Hey there! Lovely video! I reallly like your approach of talking a lot more of the history part of the hobby. As a video idea, even though he might be a bit over rated, I would love to see a alborozo history video (you could theme it almost like a disappearance case haha! I've heard countless stories as too why we won't see the mold come back but I'm not sure of any answers! People are just certain of the fact that breyer broke the mold but I've heard people say it was an accident, an agreement with the sculptor, or even a dsagreement with the real horse's owners.. I have now been in this hobby for 10 years and I have always wondered what the real story was, and maybe you can enlighten us wth your knowledge! If that is a subject you find interesting of course!
Thanks for the comment! The story of the Alborozo mold sounds like a great idea for a video, but also quite tricky to get to the bottom of short of finding someone at Breyer who would be willing to speak. I'm not ruling it out though; I'll pop that into my list of potential subjects for the future. :)
Stablemates are like potato chips - you can never have just one. I don’t really collect SM’s either yet I have nearly a hundred of them out of a collection of 850 models. I do collect the SM blind bag chase pieces so they & the TB portrait models make up most of my SM herd. Congrats on your ribbons! You did really well for your first mini show & a small show string. Perhaps a change of breed for your little glossy dapple gray Hanoverian. A lesser known WB breed with documentation might help him place in Breed. Big CONGRATS! on all your raffle models. You should definitely get tickets for the BF raffles since you have good luck. I put $50 worth of tickets in for each BF raffle model for years (except once when I put all $100 in for one model) & I was drawn 5x. Every year it seems that at least one person who’s drawn only bought 1 ticket. It’s always fun to see them running toward the stage with their one ticket held up triumphantly. Good choice by your husband to only collect blue models. He’ll have a surprising number to choose from since blue is a popular color for decos & among collectors. I see your bell bottom Shire standing in the background & I look forward to your future videos & hope to meet you at BF. I’ll be in room 312 at the hotel. We will be selling a small part of Andrea Gurdon’s vast collection so the room should be open most of the time. Room 312 was her room for years & luckily she managed to transfer it to me before she became too ill. It’s going to be hard without her there so I would be thrilled if you could stop in to say “Hi” & we can speak in person.
Thanks for your suggestions! A change of breed *is* probably in the cards for my grey WB, but I have some time to think about that and I'm happy to put it off, lol. I didn't even consider entering the BF raffles, but I may as well! I'm just picky enough to want to wait and see what they are first though. :) I consider myself lucky to have a husband who supports my hobby! Two of my horses are technically "his," and I'm sure we'll find another while in Kentucky. The Shire will indeed be the subject of my next, longer video. Currently in the research stage, but I think it'll be worth it! I'll be visiting room 312 at some point, as I had the highest bid on lot of FAFs that was posted on Facebook. No idea when I'll be stopping by, but I do hope we get to meet!
The raffle models you won are beautiful! Congrats on that ! Congrats on all your wins. I mostly photo show and I know some classes can get very big, especially for the more popular breeds. I feel any placing in a huge class is a good placing! I have...so very many stablemates! I never meant to have this many. And I know what you mean about the blind bags. They are so addictive! I'm sure there have been people looking at me and wondering why this adult woman is standing there fondling all the blind bags while I'm trying to find the ones I want and avoid the ones I already have 5 of !
Thank you!! And yeah, I totally know what you mean about feeling the blind bags, haha. I haven't had too much luck with Breyer ones yet, but I've been spot on with a few other items I collect!
Thanks so much for the offer! Feel free to reach out through my email when you get a chance: ecrhorses1901@gmail.com. I already know a few interesting things about the mold; I certainly wouldn't mind bumping it up in my series.
I would love to see if some of these models grow on you over time. I know I've seen models that didn't move me overly much until I saw them in person or in a different color. I've had models that I started out "meh" about but grew to love. I have also had models I like initially (or really wanted to) but over time just could not get in to. Good luck!
Agree. I didn’t particularly like the SM Rivet when he first came out but now he’s my favorite SM. As a kid I loved Sham & everything on it because King Of The Wind was my favorite book. I sold off most of my Shams years ago because the PAS in now my favorite mold.
I'm already feeling more fondly towards the Shire and I've barely started working on my episode yet. A change of mind is very likely (at least in this case)!
I remember seeing the Benji movie when it first came out(aging myself lol) and have always loved him and Tiffany. I didn't know they had Breyer models. I know Benji is supposed to be part Cocker Spaniel which I definitely see in him, we have a Cocker Spaniel. We are cat and dog people lol! Enjoy seeing these other Breyer's 😁
@@ECRHorses1901 No problem. I can let you have him reasonable. Yeah I added up what I want from BF. Breaking the bank LOL. I am doing virtual as I live in Maine and don't fly or handle heat well.
As a child of the 1970’s I remember Benji & Tiffany quite well. 🙋🏼♀️ You’re a cat person?! Say it isn’t so! I’m very allergic to cats so I avoid them. I’m so allergic to cats that their hair on clothing can trigger my asthma. So I’m a dog person all the way, yet the only Breyer dog I have in my collection is the original Companion Animal Golden Retriever.
As a person with many (non-animal) allergies, I can confidently say that's a good reason for staying away from something! And if it makes any difference, my order of preference animal/pet wise is horses, then other large animals (cattle, goats, etc.), insects, reptiles, then cats, then dogs. Actually, admitting that could be worse, depending upon how you feel about things like spiders and snakes, lol! :)
Hi, Welcome to the Breyer hobby. I've been collecting Breyer horses and Schleich since 1970. My collection is around 2300 pieces now. I have over 900 traditional series models. My most favorite mold is the #96 shire mare mold. I have 45 shires in my largest conga. I have 8 of some of the hardest shires to find and they are the four Riegsecker shires in bay, black, grey and palomino. I also have the four decorator shires in Copenhagen, Wedgewood, gold charm and Florentine. I just found the copenhagen this year for $1,000.00. A friend of mine in California told me about her and I bought the model from a collector in New Jersey. She is my most favorite Breyer model in my collection and she's mint condition. I liked your video. Take care! Joel Cawthon Drafty Acres Port Washington WI P.S. one of my Grails is the glossy charcoal buffalo. :)
Hi Joel, thanks for the comment! That's a very impressive collection. Funny that you would mention the Shire mare mold, as I've been researching that specific mold for an upcoming video. The 8 you mentioned are indeed the hardest to find, so please allow me to enjoy them vicariously through you. :)
I have a couple Cougars and Bear, plus the Wolf. I did get Garrett and he's adorable and pretty flawless. I never knew Breyer had so many different animals.
"The great Breyer animal extinction of 2005." That made me chuckle. I don't think I ever realized so many of them "died" that year. The Bison is wonderful in person! I kind of wish a had a couple more of him. One animal mold I have several of is the moose. Three to be exact. All packed away because my god, those antlers! LOL! From all I've heard the wolf is very much sought after by collectors. I've never seen one anywhere but maybe one will show up one day.
The bison are indeed nice! If I come across a Tatanka at BF, I'll probably snatch him up. I have yet to get a moose, though those are one of my favorite irl animals, so I need to change that soon. Another potential BF purchase for sure, and fair point re: the antlers! :)
Just got to work & now I have something to listen to! Ah! Yes! The smelly bears. So many were excited when they were announced but then decided to pass when finding out they were scented. The only wild Animal I have is the Connoisseur clearware Buffalo Taima. Years ago in the Breyer Store an employee did a huge product dump in the bins that was mostly the Companion Animals still on their blister cards. While everyone was sorting through those I dug out several sets of the BF wolf & cougar SR’s. I took them back to the hotel room & sold them separately. The wolves all sold within an hour but the cougars hung around until Saturday night. I look forward to your video about the Modernistic Buck & Doe.
Admittedly, I felt the same way about the gummy bears. Thought I might try and pick them up at BF, but I feel like I'd want a smell check before doing so, lol. Interesting that the wolves were so much more popular than the cougars - I would probably pick the cougar myself, but then I'm more of a cat person anyway!
I hope you are feeling better soon. I love some of Breyer's bulls! I found a Spanish fighting bull once in fantastic condition and for a decent price. This one is from the 60s and still has his felt pads on his feet! I have two regular run longhorn bulls. Lovely guys but boy do those horns take up room! I've always loved the cow and calf, I just wish they came in some different patterns sometime.
lol I love the background music you added. I’m not really a fan of the farm animals besides the Texas longhorn, but I think some of them are pretty nice! I always enjoy your videos!
So sorry you’re not feeling well. I look forward to your videos but please don’t push yourself. The only Animals I have are the Connoisseur Buffalo, Taima, & Spanish Fighting Bull, Thd Widow Maker. I used to have one of the Longhorns but sold it. I like a lot of the animals but I collect horses & small apartment doesn’t have enough space to allow adding the Animals to the mix.
I think that you and I have similar tastes in grails... Frankenstang is probably one of my ultimate grails as well. Along with a few of the more rare Croi and Nokota models, and Del Fuego, a connoisseur on the Peruvian Paso mold... I have most of the obtainable Pasos, but that is because I happen to have one of your grails. Purple Gran Cavallo came to me in the Second Chance sale that year... And I probably should have sold him, even though I had won the plastic pony lotto... I REALLY could have used the money at the time... But, he felt too much like treasure after a pretty crappy year that year, and I got attached. So he stayed, and a conga of Peruvian Pasos was born in his honour. Every time I look at him on the shelf, I smile and consider myself very very lucky.
Frankensteed. I think everyone likes him! He's definitely out of my price range but he is so neat. I actually own the Flocked Clydesdale. I'm not sure if I still have her halter but the horse has been kept covered so has not gotten ruined by collecting dust. She's so neat. I used to have the palomino flocked running mare and foal, too. They weren't kept quite as pristine and I remember their manes got really wild after awhile. Good luck on finding any of your grails at Breyerfest. I think I'd truly go crazy at the Clarion at Breyerfest! So many horses!
That's a good point about keeping the flockies covered or at least clean. Should I ever come across one (I'm partial to the Misty/Stormy set as well), that would definitely be a consideration, as the shelves I currently use for my models seem to be dust magnets! And thank you, re: the Clarion! I am definitely going to need a strategy, as I know it's going to be 100% overwhelming, lol.
There is a considerable chance that you can find your grails at the Clarion. The prices there will be the best you can find, especially if the seller can make a "cash under the table" sale; be sure to let them know if you are paying cash. I'm mostly shopping for bodies to customize; I hope to acquire enough to keep me busy until next July.
I'll definitely be bringing some cash to Breyerfest, but probably not enough for the higher priced items I have my eye on. In any case, from everything I've seen and read, it does seem as though a thorough combing through of the Clarion will be my best bet for finding some of these models. Best of luck on the hunt for bodies! Only in the model horse world can that NOT be a weird statement, lol.
Erica, I have all of the Connoisseurs except for the Joker’s Wild Ace of Spades. I’ve had them for 12-15 years. I’m not worrying about the ultra rare variations - dun Apropos, Glossy Mosaic & Bold Impression as well as the Joker’s Wild Joker. If I ever run across them for a price I’m able to pay then I’ll get them but I doubt that will ever happen. I entered for all of them & was drawn for 10. Friends helped me get a few more. Some I found in the Breyer Store at the Covered Arena during BF. The rest I purchased at the hotel during room sales. If I can do it you can too. I’ve been to every BF since 1992 & I’ve been selling at the hotel for well over 20 years. I haven’t see Frankensteed or Raven for sell in the rooms. I have occasionally seen Confetti, Poseidon, the Flocked Clyde Mare & Mosaic. I have regularly seen the other Connoisseurs but they are usually priced high. Don’t be afraid to make offers! High priced items are hard sells because most don’t have the money & sellers are usually willing to come down on the asking price just to sell the model. So make an offer - just don’t lowball. The centerpieces at the Breyer Events are given away in drawings. Everyone at the table puts their name in the hat, so the speak, & whoever’s name is drawn gets the centerpiece model. My friend Kirstina was drawn for the Boyla centerpiece & she was beyond thrilled. Shaun & I have started the slow process of selling Andrea Gurdon’s (Breyer History Diva) immense collection, which will take years. Some will be put up for offers on the Rare Models FB page for pick up at BF so check that out on FB. I will make note of your list & let you know if I come across any of them.
Lea, thank you so much for your detailed comments, as always! :) That's decided then, my goal to collect as many connoisseurs as possible is officially set, lol. I appreciate the reassurance about making offers, especially on high ticket items. I've done it to a much lesser extent at the region 10 swap meets - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, all fine. I'm going to make sure to double check my research, such as I can, before Breyerfest so lowballing shouldn't be a concern. Best of luck with the process of selling Andrea's collection. I can only imagine what a task that will be! Is the exact name of the Facebook group Rare Model Horse Sales? I want to be sure before I request to join.
Nice grail list! Mosaic is one of my grails too and I’ve seen a few of him for sale. Actually I’ve seen most of these guys for sale and I’d say they all are atleast in the $1,000-$1,500 range. My own top grails are Noire (5 made) and Pinto Rocket (30 made) on the Emerson mold. They’re the last 2 I need for the conga! 2 others would be Redmond (200 made) and Leap of faith (6 made) who are on the Bristol mold. Also the last 2 I need lol. Hope you are able to find some of these guys soon! Loving your content!
Ooo, those are some nice Emersons, though at so few each, I can see why they'd be so difficult to get! Redmond is actually on my "would like, but not a grail" list. Thanks for commenting, and just wanted to say I enjoy your content as well! :)
Yay! Sat down to eat breakfast & this popped up. Now I have something fun to watch as I eat. Only one palomino this time. The decos ruled with the roans & Appaloosas close behind. The green foal looks like a horse shaped Mike & Ike candy. I did order two of the Spooky blind bags last year & I absolutely did not want the candy corn mule so, of course, that’s what I got. I sold one & traded the other. Mules just aren’t my thing & candy corn isn’t a favorite either so a mule painted like candy corn just didn’t appeal to me. The Shetland pony is a cutie. There’s been an issue with the forelock & face on recent releases. Some of them have a big smooth carved out area right where the forelock meets the head. Not all of them have it but it’s fairly common. It looks like there may be damage to one of the injection molds or there’s an overly enthusiastic employee cleaning & prepping the models for painting.
Yep, I went a tiny bit rogue this time, lol. Interesting to know about the Shetland Pony mold. I'll need to remember to take a good look at any I plan on getting!
Working in academia means my schedule can't be quite as precise as I'd like it to be. But, I figure as long as I churn out the videos on a somewhat regular basis, I'm doing well enough, lol. Re: palominos...yep! My first "favorite horse" growing up was a palomino named Sunny who was a boarder's horse at my lesson barn. :)
ITS BEEN A HOT MINUTE, okay fr tho had some mental health issues, but on a even more dumb note, I downloaded around 102 Breyer stable mates, and went to rank them, switched out of full screen and it reset it all. So like, that website I used was out for blood, like I was so angry, but I am glad to be able to watch your videos again! ❤🐎 And WOAH, I underestimated the size of Smoky, or Smokey, but other than that, I think the painting was great! RIP SULIVAN! 🖌🌈 Also I failed NaNoRiMo EVERY TIME, fun challenge though, same with NaMoPaiMo.
Hey, welcome back! Sorry to hear about the technology blip - I just finished creating all the icons to do a Classic scale Breyer mold ranking (eventually) and I'm pretty nervous about trying to actually build it. Think I'll give it some more time, lol. RIP Silky Sullivan indeed. He's kinda wrecked now, but I can't bring myself to get rid of him. I'll figure something out eventually. :)
Love hearing your processing of all of this post show! :) A note about those two boxes in particular - I wouldn't stress too much about getting Cincinnati back in, unless it's one you really enjoy displaying with the box. If he has a fancy insert like Pilgrim, you can always keep the insert with him, as the rest of the box is "generic". And for the WEG guy - that was a huge class! I took my WEG SM from the same collection on Sunday and showed him with the blister card next to him. Didn't make too much of a difference for Open since the way the classes are organized are different (double judged based on breed), but in general most newer packaging is a "nice to have", in this case having it or not for yours would not have changed much based on what else was there. :) The "what else is on the table" mantra is one of the most critical elements of a model horse show! Even under the same judge, a model may place differently between two or more shows solely based upon what is in the class each time. It's great to spend time learning what makes *in general* better candidates for a particular class out of what your particular interests are. :) Buy and show off what you love the most <3 Please don't feel like you have to focus on only rarer stuff! :) I always say that EVERYTHING has some level of collectibility, and unfortunately the way a lot of shows, especially at Open level, treat the mid-range and really nice examples of more common models by not offering many or any options for their own collectibility is disappointing. I do my best to make sure that Novice has a significant amount of options for mid to common range, since a lot of folks in this division are still learning and/or may not have years of collecting & higher budget to pull from. We do have a mixture of Open level shows now, some split up Breed & Collectibility into their own divisions like yours was on Saturday, while others don't have the room or space to have them split up and only offer double judged classes organized by Breed - what I entered on Sunday (for whatever reason, double judging is never organized by Collectibility, it's treated as the "secondary" to breed, which can be frustrating - since the classes all turn into "what's the rarest thing on the table". Very apples & oranges and not something I am fond of for promoting how cool collectibility actually is.) Breed can be quite an enigma for me as well! Many times I've prepared a breed reference that I felt fit very well, only to not have any success (especially sport breeds)! One thing we have to take into account with models is the ABC's - aka would it be a viable live horse? Which is something that real horse shows don't have to worry about. Some models I take into account how good they were sculpted *for their age*, and in general there are always some restrictions and concessions being made to have the model successfully molded for mass production (i.e. legs being moved into incorrect spots for the gait, weighting issues so the model will stand, etc.) that I can overlook to some degree for OF. (In custom folks would take into account if those factory issues are fixed or not when judging.) Brahms definitely has a more sporty-build, and the mismark documentation was great! I'd recommend trying him as an Appaloosa Sport Horse. ALLL of the above is why I did so many class splits! Given that I could only place to 6th (my show goes to 10th and I encourage that as much as possible for novices), I wanted to make sure that everyone came home with a good amount of placings, and also the more I can place, the more of my thought process and feedback you all get. I'm pretty sure that everyone out of the 9 of you went home with at least one champ, reserve, or top honors in something!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a detailed response! I blame my ballet background for wanting to over-analyze every little thing I could have done better, lol. I thought you did a great job judging - there were SO many nice models in every category, I'm sure it could not have been easy. I also appreciate the feedback and information you were able to give in real time; if only there were a way to slow down time so it would have been possible to do for all the classes! I think part of my current collectibility fixation is that I'm reading two different collectibility focused blogs, as well as looking through both the book I won through the raffle AND Nancy Atkinson Young's Breyer Molds and Models: Horses, Riders, & Animals so my brain is getting filled with all sorts of new info and discoveries. My only wish is that I could download everything into my brain and have instant encyclopedic knowledge, lol. So while I do plan to revisit my wish list, it will probably not be as drastic an overhaul as I made it seem. Some of the horses I want are indeed just for fun. :)
Congrats on your placings at the show! Live shows are very competitive from all I've heard and from what I've seen at the few live shows I've gone to. I've heard how some models do very well in some regions while they never place in other regions. Then there's always the idea of what else is on the table and sometimes that can make a big difference. I have a twin to your little Hartland tinymite! I'm listening to you describe him and going, OMG I've got that one! I don't remember where I picked him up but he was cute so I purchased him. I never realized he was such a limited run! don't mind me if I jot this information down. I wonder if Brahms might do better as an Appy/Warmblood cross. And I think there's an Appaloosa Sport horse out there but I haven't ever shown any models under that type so I'm not sure what the breed specs are. He's a lovely model and I love the one solid leg!
Forget to mention in my other comment that Huck does fairly well as a Morab or a National Show Horse here in Region 7. Atlantis Bey V makes a nice Gidran Arabian, which goes in the Sport Division. Huck just doesn’t do well in the Arabian class because of the new Arabian molds (Ashquar, Shagya & the mare who’s front legs are so far forward that there’s no possible way they could be connected to her shoulder). So it’s best to get him out of the Arabian class.
The Hamiltons lol, I feel like that's what's going to happen in the Breyer Bootcamp photo show I'm entering: a bunch of Hamiltons and then just my mix of other molds
For your second show you did really well. I'm in Region 7, which isn’t nearly as competitive & my first few shows - well I was thrilled with a 6th place. It’s better to show models out of packaging so judges can see the models better. Here, people just place the box on the table behind the model & bags with labels, hang tags & COA’s are laid next to the model. I’m with you. I’m so over Hamilton. I went to a show on Saturday as well & the ASB class was 32 Hamiltons. My glossy chestnut got 3rd but I doubt I show him again. Going forward my Moody ASB’s will go in Other Gaited to get them away from the ASB class. Next show my Livingston will go as a Spotted Saddle Horse. I’ve been showing my Blue Velvet as that but I’m thinking of switching her to a flat shod TWH. I’ve shown my Rocky Mountain Horse on the El Pastor mold as a Mountain Pleasure Horse & he’s NAN’ed. For breed documentation you must have photos of actual horses that look like the model & always site the sources of the photos. Good documentation can make the difference in breed classes. Almost all of my breed champs have documentation with 2-3 photos of different horses that match the model. When trying to find a breed for a model I start with a Google search of the color, look through the images for those that have a matching body type & go from there. So for my Rocky Mountain Horse on El Pastor I searched “Silver Bay Horse” as well as “Chocolate Bay Horse” then scrolled through all the images & took notes on the ones that had a matching body type then researched those breeds. Time consuming but good documentation is worth it. Judges aren’t supposed to be swayed by what’s popular but having the latest molds also helps. It’s a circular pattern. People like to show the latest & greatest so that’s what makes it to the table where judges pin it. Once word gets out that the new mold is doing well at shows more people buy it & show it. So soon all the classes are filled with a handful of molds & judges have very little choice on what to pin. The more they pin that mold the more people show it. It’s a hard cycle to break but it can be broken as long as some showers are willing to place a variety of molds in their show string & some judges aren’t swayed by what’s popular. Keep at it & those Grand Champion rosettes will soon be yours.
Thank you for the advice re: choosing a breed for a model! I actually have a silver bay model I didn't show simply because I couldn't figure out what worked best for him. I'll have to try your approach and see what pops up! Research is part of my day job, and I definitely know that how you approach looking for particular info can make all the difference. :)
Yeah, the weather apparently kept several people at home, which is too bad but sadly not unusual for New England at this time of the year! I've been hearing rumblings of another show in August, so hopefully then. :)
Aw Smokey came out nice! Smokey is such a mess of a model. His poor nose! LOL! But I have a bit of a soft spot for him anyway. I wonder if you watched the same how to video I watched a few years ago because I found one online and followed it and have a mini Alborzo leopard Appy that I think came out pretty good. Everytime you paint you learn something for the next time. Wish I could say what happened with Silky there but maybe a different primer would work better. I've always liked that mold. Good luck with any future projects you take on. I'm no great artist myself but I have had a few repaints that turned out alright I think. Good luck at the live show, also.
You did a great job with your first customs. Keep at it, and explore different techniques and mediums. Lots of artists prefer an airbrush, I've always had my best success with pastels. I would recommend buying a quality sandable automotive primer, such as SEM brand; or ask someone in your local auto parts store which primers work well with plastic. I hope your Breyerfest workshop is fantastic.
For a second custom he’s nice. My first 3-4 customs are nightmare inducing. Please keep at it. I did a few workshops at BF years ago but nothing lately since I’m usually at work when they open. Good luck at the show. I’m going to one this Saturday as well. 🤞🏽 for us both.
I agree! He's a really appealing model. My beef was with the Hackney mold in general, several months before Norwich was announced. Once I saw him though, I've converted to being a Hackney mold fan, lol.
12:00 im new to yours channel. When I was around 10 years old, i had the palomino western horse. I have no idea what happened to him. He was ny favorite
My Dad's best friend got us these Marx horses when we were kids. My sister and I had the Pinto, Black, and Palomino. Uncle Stan used to give us these on our birthday's and for something like Easter. I want to buy a couple but they are asking a lot for them on eBay.
