Collections within My Collection: Flockies (Part 2)

Aside from Ross, Bobbie Sue's beauty, my introduction to flocked models was not the best.The first one I remember having in my collection was a Running Stallion in white/tan pinto with blue eyes. A custom-flocked piece, it was quite garish.

I kept it a few years and then gave it away. Now I wish I'd kept it as provenance from the early days of the hobby.

It wasn't until 2013 that I got another flocky, the Collector's Rocking Horse. Produced 1985 - 1987, it came with yellow or brown rockers and brown or blue glass eyes. 

I found mine in 2013 and would love to get the three other versions in purple, pink, and black Appaloosa. (They were 1985 Sears and JC Penneys special runs.)

In 1983 and 1984 Sears offered the Clydesdale Mare (with added gelding parts) as a special run. I acquired mine in 2014. (Hindsight wishes I'd bought all these when they were originally offered!)

I found the flocked Running Mare and Foal as a set in 2016.

They are in beautiful shape and, of course, I love the vintage Running Mare and Foal molds.

Sold as special runs by JC Penneys in 1984, their official name is Collector's Mare and Foal Set. Some came with painted black eyes (like mine) while others had brown glass eyes.

Now-defunct Montgomery Wards also used to carry Breyer special runs. The flocked Proud Arabian Stallion was offered in their catalog in 1984. Both Identify Your Breyer and the Breyer Value Guide say his eyes are glass, but mine are painted, not glass.

This pretty boy joined my collection in 2017.

In 1984 Breyer turned their Smoky mold into a unicorn, flocked him, and sold him through JC Penneys as a special run.

I bought him in 2018 at a swap meet hosted by Allison Pareis. Even though I don't like unicorns; it was because he was a flocky that I wanted him. I found out later that Allison had really, really wanted that piece, and he lives with her now.

This little guy may look familiar - he's also in the Thelwell ponies collection within my collection. 

One of those pieces that belong in several niches in my collection as a whole. Got him in 2018.

There was a five year drought before I found any more flockies. And they were found in the wild - the only time that has ever happened to me. 

Lisa and I were out thrifting and came across them in a glass case. I could not believe my eyes! The case was locked, so I sat Lisa down in a nearby chair, told her I would get the key, and that if anyone else showed interest in them, to tell them they were already sold.

Ever the good sport (and someone who understands collector behavior when a great find has occurred), sho got comfy, pulled out her phone, and did guard dog duty for me! Thank you, Lis!!

Lis was watching over another pair of the flocked palomino Running Mare and Foal! In beautiful condition and at a price I felt was fair and reasonable.

They joined my first pair on the shelf (all now in protective bags) in 2023.

I was excited to find the second flocked mare and foal, but I don't need two sets. I'm willing to sell one set for what I paid plus shipping. Email me if interested. (horsiemama8@gmail.com.)

I'll do a final sweep through my collection, but I think all of my flockies were listed either yesterday or today. If I find any more, I'll share about them tomorrow.

Stay 'tooned!

Collections within My Collection: Flockies (Part 1)

When I was in elementary school, my friend Bobbie Sue and I would hold model horse shows at each other's homes. I remember putting my plastic models into a large paper grocery bag, slinging it over the handles of my bike, and pedaling  several miles to her home.

There we'd set up a ring using Lincoln Logs, grab a timer for the barrel racing class, and make paper ribbons for the winners.

What a wonderful memory! (And I still say to kids who get a model horse, "Play with it! Enjoy it! Don't just set it on a shelf and never touch it again!")

Bobbie Sue had this gorgeous white flocked horse with a "real" mane and tail that she named Ross.

Not the actual Ross, but a photo of one like him from online.

A gift from her grandparents, Ross was the penultimate model horse to me - but I never found one like him. (This was before the internet.)

Until I did.

Even better, I found him in my favorite horse color, black. (This may be the seller's photo.)

Decades had passed and eBay was a thing. I didn't know about the German company Steha Leha that had manufactured these or anything else at the time. I was just looking for circus horses to add to my collection.

Boy howdy, did I find a doozy! 

I'd forgotten that Ross had wheels in his hooves, and even now I have been known to happily roll this boy around on the shelf or my desk.

After finding the black piece, I started actively looking for more Steha Leha circus horses. I have found a lot of Rosses and several more circus horses, but that flocking on the body is fragile and easily damaged. Manes get messy and even pulled out, and tack disappears. And the price for a Steha Leha even in poor condition is high.

I kept searching and in 2021 I found another one, one in good enough condition to justify the seller's asking price.

Unlike the black Steha, he has some flaws and someone had pulled all the green feathers off his saddle pad.

But for a white flocked piece this old, I think he looks remarkably good for his age

and I am happy to have him in my collection.

There is another flocky that I keep on the shelf next to the two Steha Lehas.

Vintage Club Gawain.

Released in 2022 as a flocked unicorn on the Shannondell mold,

he is quite the model horse! I unwrapped him, looked at that mane and tail curled and spilling everywhere, and decided that I would not move or adjust anything. 

Like all my flockies, I carefully slipped him into a plastic bag, making sure the bag wasn't pressing down on him, and slipped him onto the shelf beside the two Stehas. (Those bags extend beyond the backs of the models and are left open to allow for some air circulation.)

More flockies coming - stay 'tooned!