Featured JAH - 12/9/2023, July/Aug 1996

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week's issue is July/August 1996 - so let's dive in! 

On the front cover, a cowboy sits at a campfire. On the back cover, a cowboy's horse dramatically rears up in front of the morning sun. 

On the inside cover, Iron Metal Chief appears in a sneak preview! He debuted in 1997 and I got him for Christmas that year. He was a much-loved part of my carpet herd! 

In the Editor's Desk, Stephanie reveals that plans are already underway for Breyer's 50th anniversary in 2000, as well as a reference to the hints of new Stablemates molds in previous issues.  Dear JAH deals with a question about flockies, and Who Am I? features a Phar Lap in gray (I think). 

After skipping a Brushstrokes article about sculpting and another article about the 1996 Olympics, we have a short story by a JAH reader on pages 12-13. JAH occasionally featured stories like these, and I liked this one when I was a kid. 

On page 14 we have an article about Breyer portrait horse Karma Gypsy, whose model was part of my carpet herd, and on page 15 is the start of a Breyerology article about flockies. 

On page 16 the Breyerology article continues, and page 17 has a Blast From the Past featuring the chestnut PAM, and Just About...Breyer Animals features the Modernistic Buck and Doe. 

In the centerfold, the Circus Ponies in Costume make their debut. I never bought these because of my fear of breakable things, but if these were ever released in plastic, sans tack, I'd be first in line to buy them. 

On page 20-21 is more of the Breyerology article with some nice color photos, (but still not the end!) and a small feature about the flocking process. 

On page 22 we finally find the conclusion of the Breyerology article, and on page 23 is an article about Breyer portrait horses Misty II, Black Mist and Stormy. 

Bringing us to the end of the issue, the Vintage Point article featured the Proud Arabian Stallion. I really liked the Proud Arabian Stallion and studied the last page many times, wanting more PAS models (I only had Sundown and eventually the dapple gray). I still have my Sundown in a little "carpet herd" area of one of my shelves.

That brings us to the end of this issue - check back next week for Sept/Oct 1996! 

Featured JAH - 12/2/2023, May/June 1996

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week's issue is May/June 1996 - let's get reading! 

As you might be able to tell by the condition of the cover, this issue holds the distinction of being the first issue I received as a young subscriber in 1996. I was 10 years old and had sent in my subscription card some 4-6 weeks earlier (possibly longer  - I seem to recall an apology being published in one of these issues about taking a long time to fulfill new subscriptions), waited eagerly for a few days, then kinda just gave up on ever receiving it. Lo and behold, a few weeks later this issue arrived at our house! I eagerly got to reading and may have also done some customizing work on the front cover, which is a piece of fan art from a Breyer jr. art contest. On the back cover, the handsome Snowbound model takes a jump. Due to his appearance in this magazine, I desperately wanted my own Snowbound and finally got one as an adult, only to sell him later when I got rid of all my Jumping Horses. 

On page 2-3 we have the Editor's Desk and the World of Breyer news column, including a piece about the Snowbound model. According to the magazine, the Snowbound model was "limited" to 14,000 pieces - which seems gargantuan compared to the special runs we have now, or even back then. I suppose they figured a lot of Olympics fans would want him. 

On page 4-5 we have some more news blurbs and a Breyerfest update, including a photo of the new Brown Sunshine model. 

After skipping a How-To article and most of an article about the show jumping at the 1996 Olympics, on page 12-13 we have some nice illustrations of a canter pirouette by Carol L. Howard and an article about Breyer portrait horse Bo Diddley. 

On page 14-15 we have the final step in the process of producing the porcelain American Saddlebred Parade Horse. I guess we don't get to see the painting process, which is a bit sad. 

On page 16 there's an article about J.B. Andrew, another Breyer portrait horse (oops - there's a typo in the article), and on the opposite page we have a Blast From the Past about the Breyer Race Horse and a Just About...Breyer Animals featuring the Walking Black Angus Bull. 

On page 22 was the rest of an article judging various dressage performance setups, and on page 23 is a Breyerology article about various types of brands on model horses. 

On page 24 is the conclusion of the brand article, as well as a Who Am I? featuring what looks like a bay Legionario. The first page of Horse Trader is cropped out. 

Lastly for this issue, the Vintage Point article focused on the Phar Lap mold, which had already had quite a few releases by this point, considering it had only been in use for 11 years. Native Diver, the black Phar Lap portrait of the real horse, was a prominent member of my carpet herd around this time and was played with enough that he ended up one of the few models I had that broke a leg - multiple times, because superglue just didn't hold up very well. The bane of my existence! 

That's all I have for this issue - tune in next week for July/Aug 1996!