My Breyer collection

Some wonderful models again,especially the Shire and the lovely Palomino!

Great to see close-ups of them all. The Shire is my favourite, I like her face and the way the feathering is done. The Swaps and the Drafter are beautiful, as I already mentioned in your other topic. The Thoroughbred Mare has indeed a very striking colour, nice one too.

It looks like Django and the Irish Draft were not just sold in blind bags by Tractor Supply, but also as regular runs. Or do you think they aren't exactly the same?

Thank you!

rogerpgvg wrote:

It looks like Django and the Irish Draft were not just sold in blind bags by Tractor Supply, but also as regular runs. Or do you think they aren't exactly the same?

For my purposes they are exactly the same. All the blind bags except the chase pieces and 1 other are repeats this year from other releases. Some collectors have found some slight differences, like I think the dun Django is lighter than the regular run, but not different enough to consider them different colorways. I don't have the regular run versions so I cannot compare personally, but I think they're pretty much the same.

Thanks, they looked very similar to me.

These are all the pieces of the Tractor Supply set "Colorful Collection."

"Cantering Foal" - chestnut
They specify this one as a Quarter Horse foal, but mostly I think because it's in Tractor Supply and they do try to pick breeds that are more likely to resonate with the Tractor Supply crowd, so you see a lot of stock breeds. This guy is cute but not the reason I got the set.
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"Friesian" - chestnut blanket appaloosa
This one was specified as a Noriker, which is interesting. He doesn't really have the build of a Noriker, and they are not common in the United States, but it IS a colorful draft breed, so probably that's why they went with it for this set. I really like this guy even though he doesn't I think fit the breed assignment super well. I selected my set specifically because I liked his spot arrangement best. He's kind of beat up, all of them are, quite a few little box rubs and things, but for my purposes I don't really mind. He is the most stable example I have of this mold and stands very well on his own.
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"Gypsy Vanner" - gray
As you can see, this guy is really pearly! I don't love it! He was also released in the blind bags, and I like that he was also available in this set since I couldn't find him that way. I do like him, except for the pearly sheen. It's something Breyer is really into currently, lots of pearly manes and tails and things. Hopefully they'll relax on that eventually. He's a pretty gray pattern, I love his white nose and darker face, and it's a great mold in both stablemate and traditional size.
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"Indian Pony" - light bay
Called a Mustang in the set, only the second regular run release (if you can consider Tractor Supply exclusives regular runs) and also the second non-decorator release. This was one I had to have. She was released in the "family" set as well, but since I wanted all the other horses in this set, too, it worked out to get her this way. They did quite a few duplicates this year for some reason, which irritated some people but I for one was glad I didn't need to buy a bunch of different sets to get the horses I wanted. This is a beautiful color on this mold.
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"Morgan" - palomino
My least favorite of the set, which isn't to say I don't like it, but more that it's just not very exciting to me. Palomino isn't a color I am crazy about in general and this mold has already been seen in palomino several times and there is already a palomino in this set. I would have loved to see him in a darker color, but he isn't bad! The eyes on mine do look a little alarmed, haha.
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"Playful Foal" - light palomino
The first stablemate draft foal mold! One of the main reasons I got the set. This is the first release since the Collector's Club that isn't a unicorn. While palomino isn't my favorite, this one is really nicely shaded and I prefer it to the Morgan's.
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"Stock Horse Mare" - blue roan
Another one of the main reasons I got the set. This is only the second release on this mold. The first was the Collector's Club release. I wasn't even aware of the mold until this one, though. It's really nicely done, and in one of my favorite colors. Lots of detail and personality to this horse, also called a Quarter Horse for this set. She comes across as exactly the kind of horse you'd have on your working farm. Maybe a brood mare or maybe just a saddle horse, but not a real "typey" show horse.
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"Warmblood Mare" - liver chestnut
Finally another real color released on this mold that I can get my hands on! I really like this mold, and it has been a unicorn seemingly forever. Liver chestnut is another favorite color of mine, so of course, was excited to see her in it. I sort of wish her mane and tail were the same color, either both flaxen or not, but I guess this isn't an impossible scenario.
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Congratulations

Lovely additions,especially like the'Noriker'!

This is a great new set with several new or rare moulds. I like the Indian Pony and Stock Horse Mare too. Both have very unassuming poses, which I generally prefer over the wild poses. They have great colours too, again, not too flashy. The Gypsy Vanner really isn't my style or colour, but somehow, strangely, I kind of like it. I think it works quite well as a kind of decorator model. The Playfull Foal and Warmblood mare are also great to have because they have not or hardly been produced as regular runs. I wish there was a Tractor Supply here; I hope this set will also come to Europe, but Breyer isn't great at making special runs available here.

Thank you all!

rogerpgvg wrote:

I wish there was a Tractor Supply here; I hope this set will also come to Europe, but Breyer isn't great at making special runs available here.

If I can help, please let me know!

Thank you so much, Jill. I checked Tractor Supply and their postage (within the US) is quite expensive, so it would be a very expensive set for me if you then still have to send it to me. This blog (scroll about 3/4 down) suggests that they may be released as regular runs, which I hope will be the case.

"El Pastor" - flaxen liver chestnut
The mold is named for the paso fino if the same name, who was of course the original release. This one, who is unnamed by Breyer, is part of my effort to get a representative of all the vintage molds I love but have never found an example of. This guy was only $5, and while he is not in perfect condition, he is a beautiful shade of chestnut. The mold itself is I think really elegant and soft and refined. It does have a distinct lean to it but it's tippy.
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"Fjord" - silver dun
Named Tinsel, he's a Christmas web special that was sold with several accessories, including a doll. He's a beautiful depiction of the color, the first time it has been made on a more accessible release.
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"Pacer" - liver chestnut
Another part of the same personal project! I had known about this model from a poster I had when I was young and I always thought he was very good looking, probably due in part to his color. I finally got to add him for a very reasonable price due to his condition. He is not the most popular mold, partly because he has a molded on halter and partly because he is notoriously for tipping over (he requires something under his front hoof to really stabilize him). But like other molds with tack molded on, I think it lends to their vintage quality as a piece of history, when that was more common for Breyer to do.
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"Man O' War" - Man o' War
A classic sized mold (1:12 scale) borrowed from Maureen Love's sculptures for Hagen-Reneker, much like the stablemate sizes. He is just as beautifully crafted as the smaller size. I found him in an antique store, and while he does have mildew spots, he is still a lovely example of the model. I don't usually collect this size but Love pieces are a special exception.
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"Balking Mule" - seal brown

One of only four regular runs on this mold, released in 1968. A cool mold for her pose as well as her molded on halter. I've wanted this one since I saw it in a Breyer magazine when I was a kid, so it was exciting when I finally found one I could afford along with the bear and the fjord.

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"Bear" and "Bear Cub" - brown with pale face

One of the first two bear sets released in 1967. The other was a black bear. This sets coloration has a bit of range and it is unspecified if it is a grizzly or black bear. I found the cub first as an mislabeled ebay lot at an extremely good price, so then I went looking for the mother and was able to purchase her from someone who sold me several well priced models at once. I love this set, and it's my first wildlife pieces (that isn't broken in several places!).

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"Fawn" - tawny with white spots and black muzzle

My second wildlife piece! Part of a set of three (with a buck and a doe), this fawn was released first in 1965 and ran until 1997 under varying releases. Mine came from Kelly in a large lot. I think it's a lovely model, and I hope to have the rest of the family someday.

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"Fjord" - GVF Sjokolade brown dun

The last of this mold so far I really wanted to acquire, a really beautiful example of the most common color of fjord. Despite being the same color of Henry, their paint work is very different, and this one is a much darker shade. It's a portrait model of a real horse (known better as "Hershey"), one of the top ranked stallions in the breed. Mine came in the same purchase as the mama bear and mule.

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"Lassie" - Jester tricolor

2001 Breyerfest tent special with 600 made, and one of only four color released on this mold. Lassie and Honey Collie are the only two regular runs, and Jester and Maurice are the two special runs. This guy also came from Kelly, and I am really excited to add him to my collection. He is my first Breyerfest special run, and my first traditional sized dog model!

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"Highland Pony" - appaloosa

One of the few G3's I really like, this guy is a super cute mold and I am glad to finally have one. This one was a Wal-Mart blind bag exclusive in 2019 and he came from Kelly as well. I hope to add more of this one for sure someday.

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"Lipizzaner" - chocolate palomino

From the Tractor Supply Blind Bag series 5 in 2023. I couldn't find him locally, but a friend of mine found him and shipped him to be a birthday gift! This is my first in the mold, and I am excited to have one because it's a really nice sculpt. He is performing the "Pesade" which is a dressage move, so his rear is a very collected and controlled movement, very different from a naturally playful or aggressive rear.  

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"Rearing Andalusian" - black pinto

Part of a surprise foal set in 2013. I got this one from Kelly as well, only my second on this fun mold. A distinctly different rear from the Lipizzaner above!

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So many exciting figures! Congrats!!

I don't know much about Breyer, I've only owned a handful of them as a kid and no longer have any. So it's neat to read about all these rare Breyer's!

I love Lassie

Love the mule,bears,fawn and Rough Collie!

Great Breyer oldies! I especially love the mule. The two rearing horses are good too. The rearing Andalusian is one of my favourite Stablemate sculpts. The Lipizzaner's colours are excellent, the only one I have is just plain black.

I like dark mule a lot! And the Breyer bears are very nice. That was lucky to get the mum for the cub.

Thank you all!

Joliezac wrote:

I don't know much about Breyer, I've only owned a handful of them as a kid and no longer have any. So it's neat to read about all these rare Breyer's!

Don't let the way they label their releases fool you, haha, the "exclusives" are not rare. You can only get them in certain stores, but they were produced in large numbers. Even "limited edition" is a toss up. Sometimes limited edition means a truly limited run, but sometimes it means it was only produced for one year or six months, but still in really large numbers. The only one here that truly is a rarity is Jester.

Here are my recent traditional size additions:


"Destado" - Picasso, Aurelius
My first additions in this mold both appeared at antique stores in the last couple of months. I like the mold, though it is more modern than my tastes. Not one I would have sought out, but one I enjoy now that it is here with me. In comparison to the old semi-rearing mustang mold, one of my all time favorites, I simply can't consider it competition. But it is graceful and fluid and more realistically balanced than the old sculpt. It simply is not as iconic and full of "oomph" for lack of a better description. Picasso was a find near home, quite expensive but within normal range for him. I liked him enough that given how I wouldn't have to pay shipping and it was in support of a new vendor in a local shop, I went ahead and purchased him. He is a portrait of a real mustang from the Sand Wash Basin. Picasso was quite well known for his stunning coloration and long life, but unfortunately he was last seen in 2019 and likely passed. He was nearly 30!! He has popular offspring that Breyer has also made into models, but I do not have any of them. Aurelius was not a real horse, but a "brick and mortar" limited edition, or flagship horse. These are only sold in physical shops every year, so you cannot order them online, making them a little harder to come by second hand. I was very pleased to find him for $25! He was in an antique mall during my visit to Arizona. He's a beautiful color, but a very high gloss finish, which is not my favorite look for realistic colored horses. I like it well enough on some of the vintage colorways, but I am a matte collector first. However, there is no matte version of him and I didn't want to leave him behind. He's lovely still, and gloss is extremely popular in the hobby. He is, at least, easier to dust!

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"Family Arabian Mare" - charcoal
A delightful vintage find at a different antique store nearby. I had just gone to a not very fun doctor's appointment and was on my way back to work when I decided to stop by the brand new antique store that was between the doctor and work for just a minute. Right inside the door I found this girl and her mate for good prices! She is very yellowed, which sunlight can fix if I could find a good place to leave her for a few months, but I am content to leave her yellowed for now. I have always wanted a true charcoal in my collection. It is a vintage colorway that qualifies as a "decorator" I think, in that it is not a true realistic horse color (even though it is not so dramatically unrealistic as the blue ones). I do have a "smoke" which is the same color as the "charcoal," but created by only one pass of the spray paint where the charcoals are multiple passes, creating the darker bodies. Some charcoals are very rare and valuable, but the family Arabians are quite a common version of them.

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"Family Arabian Stallion" - charcoal
This guy was found along with the mare above. The family Arabians are not my favorite molds; I agree with many other collectors that the Proud Arabians are the more elegant set, but I still am deeply charmed and attached to these for their iconic vintage quality. I have already told the stories of my palomino versions of these, which also endear them to me. I am very happy to add these two to my collection.

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"Fighting Stallion" - Chaparral
I also found this guy at the Arizona antique store. I was on vacation with my parents, who were staying much longer. I only stayed for a week and flew out where they had driven, so instead of trying to fly home with several Breyers, they traveled back in my parents' camper. I was reunited with them after a month and a half just this week! Chaparral was a limited edition in 1992 and I remember seeing him in the brochures. I wasn't a huge fan of the bright yellow buckskins that was such a popular colorway at the time, so I never went looking for him. However, the power of nostalgia is very strong and I love him now. He is also not nearly as yellow as some of them, which helps. I also love that I found him while visiting the desert, given his name. He's quite scuffed up, but I don't mind, it shows that he was played with back in the day. My accidental fighting stallion conga grows ever larger!

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"Gilen" - Zenyatta's First Colt
This one I found at the same time as Picasso. While I think the Picasso mold is very nice, I think this mold is actually stellar, which is no surprise since it is a Brigitte Eberl sculpt. I had to bring it home once I saw it in person. The elegance and detail of her work is breathtaking, even in a little trotting foal. I also love the color of this one. It is a portrait model of Cozmic One, who did not have a name I guess at the time of release. Zenyatta is the first filly to win the Breeder's Cup Classic, and has also been made into a Breyer horse. She and the foal were not sold together, and I also do not have her, so this little guy is currently orphaned in my herd.

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"Goffert" - Gooitzen fan Teakesyl
Another portrait horse, this one done as the 2014 Breyerfest Celebration Horse, which means the horse you get with your ticket. So many people attend Breyerfest that even though they are limited editions, they are not particularly hard to get on the second hand market (some years, with less popular models, people just give them away at the park). This is my first horse on the mold, and it is far from my favorite. The mold itself is a lovely sculpt, but I don't like how it is poised. It seems to me it should have been suspended more horizontal and less like the horse is taking off. But what I really don't like is the paintjob on this one. Black has never been Breyer's strong suit. They paint them solid, dense black without shading or detailing most times, and this one is no exception. To make it worse, it is high gloss, accentuating the lack of subtlety in the color and making him look more like a sculpture than a model of a real horse. Worst of all are the eyes, they are just weirdly done, he looks insane. So why did I buy the horse if I am this unimpressed with him? He was there with the others and affordable, haha!! I don't hate him, but he will be boxed up rather than on display with my limited shelf space. I like other releases on this mold much better, but unfortunately the best ones are all very expensive releases.

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Congratulations

Oh I agree about the Goffert mould, I've always thought it looked like they set the peg in at the wrong angle, so he's trotting off up into the air!
I have the original black release, a bit less shiny and though he doesn't have shading either, I think that does help him look less plasticky, like it's the semi-gloss here which is emphasising the monotone paint. He also doesn't have the wild staring eyes, just a little bit of pink eye-white in one corner of each eye to give them a direction to look in. I wonder if the eye colour on this Breyerfest one was someone saying 'But we already made a plain black Friesian, what can we do to make this one different?' and cos the breed don't get white markings, eyes were the only thing they could add

Superb additions.I envy you so much in that Breyers are much easier to find in the USA,but again its the home of Breyers.
The fighting stallion is one of my favourite models but I only have 2 of this model.
I used to have that Arabian family-not in the wonderful colour yours are-but I traded them years ago.

Fantastic finds! Great that you can find them in local shops; I never find anything here. Gilen is my favourite. Goffert is a beautiful sculpt too, Yes, it is glossy but if you accept it as a decorator then that's OK. Why do Breyer horses yellow? I thought is was due to the sun. Anyhow, perhaps they look better in yellow than white.

Thank you guys!

George wrote:

Oh I agree about the Goffert mould, I've always thought it looked like they set the peg in at the wrong angle, so he's trotting off up into the air!

Okay so it's not just me. I do feel just a slight shift would have helped a lot, but maybe they wanted that back hoof to touch for stability.

Quote :

I have the original black release, a bit less shiny and though he doesn't have shading either, I think that does help him look less plasticky, like it's the semi-gloss here which is emphasising the monotone paint. He also doesn't have the wild staring eyes, just a little bit of pink eye-white in one corner of each eye to give them a direction to look in. I wonder if the eye colour on this Breyerfest one was someone saying 'But we already made a plain black Friesian, what can we do to make this one different?' and cos the breed don't get white markings, eyes were the only thing they could add

Probably you are exactly right! I wish instead they had decided to go matte and/or add some brown or blue into the black for warm or cool shading. Oh well! I think sometimes the "tricolor eyes" are not the benefit they are intended to be.

Taos wrote:

Superb additions.I envy you so much in that Breyers are much easier to find in the USA,but again its the home of Breyers.
The fighting stallion is one of my favourite models but I only have 2 of this model.
I used to have that Arabian family-not in the wonderful colour yours are-but I traded them years ago.

I won't argue and say it isn't much easier to find them here because it certainly is! But I will say that until very recently, I personally rarely ever found any. My luck seems to have turned for now, though, which is a delight.

rogerpgvg wrote:

Why do Breyer horses yellow? I thought is was due to the sun. Anyhow, perhaps they look better in yellow than white.

They often yellow due to smoke or grease, actually! Or it can happen simply due to aging plastic which condenses over time. UV from sunlight will actually fade the yellow, not increase it. It works really well! Long term, UV can also fade other colors, so you do not want to leave your models in the sun forever. The bare plastic will whiten faster than the paint will fade, so you can stop sunning them after they whiten up.

Thanks for explaining, that's useful to know!