Hi folks!
It's me again! It's been a while...my laptop has finally been upgraded to Windows 10, which took a LOT longer than my BF and I anticipated. I was without this laptop for about a week. That being said, it put all of my computer-based projects on the shelf while this happened. So, again, no chalky results to share! But at least I realized that it's mostly done in Google Docs, I just need to add the data from the 1970's Chalky Traditionals. At one point, I thought I'd been working on all of it in MS Word and was under the impression I'd totally need to start over. Not the case, thankfully!
This week has included a lot of inspiration and ideas flying around for me, both for work and for the hobby! I keep getting new ideas and breakthroughs on things. My back hurts, but at least my mind is being kind to me this week.
I thought I'd share some insights on why I believe I joined the hobby at a critical juncture in its history.
I got my first Breyers at age 9, for Christmas (a couple months after my birthday) in 1999. I spent the next year up until my 10th birthday becoming enamored with the world of Breyer, and adding Stablemates, Paddock Pals, Classics, and Companion Animals to my collection. For my 10th birthday, I received my first group of Tradtionals from my parents, grandparents, and aunts & uncles- Misty, Stormy, Copper (Sham), the brown blanket Appaloosa ASHF, and THREE of the chestnut blanket Appaloosa Indian Pony (my Nana, aunt, and cousin had all gone shopping at the same Toys R Us and hadn't consulted each other about which ones they bought!) We exchanged two of the Indian Ponies for the black pinto Trakehner and Zippo Pine Bar. (Also, don't worry, none of the IP's were the variation without the spots- even at that age I would have noticed they were different!)
In the early 2000's, there were a lot of major changes happening in the hobby!
- Molding technology was swiftly improving, and the newer, more detailed molds were being introduced every year
- The rise of resins and level in the detail of artisan work, plus the competition from Stone was beginning to help push this direction from Breyer toward greater realism
- While there were a few newer molds, many vintage molds were still regulars in the lineup. I credit this with my adoration of vintage molds and models
- Prices were on the rise, but they were still a far cry from today. Stablemates are the only ones that haven't changed much, as they are still within the $3-$5 range for individuals. Classics were around $12 for individual models and foal sets, $15-$18 for horse & foal sets, and $20-$25 for 3-4 horse family sets or those with a lot of accessories. Traditional foals were a similar price range, $12-$18 or so. Traditional adults ranged from $20-$30, and the $30 ones were usually Limited Editions or other specials. Special Runs from sources like Toys R Us or JAH would have been in the $35 range roughly, maybe a bit more for some. I didn't attend BreyerFest until 2004, but I think prior to that some of those runs may have been as inexpensive as $45, compared to today's prices. Connoisseurs started at $95 back in 2001!
- Communication in the hobby was transitioning from an analog to a digital format. This began in the 90's with the advent of forums and retailers offering models online, but it absolutely picked up steam over the 2000's. I always read through the advertisements in JAH, but since I was a bit young to be buying and selling, I never participated in that. (I subbed to JAH at the end of 2002).
- Live shows were beginning to branch out and offer a wider range of classes and divisions. It was still unusual to see China/Resins in their own classes, and taking Collectibility into account separate of Breed was still very new as well. I definitely even attended a couple shows that had Customs and Artist Resins compete against each other! In the OFP world, having more than one Spanish breed class was very unheard of, and folks were just starting to consider giving Stones their own classes for popular breeds, such as Arabians, Stock Horses, and Drafts. Classes were almost always placed through 10th, and there were overall callbacks for division champs without sectional ones in between, in which a Champ and Reserve were named along with a Top 10 or Top 5, depending on the size of the division/show. I'm not a performance person, but this might have been the point at which OFs started getting their own divisions away from the artisan pieces. (For context, I started live showing in October 2003!)
I actually could have gotten into Breyers a bit sooner, maybe earlier in 1999 or 1998. I remember admiring the Breyers at Toys R Us, particularly the Dapple Gray Clydesdale special run from 1999, but I had to stick with the cheaper Grand Champions because the Breyers were a bit too expensive (or maybe my parents just wanted to make sure I would be careful with the more expensive Breyers and wanted to wait until I was "old enough"- though I was never all that rough on toys, so who knows?) I did eventually get that drafter, and he's still a wonderful member of my collection. In fact, I can probably credit him as one of the reasons I have such an adoration of the Clydesdale family!
Comments
Post a Comment