Vintage Club Tanner

My Vintage Club Tanner, and extra offering, arrived Tuesday but I only opened him today. I absolutely LOVE him.

 Vintage Club Tanner, #712244, $135, less than 500 made, 2018, Breyer.

 His box says he is brown pinto, but he sure looks like a black pinto to me!

 The head looks like it might be chalky.

 Hard to tell. Some of the Vintage Club pieces have been chalkies (Lucky, Kiowa, Magnus, etc.) in the past, but I am finding it difficult to tell on Tanner.

 I love the warpaint - there are symbols on Tanner's flanks...

 ... his neck...

... and his hip.

Overall I am pleased and he is a welcome addition to my collection!

Illumination

I love Breyer's clearware! And even though I had absolutely NO intention of ever buying this mold, I could not resist when Breyer did a clearware pattern on it.

Illumination, #1799, $55, 4/2018, Lynn Luther/The Model Trading Post.

I think he is beautiful and he matches Patriot on the American Saddlebred Mold.

Gift From a Long Time Friend

Kathy Bateman and I go waaaaaaaay back. We have been friends for twenty-five years (at least) and met when I was living in Illinois. A fellow hobbyist, we played ponies together, went to BreyerFest and live shows, and put on Lincoln Land Live.

She is now in Tennessee and I am in Indiana, but that friendship remains strong. Saturday I received a surprise package in the mail from her.

 Puzzled, I opened it, and found an envelope on the top of a bunch of bubble wrap.

 Inside was a lovely card - she'd sent a retirement gift!

Kathy knows I love circus ponies, and she'd sent a Wade Whimsey.

Also included was a note that gives documentation as to what the piece is and where she found it. I love my new circus pony; even more, I love that it came from a dear friend who bought it in one of the antique shops we both used to haunt, and was part of her personal collection.

Thanks so much, Kats. This piece is very special to me and I will treasure it always not only because it is a circus pony, but because it came from one of my dearest friends.

New Circus Ponies!

You never know when you are going to find something to add to your collection. I was on Etsy looking for a banner for the Happy Trails show last weekend, and decided to type "circus pony" in the search box when I finished.

I am glad I did because these two popped up!

 They're 1/32 scale and the seller says she thinks they are from the 1970s.

Mini Circus Ponies, $9, 4/2018, Etsy, Linda Thornburg, 1243 Maple View Dr., Charlottesville, VA 22902.

Despite the chunky legs and hooves, I think they are pretty nice overall, especially their heads. The ponies are made from a plastic that is harder than Breyer's Mini Whinnies but with more flexibility than a Stablemate.

I need to do a little research and see if I can figure out who the manufacturer is, when they were made, and other details. In the meantime, I am glad to have them!

My Second Real Decorator

How ironic that I have looked for decorators for years and years, decades even, without success, and then I find two in the space of one month.

(Photos from eBay auction.)

Gold Charm Running Foal, #3130, 1963-1964, $265, eBay, 3/2018, Marsha Alesi, 7630 Chicago Dr., La Mesa, CA 91941.

 He has some black marks and a chipped eartip, but is still beautiful.

I am thrilled to add this piece to my collection.

And I have to smile - it has been a very rainy spring break - I guess when it rains, it pours!

My First Real Decorator

I have wanted a Breyer decorator, the real kind from the 1960s, not the current ones, for decades. While woodgrain was a decorator color back them and I have a lot of woodgrains, what I am referring to are the colors wedgwood, copenhagen, florentine, and gold charm that were done on the Running Mare and Foal, Five Gaiter, Semi Rearing Stallion, and the Fighting Stallion.

You'd think that since I was collecting when those were being produced, I might have one, but I don't!

Prices on Breyers seem to be down, and so I have been watching eBay closely This past week, I scored my very first REAL decorator as a result. (All photos from eBay auction listing.)

 A wedgwood Running Foal! My favorite of the four decorator colors!

 Wedgwood Running Foal, #4120, 1963-1964, $284, eBay, 3/2018, Lauren Bang, 918 Pennsylvania St. #206, Denver CO. 80209.

He's a lighter blue with gorgeous shading. He also has some black marks that I will need to remove and a broken earth to fix.

I am pleased to have him - in the past, they have sold for $1500, more than I would ever spend on a piece for my collection. Spending what I did really gave me pause as it was.

But he is mine now, and I could not be happier.

Vintage Club 2018 #2 Clara and Mae

The second offering in the 2018 Vintage Club is two of my favorite molds, the Grazing Mare and Grazing Foal.

Clara and Mae, #712240, $110, Vintage Club 2018 #2, 3/2018, Breyer.