My Breyer collection

Glorious again!! I have a few of these models but among my first Breyer models were the Mustang family but my stallion is a lighter chestnut.

Thank you! The colors vary quite a lot on these older models that were produced for very long runs. I have seen pretty dark ones as well.

This is a very little section of my collection--the Animal Companions. Technically a mixture of traditional and classic scaled, but I am including them together since I only have four! For some reason, I didn't go in for them much when I was young. I think I was just more interested in horses at the time. I had no idea how expensive they would become later. The dog breeds are wonderful and I really wish I had more of them, and that they had continued exploring more breeds. I do plan to turn my attention to getting more of the dogs someday, but that is not a real soon kind of focus. But here's what I do have!

Border Collie - black and white
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Dalmatian - white with black spots (black nose)
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Golden Retriever - rich golden
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Cougar - Fausto
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These larger size animal companions are great. Are they made of PVC? The smaller Stablemate companions are often a bit toyish, less high quality.

Nice dogs and nice cougar

Great models again-I haven't seen the Dalmatian before.I have the cougar but the paintwork is different on mine.

Jill wrote:

Cougar - Fausto
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such a beautiful cougar this is Jill! is it a stablemate size? - ah, I've just seen that they are not.


I have the sheepdog the same as you, but in the stablemate size. They are very elegant!

You have such a beautiful collection of Breyers! with a wide range of model styles over the decades. I really like that! I had no idea there was such a heritage.

It's interesting to read about the warping of the legs. That's quite funny because Breyer use such a hard type plastic so to see them bending is intriguing.
I hope you manage to remedy your 10 horses that need support!

Thank you all!

rogerpgvg wrote:

These larger size animal companions are great. Are they made of PVC? The smaller Stablemate companions are often a bit toyish, less high quality.

They are not cellulose acetate like the horses, but I am not sure what they are. It's a very hard, hollow plastic, but not brittle. Maybe PVC?

sunny wrote:

such a beautiful cougar this is Jill! is it a stablemate size? - ah, I've just seen that they are not.

Correct, the cougar is scaled to the classics, so about a 1:12 scale. The dogs are 1:9.

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It's interesting to read about the warping of the legs. That's quite funny because Breyer use such a hard type plastic so to see them bending is intriguing.
I hope you manage to remedy your 10 horses that need support!

The hard plastic allows for very thin areas, which is what allows for the warping, ironically! I've left them alone for now. I am afraid to try anything, ha!

Amazing collection! May I ask, why is it bad to keep them packaged up? Thank you.

MilkyMoo027 wrote:

Amazing collection! May I ask, why is it bad to keep them packaged up? Thank you.

Thank you! It isn't so much that having them packed up is bad, it's the way and the length of time I had them packed. There were so many in the same box for so long, the slight pressure from each other was able to very gradually warp the legs. There are perfectly safe ways to pack Breyers for long term, I'm just now learning I didn't do it quite right.

Jill wrote:

MilkyMoo027 wrote:

Amazing collection! May I ask, why is it bad to keep them packaged up? Thank you.

Thank you! It isn't so much that having them packed up is bad, it's the way and the length of time I had them packed. There were so many in the same box for so long, the slight pressure from each other was able to very gradually warp the legs. There are perfectly safe ways to pack Breyers for long term, I'm just now learning I didn't do it quite right.

I can imagine! I already have a big collection, and just the thought of moving houses will be a nightmare! Anyway, have you tried gently hair drying the legs? A little bit of heat and then holding each leg to their correct position for a few minutes. Hope it helps!

MilkyMoo027 wrote:

Jill wrote:

MilkyMoo027 wrote:

Amazing collection! May I ask, why is it bad to keep them packaged up? Thank you.

Thank you! It isn't so much that having them packed up is bad, it's the way and the length of time I had them packed. There were so many in the same box for so long, the slight pressure from each other was able to very gradually warp the legs. There are perfectly safe ways to pack Breyers for long term, I'm just now learning I didn't do it quite right.

I can imagine! I already have a big collection, and just the thought of moving houses will be a nightmare! Anyway, have you tried gently hair drying the legs? A little bit of heat and then holding each leg to their correct position for a few minutes. Hope it helps!

I plan to try it, thank you! I just haven't gotten up the courage yet. I have a few very bad condition ones I will try it on first I think . . .

These are my Little Bits size, the 1:24 scale series. There are only seven molds in the scale, and they were discontinued from regular release in 2009. I don't think they were very popular, but I think they are lovely models, very elegant and dynamic. The plastic feels a little different than all the others, I don't know if it's just the scale or what, but it feels more brittle. They were usually released in blister cards, with Bitsy Breyer, or in the Saddle Club and related series that featured a rider and tack. I got most of mine in this size as birthday and Christmas presents because they were more affordable for family than traditionals.

"American Saddlebred" - matte black
This might be my favorite saddlebred Breyer did. As I've mentioned, the gaited breeds aren't my style, but on a scale of which representations I like more, this one is very nice. It isn't quite as exaggerated as some, and has an interesting turn to the head. Plus it's more stable than the Stablemate size saddlebred, though that one is also lovely.
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"Arabian Stallion" - Starlight, liver chestnut, and pinto half-arabian
A perfect breed for the very fine and delicate style of sculpting. Again, like the saddlebred, it avoids being exaggerated but still comes across as light and full of movement.
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"Clydesdale" - Red bay
Interestingly, this is my least favorite of this series, even though drafts are usually more to my taste. I don't dislike him, but there is something about his silhouette with his mane and makes him look a little front heavy or something. I do, however, really love how they gave a draft horse this pose.
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"Morgan Stallion" - chestnut and Delilah
I didn't know this was a morgan when I was little, I assumed it was another gaited horse because of the high carriage of the front leg. I usually got it confused with the Saddlebred mold. I like them both! Same as the rest, it's just a very well defined, precise sculpt.  
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"Quarter Horse Stallion" - dun and Chocolate
I don't have much to say for this one that I haven't said for the others, except that Chocolate (one of the saddle club horses) was always remarkable to me as being the glossiest horse I had in my childhood collection. He's so shiny! I didn't really have glossies until I was an adult.
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"Thoroughbred Stallion" - bay tobiano and Prancer
I'm not sure why all the Little Bits are considered stallions, especially since they were released primarily to represent young girls with their school horses which are typically not stallions. I also don't know who named them things like Prancer, but they did manage to give them the kinds of names school ponies often get. This one reminds me of the Stablemate Seabiscuit in a way.
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"Unicorn" - white and a custom
Last but not least, one of my favorite Breyers! And, in fact, my very first. Not THIS unicorn--I broke the one I received as a child, young enough to be in a car seat. The first thing I did with that unicorn (according to my mother) was punch a hole in the leather seat with the horn, so that's how I know I was pretty young.   I did replace my first unicorn when I was in high school because it was released again in 1999. This mold is special to me not only because it was my first, but because it is my favorite unicorn depiction in plastic (that I have found). I complained earlier about Breyer's unicorns being just regular horses with horns, but this one gets much closer to the original concepts of the tapestry unicorn, at least. Cloven hooves, beard, feathers on the legs, long horn, and not quite a lion-like tail but at least a tail that's sort of different from a horse. The pose is also reminiscent of the tapestry unicorn style, and in all ways it just has a much more "old world" feel to it than the modern Breyer unicorns. I wish they would explore this direction again in traditional size, but they seem quite devoted to their current approach.  
The custom was done by my Breyerfest friend as a Christmas gift!
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Nice collection again-nice to see the Little Bits.I have a few of them,some with different colouring-I would agree with you with regards to the brittleness of these models compared to the other models.

This is the scale I don't have any of - nothing against the size but I think they'd kind of been phased out before I got collecting in a big way? I'd seen them but never bought any, then all of a sudden there weren't any anymore and I'd missed the chance to get into them. Which is probably a good thing cos then I'd need another shelf

I had the opposite realization with them, which was that I had mostly stopped collecting before they were discontinued and so was surprised many years later to discover they weren't really a thing anymore. I can see why they din't really "need" this size. I would almost have rather they kept up with these in this style rather than the classics, however, but I also think the classics are much sturdier for play--the intention of these smaller sizes. So, that makes sense.

Starting on Stablemates, the last series of my collection! I definitely collect Traditional and Stablemates the most, like many collectors. They are far and away the two most popular sizes. Stablemates are a really wonderful line thanks to their affordability. Even the rare, exclusive ones--while expensive for their size--are usually attainable if you really want them. Also of course space is a huge selling point for Stablemates. I can have most of my collection out at once in the space only a few traditionals would take.

I'm starting with the foals because I didn't display them and took pictures before packing them back up. The main reason I am not displaying them is because at least half of them are extremely difficult to get to stand. They are some of the worst "domino" molds I have, so I didn't risk it!

"Cantering Foal" - black leopard, bay, bay pinto, and buckskin appaloosa
These are from "fun foal" playsets made up of five different foals and mare/foal sets (often stallion or gelding/foal sets). This is one of the extremely tippy molds. A G2 release, which I remember being very novel and exciting because until then there had only been two stablemate foals. They are really cute, of course. I do love the stablemate foals of all generations!
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"Lying Foal" - black pinto and red roan
Both of these were "mystery foal surprise" sets, where you can see the "parents" (sometimes two males or two females) but the foal is hidden until after opening. It is a cute spin on the blind bag, which I have some problems with. This way you know you are getting at least two horses that you like, and then a third one that mimics the real surprise of a foal and what color it will be. I like the gimmick, mainly because they do seem to take the parent colors into consideration when making the baby and try to make it a realistic blend of both. I don't know how genetically accurate they get, I haven't looked too deeply into it, but I'm sure plenty of people have! But it's different than the vintage approach of mare, stallion, and foal all match exactly. These are a little closer to real life color genetics, which is cool. This mold is really cute. I love the vintage lying foal as well, but this one has a nice complexity to it with the extended leg.
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"Scrambling Foal" - bay, dun, chestnut appaloosa, and dark bay
Another G2 that was released mostly in mare/foal and fun foal sets. The old mare/foal sets were sold in little tan and red paper barns and I remember them very, very clearly. I had names for all of them at that point, though I can't remember most of them now--only that the appaloosa baby here was "Disco Lemonade" after the line from the Marcy Playground song.
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"Scratching Foal" - black, dark bay, chestnut, light chestnut
More mare and foal/fun foal figures from the G2 generation. I like how the colors I ended up with make a nice gradient. Like the traditional scratching foal, I think this is a real cute sculpt even though I would not have liked it as much as a little kid because it's hard to play with. But since these were coming out when I was in high school, they had more appeal.
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"Standing Foal" - palomino pinto and buckskin pinto
I am not sure why the first one is called palomino since the mane is dark where it isn't white, but that's what it's listed as! These are fun foal and surprise foal sets respectively. I like this mold, it stands well, but it sure has some long ears!
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"Thoroughbred Lying Foal" - dun, buckskin, bay pinto
One of the two original G1 foal molds, sculpted by Maureen Love for Hagen-Renaker as an Arabian but used by Breyer as a thoroughbred, though I don't know that you can tell the difference at this size. It's a very sweet mold, and very bad about collecting dust between the legs, as you can see. The buckskin is particularly special to me because it and the Morgan stallion it was sold with were used on my birthday cake the year I got them as decoration. Mom made a cake with green icing so they could be in the grass.
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"Thoroughbred Standing Foal" - red dun, black appaloosa, bay pinto
Same as the lying foal historically, they were they only two foals for many many years. They are really cute together. This one is my favorite of the two. I really like his expression and knobby little foal legs.
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"Trotting Foal" - bay, chestnut pinto, bay again, black
This mold I can't get to stand at all most times, and certainly not for any length of times, hence the photo taken on their sides! They will tip if you move wrong in the room. It's a really fun little pose, but impossible to display it feels like, especially if any of their little legs get at all warped.
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Oh my gosh these babies!!! Love them all!

rogerpgvg wrote:

Great to read about your Breyer collection and the personal stories. Clearly, you were a keen collector if you visited the Breyerfests. I have no idea what they are like. How many people did they attract and how many days do they last?

Collecting used to be very different before internet selling became popular, not even so long ago. We could only get what we found in the shops in the area (mail order was already quite an advance). You did very well collecting such a range of different Breyers.

Looking forward to the continuation of this topic!

I can answer the question about Breyerfest.  It's always in mid-July and is 3 days long (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).  As to how many people attend ... well that depends.  The greatest number of people at a BF I attended was 20,000.  Breyer has been having shuttles running to and from from the closest hotels to the Kentucky Horse Park.  The best way to find out more is to go to the Breyer web site and look under "Events".

Jill wrote:

The main reason I am not displaying them is because at least half of them are extremely difficult to get to stand. They are some of the worst "domino" molds I have, so I didn't risk it!

My solution for Stablemate foals is liberal use of Blu Tack. I just googled to check if that brand name is international, and not everywhere does have it, so whatever version of this stuff you have in your country!

Roll a small ball of it for each wobbly foal (no bigger than one of these smiley faces! ) and stick the flat hind hoof in so firmly that it almost reaches the shelf through the tack, and the little blob being sticky will attach to the shelf surface at the same time. I don't usually bother with all the feet, just whichever back one is on the ground, and then they can't fall over.
But they're easy to pop off the shelf whenever you want to move them to rearrange or dust, it's not a messy stuff which leaves any residue on behind like sticky wax would. And it doesn't mark the models or damage the paint or plastic - I wouldn't risk it on a custom incase the paint layer peeled off, but some of my OF ones have been fixed down this way for ten or more years now, and they're still fine.

Thank you so much, George! There are versions of it here as well, it seems. I've never heard of it before but it's the kind of thing I have been looking for a while, for my Kid Kore horses that can't stand as well. I'll definitely try some out.

Wonderful collection of foals!!!!

The Breyer foals are very cute. The G1 standing foal is my favourite. Unfortunately, I only have one. My impression is that the cantering and trotting foals have such short bodies, though they have great poses.

Thank you all! Yes, the stablemate foal proportions are of very young foals, all leg!

George wrote:

Jill wrote:

The main reason I am not displaying them is because at least half of them are extremely difficult to get to stand. They are some of the worst "domino" molds I have, so I didn't risk it!

My solution for Stablemate foals is liberal use of Blu Tack. I just googled to check if that brand name is international, and not everywhere does have it, so whatever version of this stuff you have in your country!

Roll a small ball of it for each wobbly foal (no bigger than one of these smiley faces! ) and stick the flat hind hoof in so firmly that it almost reaches the shelf through the tack, and the little blob being sticky will attach to the shelf surface at the same time. I don't usually bother with all the feet, just whichever back one is on the ground, and then they can't fall over.
But they're easy to pop off the shelf whenever you want to move them to rearrange or dust, it's not a messy stuff which leaves any residue on behind like sticky wax would. And it doesn't mark the models or damage the paint or plastic - I wouldn't risk it on a custom incase the paint layer peeled off, but some of my OF ones have been fixed down this way for ten or more years now, and they're still fine.

This is a BRILLIANT idea! THANK YOU!

Alphabetical approach for the stablemate adults. I don't remember stories for all of these like the traditionals, since many were purchased when I happened to see them in a store like Wal-Mart or Tractor Supply, or were given as small gifts. Many of the G1s I've purchased recently second hand.

"Alborozo" - pearlescent light blue, red, and turquoise
These are all from various Unicorn Crazy Surprise blind bag series from Wal-Mart. The light blue one I picked out at the store still in bag and the other two I purchased second hand. The turquoise and copper one is my favorite, that one I got from Kelly. This mold is a miniature version of the traditional Alborozo, which is a unique model because it was (intentionally) destroyed after one run, making that model very valuable. This stablemate size, however, continues to be used. I don't care for him as a unicorn, even though that's all I have. The horn problem is even worse on stablemates than traditionals because it is so thick and stumpy. However, I DO like the decorator colors they come in, so I caved and purchased some.
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"American Saddlebred" - chestnut tobiano, dapple gray, bay, and black
Like other Saddlebred molds, not my favorite, but I like that this one is standing and not racking. The tobiano and the dapple gray are from mare and foal sets, the bay is from a four piece gift set, and the black is from a 1998 Just About Horses magazine special run gift set. This was one of the G2 models which was so exciting because no new Stablemate molds had been introduced since the original 16 in 1975.
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"Andalusian" - woodgrain keychain, dapple gray, dark dapple gray, buckskin, palomino, and bay
One of my favorite of the G2 molds. It resembles the later Valegro mold, which I still have yet to get, quite closely but in a different style. The woodgrain keychain is a 1999 Breyerfest SR and the dark dapple gray is from the same 1998 JAH SR series (it was a set of 12), and the rest are various regular run gift sets.
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"Appaloosa" - red chestnut, chestnut, blue roan pinto, and black leopard
Only one of mine is technically an appaloosa, despite the mold name! It's a fun mold, with the lifted leg and swishing tail, kind of sassy. Has never been one of my favorites but is charming. I like the G2 because they still have slender legs and delicate hooves. The black leopard appaloosa is from the 1998 SR set, and the rest are regular runs.
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"Arabian" - deep blue unicorn
Unfortunately, this mold is one of my least favorite stablemates, and it has some of the same problems that a few G3 and G4 stablemates have. This is the only Arabian I have from the series and it's only because I liked the decorator color. It's another unicorn blind bag. The proportion of the legs and hooves and the style of the manes and tails are just not to my taste at this period, for the most part.
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"Arabian Mare" - steel gray, bay, fleabitten gray, alabaster, blue roan, dapple gray, semi-leopard appaloosa, and bay pinto
It is no secret the G1s are my favorite generation, and the ones I have the most of. I talk more about why I like them all [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. This girl is a wonderful little sculpt. I don't know if she was meant to look like she's a bit testy and might bite you, but she has always looked like that to me. The steel gray, blue roan, and semi-leopard are from JCPenny special run sets, the fleabitten gray is from a Hidalgo gift set, the dapple gray is from a Saddle Club gift set from when I was a child, the bay pinto is a mare and foal gift set, and the alabaster was one of my first stablemates ever (well, this one is a replacement for the original). My mom worked as a tour guide where she traveled with groups of people in a bus to a specific destination, telling them about the area along the way. The destination was often the Biltmore House, a large privately owned mansion in the area that is now a historic site (but still privately owned). I went with her on many of these trips because we didn't have anywhere else for me to be, and on one such trip I got two stablemates from the Biltmore House gift shop--this girl and a stallion to with her. Fond memories!
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"Arabian Stallion" - steel gray, gray, alabaster, chestnut, "roan", another chestnut, and rose gray
The stallion that goes with the mare above. An elegant and lovely sculpt. The steel gray is the one I got along with the alabaster mare, and this is still my original. The "roan" is the worst representation of roaning I have ever seen with those big white dots, but he's from a JC Penny special run set, as is the gray. The two chestnuts and the alabaster are regular runs and gift sets, and the rose gray (which for some reason is not on Identify Your Breyer that I could find) came in a CD-Rom gift set. The game it came with was a very low budget horse activity thing--the model itself was the highlight.
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Beautiful collection again!!!!