Have you seen it?!

Another quick one today - sorry. I just have too many irons in the fire all at once.

How many of you get the "Just About Horses" magazine from Breyer? I'm sure there are a lot of people that have signed up for this, especially if they are die hard Collectors.

The reason for me asking is - what are your thoughts of the JAH model offerings in this last issue? Myself, I think I will pass on the grazing mare and foal. Yes, nice old nostalgic models and done in high gloss. But I'm sorry, they still don't have the "pizazz" that the other model release does; you know, the more expensive one.

The Grazing Mare and Foal, named Cream and Cocoa are limited to 1200 models made, and the fact that they are glossy and the foal is in the deep charcoal may help them out a bit. And they are more affordable than the other release, the set is priced at $80 plus shipping. We also have to remember that "glossies" usually sell higher; I'm sure because of visual impact.

I do have to say though, I'm not sure it was such good idea for Breyer to offer both of the releases in the same issue. Tough competition. But then again, maybe this is their way of testing their readers to see where the greatest interest is. Affordability or Collectability.

And the other release?

He is called "The Widow Maker" and is the FIRST Bull offered in the Connoisseur series. And he is impressive! He is painted by Karen Williams and is a very nice brown and white brindle rodeo bull. Fantastic paint job to say the least.

The model itself is a variation of the Spanish Fighting Bull with the horns cut short, apparently because he earned his name. This model is limited to 350 and does come with his COA. And if I should be lucky enough to win I will be sure to post pictures of him here as well as on the site.

I sent in my post card! Have you??

Drop me a line and let me know what you think....

Breyer Friesian Models

I finally have had a chance to sit down today and try and get caught up on postings. Soon summer will come to an end and I will no longer have the time to work outside like I am. Thus I am trying to make use of all the daylight I can.

Today I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you a little bit of insight about the Breyer Models and how they relate to the real horse they may be designed after. There are many of the Models that really are fictional, but there are others that are designed after the "real thing". We are most familiar with the newest ones such as "Roxy" from BreyerFest as well as "Alborozo" from 2008. The reason these come to mind so easily is because of all the publicity they have gotten.

However, there are others that should not be forgotten either. One of these is the Friesian Mold. Now this mold may not be considered the most attractive or the best version done of a live Friesian; it is smaller than the larger traditional size Models and lacks the action that a live Friesian normally has. That being said, some of them are still pretty popular around Christmas time when everyone is thinking "sleigh rides" through the snow. You can read a little more about the Friesian models on our website here.

The reason this one comes to mind for me is because I had the rare opportunity to ride a rather large Friesian Stallion a couple weeks ago. Yep, that's little ole me up there in the saddle of this huge 17.2 hand stud! (I still can't believe I did that!)

Now if you compare the picture of the model to the real Friesian, you can see some similarities. However, myself, I do believe the first Friesian Mold is a bit small to be realistic. But you can't forget the smaller size of Alborozo or Secretariat either. Maybe it is just the talent or temperament of the Artist who was sculpting the mold. Don't know.

As for the Friesian models, the newer Mold I feel is much more comparable to the the live horse than the older first mold. Even though Breyer has used the first mold for a variety of fairly valuable models such as Fire Magic, the 2005 BreyerFest Celebration Horse. Fire Magic is a rare Bay/Brown Friesian; rare because the purebred Friesian is normally always solid Black with no white or any other color.

The solid black is the only color allowed into the Friesian Registry and the only way to "get" any other color is by crossbreeding the Friesian with another breed such as Paints, Pintos, or Appaloosa's. You can find out more by going to www.royalknightfriesians.com where they stand Torben, the stallion I rode as well as Apollo. They also do crossbreeding for color and have some pictures for you to enjoy.

So I guess the point of this post is to help us all think about the details of the models, and how comparable they are to the actual breed they represent. I can tell you that the power and knee action on a Friesian is a great deal higher than that of a Quarter Horse! And it takes a bit of getting used to when you're sitting so high!

Until next time; enjoy your collecting!