Showing posts with label Stud Spider. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stud Spider. Show all posts
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Stud Spider and Canvas Blanket
I wanted this brown canvas blanket but had to buy the Stud Spider, too. Not a problem since the price was only $15 for both.
Brown Canvas Blanket, $15 w/Stud Spider, #2360 (1979-1980) or #2380 (1979-1981), 11/2018, eBay, Dawn Pinto, Jasper, TN.
The horse is very white. That blanket must've protected him from yellowing.
His spots and sock also vary when compared to mine.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Stud Spider
(From Breyer History Diva, February, 2011)
Today’s model horsey thoughts turn to my favorite Stud Spider variation, the one with four stockings:
There are a lot of different variations of the Stud Spider - left sock, right sock, no socks, differences in the blanket masking - but the four stocking version is probably the most distinctive. More casual collectors sometimes fail to appreciate the charms of the more subtle variations of this release, but this fellow is a little harder to overlook. Isn’t it something that the simple addition of three more stockings can make him look like another release, entirely?
But he’s not - rumor has it that he was the result of a little mix up in the factory, way back when. Exactly when, I do not know: mine came with his original brown picture box from the early 1980s, so if I had to hazard a guess, it’d be a little bit earlier in his modestly long run (late 1977 through 1989) than later.
I bought mine on eBay a few years back - I paid a little bit more for him than I wanted to, but I had missed out on a couple of them prior, and by then I had become a little obsessed with it. The price wasn’t really all that much - a little more than retail, I think - but I’m someone who does most of her horse shopping at the dirt mall. Anything more than "body price" feels like a rip off!
I’ve seen a few more since then, including one I bought for a friend at BreyerFest last year, but he’s definitely on the uncommon side. He’s more uncommon than many better known variations on more popular models. I’m sure he’ll catch on eventually; I’m just glad I got mine before he’s become fashionable.
Today’s model horsey thoughts turn to my favorite Stud Spider variation, the one with four stockings:
There are a lot of different variations of the Stud Spider - left sock, right sock, no socks, differences in the blanket masking - but the four stocking version is probably the most distinctive. More casual collectors sometimes fail to appreciate the charms of the more subtle variations of this release, but this fellow is a little harder to overlook. Isn’t it something that the simple addition of three more stockings can make him look like another release, entirely?
But he’s not - rumor has it that he was the result of a little mix up in the factory, way back when. Exactly when, I do not know: mine came with his original brown picture box from the early 1980s, so if I had to hazard a guess, it’d be a little bit earlier in his modestly long run (late 1977 through 1989) than later.
I bought mine on eBay a few years back - I paid a little bit more for him than I wanted to, but I had missed out on a couple of them prior, and by then I had become a little obsessed with it. The price wasn’t really all that much - a little more than retail, I think - but I’m someone who does most of her horse shopping at the dirt mall. Anything more than "body price" feels like a rip off!
I’ve seen a few more since then, including one I bought for a friend at BreyerFest last year, but he’s definitely on the uncommon side. He’s more uncommon than many better known variations on more popular models. I’m sure he’ll catch on eventually; I’m just glad I got mine before he’s become fashionable.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Stud Spider Leg Wraps
(Breyer History Diva, 2010)
Hey, look what I found in the rubble - my Stud Spider leg wraps!
These wraps came with a nice old Stud Spider I bought on eBay a few years ago. I’m pretty sure he was actually one of the original 1977 Gift Set releases from the J.C. Penney’s catalog; the model has all the hallmarks of an early piece - the more intricate blanket masking, and a neatly airbrushed short sock. (The original release of the Stud Spider has quite a complex series of subtle and not so subtle paint and masking changes - intricate enough that I’ll have to cover them another day.)
Here’s the picture of "Stud Spider" in his rocking red wraps, from the 1977 catalog. Note that the model isn’t actually Stud Spider, but an Appaloosa Performance Horse test piece stand-in. I’m guessing that the mold still wasn’t ready when the catalog photo shoot took place earlier that year.
The 1977 Christmas release was the only set where the leg wraps were actually included as a part of the Gift Set. They had been planned all along; they were specifically mentioned in the Spring 1977 issue of JAH, in an article discussing Stud Spider’s imminent release:
But they were not included in the subsequent mass market version of the #3080 Stud Spider Gift Set in 1978.
Why were they canceled? Was it a quality control issue, a safety issue, or simply one of cost? I have no idea. They’re pretty cheesy looking, so quality control is my bet.
Whatever the reason, it was obviously a last minute decision, because the leg wraps did make their debut later in that year - separately, as a special offer through the Spring 1978 Just About Horses. (The very first issue I received as a subscriber!) They were subsequently available through the Bentley Sales Company, and possibly other mail-order firms. I remember them being available for a number of years afterwards, so they obviously had a ton of them.
Yes, I was a dork and ordered a set, though I’m not entirely sure where they are now. Probably in that big box of miscellaneous Breyer tack lurking in my closet.
I don’t hold out a lot of hope of finding them in salvageable condition, if they’re still in there. I had to put the ones I received with my eBay Spider in a plastic sleeve with archival cardboard backing because they’re slowly and rather messily distintegrating. (Those black flecks in the background? Not dirt!) They were backed with foam rubber, and anyone whose had any experience with older Fighting Stallions knows that foam rubber doesn’t age well, even in the most archival of conditions.
There’s a chance that the leg wraps were bought separately and included in the auction by sheer coincidence, but the physical clues seem to point towards my early Stud Spider being a true 1977 release, thus making the leg wraps plausibly original. He didn’t come with his box or any other documentation, so I can’t be 100% sure.
Hey, look what I found in the rubble - my Stud Spider leg wraps!
These wraps came with a nice old Stud Spider I bought on eBay a few years ago. I’m pretty sure he was actually one of the original 1977 Gift Set releases from the J.C. Penney’s catalog; the model has all the hallmarks of an early piece - the more intricate blanket masking, and a neatly airbrushed short sock. (The original release of the Stud Spider has quite a complex series of subtle and not so subtle paint and masking changes - intricate enough that I’ll have to cover them another day.)
Here’s the picture of "Stud Spider" in his rocking red wraps, from the 1977 catalog. Note that the model isn’t actually Stud Spider, but an Appaloosa Performance Horse test piece stand-in. I’m guessing that the mold still wasn’t ready when the catalog photo shoot took place earlier that year.
The 1977 Christmas release was the only set where the leg wraps were actually included as a part of the Gift Set. They had been planned all along; they were specifically mentioned in the Spring 1977 issue of JAH, in an article discussing Stud Spider’s imminent release:
The sculpture of "Stud Spider" has been completed and will be available in a Breyer gift set. The set will include an informative booklet on Appaloosas and leg wraps for "Stud Spider". Look for "James Brolin’s Stud Spider" this Fall.
But they were not included in the subsequent mass market version of the #3080 Stud Spider Gift Set in 1978.
Why were they canceled? Was it a quality control issue, a safety issue, or simply one of cost? I have no idea. They’re pretty cheesy looking, so quality control is my bet.
Whatever the reason, it was obviously a last minute decision, because the leg wraps did make their debut later in that year - separately, as a special offer through the Spring 1978 Just About Horses. (The very first issue I received as a subscriber!) They were subsequently available through the Bentley Sales Company, and possibly other mail-order firms. I remember them being available for a number of years afterwards, so they obviously had a ton of them.
Yes, I was a dork and ordered a set, though I’m not entirely sure where they are now. Probably in that big box of miscellaneous Breyer tack lurking in my closet.
I don’t hold out a lot of hope of finding them in salvageable condition, if they’re still in there. I had to put the ones I received with my eBay Spider in a plastic sleeve with archival cardboard backing because they’re slowly and rather messily distintegrating. (Those black flecks in the background? Not dirt!) They were backed with foam rubber, and anyone whose had any experience with older Fighting Stallions knows that foam rubber doesn’t age well, even in the most archival of conditions.
There’s a chance that the leg wraps were bought separately and included in the auction by sheer coincidence, but the physical clues seem to point towards my early Stud Spider being a true 1977 release, thus making the leg wraps plausibly original. He didn’t come with his box or any other documentation, so I can’t be 100% sure.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Masking
(From Breyer History Diva, 2009.)
Until recently, Breyer masks (also called templates, stencils, or some combination thereof) were made out of metal. They were physically clamped to the model prior to painting. The base coat would be spray painted over this mask. The model would then be unclamped from the mask once the paint was dry (which, believe it or not, reputedly took less than ten seconds to dry.) Additional details and colors would then be applied, to finish.
Here’s a nice photo of a paint mask being used on Stud Spider. This is from page 11 Marney Walerius’s book, Breyer Models. (I wanted to show off and tell you which one of the Stud Spider masks it was - there’s more than one version - but the angle of the photograph isn’t helping.)
Since models would vary slightly in size and shape as a result of the molding process, the fit on these masks was always a problem. You’d get paint under the mask wherever the mask didn’t fit snugly: that’s what we call overspray. Sometimes you’d get lucky and get someone with clean masking - either the fit was good, or the painter was. But more often than not, you’d find yourself rationalizing the overspray on an otherwise showable model as mapping or haloes.
The laser-cut adhesive stencils used today are a relatively new phenomenon - brought to us via the increasing affordability of this technology, collector demand for more and better detail, and from the competition (Peter Stone) implementing it first, to good effect.
Breyer and Reeves did experiment with adhesive masking before, but it tended to be limited either to test colors, preproduction models, or early orders on new releases where the metal masking wasn’t ready yet (like the Polled Hereford Bull.) And they used plain old masking tape and (if we were lucky!) an X-acto blade.
The laser-cut masks are not foolproof. They are still subject to painter error, especially if they are very intricate, hastily applied, or designed for a model who is not as sedately or smoothly sculpted as a Stud Spider. All of those problems probably contributed to the painting problems on the Traditional Hidalgo Silvers.
Until recently, Breyer masks (also called templates, stencils, or some combination thereof) were made out of metal. They were physically clamped to the model prior to painting. The base coat would be spray painted over this mask. The model would then be unclamped from the mask once the paint was dry (which, believe it or not, reputedly took less than ten seconds to dry.) Additional details and colors would then be applied, to finish.
Here’s a nice photo of a paint mask being used on Stud Spider. This is from page 11 Marney Walerius’s book, Breyer Models. (I wanted to show off and tell you which one of the Stud Spider masks it was - there’s more than one version - but the angle of the photograph isn’t helping.)
Since models would vary slightly in size and shape as a result of the molding process, the fit on these masks was always a problem. You’d get paint under the mask wherever the mask didn’t fit snugly: that’s what we call overspray. Sometimes you’d get lucky and get someone with clean masking - either the fit was good, or the painter was. But more often than not, you’d find yourself rationalizing the overspray on an otherwise showable model as mapping or haloes.
The laser-cut adhesive stencils used today are a relatively new phenomenon - brought to us via the increasing affordability of this technology, collector demand for more and better detail, and from the competition (Peter Stone) implementing it first, to good effect.
Breyer and Reeves did experiment with adhesive masking before, but it tended to be limited either to test colors, preproduction models, or early orders on new releases where the metal masking wasn’t ready yet (like the Polled Hereford Bull.) And they used plain old masking tape and (if we were lucky!) an X-acto blade.
The laser-cut masks are not foolproof. They are still subject to painter error, especially if they are very intricate, hastily applied, or designed for a model who is not as sedately or smoothly sculpted as a Stud Spider. All of those problems probably contributed to the painting problems on the Traditional Hidalgo Silvers.
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