For most of my collecting lifetime, there's been one manufacturer of model horses that has been constant: Breyer / Reeves International. I started collecting sometime around 1977 and, to my knowledge, they were the only company that really made models. They weren't exactly easy to come by, especially if you were only 7 years old and at the mercy of your parents to buy them for you, even at the low, low price of $5.99 for a traditional size. I was pretty lucky, though, because not far from my house was a toy store that carried Breyer horses. They had a couple of shelves of unboxed models and then they also had boxed ones. Back then, they came in cardboard boxes with the horses encased in plastic "bags".
Then, in 1978 or 1979, we became aware of a store that specialized in dollhouse miniatures, another obsession of mine, that also sold Breyer. The Doll House required driving to get to, but it wasn't very far. I couldn't walk to it like I'd eventually be able to walk to the shopping plaza that housed Toys N Things. By the time I could walk there alone, though, they were closed. Anyway, The Doll House would become my main source for most of my model horses.
It wasn't until my first live show in 1989 that I became aware of another company that also made models: Hartland. They had started out making models to be used with clocks
but would eventually cease production of those and start making stand-alone models like Breyer.
Hartlands weren't very plentiful in my area and, in fact, I didn't get my first one until a live show in Oceanside, CA in 1993, I think it was. It was an Arabian like the one in the top photo. There weren't many models available but the most popular one seemed to be Lady Jewel and Jade. Every time I heard about Hartland, it seemed to be about this mare and foal pair
They never did anything for me. No. My favorite mold was the Polo Pony, although I only ended up with 2. Like I said, they were hard to come by in Arizona.
I don't know what it was about him, but I really liked him and wish I still had one, even though I now recognize the brand as being rather inferior in quality. They were made from lightweight plastic and the paint rubbed easily.
I don't quite recall where I first heard about Peter Stone and Stone Model Horses. Well, I take that back. I knew Peter Stone was associated with Breyer and I remember when he "left", but I don't remember when I first heard about his new line of horses. I never saw them in any local stores, but by then, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find model horses of any sort. Toys R Us still carried some, but not a whole lot. Toys N Things had long since gone out of business and the owners of the Doll House were loyal to Breyer. They never carried any other manufacturer. Regardless of how I found out about them or when, however, I thought they were pretty neat. I only really liked one mold: the Ideal Stock Horse short mane / short tail. I have 7 of them, all but 1 a Design-A-Horse. The fact that I'm so ga-ga over ISH is funny since I've long since been a fan of warmblood breeds.
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| This one IS a DAH. lol |
The only non-DAH I had was a Windswept ISH, but I never really clicked with him and so I sent him as a PIF to someone in England. His name was Sleigh Bell. Strange name for a male horse, but that's the name they gave him. I also have one non-ISH horse that is a DAH. I have shared him here before. My *Muscat wannabe
He only vaguely resembles the famous Russian stallion that once stood at stud in Scottsdale, but it's who I modeled him after. It's impossible to get an exact replica under the limitations of the DAH program, plus since he was an actual horse, I wouldn't have been allowed an exact replica without the owner's permission and since he is no longer with us, I came up with the best I could.
Quite a few years went by without anyone new entering the model horse marketplace, which is kind of surprising if you think about it. Oftentimes other companies will see s success story and will want their piece of the money pie, so to speak, but it wasn't until a few years ago that another company tried entering the arena: Copperfox. The owner had been a Breyer dealer for a number of years and planned to continue selling Breyers, but that didn't work out. That's a different story entirely. Anyway, Copperfox was going to focus on European breeds such as the Connemara and Shetland.
They launched a kickstarter to help fund the new company and people got different rewards depending on how much they donated. Soon, the first models were trotting off the assembly line and headed out to collectors. They managed to plug along for a little while, despite production set-backs and issues with the molds, but it seemed like it was over before it even started. I won't go into detail, but Copperfox announce they were ceasing operations. I felt bad for the company owner, but wasn't entirely surprised. I never saw a Copperfox in person and never had any real interest in having any, although I do kind of like the two ponies on opposite ends of the bottom row. I think they're supposed to be Exmoor Ponies. I would probably buy the one on the far right, but the old molds were all destroyed when the company ceased operations.
Or did they?
About 6 months ago someone posted on Blab about seeing a "Coming Soon" banner on the old Copperfox website and it got everyone all abuzz. Apparently, someone bought the company from the original owner and is in the process of producing model horses again. Not only that, but apparently the new company moved to the United States. I wonder what that will mean for the "focusing on UK breeds"? Does that mean they will make ALL breeds? Well, not all, but more than just UK. Lots of people on Blab are excited about the prospect of "Copperfox 2.0" and are saying they can't wait to buy the new models once they hit the market. I will admit to being a little curious, but I don't know if I will buy any. Only time will tell.
So, tell me...are you brand loyal? Do you only collect Breyer or do you have Stone/Hartland/Copperfox, too? I'm just talking about plastic horses, not chinas or anything.
