Surprise Shrinkies

I set my new Sandman onto the shelf next to my original Smoky and got a surprise.

Look at that size discrepancy!

It wasn't just a trick of my eyes or placement on the shelf; Sandman was quite a bit larger than Smoky.

I set Northern Lights in between them - there is clearly a trend of height differences.

Intrigued, I grabbed my seam measure and started more closely examining the three models.

Smoky's extended foreleg measures 3/8" off the ground.

Northern Light's measurement was a half inch (4/8") off the ground. (Er, shelf.)

While Sandman's was at 5/8".

My heart sank - Smoky and Northern Lights were shrinkies, models whose plastic was beginning to break down. Fortunately, neither Smoky nor Northern Lights have any of the other indications of shrinkiness - their bodies are not visibly contorting or contracting elsewhere; there is no odor and no ooziness. (Yet.)

(Kristen Wellman's blog, Model Horse Collectibility, has three excellent articles on vinegar syndrome, the more formal name of the decomposition of cellulose acetate, the plastic used to make Breyer model horses.)

I found something else interesting while examining these three pieces and am doing a little research on that. Hopefully tomorrow I will look at that discovery in my next blog entry.

Stay' tooned!

Sandman is Here

Sandman, the second offering in the 2022 Vintage Club, arrived this week. 

The Smoky mold looks gorgeous in this color.

The Smoky mold was based on an illustration by Will James, author of the book, Smoky the Cow Horse, and was sculpted by Chris Hess.

I don't care for the grey paint job on the original release, but this color is a different story.

A closer look revealed some flaws - dirt in the gloss on the near hind hoof.

 Several black spots scattered around the body.

A blob of plastic on the near ear

and another one where his tail attaches to the body.

And an odd wife spot under his tail. 

The flaws on Sandman are not nearly as bad as they were on Wite-Out (Cooper) but unlike Cooper, I did briefly consider returning Sandman and asking for a replacement. Why?

The odd bits of plastic and the paint flaws I can live with - it's the dirt that bothers me. I would hope that the models on my shelves come from a place that is clean, and that dirt on his hoof indicates otherwise. 

Something for me to think about with further releases from Breyer.

Next Vintage Club Model

 Just as I wrapped up my study of Cooper, the first 2022 Vintage Club release, Breyer posted this photo of the next Vintage Club model:

Sandman! Done in red dun and glossed, Breyer says that his packaging "is inspired by that of the original Smoky: a classic 80s-style hatbox!"

(Dare I hope that the book might be included as a surprise, too?)

I am not concerned about Sandman having the flaws that Cooper does - I think that was highly unusual - but I am interested in whether or not Sandman has a USA mark.

He's supposed to ship later this month so stay 'tooned!