Sentimental Journey: #709 Fighting Stallion

In my December Sentimental Journey post, I mentioned my amazement upon getting the 1990 box catalog and realizing how many models Breyer made. I didn’t know what a spreadsheet was back then, but you better believe I grabbed a notebook and started making my first ever wish list.

The horse in today’s post was at the top of the list. Yes, even above the Shams.

 

 

I fell in love with the #709 Fighting Stallion as soon as I saw him. [Catalog photo courtesy of Identify Your Breyer.] They made a model that was spicy? Hell yeah, sign me up! Unfortunately, 1990 was the last year of his production, and the internet wasn’t a thing yet, and neither my parents nor I knew where I could get one.

 

It would be more than 20 years before I had one on my shelves.

When I restarted collecting in 2010, I visited Model Horse Sales Pages almost every day. I’m sure there were a few #709 Fighting Stallions posted here and there, but I didn’t spring for one for awhile. The entire production run of #709 occurred during the bad plastic years, and many were severely yellowed and/or shrinking and/or oozing. I didn’t want just any #709 - I wanted a really, really nice one. I'd already waited a long time; I could wait awhile longer for the right one.

 

 

Then this guy was posted in February 2012 and I didn’t hesitate. He was the nicest one I'd seen since I started actively hunting for one.

I will admit, I was a little afraid to pull him down for photos a couple weekends ago. Bad plastic models are fine until one day they’re not; the Little Bits QHS and black JCP CAF that have been occupying my freezer for the past six months are evidence of that. I gave Mr. #709 a thorough once-over before bringing him downstairs for his photo shoot.

 

He’s awesome. Nice and white, and he’s still just as tall as my 60s glossy gray appaloosa (who will be featured in this series next month).

Worth the wait for sure. 

Fantastic Finds: Thrift Store Love Classics

I mentioned in my last blog post that a potential liberation was in the works. It didn’t turn out to be quite what we thought, but it was a liberation nonetheless, so I’m shuffling the order of my posts around so Fantastic Finds is up first this month.

 

 

The liberation started on Sunday afternoon when Heather B sent me this picture from a random thrift store group. Someone was asking about the set of cat dishware. Heather said, “Peek the ponies below! That’s a CMM!”

The Jet Run on the right was obvious, but I found it absolutely hilarious that she could recognize the Classic Mustang Mare in the bottom center from only 1/8 of its shadowed rear end. We were both convinced it was the JCP bay.

The store was closer to me than Heather, but closed on Sunday, so I made plans to head down Monday after work. I spent a goodly amount of time walking through the store, looking for the cat dishware or any horse-shaped object, but saw absolutely nothing. I thought maybe I was at the wrong store, since they have multiple locations. After one more careful pass, I finally spotted the cats, but the horses were definitely not on the shelves. I thought I was too late.

 

 

Cue the “jumbled models in a box on the floor” scene.

There were nine in total - the CMM, a Classic QH Family, a Nursing Mare & Foal, a charcoal FAF, a black appy Scratching Foal, and the Jet Run. 

 

The Sears CMM was pretty rubbed up and clearly wasn't the JCP bay that had prompted the liberation in the first place, but between her cheap price tag and Heather’s “No Love left behind” mentality, I bought her. I'll get her to Heather in early October when I see her at the GPMHS show - and she better not get any funny ideas about trying to pay me, after all the models she's given to me for free over the years!

 

Almost all the rest of the models had custom green felt pads stuck to the bottom of their feet, and the trads had clear nail polish on their hooves. I left the Nursing Mare & Foal, Jet Run, FAF, and Scratching Foal for someone else to find.

 

This set - #3045 Quarter Horse Family, a regular run from 1974-1993 - came home with me. Twenty years of production leaves lots of room for fun variations, as you'll see with the Mare.

The Mare is the reason for the purchase - she has black paint all the way up onto her belly. I included the pic I snapped of her at the thrift store because my dining room lighting kinda blunted the effect. She's awesome. And by now, yinz are familiar with my rules about sets - once I decided I wanted the Mare, I couldn’t leave the Stallion and Foal behind, despite their unfortunate nail-polish-remover socks.

I’m probably gonna show the Mare in October for funsies, provided I can find a way to remove the felt pads. [Taking suggestions if readers know any; if not, I'll turn to one of the model groups on Facebook.] Her show name will be La Brea.

New Additions: August 2026

I’ve added nine models to the collection since returning home from BreyerFest. One is paid for, but I won’t have him in-hand til early October, so he’ll be featured there. Here are the other eight.

 

 

Bloody hell I love this thing.

It finally happened - Breyer did a web special on Sham. This is #B-CS-10630 Belize from the Exotic Destinations series, released at the end of July. There were 600 made. He was designed to represent the amazing teal tropical waters off the coast of Belize. Now I want to book a trip there!

As soon as he was announced, my phone started blowing up with texts and Facebook tags and Messenger messages. I only have one Collector Club account this year and figured my chances of getting drawn were pretty nil, after the BreyerFest I had. Luckily, I had ten wonderful friends - Beth, Heather M, Heather B, Chesna, Sue, Jennifer, Stacey, Cory, Lizzie, and Nina - who weren’t interested in him and entered on my behalf. As predicted, I did not get drawn, but four of my friends did. I purchased one, hooked up my friend Beethoven (who also didn’t get drawn) with one of the others, and reluctantly convinced myself I didn't need multiples and gave my blessing for the other two friends to pass theirs along to other interested buyers. I don't think they would have had difficult getting theirs sold. This guy went over SUPER well with the hobby, and no wonder. He is so freaking cool.

In case I haven’t mentioned it here before, I HATE that pearly shit they put on many models. HATE. But as usual, Sham is the exception to every rule I’ve ever had about collecting, and I love the look on him. Overall, his design was a really neat concept that was well-executed, and I’m so thankful for all the friends who made sure this Sham nerd got one.

My Sham conga is still missing a Niagara, but I can be patient for the right one at the right price.

 

 

#AR18067 Boaz, Stone’s 18th release in the Artisan Hall series in 2004, painted by outstanding hobby talent Caroline Boydston, is (and has always been) my favorite Stone release of all time. He was made in FCM and non-FCM versions, and both came in glossy and matte. Since he’s my favorite, I have a longstanding quest of someday owning one of each version. I got a glossy FCM Boaz in late 2023, added the glossy non-FCM Boaz just a few weeks ago at BreyerFest, and then snatched this matte non-FCM guy up shortly after he was listed for sale in a Facebook group in early August. That just leaves me with a matte FCM to find.

*****

The rest of this month’s models were acquired on a hobby day with my friend Heather B. Returning home from BreyerFest and resuming real-life activities always kinda sucks, so to alleviate those feelings, Heather and I planned a day trip on August 8 to go antiquing and to visit a large Breyer retailer (Sir Troy’s) in Ohio.

We started by trying to visit a smaller antique shop and Breyer dealer that was supposed to be open from 10-4, but they were definitely closed when we arrived at 10:15. Heather messaged them on Facebook; they replied a few hours later that they were closed for the week for vacation. A sign on the door or a post on their Facebook would have been nice, but oh well.

Our second stop was a much larger antique mall. I’m used to seeing Breyers there, but the dealers either know what they have and priced accordingly, or the dealers have no idea what they have and prices are through the stratosphere because, “They were made by Old Man Breyer, and he died.” I typically walk out empty-handed.

 

 

This trip, I found a G1 chestnut #5026 Thoroughbred Mare, produced from 1975-1987. She needs a touch-up for a pinpoint rub on her left shoulder but is otherwise in fantastic condition. I can’t wait to show her.

 

 

As we were poking around in the case with the G1 TBM to see what else we could find, this dude, #1766 NHRA 50th Anniversary Model, produced in 2016 only, was all by himself at the bottom. Hollywood Dun It isn’t a mold I collect, but his shading was nice and he was priced at only $10. A quick check of sold listings on eBay revealed he’s been selling for $35-60, so he was definitely coming home with me.

Our third stop of the day was at Sir Troy’s Toy Kingdom in Canton. I’ve been to the Medina location, but this one was even bigger and had a really nice selection of both new and older RRs. I was after a few of the new Stablemates Singles, but unfortunately they only had one of the ones I was looking for. I still found a few things to buy.

 

 

The Stablemates Single they had was this blue roan Quarter Horse, #B-SM-10592. I like this mold (me? Like a stock horse? Nah!) and I love roans in general, so I was happy they had her.

 

 

I did a fair amount of bag-groping for these two, both from the #B-SM-10075 Exquisite Equines blind bag series. I conga the G2 ASB and like Fireheart in miniature better than large, so I sat on the floor and crinkled the bags until I found what I was looking for.

 

 

The G2 Running TB has always been one of my favorite Stablemate molds, so I was thrilled when they released a Classic-scale version by the same sculptor, with slight differences in the mane and tail. This release is #959 Buckskin Blanket Appaloosa and was on the clearance rack at Sir Troy’s. She is a modern chalky, which I didn’t notice til I got home - she has the telltale white edging around the masking where her blanket pattern is. She didn’t stand out from the other half-dozen at Sir Troy’s, so I wonder if they’re all modern chalkies?

I may have to add one more acquisition with my Wednesday post. A potential liberation is afoot, but I won’t have confirmation until after this post goes up on Monday. Stay tuned!