A Hagen Renaker Slip Tile & the Belgians

The Hagen Renaker Collector Club 2021 Annual arrived yesterday!

And tucked inside with it were goodies from Kristina.

This sticker was one of them, and I smiled to see the Disney Samson included on it.

Even more exciting was this slip test tile. 

Dated December 8, 1997, it was for the mini Belgian.

The backside of the slip tile. (The double sided tape is on the outside of the package and was used to hold the tile in its foam packaging.)

I have two of the Belgians that this slip tile was a test for.

Hagen Renaker produced it from 1999 - 2001.

The tile does not say that it is a paint test tile; it is a slip test tile. Slip is the liquid clay they pour into the molds to make the figurines.

Checking the bottom of the hooves will give you a glimpse of the slip that was used.  

A darker slip was used for the Belgian on the left and that influences his eventual color - he is darker than the one on the right. (It's also interesting to notice the different placement of the vent holes on their bellies.)

Variations are fun - look at how the mane decorations are a little bit different from each other.

The lighter Belgian has beautiful shading in his mane.

I'm not sure what that is peeking out from under the label on the darker Belgian. 

I pulled a little out from underneath and it a a very light film. (I did not want to take the label off the check - experience has shown me that once those tiny labels are removed, they tend to not stick well when reapplied.)

Thanks, Kristina, for the slip tile - it is a unique addition to my collection and it prompted a fun examination of my Belgians.

New to Windsong: Blackhome Grandeur Lyn

 Once in a while I check Facebook Marketplace - I'm a little leery of meeting a stranger and exchanging money for a model, so it's not a way I like to buy. But when this big boy popped up in my feed, I made an exception.

Blackhome Grandeur Lyn (I want to add another "n" to that name!) was made 2003 - 2004 on the vintage Belgian mold and the seller was right here in West Lafayette.

We talked a bit about the models she had for sale which gave me time to check her profile out on Facebook. She wasn't on any hobby sites, but she was on a lot of horse sites and seemed legitimate. I made an offer and arranged to meet her in a busy public park just a few miles from my home.

We made the exchange and home with me he came. 

He's been standing on my "where am I going to put these?" shelf ever since. As soon as I get started cleaning and rearranging the drafters in my collection, he will be displayed with the rest of my Belgians.

Just for fun, I did a little research on the real Blackhome Grandeur Lyn(n). With a name like that, I knew it had to be a portrait model, even though I do not remember hearing much about him at the time.

Here he is in the Breyer 2003 catalog.

I did find a pedigree chart on allbreedpedigree.com, but that was it - the rest of the links were the Breyer models of the horse.

I'm making progress on cleaning and reorganizing the collection, but I don't think I will get to the drafters today. My first goal is to get all the longer models (Huckleberry Bey, Dundee, American Saddlebred, etc.) into the library  my sewing room  the second model horse room and settled safely on the shelves in there.

It is a very long process, but it's coming along and I am already pleased with the results.

More Shopping

I've done some more shopping and am happy to add to my collection a piece done on the vintage Belgian mold and another early Stone model.

I purchased Toby - Vaulting Horse, produced in 1997, and with 3900/5000 written on his belly. I am going to keep him in his box for now.

Then I added this very early Stone Morgan, FTR Golden Victory. He was made in 1998 as a Stone Country Horse Fair special run. Only 325 were made. He is my tenth Stone and came in his original box complete with the special run flyer and an early Stone catalogue.

Despite being home bound by the pandemic, I have been able to acquire some nice new models since March when everything closed down. Still, I am looking forward to being able to go out and shop in person. Hopefully, that will be soon.

Red Roan Belgian

(The last of the Four Pillars and a Pair of Wings will be posted tomorrow.)

While the Belgian is not my favorite mold, it is a vintage mold, and when it's painted in the old red roan colorway...  Well, look who just arrived!

 He was a 1984 Special Run for Horses International and only 600 were made. Thirty five years later, he's tough to find for sale.

 Red roan is one of my favorite vintage colors and he looks great in it!

Thanks, Julie, for selling him to me!

Dapple Grey Shrinkies

I have been aware for some time now that, at least in my collection, some of the dapple grey models shrink more than their counterparts do. (Shrinking is called "vinegar syndrome; go to this excellent article in Kirsten Wellman's blog for more information.)

Since that article was written in 2013, we have learned more about shrinkies and more have been found in people's collections, including mine.

I took some photos of some of my dapple grey shrinkies so that you can see them in comparison to their non-shrinky counterparts.

 The Sears Holiday Catalog 1987 Special Run Graceful Mare and Foal set is very common.

And the American Saddlebred, produced 1987 - 1988 is notorious for shrinking.

The 1987 Black Horse Ranch Special Run (second from left) has a reputation for shrinking but so far, so good. But there is one that is shrinking - look at the blue roan on the far right. He is from 1990.

Notice how all those models share the same year of production as well as the same coloring? I find that really interesting and would like to do more research on dapple grey models produced at the same time and see if they have vinegar syndrome, too. (The paint colorway may have absolutely nothing to do with the tendency to shrink. Still, I find it interesting!)

This shrinking Belgian is a special run from the 1979 Model Congress. Others from the same run were sold through mail order companies, with leftovers being released in 1984. This is a little early for the shrinky period, but then, shrinkies can be found all the way back to Breyer's earliest pieces.

 I love Breyer's Running Mare - such a sweet little mare, and this color is especially pretty on her.

You can see that she is beginning to distort as the plastic changes. So far, she is not oozing. (Something that often happens with shrinkies.)

 Her foal is becoming distorted, too, and I had difficulty getting him to stand as a result.

 I finally just laid him down for his off side photo. His soft grey coloring is beautiful, albeit a little yellowed.

This shrinky has really yellowed! (Yellowing can happen to all models, not just shrinkies.) I should put him in a sunny window for a while.

No distortion shows yet which I'm glad for as the Five Gaiter is one of my top three favorite vintage molds.

As far as I can tell, this boy has not begun shrinking, despite being one of the Black Horse special runs, many of whom have had heavy shrinking.

I hope he will beat the odds, but I think that they are stacked against him so I keep an eye on him.

This is the 1979 Congress special run. He's clearly shrinking, but I don't see any distortions or leaning yet.

While I do collect vintage molds, the Belgian is not a favorite - that too short off front leg has always bothered me.

Such variations in the dapple grey coloring! And all lovely in their own way.

Tomorrow I will feature another shrinky, one from Breyer's earliest years.  He's so bad he gets a blog post of his own!