Give Me a "B"

Next stop on our alphabetical journey through my collection brings us to the letter "B."  I have a fair number of "B" horses in the herd, but it's also the letter under which you'll find most of my Breyer dogs.

This is because for a while I considered getting into model dog showing as a sideline to model horse showing.  I had had a Benji and Tiffany in my collection for a number of years, but never found a use for them.  Then in 1999 Breyer started to come out with the Companion Animals series, which contained a number of attractive dog sculptures.  So I decided to branch out from Winterplace Stables and add a kennel to my collection, using the kennel name "Ballyhoo" as the prefix for all of my new dogs' names.  

Benji and Tiffany, who had previously been called "Bo" and "Muffin" got renamed "Ballyhoo's Bo" and "Ballyhoo's Banana Muffin."  All the new Companion dogs I've purchased since then, and even the two Pocket Box (PB) pups I purchased "just because" can be found under the letter "B," including: "Ballyhoo's Briney Bay Yeller" (the yellow Lab), "Ballyhoo's Bingo Dali" (the Dalmatian), "Ballyhoo's Brigadoon Belle Reve" (the Golden Retriever), "Ballyhoo's Belinda" (the Foxhound) "Ballyhoo's Becca" (the Border Collie),  "Ballyhoo's Bitsy" (the Jack Russell), "Ballyhoo's Blink" (the SM Border Collie), "Ballyhoo's Bitty" (the PB Pomeranian) and "Ballyhoo's Barkie" (the PB Jack Russell).

But this post is not about the dogs.  Suffice it to say that I never did get into model dog showing, but it was fun creating a kennel all the same.

"Ben Gali" Breyer Family Arabian Foal

The "B" horse I want to focus on this time around is a Family Arabian Foal (FAF) from 1988.  First released around 1960 or 1961, the FAF has been in Breyer's line-up longer than I've been alive, but I've only ever had one of them in my collection: the flaxen liver chestnut that appeared in the line-up for one year only.

I don't know why Breyer decided to give the flaxen liver chestnut family such a short run -- for my money it's one of the most attractive colours the FAF ever came in.

If you recall my "My First Breyer" story you'll note that 1988 was fairly early in my collecting days.  I was trying out a lot of things in those days to see what suited me, including pedigree assignment.  Since I never purchased the stallion or the mare to go with the foal, I had to look further afield to find a sire and dam for him.  A friend of mine had the perfect stallion, very like my foal in colour, although he was a Hartland rather than a Breyer.  I applied for permission to use him as a sire (that's sort of how it worked in those days) and once I got a pedigree all sorted out for my foal, I was ready to name him.

My friend's stallion was named "Salvador Gali," a kind of pun on the name of the Surrealist artist.  It just seemed obvious to me then that my foal should be named "Ben Gali," using the word Ben as a "son of" prefix.  I also liked the fact that the name sort of resembled the name "Benghazi," a Libyan city which was very much in the news around that time, being more or less at war with the United States.  Plus, Libya was enough of a desert country that it could conceivably be thought of as a natural home for an Arabian horse.

And that's how "Ben Gali" came to "B".

A Good Year

With the arrival of Georg at my door a few days ago, my Breyer Premier Collectors Club membership has more or less come to a close.  Of course, there's still the bonus Stablemate to come -- a cute little Morgan sporting Hamilton's colours.  Since Morgans don't come in tobiano he's going to have to have a breed change -- I've been thinking of making him a Spanish Jennet.

Image courtesy of Identify Your Breyer

However, since the Stablemate is essentially a "free with purchase" item, I don't really count it as one of the membership horses.  This year, the membership horses have been a Welsh Pony mare and foal (Rhian and Cadell), an American Saddlebred stallion (Hamilton), and a Rhenish German Coldblood stallion (Georg).

I could hardly ask for a better group to suit my peculiar tastes.  Although I've recently come to prefer standing models to action models, the big action model of the bunch (Hamilton) turned out to be unexpectedly rock-steady on his hooves -- something you would never guess just by looking at him.  The closest the Premier Club has come to offering two standing models in one year before this was 2017, with Duende and Selene, but Selene was only a foal.  This year, with Rhian and Cadell, it was the mare who was standing and the foal who was in an action pose.

Another unexpected bonus is that the horses offered in this year's club run the gamut of basic horse types: light breed, draft breed, and pony.

All in all, then, it was a good year to be a member of the Premier Club -- at least for me.  I never expected it to work out so well.

However, I've already decided not to renew my membership in the club for 2020.  Despite the temptations of the unknown molds, the one mold that has been revealed doesn't do much for me.

I've also pretty much decided to renew my membership in the Stablemate Collectors Club.  Now that all molds but the new mold have been revealed -- for the record, they're the appaloosa Darwin we've already seen, the G1 Arabian Stallion, the G2 Warmblood, the  2016 Cob, and the 2019 Mini Alborozo (I date him to 2019 since all the 2018 Alborozos were unicorns) -- I'm satisfied that I'm going to like all the releases for 2020.  I'm very much afraid that the Mini Alborozo is going to be the gambler's choice model: not because I'll want to have them all but because there's bound to be a decorator among them and I'd rather see Alborozo in more real horse colours.  On the other hand, if he is the gambler's choice that means we get three more horse-coloured Alborozos, so that's a bonus.

The jury is still out on whether or not I go for the "deluxe" Collectors Club membership.  The extra cost makes the mini Fighting Stallion a very expensive Stablemate, and one not nearly as exclusive as any of the recent specialty blind bag offers, like the Fruitcake Fillies, the Spooky Surprise, or the Starry Skies Stablemates.  But it's not exactly clear if that's all the deluxe membership will offer -- perhaps there will be other bonuses throughout the year?  And if there isn't, will I be disappointed that I spent the extra money for one little horse?  Unless more information is forthcoming, it's something I need to figure out before the year is up. 

"Pembroke" and "Cardigan"

One thing's for sure, I'm not disappointed that I made the decision last year to join the Premier Club.  It worked out well for me -- even better than I'd hoped.  I was hooked by the ponies and, I have to admit, I had my doubts about the Saddlebred and the Coldblood, but both of them have won my heart.

"Spaceman Spiff"

I haven't introduced you to my Georg, yet.  He's a big, beautiful boy with absolutely luscious colour.  I've never called a model horse "yummy" before, but Georg brings that adjective to mind.  He has lovely dapples, unique shading, and the promised "sunburned" touch to his mane and tail.  According to his Certificate of Authenticity he's supposed to have a mapped sock, which sounds a little weird to me, but if my guy has one then it's very subtle.  However, I think I can see it in the picture used on the Identify Your Breyer site.  

"Düsseldorf"

I named my guy "Düsseldorf," not because it's a city in the Rhineland (although I believe it is) but just because I've always liked the sound of that name.  I call him "Doozer" for short.

So 2019 was the year that "Pembroke," "Cardigan," "Spaceman Spiff," and "Düsseldorf" a.k.a. "Doozer" came into my life.

"Doozer"

It's been a doozy of a year.

Every Zoo Has Its Zebra

Without really meaning to,  I have somehow acquired a tiny, mismatched zebra family consisting of a Schleich male zebra, a CollectA female zebra, and a Safari zebra foal.

I like zebras, but I don't go out of my way to collect them.  Their colour schemes are, after all, a little bit boring, as compared to the range of colours you find in horses, donkeys, or mules.  When they're pointed out to me, I can see the differences between the different varieties of zebras in the world, but on the whole I see them exactly the way they are designed to be viewed in nature, as one indistinguishable array of stripes.

That being said, one of the few models that I do have seller's remorse about is Breyer's Damara Zebra.  I bought her new in 2000 -- it may even have been at Breyerfest -- but she fell victim to one of my periodic collection purges when I decided to collect "only horses."  My original Brighty was also a casualty of that purge, but Brighty was easy to replace -- the zebra, not so much.  I rather expected Breyer to release her in a variety of stripey patterns, and perhaps as a Przewalski horse as well.  But Breyer has been pretty withholding when it comes to the zebra.  Aside from her initial release she has only been issued as a few Breyerfest specials.

But back to my little guys.  The funny thing about them is that each one of them was an afterthought;  I didn't set out to buy any one of them, but somehow each one ended up in my shopping cart.

Schleich Zebra Stallion

The first arrival was the Schleich.  He came with a online book order.  I'd been given a gift card to use in a certain store, and after I selected all the books I wanted I had a little bit of credit left over, but not enough for any other book that piqued my interest.  But the store in question also sold gift items, like candles and scented soaps, as well as a few Schleich animals.  The zebra was just the right price to use up the remaining coupon credit, and so the first zebra since the great Damara mistake, joined my model herd.

I will admit that the thought crossed my mind, when I bought the Schleich, that I might someday buy the mare and foal to go with him.  What I did not intend to do, however, was to buy three different brands.

Safari Zebra Foal

The Safari zebra foal was the next zebra to worm her way into my herd.  She was bought in person, at a craft store, but her story was much the same as her Schleich predcessor's.  Once again, I had a coupon, and after I bought all the things I intended to buy, I had a little bit of credit left over.  Now, I knew that this store also had a big rack of Schleich critters, so I thought I would go to see if they had a zebra to fill out my family.  I found a foal and added it to my stack of purchases, but it wasn't until I got home that I realized that this little zebra wasn't a Schleich, but a Safari.

CollectA Zebra Mare

Last to arrive was the CollectA mare.  She arrived just the other day, stowing away with my Premier Collectors Club "Georg."  Once again, she was only added to fill up my cart to the maximum it could hold for the shipping charge associated with "Georg."  Since CollectAs were on sale the week I ordered "Georg," she just managed to make the cut.

I haven't yet studied them closely enough to determine which company's zebra I like best.

An Accidental Family

Zebras are actually quite fascinating creatures, and beautiful in their own, un-horsey way.  Perhaps someday I'll study them a bit more carefully so as to be able to make an informed decision about which of my little plastic zebras best captures its breed.  For now, though, I have to admit that I know very little about them, and have done little or nothing to learn more.

As a matter of fact, if I have any connection to zebras at all, it's from my childhood.

Zebras are common enough characters in children's literature.  Most ABC books, especially those that revolve around animals, bring out the zebra by the time they get to "Z."  And one of my favourite books as a child was Toby Zebra and the Lost Zoo, about a zebra who got left behind when the zoo he lived in shifted to a new location. 

When I was small, I had the usual assortment of zebra figurines from zoo- and wildlife-themed playsets to play with.  I remember naming one of my zebras "Toby," after the picture-book hero.  In my teens, I purchased a couple of other zebras strictly for decor -- among them two or three small African wood carvings, and one tiny Made in China zebra that just took my fancy. But I was really a horse girl from Day One, and although zebras had their appeal, a zebra was clearly not, despite what the song suggests, "A Horse in Striped Pajamas" to me.

So zebras carry some fond memories for me, but not as fond as the memories I have from all the horses I acquired as playthings.  In my childhood, as in my collection, zebras have always been there by chance, rather than by design.  But perhaps it was inevitable that at some point my collection would contain a few.  Just as every child's zoo has a zebra, perhaps every model horse collection needs a stripey equine of one kind or another.  Mine just happens to have three.

Vintage Whining

What defines "Vintage" in the model horse collecting world?

As of yet, I haven't stumbled upon a definitive answer.  Breyer has a whole club dedicated to things "vintage" -- molds, painting styles, boxes, and ephemera -- but to my knowledge they haven't actually said where vintage stops and "modern" (or whatever the opposite of vintage is) begins.

A Facebook group, Vintage Model Horse Publications, is dedicated to remembering newsletters issued "before the Internet," but another group,  Vintage Custom Model Horse Sale/Trade/Wanted, doesn't bother to define vintage at all.  I am a member of a group called Vintage Horse and Rider Sets, which loosely defines its parameters as "from the 1950s and 1960s."

There is a Vintage Custom Model Equine Center website.  The doesn't appear to be terribly active, but they do have custom models from the 1970s to the late 1990s in their collection.  There is also a website for what are called Vintage Model Horse Magazines, which so far covers the years from 1969 to 1992.

As an older collector, I cannot deny that there is some sting in the thought that the majority of my collection can now be considered "vintage" in these lights.  However, there are at least two portions of my collection that I'm happy to have considered as vintage.  One portion is my collection of Hartland horse and rider figurines -- apart from a few reissues in the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, these all date back to the 1950s, which is vintage in my books.  The other horses that I might consider vintage are those customs I have that were produced in the 1980s with mohair manes and tails.  Although I still find it difficult to think of '80s-released models as vintage, I will concede that, in North America at least, the mohair manes and tails usually point to an earlier customizing technique, which was replaced with sculpted manes and tails when resins began to take hold.

"Shivaree," a vintage custom Sagr from 1987

Of course, there's no clear defining line between when hairing horses was the prefrerred customizing technique, and when that technique fell out of fashion.  As far as I know, it's always been the preferred customizing technique in Europe.  In North America, I suspect it wasn't just the advent of resins that made hairing less popular -- it was probably also the fact that hair manes and tails are difficult to maintain, and will not stand for much brushing if you need to neaten them up for a live show entry.  The very fact that the hair is brushable makes haired horses seem uncomfortably like Barbie horses and similar toys to some collectors.  Probably it was a combination of all of these things which threw haired horses out of favour.

I have two haired vintage customs in my collection, each one made by a hobby friend.  Although the first international hobby newsletter I ever got had a picture of a Bev Zimmer creation (I believe her name was "Venus") on the cover, which led me to covet Zimmer creations ever since, I did not have the wherewithal in my early years of collecting to purchase customs from  "big name" remakers.  So my earliest customs were either customized by me or by friends of mine.

"Kyrie," a vintage custom Might Tango from 1988

I currently own 32 custom model horses, of which only 4 have hair.  Two of those were my own customs on already haired models -- a Largo Toys horse shown as "Friendly" and the Breyer Spirit Paint Kit horse shown as "Yankee Doodle Dandy."  The other two are those vintage customs I spoke of -- a haired Sagr shown as "Shivaree" and a slightly repositioned and haired Might Tango shown as "Kyrie."  

"Kyrie" was originally a black horse with a fun fur mane and tail known as "Evensong." "Evensong" was my one and only attempt at doing a hair mane and tail.  It was so bad even I couldn't bear to look at her, so I gave her to a friend to fix.  That's how "Kyrie" came into being.

Although most of the vintage horses that collectors now covet come from an earlier period, for me "Shivaree" and "Kyrie" have a nice vintage feel.  Better still, each one connects me to a friend made in my earliest collecting days.  All in all, I think I prefer that to having a vintage custom from a "big name" in the hobby.  "Shivaree" and "Kyrie" both mean something to me -- they represent the generosity of friends.  I couldn't believe it when one of my new friends offered to sell me "Shivaree" off her shelf, and I was awestruck by the talent my other friend displayed in bringing my poor attempt at customization back to life.  Although I paid some insignificant sum for both of them, each of them seems like a gift to me now.

Perhaps that's the real meaning of "vintage" in the model horse world.  A "vintage" horse is one that brings back memories of an earlier, seemingly simpler, time.  As such, vintage horses will never go out of style.

West German Whimsy

Goebel is one of those historic pottery companies that, like the Energizer bunny, just keeps going and going and going.  Since it was founded in 1871, it has survived all the turbulence of German history: before partition in 1945, throughout the partition era (when, from 1960 to 1990 its wares were marked with "W. Germany" in the backstamp), and after German reunification in 1990.

The company is probably most famous for its Hummel figurines, based on the illustrations of a Bavarian nun, Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel, which Goebel acquired the rights to in 1935.  However, over time the company produced or acquired a number of different lines -- lately they have been specializing in sculptures of children not only through their M.I. Hummel line, but also through their Blumenkinder, Kinderland, and Nina & Marcos lines.

Among the voluminous output of the Goebel factory over the years were a number of horse figurines.  These fall roughly into two categories: realistic and comic.  Some of the realistic sculptures, like their Haflinger Pony and their Andalusian/Lipizzaner, are really quite lovely.  The comic horses are really quite lovable, with mischievous or appealing expressions and often quite playful poses.

I don't have any of the lovely Goebel horses, but I do have two of the lovable ones.  Or perhaps I should say I have two lovable equines, since one of them is not a horse, but a zebra.

"Gobi"

I've had "Gobi," my zebra foal, for many years now.  I first stumbled on him at a flea market and he looked so saucy I just had to take him home.  The Shetland Pony, "Carolina," is a more recent acquisition.  Goebel produced its Shetland Pony in a variety of colours and shades, so it took me some time to find the one that was "right" for me.

"Carolina"

Although both have been long discontinued, neither one is difficult to find, and for clinkies they can be quite inexpensive.  Both of mine have West German backstamps indicating that they were produced between 1972 to 1978 (Shetland) and 1979 to 1990 (Zebra), and both were purchased for around $10.

What I particularly like about the zebra, aside from his cheeky expression, is the fact that his stripes are actually incised into his body rather than merely painted on.  Of course, they bear no relation to real zebra stripe patterns, but they have an appeal all of their own.

The Shetland, with her big head and bumpy little legs, simply looks like the sweetest Shetland pony you can imagine -- so unlike the fierce and furry ones you find in more realistic sculptures.  The Goebel Shetland looks like she'd gladly give a child a quiet ride with no tricks, no nipping, no ear-flattening, no resistance of any kind.  Actually, the Breyer Traditional Shetland has something of this look too, although the Breyer appears more stalwart than sweet.  The Breyer would take care of the child on its back because that's its duty; the Goebel would take care of the child on its back because that's its desire.  She looks like a pony that just wants to be loved.

For now, I'm quite happy with my comical pair.  However, I could always make room for some other comical Goebels, like their Baby Donkey or one of their Unicorns, too, if that suited my fancy.  I could also change direction entirely and try to track down one of the realistic works for my clinky collection.  I'm really drawn to the comical ones though, for some strange reason.  One doesn't often think of whimsy when one thinks of Germany, but Goebel managed to marry the two, and the offspring of that marriage are mighty appealing little tots.

Big Shoes to Fill

Well, Breyer has sent out the "buy now" notices for Georg, the final sculpture for the 2019 Premier Club (if you don't count the bonus Stablemate).  While I wait for my Georg to arrive, I thought I might spend a little bit of time looking back over my complicated relationship with draft, or dray, or draught, or cold-blooded model horses.

By and large, I try not to collect drafters.  Initially this was because I didn't find them versatile enough for my show string.  Although there are people out there doing amazing things with drafters, they are mostly shown in hand and in harness, and I didn't have either the harnesses or the carts to show them properly.

But collecting-wise, I also objected to drafters because of the amount of precious shelf real estate they command.  With the earlier Breyer drafts, like the Clydesdales, the Belgian, the Shire -- and even with Roy and Cedarfarm Wixom -- the problem was more their girth than their length.  But with the newer long-tailed horses like Othello, Brishen, and the long-tail version of Shannondell, they're taking up space from front to back as well as from side to side.

So drafters don't tend to stay too long around here.  Over time I've both purchased and sold the Circus Extravaganza set, the American Cream Draft, the Belgian Brabant, the Classic Shire, and the Stablemate G2 Clydesdale from Breyer, Stone's Standing Belgian, Trotting Christmas Shire, and Chips Clydesdale, the Hagen-Renaker miniature Clydesdale Horse and Clydesdale Foal, the Loza Clancy Drafter, an LJ Round Robin resin, and a Shafford Japan Belgian.

"Wiccan" my SR True Black English Shire

But it's not like I don't have any drafters in my collection -- it's just that the majority of them are tiny ones.  I have one oversize drafter from the White Horse Ceramics hobby mold and one more or less Traditional size Royal Doulton Cantering Shire (done on the Beswick mold).  At the moment, I only have three Breyer Traditional drafters -- the SR True Black Shire, an SR black Clydesdale Foal, and one regular Clydesdale Foal customized as "Fair Isle Flossie."  Every other drafter I own is classic size or smaller, from the Hartland Budweiser Clydesdale down to the Micros from Breyer and/or Creata.

"Vin Noir" my Creata Micro Mini Percheron Foal

I'm not exactly sure why I'm keeping the old bell-bottom Breyer Shire.  She's blobby and bland, but steady and solid as a doorstop, which is probably her main attraction.  In addition, she makes a good mother for my black Clydesdale Foal, and I'm a little reluctant to break up the pair.  The Clydesdale Foal is, to date, my favourite of all the Breyer Traditional drafters, and it's probably no coincidence that s/he is also the one with the smallest footprint.

"Zack" my SR Clydesdale Foal masquerading as a Shire foal

I won't deny that I like the look of both Wixom and Shannondell, but I've never liked either of them enough to want to make shelf room for them.  Stone's new Heavy Draft Mare a.k.a. "Bunny," sculpted by Stacey Tumlinson, is also very appealing, but her price point currently is not.  I wouldn't write any of them off completely -- there's always the chance that I could win a coupon for one (as I did with my Stone OOAK appaloosa), or manage a trade for one that really takes my fancy.

But for now, all my hopes are centered on the "gentle giant" coming this way -- Georg.  I'm curious to see how the production run stands up to the prototype (the production run looks much lighter in the one photo I've seen) and I'm hoping that, like Hamilton, he will somehow contrive to win my heart.  Drafters have a hard time staying in my stable.  If Gorgeous Georg is going to stay, he'll have some pretty big shoes to fill.

Give Me an "A"

Some time ago, when I was first bitten by the model horse collecting bug, I found myself adding new horses to my herd almost faster than I could name them.  

I like naming horses, but I was getting so many new ones all at once that I was running out of ideas for new names.  To solve my problem, I decided to start naming the new arrivals in alphabetical order, until I had all 26 letters of the alphabet represented.

Of course, I had way more than 26 horses, but it was a start.  Once I got them all listed I could see where I was overusing some letters (like "S") and underutilizing others (like "U").  After that I concentrated on creating names starting with the underused letters and avoiding adding names starting with the overused letters.

I don't do that anymore, but as a result of those efforts I still have horses whose names begin with every letter of the alphabet.

So I thought, from time to time, when I'm feeling uninspired (like now), I'd write a post introducing you to one of my horses, A through Z.  Today we start with "A."

"Afternoon in Vegas," Tennessee Walking Horse mare

"Afternoon in Vegas" is a Creata Winner's Choice Micro Horse -- one of the ones that Breyer eventually reproduced in the Mini Whinnies series.  She's the Running Walk Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) Mare, number 21 of the original 32 molds.

I like the paint jobs on some of the Breyers, but I liked the colour of this original Creata best, which was why I chose to keep her. 

"Afternoon in Vegas" was part of a set of four Creata TWHs originally sold together in one package.  Of the four, I have only this mare left.  The Sitting Foal was replaced by the Sitting Foal in a Creata Paint Horse Mare and Foal set and the Big Lick Walker and the Cantering TWH have both been replaced by Breyer Mini Whinnies in other colours.
 
I'm not really sure where her name came from.  I don't think it's related to the jazz standard "Afternoon in Paris" as I don't really know that song.  I suppose it's possible that I heard the name somewhere and it came back to me as "Afternoon in Vegas" when it was time to name this horse, but I doubt it.  

It seems to me much more likely that I was thinking of the song "Walking in Memphis" (which I love) and by free association came up with "Vegas" (Memphis-Elvis-Vegas).  How "Walking" became "Afternoon" I do not know, but getting to "Walking" from "Tennessee Walking Horse" is a pretty simple leap.

"Afternoon in Vegas" is now one of many "A" horses in my herd -- once we run through the alphabet one time I may introduce you to another.  In the meantime, we'll just have to wait to see what "B" will bring.

Club Hopping

When Breyer came out with their Collectors Clubs in 2012, 2016, and 2019, they really latched on to a good thing.  They're good for collectors, who like the lure of exclusive issues, and they're good for Breyer as they more or less guarantee themselves regular sales throughout the year.

It's not a slam-dunk for Breyer, though: collectors can choose to just join the Collectors Club (CC) in order to have access to those limited models, but may stay out of the more specialized Premier, Vintage, Stablemate and/or Fairytale Friends clubs.  Also, people who join the specialty clubs are not obliged to buy all the models offered, but they do pay a non-refundable deposit for joining and if they pass on one model then they're out of that particular club for the remainder of the year, so the incentive to buy all the specialty club offerings is strong.

I was in the Stablemate CC for its first two years (2016 and 2017), dropping out in year three as I didn't particularly care for the majority of the molds on offer that year.  I rejoined this year and also joined the Premier CC for the first time, lured in by the Welsh Ponies.  As it happened, I liked the Saddlebred much more than I thought I would, and I'm very much looking forward to finding room for the Rhenish German Coldblood on my shelves.

"Georg," the third release for the 2019 Premier Club

All CC models are exclusive to some extent, but some are moreso than others.  The Vintage Club, for instance, is the only one I know of that has a subscription limit, making those models statistically rarer than the others.  Also the horses offered exclusively to general CC membership have historically varied in numbers offered, from one (Pot O' Gold) to virtually unlimited (or so it seems).

So are the Collectors Clubs "worth it"?  Depends on what you're looking for.  I haven't heard too much feedback on the newest Fairytale Friends club.  I have heard that some of the companion Mini Whinnies don't stand too well, and I've heard that there are some who love and some who are a little tired of all the glitter.  It's not a club that interests me much at this point -- I don't need any more unicorns in my life.  If, however, they start to issue little winged horses, I might give them a try.  Never say never, I've learned to my cost.

"Trailblazer," one of the releases slated for the 2020 Vintage Club

Having never been part of the Vintage Club either, I can't say too much about it.  It's a fun way to revel in Breyer history and nostalgia, but it seems to me that it's for the collector who loves the ephemera just as much as the horses -- the stickers, the fact sheets, the old time boxes are all as much a part of the Vintage Collection as the horses themselves.

"Altynai," one of the releases slated for the 2020 Premier Club

When it comes to the Premier Club, although I've been really pleased with this year's offerings I'm not sure if I'll be coming back next year.  The Akhal-Teke that's been revealed as the first model for 2020 doesn't really push any of my buttons -- I'm not a big fan of shelf hogs and three-point horses, and he looks to be a bit of both.  Although I'm intrigued by the idea of a Lynn Fraley sculpture as the second offering, without knowing in advance what breed it might be, I hesitate to make the leap.  Also, I'm beginning to think that, for my tastes anyway, the first issues on these molds do not always come in my favourite colours.  For instance I prefer Carrick in his Brass Hat colours as opposed to the original sabino palomino, Wyatt in Babyflo chestnut rather than the original rose grey, Forever Saige as Namid, and Duende as Dominante XXIX.  I've been lucky so far in that I prefer my grey Welsh pair to Honour and Valour and my pinto Hamilton to the dappled palomino that's been revealed on the cover of the 2020 calendar, but I certainly can't count on that always being the case.

I should add here the interesting fact that a lot of people purchase the first Premier Club releases just to have new bodies for customizing.  This might make some of the original finish models a bit more exclusive, but there's just no way of telling how many of these models end up in customizer's hands.

"Klaus," one of the releases slated for the 2020 Stablemate Club

As for the Stablemate Club -- they might just have me back again next year.  I've been wanting that little Lipizzaner ever since I first saw him as the Premier Club freebie, and while I probably would have preferred white or bay to Klaus's "historic" leopard appaloosa, I'll take what I can get.  I hope there will be few more reveals before I have to make the "stay or go" decision on this one, though.

As for the general CC models, I think the only one I've purchased over the years  was Coeur de Lion on the Terrang mold (and that one may have actually just been a web special, not limited to CC members).  I entered the lottery for Benasque (and was not drawn) and the lottery for Muir Woods (ditto).  So simply becoming a CC member without joining one of the specialty clubs would not be worth it for me.

I still think the CC is a good thing, regardless of what may be its limited appeal to some collectors.  As they say, you can't please all of the people all of the time.  All in all, I think Breyer does a pretty good job of pleasing a wide variety of collectors most of the time.  And that's a pretty good cub to be in if you're a creator and retailer of what are, let's face it, deluxe toys for distinctive tastes.

* all photos courtesy of breyerhorses.com