Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Steha Circus Pony

Be still my heart, I found a Steha Circus Pony on eBay! I did not know Steha (from West Germany) had made a Circus Pony, but I had been looking at Stehas on eBay for years, hoping to find "Ross," the Steha that my friend, Bobbie Vance, owned when we were growing up. (They are pretty rare and rarely show up. They are also hard to find in good shape.)

Imagine my surprise when I was searching eBay and found this! (Photos from eBay ad.)
 Steha of West Germany Circus Pony, $200, 7/2017, KL, Seattle, Washington.
He arrived much cleaner than he was in the eBay ad. 

I am so excited, I can hardly stand it!!

Breyer Flocked Proud Arabian Stallion

I am slowly adding to my collection of flocked Breyers. I have the palomino Running Mare and Foal, the Clydesdale "Stallion," the Saddlebred Weanling Rocking Horse, and now the Proud Arabian Stallion!
Flocked Breyer Proud Arabian Stallion, no number, 1984 Montgomery Wards SR, $100, 7/2017, Andrea Childers, LaPorte, Indiana.
(Photos from eBay listing.)

He is much nicer than the description made him sound! He also has painted eyes on,; most have glass eyes.

Steha Horses

From the blog, Breyer History Diva.

Some hobbyists think that Reeves’ involvement in the wonderful world of model horses began in late 1984, when they acquired the Breyer brand. This is not so: prior to that, they were the exclusive U.S. distributor of Steha Horses.

I didn’t know this until recently, myself. A few years ago, I purchased a couple of Reeves’ Great Lines Catalogues on eBay. These books contain bound copies of dealer catalogs of all of the lines that Reeves imported and distributed. I found a Steha catalog bound in the 1981-82 edition.


I don’t have a lot of data about Steha in my archives, aside from this bound-in dealer’s catalog. Stehas were flocked and haired horses made in West Germany, and were available from the 1950s to (at least) the early 1980s. Here’s a link to a good-sized picture of one:

http://www.instappraisal.com/content/steha-horse

Stehas were never a big part of the model horse world, at least in the U.S. First of all, they weren’t very realistic: some were nicer than others, but none of them could pass competitive muster, even in the more forgiving earlier days of the hobby. Second, they were rather expensive compared to Breyers: the wholesale prices for Traditional-scale Breyers in 1981 ranged from $3-6; the wholesale prices for comparable Stehas were $14-19! Yikes!

Some Steha items did find a place in the hobby: their carts and wagons were surprisingly nice, and of much better quality than hobbyists were able to create for themselves at the time.


I remember at least one local toy store that carried Stehas in the 1970s, but I never actually owned one. Aside from being expensive and homely, I was never a big fan of flockies in general: they’re hard to keep clean, and they have a nasty habit of yellowing, shedding and disintegrating.

Stehas are rather expensive and hard to come by nowadays, presumably for the same reason. If I had known back then that they’d have a Breyer connection now, I might have parceled out a bit of my allowance money and bought one.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Insurance Jolly Cholly #3

Finally, I found my third Insurance Jolly Cholly at Countryside Antiques.
 Jolly Cholly w/Insurance tag, #326, 1968-1985, $8, Countryside Antiques, Lebanon, IN, 7/15/17.
He's in the best shape of them all. Even better, he has the original label from the company that manufactured the tags! It says, Hoosier Badge and Name Plate Co, 5829 Central Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46220, (317) 257-4441


Semi Gloss Bay Running Mare

I also found this bay Running Mare at Countryside Antiques. I had not realized that I did not have the bay in my collection. (Gasp! A hole!!)
 Sugar, #124, 1961-/1963 - 1973, $15, Countryside Antiques, Lebanon, IN, 7/15/17.
 She's semi-gloss, too!
And, her mane's oddly outlined at the factory (look at the curl.)

Smoke Running Mare #2

Oh, the irony! Drive four hours to BreyerFest and only spend a measly $25 on one purchase, then come home and stop by one of your favorite haunts and hit the jackpot.

Yeah, it happened.
 Sugar, #121, 1961/63 - 1970, $20.25, Countryside Antique Mall, Lebanon, Indiana, 7/15/2017.
She's my second of this color in the Running Mare mold, and she's darker than my other one. Actually, she's very close to charcoal. I am thrilled to have her!

BreyerFest 2006 Trixie

I made one purchase, ONE, at this year's BreyerFest.  But it's one that I was super happy to find! A circus pony!
Trixie, #711206, BreyerFest 2006 One Day Ticket Model, 3,050 made, $25, Puffthemagicdragon Stables/Concourse vendor, BreyerFest, 7/14/17.