New Unicorn Pins

 

Returning to blogging after a hiatus of sorts, some subjects are easy for me to slip back into.  All along I've been collecting enamel pins.  Yesterday I created a new display board and today arranged its pins, after logging the new Cave Pony Unicorns into my spreadsheet (so I could tell them apart).  Clearly I am a big fan of Mink Studios.

Let's start at the beginning.  Here are my new boards.  Sayonara JoAnn Fabs:  I bought black flannel and black velvet, as much as I thought I could ever use (the flannel) and as much as I could afford (the velvet).  My boards are hastily wrought, using cardboard and staples (tips folded over by hand with pliers), but they do the job.  Next to them are my most recent new pins.

A trio of winged Cave Pony Quaggas, which I'm calling FlutterQuaggas, holds a position of honor.  Although Sarah has not used this term in her newsletters, I cannot think it is wrong, especially when you consider her other FlutterPonies.  I'm particularly proud of the fact that I got all three permutations of her Quagga form.  The bottomost one is a Christmas release and actually the first FlutterQuagga;  note his neck wreath.

Speaking of Cave Pony series, the Zebras have been taking off.  Since I already had the earliest Zebra (upper leftt) I only needed the next two, and fortunately they were released as a pair.  The center one is Zebra 3 "Plains" and the lowermost is Zebra 4 "Grevy's."  I'm sorry to say I'm not sure who Zebra 2 is.  I'm also very sorry that the Neon Green Zebra wasn't fully photographed;  I dashed these shots off in a tearing hurry.

The Cave Pony Unicorns are aptly named.  My original intention, to collect every unicorn pin Mink would ever release, was severely tested when she started putting horns on things like batwinged dragon-ponies.  (Not to mention the Unilumes, or the 3D metal ones, or the -- !)  I had long resisted the Cave Pony series because, compared to the Imperial Unicorns and Dancing Horses, they were so obese.  These are cartoons!!  not real horses.  However, their cuteness factor found ways around my resistances, as my 4 earlier Cave Pony pins reveal (seen above, first pic).  I did, indeed, "cave."

 The interesting thing here is that what you see (above) is the 2nd and 3rd of the first group of three Cave Pony Unicorns, and the 1st of the second group.  Sarah has promised 9 Cave Pony Unicorns, in batches of three.   I carefully chose which two I absolutely had to have of the first group, back in August of '24;  I must have been short on funds.   When the second group of three debuted, in February of this year (2025), I plumped more easily.  So that's how I came to have 5.

Do I automatically collect all of a series?  "God no!"  But what if I should change my mind later -- ??  Do you know, I went back and tried to buy the missing Cave Pony Unicorn just now!  The odds were low -- they really were offered in August, 8 months ago-- but I succeeded!!  Here is my (her) newsletter file picture of it:

What was I thinking?  you might well ask.

That does seem to be the question.  When my collection is sporting Batwinged Cave Ponies, where before it only went for Imperial and  Jewelled Unicorns, it is a good question.

"Glitter" is part of the answer.  I am susceptible to glitter.  Sparkle candy-apple-flake will always move me. 

I could not decide amongst these three, so I got them all.  Please excuse the shading on the shoulder of the purple-winged.  It is reflection off the gloss.

Shooting this last, amazing creature, I got a vibe from no less than Disney's Fantasia.  I guess there is a soft spot for cartoon horses in me after all.

Thank you for sharing your incredible talents, Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig.

 

Back Cover Progress

 

No, my next book is not done yet.  Yes, this is a progress report, but only about the covers.  No, the above picture is not on the cover, but yes, it'll be in the book:  I'm thinking it will be the title page.  I've been so busy I can't list all that has been accomplished in the past 3 weeks;  but one -- just one! -- glorious goal was finally finishing Fancy's chapter.  Only two more to go...

When we last saw the back cover, it was in November of 2023, more than a year ago.  It looked like this:

In December of last year (2024), deep in the night of the 27th, I drew this in my Notebook:

It doesn't look all that great, but believe me, I'd been turning over this arrangement in my head almost from the beginning.  Only with the completion of April's -- here represented by the Indian Pony on lower right -- did I feel the time had come to try depicting it.  The figures are arranged clockwise according to their placement in the book:  Ricky's the easiest in the upper left, then Duke's the next easiest to his immediate right, then Malaguena's laid out, and so on.

The back cover had to be perfect.  You know how heavy that sort of punishing weight lies on any creative endeavour.  It dang near kills them.  Only the slow accumulation of all 8 pieces' chapters would give me the material for the back.  But it was happening.  After Malaguena's, the Peach;  after the Peach Rose, April's.  After April's, Fancy's.  Through very little fault of its own, Fancy's would take a staggering eleven months, from May 2024 to now.  Most chapters took far less;  indeed, the Peach Rose had taken only two.  But all that time has not been wasted.

In a hotel room in Florida in January this year, around the 10th, I drew up what you see here.  Oh it still needs work:  The Snowshoes balloon is in the wrong place, I'm not happy with Fancy's or April's positions, everything's unfinished.  But oh, what a huge leap it was!  I wrote along with it, and below is the transcription.

"2412.27   For months, years, I've shuffled that thing around in my head.  Tonight, without benefit of PhotoShop ---on a hotel desk in Florida --- using drafting paper & pencil & eraser, I worked it out.  There were some intermediate stages.  There is still MUCH to be done.  But the 'design sheet' stage is now accomplished.   

Oh Oh OH!!  The power & the glory!!  The sheer lovely excitement of creativity.  There's nothing like it.  And this is all my own.  This is what I was born to do.  This is what my whole career has been leading up to.  I'm amazed at the many sneak peeks, leaks, outright giveways I've published over the past 2  1/2 years.  (2 yrs 7 mos)   Anybody w/ an evil copying bent could've pinched the Peach Rose by now.  It's in the blog and so is Ricky's.  But blogs get short shrift.  Or else my target audience is not geared to reading them.   After all I am not geared to reading my books online.  It's all I can do to use the Kindle,...

...I don't care.  Here, tonight, by drawing and tracing & transforming, by plain raw pencil & paper, patience & erasure I have done what so desperately needed doing.  The back cover is advertisement, index, promise & ornament all in one.  Instant judgement attends it.  I see it in paper, glossy of course.  The power of it.  No one will be able to resist this book... "

 

The goal is two in black-and-white (Ricky's and April's), and two as drawings of just the tack (Malaguena's and Tissarn's).  The rest, four pieces - Duke's, the Peach Rose, Fancy's and Rinker's - will be full color photographs, so like the old Guide.  Above is the intended photo for Ricky's.  I think my drawing exaggerrated the forelock!

Here's another sneak peek:  Peach Rose, the rightmost upper middle.  It's going to take some fiddling to fit her in that narrow space, maybe even unto a re-shoot.

And finally, (drum roll...!) a REAL sneak peek:  the current state of the Front Cover!!  Of course it is not finished.  My dream vision was the horse passing through the bosal, emerging on the left, hidden behind on the right.  He will not have grass blades on his hooves and his tail-tip will be covered by the border.  But this is basically what the Front Cover will look like.  Except, ahah, for the white background.  Remember the Guide cover, with its colored-pencil rainbow shadings all around, fading to white in the center?.... yeah, like that,...

This was my vision, seen in a dream all those years ago, even to the specific model horse.  (So it can't be older than year 2010, hah!) [editors note: previously said 2000, this was wrong.]  Heaven knows it's been long enough.  The tiny dates at the bottom of this cover refer to when I first drew this cover, and then to the refinements.  I actually cut out the central figure the old-fashioned way, knife and scissors.  His photo was taken in Sheyenne National Grassland, ND, in 2023.

So, what's next, and when can we expect publication?  The short snappy mean answer is "taxes,"  but then, "Cover work, Rinker's, Tissarn's.... and maybe sometime around BreyerFest, or soon thereafter."   You shall hear about it here, on FB and at BFest, for starters.

For the longest time I thought Rinker's would be the last in the book.  His hackamore is the most stunning and it has many new elements; the bosal uses a 3B, not a 4B like the other two, and his mecate could be a separate chapter all its own.  The back cover reflects this.  But now that I'm here, I believe Rinker's and Tissarn's to be equal in their complexity.  I'm thinking Rinker's needs to be next (7th of the 8) simply because his is a bosal hackamore and we've just done 2.  Why not put them all together, a trio, same as I did for the harnesses in the Guide...?  Each one is an elaboration on the previous, more and more detail, harder and harder to build.  Tissarn's isn't a bosal hack but a Mechanical; and hers has knots the other 7 pieces never even dreamed of.  She will get more formulae than all the rest.  It is hers, and not Rinker's, that is the hardest.  This will not shift my layout of the back cover, but accurately reflect the many changes the book has undergone.

Changes,...  certain insecure figures (unsatisfied, shall we say unsatisfy-able), have greatly distracted and worried my muse;  that has not changed.  Yet I refuse to give up hope.  This dream of mine has been underway for almost 3 years.  I am starting to curse it and that's a sure sign we are nearing the birth.  I am getting ready to be seriously wanting to do something else.  Hang in there:  we're down to months not years.

And thank you for your patience.

Some R. Nikolaidis Tack

 

A friend asked me to show her my Regine Nikolaidis bridle.  As usually happens, two pictures turned into nine and one bridle expanded to 4 representative pieces.  This post covers all my known Regine Nikolaidis model tack.  My absolute favorite is this gorgeous 2004 ring-cheek curb with its throat tassel so huge it could easily pass for a jowl plume.

 The best feature of this particular bridle is its simple but elegant design, combining rawhide braidwork with flat braid on plain rust-colored lace.  The red, white and wheat tones go well with my red chestnut Luan.  The braided-ring foldover cheekstraps and the slip-fashion throatlatch are amoung my favorite features in model braidwork.  The browband is tied (not shown well here) while the (non-adjustable) curbstrap is merely glued.  The small red and white buttons, not actually braided just wrapped, -- grace notes, not overdone -- add a delightful pop.

I remember Regine telling me how she'd made the tassel.  "I dipped it in hot water," she said, "over and over again, sitting there in the kitchen, until the wax was all melted away.  It took forever!"  Regine was always an excitable collector and tackmaker.  Despite her Greek name she was a German and lived in Germany.  She was active in the hobby throughout the 1990s and into the first half of the 2000s.

Regine made this extraordinary fully-braided rawhide bridle circa 1996, and delivered it in person to me at BFest in 2001.  She came to BreyerFest several times.  She knew Brigitte Eberl and was instrumental in introducing her to the hobby in this country;  when Brigitte first arrived she did not know English very well, and Regine helped her.

 The tag says "Regine Nikolaidis" on one side and "1996" on the other.  This shot (above) shows the design of the romal.  Clearly this bridle is too large for this horse.

The bit was made by Anja Schmidt, of Germany, from aluminum.  The bit shank brace, not shown well, is matching in design and workmanship.  The braided end knots, holding the white tassels, are coated in some kind of glue.

My camera lens refuses to stop regarding Luan, so we're stuck with him, even when the sloppy bit angle makes him look rather silly.  At least the (adjustable) curbstrap is more or less correctly posed.

Earlier I mentioned four pieces of tack.  Here is a Traditional scale Old-West style saddle by Regine.  I am not sure where the blanket came from.  It's entirely possible I rustled it up myself.

This saddle is a really solid-feeling, beautiful piece, standing out in my collection for its comfortable-looking seat, so unlike the Rio Rondo mass production.  Regine made her own trees, usually from some sort of plastic.

Birds Eye.

Here is my last piece, an extraordinary braided Western cinch by Regine.  It's rather large for a Trad.  In fact it is overdone in every way, but that's very typical of this particular tackmaker.  I was amazed when I first saw it and I'm still amazed.  The material is some kind of glossy nylon-like or rayon-like heavy thread.

The German model horsers were, and still are for all I know, quite devoted to and crazy about the American Old West.  This was certainly the case with Regine Nikolaidis.

My Luan

 

Sometimes you just want to show off a new horse.  In December I hadn't bought a horse since BreyerFest.  Even during Christmas on Mane Street I only bought tack.  When I saw this chestnut beauty offered on FB for a cut-rate emergency sale, there arose within me a surprisingly strong incentive.

This is Luan, the first Traditional-size sculpture from Eva Rossiter of Ireland.  He is painted in oils by Lauren Ball.  Eva is known to Breyer-land as the sculptress of the Stablemate Irish Draft (Corbin).   But she came to my attention with her absolutely beautiful sculpture Stromness, whom I had purchased back in 2023.

I did a blog post about this horse here.  Eva started sculpting in 2014 with smaller scale horses, but by 2017 she had turned out Luan, of which only 30 copies exist in Trad.  (There are 50 SM-scale Mini-Luans out there.)  Other works by her include the stunning Galliant, the small Ronan, the Stablemate scale Brona, Meyer Lemmon, a Classic scale Unicorn Ora, and lately the amazing Florenity (amoung many more).  Here is a link to a list of her work:  Resin Horse Editions: Eva Rossiter.   Sadly, her own website, Rytherial, does not list all her past sculptures, although it once did.

I have always been intrigued by Luan.  Originally I thought he was a Welsh Cob.  Then I learned he was supposed to be an Arab or Half-Arab.  His large head and neck, and relatively slender hindquarters, lend themselves to a near-perfect Morab.  He had lovely conformation which spoke to me at once, plus a quiet air and calm pose that whispered "driving pony!"  I always wanted one, but with the realization that this was an extremely limited run and I surely could not find one; or if I did find one, he would not be affordable.

Sometimes you just have to say Thank heaven for emergency vet bills,... !

As the blog post tells, my Stromness was named Easter, after a character in a Molly Keane novel.  Molly Keane was an intensely Irish author, and somehow what small percentage of Irish blood there is in me responded tremendously to her writing.  (Heck she's just really good.)  I purchased Luan on Christmas Day, 2024.  Staring at his red chestnut coat, it came to me that this was his name:  Christmas.

As it turned out I bought another and far more expensive horse just two days after Luan.  But that is another story.

Straightening A Foal

 

I write this for those who are interested in learning more about straightening bent legs on model horses.  Specifically, this is an account of how I straightened out my Stone foal, Hazy Crazy, last August.  Her story falls into the category of showing off my Stone horses while ever so gently, ever so subliminally, complaining about their cost;  the only way I could purchase this foal was because she was damaged goods.  (It also turns out I purchased a far more expensive Stone later, so take my complaints with some salt.)  But this story also tells how I repaired her, to the extent that you would never know she was bent.  I'm absolutely enchanted to have her;  I've always wanted one of these lovely foals.  I was lucky to find her.  Maybe she was lucky to find me. 

See those twisted hooves?

I've coined the phrase, "the Black Art of O.F. Enhancement," to refer to all acts that, technically, change the factory finish or shape, or might change it, while either returning to or enhancing a horse into what you want it to be.  To call this art "Black," reflects a long career in the hobby watching a public mythos grow and grow around the sanctity of Original Finish.  Alter a valuable O. F.?  Sacrilege!  But if you can't explore and play, how will you ever develop your talents?  I have always felt that the freedom to pursue my creative ideas was worth the price of a few plastic horses.  From this background of being able to experiment with repositioning, as it was called during my formative years (1978 - ~2000), has grown the confidence and skill to do what this foal so clearly needed doing.  With the right approach, leg straightening takes about 15 minutes.

I found Hazy at BreyerFest 2024 and paid one hundred dollars for her, a rather high price for a foal for me.  These Stone foals cost anywhere from $139 to $350 and up.  I waited until corn season before attempting her case.  Laugh if you like;  cooking corn on the cob leaves a large pot of hot water, with the added bonus of a small amount of corn oil.

When I first started using corn water for models I was thinking that the oil would provide a bit of gloss and protection for them.  But as it turns out, a good bath would remove the oil, and a good bath is the normal last step of straightening.  Even so, I still prefer the convenience and the recycling of hot water (and the good lighting in the kitchen).  I usually add enough water to bring the level to where it's deep enough to comfortably immerse the part, and adjust the heat so it's nearly steaming but not bubbling.

Leftover silk and bits of corn will do no harm.  I started with the near hind.  The secret is not to dip the leg for longer than about 7 to 10 seconds.  Again and again, I'm dipping it, but never for very long each time;  and never beyond the concerned part:  here, below the hock.  After 4 or 5 dips, with a few seconds between dips, I start testing the plastic with my fingers.

The trick is not to get the water so hot as to cook the paint -- which will turn opaque, flat and whitish -- but still to get it hot enough to partially soften the plastic.  I use my bare hands;  either I have cold hands or my technique achieves non-dangerously-hot plastic.  The skill does have to distinguish between a leg soft enough to move and one that merely bends to pressure.  I have not yet broken a leg by bending it when it was too cold;  but the possibility is always there, especially with a foal.

I think my success is due to simple repetition as much as anything.  Many small tries gives me much more control over the process.  I am coaxing, coaxing, gently bending and squeezing and asking, constantly moving between dipping her in the water and crouching down to stare at her feet from eye level.  This is where a knowledge of anatomy really helps (not to mention that kitchen counter!).  I'm spinning her, shoving her in circles, looking at every possible angle of those legs.  Note above how the front hooves are too close together.  Water all over the counter? -- that means something's going right!

This picture proves I felt the hocks and gaskins needed moving.  Again, the trick is not to leave her too long in, but still get the plastic soft enough to slowly budge it into position.  And, surprise, the thicker the plastic, the more heat it takes to soften.

 The last task is hoof position.

It always amuses me how many showers don't realize their horses' hooves aren't flat on the table.  But it's not always easy to get them all lined up.  I spin her and spin her, looking at all angles from the ground level, stretching a pastern here, shortening an angle there.  The plastic can compress just as it can stretch.  How can I achieve a good-looking stance with the least amount of change to the joint angles and the distance between joints?  with the least heat?!  Below, notice the inward slant of that off hind hoof.  Dip the last inch of that leg into the water for 7 to 10 seconds, until the pastern is soft enough, and bend just the hoof.

Although it's probably unnatural for a foal to be perfectly square, this is what I want.

The final step is using cold water to solidify the plastic once you've got it where you want it.  This step can also be used during the straightening process.

A good toweling and she's done.

Hazy Crazy was, of course, named after the famous song, "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer."  But I simply refuse to name any of my horses "Lazy."  Two words is enough.  The halter for this little cutie is the one I rebuilt to be smaller.  As much as I love and respect (and collect!) Jaapi's halters, the foal one I'd bought simply didn't fit.  So I shrank it.  That was difficult, yes,... but we managed.

Happy ending.

A Good Mail Day

 

I nearly called this post "Christmas in -- December?!"  because in any other month of the year, it would indeed be Christmas in -- fill-in-the-blank!   This is my Christmas on Mane Street haul, combined with other December purchases, combined with a very kind and lucky win during the Mares In Black December zoom party.  If I'm guilty of conspicuous consumption, just think of BreyerFest loot shots.  Shouldn't that kind of tradition grow up around Mane Street...?

Two tackmakers, two blanket makers, three halters, three scales of stuff, and one Santa suit!  There's actually a good deal more than this.  Let's start at the beginning:

I had held off on going down to the mail box (UPS store on Hamilton Ave.) because it was so cold and I was so busy.  But when I finally went, the haul was overwhelming.  I became ashamed that only the day before I'd felt left out and suffered from holiday malaise.  It makes you afraid to want anything---!   The large box in the back is Harry & David from my Dad, a family tradition from my grandfather's time.  Bless you, Dad, only 2200 miles away...

These halters were made by Bobbie Allen, of Horse Tender Studios.  I was delighted with their design -- my love affair with International Orange is still going strong.  I hadn't seen the hybrid part-leather part-nylon approach before, neither in model nor in full scale.  It makes for a well-wearing piece of tack.  The crown strap won't fray.  The leather has to fit the buckle, but if it's too big, trimming is easy.  These are so sharp and cool that the horses fight over them.

Generous to a fault, Bobbie knew I adored her Stablemate scale blankets.  This lovely little gift of a bright orange one brings my total of hers to four.  Honestly, they are a great value for the price.  The hardware is all handmade and works very well.  They're even slightly darted.

Maggie Bennet's Poet is on the left (above).  The Mares In Black crew watched him being born, that is, being created from a 3D program with Maggie's magic.  Ever since then I've wanted one.  No, I don't make tack in this scale;  I don't even know anybody who does.  His conformation is lovely and seeing him makes me happy.

Bobbie Allen gave me another gift, an enamel pin of a coach and four from Remington Carriage Museum, a place I did not know about.  Thank you, you know my soft spots!  This leads us to the subject of pins, always a favorite around here!

When I saw Breyer's Blue Zeus pin on FB but heard it was only obtainable by those purchasing the horse at BFest, I sort of gave up in half-disgust.  Just another  secondary market target;  or so I thought.  I was delighted a few weeks later to find myself proven wrong, and Blue Zeus' pin listed on Breyer's website.  I went and indulged.  While Breyer's pins can't really be compared to Minkiewicz's, for instance, I now have four Unicorn pins by them, depicting 6 of the creatures.  [Two of these pins are of horses sculpted by Mink.]  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that Breyer, also, knows my soft spots,...

... like Blankets!!  I was very pleased to find this 75th Anniversary blanket is unusually soft and thick.  It's lined with white fuzzy fleece and the golden binding has minute rainbow sparkles all through it.  Push my buttons! -- even though the front closure is of minimal design and does not really fit Jota /(Beyond the Pale in my herd).  Delightfully, the design is printed on both sides:

Speaking of blankets, here's a purchase which technically falls under Christmas on Mane Street.  I got this through Anne Field's Field of Dolls Live Sale.  It's a blanket by Kathy Wood.  I have several K Wood blankets, but this one beats 'em all for sheer detail and fanciness.  Only one other blanket-maker I collect (Nichelle Jones) compares with this:

This one too is soft white fleece inside.  Dig all the straps.

Circling back to Bobbie Allen of Horse Tender, I need to briefly explain that I'd lost out on a Santa doll auction during the CR Dispersal series.  My own Santa is a disgrace and I'd been looking for a replacement.  Bobbie happened to mention she'd found "Santa suit" Christmas tree ornaments in a store known for cheapness.  I asked if I could buy one and she said yes.  Amazingly, I was able to get Steve, my Western Handler (note chaps and turquoise bolo), into the suit.  I think this goes a good ways towards solving my Santa, although Steve is going to have to get out of it again, since he refuses to wear a beard.

With this photo, we close in on my first, nearly only and truly inaugural Christmas on Mane Street purchase.  I got a halter.  One halter.  By the time I got there, only nylon halters were left from this particular rising star of a tackmaker.  I'd gotten a halter from Dani Boiko before, but this was emotionally necessary retail therapy;  and outside of the Field of Dolls sale, it was my only C.O.M.S. purchase.

Even something as simple as a nylon stable halter can, in the hands of different tackmakers, reveal their different styles.  Tongue buckle or no, rolled throat or no, different hardware, lead or no;  these are all clues.  I was quietly amazed to discover the Savvy Appy halter didn't have a pointed tip to its crown strap;  rather, it featured a flat end.  In 45 years of model tack I'd never seen this on purpose.  And yet it immediately made sense.  The nylon end was heat-sealed, so it couldn't fray.  And to beat all, it passed quite easily through the buckle, giving me no trouble.  Learn something new every day...

You never know about tack until you put it on the horse.   It's a truism about the field,  reflecting what I value:  the feel of how the piece goes on.

Let me slip in another view of Bobbie's SM blanket and Poet.  This photo shows their other sides.  I was pleased how this blanket design managed to fit under even his overpowering mane.  Let it snow!

Penultimate shot.   This shows the true extent of gifts from Horse Tender:  see those picture postcards on the right?  And the lasercut wooden coaster?  All from this multi-talented artist.  I'd like to point out Bobbie's elegantly simple way of shaping the halters with only bubblewrap.  It's another idea I'd never seen in all my career, yet it is so obvious.  It just makes me wonder what the hobby could be capable of, if we'd been more connected.

One last gift from the Good Mail gods is the postcard peeking out from behind the box on the left.  That's from my husband's hobby of paper wargaming.  Technically it's an advert from Operational Studies Group but I snagged it because it's a great painting of equine art, Napoleon on Marengo (I presume).  I love adding spare equine ephemera to my usually-in-deep-sleep stamp albums.

If you don't hear from me until February, Happy Holidays!