An Cool Auction Find

A few years ago, Marilou Mol and Linda Shawhan teamed up together to sell Reta Muellemann's  collection after she had passed away. They are two well known ladies who are trustworthy and describe the auction pieces and any flaws they might have very well.

While I'm not sure they are actually doing this as a business together, they now are selling models from other collections and have become an excellent resource if you are looking to buy a well presented and curated model horse. (Or a few more. Ahem!!)

Twice a week they post assortments of models that they are selling for other people. One auction ends Thursday nights, the other ends Sunday nights. I look at both auctions every week, and have bid on several pieces, especially for the Thursday auctions. 

Last week, this Schleich Falabella pony popped up.

I wasn't particularly interested in it, but it had two auction buddies that I very much was.

Talk about doing a double take when that photo popped up!

They looked like the Hartland Mustang that had been shrunk down into Tiny Mite size.

I already have a sample of every Hartland Tiny Mite mold in my collection

and so I knew these were copies, not Hartlands. (Which is how they were advertised, too. As copies.)

Still, for only $5 for the trio, I placed a bid and won.

I find copies intriguing and have others that I have snagged while out thrifting.

Like this Durham Metal Hagen Renaker Morgan Stallion copy that is a pencil sharpener.

It's actually quite lovely and I keep it on my office desk and use it whenever a pencil is dull.

This knock off Hartland pair will go on the shelf with my Hartland Tiny Mites. Despite being copies, they are a bit of hobby history and are a fun addition to my collection.

Collections within My Collection: Woodgrains

One of my earliest Breyers was a woodgrain and a gift from my dad.

I'd just gotten braces and Dad, knowing that my mouth was hurting and that I didn't feel well, surprised me when he got home from work that afternoon, handing me this Running Foal and suggesting I name him "Needles" after the famous racehorse and because dentists use needles. 

(Sometimes I think the term "dad joke" was coined because of my father. One of his jokes is still being perpetuated in our family and resides with the grands' generation now.)

 I last pulled all my woodies out five years ago. I knew I had accumulated quite a few, but when they are scattered throughout a collection that is housed in four rooms of the house, it's easy to lose track of what you have.

 

These were all my Breyers at the time plus a 1997 Equilocity Breakfast Stone Drafter.

Opinion of the Jolly Cholly varies as to whether he is a woodgrain or just a brown model, but there are hobby references that state that he was listed as a woodgrain when advertised by Breyer when he was first produced. Personally, I've always considered him a woodgrain piece.

I'd inadvertently left out my other Stone woodgrain, the Ideal Stock Horse, that was produced 1999-2000. Isn't that mold beautiful in that colorway and gloss?

And more recently, Breyer released Woodstock and her Stablemate counterpart, Mini Woodstock, in 2022 as part of the Vintage Club. 

Hartland also produced what they called "woodcuts" in the early days of its company. 

 Walnut woodcut TWH, Mustang, and Three Gaiter Saddlebred.

 Cherry woodcut TWH and mustangs. (I think this is my favorite woodcut color.)

Ebony woodcut TWH, Mustang, and rare Thoroughbred Mare and Foal. The ebony woodcut Mare and Foal are very hard to find and highly collectible. (These two are from Leslie's carpet herd. She gave me her models in the 1980s.)

Trust Liz to find things out of the ordinary.

A Red Mill Arabian "Abu" is now in my woodgrain collection.

He was a gift from her at a Happy Trails show. I'd heard of Red Mill, but never seen one in-hand prior to that. Thanks, Liz!

The group shot could stand some updating, but with the exception of the Woodstocks and the Stone Ideal Stock Horse, they all are here.

I don't actively seek for woodgrains anymore, but I would love to find a woodgrain Stretch Morgan. I have hopes of finding one some day.

But in the meantime, I have plenty of woodies to enjoy!

Make that 109

I found the missing Eire and Rosemary!

And a, "What on earth is that?" box. Navigator?? Who is that?

I could tell from the box that it was a 2023 BreyerFest Stablemate but I had no idea what I'd find inside.

Navigator is lovely.

I had to go back through my blog to figure out how this piece landed in my collection. 

He is back in his box again and all those other boxed Stablemates are now neatly stacked in the curio cabinet. The rest of the Stablemates are still scattered across the table in my office.

Eire and Rosemary were already tallied in yesterday's count of 108 Stablemates; adding in Navigator brings my collection count to 109.

But there are some more "Tiny" pieces that I have not included in the count.

My Hartland Tinymites. I have 8 of those but I don't consider those Stablemates. 
 

The Tinymites are about a decade older than the Stablemates - I got mine around 1968.

They are a smaller scale than the Stablemates.

Plus, if I were to include them, then I'd really need to include the Hagen Renaker minis in the count.

They came before both the Tinymites and Stablemates, and as most collectors know, the original Stablemates were Hagen Renaker mini molds.

So, for now, the three are all considered separate collections within the collection. (Although now I am wondering just how many Hagen Renaker mini horses and ponies I have...)

More BreyerFest Limited Editions are being announced this week. Stay 'tooned!

My Brother, Beau N' Arrow, and the Give Away!

Second Post of the Day

I have not yet mentioned the fires that California has been experiencing. My absolute deepest fear is fire, and I cannot imagine what the people in that area of the state are enduring. I am aware that several of you regular blog readers live in the area. My prayers for your safety have been with you. 

Remember my post about my supportive kids? Well, then there's my brother, Steve.

Yup. That's my brother! He has been teasing me about my horse collection since I first began collecting as a little girl.

Steve winning at Bank last Thanksgiving. (He's still giving me a hard time about that.)

But honestly, his offer to help was serious - he just has an irrepressible sense of humor. (I responded tongue in cheek that he could come over and pick up the doggy poo in my back yard.)

One of the best examples of his sense of humor was actually caught on film during our 2022 Dirty Santa exchange. 

It's hilarious in and of itself, but when you consider that James had died just three days before this was filmed, and Lisa is laughing that hard, well this sister's heart is grateful for her brother's quirky sense of humor.

In Breyer news, yesterday Breyer announced another Limited Edition for this year's Breyerfest.

This is Beau N' Arrow. (I love that name!) He is a portrait model and will be available to all ticket holders.

Beau N' Arrow is on Karen Gerhardt's Cleveland Bay mold. I don't collect that mold, but I do have Oliver, the 2019 BreyerFest Celebration model. There is a heftiness about this model that, for some reason, I enjoy.

A shelf-eater, I use him to model many of the XLT haversacks I make. (Including one in today's earlier post.)

The January Give Away is underway! 

And here are more of the pictures of the Hartland ebony woodcut TWH that I said I'd share. Although he looks it, he is not glossy, but his finish is still lovely. (Some of them dull with time or get a milky appearance.)

I bought this piece forgetting I already had it. (Not the first time that has happened! Hah!) 

This piece has its original felt pads - they are in excellent shape especially considering how old they are

Remember, comment on any blog post starting with both of today's and through Sunday, January 19, at 11:59 PM Eastern. 

Getting Some Normalcy Back & the January Give Away

First Post of the Day

Life is getting back to normal around here. Slowly, but it is. Craig is still under concussion protocols (and will be for some time) but he is back in his office and has more energy.

I'm still very tired but I am up, 

baking (Yum! Pumpkin bread!),

and cooking again. (Chili. It was very cold outside and sounded good to both of us.) We share the cooking duties so when I felt like getting back in the kitchen, I knew I was better.

I also got busy cleaning up Craig's clothes and our towels after his fall. While he could do that himself, it can be a bit unnerving to clean up your own blood. And there was so much of it.

The nurse at the hospital advised us to use peroxide and NOT wash anything until we had. 

That was good advice.

One hat, two gloves,

a jacket, a shirt, and four towels later, I was able to throw everything in the washer and have it come out stain free.

Although I still am tired, I felt able to get back into the sewing room and finish the men's trade shirt I'd been working on before I came down with Covid.

I can't look at a block print with elephants or camels but think of my experience last October at The Feast of the Hunters' Moon and the man with a license to ride camels!

I also started and finished a quick custom order for haversacks.

This is an XLT in Cave Horses, one of my all-time favorite fabrics.

A Hamilton-sized Traditional in Onaqui Mountain Horses.

This customer is just getting back into the hobby and will be attending her first live show this spring, so I have more to make for her. She wanted to see how these two sizes fit her models so she could figure out how many of each size was needed.

A second post is coming later today, so stay 'tooned!

And in the meantime, comment to enter for the January Give Away!

A beautiful ebony woodcut Hartland Tennessee Walker. This is a really nice piece, but it's a duplicate in my collection. More pics to come.

I bought the Horse Foal Surprise set because I wanted the Cassidy that was inside.

This is the foal that comes with the set. I did not open it and slid it back into its "barn" after checking to see who was inside.

The usual rules apply: Comment on any blog posted starting with this one through Sunday, January 19 at 11:59 Eastern time. Please include your name or initials with your comment for identification when I spin to win.

Good luck!

Sales Post: 1992 JCP SR Stevens/Hartland Thoroughbred

FOR SALE: 1992 JCP Special Run Stevens/Hartland Thoroughbred. $25

#227 in sandy bay.

Has some small rubs and black marks.

Please see pictures as I've tried to zero in on the flaws.

Hard to find piece and I am the original and only owner of it.

If interested, email me at horsiemama8@gmail.com.