The bottom of a chalky hoof is sometimes a clue - see the extra paint layer?
Non-chalky Proud Arab Mare
Chalky Proud Arab Mare
Chalky Proud Arab Stallion
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Chalky Examples
I am getting better at identifying chalky models, but I can still be stumped by my own models. Here are some reference pictures pulled from Blab.
Saturday, April 6, 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.
From Breyer History Diva, April 5, 2013
So here they are, in situ:
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.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
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
Monday, April 1, 2013
Lucy - Vintage Collector's Club Special
I LOVE being a member of the Vintage Collector's Club. It's year two of the club, and I have been a member since its inception. Today Halo arrived, and Breyer sent me a notice of another special for club members only - Lucy, the Balking Mule!
And speaking of surprises…they announced the actual Vintage Club Exclusive/Made to Order model today: "Lucy", a Balking Mule in a loud dun appaloosa who (not coincidentally?) looks a lot like one of the first BreyerFest Gambler’s Choice models, the 2009 Quarter Horse Gelding in Appaloosa. The first thing that popped into my mind, however, when I saw her was this cover:
The Fall 1979 issue of Just About Horses - the first one with a full-color cover! (A brief bio of the Balking Mule mold is featured inside.) Kind of an obscure vintage nod, but a clever one. I like it.
I especially love the green halter.
Breyer History Diva wrote in her blog today about Lucy:
And speaking of surprises…they announced the actual Vintage Club Exclusive/Made to Order model today: "Lucy", a Balking Mule in a loud dun appaloosa who (not coincidentally?) looks a lot like one of the first BreyerFest Gambler’s Choice models, the 2009 Quarter Horse Gelding in Appaloosa. The first thing that popped into my mind, however, when I saw her was this cover:
Saturday, March 30, 2013
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.
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.
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 certainly has nice shading.
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.
It was that pink color that made me grab him.
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