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!