70th Anniversary Stablemate Mystery Surprise

 I've had mixed success with Breyer's blind bags - while I think the monetary value of what I've gotten was definitely fair and worth it, often I was disappointed to discover that the items in my blind bag were things I already had.

Never have I done Breyer's Mystery Surprise bags - I'm not really a Stablemate collector (or so I tell myself) - but then Breyer started shrinking down some of my favorite old molds to celebrate their 70th Anniversary. 

Including the Indian Pony, one of my favorite molds of all, in the early chestnut pinto. Then reports on social media said that a second, more elusive, chase piece had been discovered  - a blue decorator Indian Pony.

(Photo from Identify Your Breyer and contributed by Triple Mountain Model Horses.)

She was very expensive on the secondary market ($36 to over $200!) so I wasn't going to find her that way. I figured that I wouldn't be able to have one. And then, Breyer had a sale and I had a really good coupon.  I took the plunge and ordered a case.

70th Anniversary Mystery Surprise Horse Blind Bag, case of 24, #6065, $109, 11/2020, Breyer.

The box arrived yesterday. I opened it and looked at that assortment, wondering if I'd been lucky and I'd find a blue Indian Pony in there for me. I grabbed a bag, felt the outline of what was inside, and realized that there was an Indian Pony inside. But was it the blue chase piece?

Bingo!! It was! Twenty-four packages, and the first one I opened had the piece I wanted! What are the chances on that?!

I'd read online that the Indian Pony could be found once in every 12 cases. If true, and with 24 pieces per case, that made my chances of finding her 1 in 288. Wow!

I took pictures of her yesterday and today in a variety of lights, and her spots are definitely gold. A check on eBay and Identify Your Breyer seems to show the same thing. It's hard to see here, but her legs are a solid color and a different shade of blue than her body and head. 

I also got two of the Indian Ponies in the iconic early Breyer pinto color. They will look nice next to my other two that are Traditional sized. 

There were three woodgrain Cydesdales. There are no neck wrinkles, but there is other musculature, so I am still deciding if they shrank down the no muscle version or the later muscled one. I lean toward the latter. 

Three gorgeous glossy charcoal Fighting Stallions.

Three sweet Fell Ponies. (I am going to keep one of these - he is darling!)

Three Missouri Fox Trotters whose shades varied from piece to piece.

Three Smart Chic Olenas (these will be donations or sold.)

I've never been a fan of the Connemara Mare (Croi) but I do like her in Stablemate form and black is my favorite horse color so I will be keeping one of these. Manes and tails like that are Pony Pal magnets.

The color on the Gypsy Vanner is lovely - with that flying mane, tail, and feathers, these three are going to a couple of Pony Pals for Christmas, too.

This gal is staying with me. I love her and am so glad I took that chance and bought that case of Mystery Surprise Stablemates. 

Sassy - Collectors Club Special

 Second post of the day - that means you can comment here even if you already commented on this morning's post!

Abby was called "Sassy" when she was recovering from her neglect and abuse at Indiana Horse Rescue. How, then, could I resist when Breyer did a Collectors Club special that was not only an Appaloosa (my favorite breed!) and also named Sassy?

Sassy, #712342, $65, Collectors Club web special, 10/2020, Breyer.

Never mind that I mostly collect vintage molds and have no other Lonesome Glorys in my collection. I fell head over heels in love with this gorgeous model, clicked, and was able to buy one. 

Sadly, I read some grumbling on social media about the reasons behind why it sold out so fast, and the unkind assumptions that one person made about the motivations of those who did get one took my breath away. (I'm going to blame that on the stress of 2020 and the pandemic and hope that next time folks are kinder and don't make such assumptions.)

Meet Sassy Abby. (Breyer made her a mare!)

New Addition to the Adios Conga

  I have two major focuses in my collection - circus horses and vintage Breyers. My favorite molds (Semi-Rearing Mustang, 5 Gaiter, Indian Pony) are significant congas while others are more modest.

My Adios conga is one of the most modest of them all with just eleven pieces.

But now we are twelve. 

Brandywine, 9/2020,  #702002, Aug/Dec 2002 Fall Show Special, $15, Julia Platt, MS.

Brandywine was a 2002 Fall Show Special (in fact, he was the last Show Special that Breyer made) and only produced for six months. I saw him listed on an auction site for just $15, bid, and won him.

He is much nicer in hand than I thought he would be, especially considering the amount of time that has passed since he was made as well as the types of paint jobs Breyer was doing in the early 2000s. This guy has nice detail work and no rubs that I can find.

I think I will name him Even Dozen to reflect that he's my twelfth Adios.

Cupcake Risers

I have been asked if I could share where I got the cupcake risers that I am using for my Stablemates.

I am really pleased with how well they work and am happy to share the link.

This is what I ordered. They come in several sizes, with the three tier style (seen in the ad photo) coming in a couple of different widths.

 Unfortunately, they are currently unavailable in the four tier version. But, that happened when I bought mine. I added them to my cart and then got a message that they were unavailable. (Shades of BreyerFest 2020!) I tried again a little while later and was able to snag them.

Here is the link - hopefully the four tier risers will pop up again and those who want them can get them.

Good luck!

Vintage Club Zahra

  The fourth and last offering from Breyer's Vintage Club has arrived, and she is gorgeous!

Zahra, the In-Between Mare, #712326, $127, Vintage Club 2020 #4, 9/2020, Breyer.

The dapples on mine are very subtle on the off side, but can be seen more clearly on the near.

She was a gambler's choice of three colors - glossy dapple bay, glossy dappled rose grey pinto, and matte dapple palomino. (The literature that came with the model calls the palomino version pearly palomino.) According to Identify Your Breyer there were about 167 made in each of the three Vintage Club colors. (Photo by Breyer.)

The In-Between Mare may be Breyer's rarest model and has an interesting history. In the 1950s Breyer copied Hagen Renaker's large Arabian Mare, Zara. Hagen Renaker strongly objected, and so Breyer had to change the mold.  The In-Between Mare was their first attempt, and for years the only one known to exist was a glossy grey Appaloosa that was in the collection of Marney Walerius. (The next and final iteration of the mold was the Family Arabian Mare.)

She has an overlong neck but Zahra will still fit into a standard haversack.

As time passed, several other In-Between Mares surfaced in woodgrain and  alabaster. I would not be surprised if one or two are discovered in palomino and possibly even charcoal. Maybe those will surface some day.

Since this is the first time the mold has ever been used in Breyer's line-up, there are a lot of people who want her. A check of eBay shows that one like mine was just listed and already has nine bids and is at $260 with seven days left for bidding.

I have no plans to sell mine and if I can, I will rearrange my shelves and put her between my Family Arabian Mares and my Proud Arabian Mares.

That makes sense since she is the In-Between Mare!

A New Freeman Leidy Circus Horse!

 I don't check eBay much, but I do check for circus horses and ponies once a week or so. Lucky for me, I just happened to stumble across a new listing for a Freeman Leidy Circus Pony! It arrived yesterday.

Freeman Leidy Head Up Circus Pony in Pink and blue, $300, Boots Swam, Washington.

Out of all the circus horses and ponies that I have, the Freeman Leidys are my absolute favorites.

They're chunky, glammed up (those eyelashes!) and absolutely charming.

The new one (on the left) is an upgrade to my very first Freeman Leidy (on the right.)

My original has two breaks in her blue ribbons. I've shown her before but I don't think judges have noticed - there is just too much frou-frou going on with these pieces!

There are differences between the individual pieces, too. My new one is taller and her plume is higher on her head.

From what I can tell, the Freeman Leidy Circus Horses came paired (head up, head down) but then were color paired, too. 

The one on the far left has a green mane, tail, spots, and socks and is accented by purple ribbons. The one of the right is the flip - it has a purple mane, tail, spots, and socks and then green ribbons.

A view of the Head Up purple with green version Circus Horse. (Those eyelashes!!)

Its counterpart, the Head Down purple with green ribbons version.

This is the only green with purple version that I have ever seen in person or online. And when I found him and discovered that it was the reverse of my other pair, I realized that it was likely there were reverse versions of each pair.

The Head Up mold seems to have been used more than the Head Down, with the purple/green version turning up most often. (There is also a wagon for them. I have that in the purple/green version.)

I have found online photos of the Head Down Circus Horse that goes with my new pink/blue version as well as its matching circus wagon. (They're actually planters.) Some day I hope to add the Head Down pink/blue to my collection. I'm still searching to see if there is a reverse pair. 

I've also seen a pair in blue/yellow online and I wonder if that means there is a yellow/blue pair, too. And, never have I seen any photos of the green/purple pair aside from the Head Up one I have, and I'm positive that there must be a Head Down version to go with it. As for wagons for each pairing, I haven't a clue.

Researching and hunting for pieces is one of the best parts of collecting. And truth be told, even though this new one is an upgrade, the other one is staying with me, too. I just can't bear to part with a Freeman Leidy!

Chalky Appaloosa Performance Horse

 I have been looking for a chalky Appaloosa Performance Horse for years. When he was first released, I did not like the mold (that tail!) and so I chose other Breyers over him when I was buying new pieces for my collection. But, I did love the color - it is probably my favorite of all the colors Breyer has ever produced.

But recently I found a really nice one. It was a smidge over what I wanted to pay, but because it was so nice and my search had been so long, I purchased it. (Photo by seller.)Chalky Appaloosa Performance Horse, #99, 1974 - 1980, $85, Barrie Getz.The color is one of Breyer's most popular and has been used for several Vintage Club offerings.

And they all have the smile-inducing double dots on the back.

The free Vintage Club stablemate in 2012 was Eagle. This was the first year for the club, and we vintage collectors were thrilled to see that APH appaloosa color used again.

The next year, Halo, the Stretch Morgan in the APH appaloosa coloring, was one of the four Vintage Club offerings. I was surprised to see the color used in the Vintage Club so soon again, but I sure wasn't going to complain as I loved it!

We had to wait six more years until 2019 when Leopold was released for Vintage Club members on the Fighting Stallion mold.

Of course, by then I had begun a serious search for the original Appaloosa Performance Horse to add to my collection. I bought this non chalky piece in 2017.

But still I kept looking for the chalky version. I found and rejected many on various sales sites - either the price was more than I was willing to pay, or the model was in poor shape (and even a few that were a combination of the two - high price/beat up horse.)

This guy has some flaws, but they are minor and hard to see. I am pleased to have finally completed my search! (Photo by seller.)