Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week's issue is Sept/Oct 2008, so let's get going!
On the front cover, the brand-new Newsworthy model takes a jump.
In the Editor's Desk, Arlene talks about how great Breyerfest 2008 was and reveals the dates for Breyerfest 2009.
On page 3 we have Letters to the Editor.
On page 4 is the first page of the article about Newsworthy.
On page 5 we have the rest of the Newsworthy article. I couldn't find much information about Newsworthy, but with a birth date of 1993, he has probably passed on by now.
On page 6 we have the first page of the Breyerfest recap/photo album.
Breyerfest photos continue on page 7, including a photo of the legendary $13,500 auction Alborozo. To this day, he has never popped up in public again that I know of. His sale price was a record that stayed unbroken until 2019 when the glossy buckskin pinto Alborozo auction model sold for $22,000.
The Breyerfest photos continue to continue on page 9.
The Breyerfest wrap-up concludes on page 10 with an article about the design, production and then destruction of the Alborozo mold, including photos of the destroyed mold. Alborozo remains a very popular model, being pretty much the only Celebration Horse that has gained significant value with time. And OF Alborozo models will only get rarer over time as people customize them.
As for the destruction of the mold, over the years I've seen at least four "hobby lore" explanations for why it was done:
1. Publicity stunt
2. A gesture of goodwill to Brigitte Eberl, who'd been burned by Stone in the past
3. The mold was made from a different type of steel that gives more detail, but wears out much faster than usual
4. An agreement with the real horse's owner
If you take the above article into consideration, the publicity stunt is at least the "public" reason for destroying the mold. Prior to sculpting Alborozo, Brigitte Eberl had sculpted something for Stone with the understanding that it would only be produced in plastic, only for Stone to release it in resin (thus directly competing with her own resin business). So it's thought that the destruction of Alborozo was a goodwill gesture from Breyer to Brigitte. I've never seen confirmation of that anywhere, though. I've also never seen any evidence for the destruction being due to an agreement with Avi Cohen, the real Alborozo's owner. As for the "mold being made from different steel" thing, my assumption is that the mold was made differently because it was going to be destroyed and thus didn't need to last as long.
I wouldn't be surprised if all four of these possible reasons have a grain of truth of them, but I don't think we'll ever know for sure, unless the involved parties eventually spill the beans. It's been 17 years since all this went down, though, so it's kind of old news by now. While it's sad that we don't get any more Traditional-size Alborozo releases (other than the occasional auction model), at least we do now have the Stablemate-size, mirrored version of Alborozo.
As for the destruction of the mold, over the years I've seen at least four "hobby lore" explanations for why it was done:
1. Publicity stunt
2. A gesture of goodwill to Brigitte Eberl, who'd been burned by Stone in the past
3. The mold was made from a different type of steel that gives more detail, but wears out much faster than usual
4. An agreement with the real horse's owner
If you take the above article into consideration, the publicity stunt is at least the "public" reason for destroying the mold. Prior to sculpting Alborozo, Brigitte Eberl had sculpted something for Stone with the understanding that it would only be produced in plastic, only for Stone to release it in resin (thus directly competing with her own resin business). So it's thought that the destruction of Alborozo was a goodwill gesture from Breyer to Brigitte. I've never seen confirmation of that anywhere, though. I've also never seen any evidence for the destruction being due to an agreement with Avi Cohen, the real Alborozo's owner. As for the "mold being made from different steel" thing, my assumption is that the mold was made differently because it was going to be destroyed and thus didn't need to last as long.
I wouldn't be surprised if all four of these possible reasons have a grain of truth of them, but I don't think we'll ever know for sure, unless the involved parties eventually spill the beans. It's been 17 years since all this went down, though, so it's kind of old news by now. While it's sad that we don't get any more Traditional-size Alborozo releases (other than the occasional auction model), at least we do now have the Stablemate-size, mirrored version of Alborozo.
After skipping yet another ad for the Collector Club, on page 12 we have the beautiful Party Girl, a special run for JAH subscribers.
After skipping Artist's Sketch, Mailbag, Model Horse Show, some Saddle Club stuff, a how-to article and an update on Breyer Canada, on page 23 we come to the first page of this issue's Vintage Point! This issue doesn't just cover one mold, though - it's all of the models Breyer had produced of horses that had competed at the Olympics!
Vintage Point continues on page 24.
Vintage Point concludes on page 25.
After skipping Breyer UK, the Calendar of Events and On the Trail with Breyer, on the inside of the back cover we have Ethereal Wind! Finally, a new release on Ethereal!
On the back cover of the magazine we have the Elegance Dressage Collection, part of the Elegance series. This is one of the more sought-after Salinero releases because of the detail of his paint job - one of the best dapple grays Breyer has ever done. And with that, we've reached the end of this week's magazine! Check back next week for Nov/Dec 2008!
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