Even Plastic Ponies Need to Breathe!

Yep! It's true. As absurd as it sounds, Breyer horses and other similar brands of plastic horses need air holes to keep them from bloating.

What Causes them to Bloat?

If models don't have an air hole and are in a place with a high temperature, the air inside gets hot and is trapped, causing the model to expand.

How can you tell if Your Model has an Air Hole?

It's actually quite simple, once you know where to look. Air holes are most commonly found on the corner of the lip, in a nostril, or under the tail. Many Old Timers have the air hole by one of their blinders (eye forgot which eye! Sorry!).

In this picture you can see the air hole in Cloud's nostril

The air hole at the corner of my Sierra Blanco's mouth

The air hole at the corner of my Red Rum's mouth

What should You do if a Model of Yours doesn't have an Air Hole?

Unless you want a bloated horse, I recommend you poke a hole on him somewhere with a small tool.

The Twisted Hobby

Many people, myself included, love what we affectionately know as "bloaties." I know a lot of collectors that will buy any bloaty they see, or that will even make their own!

How can you make a bloaty?

It's quite simple. Plug up his air hole with non-drying clay or other similar substance, and put him in the trunk of a car during hot weather, in a really warm room, outside in direct sunlight, etc.

Lesson Learned!

A good friend of mine, Jenn (see below pics), tried to make a bloaty by putting him in the oven! She couldn't find an air hole (she later found one under his tail), so just decided to put him in the oven and see what would happened. Well, what a mistake! Instead of bloating, the horse started boiling, and looked anorexic!

Here are pictures of what he now looks like, for your amusement.

Air hole pics by me, anorexic boiling horse pics by Jenn (aka lonesomeglorylover from Model Horse Blab)

Tortuga Coloring

What is Tortuga Coloring?

Tortuga coloring is a transparent, colored plastic, with different shades throughout. They look almost like blown glass!

Where does the name come from?

The November/December 2004 JAH Connoisseur model was named Tortuga. Tortuga was on the Andalusian stallion mold, and was a red tortoise shell color.

What horses have been made like Tortuga?

Well, of course, Tortuga has been made in this coloring. Also Tortuga Del Mar and Gala.

Tortuga, the November/December 2004 JAH Connoisseur.

Tortuga Del Mar, a 2005 Breyerfest Auction Piece on the Andalusian Stallion mold. He is a green Tortuga. The winning bid was $1,800. Pictures to come later.

Gala is blue Tortuga on the 5-Gaiter mold. He is a Breyerfest 2009 Special Run. I hope to buy him at Breyerfest. If I do, I'll be sure to post pics! :D

pictures by Breyer

Mid-Year Releases!

Breyer has 4 new mid-year releases! On the website I have listed below each, it says that they will be in stock in early July. Probably around the time of Breyerfest.

#1364 Sergeant, Fall Collector's Choice

Sergeant is a beautiful dappled grey on the Brown Sunshine mold. He won the 2009 Fall Collector's Choice voting. Here's a picture and some more information on him:

http://www.geddiestoys.com/1sefa20coch.html

#1362 Fun with Model Horses Set

A lovely dappled grey on the Flash mold, this set is the perfect introduction to the model horse hobby! The set includes a red halter, a soft travel bag, and a guide about the hobby.

http://www.geddiestoys.com/1funwimohose.html

#1345 Secretariat

Another Secretariat model! This time on the Smarty Jone's mold. Secretariat was the first horse to run the Kentucky Derby in under 2:00 minutes, won the Preakness with ease, and won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths!

I think that Breyer made another version of Secretariat because there hasn't been a Triple Crown Winner since 1978, but I'm not sure.

http://www.geddiestoys.com/1secoso.html

#1157 Misty and Stormy Set with Book

Yet again, there is a new Misty and Stormy set. I'm not exactly sure what the difference is. Probably just slightly different shading. I feel bad for people that conga Misty and/or Stormy! http://www.geddiestoys.com/1mistsetwibo.html

pictures by Geddie's Toys

Other Cool Colors

Besides decorator colors, there are also many other unusual colors found on Breyers.

Old Style Red Roan

Old Style red roan is a light reddish orange color with a dark mane and tail, and darker spots. Pictures to come later. Several examples are Strawberry Fields on Silver, red roan running stallion, and the 1977-1980 Test Run on the Fighting Stallion Mold. Pictures to come later.

Scenery/Fantasy

Fairly recently, Breyer has been producing quite a lot of models with pictures on them. Pictures to come later. Some of these models include Romance on Huckleberry Bey, and Stardust on the Running Stallion.

Hidden Pictures

Model horses with hidden pictures are among my favorites. Pictures to come later. Some models with hidden pictures include Phantasma on Smarty Jones, Masquerade on the Missouri Fox Trotter, and Nosferatu on Cigar.

This guy is a test on the Pacer mold, hand painted by Kathleen Moody. His name is Picasso I

Other Unrealistic Colors

Some models are just made other colors, such as pink, purple, blue or something else. Here are some examples:

A Huck Test:

A Legionario Test:

Mirror Image:

Photos by Breyer. Mirror Image photo by me.

Decorator Colors!

What are Decorator Colors?

Decorator colors are colors painted on horses that are not found on real horses. Some decorator colors are silver filigree, copenhagen, and gold charm. Woodgrain is not considered a decorator color, but I am including information on it anyway.

left to right: mauve copenhagen, gold charm, copenhagen, wedgewood, florentine

Woodgrains

Woodgrains are very popular. Breyer created them during the late 1950's and early 1960's. Woodgrains were painted to look like they were carved from wood. Light woodgrains are the most common, but darker ones are harder to find. Dark woodgrains were mainly used for clocks. Woodgrains don't come cheap, and are hard to find. Pictures to come later. An example of a woodgrain is #985 on the Semi-Rearing Mustang, produced from 1963-1966.

Gold Charm

Gold Charm models are a metallic gold. The manes and tails are white, and the horse will usually have a bald face or other facial marking, and often times socks ore stockings. Pictures to come later. An example of a gold charm model is #712001, the Breyer dealer special on Newsworthy.

Florentine

Florentine is a dappled version of gold charm. Pictures to come later. An example of florentine is #703596, Giltedge, on the Aristocrat Champion Hackney mold.

The 2002 Breyerfest Volunteer Model:

Wedgewood

Wedgewood Breyers are painted to look like Wedgwood china--a soft, light blue, with a white mane and tail. Wedgewoods often have a bald face or other facial marking, and usually leg markings. Wedgewoods are normally matte. Pictures to come later. An example of a wedgewood colored Breyer is #1215, the treasure hunt Lady Phase.

A Wedgewood pinto Gem Twist Test:

Copenhagen

Similar to florentine, copenhagen models are a dappled version of another color. In this case, it's a dappled version of wedgewood. Pictures to come later. An example of copenhagen is the 2009 Breyerfest Funfetti Stablemate model.

Silver Filigree

Silver filigree is a fairly new color. It was first made in the 1990's. It's like florentine but silver--a metallic silver color with a white mane and tail, often times markings, and with dapples. Pictures to come later. An example of a silver filigree horse is the #1193 Treasure Hunt Prize on the Silver mold.

December 2008 Web Special, Silver Snow:

Ageless Bronze

Many collectors aren't familiar with ageless bronze. Ageless Bronze, like silver filigree, was introduced in the 1990's. It's a dark, slightly metallic bronze color. Pictures to come later. It's rarely used, but can be found on #832, Hyksos, the Egyptian Arabian.

Pictures by Breyer

Chalkies

I recently found out that my palomino Family Arabian Mare is chalky.

What are Chalkies?

Chalkies are models that are painted white, then have the color painted on. Most of them were made during the 1970's during the oil crisis, because Breyer couldn't afford to buy white plastic. Colored plastics were cheaper at this time, so to save money, Breyer bought colored and painted it white before applying the color.

How do you tell if a model is chalky?

It's actually quite simple, once you know what to look for. Chalkies' markings are whiter than other models'. I have a palomino Family Arabian Mare and Stallion, and the mare's mane, tail, and markings are much lighter than her hubby's. Another way to tell is looking for 'pooling' on the underside of the hooves. Pooling looks like the bottom of the horse's hooves were painted, and then the model was set down. Here's a picture of one of my chalky mare's hoof:

My FAM and FAS next to each other. Notice how much lighter her mane, tail, markings, and overall coloring are compared to her hubby's.

How much are chalkies worth?

Chalkies are worth more than the regular models of the run. However, it depends on the mold the chalky was produced on. On more popular molds, such as PAM and PAS, chalkies are worth quite a bit more (I'm not quite sure how much), but on less popular molds such as FAM and FAS, the chalkies are only worth several dollars more.

pics by me.

Welcome!

Hello, everyone! I can't wait to start posting here at my new blog. I love collecting model horses, and like to help other people in the hobby. Check back to see new posts!