Today was a wash. Nothing worth discussing here, though, so on to the ponies.
The latest thing to fascinate me? An old post on the Collector Club forums from early 2014, featuring a photo of a flyer. One of my close friends made the photo known to me, and now it's buggin the cheese out of me. The photo? This:
The post? This:
Looking for Andalusian Leopard Appaloosa (Photo)
Dec 12,2014 1:35 pm by __________________
Hi there,
I am looking to purchase the horse in this photo:
http://i.imgur.com/Jb2550K.jpg
I took this photo at a trade show some years ago where the horse was
for sale but unfortunately passed on buying it. I have had absolutely
no luck finding it since.
If anyone has any leads it would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
(
https://www.breyerhorses.com/index.php?pageId=357&postId=73123 )
I am going to ramble now, so keep with me.
Do you're natural instincts deceive you? No they don't. This is the same model that was on the Collector Club Banner for so long.
All the other models in the photo were released. Some as very limited runs, sure, (Silver Screen, Red Velvet, Fandango... all are limited (some to an extreme extent) except that Nobel (or Templado, can't quite tell) chillin out back there). So where does leopard boy fit in? The rest of the pretty boys aren't tests, so where would a test fit in? Maybe he wasn't intended to be a test. And maybe he's not.
 |
| The SJW Conga features 6 Test Pieces |
When was this banner taken down and exchanged for the current one? Sometime in 2014, I believe. When the Andalusian banner was added I'm not sure. Perhaps as early as 2012, when the Collector Club first began. All the models (except possibly
'The Appy') were made a few years before the club started, and if Breyer really does have a copy of every model, then the banner needs little explanation. They took a photo of a portion of their Andalusion conga for a promo. No biggy.
But
'The Appy'... my guess is that he may have been in the development phase when the banner photo was taken. As in that model is the actual test (and the same model in the flyer photo- their spots
do match). To call him a test color would be a stretch. The test color for the paint job is elsewhere. Or is it?
Take a deep breath and think about my proposal, which is incorrect, but it flashed through my mind when I first saw the flyer photo.
Was this Andalusion a test for the Sheik af Hallundbaek paint job? No, I don't think so, even though the dates add up relatively well. Let's say the
'The Appy' was made in early 2008. He was a test color, he just was. Then Sheik's owners gave them a call, and they started making Sheik. But at one point they needed to print a promotional flyer, featuring Sheik, and Sheik wasn't ready. Bam, they tossed in this Appy to fill in. (this sort of thing happened every day in the old days). The
'post writer' doesn't say how long ago 'some years ago' is, but it
could be six and a half. My biggest question now is
Was it a Breyer employee who offered to sell this horse to you? Breyer may have whipped up a small batch of these Appys for promotional purposes. But a
very small batch, like 3. My second biggest question is,
Was it in the classic Breyer packaging? Whether or not the person who wrote the post is still active on the forums I don't know.
But I'll try and find out.
There are a couple things that support that this Andy isn't an actual pre-production test for Sheik. #1 being the lack of the brand, #2 being what the flyer says. It doesn't say Sheik. It says Black Leopard Appaloosa. #3 being the markings don't exactly match Sheik. In other words, this thought of '
The Appy' being a test for Sheik is worth thinking about, but not true.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the only model of the four on the page that was released is the Bay Roan Draft. (as far as I can tell). I don't know anything of the 'brown Dun Pony' or 'Tennessee Walking Horse'.
(Although it feels like the TWH could be a gallery piece, but I'll dig into that in a moment.)
One more theory is that this model was planned for production, and the pre-production piece was featured in the CC banner photo for promotional reasons. They put the model in a flyer and made some samples of him. They went to a show and offered the samples for sale, and let people take a look at the flyer. Then, he was suddenly canceled. In this scenario
'The Appy' would be made in 2011, making him available for the 2012 photo shoot.
His appearance in the Banner could just be a fluke. Breyer was just taking a photo of their Andalusions, and he happened to be at the end of the conga. But his appearance in the flyer? Nope, couldn't be a fluke.
Another theory is that he was made as an Employee Appreciation Model, and one employee took his model to a 'Trade Show' and put it for sale. The Flyer? Perhaps he was crafty and printed up a little something, featuring other tests he had seen. Because, the Bay Roan Draft was once just as elusive as this Appy now is.
Think about it. If the
writer of the post really did take this photo of a flyer at a trade show 'some years ago' the photo wasn't taken in 2014. But 2014 was when the Bay Roan Draft was released. At the time, the Bay Roan was also unknown. This leaves us with a ray of hope;
The Appy might still be produced.
As for the Tennessee Walker, it does strike a resemblance to the Peter Stone Tennessee Walker. But who'm it reminds me of most is the Gallery piece 'Dixie Land Grand' who I was very fond of (and still am). Perhaps they were testing the mold in plastic (as I'd love to see it that way) and took a photo of it for this flyer?
Maybe all the pieces originally in the flyer were work-in-progresses. We don't know, perhaps the top of the flyer read 'Things to Come' or something of similar meaning.
My third big question?
Why did you not take a photo of the whole flyer, post writer?
Or maybe the photo is all just bogus hooey.
That is all for now. More as the story progresses.
