A Whole Box

Look what arrived today!

Yes, a whole box of 70th anniversary Mystery Horses! 

I happened to be browsing online model horse shops and spotted Hot to Trot Model Horses selling these whole cases of blind bags for a new reduced price - the Mystery Horses/Unicorns usually retail at £3.99 to £5.99 per bag, depending on where you order from and how recent a series they are, but at £50 for a full box it works out at just over £2 a bag. So while it was a lot to pay out in one go, it's a bargain in the long run!

The small print mentions that Breyer don't guarantee one of every model in every box, so I couldn't confidently predict what was going to be in there, but really didn't mind - I already have one of each for my original finish collection, so these were all destined for repainting, and they're all nice recent moulds I haven't had too many of before!

Time to get opening, let's see what I've got...

I'm pleased I have some of each mould, and it's satisfied my curiosity to learn that they do seem to be packed in a certain format rather than being a random jumble, as all the duplicates were side by side in the box, so you'd have four of something then two of something else then four of the next, and so on.

So if you ever happen to get chance to choose in person rather than online, and you want a mixture, I'd advise picking from different parts of the box!

I don't know whether every box has the same proportion of each horse - maybe the next one along was packed with fours of the moulds I got twos of, and vice versa? It's a slight pity the Missouri Fox Trotter was a 'two' not a 'four' for me, as that's the only mould I haven't painted at all yet, whereas I'll be up to eight Connemaras and nine Vanner cobs by the time I've worked my way through all these - but never mind, two's better than none!

On the same order, I added in one of the mid-year 2021 Stablemates which have been so elusive in the UK. Hardly any even ever arrived here, and the two I wanted most sold out almost instantly as they were more coveted moulds (Mini Alborozo, and Django), but this Appaloosa Sporthorse hasn't been nearly so popular - strange, really, as he's also a very recent mould, and this is his first appearance as a regular run.

The mould was sculpted as an Irish Draft, so it's a little bit more chunky than the typical Appaloosa Sporthorse, which will usually look like a TB or hack but with spots - sport horses are usually quite a high proportion of Thoroughbred blood, 1/2 to 3/4, so they tend toward a finer build and longer frame than warmbloods.

Stablemates' spotted paintjobs vary in effectiveness, when it's just spatter spots on a white background they tend to look rather plasticky and poor, losing their eyes amongst the other dots, but this level of shading under the spotting gives him a much nicer look - he's a handsome chap with his dark face and black points.

Breyer 2021 Stablemates

Back when I reviewed Breyer's 2021 regular runs, one release which went straight onto my wishlist was the Palominos and Pintos Stablemates set, and they did in fact end up being the first of this year's models I ordered.

Here's all the horses together - often the sets seem to include some horses I really admire, and others I'm not mad about, and occasionally one terrible paintjob I actively dislike, but this contains four good mould & colour combinations and all of them nicely done.

Let's have a closer look at them individually...

The chunky trotting warmblood, or 'driving' mould, in sooty palomino pinto. The patch markings are really neatly outlined, it's a shame the mane masking wasn't so carefully done, with quite a lot of the body colour overlapping the ends of the hair. It's the sort of thing to look out for if you get chance to pick your set in person, rather than shopping online - just be aware that's an area with varied quality control, and have a quick check of several boxes to pick the nicest one!

Darley in golden palomino - the metallic aspect of his paintjob isn't over-done, just enough that he looks like the palominos who carry a gold sheen on their summer coats, and the best thing is, it's only in the palomino colour paint, they didn't use a pearly base-coat to include his mane, tail, socks, and hooves in the metallic finish, as inflicted on some other unfortunate models!

This one looks like he has a strange mane masking glitch - below the obvious chunk of hair there appears to be a phantom outline of some extra mane, but if you look closely, there is a 3D layer of thin hair flat against the shoulder in the sculpt!

There he is from the other side, do you see what I mean about looking more like an American gaited cross than a pure old world arabian? Our arabs in Europe, both Britain and the continental mainland, tend to be short-coupled and deep and rounded, with an action more floaty than high and flashy. Darley may be a prime example of an arabian for the US show ring, and American Breyer fans might love it for that, but as a British horse fan and collector, I just can't take this mould as the arabian strains I'm familiar with, so I show all mine as National Show Horses (arab x saddlebred), and think them a very nice model of this breed instead!

In all the years I've been collecting Breyer Stablemates, I've never seen them do a really pale palomino before! This quarter horse mare is described as an Isabella palomino on the box, and her colour is very delicately done, with areas sprayed lightly or heavily to vary the shading, and a grey nose to make sure the creamy tone with white mane and tail doesn't misread as cremello.

One of my favourites done on this mould, there's a certain something about it when the paintwork suits the model and just works.

The last of the four, while at a glance he might look like a chestnut, he's actually described as a chocolate palomino, which I always thought was just a term for a really dark sooty palomino, but I've read recently that it's the result of a liver chestnut base plus a cream gene. Maybe a liver chestnut with sooty AND cream gets you this shade!

Whatever his fictional plastic genetics, he's a really adorable little model, the Darwin mould sculpted as a lipizzaner but suiting a wide range of colours. Pinto was found in the historical ancestors of today's modern lipizzaner breed, as seen in glorious 17th and 18th century oil paintings and engravings, so there's the option to show him as a historic model, or you could go with a partbred, or pick something else entirely. I'm currently constructing a 'Historical' page on my website for all the obsolete colours and customs painted from old artworks, so he'll find his home there shortly.

Another 2021 addition to the Stablemates range was a Horse Foal Surprise - not just strange grammar which I can't quite make a sensible sentence from in my mind, but a strange combination of re-release and brand new model. In each box you got the same adult and foal as last year's Stable Surprise set, plus one new adult to complete the family. But the new horses aren't available seperately, so you have three options : buy the set and end up with duplicates in you bought last year's batch; miss out on the new ones; or hope that someone might split sets and sell the models singly. Luckily, Chestnut Ridge do exactly that, selling out-of-box/bag models individually, so you can pick exactly which you like and leave those you don't need.

Of course, I picked out the three new horses for my herd.

The good old G3 mustang mould in a simple but effective chestnut, I like his snip and the fade out of his tail to flaxen. This one was paired with the dark bay tobiano paint horse mare from last year.

These paintjobs are nice enough that they'd sell as singles, but probably not exciting enough to go ahead and buy the whole set of three if you only lack the new horse from each family.

This quarter horse mare was paired with the...wait a minute, I think I've spotted a mistake, Breyer.

The dun warmblood mare. And these two females have somehow produced a foal. 

I wonder if this is linked to the fact the warmblood was initially named as the Warmblood Stallion mould on IdentifyYourBreyer - maybe a collector tip-off corrected that site's mistake, but Breyer themselves were still under the impression it's a stallion when compiling this family group? Oops!

Anyway, I do like this mare a lot, her faintly shaded black looks sleek and striking, and I just love the big chunky white snip on her nose, that design choice gives her so much character and was why I wanted her so much, I'm glad to be able to buy these singly.

The G3 warmblood in a nice mahogany bay, paired with the palomino walking TB, makes up the third and final set. For some reason, 2020's roan Icelandic wasn't re-used, and it can't be cos they only have one mould of that breed, as they rarely match breeds together in the mystery foal type sets anyway - last time the Icelandic was crossed with an Appaloosa!

And to finish on, a couple more of the 70th Anniversary Stablemates blind bags, each mould a mini version of a Traditional scale sculpt. These aren't 2021 releases but having taken a year to reach the UK stockists, they may as well be! 

The missouri fox trotter, not a mould I like enough to have ever bought a Trad size one, but the mini is a very sweet little horse indeed, and I can see myself ending up with several of these if they release them in more colours down the years.

I think I got a fairly dark variation here, a lot of the fox trotters have been a paler shade of grey with a lot less shading on the mane, but I really like this one's darker look, even if he was a bit of heavy-handed spraying compared to others!

And mini Emma, also known as the Fell Pony mould, though fells never come in chestnut so she'll have to be allocated something else in my collection!

She's an adorable little chunky pony, not far off the G3 Highland for size, she's so neat and small and light she feels like a half-size Stablemate in hand! It's unusual to see such a cobby type as a smaller model, but she makes a great addition to the range, I'd like to see them release her in black like the original large scale Fell Pony, but also in piebald and skewbald as the 'pony cobs' which are rapidly gaining popularity in the UK.

This mean there's only one 70th Anniversary model left for me to collect, excluding the chase pieces (I'm not into decorators to seek those out, though I'd keep them as colourful oddities if I happened on them by chance, like the copper filigree Django I got from the first series of blind bags). And I haven't painted any of these new mini moulds yet, so I'm not ruling out ordering another batch pot-luck or pick'n'mix at some point : Stablemates are addictive!

Breyer Traditional Peptoboonsmal at long last!

Finally, the last of Breyer's 2020 mid-year models has reached the UK, almost halfway through the following year! It's not our British retailers' fault in the slightest, they're as keen to get the models as we are to buy them, and it's felt like a very long wait for what everyone else has had for ages.

I decided to go for Peptoboonsmal rather than a new 2021 release precisely because of that delay - he's been on my wishlist longest, and although it was tempting to go for something shiny and new, somehow he deserved to come along first.

Luckily it was a bright clear day for a change, so he got taken straight out into the sunshine after work for a photoshoot!

This is my first time seeing and handling the Dundee mould, and it's a lovely one in person. I especially like how it combines a motion pose with a relaxed, casual attitude; often models sculpted in action can have a taut and strained look, but he looks very at ease and laid back, like a good working horse, or reliable steady-minded leisure horse. 

The only slight flaw in his design is something not obvious without closer inspection - Peptoboonsmal is a famous stallion, and this mould is sculpted as a gelding - oops!

His colour is nicely done, with quite a lot going in to that paintjob. Firstly the base coat of chestnut is sprayed heavily in some areas and very thinly in others, leaving him paler flanks and elbows, a mid tone on body and neck, and darkest on the head and legs. There's dapples, on belly and quarters, then fine white roaning to further lighten and speckle his paler parts, and a light smattering of dark flecks over the top. His markings are crisply masked, a good match for the real horse, and I love the striped hooves!

Now, I admit I was initially sceptical about the paintwork for the production runs of this model : in photographs he seems to vary a huge amount. The example here on IdentifyYourBreyer is extremely pale with white roaning, while other real photos coming through on US ebay listings last year showed the body colour as just a very slightly paler chestnut than the head and legs, with hardly any of the misty roaning spray layer. 

I was worried : what if, buying blind online, I got one which didn't have much contrast? Reassured by having spotted photos of a 'good one' from a UK seller, when it's likely all our retailers would have received horses of the same batch, I decided to take my chances, and am very pleased with the one I got!

The mould's official name seems to have been settled as Australian Stock Horse, which leaves me a bit undecided what to do - it's a breed I'm already familiar with, in fact I show all my Peter Stones in the Palouse mould as Australian stock horses, but the real Peptoboonsmal is famously an American Quarter Horse, and this being a portrait of him, it kind of follows that it'd be fitting to use that breed for our models, too. Normally it wouldn't matter, I'd decide later, but I'm in the process of compiling a new collection website with all the models split by breed instead of brand/finish/scale, and I don't know which page to file him on!

All in all, a lovely addition to my collection - it's nice to see a great new mould making its debut into the regular run line, and that his colour is done so well.

He shared his box with a little extra. Chestnut Ridge are selling the 70th Anniversary blind bags opened, so you can decide exactly which model you want, rather than taking pot luck and getting too many duplicates. I've collected a few already, but one notable gap was the silver bay, so I snapped him up as a travelling companion for my Trad scale purchase!

I'm not a fan of the pearly sheen on so many Breyer models lately, but I can overlook it in small doses - SM scale is just about ok, especially when the body colour isn't metallic, only the mane and tail. This silver bay looks great on the mould, and the novelty of these mini versions of Traditional moulds hasn't worn off for me yet, I really like them!

I haven't managed to name my Peptoboonsmal quickly, but this one can be Harecroft Eye Of The Storm, one of those names which has been a while on my noted-down list, waiting for a horse to arrive and suit it.

Stablemates New and Old

I've had two separate Stablemate parcel days recently, the first were some of the 70th Anniversary blind bags which tagged along with my WIA Sharif & Lancelot order. I hadn't fancied paying the high resale price for the UK listings which'd come up since these were released, and as they still haven't made it to this country's stockists, I decided I may as well add two or three little stowaways!

So which did I get?

First out of the packet, Smart Chic Olena! Sadly he's lost his nice swishing long mane in conversion to the mini mould, and his head does look out of proportion small, but it's still nice to have a new addition to the range of SM moulds, and his colour's just the right side of argh that's so shiny metallic, it's a more natural looking sheen.

Looking rather on the 'good doer' side, but then, a lot of real QHs are sadly this shape for the show ring, so it's not unrealistic!

Next, the Connemara - I'm really glad I got this one, black is a tricky colour to photograph but she's so nice in hand, a really detailed mould which doesn't seem to have suffered in the shrinking. A lot of people seem to pose these resting up on their tail tip, but with one hind fetlock flexed to rest the foot flat on the ground, I'm sure this is the right way to stand them.

She's the only one of the trio to get a name so far : Grace O'Malley, after the Connemara pirate!

And finally, one of the models I was hoping I wouldn't get, being glossy and a vintage colour style, but actually I like him way more than I thought I would! The mini version of the mould is much more smooth and sleek than the old-style sculpting of the original Trad scale one, and the gloss isn't too icky in small doses, I can happily keep this little chap for the shelf.

The second parcel was a mixed lot of G2 TBs - some body condition, duplicates or blanks, one nice custom, and three I didn't have already which got saved from body box potential into my OF herd.

From the Jockey and race tack set, with white 'bandages' as part of his paintjob. I think this is the only time they've used this technique, and while the masking isn't particularly straight at the pasterns, it's not so bad from a distance! I've named this one Black Pearl.

This appaloosa was released as a mare and foal set, I've had her foal for a while from a second hand lot, but never had the matching mother til now! I've given her the name Asterella, and she'll be an appaloosa sportshorse in my herd.

And last of the lot, a chestnut pinto. Actually, a fourth chestnut pinto, as they've also released two tobianos and a frame overo on this same mould. She's got the name April Snow, because it did snow the day she arrived with me here!

Breyer 70th Anniversary Andalusian

 A much-awaited brand new model arrived here with me yesterday...

Yes, at long long last, Breyer's 70th Anniversary Traditionals have reached UK stockists!

This may seem crazy if you're a US collector and have had this set around since the spring, but over here we're often subjected to long waits for some regular run items. The current estimation for one of the 2020 'mid year' models is spring next year!

But this is the first time I've ever ordered one in January and had it arrive in October. Actually, I'm just relieved he's here at all. On top of unavoidable production delays from covid and the international distribution being a bit rubbish, the company I pre-ordered him with never even acknowledged or confirmed my order in the first place, then in ten months I never had a single email update on delays to likely delivery dates (meanwhile the website said 'due March' and this was never changed), and they ignored not one, not two, but three increasingly worried emails through the autumn, as I tried to contact them and got no response whatsoever. So I wasn't sure I'd ever be getting this model, and he definitely takes the record for longest I've had to wait!

Way back when the Anniversary collection of five Traditionals was first announced, this was the one who stood out, for me, and the only one which I knew I was going to want to buy. 

I realise collectors have been raving over the Saddlebred most of all, they sell out in minutes, but I reckon I'm the odd one out there : he hasn't even made it to my wishlist yet! At first it was the oddly twirly sculpting of the tail which put me off, but when we saw 'real' photos which clearly showed his paint finish, I didn't like the highly metallic body and pearly mane & tail. I think a little metallic sheen can be a good thing, golden colours can reflect the light that way in real life, but too much and it's more like a decorator finish than a realistic coat. Some saddlebreds seem worse than others, I've seen a few which are perfectly done with just a hint of gold, so there's a lingering 'maybe' if I ever get chance to hand-pick one, or buy second hand with clear photos, so I could be sure of getting one which was less shiny. But now, back to the Andalusian!

He's just as nice in person as I'd hoped. The amount of black shading on them does seem to vary a little bit from the promo photo; some have starker contrast with a lighter near-white base coat, or entirely dark hindquarters and a more solid streak down the shoulder, mine's faded out more gradually into a dove grey body colour. That combined with well-rounded, distinctly non-fishscaley dapples makes him look quite soft and subtle. There's been none I've seen that looked absolutely terrible, though, some previous Trad runs have had 'good ones' and 'bad ones' but the painters have done a great job with copying this design - they do vary but even the ones which stray most from the prototype paintjob still look nice, if you get what I mean!

Here he is in different light, it's extremely tricky to find any big-enough patch of sunshine in my garden for many minutes each day between October til March, so these photos aren't the best - I had to make his shadow fall either left or right, to avoid hitting the backdrop behind. You can click any picture I post here on the blog to see it full size.

I think the photos with his shadow in front of him look the nicest, but these with it away behind him probably show him a bit more clearly, so it'll be difficult deciding which to use in photo shows!

The other side, it's one of those moulds which looks handsome either way round, and they'd display equally well on the shelf cantering left or right, I just love the big wild-flying mane so I tend to favour the near side. As the back of the box details, in explaining why they chose this mould to represent the 1990s-2000s, there's a lot more detail and complexity in the moulding, with cut-outs in the mane and tail. I've liked this dramatic and handsome mould ever since it first appeared, in 2004 as the unnamed black first edition (incidentally, still one of the best black OFs ever made, with shading and dapples worked in to his colour rather than just spraying it all over with a semi-gloss pure black paint and calling that good enough!)

You can just about see if you look closely at these two photos, that he's missing the tips of his ears, more drastically on the near side but the off is curiously blunted, too - it looks like over-zealous buffing of the mould to remove seam lines and going too far, not broken ear tips which escaped notice and got painted over. Luckily you can't really tell in the side-on photos, nor at a distance, so he looks just fine for display or photo showing - you probably hadn't noticed til I hadn't pointed it out, either!

I've tentatively gone with calling him Aniversario, as he's likely the only one of the 70th Anniversary Trads I'll end up with it, and in Spanish it doesn't sound too unappealing as a horse name - it's just rather unoriginal and if I think of anything better later, I'll change it!