Special Effects: Breyer Fun Day Models

From 2005-2010, Breyer issued a special release Classic-scale model in conjunction with retailers hosting “Fun Day” events. Two models were released in 2007 and 2008, and one each in 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010, for a total of eight releases. I’ve never owned an Elsinore or a Mandrake, but I have had the other six in my collection at one time or another. Only two have remained on my shelf after various efforts over the years to prune my collection down to a manageable level.

 

[It's not there yet. It will probably never be there. I can't stop buying stuff.]

 

 

I purchased #703105 Tristan from a seller on MH$P in September 2011. He’s my favorite of all the Shire A releases. He doesn’t get to show much because he really can’t compete against Traditional chonky things (or even the G1 Draft), but he has hit the table a couple times here and there when a show has a Classics-only division. His show name is Son of Meliodas.

#703107 Marigold was one of the 2007 releases on the new Morgan Mare mold, which was released that year. I got her for only $10 during room sales at BreyerFest 2013. She also doesn’t show much, for the same reasons as Tristan, but when she does, her show name is Calendula.

 

I do still have Mandrake and Elsinore on my wish list, so they might join the herd someday. I find it interesting that the two I kept and the two still on my wish list are warm-colored models, while the ones I've sold have all been black or gray. That tracks; a friend pointed out several years ago, after observing my show table, that the color distribution of my collection leans heavily toward warm-toned models.

On a Regular Basis: 1992 Traditional Models

As I mentioned back in my November post about my Morgans, 1992 was one of my favorite years for regular run models. I’ve talked about a few of my 1992 models already, so they’ll only get a brief mention here, but today I thought I’d cover the rest of the Traditionals, and next month I’ll do the Classics.

I wasn’t keeping detailed records of my collection back then - I didn’t even know what a spreadsheet was (gasp!) - so I don’t know the exact dates or methods by which I acquired the vast majority of these models. All but one were definitely acquired prior to September 1992, when I photographed my collection for the first time. In absence of a timeline, I’ll go in numerical order by their issue number.

 

 

This is #854 Memphis Storm, the 1992 Commemorative Edition of 7500 pieces. 

You could also call him, “Why Mel Initially Fell in Love With Shiny Things, Exhibit A.”

I have in my records that he’s #5143/7500, but I’ll be damned if I can find where that’s written on him. I thought perhaps his belly, but I can’t see it. I wonder if the ink has faded over the years?

The Midnight Sun mold has fallen out of favor over the years due to its “big lick” stance, which has historically been trained into the horses using a painful, abusive, horrible practice called soring. I won’t go into it here; it’s awful. Many collectors have gotten rid of their Midnight Sun molds for that reason. The few I have are from my childhood collection, and I can’t bring myself to part with them yet.

 

 

This is #855 Chaparral, the 1992 Limited Edition, and he has the honor of being the first Fighting Stallion in my collection. I was in love with the mold as soon as I saw #709 (the black leopard appy guy) in the 1990 catalog. Breyer produced a TON of regular run Fighting Stallions in the 90s and early 2000s (and a few Special Runs as well), so he was not by himself for long.

 

 

#858 Vermont Morgan got his turn in the spotlight in my November On a Regular Basis post, so you can go check out his deets there.

 

 

This model, #859 Family Appaloosa Stallion, was produced from 1992-1994. He initially belonged to my sister, who collected for a couple years in the early 90s. She gave me all her models when we reached adulthood, which was awesome of her.

 

 

Ever want to know if a Breyer has started to yellow? Bring it over to my house and we’ll stand it next to this gal, #860 Family Appaloosa Mare, who is so white she’s almost blue. If I’m ever questioning if something of mine is yellowed, out it comes and out she comes, and I stand them next to each other, and it’s immediately clear.

Like the stallion above, she was also produced from 1992-1994. She gets to go to all-collectibility shows when there’s a division for 90s RR models. Her show name is Proof Positive.

 

 

This model, #861 Family Appaloosa Foal, also produced from 1992-1994, is the only one for whom I know the details of his acquisition. After realizing upon my re-emergence into the hobby in 2010 that I had only 2/3 of the family, I started low-key looking for him. It didn’t take me long. A seller posted one for sale on MH$P in April 2011, and the family became complete.

 

 

Oh look, a Sham!

This is #863 Rana, who I think was supposed to be a blue taffy, maybe? That’s the only color interpretation that remotely makes sense, but even that’s a stretch. I’ve seen it called a lot of things; my official description for it is Weird. He’s still one of my faves, though, and one of my first handful of Shams. He was a regular run from 1992-1993.

 

 

I’ve always loved the cheeky little Running Foal. This is #865 Bluegrass Foal, a regular run from 1992-1994. His color was described as blue roan, and that’s mostly true, I suppose, though he’s lacking the characteristic dark head that most roans have.

 

 

#867 Tesoro got his few minutes of fame back in February’s On a Regular Basis post when I talked about my El Pastors. You can revisit his details there.

 

 

I loved this guy, #868 Highland Clydesdale, as soon as I saw his picture in the catalog. He’s still my favorite Clydesdale Stallion in my collection - yes, even above the shiny bay thing from 2002. 

I was looking him over the other day when I went to take his photo, and he could be the poster child for, “When he was NIB, the side you could see looks great, but the box side is atrocious.” He has so many boogers in his molding, it’s insane. It’s like they gobbed a bunch of plastic and hairballs on him and then painted over it all. Poor guy.

Next month I’ll go over my 1992 Classics!

Do That Conga: Stone ISH, Part 5

We’re up to the last ISH body style - Long Mane Short Tail - and while I only have one, and he's amazing, the story is a little embarrassing.

 

 

In March 2023, a seller posted this ISH for sale on the Peter Stone Sales Page Facebook group. The only accompanying info was that he was a test painted by Tom Bainbridge. I have been a fan of everything Tom Bainbridge since the late 90s, and the price was too good to pass up, so I bought it. The seller didn’t know anything about the model; he’d purchased it in a lot from California with a dozen other Stones. The model wasn’t in Stone’s website archives, nor was it on Stone Horse Reference. It was also confusingly signed “Custom Painted” on its belly, so I wasn’t sure if it was a factory horse or one that Tom might have done himself in his own studio. It looked OF to me, but I didn’t want to assume and show him in the wrong division.

 

I have a couple friends who are friends with Tom, and they suggested I message him to see if he had any memory of the model or at least if he could tell if it was OF or not. I wasn’t optimistic that I’d get a response - after all, I was just some rando sending him a PM on Facebook Messenger - let alone that he’d remember what the model was, out of the hundreds (thousands?) he’s painted over the years, let alone that he’d remember one from 20 years ago, since the model was signed 2003.

Well, Tom being the outstanding, kind human that he is, he did answer - and he did remember the horse. He said he’s 100% certain he painted it at the factory and that it’s OF, and said he “always thought he was quite striking.” Tom was almost positive the model was to be auctioned at Anti-NAN 2003. I reached out to a few people to see if I could find records of the auction items that year, but no dice. I’m perfectly happy to take Tom at his word; his reputation in the hobby is impeccable.

The embarrassing part is that as someone who has admired Tom’s work for almost thirty years and has had a Tom custom or test piece on my grail list forever, I was pretty much fangirling the entire conversation, and then messaged my friends that OH MY GOD TOM BAINBRIDGE TALKED TO ME.

Not one of my most dignified moments, for sure.
 

I’ve plunked the mystery ISH on the table a time or two; his show name is Tommaso.

Stone hasn’t used the LMST body style all that often, so the only one on my wish list is Make My Lapis, a blue pinto. As far as Tom Bainbridge ISHs, I’d love to give OOAKs Firestarter or Absinthe a forever home someday, but I doubt I'll ever find them.

That’s it for the ISHs … now to decide what conga I want to do next!