HR Tennessee's Platinum Jubilee

Kristina Lucas Francis at Hagen Renaker Tennessee has released a model to celebrate Hagen Renaker's 75th anniversary and she is gorgeous.

 Her name is Platinum Jubilee and she is on Maureen Love's Stablemate sized Arabian Mare. (A-106, $187, 4/2020. Kristina Lucas Francis)

 The finish is called San Dimas Nostalgia Steel/Ash Grey and I think she looks stunning in it. 

 A Certificate of Authenticity coms with her

and she is being made only during 2020 and is only available to members of the Hagen Renaker Collectors Club.

I generally don't collect Stablemates, but I do like the HR minis and am happy to add this one to my collection.

A Case for Bridle Rosettes

Ever since I began collecting bridle rosettes, I have been looking for a way to display them. Shadow boxes didn't work well - the rosettes have a raised bar on the back so that they can be used on a bridle, and that made them roll around in the little cubbies.

Sorry for the photo quality - the sun isn't up yet as I write and there is glass in the cover of the box.

That bar on the back made it so that anything I tried for displaying them simply didn't work. Finally, I just put my rosettes into a box and set them on the shelf. I was resigned that I was going to have to have to go down to the frame shop and see what they could figure out.

Then, a friend posted on social media that she had bought a ring case to display her horsey jewelry and rings. Since I have a lot of horsey jewelry, I clicked on her photos to see if it might work for me. And in doing so, I solved my own problem.

Photo by Myla Pearce. Don't her things look great displayed like that? And how easy to find what she wants to wear!

I hopped onto Amazon, found a similar one, and ordered it. It arrived this weekend and I began inserting my bridle rosettes. Looks pretty good thus far!

I also included a photo of my father with his circus pony, Oh Boy. I have Oh Boy's bridle and there is one rosette remaining on it, so I plan to pop that one into the case, too. The plain silver one is from my first horse, Amy's bridle. 

Thanks, Myla, for the wonderful idea!

A Blue Ribbon Elephant

I remember getting a new Breyer as a child and peeling off the blue ribbon sticker that used to come with Breyer's early pieces. I'd play with those blue ribbons just as much as I played with the models they accompanied. And now all those blue ribbons are gone. I did not save a single one.

Once in a while I purchase a vintage piece just because it still has its blue ribbon sticker, so when this elephant was listed on an online sales site, I snagged it. 

Along with having its sticker, the price was good and the piece was in great shape.

But when I actually had the elephant in hand and could take a good look at it, I could tell right away that it was different from my other elephants.

It was a grayer color, but then color variations among Breyer are very normal. Was it a chalky? The paint did not feel thick, but just in case, I shone a flashlight through it. The light was blocked. Excitedly, I shone the light through the other two elephants, just to compare, and it shone through as expected.

So, the elephant blocked light like a chalky would, but it did not have the thick base coat of paint under its grey coloring. I then flipped it on its side to check its feet.

There was my answer - the feet were a solid grey color - the elephant had been made with grey plastic. This happened during the oil crisis of the early 1970s when Breyer had difficulty getting the right materials to manufacture models.

You can see the difference between its feet and my other two elephants. (They have drain board patterns on their feet which is also pretty cool.) And if you look at its tusks, you can see that they are unpainted grey plastic while the other two have white tusks.

Super thrilled to have gotten the double bonus of a blue ribbon sticker and grey plastic to add to my vintage collection!

Vintage Club Starlight

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that I thought that Breyer's glossy black Appaloosa was one of the best colors ever done on the Fighting Stallion. 

But I sure like it on other molds, too. To my delight, Breyer's second release in the 2020 Vintage Collectors Club is Starlight, the Eberl Shagya Arabian, and it is done in the old glossy grey Appaloosa.

 Starlight, Vintage Club #2 for 2020, #712324, $127, 3/2020, 500 made, Breyer.

She is lovely in this color, and is my first piece from the mold. (What a shelf eater she is!) But I think Breyer did a super nice job with her and am happy to clear some space for her.

Just for fun, I pulled out all my glossy grey Appaloosa models. She fits right in with the rest of them.

Breyer's offerings this year just keep knocking it out of the park!

Vintage Club Trailblazer

Oh, Breyer, I wish you celebrated your anniversary every year! The offerings, both regular run, club, and special runs are awesome!

Trailblazer is the first offering to Vintage Club members.

Not only does he come with a slip saddle, but he has the old style grooming kit, too!

And a hang tag!

His color is beautifully done, too. 

Breyer, you outdid yourself with this one and I can't wait to see the next Vintage Club offering!

New Acquisitions

I have been doing some model horse shopping, both online and in thrift shops, and have three new goodies to add to my collection.

This  Andalusian Foal looked like a possible pearly or chalky, so I bought it. It's not, but it's still cute.

Breyer Andalusian Foal, #3060, 1979-1993, $10, Etsy/Emily Cisco, Byron, Georgia.

Believe it or not, I did not have a matte bay Family Arabian Foal, so I snapped this one up when I found it.

Breyer Family Arabian Foal, #15 Shah, 1967-1974, has USA stamp, 3/9/2020, Etsy/Julie Borg, Bethel, CT

And I love the old Stretch Morgan in black, and found this lovely boy.

 Stretch Morgan, #48, 1965 - 1987, USA stamp, semigloss, $6, Sell It Here.

He has a chipped ear and I am going to see if I can sculpt a new one and fix it.

Early Clydesdale Stallion

I spied this lovely Clydesdale for sale at last month's GLC show and, after thinking about it for a few hours, went back and bought it.

Breyer Clydesdale Stallion, no muscle version, #80, 1958 - 1961, $35, Ellen Vogel/GLC, 2/29/2020

 He's the early, no-muscle version and in great shape for his age. 

The eighth bob has been reglued as has an ear tip  but that doesn't bother me one bit. There is no Breyer stamp, either, so between that and the no-muscles, that makes him a very early piece. (There are five versions of the bay Clydesdale; this is version one. Some version ones had eye whites while others, like mine, did not.)

One of my first Breyers was the bay Clydesdale Stallion with gold bobs. I named him Hercules, and he was the "strong man" of my carpet herd. A gentle giant. As a result, I have a very soft spot in my heart for these early Clydesdales.

So, I am really happy to add this piece to my collection.