My Breyer Stablemates: G1 Drafter and another Appaloosa

I keep them behind the sofa, it's dead space so it became storage for any extra-fancy Breyer boxes I felt the need to keep. They're probably being used as a spider city by now

George wrote:

I keep them behind the sofa, it's dead space so it became storage for any extra-fancy Breyer boxes I felt the need to keep. They're probably being used as a spider city by now

 

This is wonderful !!! Save the spiders

( I have that space filled up already , - boxes of spare knitting yarn and boxes of other old junk which I can't bear to throw away but never use )

I was surprised to find this Seabiscuit Collection for a very good price. The seller had three boxes that were sold in no time and I was lucky to get the last one.
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The box was produced in 2003 following the release of the film “Seabiscuit”. It contains three horses: Seabiscuit, War Admiral and Pumpkin. As the back of the box says, War Admiral was Seabiscuit’s competitor in the most famous race that Seabiscuit ran (and won). The box doesn’t mention Pumpkin, but he was Seabiscuit’s best uh, Stablemate, who calmed him down before races.
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Here we have the lead character:
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Together with a few other Seabiscuits in different colours:
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War Admiral is rather glossy. I don't know why Breyer decided to paint it in such a different style from the other two horses in the box.
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Pumpkin is much nicer and the main reason I bought the box.
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Breyer used the Quarter horse stallion sculpt for Pumpkin. I don’t know what breed Pumpkin was, but he was a Palomino gelding who had been a cow horse. Breyer forgot to put a scar on his rump that was the result of a bull attack. Here with my other Quarter horse stallion:
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Alright, NOW I am jealous.  Really superb additions! I love this story/movie. If you have not read it, I would highly reccomend it!

War Admiral reminds me this old Schleich horse which does not look like any other Schleich horse.
Apparently it is a very popular merchandising considering I've read it on forum several times since I am also not familiar with the story.

What a great trio

This is a really lovely set, I'm glad you got one! All three of the horses in it are nicely done, and it's good to see the G1 moulds getting used, even though this was issued back when they were a bit more commonly seen.

The film is one of my favourite horsey films, such an uplifting story about the people as well as the equine character, and that it's true just adds to the feel-good enjoyment watching it. I've got the book but haven't got round to reading it yet, possibly Pumpkin's mentioned a bit more in there cos he only played a tiny part in the film and we never learnt much about his own story or personality.

My copy of War Admiral is a lot less glossy than yours, here he is (this mould is sculpted female and they didn't 'edit' it for the portrait release so I can't help thinking of mine as a mare)

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Its a great book George... one of the few biographies I have truly enjoyed! Lots of detail and fun facts about ALL the characters, human and animal. Since you liked the movie, the book is even better!

Congrats on getting that set! I really like that Seabiscuit, he is a lovely bay. And it's nice that War Admiral is not just Breyer's flat black they often do, but such a rich dark bay. Pumpkin, or course, is a delight as well. A great mold for that color.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Its a great book George... one of the few biographies I have truly enjoyed! Lots of detail and fun facts about ALL the characters, human and animal. Since you liked the movie, the book is even better!

I agree, it's a really excellent book - both from a horse and a history stand point. She's an incredible writer.

Thanks for all your comments. It sounds like I should definitely read the book, but I need some more time.

Your War Admiral looks a lot better, George. I am normally very fond of bay, but I don't like my glossy version much. Who knows, perhaps one day I'll find a less glossy version to put in my box.

Do you remember I told you that this was my first Breyer?
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It was a lie! I recently went through my boxes with “unwanted” animals and found this:
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A “Native Dancer”! I used to put all non-Britains animals aside because I was only interested in Britains. When I went through my boxes with discarded animals again, I found a few interesting models, including this one.

As you can see, her left front leg is bent. It was easily put right with some hot water:
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However, I wondered whether she has acetate disease. One symptom of this is that models get warped legs. She is also slightly oily, even after cleaning. On the other hand, she doesn’t seem to have shrunk and she doesn’t have an acidic smell. What do the experts think?

This colour version of “Native Dancer” was made between 1976 and 1994. Here is a side view:
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And with my other Native Dancer:
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It's always wonderful to dig out old gems like this! I think it's a lovely model!

Great re-find! A beautiful color on this mold. I have always been partial to grays with dark points. I have only one horse with vinegar syndrome, and he is both a "shrinkie" and smells of vinegar. However, I do have a lot of stablemates with warped legs, so perhaps it's just that? However, the oily surface is suspicious . . . I would simply not pack it up again if I were you. They can live for years without changes if they are kept in places with good circulation and temperatures. They also are not believed to spread it to other models.

rogerpgvg wrote:

And with my other Native Dancer:
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that was a great package of SeaBiscuit. I watched the movie when it came out, but I have to refresh myself on the story again!

these 2 are my favourites though
what a beauty that white one is. This mould is just so elegant to me. Like a resting racehorse.

Funny about the oily type feeling. I have a few assorted models from different brands that have become slightly sticky! I have them separated from my collection, and will have to investigate further.
Even though they have been scrubbed and washed they are still sticky to the touch. I have others exactly the same, same mould and colour etc that are perfect.

Thank you, Lilias, Andreas, Jill and Annette!

I'll keep my Native Dancer well aired and away from my other figures, just to be on the safe side.

I recently noticed that my AAA baby elephants were also sticky. I don't think they were sticky when I got them, so I wondered whether it happened because I cleaned them. Perhaps the detergent I used was too aggressive or perhaps I didn't rinse them well enough. I have now rinsed them very, very well, but again they are getting a bit sticky. But perhaps it doesn't even matter how we clean them: I wonder whether there might be a very thin film of dirt on the figures that hides the stickiness (perhaps even caused it), and when we clean the dirt off, the slightly deteriorated, sticky plastic is exposed.

The Native Dancer was already sticky when I first got it though.

Nice to find find treasure you had forgotten about :) I have a few Britains items that have become tacky and a tractor with wheel melt (it is common as the two plastics react with each other over a period of time.

Great additions and a lovely re find!!!!Funny you should mention about AAA models and them being sticky.I recently got the AAA Puffin and cleaned him my normal way and afterwards he was quite sticky so I have left him out to air and dry.

I got some AAA deep sea fish as new old stock still in a sac; they were sticky. I washed them and left them exposed to moving air. They did seem to get somewhat less sticky before I packed them up with other things I didn't want to risk losing. Rogerio said it was a fairly common problem with them due to plasticizers used in them.

I've got a Safari Clydesdale from their larger scale range (1:12 I think) and he gets a sort of slimy, greasy coating, faintly white. The first time it happened I hadn't done anything with him, it just formed on the shelf between times I'd looked at him, I wiped it off with a dry towel, and it came back. Second time, I washed it with plain warm water, it came back. Third time I scrubbed him with soap and left him in the garden to dry in the sun, it came back.
Now I just keep him away from other models and accept he will be greasy no matter what, but it's weird that only that one has the issue - I've got a couple of others from the same large size range (bought brand new from the same company at the same time as the 'bad' one!), and plenty of the standard size Safaris bought over the years too, and none of them have ever done it, despite being kept in the exact same conditions at my home.

It sounds as if it's a common problem with AAAs, probably not just my cleaning then. Perhaps the different plastics aren't always mixed in the right quantities, and this explains why some figures develop the stickiness and other don't.

With Britains, I haven't had any problems that the plastic became sticky, but very occasionally, the paint does. The main problem with the early polythene Britains figures is that some have become very brittle over time. Perhaps again this depends on how the plastics were mixed and the storage conditions probably also play a role. I've read about the melting tractor wheels; must be very annoying.

Another Breyer today: I like the Clydesdale sculpt, so I got another one in a different colour:
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This colour version was made between 2003 and 2006.
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With my other Clydesdales:
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Very nice! I love this guy. I think this grey is a very lovely color on the mold.  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

He's really nice, that colour is so soft and subtle with just enough shading to not look plain.
I've had this grey several times but never good enough to keep, they've always been in 'body' lots with scratches, pen stains, or coloured paint marks from being jumbled up with other toys, so I've had to repaint them rather than add them to my collection. One day, I'll get one as clean and tidy as your lovely example!

I really like this mold, it has a special memory for me of the transition between the G1 stablemates and the first time new stablemates had ever been made. I got the JAH special box set and it was the first time I had seen any of the molds, and this one in particular was so full of movement, which was especially unusual for draft molds at the time. Now of course Breyer has many lively and dynamic models, but I just remember thinking, what a difference!! when I saw this one specifically. The G2 I still like almost as much as G1. This color is very nice! But I think I like your bay and dun even more. A beautiful little conga. :)