Unpopular opinions

I got this idea after watching some "unpopular opinion" videos about art from Youtube. I mentioned this to my friend LittleYoungOne and we started thinking about a model horse version of such a list. Here it comes! (And these are indeed opinions, so don't pull a pea field into your nose if you disagree. I know that I write in an aggressive style, but I will not sand corners off from my words just to please others.) 

Rämä the rex rat boy with an ASB filly called Piiru.

Perfect is not realistic and realistic is not perfect. (Alias perfection is overrated.) I have talked about this before, though not so sure if I have published any of that yet. But I stick with this saying, as it's basically my motto.

I feel like the browband is too short...

Another reason why I think perfection is overrated is because ideal setups are rewarded, although the other option could be realistic despite not perfect. I mean, sometimes you see real horse tack being put on sloppily or just weirdly. Things don't always look clean, sometimes it is just messy or half-done. Why is that not okay for a model horse setup, if it still could be seen in full scale? I don't understand. 

(Just a note: I think this perfection vs. realism is a topic which most potentially gets misinterpreted and also the one which most likely makes people angry.)

Drafts and ponies are underrated. LittleYoungOne has felt that drafts have been underrated since her earliest years in the hobby. It can be true. I have noticed how drafts are underrated also in real horse life (which I mostly see through internet, ah irony), to the level that people describe them as "slow, clumsy and incapable". All that only because the draft is not going to help you to get towards your competition success. May I ask, why are people hobbying horses to begin with - to be around horses or just to ride to gain success? 

Limppu with a halter which I made to fit a Stone Percheron. (The halter now lives in USA.)

Showing is overrated. Have I mentioned that I have never done any showing? And that I want to learn to do quality horses and tack just for the sake of having them? Usually when I see people collecting tack or wanting to improve, it seems to be because they want to show. Why? Could you seriously put all that effort only because you want to compete? 

Maybe this is showing, or maybe it is just about posing for a nice photo.

And as Jennifer Buxton has mentioned in some old blogpost ages ago, the community often forgets that there (here) is also a herd of model horse collectors who don't show at all. I am one of them.

Common and basic colors are underrated. Leopard complex, pinto patterns and all kinds of fancy dilutions are really popular, and you see them way more than you could in real life. I personally am a weird horse person in the sense that I could prefer a "boring" color, like any kind of solid bay, over a spotted blanket, tobiano or - aaaaaa! - a frame overo. Seriously, people should study the base colors further... There's way more to see and paint than you could think. I recently colored a lineart and used a photo of a chestnut horse as my palette. I don't remember the exact number, but maybe I used seven or more shades and tones for the body and legs only, and then some more for mane and tail, then don't even make me talk about skin, eyes and hooves. That is your average 'solid' chestnut horse. 

The said solid chestnut.

Non-smiling dolls are underrated. I am biased with these, so believe me. Plus I am a pessimist myself, so overly happy and smiley people just annoy me. But the real reason to why I listed this, is because I don't see many Barbie-smiling riders in photos of real riding. Some kinds of confused or grumpy expressions could be way more accurate most of the time, especially for scenes where there is more action. And isn't a grumpy face often a sign that the rider is focusing on their riding, which should be a good thing...?

Little Damage focusing on a horse who is not his.

Non-teamworking (performance) horses are underrated. I don't even know where to begin in this... People can see a misbehaving model horse, for example a bucker or just... not moving perfectly. They think it's not correct or that it will not be successful in shows. To me, those are what gain my interest more than anything - it's the dynamics! And seriously, real horses misbehave, and that gets recorded in videos and photos all the time. Even at the big levels. As I have mentioned, perfect is not realistic and realistic is not perfect. The first thing I ever learned about this hobby is... the need for realism. One more motto: If it's possible in real life, then it is possible in model life. 

I didn't find any useable photos with imperfect horses, so have some pretty trot instead.

Vintage molds are sometimes more realistic than newer molds. This I have noticed accidentally... The oldies may be less flashy, less shiny, less muscular, less detailed, less colorful. But they are more authentic in many ways. They look actually real, unlike all those flashy show horses with balloon muscles and all that shine. (This was exaggeration.)

Ludi being ridden by Silly Silli, the only human in my modelverse. (Thanks to LittleYoungOne for getting Silli to me! He is one of my studio mascots these days.)

Plain tack is underrated. It's great that people want to reach higher levels and challenge themselves with more detail and decoration, but... Where are all the generic stable halters these days? Non-decorated bridle browbands? Flat, non-decorated bridle nosebands? Why is everything so flashy and fancy, like fashion? Simpliness to the clouds! Or wait what... I focus on tack which is more or less just functional but not exactly cool to look at. Or then the coolness comes from the proper function and clean seams and such. Basics. 

A very basic halter where the leather got sanded.

Okay, I eat some of my words now, because I personally try to challenge myself with complex tack exactly because if I didn't, then it could become uninteresting (and this has happened, with halters). But I still mean what I wondered in those tack questions.

What could you like to read next time?

Why just that horse? Kave edition!

So, Afuze wrote a great post about choosing what models to get. And I promised to her to write my own. So here we go!

Sign Of Hope
I don't quite know what made me fall in love with Kodi. But I did. At the time I could not get it, I did not have the money for models. So I had it's picture open on my phone at all times! I was sure, that it would sell out before I could have the money to get it. But then my life turned around, and I decided to treat myself to make me feel better. Also my mother gifted me some of her prize. I thought getting this model could be a sign of hope, sign of things getting better. So I bought her, and I am completely in love. One of the best buys I've made. Also, she was not named immediately. I felt she was special and needed a special name. And then I was listening to Scorpions' new song Sing Of Hope and it clicked. Sign Of Hope really tells what this model was and is for me. At bad times I now look at her, and I think that things will get better.

Sign Of Hope "Kodi"/"Sinkku"

Silence In The Age Of Apes
 This one is a model that when I first saw her I was sure I would never get. Or to be truthful it was the first ten times... I did not like it's colour added to the mold lady phase at first. Then things just turned around one day. And I NEEDED her. Getting her wasn't that simple either. I wanted a foal model really much, and that model was the priority for me. So I wanted to find a good mother to the foal. As I think genetics are important with horse colours I talked with Afuze for hours about what mare to get. We had to dig deep into genetics and make sure this mare could be the mother of the foal. In the end, to my delight we came to the conclusion that Sumppi could be Litku's mom. So I bought her!

 I am in love with her, and she kicked off my final love for vintage molds. I did not like them that much before getting her and now I need them all! Her colour also has grown onto me, I think it is beautiful on Lady Phase mold. This model is a must get for everyone!

Silence In The Age Of Apes "Sumppi"

Little Bit Off
And we are circling around to the foal I was talking about. I drooled over her for years. I did not have a traditional foal in my collection before her. And I like to keep my collection as versatile as possible, so getting a foal was a must. I already told a bit about getting her. I knew that I was going to order her, but looked for days to find a mother. I wanted her to have a mother! Breyer doesn't make enough mares! But in the end I got her (was the last of the shop, so was lucky to get her as she is not produced anymore) and I am really happy with her!

Little Bit Off "Litku" on the right

Itch You Cannot Scratch
This one was my first breyer! I had been dreaming of breyers for years, and finally asked my mom for one for my birthday. I ordered Sam, but because there was an error Sam was actually out of stock. So I told my mom she could decide what one to get. This is another model that I did not want at all. But with this, that was my opinion until I got him. And the rest is history... This is the only mold I want to conga, and he is a favourite in my collection. So much, that he has his own private shelf! Love, love, love this boy and could not be happier that I got him. If it wasn't for my mom I would of never got him. Pictures don't do him or the mold justice!

Itch You Cannot Scratch "Kutina"

Tango Del Dolor
 This boy was a model that I kind of got in a whim. He was on sale, and I googled pictures of him. I did not like the christmas decoration, and it hid the beauty of this one! I saw a couple pictures of him without the tack and fell in love. I LOVE grey colour on animals! This is due to the fact that all my dogs are grey. I know that grey colour works different in horses, but I still love getting models in shades of grey. This boy is a really loved one in my collection. I really love Moody molds, so obviously this one I like. He has gorgeous shading, and under all that tack you can find a model that every collection would like having. Or at least that's what I think.

Tango Del Dolor "Tango"

Other models
Yes, I know I have many other traditionals in my colletion. But a lot of them do not have entertaining stories like the ones above. And I think this part belongs here. Some of my models I can't remember teh stories for. I have just liked them and got them. Before getting a model I always google photos, Breyer's pictures are not that good. A lot of models I would have never gotten if I only looked at those.

I like having a lot of variety in my collection, so I always keep that in mind while buying models. I like having different colors, molds, breeds, you name it. Another thing I look into nowadays is my modelverse. I sometimes need different models for it, so some of my buyings are based on that. Also I just sometimes think a model is pretty and want it just for that reason.

A lot of models have been gifts from my family. With these I normally give them a list of about five or so models that I would like to get. Then they which one to get and surprise me. Because of this I can't write about these models. Sometimes I have a spesific one I want, and I just ask for that instead. But most of the time I go with the list, because it is fun to be surprised. Also it is not always easy to decide on one!

Cliffside Playtime "Kliffi", was a gift from my mom. This one was chosen by her from a list I made. She is amazing.

Easily Enchanting "Esteri", is a model chosen from a list by my sisters. He is greatly loved here!

Factory weirdnesses

I'm so very good to say this, as my collection isn't huge, but I already know I have one model that is different from what all his clones are. My Cortes lacks eye whites!

How common are this kind of flaws in Breyers, overall? Is it nice or irritating to find out if your model seemingly is one of these? (I know some collectors don't accept even small flaws in their horses. This alone will do a difference in each collection.)

I personally like my C a lot. Partly because he was one of the two first Breyer trads I actually bought from internet; the first EVER was my PAM who was a flea market treasure.

I've noticed that sometimes Breyer should have some variety in the expressions of their horses, as the "looking forward" is not an option all the time, really. Often horses try to look more to the side or backward than forward.

For me, flawed models are really unique, as long as it's not about something like a paint drop escaped to wrong area - like with my Babyflo who has sand brown drop on her forelock. It definitely doesn't belong in there, so it's a factory mistake.

Anyway, I seem to be the rescuer of all failed models generally, according to how well the failed models end up with me. It's not a bad thing as long as the issue isn't too big or clear or disturbing.

I also have a random hobby of purposely finding and buying flawed models, as long as they fit my taste. Bent legs are not nice, I hate that as a thing, but interesting errors like paint flaws and mistakes are nice to find. I've done that with Schleich now, and I own a couple falabellas and a eyeless pony mare.

The falabellas I bought at 2017 as I was buying victims for a customizing tutorial I was doing with beginners in mind. I found what I needed, but my eye stuck to a difference among the row: one falabella was painted differently than the others, while being meant to be the same color! I have no idea how soon I could see the same thing again, so I had to buy both normal and the weird one and one normal for customizing.

The 'average' falabella pony. Creamy-ish color, no much contrast between the coat and mane & tail.

The strange one. He's much more yellow compared to the average guy. Hooves are very dark as well.

As you compare these two, you may notice how different not only the colors are, but also the spots. Especially the backside spots look like they're not meant to belong to one and same pony (good).

Their difference is this clear both through photos as seen with eyes.

I could definitely like to get information of why this kind of paint differences do happen in a batch that is sold at same time. At least I can try recognizing different painters by that, but it still feels weird.

The pony mares I bought at January 2019. As always, I was again looking for potential art victims, and saw that actually that pony mold wasn't so badly sculpted as most of Schleichs are. I was fine with having one OF in my shelf next to future CMs. As I checked which of the ponies was most flawless, I noticed that one of them had no eyes painted! It was a zombie! I bought it and one okay conditioned normal pony, but nothing for customizing, since I already had choosed one horse for that and Schleichs are too expensive to buy a lot at once.

The zombie pony.

While factory errors can be interesting, they also are gold for a artist who is interested to find out how some products are made. It's clear that Schleich loves airbrushing as a technique, just to use a brush after it. Though this isn't a difficult one to guess by those ponies. I rather continue to wonder why and how that kind of flawed model sneaked through the process and ended up in the store, and after it in my collection. Where was this mare made? How did it end up in Finland, let alone in my town? How was I in that store buying her at the right time? Schleichs are quite mass-produced stuff so this is a interesting coincidence. The shelf wasn't even overpopulated of the horses.

I don't see this kind of things very often. Maybe that is thanks to strict quality control, which focuses on keeping the models safe for little kids, I guess. Paint flaws definitely are not a safety risk, so they sometimes end up in the shops.