2015 Vintage Club Stablemate

Breyer gives the Vintage Collectors Club members a bonus stablemate at the end of the collecting year. The 2015 piece is this one:

It's a G3 mold with a vintage color - alabaster - and beautifully done.

Bravo, 712145, free, 2015 Vintage Collectors Club Stablemate, 12/2015.

The Zodiac Horses

It's not the 60s girl in me at all, but when Breyer announced a line of Zodiac horses for 2015, I was curious and took a look.

The classic Lippizaner done up in such luscious colors as this hooked me and I decided to buy this one and maybe some others.

Sagittarius, #8173, 2015, $14.95, 11/2015, Breyer.

The Bucking Bronco is another vintage mold and one I collect.

Aries, #8165, $14.95, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer.

And the Rearing Stallion, a mini Fighting Stallion!

Pisces, #8175, $14.95, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer.

Not a mold I collect, but a lovely one and the color is gorgeous, so this one was also ordered.

Scorpio, #8172, $14.95, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer.

Well, Breyer had another big sale at the end of December, and I thought long and hard and decided to buy the rest of the set. They are remaining in their boxes and are stored in the closet, but here's a picture of the entire collection from Breyer's web site. (These were sold only through Breyer.)

Beginning at the top and working my way down, left to right:

Taurus, #8166, $18, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer.
Gemini, #8167, $18, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer (This mold has only been used two other times.)
Cancer, #8168, $18, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer.
Leo, #8169. $18, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer.
Virgo, #8170, $18, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer.
Libra, #8171, $18, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer.
Capricorn, #8174, $18, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer.
Aquarius, #8175, $18, 2015, 11/2015, Breyer.

Autism Horse

This piece has not been well accepted by the hobby. It is unusual, I'll grant you that! But... those are the pieces that go up in value down the road. But I didn't by this piece for that reason.

I bought it because I have taught several autistic students and I would not be surprised if someday one of my own grandchildren are diagnosed - the odds favor that happening.

Hope - Benefit Autism Horse, #1736, 2015 only, gift from Craig, Christmas 2015.

UPS Fiasco

Christmas Day, I ordered Breyer's holiday special, Holly and Ivy. The following day, I ordered the Zodiac horses. I got a shipping notice for both, and they were scheduled to arrive the same day.

Only Holly or Ivy didn't.  Someone at UPS goofed. Big time. Just look at this tracking information!!

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN, US	01/06/2016	12:12 P.M.	Delivered
Lafayette, IN, United States	01/06/2016	4:06 A.M.	Out For Delivery
	01/06/2016	1:27 A.M.	Arrival Scan
Indianapolis, IN, United States	01/06/2016	12:17 A.M.	Departure Scan
Indianapolis, IN, United States	01/05/2016	7:16 A.M.	Arrival Scan
Terre Haute, IN, United States	01/05/2016	5:40 A.M.	Departure Scan
	01/05/2016	2:48 A.M.	Arrival Scan
Earth City, MO, United States	01/04/2016	9:45 P.M.	Departure Scan
Earth City, MO, United States	01/03/2016	1:06 A.M.	Arrival Scan
Mesquite, TX, United States	01/02/2016	2:27 P.M.	Departure Scan
Lafayette, IN, United States	12/30/2015	1:00 A.M.	Arrival Scan
Indianapolis, IN, United States	12/30/2015	12:01 A.M.	Departure Scan
Obetz, OH, United States	12/29/2015	4:10 P.M.	Arrival Scan
Parsippany, NJ, United States	12/29/2015	5:10 A.M.	Departure Scan
	12/29/2015	1:03 A.M.	Arrival Scan
Saddle Brook, NJ, United States	12/29/2015	12:24 A.M.	Departure Scan
Saddle Brook, NJ, United States	12/28/2015	10:33 P.M.	Origin Scan
United States	12/28/2015	3:46 P.M.	Order Processed: Ready for UPS

My Ivy arrived today with a battered box whose end had popped open. Luckily Breyer had wrapped the model really well and it was not damaged.

Mini Book Tutorial

From Nichelle of Desktop Stables (October 15, 2015)

Some) Tips for Making Printable Minis

October 18, 2015 by Nichelle

This is a post I’ve been trying to write for a long time now, but it’s been difficult, as it’s one of those topics that can quickly become very complicated. This is not exactlya miniature printing tutorial and it’s definitely not a Photoshop tutorial. I can try to answer any specific Photoshop related questions, but if you’re new to it you’d probably be better off searching for more in-depth tutorials online. It’s a complex program. I’ve got 10+ years experience with it and still don’t know how to do everything.

Also, just because this is how I do things does not mean that it’s the ONLY way. I’m no expert and am continually learning and trying new things.

For miniature making and printing, I almost always use Photoshop CS6 or Photoshop Elements 6.0, depending on the project. Elements is basically a smaller version of Photoshop… it lacks some features the other has (like Actions, which I use to quickly resize a bunch of images at once, which is nice for sales posts… goodness I’m already trailing off topic here…) but I’m still able to do a lot with it.

I use these programs most often because many of the minis I’ve made have had to be edited, rebuilt or repainted in some way. (I’m picky about micro stuff you can’t even see half the time)
Adobe offers a free 30 day trial for their software, as well as a subscription program. Another alternative (and it’s free!) is GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/) but I have absolutely no experience with this program.

Having photo-editing software really comes in handy, but honestly, it’s not something you NEED if you want to print up something simple. If you just want to re-size something, Microsoft Word will work, and maybe Paint. (kudos to you if you can do ANYTHING in paint) You just need to be able to see rulers around the edge of your document. (be sure to check settings to make sure they’re enabled) Just because something looks like it’s the right size on the screen does NOT mean that it will print up that way.

For this post, however, I’m going to assume that you have some sort of photo editing software, and have a basic knowledge of how to use it.

The two things I pay attention to when shrinking stuff is resolution and scale. For high-quality minis you’re going to want your images at a high resolution.

When creating a document I know I’ll be printing, I set the DPI (or digital pixels per inch) to 300. This is a good number for any image you want to print up. If I’m just making things for the web (such as my blog’s banner image) I’ll keep that number much, much lower. (72, usually) Those types of images can still be printed of course but the quality won’t be as good.
Basically, the higher the dpi number, the higher the quality. The lower the number, the “fuzzier” the image will become when printed.

Here’s an example. The book on the right was most likely printed with a 72 dpi resolution, while the one on the left was printed with a 300 resolution.

Since it’s a lot easier for me to show this process rather than talk about it, I’m going to make a tiny version of one of my Just About Horses magazines. (I miss this magazine so much)

The first thing I did was scan both the front and back cover, then open them up in Photoshop.

Next I’m going to create a new document. My personal preference is to set the size at 8 ½ X 11 inches (standard printer paper here, it will vary elsewhere) with a 300 DPI resolution. Color mode is CMYK. (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) PS Elements only allows me to choose RGB, (red, green, blue) but either setting will work. Ideally you want CMYK for images to be printed, as RGB images are much better suited for the web.

I have a confession to make: half the time I guesstimate when scaling stuff down. 1:9 is a weird scale, what can I say. Also, math. So much of miniatures is creating the illusion of the real thing… so that’s my excuse.

My JAH magazine is 8 ¼ inches wide by 11 inches tall. To scale this down, I’m going to cheat and use a conversion calculator. http://jbwid.com/scalcalc.htm

It looks like my mini magazine should be 0.916666… inches wide by 1.222222… inches tall. These are lovely numbers to work with, right? (*cough*whyIguesstimate*cough*) I’m going to adjust this to 1 inch wide by 1 ¼ inch tall. Usually I take these measurements and sketch them out on a piece of scratch paper, then compare that to a doll or model to see if I’m happy with the size, making adjustments as necessary.

Back to the document.

There are multiple ways to do this, but my preference is to start with a solid color shape in the size I need. This is where rulers come in handy… here I’ve made a selection in the very top corner of my document, using the rulers on the side as a guide. This can be filled with any color.

Another (and more exact) way is to create a new shape in the right size.

I’ll use this as a guide when adding the JAH images. You could skip this step of course, and just re-size the images themselves using the rulers.

When I’ve got all the images re-sized, I’ll arrange them in the way I want them to be printed:

I went ahead and scanned in a few spreads from the magazine, and re-sized them as well:

To prepare for printing, I first arrange everything towards the middle of the document. You don’t want anything right against the edges, or they will be cut off when printed.
If I’m putting something up for download, I’ll usually save it as a PDF file, to make printing easier. For personal use I normally print straight through Photoshop. I never check the “scale to fit media” box, as it will shrink the entire document and make the images smaller than they already are. I always double check my printer settings as well.

Printed!

Now all that’s left to do is cut and assemble all the pieces. Here’s my mini JAH all finished:

And that’s (basically) it! If you have any specific questions feel free to ask. :)

Posted in Tips, Tutorials | Tagged miniatures, printables, tips, tutorial | 6 Comments

2015 Horse Tree

Not only do I have a horsehead wreath on my front door, I also have a horsey ornament tree!

I debated putting it out - only one of our six children will be here for the holidays, so our celebration will be on a much smaller scale. On the other hand, with no grandchildren dancing about with sugarplums on their minds, I can put some breakables out and not worry.

I still have a crate of horsey ornaments that I left in the closet, and I am hoping to find the Breyer American Pharaoh ornament under my Christmas tree December 25.

I need a bigger ornament tree for 2016!

My Purdy Custom

I don't collect customs, although I do have three early 70s ones (Pace's Hi Hopes, Scojeadon (I think that's its name), and Midwest Tumbleweed.)I also have this guy:

 Champaign Toast made by Tiffany Conwell (Purdy) in 1995.

 She brought him to Lincoln Land Live and I fell in love with him!

By today's standards for customizing, he's average, but back then, he was dynamite!

I cleaned my hobby closet out over Fall Break and found him. I am downsizing my collection (well, in SOME ways I am... haha!) and I decided to send him to my friend, Jennifer Buxton, Tiffany's best friend. She's also the one who made my the miniature halter with Abby's name on it as well as a set of sleigh bells that are my real ones only downsized for model horses.

Jennifer was thrilled. Here's her blog post about it.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015

Pre-Purdy

In my heart of hearts, I secretly believe that all the Purdy horses should belong to me. 

Today, I came one step closer to that goal, except my newest Purdy pony is so old he predates the Purdy name!

Meet Champagne Toast. He was a surprise gift from Lynn Isenbarger.

The note accompanying tells his story: When Craig was teaching at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, I held three live shows, Lincoln Land I, II and III in the early 1990's. Entries were arriving for Lincoln Land II when I got a call from a girl named Tiffany. She asked about model showing and said she was interested in attending a show and seeing what it was all about. I invited her to come join us, and she did.

It may have been her first live show, but she had wonderful entries! Her packing boxes were neat, too; I still remember a round, pink box with leopard print. Tiffany attended both Lincoln Land II and III, bringing this horse to Lincoln Land III. I fell in love with him, and ended up purchasing him. 

I am in the process of downsizing and, aside from this TWH and a few 1970's pieces from Sherry Cook, I really don't collect customs. I spent some time thinking about who might appreciate him, and you came to mind. Please feel free to what you want with him--keep him, pass him on, etc. Regardless, I hope he brings a smile to your face.
Thank you so much, Lynn. I love my new pre-Purdy pony. He definitely won't be passed along!