It did! It was an older piece, produced when Russia was the USSR!

Needless to say, I brought it home with me despite not really knowing much about it. I suspected it was worth more than what was being asked, and I was right - it is worth triple to quadruple what I paid.

I may sell it, but on the other hand, I like finally having a Lomonosov piece in my collection, even though it isn't a horse.

Today sure was my lucky day!

Doggone Lucky!

I don't collect dogs, although I have a few in my collection (Jolly Cholly in regular and woodgrain, a couple of HRs, and some other Breyer dogs.)

Today I went antiquing, and I found dogs EVERYWHERE. All three shops I visited had an assortment (yet nothing noteworthy when it came to horses. Boo!!)

My jaw dropped when I saw this piece inside a locked case at Raven's Roost Antiques:

 A Hagen-Renaker Designer Workshop Butch!

Butch, 1957-1959, $26.50

 He has a signature of some kind, but I did not find that mark in either of my Hagen-Renaker books.

Fortunately for me, I have done a lot of looking through those books as I identify horses, so even though I am not up to snuff on HR dogs, I did recognize Butch when I saw it. I snapped that puppy (haha) right up!

This piece struck me as particularly nice:

 Lefton German Shepherd, $9.50

I wasn't sure what his make was until I flipped him over and saw this:

 I have at least one Lefton horse with a four digit id mark beginning with A, so I am assuming this piece, too, was made by Lefton.

This boxer came home with me as well. He's glossy and has the weight and heft of the German Shepherd.

German Shepherd, $7.50

 As you can see, he has no backstamp or identifying number on his belly.

 The tag on this Beagle caught my eye - I have had horses with stickers on their sides saying what breed they are, and original stickers can up the value of the piece.

Beagle with sticker, $7.50.

 The near side seems a bit off compared to the far side.

 Napcoware? Lefton? My guess is he is one or the other.

 His snout is a bit cartoonish.

I may go back and take a closer look at the other dogs that were there. There were many lovely pieces in mint condition, and I would love to bring them home and keep them that way!