Jill's (growing) Collection [update 4.30.24]

Iinteresting update. The marsupial mole is also my favorite and it is one of those figures I would love to get for my collection.

So many gems Jill! Lots of lovely UK yowies, beautiful old breyers, small nayab... all fantastic models. I am quite jealous of your wild dog, that one has escaped me for years now. Congratulations on all!

I really like to see that older unusual stuff. Big congratulations

Jill wrote:

One of my stablemate packages also included these guys, just some more G1s I was looking for. The white draft horse is one I have been looking to replace since I painted mine in high school. The drafters can be expensive, so it was really nice to find one under $20. The buckskin in the center is a really special model because she was a surprise gift from the seller! I don't know exactly what inspired her to give this figure to me. I have bought from her once before, in fact the only other in this mold I own I bought from her, but we don't know each other otherwise. I had made a post about this mold asking about its rarity, so perhaps she knew I was hoping to get another someday and had this one available. She is not in good condition, but honestly, with this mold, she still could have sold for $15-$20 or more easily, I think. Especially because she was made in Mexico and has that stamped on her stomach, a harder to find version of this mold. The quarter horse mare (originally an Iberian stallion when it was Hagen-Renaker, hence the very stallion-like posture) is the rarest G1 mold because the mold was damaged and only a few colors were ever produced from it. They have since done repairs to it and released her again in the Stablemate Club, but so far only that one. I think it's one of the coolest molds, so I am excited to have two!

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Before I congratulate you on your wonderful new friends I just have to ask -
Which one is the quarter horse mare Jill?

and what does G1 stand for? is it a name or something?

I've always been puzzled by the Breyer naming system.
Also what is a 'Swap' - is that the horses name too??

Jill wrote:

These are from this year's Tractor Supply blind bags. I have never been a member of a Breyer group before this year, and I have learned so much about the releases, haha. This one apparently reused a lot of horses from earlier released single runs and sets, which upset a lot of people but was nice for people like me who missed them the first time around. The black paso fino is one of the two chase pieces. Breyer calls them "rare" and "ultra rare" but apparently never says which is which. Usually they are decorators in non realistic colors, but this year both are fairly plain realistic colors. I like them both and hope to find the other eventually. I thought the appaloosa would be one I didn't want, but now that I see him in person, I really like him!

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Well done Jill on getting so many beautiful models! and how generous and kind of Roger to help you! I think it is the friendship and help of other members here that also make our collections so special. And it is a joy shared

I love looking at all your collection, it is fascinating to me
I think we are both amused by each others' collecting habits

It is wonderful to see how fast and vast your collection has grown as well. I'm still fascinated by the ugly-cute dogs most of all, haha!

The horse in the centre is just gorgeous!  I love that pattern and most of all the pose - with the back hoof just off the ground, sauntering along. Love it!
and I love the regal pose of the one on the left. What a perfect Breyer model.
May I borrow your photos for my wishlist thread please?

Thank you all!

sunny wrote:

Before I congratulate you on your wonderful new friends I just have to ask -
Which one is the quarter horse mare Jill?

and what does G1 stand for? is it a name or something?

I've always been puzzled by the Breyer naming system.
Also what is a 'Swap' - is that the horses name too??

The QH mare is the yellow-ish one on the center level with her leg raised. G1 is "generation 1" which means the oldest stablemates. Only 16 molds existed in 1975 and no new ones were introduced until 1998 (G2). Since then, they have been released in "waves" referenced as generations, though the gap between generations is much much shorter these days. Swaps is the name of the mold because it was made to represent the race horse named Swaps originally. :) The Breyer naming system is typically whatever the first horse on the mold's name is or whatever its breed is. Not always, but often. I wish it were a little more straightforward, haha.

sunny wrote:

It is wonderful to see how fast and vast your collection has grown as well. I'm still fascinated by the ugly-cute dogs most of all, haha!

I hope many more weird little dogs are to come!

Quote :

The horse in the centre is just gorgeous!  I love that pattern and most of all the pose - with the back hoof just off the ground, sauntering along. Love it!
and I love the regal pose of the one on the left. What a perfect Breyer model.
May I borrow your photos for my wishlist thread please?

Of course! I have an extra of the appaloosa if you are interested. :)

Jill wrote:

Quote :

The horse in the centre is just gorgeous!  I love that pattern and most of all the pose - with the back hoof just off the ground, sauntering along. Love it!
and I love the regal pose of the one on the left. What a perfect Breyer model.
May I borrow your photos for my wishlist thread please?

Of course! I have an extra of the appaloosa if you are interested. :)

oh I would be, thank you Jill! will pm you

Wonderful additions.

Congratulations on getting your Swaps conga complete! I agree that it is a great sculpt. And the other G1s are great too, the Drafter and Quarter horse mare are especially great catches.

Thank you! :)

I will start out September with the wildlife, because it is otherwise all horses.

Today I received my end of a trade with Roy-Swetsie, which included these wonderful little Albert Heijn animals and some beautiful artwork!  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I love the quagga especially but these are terrific tiny herptiles as well. The tiny frog!!  
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And then, horses!

Two K&M horses I am still working on tracking down the origins of. They are a nicely detailed pair of what I suspect is a tube set but unconfirmed. Their expression are a little grim, though!
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The last pieces to complete the Innovative Kids horse set. Not the best tiny horses out there, but an interesting set all the same. Some of them I really like, like the "Belgian" and the appaloosa here, but others like the Lipizzaner and Arabian are . . . meh!
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These little guys from Lanard which I think are just lovely.
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And these little guys that I just got and am looking for information on. I'll be making a thread, of course. They are heavily inspired by the G1 Breyer stablemates (or rather by the Hagen-Renaker figurines that inspired the stablemates). They are part of a larger set of 12.
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And of course, I added some Breyers as well. A few vintage traditionals first. I turned my hunt toward "iconic" pieces, like this shire and the western horse, that I did not yet have represented. I have nearly finished my "childhood wishlist" of horses I knew about and always wanted when I was young but never got, so now I am looking back toward the horses that are older than I am and represent the history of Breyer. The western horse is, in fact, the first Breyer animal mold!
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And then I also found a Sherman Morgan for an excellent price that I couldn't pass up. A really nice mold in a gorgeous color. The jumping horse I already had, but I was able to find someone willing to sell just the jump, which I have never had for mine since I bought him at a yard sale. So it's nice to have him complete and on display for the first time!
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And finally, a stablemate set from Tractor Supply featuring many newer molds that I haven't been able to get yet in some really nice colors.
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Nice figures My favorite is the jumping horse.

These are all fantastic Jill! Congratulations!

You've being building a very peculiar collection. I think I've never seen a collection similar to yours and I find it so cool.

Superb additions!!!!

Thank you all!

Roger wrote:

You've being building a very peculiar collection. I think I've never seen a collection similar to yours and I find it so cool.

Hahaha, thank you, the heart wants what it wants.

A lot of very good looking small horses, especially the Lanard and Breyer inspired ones. I like the K&M horses too, I think they have a very charming expression. I may have said it before, but the feathering and pose of the Shire horse are amazing, such a great model. I see a lot of coherence in your collection: horses, small figure series, artistic models rather than purely realistic.

rogerpgvg wrote:

I see a lot of coherence in your collection: horses, small figure series, artistic models rather than purely realistic.

You have described my collection quite perfectly I think! And if they are small, artistic horses, all the better.

October was too busy to post an update, plus I was in Houston, Texas visiting friends for part of it. And then of course November is very busy with the US holidays, but here is my update for October AND November.

I had a bit of disappointment with a couple ebay lots I found. One was the remainder of the Stable Stars I need and another was a tiny Arabian figure I have been looking for, and both sellers got back to me to say they had lost the item. They were both very polite and sent a refund and everything, so no harm done, but still I was quite sad to have lost the chance at those. Still, I'm sure they will turn up someday.

What I did decide to do was splurge on Safari Ltd. I was going to wait until the Everglades tube set released, but I lost patience, so I went ahead and made a large order with other sets I was going to get. What prompted this was I had gone to look for the Cave Dwellers tube only to find that it had long since retired. I had put off buying it back when it was still for sale regularly, and I was deeply regretful about that! I did manage to find a set still for sale from a little store up in Detroit. I paid as much for shipping as the item cost, but that was better than trying to track it down second hand or even worse trying to piece it together figure by figure later. So anyway, I had a Safari spree after that as I decided to get the tubes I've been putting off before it happened again.

The Cave Dwellers tube that started it. I HAD to get the olm, and everything else was also very cool. I noticed that none are listed with specific species on Toy Animal Wiki. Is that due to lack of information on cave species, or are they not specific enough looking to know? I don't know much about troglobites myself.
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Australia Continent, another must have for the tuatara. I also wanted a kiwi in my collection, though, and I couldn't NOT have that frilled lizard and kakapo. This set had the only duplicates for me, the kangaroo and the crocodile.
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Sahara Desert, another set I knew I was definitely getting because of the painted dog and the monitor. But the whole set is really cool. Love the viper and the fennec, and the cheetah despite being a very well represented species looks really nice for a tube figure.
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South American Animals, the black caiman and the boto were the highlights for me but again this just had such a cool selection of species I couldn't leave it behind. The sculpts I think are really nice for all these newer sets. I love the arapaima so much more than I expected since I am not usually big into fish, and the capybara is actually such a nice sculpt despite being just a brown animal.
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Asain Animals, almost didn't get this one but the gavial won me over. Also thought this might be my only chance to get a tube sized saiga antelope. But I was overall more pleased than I expected with all of them. Pandas, tigers, elephants, rhinos, and orangutans are so commonly represented I was not excited to get them, but I love these sculpts. The panda has such a natural movement and the orangutan is so detailed. The elephant and rhino also have an impressive amount of detail and interest despite their lack luster paint jobs. Overall glad I got the set!
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Galapagos, a set I got right at the end on a whim because of the iguanas. I also think frigate birds are super neat and the Play Visions is one of my favorite figures. This older set is not as impressive in its sculpts, but the iguanas ARE pretty cool, as is the forlorn face of the Sally Lightfoot. The tortoise and sea turtle are less impressive but I am never sad to have another reptile or two join the family. The hawk is most disappointing of this set. The newer birds like the Philippine eagle and the Harpy eagle outshine is dramatically.
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And just because, here are my two favorites from all the Safari creatures, the two absolute must haves for me:
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I did add a few more tiny animals from other brands, too. Almost completed my Play Visions Yellowstone set (just need the bison!), and thanks to a trade with Leoo I have the K&M przewalski horse. :)
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And of course, a few Breyers joined the herd as well. I mentioned Tinsel the Christmas web special in a different thread.
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I also found the old standardbred at an incredible price. I had always admired him due to a poster I had hanging on my wall as a child, and so I went looking for him. He's pretty common and not super popular, so I guessed I could find a beat up for one for a good price, and I sure did! He's a beautiful liver chestnut, a color I just keep coming back to, and now acts as my representative for the mold in my collection.
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I still have the poster in question too. :)
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Along with him, I purchased the liver chestnut paso fino, another mold I've always liked and never had an example of. The one I wanted as a kid was "Cips," a bay pinto, but unfortunately almost every Cips is a "shrinkie" and prone to vinegar syndrome, and it is very hard to find one that hasn't shrunken and deformed in some way. So when I found the liver chestnut, I knew that was the one I needed to get instead, since now I like that color even more. I think he is just gorgeous!
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And then while out an an antique store, I found this Classic scale Man o' War. The Maureen Love classics are really iconic, absolutely stunning sculptures just like the stablemates. I've never owned one, so I took this guy home. Unfortunately he turned out to have mildew spots which I hadn't noticed at first (those pale spots are not dapples), so I did overpay for him based on his condition, but I absolutely love him. Look at his handsome face and keen expression!
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Big congrats for all these wonderful Safari toobs (I particulary love the desert one) and horses!

Nice to see all your additions. Those tubes are really great and yet, it has been hard to identify those Cave Dwellers species. There's a fox I'm missing among your additions but fortunately it is still available.

Thank you both! Yes it is a nice little fennec, I hope you can add it to your collection. I like its face a lot, I think they did a good job with the distinct fennec face for such a tiny figure. :)

Jill
Unfortunately most of the Cave Dwellers figures are generic (and they should be left as such on TAI).

But I reviewed the set for the Blog, with some suggestions (check the comments for additional suggestions). I think since I posted that I have come up with other IDs for the crab and scorpion, but my database isn't handy at the moment

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Many new goodies