PLUSHIE!!!!

 I've fallen behind with the BF horses again, but I'm slowly recovering from this demon flu so should get back on top of it!

But this is the most important one that I've missed, THE PLUSHIE!

Here is Sulky

Isn't he too cute? With his ickle silks <3

Popular Votes Photoshow Voting

 It's that time of the month again, the entries are in and it's time for you guys to get voting!

This month's theme was Copperfox and there are loads of gorgeous entries.

To vote all you need to do is go to the Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1493893527541574

Then you will need to go to each album and vote for your favourite entry in each by 'liking' your favourite picture.

Catching up on BF Horses

 I've been dying of flu the last few days and am not coping well with life, hence the lack of Blog posts!

But I am determined to get some things done today so let's update on the missing BF horses:

FVA Grand Design

Jump and Drive

Scurry

I love all three of these, they are so beautiful. I particularly like Jump and Drive!

Wells

 Well wouldn't you look at that a drafter being used for a special run at a driving themed BreyerFest. Well I never. 

Wells is a gorgeous silver dapple black on the Clydesdale Gelding mould. The colour on this guy is so unusual, he is just beautiful.

His dapples are just lush! I am definitely going to try and get my paws on this one.

Delft

 This has to be one of my favourite BreyerFest releases for this year. Delft is the Classic decorator limited edition and is based on porcelain. The pattern is just gorgeous.

There was also a new sneak peak which also appears to be a decorator. No idea what this one is but the pattern looks super cool!

Green Boi

 My Christmas Day special arrived on Friday, I was feeling super rough so no unboxing but I do have pictures at least.

I really wanted a plaited one so wasn't that pleased with green. Colour is nice I just wanted plaits. I am contemplating rehoming him so I can buy myself a nice plaited variation.

I suppose whilst I am still contemplating his rehoming he should at least get a name. So he has been called CRS Beauty Calls (not Green Boi, although that is a good name)

So Much Guessing

 Two sets of BreyerFest guessing for you guys today!

First guess is....this...

Is blue? Blue horse? Blue moose? Blue potato? Who knows. Anyway is blue.

Next we have the Surprise Horse guessing! 

My money is on either the Show Jumping Warmblood or the True North moulds. Let me know your guesses in the comments below?

HD Harkness

 The latest BreyerFest Limited Edition to be released is HD Harkness. This is a lovely bay on the new Morgan mould

A nice simple colour on this mould. It's nice to have something a little more plain

Why is no moose?

 The latest BF releases are Surrey and Axie, a cute little Lady Phase Mare and Foal.

Available to in person and online ticket holders.

Whilst I'm not too fussed about these guys I do LOVE a swishy tail Lady Phase so that is super exciting

BreyerFest Sneak Peak

 Here is the latest Breyer sneak peak, what do you think it could be?

The pattern on the first one doesn't seem that horse like, to me it feels almost like a cow. But it has been pointed out that it could be a blanket appaloosa pattern. The mare and foal special run set has not been revealed so it does make sense for this to be the mare and foal set, the Clydesdale Mare and Foal set seems like an obvious choice.

Evaluating Your Collection

 It's a new year and with a new year comes a bit of a stock take. I do think it's important at times to go over what you own and start to think about where there are gaps and where your focus should be for the next year. This is particularly true if, like me, you're a regular shower who doesn't really have any specialism and just likes to have all the pretty things!

The main focus of this post is going to be evaluating your collection with regards to having a well balanced show string, but this can be used in lots of other ways too :)

So here is my guide to start evaluating your collection.

Step 1: Cataloguing

If you haven't catalogued your collection then this is your cue to start. You need to catalogue your collection from day one. On a very basic level if your house burns down and you don't know what you have you won't be able to claim on the insurance, so please catalogue!

There are tonnes of different ways you can go about doing this (and I've already written loads of tutorials on it) but here are the three main ways:

1. Paper catalogue
2. Spreadsheet
3. Specialist software

Some people do still like to do a paper catalogue, either in a binder, notebook or one of the specialist model horse cataloguing planners. This is a lovely way to do it and looks beautiful but it can be time consuming, it is also not much help if it burns with your house (you should have a fire proof box in your house where you can keep important documents, if you are paper cataloguing and don't have one, get one).

A spreadsheet (either excel, sheets or similar) is probably the most popular option. I've done a tutorial on it here. 

Finally you can use specialist software. There are a variety of different programmes out there designed to do this. The two I've used are MyModelHorse Database and OMHPS (this is a photoshowing database but can also be used for cataloguing if you have less than 2,000 models). I did also use one years ago that came on an actual disk (so vintage) but I cannot remember the name of it!

Once you have your models catalogued you can move on to data collection.

Step 2: Know what you've got

Now you need to know what you've got. There are various ways to do this but this is my super duper not technical simple method.

I use a blank excel spreadsheet. Along the bottom are tabs for different finishes. On each sheet is a column for the different show classes like so:

Underneath each one is a list of all the horses that go into that class. That way I can clearly see who I have for each class. I also use this to help pick horses for showing. You can also use filters on your actual catalogue to help with this.

As an aside the green squares are BMECS qualified horses for 23/24/25.

Step 3: Where are the gaps?

Now the next question is, where are the gaps. Above is an extract from my OF sheet. Not many gaps there. Now take a look at ARC:

Immediately you'll note that some columns aren't even there. I don't own a single ARC Paint Horse for example. You can also see some have WAY MORE horses than others. It is really no surprise that I own thousands of fantasy/decorators and then hardly any realistic models.

Seeing where I have gaps can help me to think about what I might want to focus on creating for the next year. This is especially useful if you have like 100 blank resins *maybe more cough*. So in terms of my painting for this year I am definitely going to increase my stock horses and I could also do with a few more British Native. I should probably not paint anymore fantasy or decorator models for a while!

Step 4: Where can you make cuts (if you want to)?

This step is totally optional. But if you do want to cut down your collection you could start by making cuts where you simply have too many horses to realistically ever show. Using this spreadsheet I can see that I have 156 OF Fantasy/Decorator horses. The reality is it would take years for me to show them all so most never go out. If I want to make cuts this is probably the best place to do it (I won't though, you can prise my decorators out of my cold dead hands).

Step 5: Where could you introduce new blood

The final step is to think about where new blood could be introduced. It may be that yes you have ten very nice CM Arabians, but actually they are all 10 years old and don't really do much anymore. Maybe, looking at that, a focus for this year could be adding some new ones. If you also cross reference with your workmanship tab you could focus down even more by trying to fill gaps in colour as well as breed.

So there we go! Collecting evaluated and stock take done. Now to start planning some shopping for the new year :D

You Don't Have to Have it All Figured Out

 In the last week I've seen several posts on Facebook along the lines of "How do I start collecting X?" "I want to collect X, what should I buy?" which always seems so strange to me because surely collecting is just buying stuff you like until you have a lot of it? The idea that you'd need someone else's opinion on what to buy is just bizarre, if you like the thing, you can afford the thing, then buy the thing.

Which is why I'm here today to say this very important message

You don't have to have it all figured out

Your collection doesn't need a goal or a plan. It doesn't need to be perfect, or the right thing or 100% show stopping pieces. It doesn't even have to be all horses, you can just own things with no purpose and that's OK.

The harsh reality is that a large proportion of what you buy is probably not going to keep its value. Generally speaking a regular run Breyer will not fetch as much as retail price on the second hand market (there are some exceptions). All models will get damaged, particularly if you show. You can try to avoid it as much as possible but rubs, marks and breaks are inevitable when you are shifting models back and forth every weekend. At some point your Springer Spaniel will eat a horse and a cat will knock one off the shelf. One day you are going to smash one of your best show horses putting it back in the cabinet. Some things will increase in value and some will be a decent investment but a lot of what you own won't. And that's OK. The point of collecting isn't to get rich at some mysterious point in the future at which you sell the items, the point is to buy beautiful things, that you love and fill your life with richness. 

So if you're not sure where to start, or want to start collecting something different, here is my advice. Just buy a thing. Anything. There. You started.

I shall leave you with a picture of the beautiful Plum, who one day will hopefully be able to go off to a repair artist and be made whole again.

Three New Arrivals

 These little guys arrived last Tuesday but I didn't get around to photographing them until today.

They are the final international release from the 2023 Stablemate Collectors Club. This includes the Gambler's Choice model.

First up we have Jameson aka CRS Satanic Verses

This beautiful glossy black pinto is just darling. I love his little pink nose.

Second we have the Gambler's Choice Atli aka CRS Rowena

I was a little disappointed with this one as every year except the first year of the Stablemate Club I have received the decorator and I feel it has become somewhat of a tradition. However, the colour on this little guy is lovely and he has some very sweet dapples.

Finally we have the new sculpt, this is Kit aka CRS Rights of Man

The colour on this model looks so nice. The beautiful clipped pattern is so unusual! Although those eye whites are a bit much!

This Better Be a Moose

 I swear if Breyer don't do a moose for BreyerFest this year I am going to be moostly upset.

So the question is, is this a moose? Or even a mousse?

I definitely think with all that texture it is the other animal. Although it has been pointed out that it could be Brighty and I definitely don't think that's a bad suggestion. It better be a moose though.

Let me know what you think this Special Run sneak peak is in the comments below.

Via Lattea and Araba

 I've got two new BreyerFest 2023 models to share with you today!

First up is Via Lattea the first of the Limited Edition models to be announced

And second we have Araba the second special run to be released

I really like Via Lattea. I wasn't a massive fan of the colour that this mould was originally released in but for some reason I really like the white. She looks absolutely beautiful.

Araba is a pass from me, the colour is stunning but the mould itself is a huge no from me, having seen it in person I just cannot tolerate those front legs and shoulders, but the colour is absolutely stunning so I wouldn't be completely disappointed if I got him!

Show String Rankings: How To

 When you've been showing for years it often becomes hard to identify which are your best and worst models. Sometimes you probably feel like you take the same models to every show and although you feel like they are your best they aren't actually doing as well as you would like.

So today I'm going to share with you a quick and easy way to rank your horses and get a good picture of who is still succeeding and who is falling short. All you will need is MS Excel (or similar) and a bit of time and patience.

Scoring System

The first step is to create your own scoring system. You will need to allocate a number of points to each of the different awards your models can win. How many points you award is up to you but it needs to be consistent.

My points system is below: 

Overall Champion = 100
Overall Reserve Champion = 85
Overall Reserve To Reserve Champion = 70

Section Champion = 50
Section Reserve Champion = 40
Section Reserve to Reserve Champion = 30

Top 10 = 25

Champion = 20
Reserve Champion = 15
Reserve To Reserve Champion = 10

Best of Breed/Group Winner = 8

1st Place = 6
2nd Place = 5
3rd Place = 4
4th Place = 3
5th Place = 2
6th Place = 1

I also double my points for BMECS/NAN placings.

Now you have a scoring system in place you are ready to start your spreadsheet and start ranking.

Setting Up Your Spreadsheet

Set up a spreadsheet with columns as follows:

1. Horse's Name

2. Points

3. Show's Attended

4. Average

To work out the average points you will need to enter the following formula into D2

Now you can go about populating your spreadsheet. This is going to be extremely time consuming if you have been showing for years and just starting out so maybe try to aim for a year a week or something similar!

Start by recording the total points for every horses in Column B

Next go back over your show lists and record the total numbers of shows each horse has attended in Column C

Important Note: Even if a horse has zero points if they have attended a show you will still need to make a note of this.

You should notice that column D automatically populates with the average points.

You should end up with something like this:

I have applied filters to make organising easier! You can do this under the 'Data' tab.

Sorting Your Horses

You can now sort your horses by two main methods either their total points or their average points. To illustrate the difference between the two look at the list of my top OF horses. The first is sorted by total points:

And the second is sorted by average points:

You will see the two lists are very different. One of the reasons you want to use average points over total points to see your top horses is that if you have a model that you have been showing for years (like Bushka for example) they will have a LOT of points and it will be hard for newer models (like Sultan for example) to make their way onto the list. Look at how many shows Bushka has attended compared to Sultan! Using average points therefore allows you to ensure that new horses that are doing well fit into your show string and old horses that maybe did well in the past but haven't placed in years drop out.

Final Tips

The final thing I would say is try to split by finish, that way you know your best horses for each finish:

I have also started linking these into my Massive Horse Spreadsheet. This means that I can sort by things such as make, scale and breed to tell you who my best OF Arabian or best CM Thoroughbred is. This is really helpful when it comes to specialist shows.

Speos

Speos is the first of the BreyerFest 2023 Special Runs to be revealed.

I absolutely love this colour on the mould. I wasn't really a fan of him in grey but this chestnut is just beautiful!

You can read more about him here: https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/breyerfest-blog/our-first-special-run-reveal-1

Simplify Your Paint Collection

 Does your studio look somewhat like this?

If it does then you might want to think about simplifying your paint collection. Afterall, you are meant to be collecting model horses and not paint! 

Here are some of my top tips to simplify your collection

Remove Empties

The first step to organising your collection is to remove all of the empties. If you haven't used a paint for ages it has most likely dried up (especially those annoying 'new' Citadel paint pots). Go through and remove all your empty pots and chuck them out!

Also note to me: maybe remove the paints that are actually stock and put them back in the stock room seeing as you did the YouTube video on them like a year ago?!?!?

Sort

Now you are going to sort your paints by colour type. This is how I sort mine:

1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. Green
5. Blue
6. Pink
7. Purple
8. Black & White
9. Greys
10. Light Browns
11. Dark Browns
12. Dull Browns/Stones
13. Metallic
14. Glitter
15. Colour Shift
16. Other Specialist Paints

How you sort your paints is entirely based upon what you own and use. I do lots of decorator customs so I need more space for all my decorator and fantasy colours. I also own lots of specialist paints for these purpose.

Look for Duplicates

As you are sorting your paints look for duplicates. If you find duplicates consolidate them into a single pot and throw the empty pot out.

Why do you need that colour?

You now have a nice organised paint collection but you probably are still finding you have a LOT of different colours. The final step is to thin out your collection. With each paint think about why you need that colour, do you actually use it or did you just buy it years ago because you thought it was pretty? Is it actually the colour you thought it would be or is it a different colour?

Take all the paints you no longer want and look for a new home. There is often a good market for second hand customising supplies. You may be able to combine the lot with other unwanted supplies such as pastels, brushes or tools.

Storage

Store your paints in their colour categories. I highly recommend a nail polish stand for holding your paints, I have an acrylic one that holds all the colours I use on a daily basis. You can also get wooden stands and many companies make specific stands for their brand of paint.

Make sure that after you have used a colour it is put back neatly where you got it. Doing this will ensure you can always find what you need and will also mean you have a wider range of paints to look at when trying to choose a colour. 

I also recommend keeping a white board with all your paint colours on. Make a mark when you need to purchase a new paint, that way you will never run out!

My Favourite Tutorial

 As a miniature things addict I just wanted to take some time to share one of my favourite mini making tutorials with y'all.

Desktop Stables has, quite frankly, some of the most incredible hobby themed minis. Making miniature things is honestly so much fun, I love making my dolls little tiny books and catalogues and all kinds of fun things. When I did my Model Horse Shop I even made them a little mini version of the Chestnut Ridge catalogue! But learning how to properly scale things down and print them can actually be quite tricky, not everything works first time and sometimes the scale is just not quite right. That's why I absolutely love this tutorial, it helps you to learn how to scale things down.

Once you have learned the basic tools needed to scale real life items down to mini scale the world is quite frankly your oyster (or book). You can literally make anything you want to! That way you can spend all your time making your dolls tiny little copies of inappropriate things (like my mini copies of 50 Shades of Grey) that you can sneak into their live show scenes to see if anyone spots. I mean you could make normal things as well but why do normal when you can do ABNORMAL!

So if you too would like to have a go at making tiny things check out the tutorial here: https://desktopstables.com/2015/10/18/some-tips-for-making-printable-minis/

Enjoy!

(and don't forget to share what you make)

What's happening this month?

Can you believe it is already 2023? I certainly can't, isn't it funny how time just comes and comes and comes...

A new year and a new month so here is a rundown of what is happening this month!

Win a Tyrian

Tyrian is a beautiful unicorn ornament created as part of the Breyer 2022 Christmas range

If you would like to get your hands on one then you can win one this month by entering our colouring competition.

How to Enter

Colour in this picture below:

You can download a better quality copy from our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chestnutridgemodels

Once complete email your entry to competitions@chestnutridge.co.uk

In your email make sure to include:

• Your Name
• Your Address
• Your Email Address
• Your Completed Entry

A winner will be picked from all the completed entries at the end of the month. We will upload all completed entries to our Facebook page (without names). 

Terms and conditions:

• One entry per person
• Entries must use the image attached
• Any medium can be used to complete the entry
• All work must be your own
• Entries without the relevant information will not be accepted
• International entries are accepted but will be responsible for postage costs
• Prize = Breyer Tyrian Ornament. No alternative prizes available.
• For full terms and conditions please email competitions@chestnutridge.co.uk

Entry details will be kept until the prizes for the contest are posted. They will then be deleted.

Models on Sale

This month's theme is draught horses. To celebrate these beautiful heavy horses we are offering 10% off all draught models.

Grab a bargain now at www.chestnutridge.co.uk

Obsidian is now just £50.39!

Popular Votes Photoshows

Congratulations to December's champion

This month's theme is CopperFox

The show is now open and you can enter now at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1493893527541574

All types of CopperFox models are welcome to enter, including original finish, artist resins and customs. There are a good spread of classes so you should be able to enter a good part of your Copperfox collection.