New releases - an Arabian mare and some festive specials

I've just spotted some more new horses in the WIA world, that makes a total of seven releases for 2022!

First, a re-release in festive colours, each complete with a little garland to wear round the neck, in red and green.

The sculpt is one we've seen before, 'Gustav' by Brigitte Eberl - he's a gorgeous chunky draft horse with a wonderful expression. And although decorator and various 'holiday' themes aren't something I ever want to own myself, I can still appreciate how these are tasteful, classy and visually striking. I can see them being popular with both the fans who eagerly collect colourful clearware models, and collectors who celebrate Christmas and want to use them as ornaments on display.

The other new release is an Arabian mare in a choice of two colours, chestnut or bloody-shouldered grey.

This is the first time I've seen any work by the sculpting artist, who goes by HorRaw Studios. As with the Erren sculpt from earlier this year, I can see the difference in art style and detailing from the initial four WIA models by Eberl, but as a whole they work well together, these mares don't stand out as a bad fit with the older models - even though you could pick out which ones are by someone else, they still look like they belong.

I admit I'm surprised they've gone for another Arabian horse, so soon! With such a small range, you'd think they'd be more keen on developing a good spread of breed types, so having ticked off Draft, Arabian, Andalusian, Warmblood and Criollo, I was predicting the next choice would an American stock or gaited horse, or a native pony, not a repeat on one of the few breeds they've got already!

As for the conformation, it's true to the more Egyptian-type Arabian with that extreme dished face, now also popular in the US show ring type. It's not inaccurate or wrong to have an exaggerated feature, as long as it's not taken to unrealistic levels - don't take this as criticism on the mould not resembling the real Arabian horse! It's just following how the breed has split into types in real life, with different horsey cultures and communities preferring to see different things, and the Arabians from different countries are known for having recognisable variation. The sculptor here is depicting a very specific type which some breeders and judges favour, and I'm sure for a lot of horse fans, this is their favourite type, too! It's a matter of taste, and as they all exist, they're all equally correct in model form

(For a visual example regarding models resembling types within the same breed, this is why I have never bought any of the Peter Stone Arabian but love the Pebbles version from the same company - the long snakey body and neck, super-fine limbs and very dished face of the former isn't something I enjoy, where the more compact rounded shape and less extreme facial structure of the latter is exactly what I like to see!)

Having said that it's not my favourite type, I will still be getting the WIA ones - the face is the only extreme feature, as there's still a good depth of girth, the legs are sturdy and not spindly or over long, the back is rounded not flat, and it's not stretched into the super-long show pose.
I prefer the bloody-shouldered colour of the two, the chestnut is nicely shaded and a good choice as an alternative, but the grey is the one which stands out as great! The way the fleabite speckles blend into the grey colour all across the coat is nicely done, and it has a layered subtlety you don't usually get in mass-produced plastics at this scale. WIA match with toy brands CollectA, Bullyland, Mojo, and Schleich in terms of size and plastic and price, but they have paintjob designs which rival the 'serious' brands like Breyer and Stone, the effort put in to making this one look interesting and realistic really is commendable!

The only thing putting me off is the postage cos I'm several countries away, it's a flat €10 rate which isn't bad when you're buying lots of models in one go, but I only need these two so I'm going to wait a bit and hope they don't sell out before more WIAs are released!

Quite unusual for my expectations but thanks for sharing with us.
I think the Chestnut Arabian mare has a very interesting artistic appeal.

EG 10003 - horraw.studios* Edition (1:18) - Arabian Mare - Bloody
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EG 10004 - horraw.studios* Edition (1:18) - Arabian Mare - Chestnnut
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Some very nice new models! I too prefer the rounded type that you suggest, but these are lovely sculpts. Such emotive faces! And I didn't know about that gray coloration.

I prefer the stockier desert bred type myself, but I did show the pictures to my mother when I went and visited today. She wants that mare. But why do they so often make Arabs looking pissy? They can be the sweetest of horses.
Thanks for letting us know, George!

I like this model a lot!
And Horraw studio is a very popular artist on IG. She's very talented and her works are often full of drama and very original. Perhaps that's why she chose a bit exaggerated type of Arabian profile and somewhat annoyed expression. This mare is her first design for a toy company I think it looks pretty amazing! And that tail is phenomenal!

Ok I learn more things today about horses and Horse figurine collecting, thank you George

I too like the Pebbles version more. It's very cute and 'toy' like haha, instead of a more sculptural version.

And the green and red tree ornaments are so cute!! How could anyone resist ?

pipsxlch wrote:

 But why do they so often make Arabs looking pissy? They can be the sweetest of horses.

That's another reason I like the 'Pebbles' mare I linked, she looks gentle and sweet and happy, not like she's in a sour mood or about to have a screaming fit over someone looking at her wrong over the fence

Having said that, my first horse was only half Arabian and she had such a reputation for giving people and horses the evil eye. There was a photo of her pinned on the stableyard's office wall for years where she's doing the full-on eye-rolling, teeth-bared, ears-pinned snakey demon pose directly at a fluffy cob, who was her best friend, standing ten feet away, and not reacting in the slightest She also used to make The Face at any other horses we met while riding out on the roads, and I was forever having to apologise to the riders for her attitude

Nice horse figures

I need to find one of the pics we took of my mom's old stud at a parade, giving pony rides and hugs.

I am in no way am expert, but from what I heard, Arabians are a bit like chihuahuas this way.   They are either the sweetest things ever and eager to interact with anyone, or are demonic littlw beasts ready to nip anyone within range.   In my opinion, either way, ya gotta respect them. 

George wrote:

The only thing putting me off is the postage cos I'm several countries away, it's a flat €10 rate which isn't bad when you're buying lots of models in one go, but I only need these two so I'm going to wait a bit and hope they don't sell out before more WIAs are released!

The Pony Club Store are now official WIA Stockists if you want to buy them in the UK [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
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At last I've added these new WIA Arabians to my collection, here's some photos of the models in hand!

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The grey is interesting, because her shoulder patch is created with a stencilled solid outline, speckled over the top with random spatters for more detail. This means all the individuals of this model will be slightly different, depending on how the paint spots spread out as it's flicked on. The softer speckling over the rest of the body is unique to each model, too, but stands out less - I think it's under the sprayed white coat, so it's very nicely blended in - a really lovely effect!

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Oh what a face! Everyone who's known a mare has probably been on the receiving end of those ears a time or two

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The chestnut's paintwork is less complex but still effective, with a nice rich brown base and just enough shading to avoid it looking flat. And her white markings are flashy and realistically designed.

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As with the Erren release from last year, the different sculptor doesn't mean the WIA models don't match well as an entire range, the style is slightly different but the general feel is the same, lean elegant models with great proportions and slim legs, detail without over-crisp texturing, and plenty of expression and character in the face and the pose.

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The beautiful flowing mane on the other side!

These are simply gorgeous... Thank you for presenting them.

Really beautiful models. The left side of this model is quite artistic!

George wrote:

At last I've added these new WIA Arabians to my collection, here's some photos of the models in hand!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The grey is interesting, because her shoulder patch is created with a stencilled solid outline, speckled over the top with random spatters for more detail. This means all the individuals of this model will be slightly different, depending on how the paint spots spread out as it's flicked on. The softer speckling over the rest of the body is unique to each model, too, but stands out less - I think it's under the sprayed white coat, so it's very nicely blended in - a really lovely effect!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Oh what a face! Everyone who's known a mare has probably been on the receiving end of those ears a time or two

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The chestnut's paintwork is less complex but still effective, with a nice rich brown base and just enough shading to avoid it looking flat. And her white markings are flashy and realistically designed.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

As with the Erren release from last year, the different sculptor doesn't mean the WIA models don't match well as an entire range, the style is slightly different but the general feel is the same, lean elegant models with great proportions and slim legs, detail without over-crisp texturing, and plenty of expression and character in the face and the pose.

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The beautiful flowing mane on the other side!

They look a bit on the large side. How is their size compered to the arabs from other brands? Is it possible to show a picture together with some of the Major brand,s arabian,s?

Almost the same size as the CollectA Arabian mare, here's some photos with her, and also a Safari Arabian (not a huge range of comparisons, I know, but I haven't bought Mojo's arab mare yet, my Papo horses are all cobs, and I don't have any recent Schleichs apart from the donkeys!)

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I'd say she's the same size as CollectA - her head's a little higher, about equal at the withers, then her back's dipped a little lower, so they don't look the same height but would measure the same if they were real! Safari's model is notably smaller, but I do find they're the most random in terms of scale anyway - this arabian is probably taller than their shire, the clydesdale is smaller than the mustang mare, and so on

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The WIA is a bit narrower, the CollectA is deeper in the chest/girth, but they easily match up as models of the same scale, just slightly varying body types.

A couple more with the CollectA, as she's the closest match (hopefully you have one of these for the pictures to be useful!)

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George wrote:

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does the WIA have a pink tongue out? or is that her lower lip?

Yeah, that's a pink marking on her lip, but it does look like she's sticking her tongue out at the other mare doesn't it

George, do we have pictures of these for TAW or should I use those with rich background?

Ooops! I thought maybe I'd just forgotten to post them but I looked back through my folder and it looks like I somehow never even thought of taking any that day, I usually do a double photoshoot with all my CollectA/Mojo/WIA arrivals incase the plain pics are needed. But I took some now

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Thanks a lot, George!
They're perfect and I added them on TAW.