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!

Not everyone lives in the United States

Today I want to write about the international side of the model horse hobby. We both live in Finland, and have seen the things I'll talk about today. It sometimes seems like a lot of people living in the US thinks everyone lives there. This can be seen for example in the great model horse groups of Facebook. While Afuze doesn't use this platform, I myself am active there. And I am not going to lie, I envy the collectors living in US.

A group picture of models I took for our Finnish information page about this hobby. Some of the tack made by me, some by Afuze.

Could you, American hobbyist imagine this: no live shows, no Breyerfest, no physical stores selling Breyers. This is the reality for us living in Finland, and I believe to a lot of collectors living around the world. I can only dream of a model horse convention. Also going to a physical store to buy models is one of my big dreams that I don't see becoming true anytime soon.

Today I read a thread on Facebook about Breyerfest special runs. The original poster suggested that Breyer could sell the special runs online for people that don't attend Breyerfest. There was people telling that people who pay for Breyerfest should be the only ones allowed to get Breyerfest special runs directly from Breyers. But this is what I am talking about. To the ones saying this, Breyerfest is only about attending and the willingness to pay for it. They don't realize that some people cannot attend Breyerfest even if they wanted to.

I am one of these people. Getting to Kentucky would be way too expensive for me. Also, I would have to fly. I am terrified of flying, so even if I had the money or any of the other resources getting there would be impossible. And here I am not even discussing the moral side of flying! Flying is one of the biggest polluters on this planet, and that on it's own is a reason not to fly. If I lived in the US or Canada I would run to Breyerfest. But for me that's impossible since I live in Finland.

A Finnhorse custom by me, named Varhaiskaali (primal cabbage). Finnhorse is a Finnish breed so it seemed fitting to have a picture of Kaali here!

Reading about people's attitudes in that thread made me wonder if I am (or we are) considered less important collectors? Are we not good enough to be seen in this hobby? Just because we don't live on the same continent as others. I understand that Breyer (and other brands) are not charity, they're businesses. So it makes sense that they have to charge for shipping here more, or otherwise they can't make anything available anywhere. But I would like other collectors to not have the mentality, that the indicator of a serious collector is being able to attend Breyerfest.

Other things American collectors seem to take for granted are for example physical stores. Well, here we have one shop called Lahjakas, and while you can go to their stock to buy models, it doesn't really count as a physical store. I love this online store though, they ship really fast and have the best customer service I've come across. But children here don't usually have Breyers as toys as they're so hard to get. And this means no models in thrift stores and none in vintage stores etc. Afuze has been able to get a PAM from a thrift store, but that's it. (Afuze comments: I remember how even the experienced Finnish hobbyists were shocked when I told them how I found that model!)

I am really wanting to conga the traditional Peruvian Paso mold, but I most likely can't afford it right now. Even if I could find some of them, the shipping to Finland gets expensive. But I must start the conga when I am rich... which might take long. Some hobbyists I know buy a lot of models secondhand, but from what I know these people are adults with jobs and spare money to spend (I am twenty and a student so that probably tells enough).

One of my rarest models.

Another thing I see is different is being able to sell your work. Here we don't have a big market for model horses, their tack or anything related to them. So if you want to sell your stuff you have to sell abroad. And I don't see that many people excited to buy from Finland, and it seems like making a name takes more since you don't automatically have that many hobby friends with the same native language. I would say that also the lack of physical events like live shows makes this harder.

Speaking of friends. I don't know anyone IRL who collects! Afuze is a dear friend of mine, but we have not yet met in real life. We are definitely planning to, but live hours away from each other and neither of us have cars. This hobby feels lonely here, this is one of the reasons we started this English blog. It seems like no one reads our Finnish blogs.

I have never attended a live show. We don't have them here. So that side of the hobby is really strange and unknown to me. It seems to be a huge part of American model horse people's hobby, but here I am. It doesn't even exist to me! And it's not because I want it to be that way, so it's kind of sad.

Halter and halter rope I made for Afuze, already rehomed to her collection.

I am writing this, because I want us to be heard too. It seems that people are always surprised when I tell about my hobby and the differences between Finland and United States considering model horses. I am actually sad, that we don't have many things other people have and really dream of live shows etc. Both Afuze and I have worked to get this hobby more known here, but it's hard when people don't even have a way to find the first mentions of (about?) the hobby!

Who is Kave?

Well, well. After a long (embarrassingly so) time of not doing anything about this blog I am here to introduce myself. So today you'll learn who is Kave!

I am the pigment-crazed one in our duo. I am 20 years old, I own five dogs and will study to become a nurse. My english isn't the best yet, but as I'll study in English I believe it'll get better. My life has been a real journey in the last year. I moved away from my parents into a small apartment. Then I moved back here to my parents. Here I have more space for model stuff. I currently have two tables, one for studying etc and the other one for model stuff.

My "artist name" is Kave, and I use the name Silmin Maalatuin models. Silmin maalatuin means with painted eyes, it's a name I gave for my Finnish blog a long time ago. Since then it has become my "studio" name and I go by it. 

Working with pigments

I prefer pigments when painting models, and this has become sort of an speciality of mine. I also customize but am just a beginner in resculpting. Customizing is fun, but it's a lot of learn and error at this stage. Also I am really not a horse-person. Which I find funny, since I collect model horses. Don't get me wrong, I love horses BUT it's not my favourite animal. My favourite is dogs, and bovine! This really doesn't matter that much, but it makes this hobby harder for me. I have studied horse colours, breeds etc all for this hobby. I still get confused with all of these a lot...

My collection is... versatile? I have lots of scales, lots of different brand and animals. I have tigers, horses, dogs, a lot of cattle... Safaris, Collecta, Breyer, Schleich, Papo... I have fantasy animals that I make in my own style etc. Looking at my modelshelves can be a real journey. I believe I am the only one who won't be surprised by what you can find there.

I have been collecting since 2009 or 2010, so for ten years already! It took me long to get into breyers, because getting them in Finland is hard. But for years I dreamt of them, and now I have over 20 (I need to count them again...). My entire collection is something around 300 models.

I am planning on posting about my hobby way more in future. I haven't posted here before, which is embarrassing. But sometimes life just doesn't go according to plans! But I am back at blogging and you can't get me out for good (even if I take some breaks every now and then). This introduction is short, but you'll get to know me better with time!