China Bison

I saw this piece at Countryside Antiques in Lebanon, Indiana earlier this summer but left it behind. Yesterday I drove down with Lisa to see if it was still there (it was) and do some antiquing. (We did!)

 China bison, $14, unknown make, Countryside Antiques, August, 2013.

I think he's pretty cool!

Palomino Grazing Mare

Lisa and I were at Countryside Antiques yesterday and in the very last booth, I found this!

Palomino Grazing Mare, #143 (no USA stamp), $12, Countryside Antiques, Lebanon, Indiana.

I saw her and said, "Well, now!" in exclamation. I think I will call her that.

She is a gorgeous metallic palomino, a little yellowed, and was a bit dirty. Her gorgeous highlights showed up after I gave her a bath. Now she's the perfect mama for my metallic palomino Grazing Foal.

BreyerFest 2013 Pieces

My childhood penpal, Beth Dickinson, and I are still in touch after forty plus years of writing! She is a model horse collector like me, and is always happy to do BreyerFest pickups for me when I cannot go. Here is this year's loot. I love everything she was able to get me.

Coasters!!

 I have not been able to find a number for them yet. $10

 Twill, #711159, $65, 800 made.

 She has a denim pattern in the blue paint.

 Rock-a-Billy, #711173, $25, 500 made.

Kipper/Vintage Showcase Box

My Breyer Kipper is in his original box. Not only is he rare, but the box is as well. Just as the article says below, I have found his box frustratingly flimsy - glad I've hung onto it all these years!!

From Tina Dils' blog, Darlin' Dils Collectibles

This Family Arabian Mare is in one of the most valuable boxes Breyer made.  She is an example of the Showcase Collection.  Previous to this time the models came in plain cardboard boxes with only the number and name of the model inside.  Retailers had a display in the store showing an example of the models they carried, and consumers would look at the display to choose the model they wanted to buy.  In the early 1970s Breyer wanted a package that showed off the model inside but also protected it from damage from handling.  This box was one of their early efforts.  It is a clamshell clear plastic with indents to keep the model from moving around too much in the box.  A catalog of their offerings for the year was generally included and there was a label somewhere on the box with the model name and number (in this case it is on the bottom of the box under the model).  These plastic boxes were quite flimsy, so after a few restylings Breyer moved to the solid cardboard box with a drawing or picture of the model on the outside instead.  The Showcase boxes are extremely rare, particularly in good condition and are usually far more valuable than the model inside.

Thanks to Christina Dils, I have a copy of an advertisement for the Kipper and the other (never produced) Thelwell models. Notice how different they are.

Brinn-Bradley-Kelvin Circus Ponies

I just bought this pair of circus ponies from Gayle Roller off eBay. She calls them Brimm-Bradley-Kelvin pieces and scanned some pages in from a reference book that showed them.

 Circus Ponies, Brimm-Bradley-Kelvin, $20, 7/2013, Gayle Roller.

 Clearly, they are copies of the Hagen Renaker Circus Ponies, but there were only two of those and I have seen at least six different poses of these.

One of my new ones isn't pictured. The tail-up isn't shown. Below is a picture pulled from eBay of another auction, and the circus pony with the arched neck is not shown in the book either.

The auction has an arched neck prancing horse that is not shown in the book above. (I do not own these pieces.)

 My newly acquired pieces are in the back in this picture. 

And my new walking pony is taller than my older one, although the pose is identical.

That puts the tally at eight different pieces that I know of. Betcha there are more than that out there!!

Denim and Diamonds - Size Discrepancy

As I put my new pair on the shelf, I noticed a significant size discrepancy between the two new ones and my four others.

 They are much larger than their older counterparts.

Are the older ones shrinkies? Maybe. But their size is so uniform, and I am not sure shrinkage would do that. I would think there would be some variation in their sizes.

I put a post on Blab asking if anyone else had a similar experience with their Denim and Diamonds. There has been some who feel that this is a part of the normal Breyer aging process, but others, like me, feel it is too uniform to be attributed to that.

A hobbyist who goes by Weegie (don't know her real name) posted this picture of her Shetland Ponies.

She has some that are different in size, others who are not.

The jury is still out, but I am sticking with my gut feeling that there is more than shrinking going on here.

Denim and Diamonds

Denim and Diamonds, the 3rd release for 2013 in the Vintage Collectors' Club, arrived today.

 Photos from Breyer's web site.

Denim and Diamonds, 7/2013, #712093, $135, Vintage Collectors' Club

I was frustrated with Breyer, an unusual thing for me. I paid for my set the day Breyer began accepting payment (June 25), but did not receive them until today (July 16.) Meanwhile, others who paid well after me, got theirs right away. Members of the club have been unhappy about the situation, too; apparently there were some problems with the shipment from China. I know of one collector who received two Diamonds in her box!

The eartips on mine are a bit rounded off. I considered returning them for replacement, but after reading others' reports about their sets, this seems standard. The color is beautiful, and so I have decided to keep them.