All That Naz

I've been putting off opening the Breyerfest 2017 Celebration Horse "Nazruddin" that came in my 2020 Collectors Club Grab Bag until my Collectors Club (CC) Appreciation horse arrived.

One of the four horses offered during the second round of CC Appreciation models was "Khalid" -- a Breyer "Brick and Mortar" Store special done on the modified version of the Marwari mold.  On the whole, I prefer the look of the original mold to the modified version, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to keep both examples of this mold and wouldn't be able to decide which one to keep unless I had a chance to compare them.

However, that problem disappeared when my CC Appreciation horse arrived this week.  Suffice it to say the horse was not "Khalid."  I'll examine the horse I did receive more closely in another post.  For now, though, I want to concentrate on my freshly unboxed "Nazruddin."  (I have to say for the record that this was one of the most difficult unboxings I've ever done -- I thought those evil twist ties would never give way!)

My "Nazruddin" finally unboxed.

I've been wondering for a while why this horse seems to get so little love from collectors.  Granted, the Breyerfest Celebration horses are always lowest on the totem pole in terms of resale value.  They are limited, but not to the same extent that Breyerfest special runs (SRs) and store specials are.  And all those collectors who attend Breyerfest with multiple tickets in their pockets (in order to maximize the numbers of SRs they are able to buy) will end up with multiple copies of the Celebration Horse, since one model is included with each 3-day ticket.

But when I scan the Breyerfest Celebration Horses listed on eBay, I almost always find that "Nazruddin" is among the cheapest on offer.

I've searched some of the videos posted and some blogs written by people who attended Breyerfest in 2017 to try to find out what the problem with "Nazruddin" is.  I didn't come up with much other than a rumour that many of the models were flawed, either by overspray or by visible seams.  It's also possible that people preferred earlier versions of the mold, like the original Premier Club release of 2012, the palomino regular release from 2013-2015, or the Web Special "Rajah" of 2014.  At any rate, it seems like a lot of the people who brought home a "Nazruddin" didn't really want one.

I assume that Breyer makes enough Celebration Horses each year to match the number of Breyerfest tickets they intend to distribute, with a few left over for replacements or to cover for miscalculations.  And I'm also assuming that my "Nazruddin" was one of those leftovers.

If I were to be super-critical, I could find some of the faults that the folks who attended Breyerfest 2017 found -- he does have a bit of overspray where you usually find it on Breyers, at the base of his mane.  He does have a little divot in his forehead which could be a seam line, and the tip of his forelock seems to have picked up some of the brown of his face.  But in all other ways he's a beautiful accurately painted portrait of the real horse whose story is written out on the back of the box. 

In that story we're told that Marwari horses make excellent dressage and endurance horses due to their boldness and speed under saddle.  I can visualize mine tacked up for both of those disciplines to make an impressive entry.  But mostly, when I look at him I see a horse that would make a great polo pony.  Polo ponies must be both brave and quick, and "Nazruddin" has a slim, athletic build that would make him an excellent, versatile ride.  So I imagine mine as a great polo pony recently retired to stud with a mane just growing in.

"Chukka Cheese" showing off his polo pony form.

With this in mind, I've named my model "Chukka Cheese."  A chukka, or chukker as it apparently pronounced in some places in the U.S., is, of course, a period in a polo match.  It comes to English through the Hindu and Sanskrit words for "wheel," making my horse's name mean literally "wheel of cheese" or "cheese wheel," which amuses me to no end.  The name is also a reference to the much-maligned family restaurant franchise, Chuck E. Cheese.  I've never actually eaten at a Chuck E. Cheese, but the name, once heard, proved unforgettable.

So "Chukka Cheese" is here to stay, and some day he may actually get  tacked up, at least for photo showing purposes.  Live show competitions may have changed a lot since my day, but the sort of tiny flaws I was able to find on him would not have made me hesitate to enter him in a live show of the sort I used to go to.  Perhaps he'd be laughed out of the ring today.  Fortunately (or not) I'll probably never know.