For six months I've had a file on my desktop. I was collecting information on B stamp Breyers, and saving files in it.
The original plan was to write a single blog post and publish it in a week or so. That was May; this is December. I finally opened that file again, went through all the information I'd collected, and began drafting a blog series.
Before we go any further, though, it would be good to know a little bit about the B stamp Breyer briefly put on its models and what that B indicates.
The late Breyer History Diva, Andrea Gurdon, discussed the different types of plastic that Breyer used for B stamp pieces in this blog post from June, 2010. Another really good source is Nancy Atkinson Young's seminal book, Breyer Molds & Models: Horses, Riders, & Animals, 1950 - 1997, 5th Edition.
Essentially, due to the oil crisis in the late 1970s, Breyer switched from a type of tenite plastic (cellulose acetate) to a different type of tenite, cellulose acetate butyrate. Models produced during 1979 - 1982 were marked with a small letter B to indicate the latter form of plastic had been used. (Regrinding and mixing the two types produced a plastic that was unstable.)
Oil crisis over, in 1982 Breyer was back to using the original tenite formula and the B was removed from most of its molds. So, if you find a model with a B stamp (usually in an inconspicuous spot on the inside of a hind leg) you know that it likely was produced between 1979 and 1982.
It was a daunting process to go through my collection and look for that B stamp. Fortunately, I found a shortcut - BreyerHorseRef. It's a free research site that I found accidentally while searching for information.
A search of BreyerHorseRef brought up a list of models with their photos that are known to have the B stamp.
Screenshot from BreyerHorseRef.
That pared my collection-search down enormously. Rather than going through and pulling every single model out to check for a B, I only pulled those on this list. (I did add in some others that were also rumored to have had the stamp.) I used that list from BreyerHorseRef to go through my entire collection.
Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the search itself and what I discovered was hanging out on my shelves!
Stay 'tooned!
Christmas Horse of the Day
Jol was the 2020 Christmas Morning Surprise Web Special. He came in three colors - glossy clear with snowflakes and glitter,
glossy red with snowflakes and glitter, and glossy blue-green with snowflakes and glitter. All three are clearware and 500 of each piece were made.
Advent Calendar Reveal - Day 6
Look at that pretty pearly shading!
Honestly, I did not anticipate such nice paint jobs.
As soon as I open a door with some fencing, I'll get these horses corralled and a scene started.
