WIA Erren, Bella Rose, and some Bullyland specials

This month, I had a little parcel from the Modellpferdeversand shop in Germany - because they have to come so far and go through extra handling, shipping is £10 per box, which is quite pricey compared to more local postage, so I tend to wait til there's something I really, really want, and then add enough other things to the order to make it worthwhile!

The 'must-have' model this time was the first WIA model to be sculpted by Morgen Kilbourn, a Criollo stallion called Erren.

A very dramatic mould, an action pose with a lot of action in it!

In person, he looks just as good as expected - after nothing but excellent paintjobs, I've come to trust WIA to provide promo images which match well to the models in hand. I ordered two, so I could repaint the spare, and it was honestly difficult to decide which one to keep for my collection, neither had any flaws which spoilt the finish, and the paint application between the two was consistent on shading and markings. They're identical twins, with none of the variation between individuals we'd expect in the more mass-produced models like Breyer or Schleich.

He fits well with the other plastic 1:18 WIA horses so far - despite being a different sculptor their art styles aren't vastly different, so you won't have any jarring contrast in finish if you display them together.

Just one colour this time, rather than WIA's usual choice of two - this is because he's being described as a portrait model. But from what I can gather in the translated text and a review of the book online, the horse features in an adventure story about a princess, so he's a fictional one, rather than portrait in the usual sense of 'copied from a real horse'.

It's still possible they'll re-use the sculpt to release in another colour in future, but for now he's been allocated to this character. Luckily, he was written as a very nice colour, with some flashy markings too!

The mane is maybe the only thing that's make me think he looks a bit atypical for the breed, cos working and showring Criollos are usually clipped off short along the neckline, leaving just a tuft at each end, and their tails are cut choppy and square at the bottom - you don't usually see them with that much hair, where it's pretty standard to have luxuriant flowing manes and tails on Iberian breed sculpts.

Maybe an individual from one of the old feral herds, or kept free ranging for breeding and only rounded up occasionally, that's what he could be. Similarly I could see it working ok as a mustang, or any of the other US-based Spanish Colonial Horse breeds, if people wanted different breed allocations.

Now, what else came along in the parcel? Some mini versions of real dressage horses!

Rider Isabell Werth has an ongoing collaboration with the model horse world, allowing MPV to work with sculptor Brigitte Eberl and two German manufacturing companies, to create and sell limited edition figures of her competition stars.

I don't really follow dressage (the only horse sport I watch in person is Eventing, so those are the horses and riders whose careers I know), but it's always nice to see real horses being immortalised in miniature, and it doesn't matter that I haven't seen them in action. I'll have to look up some videos of their biggest winning performances on Youtube later!

The first two are made by Bullyland, a soft plastic and quite light. I don't have very many Bully horses, they aren't sold in the UK and I haven't liked many enough to add them to my MPV orders - a lot of them have moulded on tack so they're better for children's play than adult collectors. But these special editions are much better - possibly cos they've brought in one of the best sculptors in the world to create something which fits in with the rest of the range, but is inevitably that little bit better, too.

First, Don Johnson, known at home as Jonny. Another active pose, but this times a recognisable dressage movement; he's doing a pirouette, where horses take their weight on the back legs and turn a circle as small as possible - keeping on the spot is the ideal.

Jonny is a Hanoverian, quite a commonly made breed but a handsome one, so I don't mind at all having one more for my herd!

 

He's got a really nice face, I don't know whether the sculptor went to meet the real horses and do some sketching from life, or whether she worked from photos only, but this one seems to have a lot of personality worked in, he looks such a sweet and lively horse.

With his certificate - they don't have years on, but he was released in 2011, as a run of 2500.

El Santo, known as Ernie, is a Rhinelander horse. Another breed I'm much less familiar with - you can see the model is much more heavy-set, with chunky legs and a large solid head. But he's the same brand and sculptor as the previous model, so this is more likely a deliberate choice to match a heavier type of horse, than the plastic having to be thicker for solidity, or the artist's style.

He looks very gentle and honest, his markings aren't so bright and detailed as the WIA models but you can still see realism in there - with the off-centre star and snip, and some black ermine spots inside his socks, it shows that they're copied from a real horse, rather than simple symmetrical made-up markings.

And with his certificate - another run of 2500, he was released in 2012. I'm really glad they still have some of these older horses left, it's taken me all this time to get round to buying them but I'm pleased that I finally did!

And finally, another WIA model, the Westphalian mare Bella Rose. My first of this breed, I've had to make her a page all to herself on my website.

Bella Rose has a more stationary pose than Erren or the two bays, but it's a very balanced and composed halt, rather than just casually standing there - like the beginning and end of a dressage test, with the horse collected and square.

Her markings are nice, with differing hoof colour to match the socks, and the paint is smooth and solid so they have a good crisp effect. They're currently being sold only as 'B goods', which I assume to mean a sort of 'seconds' quality model, but I struggle to see what's wrong with this one, she looks neatly painted and without any damage.

A limited edition of 2500, but released back in 2016 so I bet a lot of them have already sold - that's probably why there's only 'B' ones left in stock now. But I'm perfectly happy with the one I've got!

Four very nice horses, who came quite a distance to join my herd, and are very welcome additions.

Actually, it was a parcel of five - as I said, there was an extra 'Erren' set aside for custom painting, but he'll have to wait til another post for his introduction.