On a Regular Basis: Salinero

I’m not sure if I’ve said this yet, but the head on a model is often the deciding factor on whether I like it or not. Head shape, facial expression, eyes, and markings matter a lot for me. I can like an extreme pinto or loud appaloosa model if it has a solid dark head (cough cough, Decimus). I can dislike a solid-bodied horse if it has a large bald face or other giant white face marking, even if it’s a sculpt I generally love. Fandango on the Moody Andalusian Stallion comes to mind for that one - great sculpt, great color, but the face marking totally puts me off him. If a mold’s head and face are good enough - the Victrix/Veronka resin for me, for example - I can like it any way it comes.

Salinero, sculpted by Brigitte Eberl, has a great head and face. I love his Roman nose and kind eyes. I fell in love with him as soon as he was released.

I have seven total on the mold, and four have already been featured in the blog - Riesling in December’s Show Stoppers post, Prague in my December Bonus post, and Salvino and El Capitan in January’s Special Effects posts, which covered event models. The other three are regular runs, so they’re on deck for today.

 

 

#704 Keltec Salinero was a regular run from 2007 to 2009 and the first release on the mold. He was sculpted and named after the real Keltec Salinero, a Hanoverian stallion who won two individual golds, a team silver, and a team bronze at various Olympics from 2004 - 2012 with rider Anky van Grunsven. Despite my instant love for the mold, I didn’t add a Keltec Salinero to my collection until April 2019, when another PA collector had a massive liquidation sale. My friend Beth E helped me snag him. I have not shown him.

 

 

#1802 Verdades, a regular run from 2018 to 2020, was a portrait the real horse of the same name, a Dutch Warmblood who won bronze at the 2016 Olympics with rider Laura Graves in addition to medals at various World Championships, World Cup Finals, and Pan American Games. He sadly passed away at age 23 right before Christmas last year.

I hand-picked my Verdades in the Breyer store at BreyerFest 2019. He’s only been entered in photo shows so far. His show name is Adverse, which is an anagram of his name (minus one d).

 

 

#1411 Cloud Nine was a regular run during the second half of 2010 only. He was from the Collector’s Choice series, in which Breyer chose mold and color combinations based on suggestions submitted through their website. I bought my Cloud Nine from Heather B in May 2021. Like many models produced in the early 2010s, which were produced from a plastic mix that contained too much regrind, he’s gone quite yellow over the years. Before he yellowed too badly, I showed him under the name MVP.

Since I love Salinero so much, there are a bunch on my wish list. Easiest to obtain will be 2012-2013 regular run Mistral Hojris and a glossy Verdades from the 2019 Customer Appreciation Event sale. Someday I’ll probably fork over big bucks for the star dapple gray Elegance Dressage set. Unobtainiums include the glossy 2007 BreyerFest Live Show Prize Keltec Salinero and the 2007 BreyerFest raffle model Tacoma.