Caterpillar Pa & Hagen Renaker's 75th Anniversary

Breyer isn't the only one celebrating a big anniversary this year - 2020 is Hagen Renaker's 75th anniversary! 

Sue Nikas was kind enough to send Kristina Lucas Francis a bunch of things from the factory to give out at the annual Hagen Renaker Tennessee Fellowship. That is held a few days before BreyerFest every year, but it, like so many other things, had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, Kristina and her crew have been sending them out to club members. Mine arrived Monday afternoon.

Inside the box was a gift wrapped package containing the goodies I'd been sent. (They are randomly shipped which was fine with me - I like surprises!)

Inside was a sticker, a lovely bar of soap with a Hagen Renaker portrait on it, and my factory surprise.

 I got Caterpillar Pa!

I looked him up in my Hagen Renaker book and he is the first version, so he's Monrovia and old.

What a nice thing for Susan Nikas and Kristina Lucas Francis to do for collectors! Thank you, and Happy Anniversary, Hagen Renaker!

More Clinkies from Nancy Falzone

It was a good mail day yesterday - I received another box from Nancy Falzone! After I'd purchased the Metlox Clydesdale, she'd asked if I were looking for anything else. I mentioned a few things, and soon new models were on their way to my home. 

 When I opened the box and cleared the top layer of packing peanuts,

I found four individually wrapped packages. It felt like I was opening another BreyerFest surprise horse or grab bag!

Nancy's packing jobs are always first rate. Each piece is carefully wrapped in several layers of paper and bubble wrap.

Inside the first package was a Monrovia Hagen Renaker Scamper in matte palomino. ($50) (Photo by Nancy.)

 A Zebra of an unknown manufacturer was in the next one. (I have a guess, but want to confirm that after doing some research.) ($15)

An old Lefton Donkey (with the original label under his belly) was in the third. ($20) (Photo by Nancy.)

And last was this matte palomino Monrovia Roughneck.

Nancy included the card she used to document him - I am thrilled to have this piece of ephemera and to learn the history of the model. ($50)

But there was one more surprise in that box.

Nancy had popped in a little gift - a Christmas ornament!

I always enjoy getting new models. But when they come from a friend, especially a dear friend like Nancy, they are sweet reminders of that friendship. And when I look at them on my shelves, not only do I see the horse, but I see my friend, too.

A Superior Plastics Horse

Every now and then, a friend who knows I am horsey will send me a text or message like this one that I got late last week.

After Karen sent me that message, I sent her photos of the black Western Horse and Black Western Pony pulled from the Identify Your Breyer site. 

Based on our message chain, I was expecting a black Breyer Western Pony.

What I got was this pretty boy, and he is most definitely not a Breyer Western Pony.

At first I thought he was made of styrene, but the more I handle him, the more I think it is another type of plastic. It's not quite light enough to be styrene and when I set him down on a table, he makes that gentle "thunk" sound that Breyers do.

The piece has what Nancy Atkinson Young called "scooper ears" in her notes for her books on Breyer Molds and Models.

The tack doesn't match Breyer, Ohio Plastics, or Superior, all of whom are known to have produced similar Western Horse models...

... although it does match Hartland's pretty well.

The saddle is missing its tapaderos and is made of a thinner plastic than the Breyer saddles are. But when I compared it to pictures of Hartland saddles, it seems to match. Could this be a Hartland piece?

I have one Hartland Western Horse, the Victor Over Clock (VOC). It's way up on the top of a shelf, but I am going to see if Craig won't help me get it down so I can compare the two. (I'm still under post op restrictions for lifting and climbing.)

I also have this Ohio Plastics horse and rider to compare the mystery horse to, and the two pieces are very different. My mystery horse is not an Ohio Plastic piece.

Clearly, I needed to do some research - that's part of the fun of collecting. I asked on a few Facebook sites to see if the folks there know what it is. And I found my answer from a post by Sande Schneider - her favorite mold is Breyer's Western Horse and she is a fount of knowledge. She's posted Nancy Young's notes about knock-off Western Horses. And there was my answer.

My mystery model was made in the early 1950s by Superior Plastics in Chicago, Illinois. 

A New Metlox Piece

Any day that you get a box from Nancy Falzone is a good day.

And yesterday was a very good mail day - look what she sent me!

This is the Metlox Poppytrail Turning Budweiser Clydesdale, a piece that Anheuser-Busch commissioned the Metlox company to produce.

My photos do not do it justice - the mane ribbons and bobs are beautiful and the gold accented hardware is stunning.

The piece is very large (as big as the large Metlox Drafters) and very heavy. It is the second version (indicated by the better gold detail and mane decorations) of the piece.

Nancy is known for her fabulous Hagen Renaker collection, but she has also acquired a lot of other chinas over the years. She is parting with some of those as well as some of her Hagen Renakers. (I have a palomino Roughneck and Scamper, a Lefton donkey, and an unknown Zebra coming in the next box from her.) 

Thank you, Nancy, for letting me add this beautiful boy to my collection!

BreyerFest 2020 Loot has Arrived

Two big boxes came today with most of my BreyerFest loot inside.

 I was lucky enough to snag a Kelpie, this year's crystal horse.

 Kelpie, $45, #711383, 750 made, BreyerFest 2020 Pop Up /Fling Store special,  Breyer.

 For my two Tent Specials, I got my top choices.

Lugh, $55, #711377, BreyerFest 2020 Tent Special Run, Breyer.

And I scored BIG on the Slainte Surprise. I'm so happy with the Appy!

 Slainte Surprise in chalky, glossy Appaloosa, $85, #711371, BreyerFest 2020 Tent Special Run.

Plus, I got all these goodies in a Pop Up Store grab bag. I have the Home Straight and the Adios, but I may use them as grandkid gifts or as show donations and prizes.

I still have a tee shirt and some Stablemates to look forward to.

The First of the BreyerFest Loot

Some of the models I purchased as part of BreyerFest have begun arriving.

Of course, I have Ballynoe Castle RM, the Celebration Horse. (I remember when they used to be called dinner models! And dinner was served outside at the park - no air conditioning,  just open air tents! Haha!) He's nice, but I am not a fan of the mold so I will either sell him or donate him to a live show. Breyer Celebration Horse, #71136, 7/2020, free with 3 Day Ticket, Breyer.

I got the chestnut pinto 70th Anniversary Fighting Stallion, #1825, 2020, $50, Triple Mountain Models, 7/2020. He is lovely.

A 1980s Little Bit Stock Horse with box. Appaloosa, #9040, 1985-1988, $15, 7/2020, Triple Mountain Models.

And a blanket from the French World Equestrian Games held in 2014! $10, 7/2020, Triple Mountain Models.

Hopefully soon the rest of my purchases, all coming from Breyer, will get here soon.