Ali, Vintage Collector Club #3 2017

The third VCC release arrived yesterday - the Family Arabian Stallion done in four decorator colors. I had my fingers crossed that I would receive a wedgewood.

Sadly, when I opened the box, there was a gold charm Ali on the cover. Not realizing that ALL the boxes were the same, I shrugged my shoulders and decided that that was okay - it was still pretty.

But when I pulled the model out of the box, it looked awfully dark under the bubble wrap. Sure enough, I got my wedgewood!

 Ali, VCC #3 2017, #712210, $110, Breyer/Reeves, 6/27/2017/

 His sticker is iridescent, and his coloring is much prettier than what my cell phone pictures show.

 And clearly they have made an effort to put some detail into the eye painting.

Super, super happy with this piece!

VCC Quinn

Quinn is the second release for 2017 in the Vintage Collectors Club. He has a lovely metallic/pearly sheen.

 Quinn, 712209, $125, 500 made, 2017 only, with red halter, Vintage Collectors Club.

Photos taken from Identify Your Breyer.

Vintage Club Blossom and Belle

The first offerings for the 2017 Vintage Club arrived last week. It's Blossom and Belle, a Clydesdale Mare and Foal set. (Photos courtesy of Identify Your Breyer site. )

 Blossom, #712208, $125/set, 500 made, Breyer Vintage Collectors Club, 1/2017.

 The pattern is from the vintage San Domingo Medicine Hat Stallion model.

 And the blankets are because the original Clydesdale Mare and Foal in chestnut came with green blankets.

This is Belle, #712208, $125/set, 500 made, Breyer Vintage Collectors Club, 1/2017.

Several collectors have noted that their blue ribbon stickers are made of shiny paper this time. Mine are, too.

Honestly, I am not a fan of the set, even though it has proven to be HIGHLY popular among collectors. And some collectors, including Sande Schneider, are concerned about the bare white plastic being glossed - that means that when the model yellows, it will be difficult to whiten them again.

Still, I am happy to welcome them to Windsong and as part of my collection.

Vintage Collector Club 2016 Stabemate Riptide

I love the Vintage Collector Club and have every piece thus issued. There is always a free Stablemate sent to club members in November, and mine arrived last weekend.

 Riptide, #712172, 2016 VCC SM, free, 500 made.

I do not like the mold, but I absolutely LOVE the old Indian Pony with warpaint vintage paint job.

I had thought that this might be one that I sold, but I have changed my mind and am putting it in with the other VCC SMs!

Vintage Club Rosie and Bailey

The last traditional sized models arrived for the 2016 Vintage Collectors Club!

 Rosie and Bailey, #712171, +Vintage Collectors Club 2016 #4, $125, September, 2016.

 Rosie is sooooo smooth and beautiful.

 And Bailey appears to be a chalky!

I kept looking at him and wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I do not think they are.

 Looking at his mane and forelock, I see that thickness that often indicates chalkiness.

You can really see the difference when you look at his mama. He is also a lot darker in color than she is.

Happy to add these two to my collection!

Vintage Collectors Club 2016

Sometimes I shiver that I almost missed joining the Vintage Collectors Club when it was first offered in 2011. I hesitated over cost; $125 per model isn't cheap.

But, I prefer the vintage pieces and buy very few of the new Breyers as a result. I spend any spare time poking through antique and second hand shops, looking for oldies to add to my collection. (And Lafayette has proven to be a jackpot for them!)

So, I waited until the window to join was almost closed, and then decided it would be worth my while to become a member. I just made it - I am #479 of 500!

And I have not regretted it. Yes, there have been a piece or two I haven't especially liked (Coral and Reef come to mind) over the four years the club has been in existence, but they are still vintage colors on vintage molds and I am happy to have them.

Breyer just released its offerings for the 2016 club by posting this picture in JAH.

Oh, drool! An appaloosa Man O'War! Dapple grey Western Prancer!! Red roan Lady Phase and Action Stock Horse Foal! Three different colors on the Cantering Welsh Pony!

Needless to say, I renewed my membership in the club.

Farah - Vintage Collectors Club

The fourth offering in Breyer's Vintage Collectors Club arrived! Her name is Farah, and she is the Proud Arab Mare with Yellow Mount's pattern done in palomino.

 Farah, VCC #4 for 2015, #712144, $127, 10/2015.

Breyer advertised her as a chalky, but most hobbyists agree that she is not. Some are angry about that, and are complaining about the creamy colored plastic, too. I love her, and prefer a creamy plastic to stark white.

Vintage Club #3 2015 - Running Stallion

Gold charm as been my least favorite decorator color ever since the gold charm Secretariats were produced. So, when it was announced that offering #3 from the Vintage Collectors Club would be a decorator, I hoped I would not get one in gold charm.

And then I saw a picture of one on Model Horse Blab and changed my mind. Good thing, too, because mine is a gold charm! And I LOVE it!!

Sailor, #712143, 3rd offering in 2015 Vintage Collectors Club, $135, 125 pieces made in each of four decorator colors. (This is gold charm.)

VC - Coral and Reef

Other collectors are going absolutely NUTS over these two pieces, the second offering in the 2015 Vintage Collectors Club. Me? Not so much. I am not much of a Misty fan, and I have never liked Stormy very much.

Having said that, I'm fine with having a Stormy and Misty as pieces from the club. I do collect vintage, and it is reasonable to assume I won't like some pieces as much as others. These are vintage molds and I am still delighted to have them as part of the club's offerings.

 Coral and Reef, #71242, Vintage Club offering #2/2015, $135, 3/2015

Coral is the four eyed version of the Misty paint job (lots of collectors are drooling over that tidbit!)

Vintage Collectors' Club - Two Bits

I've said it before, and I know I will say it again....

I LOVE BREYER'S VINTAGE COLLECTORS' CLUB!!!

Here is the first offering for 2015.

Two Bits, #712141, $135, Breyer, 2/2015.

Here is the advertisement from Breyer.

Diablo - Vintage Collectors Club 2014

My favorite mold in a luscious red roan - not a color that has ever been done on the semi-rearing Mustang. I am soooo happy with this piece!

 Diablo, #712103, Vintage Collectors Club 2014 #2, $127, 3/2014

Joining the Vintage Collectors Club when it first began was a good decision on my part - I have loved all that they have put out, and this year looks to be the best of all!

Levi - Vintage Collectors' Club 2014

Levi is the first piece for the 2014 Vintage Collectors' Club and he is a keeper!!

 Levi, #712102HD, Vintage Collector Club #1 2014, 1/2014, $135

 I think he is gorgeous.

 And possibly a chalky.

 Love his pink nose.

And Breyer has brought back the vintage boxes this year!!

Vintage Collectors Club Bonus Stablemate

The 2013 Vintage Collectors Club bonus Stablemate is Jackson, a G3 jumping horse done in old time Family Arab appaloosa!

 (Stock photos from Breyer's web site.)

Jackson, 10/2013.

More on the Balking Mule

With the news about Lucy, the Vintage Collector's Club special that was just announced, you can find some good information online about Breyer's Balking Mule. Breyer History Diva is a good source, and she posted the following within a post on her blog.

From Breyer History Diva, April 5, 2013

So here they are, in situ:

I used to have quite a few variations of everything in my herd, but I was running out of room real quick, so I pared them down to ones that (a) I really, really liked, (b) had some historical significance, or (c) came with an interesting backstory. The Mules, obviously, fell under (c).

And a little bit of (b), too. Like most Breyer models in the 1960s and through most of the 1970s, they were designed to come in both "lighter" and "darker" colors, to minimize culls. The lighter-colored ones would get painted first during a production run, and any that were messed up would get painted over with the darker paint job, if possible.

The painter that I talked to - one who had worked at the Chicago factory from the early days, forward - told me that the Balking Mules "lighter" and "darker" colors were going to be Chestnut and Seal Brown. She didn’t know why they switched the Chestnut to Bay, especially since the colors were not all that different.

So similar, in fact, that sometimes it’s difficult to determine where a "dark" variation of a Bay ends and a "light" variation of a Seal Brown begins.

Every once and a while I'll run across Mules that are on the very light end of the Bay spectrum, and make me wonder if that particular painter had anything to do with it. Probably not, but it’s still fun to imagine her tweaking somebody’s nose at the factory about that decision.

It didn’t occur to me to ask her what kind of Chestnut the Balking Mule was supposed to be. Flaxen Chestnut, like the Belgian? "Chocolate Milk" Sorrel, like the Five-Gaiter? Or more Red Chestnut, like the Man o’ War?

A few years later, we did get a Special Run of the Mule in the Five-Gaiter Sorrel color, as a part of the Black Horse Ranch set. That I have, along with all of the other Balking Mules, save for the Gloss Charcoal (never got around to it) and the Raffle Model Cactus (didn’t win, can’t afford.) No test colors, either, but considering that the mold was out of production for over twenty years, their scarcity shouldn't be too surprising.

Halo

The second piece of the 2013 Vintage Collectors Club has arrived! His name is Halo and it's the Stretch Morgan mold done in the super-popular Appaloosa Performance Horse color.

Halo

$135

Vintage Club Mystery Picture

Where did this picture come from?

It appeared on Breyer History Diva's blog, but she didn't explain just how she got the photo.

In the photo I can see Halo, one of the offerings in the 2013 Vintage Club. (Bottom row, second from right.) I see some oldies but goodies (black Grazing Mare, buckskin QH Gelding, chestnut Belgian, woodgrain Fighting Stallion, glossy palomino Fighting Stallion, and smoke Western Prancer) but the other models are vintage colors on old molds that never were offered in those colors.

She gives no clue as to the source of the photo and assumes the reader has seen it, too.

Interesting to see what isn't included in the photo - decorator colors (although the Shetland Pony, Western Horse, and maybe the Semi-Rearing Mustang are in those), the Family Arab molds, the Proud Arab Mare and Proud Arab Foal, the Racehorse, the Clydesdale Stallion, the Clydesdale Mare, the Clydesdale Foal, Misty, Sea Star, and Running Mare molds are all missing. I don't see the Cat or any of the dog molds (Boxer, Poodle, Jolly Cholly, German Shepherd, Benji, or Tiffany.)

Hmmm...

The Last of 2012's Models

I got this model in... early December, I think, but I never had time to open the box! (Christmas, you know....)

 This is Gus, the 2012 Vintage Collectors Club Special Run.

 He's glossy, and very nice in my opinion. The brown is that root-beer brown Breyer has done on a few models in the past decade, and I absolutely love that shade.

 A shot of the decal on his belly.

And another of the blue ribbon sticker Breyer is affixing to all their Vintage Club pieces. (Another aspect of the club's pieces I love.)

He's far nicer than the pictures in advertisements portrayed. I admit I am a bit surprised - there had been hobbyists who had sneered at the mold, the color, and the price. (Of course, that's a given, unfortunately. There are women in this hobby who seem to need to make themselves feel better by putting Breyer down. Sometimes I wish they had other things to do in their lives besides collect and sneer!)

Gus is my last purchase of 2012 and on an old mold with which I have a connection from the 1960s. Call me a happy Vintage Club collector!

(Gus, $132.00)

VIntage Collectors Club - 2013

I've rejoined for a second year. While it is a little pricey, I have liked each model I received. Plus, Breyer surprised members with several extras throughout the year. Looking forward to what they produce for year two!

Vintage Club Shipper Box

(From Breyer History Diva, February, 2012)

Another box came yesterday - the one with the Vintage Club Dandy. I haven’t had the chance to open it yet; as usual, I’m a little crushed for time. The shipping box is kind of interesting - a new take on the original Fighting Stallion shipper box - except that the UPS stickers obscure all the best parts.


I’m going to assume that this is going to be the standard shipper for the Vintage Club, and not worry about the condition of this one. I should have plenty of opportunities to get that one representative sample.

My Vintage Club membership number is … 42. The high holy number of the Internet, the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything? Awesome.

(Yes, I do keep a towel in my car. Right next to the pantry.)

Henceforth, all my Vintage Club horses shall be named after Hitchhiker’s Guide characters. (I already have a Clydesdale named Dent. Coincidence? I think not!)

The extra little surprise that they gave us is a copy of the 1953 (not 1954!) Boxer flier, with a copy of the pastel rough on the opposite side. I already had copies of both (of course) and an original of the Boxer ad, from an early 1953 issue of Playthings magazine (February or March, I forget - whatever month Toy Fair was that year.) Mine has a list of the regional representatives on the bottom, and the ad for the Western Horses printed on the opposite side.

Dandy - Vintage Collectors Club

(from Breyer History Diva, February, 2012)

I finally opened my Dandy today - very nice! The paint job is beautiful, and the sticker is a spot-on reproduction of the original. Though I must point out that most Gloss finishes were discontinued before the "Big" Blue Ribbon sticker debuted ca. 1969.

I know, I know, they picked that style of sticker so they could print the name on it legibly. It’s sort of my job to be nitpicky, you know.

My other nitpick with it is the certificate - as far as I know, the Clydesdale mold debuted in 1958, not 1957. It’s true that the Poodle was technically "debuted" at the 1958 Toy Fair, but it was available from multiple retailers in 1957; I haven’t seen any evidence of the same situation for the Clydesdale.

If it wasn’t available for retail sale in 1957, it wasn’t "released" in 1957, period.