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!

Variations: Bay Running Foals

Due to the holidays, it's been a while since I did a post on variations within my collection. The holidays are over now, and all my kids and their families have gone to their own homes, so I have time to pull out some models, photograph them, and then take a closer look, comparing and contrasting them to each other.

This post will look at Breyer's Running Foal in bay - a long running color of twenty-five years or so on this mold.

Running Foal #1

His four socks are very high on both sides of the model. This is an early piece - in the very earliest versions, the off hind hoof was pared down for stability.

Pared hoof on left, chalky bay Running Foal hoof on right.

(As an aside, I find it very interesting that my woodgrain, glossy dapple grey, and wedgwood Running Foals all have the pared hoof while my gold charm one does not.)

 He's pretty unremarkable, and in an orangey bay that is not to my taste.

 Hooves are the old black version that Breyer used to do (which I love)

and there is some pinking in his ears and on his nose. The eyes, like the hooves, are very black and have been glossed, and he is a semi-gloss, although it does not show well in the photographs.

Running Foal #2

 I like the bay color much better on this guy.

 Like the first foal, he is also a semi-glossy model. His socks are much lower than the first piece.

 Hooves are very black but the off hind is not pared.

He has some yellowing, but you can still see the pinking in his ears and on his nose.

An interesting note: I acquired this guy from eBay in 2014 with his original box. I took him out for display and stored the box.

Running Foal #3

 This guy is definitely a chalky!

The Running Foal in chalky bay is very common, and I got him from my friend, Teresa Rogers, a year ago.

His socks are very low and there has been no hoof paring on him, but you can see some excess paint/gunk that is common on the bottom of chalky models' hooves. (Look at his near hind hoof.)

That chalkiness really shows up on his facial features, and he has the same pinking as the other two.

 Running Foal #1 has no USA mark by his round Breyer stamp

 while the other two do. This places them as having been molded 1973 or later.

You can clearly see the sock differences in this photo. (Chalky, #2, #1.)

The Running Foal mold is one of my favorite vintage molds.  While the bay coloring on him is my least liked of all the colors Breyer has produced on this mold, still I am glad to have these three in my collection.