Reviewing models

  I've recently found myself drawn to the 2013 Breyer Classic Morab/Mariah mould. I don't know whether it's the colours she's so far available in, my passion for Morgans or just the overall aesthetics of the model itself, but she's starting to tug at my heart strings. It often happens that way; I'm not overly excited about a mould when it's first released, but give it time and I might just come round to it. But I can't seem to shake a niggling doubt at the back of my mind that her conformation is a bit...off. I felt it back in 2013 when the mould was first released, which is probably why I dismissed it as uninteresting, but it just feels as if there's something... not quite right about her.

   Now I don't pretend to be an expert in equine anatomy at all. I am well aware that my knowledge on the subject is basic at best, and whilst I may have learnt a thing or two over the years I am still in no position to judge the conformation of a model myself. So I went looking for reviews of other collectors online. And whilst I have found one or two that bemoan her conformation, not one of the ones I found explains why they think what they've said.

   This is a real bugbear for me, especially when I'm looking for information that will influence whether I purchase a model or not. A helpful review doesn't just give the reviewers opinion, it says why they think a model is poorly conformed: is the head too big, are the hindquarters too square, are the hocks too straight, are the shoulders set at an unnatural angle etc etc. Such information is not only helpful to someone who's trying to decide whether to get the model or not, but it also educates other collectors and trains their eyes to see the faults too.

   I understand that not all reviewers are experts in equine anatomy, and not all opinions about a model qualify as 'reviews'. But please, if you're going to review a model, explain why you don't like something about it, especially if you're critiquing its conformation.

  As for Mariah, I still don't know whether to get her or not. We'll just have to see.