Schleich Alpacas

Before I begin, Heartbeat would like to thank you all for your lovely comments on her introduction post. She's already stolen my camera and gone off with it, so it looks like her first adventure is underway!

For this post, however, I want to talk about alpacas. The Schleich alpacas, to be precise.

As a fan of the videogame series Harvest Moon, I'm very fond of farm animals, and more recent games in the series have now introduced alpacas to the lineup of livestock available. This, in turn, got me interested in the Schleich alpacas, but since they're retired it's taken me until now to get hold of a set. And, I've got to say, they are every bit as adorable and fuzzy as I expected!

 Schleich label them as a 'stallion', 'mare' and 'foal' respectively, but I have failed to find any references to these terms being used for the animals in real life. Instead, it would seem that an adult male is called a 'macho' (literally 'male' in Spanish), an adult female is called a 'hembra' (Spanish for 'female') and a baby up to 1 year old is called a 'cria' (from a root word meaning 'to breed/to create'.

 The models are smaller than perhaps expected, being about the size of the Schleich Fell or Dartmoor ponies, but much daintier. Since alpacas are quite small and slim in real life, I'd guess that probably makes these guys 1:24 scale.

 The macho has very interesting, unique colouring. There are 22 defined shades or colours of alpaca fleece, ranging from white to black, fawn to brown, and pinto to spotted. From what I can tell, the macho's colour would probably be described as a mid to dark fawn, but I like to refer to him as 'fox' coloured :)

 The hembra is a much more straight forward dark brown with white patches. The models are of the more common Huacaya (pronounced 'wa-kai-ah') breed, but interestingly she bears a striking resemblance (at least in colour) to this real-life Suri.

 I can't help but think that alpacas look a bit like a cross between a camel and a sheep, especially with those thick fuzzy coats...

 

 The cria is just the sweetest little thing!  Look at that little smiling face!

Baby alpacas make me think of a cross between a lamb and a foal: two of nature's cutest newborns (at least in my opinion XD). I love how she's a cross between mum and dad, with the hembra's white markings and the macho's fawn coat.

 Whilst mum seems very mature and no-nonsense, dad seems to have a twinkle of mischief in his eye, and I think he's passed it on to his daughter. There's just something very cheeky about that little grin...

Seeing as they're a unique little family of three in my collection, I wanted to give them all matching names. Eventually I settled on 'Farthing' for the macho, 'Tuppence' for the hembra and 'Ha'penny' for the cria, which are all names of old coins here in the UK. If I ever find some more alpacas for my little herd I'll be sure to keep up the naming tradition with them :)

Heartbeat

For a couple of years now I have been searching for a little toy or model to carry with me wherever I go. I just like the idea of having a little mascot/companion in my pocket that can join me when I go out.  My criteria for it were quite specific:

• It had to be small enough that I could carry it anywhere without attracting attention (I really don't want to have to explain to everyone I meet just why I'm carrying a toy horse with me...)
• It had to be able to travel safely without the imminent risk of getting damaged or broken (so no clinkies or Stablemate foals with long spindly legs liable to snap)
• And it had to be separate from any of my collections (I'm more than a bit of a perfectionist, so I can't stand the idea of splitting up a collection by carrying one model around whilst the rest are at home on my shelves...)

 The trouble was, I just couldn't find anything that I really connected with. I wanted the model to have meaning for me, not just be a random toy that I carried around. And then, this year Breyer released their second series of Mini Whinnies Blind Bags.

 I'd never really been that interested in Mini Whinnies in the past, partly because it's really difficult to find any for sale in the UK, new or used. And then I saw the models that would be in this series, and one in particular stood out and grabbed my attention.

A solid chestnut mare with a self-coloured mane and tail and one little white sock.

Slowly the idea dawned on me that here was the model I'd been looking for! Small enough to fit in my pocket undetected, made from a slightly bendy plastic so there's less chance of bits getting broken off, and completely separate to any of my collections, with the added benefit that as a little chestnut mare it spoke to my heart. Now all I had to do was find one.

But with a 1 in 17 chance of getting the model I wanted from the Blind Bags (and no codes on this series to decipher who's inside) I really didn't want to buy a Blind Bag new. Like I said, I don't collect Mini Whinnies, and if I started to I wouldn't be able to use the mare as my pocket companion. My only hope was to try and find someone (in the UK) who was selling the mare off secondhand and opened.

After a couple of months of fruitless searching I stumbled upon a little Facebook group called UK Model Horse Sales. On the off chance I posted a wanted ad, and within 20 minutes had an offer!

So, I would like you all to meet my future adventure companion:

Whoever at Breyer was responsible for naming the latest set of Mini Whinnies doesn't seem to have realised the assigned genders of some of the moulds. Whilst I guess 'Joy' might work for a stallion, and 'George' could be short for 'Georgina', naming stallions 'Fiona', 'Hannah' and 'Elsa' is a bit much :)

 This lovely little mare is on the Walking Arabian mould. 

 Surprisingly, for such a tiny model, she's got beautiful paintwork and a multi-toned body and tail.

 Her only white marking is the sock on her near fore, and she's even got 3 dark hooves and one light hoof on her marked leg.  And her eyes are perfectly neat little black dots.

I was a little bit surprised at just how small she is. Here she is next to a Schleich cat.

 And standing on the back of a Traditional...

"Get off!"

"Aww, spoilsport!"

To protect her during her travels I've got this little velvety draw-string jewellry bag to use as a pony pouch.

"What is that thing?"

"It's big....and a little scary"

"Sniff"

"Does this colour clash with my hair?"

"Interesting..."

"What's up here?"

"Ooh, velvety soft!"

"Hey, I can go inside!"

"It's dark in here"

"Yes, I think this will do fine"

Looks like she's made herself right at home.

Of course, the smaller the horse is the more likely they are to get up to mischief. No sooner had she finished playing with the pouch the little mare decided to take a dive off my table straight into my cat's water bowl.

One very wet Mini Whinny. What have I let myself in for...?

Thankfully, little plastic ponies dry off easily. 

I think that's enough adventuring for one day. I would like to say a huge Thank You to the UK Model Horses Sales  Facebook group for helping me to get the little girl I was searching for. Oh, and before I forget, I've had this lady's name picked out for some time now. It feels only appropriate to name her Heartbeat, considering this blog's title. Who knows, you may even get a few guest posts written by her in the future :)

Breyer Madison Avenue

Breyers are like potato crisps: you can never have just one...

Yeah.

 So, I'd like to introduce you to my latest model. She's sculpted on the Rejoice/National Show Horse mould, and I believe she's the Madison Avenue model, but she could just as likely be the warehouse find/reissue version. I'm not really bothered either way.

   She's second hand, and has a lot of small rubs and scratches. You can see the most obvious two on the base of her tail and her off side hip. I can probably touch in the one on her tail with some brown/black paint, but her imperfections really don't bother me. In fact, as someone who only collects Breyers as a hobby, I'd rather have the imperfect models and let the pristine/immaculate ones go to the showers and competitors.

Probably the biggest thing that attracted me to this girl was her colour. She's got this fantasticly shimmery buckskin coat that wonderfully highlights the contors of her sculpting. I love the way her golden pelt is darker and lighter in places, and the juxtaposition between the rich tones of her body and the dark chocolate black of her points is just superb.

  I'm a big fan of solid colours in horses, so I like the fact that she only has a few white markings as highlights. I also like the fact that the markings on her legs are all different lengths. I feel that it really adds character to the model.

 The mould itself is really lively and animated. She feels like a very sassy, energetic mare, but at the same time very dignified and proper. It just feels like she's begging to be harnessed up to a light trap or prancing around a showring in hand.

 Because she only stands on 2 legs, her exaggerated tail is essential to balance the mould. Despite this, she's actually very stable and no more prone to tipping than any other model. Her long, thin tail does seem like a potential snapping point, though, so I'll have to be careful with her in that respect.

 Her off hind leg is actually drawn under her body as well as forward, and I like the fact that there's a very obvious slant in her hips to emphasise her movement.

 Her hooves seem a bit pale to me, but that might just be with age or exposure to sunlight.

 She's got an intelligent head. I love the way her ears are pointed in different directions. She's definitely listening to something behind her (her driver/rider, maybe?) whilst focusing on where she's going at the same time.

 I think it's a bit of a shame that her eyes are just plain black with a white edge. She's got such large, emotive eyes that it would have been nice if they were a bit more detailed.

 The black tips to her ears are a really nice touch, and something that customisers often forget buckskin horses have.

 

Her mane and forelock certainly seem tack-friendly, and she's got the large bridlepath traditional to the National Show Horse breed. I can't tell whether it's her golden colouring, her energetic pose or just the joy that comes with a new model, but every time I look at her I can't help smiling.

Most of my models quietly wait for me to find the right names for each of them. But true to her lively, sassy nature, this girl got tired of me procrastinating over naming her, and told me to hurry up and call her 'Jewel' already! I couldn't argue with that, so her showname is now Persian Jewel. I've got to say, it'll be nice to have a mare with a bit of attitude in the herd :)

Fun with Blankets and Collars

I quite enjoy sewing, even if I'm not especially good at it. So, when I found some of my old slippers that had worn through the soles and weren't wearable anymore, instead of throwing them away I saw an opportunity to turn the fabric into blankets for some of my model horses.

 When I say 'blankets', I really mean simple slips of fabric that can be slid over the model's head and rest unsecured on their backs. I'm not going for realism here: the main objective was really just to make something that would help to protect the models from rubbing against each other on my shelves. I don't have the skill or materials to make anything like a real horse blanket.

 The fleecy material was surprisingly forgiving, so the end results don't look too bad, in my opinion. I added the black bow on the adult rug for decoration. 

 With leftover material I then fashioned into a couple of foal rugs for Tobi and Tawny. Again, they just slip on over their heads to protect the babies from knocks and bumps.

 I'll have to get some more fabric if I want to make any more blankets in future, but these simple, easy rugs were fun to craft.

 Not to be left out, Kep and Dylan then asked for some accessories too.

 Kep got a bandanna, or half a bandanna at least. I started off trying to make a proper bandanna with a square of cloth, and then folding it diagonally to make the triangle and two tying ends.

But it was way too much material, so I cut it in half and sewed up the loose hem. Even then it needed reducing down so that the two ends would tie properly around his neck.

 

It's not the best, and if I ever try again I'll see if I can make the stitches less visible. But for now I like it, and it seems to suit him. At least Kep is happy with it.

 Dylan wanted a collar, so I fished out an old hairband, measured it around his neck and then cut it to size with some extra for fastening. I was quite pleased with the appearance of the hairband fabric for a dog collar. I then tried to add a little metal buckle, but since I still haven't got any fabric glue I had to try and attach it with a needle and thread.

After much fruitless effort, and a lot of frustration, I eventually gave up. The hairband fabric just wouldn't pass cleanly through the miniature buckle. So instead, Dylan got his collar sewn together and the excess trimmed off. It's too small to be removed now, but if I ever wanted it off  I'd just need a pair of scissors. It looks passable, at least, but again, I may try once more in the future.