Happy Leap Day

How convenient that Leap Day just happens to be on multiples of four (2000,2004,2008,2012...) Can you imagine the confusion if it was off? This is the only way I'll ever be able to keep things straight!

I suppose February 29th should be celebrated epic-ally, after all it only comes once in four years. We should at least get a day off from school right? Anyways, it's Wednesday which means my plans include: one class, 6 hours of work, and it's Stall-Cleaning Day (I keep telling Whiskey that he's not allowed to pee in his stall, but he never listens to me!). If I'm really lucky I'll have some time to squish in a quick bareback jaunt before work.

As far as hobby things go, if I'm really, really, really lucky my little blue roan Shetland pony will be here soon (maybe even today...maybe). And someday my Joey will come. Don't get me started on how bad I am dying to get him!

Yesterday my Arabian foal halter arrived, so here are some photos to drool over.

 I absolutely LOVE this halter set! They are both beautiful and fit well, everything I wanted. (Thanks to Jennifer Selby for creating these!)

 My non-horsey roommate called them "impractical." Good thing she has no idea what she's talking about, otherwise I would have been rather annoyed. Practicality is not  the point!

"Rebellious Dove" and "Little Fire Gem"

March Web Special Revealed!!!

The photos are out, here is "Paddy", the new Collector's Club Web SR.

Another run of 222, and another one I won't be entering for.  His description reads

"Sporting a hunter clip with four-leaf clovers dotting his rump, Paddy is ready for St. Patrick's Day! The four leaves of the clover are said to represent faith, hope, love and luck! Wearing a shamrock on St. Patrick's Day is a tradition that dates back to the early 1700's.

A Collector Club exclusive, this festive limited edition has "Paddy 2012" written on his belly. If you're feeling extra lucky, perhaps you'll be the one chosen to purchase the single buckskin piece, named "Pot O'Gold!"

Yep, there's an EVEN MORE EXCLUSIVE OOAK MODEL...

This is the "Pot O Gold" model. I'm a sucker for buckskins, but NOT with a decorator looking "hunter clip" paint job. I guess this is Breyer's way of trying to satisfy both collectors who want deco models, and those of us who prefer more realistic horses. Very creative way of doing things *kudos to Breyer*, it just didn't work for me. (I do think that light buttery buckskin on the Cleveland Bay mold without the pattern would be gorgeous...) I'm just waiting for that nice, realistic looking Web SR to show up, then maybe I'll get a little more excited.

So I guess there's another $125 I won't be spending on this guy. 

Good luck to anyone who does plan on going for it. 

Dealer Special Espirit Revealed!!!

Need I say more? There is a lot of confusion about this gorgeous glossy guy. He's a "brick and mortar" store only (not sold in online stores), supposedly a very limited run, no one knows how many there will be and everyone is kind of freaking out about it...

Personally, if he was a solid dunalino, I would be determined beyond all sanity to get one. The appaloosa markings kind of dim my gotta-have-it impulse a little bit, I think they make him look a little overdone, a little bit too much. But that's just me. I have wanted a dunalino Breyer model for a while (I love the color on real horses) but none of them have been the "right" color of dunalino (still looking for the perfectly shaded Hollywood Gold) or I couldn't afford them (Music City).

Honestly, I think this guy will be a lot like the Autumn model from a few years back. I guess he was a dealer special, in-store only horse too. I don't remember seeing him anywhere around here. Utah doesn't exactly have the best selection of model horses. If I get lucky enough to spot one of these guys somewhere, I'll probably buy him. But if I don't, I'm pretty sure I won't be heartbroken... He's one of those models that is very attractive and will either grow on me, or I'll get less interested as time goes on. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens with this one.

March Madness (a sneak peek)

Breyer posted a sneak peek of a new Collector's Club Web Special model on the "member's only" part of their website...

I won't post photos or anything (it's not a great photo anyways, just part of the model's flank), but I will say it has grey/green clovers on it and appears to be a pinto pattern of some kind. The special is supposed to go live next week according to the website...but I'm not sure I trust Breyer's deadlines at the moment.

The retailer I pre-ordered my War Horse model from has been told THREE times that they will be getting their shipment "next week." What a pain! I am waiting not-so-patiently...at this rate maybe I'll have the model around the same time as the DVD (it comes out April 3rd and it will be mine!)

Back to the web special thingy. I will more than likely not be entering for this one either. The price will be a little on the high side, and I don't like most decorators. Can those of us in the club whose taste runs more toward the realistic coat colors please have some better options??? Seriously, so far they've done three CC exclusive models and they're all decos: Mount Tremblant, I'm Yours, and now this St. Patty's Day pony with clovers on it :P

real colors...please...and I don't really dig the holiday themes either...

I am also not a fan of random draw (though it's better than that awful phone-in thing they tried back with Alpine) because I seem to have rotten luck. I have been lucky enough to win one model, however, but not from Breyer. 

This is "Happy 2B Appy", a custom model I won from a little drawing on Elk Star Ranch Artwork's Facebook page. I never expected to win her (rotten luck) but I did. She's pretty cute and I'm saving her for the one live show I get to attend every year. Even though I  *technically* don't collect customized or custom-painted models, I think I'll be keeping Happy forever, just because I WON her!

My Shetland Pony obsession has dimmed...a little bit. I just sent out payment for the Trick or Treat blue roan pony yesterday and am pretty excited to get him/her. I'm thinking I'll name all of them after food. Normally I think horses named after food are just a little bit...well, dumb and un-creative, but the names fit these fat little ponies too well (my bay has been dubbed "Truffles"). Now I have to think of one for the little blue roan (NOT  Blueberry. I won't stoop that low)

Vintage

I have always loved the old models. There is just something about them...
I also love antique-ing and, luckily, so-called "vintage" models tend to occasionally pop up when I'm exploring a local antique store or browsing a vendor booth somewhere (who am I kidding, that's what I'm looking for in the first place!)

This past weekend I attended my first big antiques expo, the Acorn Antique Show in Ogden, UT. I loved it! And I came home with some new treasures.

I actually bought this little family before the show started, their overall security was a little sketchy and I walked right in and started shopping without knowing that
1. you were supposed to pay to get in
2. I was half and hour early                                                      *OOPS*

Everyone just thought I was one of the vendors setting up I guess.
Feeling incredibly guilty, I went back to the door, stood in line, and paid my $4 admission price. Next go-round, I'll know better.

I love this old mustang family. They aren't perfect (far from it actually). They all have several rubs and a few dings. The stallion is in the worst shape, he's got some battle scars. I haven't cleaned them up yet, but tI think I can get some of the marks off them as long as I'm careful. I've wanted some of these old M Love mold mustangs for a while and finding them was a real treat!

As with most of the Breyers I find while browsing antique stores, most of the ones I found were overpriced and not in the best condition.( However, my mustangs were a steal of a deal!) I found one seller who had actually documented which model was which, and the horses weren't insanely priced, just high for basically body-quality models (and they only had one documented wrong).

Another seller had body quality Classic sized horses for $16.50 ea. Not awful, but nothing I needed...or so I thought...

After passing her booth several times, I finally did some haggling and came home with this little guy.

This is 23 Shetland Pony. He's also not in perfect shape, but he's not awful either. Ear rubs, some body rubs, and some adorable black overspray speckles on his rump. (Hmm, Speckles...nice name for a pony...) I probably overpaid for him a little, but something about him caught my eye. 

His little circular "Breyer Modeling Co." stamp is on his tummy, not his leg, and he also has foam pad remnants on the bottoms of three of his hooves. The fourth hoof his missing the foam pad and all the finish.

 

I am now borderline in love with the Shetland Pony mold and plan to include the blue roan sabino Halloween SR in my herd and soon as I can find one. And maybe that glossy black paint as well. And maybe the silver bay Liberty. Or the dapple grey JCP SR.

What is it about these old molds and old paint jobs that gets to me??? 

ANTICIPATION

I'm getting so excited I might pop!

My pre-ordered War Horse model is constantly galloping around in the back of my mind even though I don't know when he'll be shipped out yet (the store told me they would get them some time this week and start shipping ASAP, so I'm just obsessively checking my email for a shipment message...). 

While waiting, I like to amuse myself by hunting around on all the sales web pages I can and gloating over the price I paid for my Joey 

I paid: $39.99

Prices I've found: $49.99, $50.00,$52.25, $69.99 etc, etc.

I also just discovered that apparently this Traditional size book/horse set won't be sold on Breyer's website, just in retail stores.  

http://guysfarmandyard.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/warhorse.pdf (cool pdf flyer)

Besides all my excitement over my War Horse model, I'm headed to a huge antique show tomorrow and I'm hoping to dig up some new herd members amongst all the vintage stuff. 

You never know what you might find!!!

Stay tuned...

Pinto's Passion

Breyer's released some more photos of SRs for Breyerfest this year

http://www.breyerhorses.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=1955

I think they're cute and I love seeing the old molds peeking out again, but there's none that I "need" yet (though I wouldn't turn down Taksin and Aintree if they were offered to me) I like getting in to all the Breyerfest hype but since I still haven't attended and this year isn't looking any different...meh...

In other news, I finally got some of those elusive roping calves I've been looking for (in decent condition at a decent price) for a couple of years.

Here's "Pinto" and Brian having a grand ol' time

Black Bally (Angus X Hereford)

 Pinto has always been a roping horse, never a show jumper like the mold suggests. He's never had much to chase before now, just the occasional loose horse, and the cattle obviously make him rather happy.

:o)

Hereford X Charolais

I experimented with both calves but I lean towards the Black Bally a little more. The Hereford just doesn't look as good with this particular horse. (He's a little yellow to be full Hereford, so I'm thinking he might be a Charolais X)

Sometimes I think I have too much fun with my plastic ponies :o)

Golden Stuff

Hopscotch finally has a momma! Meet "Destiny"

They fit together nicely don't they?

This is the fourth Duchess mold I've owned, and the she'll be the third one on my shelves since I sold one of the ones I had. I'm not huge on the mold, but she make a good, solid mare and this palomino is quite pretty. The other two in my collection are "Belle" the dapple grey from the Dream Horse kit and "Paradise", the buckskin appaloosa from the mare/foal set. 

Another mold I don't really care for is Johar. (I usually really don't like attached tails...) But I couldn't resist this absolutely gorgeous Pintabian mare.

She isn't named yet, but I haven't really had time to sit and think about a name either. 

Sometimes I think a new paint job does wonders for an older mold, which reminds me of my pre-ordered War Horse model, Joey. He's supposed to be at the retailer early next week and will be shipped out soon after that!!! I am pretty freaking excited!

This is the first time I've ever pre-ordered a model and I was a bit wary of how that was going to work out. What if I bought one and then later found one in stores and it was cheaper that way and I could have hand-picked him? (phew) But this week as I browsed the vendor website I noticed something: Joey's price has gone up $20 since January! I'm so very glad I pre-ordered him!!!

Said retailer has also hinted that there is going to be a very limited edition, GLOSSY PALOMINO BLANKET APPALOOSA ESPIRIT released to brick-and-mortar stores (all? or some?) this Fall.  

Just something to think about :o)

Variations

My first ever completely-complete conga line is now complete!!!

I now really have EVERY release of the Mesteno's Mother mold :o)

Why this mold you ask? Well, as a young'un just starting to "collect" Breyer model horses, I had a lot of Classic sized models. Most of these came from those America's Wild Mustangs sets that were put out by WalMart for several years. I loved those horses. It wasn't long before I had an entire mustang herd (but this is all a story for another post, it's too long to put here today!) A lot of the horses in that herd were the Cheney molds and I especially loved the mare. I already had a bunch anyways, why not get the rest?

My last mare is actually the earliest release on the mold. The first set of baby Mesteno and his young momma was The Dawning, released in 1993 as the first in the Mesteno series that follows the dun stallion from birth to old age. (I have the complete series of course). The earliest mare/foal sets included a mare with a light shaded mane and tail. They're actually quite different from the later sets (the release ran through 1997). 

The earlier release "Destarte" and the newer release "Venida"

The foals are different too, the earlier foal has much lighter overall body color and softer shading. 

The newer foal "Hijo" and the older foal "Polvo"

Try explaining to your non-horsey, non-collector family and friends why you are not only buying the "same" horse in lots of different colors but you are now even buying the "same" horse in the "same" color! It makes no sense to them!

And on another note...

This is Sedona. 

She's from the set  America's Wild Mustangs #750212 Sedona, Sabino Paint Mare, and Tuscon, Bay Foal. Look it up. 

Here, I'll save you the trouble. This is what you'll find: 

http://identifyyourbreyer.com/images/750212.jpg

Yep. Mold change anyone? I only know of 2 or 3 of these sets that had the Mesteno Mare.

This isn't the first time they've suddenly swapped a mold around in a Classics set without telling anyone. (Paloma and Naldo, Nekena and Rojo, the pino/appy/arabian mare and foals sets from 2005, and Cloud's Legacy to name some others)

Does anyone else have Sedona on the Mesteno's mother mold? Or know of any other sets?

My gorgeous mare was entered spur-of-the-moment in a OF RR Collectability class at a live show last summer and placed 3rd in the class (against some tough Breyer and Stone competition too!)

I love a good mystery!

Once upon a time...

...my roommate Natalie (who also loves horses and is a Breyer fan) introduced me to the Cloud:Challenge of the Stallions set.

photo credit: Google

Mind you, I'd seen this set on store shelves for many months before, but suddenly something happened...

I NEEDED THAT PALOMINO FOAL!!!

You know when you finally see a particular model in real life and something just *clicks* in your brain? Well, that's what happened. I fell in love with the little "Image" colt. I needed one. 

I called my local stores...guess what? Nothing. Nobody had that set in stock. I tried Facebook sales groups. I tried MH$P. I tried eBay. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

Then I realized that if I got another Classics foal, I'd need another Classics mare (no orphans, remember?) But I really, really wanted one...and then along came my Breyer Classics barn (which I haven't gotten in the mail yet) and low and behold, that gorgeous Pintabian mare looks like she needs a foal. Problem solved. Oh yeah!

Now, to find the foal...

After weeks of searching, today I found one!!!

Thanks to great hobbiests who read the "Wanted" ads on MH$P and keep their eyes peeled, I was able to buy the little guy off eBay today :D 

Needless to say, I'm pretty excited!

In other news, my blog reached 100 views today! Thanks for reading!

I need a new project horse!

Not too long ago, I purchased the ASPCA set NIB and discovered some awful box rubs on his box side :P Since I conga the Cody mold, I couldn't stand the thought of selling him, so I decided to try my hand at etching him to an overo Paint instead. 

Here's "Capitol C Cash" along with "Monte" (who still isn't completely mint, but that's ok!)

I was immediately hooked to etching (SO MUCH FUUUUNNNN!!!) and when I got a Zenyatta who came out of the box with the same issues, I had a new etchie prospect--this time, with an Appaloosa pattern. She's a work in progress.

This is "Wicked". I'm mostly happy with her, but she's not done yet.

Now, I'm itching to get some more etchie prospects...I've got some new pattern ideas I really want to try out!

This time I'm for sure going to use some reference photos and stick to them (mostly). With Cash I just pulled out a stack of Paint Horse Journal's and went to work. With Wicked, I loosely based her pattern on a custom Stablemate I saw on eBay a while back. 

Now I'm finding all these amazing reference photos in my browsing online and getting too many good ideas. I need a body box! Well, I do have one OF who needs some cleaning up and two unfinished painting projects on the table.(just little off-brand plastics that are getting some new paint--one is a pink pony and the other, who knows?)

I've finally gotten Diablo enough window time and he's whitened up nicely. I love sunshine. 

Yesterday was NOT sunshine, it was all clouds here. Luckily, my amazing farrier made it through the canyon despite the threat of later snow (this would have been the 3rd time we'd had to reschedule due to weather!) My gelding got his hooves trimmed up nicely and is doing great! His new home is SO MUCH better for him than where I had him before. We're trying the barefoot thing this year, and my farrier and I both feel great about the choice. Whiskey's feet look and feel better than they ever have before :o)