Stablemate Sunday: 2020 Stablemates Club

 

It's the September issue of Stablemate Sunday! Technically you got two September Stablemate Sunday posts, but only because I was a week late publishing August's! I'm trying not to beat myself up about not make the deadline - it was self-imposed, and I did get it done. You have to take the wins where you can. 

This month, we're examining the 2020 Stablemates Club lineup. It's hard to believe they're five years old! I finally tracked down the last Gambler's Choice model this year - they were a very popular set! 

Klaus was the first release of the 2020 - a black leopard on the popular Darwin mold. This run unfortunately tends to suffer from the pinched effect of the old plastic used in the Stablemates Club. That being said, he's still such a fantastic release - look at the masked spots! To have that level of detail on a Stablemates scale model is just incredible. 

The second release of the 2020 Club was Florian, a glossy chestnut tobiano on the G2 Warmblood mold. It's such a lovely color on him, and the gloss makes the chestnut pop. The G2 Warmblood mold itself is one I could take or leave - he's not one of my least favorite Stablemate molds, but he's also not one I go out of my way to collect. That being said, this release is one of my favorites on the mold. 

Chroma was the third release of the year - a rainbow clearware on the Cob mold. Chroma has a lovely gold sprayed on top of his pink and blue color scheme. I absolutely love a rainbow pony, and this guy gets to be put in my Pride pony display every year because of that. 

The G1 release for the Club was Sultan, a gorgeous glossy bay on the Arabian Stallion mold. Without a doubt, Sultan is my favorite release from this year of the Club. He's a staple in my show string, and he's earned himself quite a few NAN cards. Fun fact: at my first live show, this guy earned my first ever NAN card. 

These guys will look familiar to anyone who read my Alborozo conga post - it's the Gambler's Choice model Valerio on the Alborozo mold. Valerio came in four colorways - glossy palomino overo, matte rose gray, glossy bay blanket, and a matte purple and blue pinto unicorn. In my usual luck for the Stablemates Club Gambler's Choice I received the least popular color with my account - the matte rose gray. The standout colors from this set are the two glossies by far, particularly the bay blanket. Like Klaus, these guys suffered a little from the old plastic, and have a tendency to look pinched and thin in the neck area compared to releases on the mold in new plastic. 

The new mold for the Club this year was Cassidy, a stock horse mare sculpted by Maggie Bennett. She is such a thick example of a stock horse! Cassidy was done in a silver bay blanket pattern. That being said, I do like her better in her solid colors - personally I like more of an old style Appaloosa than the more Quarter Horse influenced ones we tend to see today. One of the more interesting facts about Cassidy is the intense speculation surrounding her mold. After this initial release, the hobby didn't see her mold used again until the blue roan Tractor Supply release in 2023. Usually, the new mold released in the Stablemates Club sees use immediately the following year. In the three years between her releases, rumors were flying that the mold had been damaged. I'm pleased to see that it either wasn't the case, or if it was, that the issue is resolved! 

2020 introduced a new concept to the Stablemates Club - a bonus model! The Premier and Vintage Clubs had already been doing free bonus Stablemates for years, but the Stablemates Club only had the basic six models for purchase. Duke is a glossy resist dapple grey on the miniature version of the Clydesdale Stallion mold. Unlike the bonus models for the other Clubs, the bonus Stablemate Club models are a purchase, but they are not required like the other Stablemates Club models. 

Collection Spotlight: Shannondell

 It's another Collection Spotlight day! Today we'll be looking at Shannondell - both the loose mane and the braided mane versions!

Shannondell was the second release in the 2016 Breyer Premier Club. Members could choose between the braided mane and tail or the loose mane and tail. He was done in a lovely dappled bay colorway with a blaze, high stockings, and a belly spot. 

Shannondell was sculpted by Karen Gerhardt as a trotting Shire gelding. As you may know, I'm a huge fan of Karen's work. Of the four collection spotlights I've done including this one, three of them have been on Gerhardt sculpts. 

The braided mane variation features gold and green bobs. The braided mane was the first one I picked up, way back in 2021. At the time, he was the most I'd ever paid for a model horse, but to me he was worth the cost. 

Braided Shannondell is known for developing seam splits, unfortunately. For a while mine was safe, but when I took him off the shelf to take photos for this post, I noticed him developing one on his belly. I may reach out to the restoration artist who repaired my Jazz Fusion to see if a repair is even feasible. I hope so, as he was not only one of my best show models, but he's also a favorite piece in my collection. 

The loose mane Shannondell took me a while to track down. For a while he was at a price that wasn't too out of hand, and then like most rarities in the hobby, his price started shooting up in the COVID years and after. I had resigned myself to having to wait to find one until the market cooled off. 

And then my close friend listed her silver NAN cookie copy for sale. He was way more than I had ever paid for a model, and though I was interested in him, at the time she listed him she was only looking for paid in full offers. I made the decision that if she ended up accepting time pays, I'd take him. Well, it took probably six months of time pays, but I brought him home in April at the River City Classic, where he immediately won his first NAN cards for me. The nicest part about owning him is I can still let his former owner know how he's doing. 

I think Shannondell may be my favorite Premier Collection release. He's proof that Breyer can pull off a "simple" color for the Club. I'm so glad to have finally tracked down both of them. 

It's Friday, I'm a Judge! Breed: Quarter Horse

 Happy Friday, and welcome back to another Friday judging clinic! This week, we'll be looking at Traditional sized, OF Breyer Quarter Horses. 

As a reminder, my credentials for a judge are as follows: I've been collecting since 2008. My collection focuses on OF Breyer. I've been around horses in some capacity since roughly 2001. I was in 4-H for seven years, showed in IHSA in college, and was a working student at an eventing barn. I've photo shown model horses on and off since 2015, and have been live showing since 2022. I have had multiple overall champions in breed and collectability in both OF Breyer and OF Mini divisions. I started judging in a small capacity in 2022, and since fall 2024 I have judged at several shows, including Are You Kitten Me, the Happy Kamper Classic, the Big Orange Bash, and the River City Classic. I have also volunteered for NAN in 2022 and 2024, and did additional volunteer work for NAMHSA for BreyerFest 2025.

The first thing to be aware of when judging for breed are the standards the model is being judged against. In classes such as this, all models will be judged to the same breed standard. It can get a little more complicated when judging different breeds against each other, but for today, we're looking at just one breed. 

For the Quarter Horse, let's look at the breed standard set by the American Quarter Horse Association:

For Quarter Horses, it's also important to note there are various types depending on the discipline. Hunter and racing bred Quarter Horses are leaner and leggier than those used for reining or cutting. It's important to take this into account while judging. 

The Entries: 

Quarter Horse Mare

Horse A: Working Cow Horse (Bobby Jo) mold

Quarter Horse Gelding

Horse B: Loping Quarter Horse (Latigo) mold

Quarter Horse Mare

Horse C: Lady Phase mold

Take a minute, evaluate how you'd personally pin this class. Okay, you ready? Scroll down for how I'd pin it ↓

Collectability Corner: Modern Chalkies

 Welcome to a new segment on the blog - Collectability Corner! Here, I'll attempt to demystify aspects of collectability that appear in the hobby. Today, we'll be looking at what makes a modern model chalky. 

First, what is a chalky? 

Chalkies date back to the oil crisis of the 1970s. There was a plastic shortage, and models were molded in plastic that wasn't necessarily white. As the OF painting style leaves whites unpainted, this obviously would be a problem. To mitigate this, Breyer gave models a thick white basecoat before painting the model. 

Chalky Clydesdale Foal (foreground) compared to a non-chalky. Note the thick white paint on his socks!

Modern chalkies are somewhat along the same lines. Essentially, the models are base coated before painted, although unlike vintage chalkies, often white markings are still masked off as usual. The basecoat adds depth and dimension to shading in my opinion, and I seek out modern chalkies at every opportunity. Modern chalkies can be found on any run, and any size - Regular Runs, Special Runs, Traditionals and Stablemates. Here are a few examples from my collection: 

Jesse was a 2015 Tractor Supply run - some of the run was base coated, making them modern chalkies! In this photo, the modern chalky is in the foreground - see how his color pops and has more depth compared to his non chalky brother. 

The regular run Hwin on the Mustang Mare mold also had a chalky variation - while I don't have the non-chalky version, you can see how crisp her mold details are compared to the similarly-colored Forever Saige. You can see it in her mane and in the vein on her face. 

The Premier Club release Adonis is also an example of a modern chalky - his whites are all painted, not bare plastic. Compare his blanket to Forever Saige - note how stark white it is compared to Saige's bare plastic. 

A recent example of a modern chalky - the braided mare variation of the Premier Club Rowan is base coated, while the stallion version is not. It's tough to tell in this photo, but you can see the crispness in her details compared to his. 

So, the best ways to identify modern chalkies: 

• Additional depth of color in shading (particularly compared to a non chalky version if one exists)
• Crispness in mold details such as manes and tails, wrinkles, and veins 
• Whites are painted instead of bare plastic (less common, often markings will still be masked off and bare plastic)

Show Report: Stone Little Horse Show

♘ Stone Little Horse Show ♘

I'm (mostly) rested and recovered from the weekend, so time to talk about the Stone Little Horse Show! This was my first time attending a Stone event, and I had a wonderful time. The event was so well run, the food was fantastic, and getting to see one of my favorite internet comedians live and in person was magical! 

I carpooled with some friends from Region 10, which was an absolute blast. I don't think we ever stopped yapping the entire time. We also hit up an antique mall on the way home, and while we didn't buy anything, we did see some Breyers in the wild! I'd happily travel with them again anytime 💜

I roomed with my usual show crew Amanda and Angela, with the addition of Amanda's dog Riker. It's always a good time getting to spend the weekend with some of my best hobby friends! 

I also got to spend the show day with SO MANY hobby friends. I was mostly only showing in one division, so I had plenty of time to wander around the show hall and chat. 

As for the show, I have no complaints about how the string did! The OF Other Plastic classes were huge, so any ribbon was an achievement (I think there were 1200ish entries in the whole division?) Golden Child came home with a sectional reserve, and a few others NANed, which was very exciting!

 On Sunday, Erin was kind enough to let us see the Stone office, which was such a cool experience! I got to ogle the current Best Offers, see the original sculptures of some of the Stone molds, and even got some sneak peeks of what's coming in the future! 

Overall, this weekend was not only fun, but it was such a welcoming experience. I'm still mostly a Breyer collector, but more than a few Stones have made their way into my herd. I'm definitely eyeing attending Country Fair next year!

The Champions and NAN Qualifiers:

Join the Heist - OF Other Plastic Longears

Hat Trick - OF Stone Chips TB/STB

Everyone's Type - OF Other Plastic Other Pure/Mix Sport/Gaited 

Voulez-Vous - OF Other Plastic Andalusian/Lusitano

Smol Gay Bean - OF Other Plastic Fantasy: Unicorns/Pegasus

Golden Child - OF Other Plastic Foals/Fantasy Section Reserve Champ

Stablemate Sunday: #5013 Variations

 The past Stablemate Sundays have been focusing on a collection of Stablemates released at the same time - a year of Stablemates Club models and BreyerFest Single Days. This month, we're doing something a little different, and looking at the variations that span a single release - #5013 Arabian Stallion. A bay done on the G1 Arabian Stallion mold (sculpted by Maureen Love), this guy was released from 1975-1988, so there is plenty of room for variations in the run. 

There's something about G1s that compels me to buy them like I eat potato chips, so I've acquired seven of this run - including one at BreyerFest this year! I've been working on my collection catalog recently, and this seemed like a nice feature for Stablemate Sunday.

This is the first bay G1 Arabian I ever purchased - it has to have been at least a decade ago, since I photo showed him at one point. His show name was In Style. He's got brown front legs, a more semi-gloss finish, and some fantastic shading on his face and neck. He's also lighter than most of his brothers. Honestly, if his condition was a bit better, I wouldn't hesitate to stick this guy on a show table. In the group photo he's in the middle row, and he stands out compared to the rest of them. 

This guy is a pretty typical, run of the mill example of the run. He's a nice flat brown bay, with four socks, black on the front legs, and a matte finish. 

This guy is the darkest variation of #5013 I own. He is a very dark and matte bay, with one clearly defined sock on his back left leg. His back right sock is quite fuzzy but present, and he has no evidence of front socks at all. 

On the other end of the spectrum, we have this extremely light variation. While his color has the somewhat faded appearance of a shrinky, he is the same size as the rest of his brothers and doesn't exhibit the same signs as my other shrinky Stablemates, such as the warped limbs and dimpled plastic. He's just a particularly light variation. If I had to guess, I'd assume he's probably from the later end of the run. 

This example is my show copy of #5013. His shading is a little flatter compared to others I own, but he by far has the best condition out of all of them. I don't think he's placed with me yet, but he usually gets knocked out of the string by my Stablemate Club Sultan. 

This copy is special, as he is a variation of #5013 with no belly stamp. He's very matte compared to the others, and like the first variation his front legs are brown.  I'm quite fond of this guy - he came in a lot of six horses, and five of them were missing belly stamps. It's likely he could have been one of the mislabeled Citation Arabian Stallions, but without the provenance of the box there's no way of knowing. 

This is the most recent addition to the collection - I picked this guy up at BreyerFest this year. He's got a lovely semi-gloss finish like my first example, but he has black on his front legs. He also has weird lighter shading along his topline. 

It's Friday, I'm a Judge! Mini Collectability

 Welcome to my new series - It's Friday, I'm a Judge! 

I've noticed a need for judge education lately - at least in the regions I show in, there have been several new shows popping up, and they're always in need of judges. I avidly read Horse and Rider magazine when I was younger, and I always liked reading the Conformation Clinic portion of the magazine. I loved learning what judges look for in a horse, and I think that would be valuable in the hobby as well. 

My goal for these posts is educating the hobby in aspects of judging, both for live shows and photo shows. I hope hobbyists take away information that they can apply, either as a shower in knowing what judges look for, or if they choose to dip their toes into judging themselves. I plan on posting these every other Friday, and I will be focusing on judging for OF Breyer breed and collectability, as that is what I have the most personal experience in (as well as what I focus on collecting!) As this series goes on, I hope to solicit outside photos for other divisions, as well as guest judges, as no two judges judge exactly alike. Judges weight factors differently, and that's a good thing! 

Before we dive into our class today, I'd like to take a minute to highlight my credentials: My name is Macie and I've been collecting since 2008. My collection focuses on OF Breyer. I've been around horses in some capacity since roughly 2001. I was in 4-H for seven years, showed in IHSA in college, and was a working student at an eventing barn. I've photo shown model horses on and off since 2015, and have been live showing since 2022. I have had multiple overall champions in breed and collectability in both OF Breyer and OF Mini divisions. I started judging in a small capacity in 2022, and since fall 2024 I have judged at several shows, including Are You Kitten Me, the Happy Kamper Classic, the Big Orange Bash, and the River City Classic. I have also volunteered for NAN in 2022 and 2024, and did additional volunteer work for NAMHSA for BreyerFest 2025. 

We're starting this series off with one of my personal favorite things: Breyer Mini Collectability! 

Our entries today are for an Andalusian/Lusitano class at a double judged show. While some shows offer separate collectability divisions that judge like runs against like runs, I find it's much more common in the regions I show in for shows to be double judged for breed and collectability/workmanship. This means you could get extremely limited runs competing against rarer regular runs. 

The Entries: 

Horse A: Mini Alborozo - 20th Anniverysary BreyerFest Commemorative Set - BreyerFest Limited Edition - 2009 - 500 made

Horse B: Roo - True Blue Breyer Collector Club Online Event - Event Stablemate - 2021 - 200 made

Horse C: Valerio - Stablemates Club Gamblers Choice - Rose gray variation - 2020 - Unknown amount produced

Take a minute, evaluate how you'd personally pin this class. Okay, you ready? Scroll down for how I'd pin it ↓

Monthly Round Up: August Additions!

August has been a fun month for me! It's always a slow show month, and I kind of relish the break after the frantic go-go-go of BreyerFest in July. August this year also brought fun news in the fact that the arm I broke in November has finally fully healed! It's been a long nine months. 

So my first August additions technically arrived July 31, but I didn't open them until August so I say it counts! This was what I bought from Breyer's Christmas in July sale. I'd been putting off pulling the trigger on the deluxe unicorn set, but for a sale price, of course I'm going to grab it! I also picked up the last two Unicorn Treasures I was missing (Opal and Topaz), as well as a few blind bags and blind boxes. The universe REALLY wants me to have that white Clydesdale unicorn, as I now have five. 

I had a couple of stressful days at the end of July and decided I deserved a little treat. My friend sent me a link to these babies NIB on eBay and I immediately hit that buy it now button. All Loves have a place in my herd, especially if I can get them into a show ring!

Breyer decided to hit me with the Premier Club and the Stablemates Club at the same time! I got matte Javier and selected braided Rowan on my account. 

However, as a pony lover, you know I needed both! Luckily I had a friend looking to offload hers, so I got the fluffy version at cost! 

It's been a very slow pony month for me and that's okay - double Premier Club ponies hits the wallet pretty hard, not to mention Breyer surprise dropping the Halloween store - I ordered the blind bags, but they didn't arrive in time to make it into the August additions, so you'll see them next month.