Breyer Horses

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'Breyer Animal Creations (or just Breyer), a division of Reeves International. Breyer first started in 1950. It is a manufacturer of model horse, and is one of the oldest model animal companies in existence. The company specializes in models made from cellulose acetate (a form of plastic) and are best known for their model horses, although various wildlife and domestic animal models are also produced, including an extensive line of List of dog breeds. Its model horses are some of the most renowned model horses in the industry, being as the models are both inexpensive and realistic. Breyer manufactures well over 5 million models annually.

Each summer, the company holds a festival for model horse collectors called Breyerfest at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.Breyerfest has been held every year in Kentucky since 1990. Every year since 2002 has had a different theme, and 2009 is their 20th anniversary. The company also publishes its own magazine--Just About Horses or JAH for short, and has six issues per year.

History

Breyer Animal Creations was founded in 1950 in Chicago, IL., originally called Breyer Molding Company. They gained recognition when the company was commissioned by F.W. Woolworth to create a horse statue (now known as the # 57 Western Horse) to adorn a mantel clock. Soon, orders people started asking if they could get only the horse.From there on out, Breyer has been a major leader in producing model horses.

Reeves International was founded by Swiss entrepreneur Werner J. Fleischmann in 1946 as a toy specialty company. In 1984, Reeves International acquired Breyer Animal Creations and spent the next 20 years completing its transformation from toy distribution to manufacturing. Today, Breyer remains a wholly owned subsidiary of Reeves International. Model horses are sold through independent distributors. They are now also sold from their website.

The company specializes in realistic, scale models of horses made from cellulose acetate, but has branched out into porcelain and resin horse figures as well. Breyer has also produced dog models since the 1950s and began producing other animals such as cats, farm yard animals, and wildlife in the 1960s.

Scales

There are four basic scales of Breyer horse models:

Traditional: 1:9 scale (each model is around 8"H x 11"L) Classic: 1:12 scale (dollhouse; about 7"H x 5"L) Stablemates: 1:32 scale (about 7cmH x 6cmL) Mini Whinnies: 1:64 scale (each "adult" horse is only one inch tall)

Breyer used to make "Ponies" that were to the same scale as classics but had real mane and tails and were targeted at younger children, however these were discontinued recentley and replaced with "Pony Gals"

Breyer also makes dogs, cats, cattle, wildlife, farm yard animals, etc. Breyer has also recently released "Pony Gals" which are a 1:12 scale horse with mohair (hair that is soft and similar to real horse hair).

Molding and Painting

The company specializes in realistic, scale animal models made from cellulose acetate but has branched out into porcelain and resin figures as well. Most of the company's products focus on model horses and the tack and accessories (such as stables, barns, Horse grooming implements) that accompany horse care. However, Breyer has also produced dog models since the 1950s and began producing other animals such as cats, farm yard animals, and wildlife in the 1960s.

Each horse is cast in a two-piece mold. Then both halves are put together and the seams are sanded and polished. Markings and color patterns are usually obtained by using a stencil, although most older models were airbrushed by hand, with markings such as undefined socks or a bald face merely left unpainted. Most detailing, such as eye-whites (common on 1950s and 1960s models and enjoying a resurgence in modern models), brands, or other individual markings are painstakingly hand-painted.

Breyer uses a relatively limited number of molds (shapes for the models), with most molds having been released in several colors. For instance, there is a commonly used mold referred to as the Family Arabian Stallion (so common that its known as the FAS to collectors), and Breyer has released models of this mold done in white, black, dappled gray, chestnut, palomino, and so on, with various markings and details such as socks and blazes, appaloosa blankets, even Native American paint decorations. They may also have different finishes, such as matte or glossy. Each version of this mold is considered a separate model, and is almost always given a number and name. So for example, the Family Arabian Stallion in palomino matte is very a common model, made for 20 years by Breyer, and is #4. And the only completely black Family Arabian Stallion is one of the rarest FAS models, only 200 were made for a special occasion, and it doesn't have a number as it was a Special Release. New molds are often introduced, and old ones are sometimes retired (not created anymore), or even accidentally broken or lost.

The coloring and marking variations are infinite, of course, and include all the variations found among actual horses. Breyer also releases models done in "unrealistic" colors known as "decorator" (also known as a deco) or "fantasy" colors. For example, they have put out many models done with metallic gold or silver paint, or Wedgewood blue. Some are called Copenhagen and filigree, which is much like small spotted paint splotches all over the body, and they are usually blue or gold. They have recently introduced a metallic "two-color" paint with a very flashy effect. They have several models with scenes and images painted on them, and even a few that have been cast in a translucent form of cellulose acetate, making them look like blown glass.