So glad you touched on how molds used to be created based on a single reference photo & how breed standards have changed. It’s also important to keep in mind that the mold making process has improved in the since the 1950’s. With 3D scanning technology the process is streamlined & the new molds have more detail & are more refined. Plus the new technology means we get more new molds each year. When I was collecting in the 1970’s there were maybe 2-3 new molds each year. I think Breyer & Chris Hess did really well given what they had to work with at the time. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on the 2024 releases.
Exactly! I will always champion the old molds because they were the top of the line when they were coming out and technology now is so good it's not fair to compare!
I look forward to seeing your rankings of the classics and stablemates. I know my favorites. 😃 One thing I've learned over the years I've collected is that every mold seems to have people who love it and people who don't. No one sculpt seems to capture everyone's heart. There are a few molds out there I didn't like at first but that grew on me over time. There are some with obvious flaws that I'm willing to overlook because I just generally like the mold. Then there are a few I wanted to like and just couldn't. It's always interesting to see how other people feel about the different molds and why. There's always something to learn.
I really enjoyed this series! I think I want to go through them and pick my top 1-2 models for each mold (that are reasonably obtainable, though likeey "ouchy" cost-wise!
It's interesting to see others' perspectives across showing/collecting focuses. I'm in CM/AR land (plus far fewer mostly RR OFs for the shelf), so aside from 4 Breyer trads from the 1970s carpet herd, nearly everything is newer sculpts by artists I have in resin; for older molds, Maureen Love.
Quick question - does your Marengo have a star? Mine has a small star but I don’t see the model often enough to check if any others also have one. I’m trying to figure out if I’ve got a variation or an oopsie.
Oops! Just saw that I never replied to this comment. No, my Marengo doesn't have a star. That's really interesting, because I've not heard of him having one!
I didn't create the tier list itself, so by all means! I believe you can find it here: tiermaker.com/create/breyer-traditional-scale-horse-equine-molds-356195?ref=remix
