A Hint from Breyer

Despite having released Julius, the first offering from the 2021 Vintage Club, Breyer still has not shown us any photos of the other three offerings.

I am starting to think that that may mean they are planning on some really special models. 

Last year the fourth offering was the In Between Mare, a mold so rare that she is selling on the secondary market for large amounts of money.

Dare I hope for a presentation model? Or one in the old vintage clamshell boxes like these that Liz Cory owns and brought to the Happy Trails show at my home?

Breyer has dropped club members a little clue. Check out the Vintage Club decal on Julius's belly.

Every year the belly decal on the club's models is one of the models being offered that year. Julius's decal shows Azteca (the Foundation Stallion) so no doubt that mold will be offered. That's okay with me - it's an under appreciated mold, but I like it.

At first I was a little frustrated that Breyer was not showing us what we would be getting, but as time goes on, I no longer mind. After all, I have been in the club since its inception in 2012, and I have no plans to leave it, so it really doesn't matter if I know or don't know.

And actually, the suspense is kind of fun!

Is This Related to the Other Glossy Greys?

As I was researching and writing the blog entries on the early glossy grey Appaloosa color, I went through the pieces in my collection looking for examples in that color. I came across this guy and paused.

My Brahma Bull sure looks like a belly band version of glossy grey Appaloosa that is missing its spots.

According to Nancy Young's book, Breyer Molds and Models 1950 - 1997, the Brahma Bull was first produced in 1955 or 1957 in this color. That predates Breyer's other pieces done in glossy grey Appaloosa and leads me to wonder if Breyer made the decision to use the color in its line of horses and just added spots to make them Appaloosas.

The Family Arabian Stallion was first marketed in the glossy grey Appaloosa color in 1959, several years after the release of the Brahma. The Family Arabian Mare and the Family Arabian Foal followed in 1960. The Proud Arabian Mare was introduced in 1959 in the color as was the In Between Mare. All came AFTER the Brahma.

As far as I can tell, the Brahma Bull was the first piece that Breyer produced in glossy grey. Was his color the inspiration for the glossy grey Appaloosa that first appeared in 1959? I don't have a definitive answer, but I do have a strong suspicion that the two colors are related.