Circus Time: N Scale Liberty Horse

In April, I wrote about Prieser, a German company that makes figures for the model railroad hobby, and that they had made a set of HO circus horses. 

Named Liberty Performing Horses, they came in a set of six, and while I have given a couple away, I still have three, including Mighty Mouse who is displayed on a shelf in my office.

 

Imagine my excitement when I did a search for N scale horses a few weeks ago and discovered the set had been done in the 1:160 scale, too! (I've found some really good pieces by doing those random searches.)

And I thought that Mighty Mouse was small - just look at that itty bitty horse! Despite the tiny size, their detail is really good, too.

Interesting to see that the head plume colors are the reverse of Mighty Mouse's plumes. I'm not sure if  they are all like that or if it is just this set. (According to the box they came in, the horses are sent to Mauritius where they are hand painted.)

These N scale circus horses are so small that I am keeping them in their box, although the box is out for display on the shelf next to Mighty Mouse.

They are absolutely the smallest circus horses not only in my collection, but that I have ever seen. Prepare to be amazed? Was I ever when I got these!

Next, we will take a peek at another very recent acquisition.

Prepare to be amazed! (Again, haha!)

Circus Time: Breyer Plastics

The Breyer porcelain circus horses are well known, but Breyer also produced  some other, lesser known circus themed pieces in plastic.

For example, BreyerFest 2006 was called Summer Carnival and included several circus themed offerings.

Trixie, on the Stablemate Paso Fino mold, was the one day ticket holder model. She came in a silk lined box with tack, headpiece, and rings. (There was also a set of Stablemates BreyerFest attendees could purchase called "Three Ring Circus Trio," but aside from the name, there really wasn't a circus connection to them.)

The vintage mold Clydesdale Stallion was featured in a set called "Circus Extravaganza" that was released 1994 - 1995. He came with the Little Bit Clydesdale - an odd pairing since the smaller model had no circus tack or decorations and was out of scale with the other piece. 

Corky and Bimbo were characters on the popular Circus Boy television series that ran from 1956 - 1958. It starred Mickey Braddock who later was seen as Mickey Dolenz in The Monkees. Using the elephant mold, Breyer produced a set called Corky and Bimbo in 1958-1960 and Corky's face is clearly that of Mickey Dolenz.

I don't have the original Breyer Corky and Bimbo, but I do have the 2000 re-release. I've kept it in the original box. 

Also in my collection is one of the old Circus Boy books from 1958. Currently it's tucked away in a box somewhere and since I am under lifting restrictions for a while, I didn't dig it out. (Craig would do it for me, but he is already helping me so much as I recover that I am not going to ask him.)

Tomorrow we will move on to the only grail piece I have ever searched for.

Prepare to be amazed!

On the Table Again

The first NAN (North American Nationals) was held in conjunction with BreyerFest in Lexington, Kentucky in 1995. I was there with my dear friends, Kathy Bateman and Beth Dickinson.

Beth, me, and Kathy at the 1995 NAN. We are wearing our Haynet buttons.

Here it is! The photo I had been looking for of Liberty and Nancy (she has a name, now) with their NAN Top Ten ribbon.

I recently wrote that Liberty and Nancy would never go to a show again, but I was wrong. Anne Field suggested that I enter them in the Pandemic Performance Panorama's Vintage Performance class.

It's been twenty-five years since they went to a show, but there they are! I have no idea how they will place, but win or lose, I'm just happy to have the chance to let them shine a little bit again. 

Go, Liberty and Nancy!

How Far We've Come/How Far I've Come

While I wait for the USPS to deliver my new circus doll, I pulled out my model tack trunk and tried to see if I could recreate the performance set-up that I made and used to show way back in the early 1990s.

Performance showing has come a long way since the 1990s! 

The leather was twisted and I tried to straighten it out, but eventually I could tell that I'd need to undo all the buckles and straps, and I just didn't feel like tackling that job.

I remember buying a package of very thin leather in white and red at Michaels along with a packet of red and blue crystal stars to make the surcingle. Jump rings and buckles came from Rio Rondo. Not sure where the plumes came from but probably Michaels, too. The ribbon loop on the surcingle for the doll's hand was from my sewing supplies.

I no longer have the giant quilting hoop that I painted white with red and blue stars around its sides but I do still have the ziplock bag of the sawdust that I used for footing inside the ring. 

Despite its very amateur look, I am still proud of what I created. Why? Because I tried something I did not think I could do. (I am thinking about Can Do Gracie here.) Like the 2020 NaMoPaiMo where I painted a Stablemate to look like Sultanna, I took a deep breath and tried something out of my comfort zone. I had fun designing it, making it, and taking it to shows.

Liberty, his tack, and the doll (she never got a name) won't ever go to a show again. But they still mean a lot to me because, not only do they show how far performance showing has come, they also represent how far I have come, too.

Yes, I Made a Doll

In the early 1990s I made a circus performance set-up complete with tack, ring, and doll rider.

 (Anne Field, this is why I asked YOU to make my new doll and didn't do it myself!)

I poked around on Identify Your Breyer trying to figure out which Brenda Breyer I had used. Judging by the shirt, it was an English rider doll. But the hair puzzles me - I don't see any English dolls with short hair.

She is from the early 1990s and can bend her legs, but that is the only articulation she has.

I made a harness for Liberty to wear, painted a huge quilting hoop and affixed gold star stickers to it, added some footing, and showed them in performance classes at live shows.

 Believe it or not, the set-up did well and qualified for the very first NAN in 1995.

It even placed in the Top Ten! (Which is an indication as to how far Performance entries have come since 1995.)

I'm still under post-op lifting restrictions, but I will see if Craig will pull out some tubs for me where I think I have the harness stored as well as a photo of the circus entry from NAN 1995. Stay tuned!