A Pearly Mix Foal

Earlier this fall, Barn Buddy Kelsey texted me a photo of a Breyer Clydesdale Foal. She  had spotted it at a flea market and, knowing my love of vintage molds, asked if I wanted it.

It had a pearly look to it so I told Kelsey that I did.

In-hand, I could tell that it was an odd piece and I began to think that it was most likely not a pearly, but instead was a partial pearly. (A regrind of pearly and regular plastic.)

There is definitely a pearly glow in her body and neck.

As I researched pearliness in Breyer models, I came across this photo.

Photo retrieved from Google Images and taken by Andrea Gurdon. 

I followed the link to the photo and it turns out that Andrea has a Clydesdale Foal just like mine. And, like me, she had come to the same conclusion - it was the product of a regrind of regular and pearly plastic. (Read her blog post here.)

I've made a note on this little girl's tag of what she is and she's on the shelf with her sisters. (Another one of them is a pearly, too.) 

I sure am grateful that Kelsey has such sharp eyes and was willing to snag this piece for me!

What a Pearl!

I am not a betting girl. I've only played the lottery once, and that was because my father bought me a ticket as a gift. (I won $5! Thanks, Dad! ) But, I do take chances on model horses once in a while. 

Like the chance I took on my new PEARLY Clydesdale Foal!

Pearlies are difficult to photograph, but you can see the pearly sheen in the photo above if you look just to the right of her eye at her cheek, throat latch, and upper neck.

This photo captures the glow that pearlies have. 

I found her when I was looking at some model horse sales sites and came across a seller who had a lot of vintage Breyers. I already had every one of them and was about to scroll on but she caught my eye and I stopped to take a closer look.

The seller had a photo of her USA stamp, so I knew she was the right era for pearlies. And the price was low - Chestnut Clydesdale Foals were in production for years and thus are cheap and easy to find. I decided to take a chance on her.

I already had a pearly Clydesdale Foal to compare her to once she arrived. It's the one on the right in this photo and on the left is my original piece bought in the 1970s. 

Still can't see the pearliness? Look at the back and over the hips of the foal on the right. See how there is a glow from within? That's the pearly plastic effect on the paint job. (Sorry for the photo quality; it's an old photo.)

She's had some wear but that's not surprising for a model from the 1970s. I'm delighted to have found her and pleased to add her to my collection.

Tomorrow I will show you some more pearlies that I have, all of whom, like this piece, are ones that I took a chance on. I've had some really good luck - too bad my Dad's not around to buy me more lottery tickets, right?? Haha!