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!

Merry Christmas, Trinity!

I got Trinity a paint-by-number Breyer for Christmas.

This morning we set up the kitchen table and began painting.

I was impressed with the time and care Trinity put into painting her model. She kept at it and had a lot of patience as she worked.

The finished product looked pretty good - I admit I was a bit surprised at the high quality of the Breyer model. It's a very heavy resin material, not a light, plastic as I expected. Good to know they are taking such good care of their younger collectors by giving them a nice piece to begin with. Kudos, Breyer!

NAMHSA Regions Map

Years ago, in the mid 1990s, model horse enthusiasts formed a national organization called North American Model Hose Showers Association (NAMHSA). I showed at the first two NANs (North American Nationals) and have several models who have earned National Top Ten placings over the year, some of my pinnacle moments as a collector.

North America is divided up into regions (I live in Region 8) and shows are held on a regional level that allow you to qualify for NAN. I went to two shows this past year and have a bunch of pieces qualified for the 2013 and 2014 NAN (once you qualify, you are eligible for two years.)

NAN will be held in Harrisburg, PA in 2013 and Lexington, Kentucky for 2014 which is where I will go if I decide to show at NAN.

Below is a map of all the NAMHSA regions.

Blue Ribbon Sticker Information

We used to play with those stickers - hanging them from the models' bridles as though they'd won a blue ribbon in a show, etc. Now I wish I had kept a few!

From Breyer History Diva, November 18, 2012.

Making Up Stories in My Head Again

So, here’s a picture of another recent indulgence:

A pretty nice Palomino Western Prancing Horse, with sticker. I’d been on the lookout for years for just the "right" one to add to the herd. I was pretty sure he wasn’t it, either, but the price was, and there was something to him, I dunno, that told me it was necessary to buy him anyway.

Once I opened the box, it only took a few minutes to figure out why: he had the USA mold mark.

With the small Blue Ribbon Sticker, too.

According to my research, this shouldn’t happen: small stickers should only appear on models manufactured from ca. 1966 to ca. 1968, and the larger stickers - the ones with the names - should only appear on models manufactured from ca. 1969 through ca. 1970.

The USA mark was added to many (though not all) Breyer molds sometime around 1970, so any model with a USA mark would have a large Blue Ribbon Sticker, if at all.

For the most part, the chronology appears to be holding up. In the occasions when I it has not, it was either a matter of transposition - a sticker had been transplanted from another model - or it was one of those models or finishes where there’s still a lot of fuzziness about the dates. The Family Arabian Foals, for instance, were apparently re-released in Gloss in the later 1960s.

(Why exactly, we’re not sure. ‘Nother story, anyway.)

Looking at the lists I’ve compiled, I did notice some oddities. Some stickers that should, theoretically, be showing up weren’t.

Take the Bucking Bronco: has anyone actually seen a Bucking Bronco with a large version of the Blue Ribbon Sticker? Both the Black and the Bay were manufactured during the necessary time period. The Rearing Stallion, who is more or less the same scale as the Bucking Bronco, came with both versions of the sticker.

And so too, the Western Prancing Horse. Five of the six early Western Prancing Horses (all but the Black Pinto) were manufactured throughout the entire "Blue Ribbon" era, ca. 1966-ca.1970. But I have yet to see any Western Prancing Horses with the large version of the Blue Ribbon Stickers.

It’s possible it’s a sampling error; stickers are fragile, and I certainly haven’t seen every Breyer model in the world, though it feels like it sometimes. But I've been compiling this data for years now. I may now have to concede that the sticker timeline might be slightly more complicated than I thought it was. Some models that could have made the transition to larger stickers may not have.

Why that was we’ll never know for sure, but there are a couple of plausible theories. Some of these molds might have been lower or slower sellers, for whom another sticker order might have been a waste of time and money. With the Western Prancer, it might have been a space issue: it would have been something of a challenge to fit the words "Western Prancing Horse" legibly on a sticker less than an inch in diameter.

It’s possible that this guy is just another case of transposition, and my brain is just concocting fabulous scenarios to make him more interesting to me. But it still hasn’t changed the fact that I haven’t seen a Western Prancing Horse with a large Blue Ribbon Sticker. Anyone out there who can prove me wrong?

(And if you can, is he for sale?)

Gathering Storm

I read on Breyer History Diva's blog that Tuesday Morning stores were receiving Breyer overstock and that some good bargains could be had. So naturally I headed to the West Lafayette one on Saturday morning!

Sure enough, I found several I would've liked to have, but I only purchased this one:

 Gathering Storm ($19.99)

Spring 2011 Collector's Choice Model

#1456 glossy charcoal grey and white pinto

San Dimas Zara

My Hagen-Renaker Zara arrived today! I bought her from my friend, Nancy Falzone, and she is stunning.

Zara ($180)

 Her detail is beautiful; she is a San Dimas era piece in doeskin. Lots of crackle in her graze and nice shading.

I bought her to match my Monrovia era Amir. When I put them together, I was surprised to discover that I actually liked his color better - he is that luscious soft-edged color they did on their doeskin pieces back then while her detail is crisper.

Next up? To find the third piece of the set, the foal, Zilla.

New Arrivals

Breyer has announced its discontinued list for 2012, and I really wanted this piece:

 It's one of Breyer's earliest molds, and it was on sale for $24, so I snagged one.

And then, remembering the sweet Christmas ornaments that I received as a gift and then gave away (and regretted), I decided to take the plunge and buy the three new Merry Fillies. And I am so glad I did - they are soooo cute!

 Truffle ($8)

 Snowdrift ($8)

 Twinkle ($8)

The photos do not do them justice - the detail in the paint jobs are incredible!