OF vs CM, part 2 of the Breyer series

In this post I'll explain the differences between OF (Original Finish) and CM (custom) models, including the types of customizing, and the various methods artists use.


When you purchase a Breyer model horse from a store, it is in what is known as OF, or Original Finish (formerly Original Factory Finish), condition.  That is, the model is as it was painted at the factory, whether in a realistic color, or one of the decorators.

Thunderstorm on the Weather Girl mold, shown as Summer Squall

Breyer prides itself on producing "authentic" model horses, in realistic breed colors (Although in the early '60s they produced colors that were not accurate for the breed being portrayed; for example Appaloosa and palomino does not occur in the Arabian), and often will do "portrait models" - a model horse painted to resemble a famous horse such as Secretariat, the Lone Ranger's Silver, or Bright Zip, the Appaloosa owned by trainer John Lyons I mentioned in my post on Midwest.

For a period in 1997 models featured "bi-eyes," and a few even had "tri-eyes," which were eyes hand-painted at the factory to feature pupil and iris (bi-eyes) or eye whites, pupils and irises (tri-eyes); normally factory painted eyes are solid black.  (The bi-eyes are known among collectors as "snake eyes," because, for unknown reasons, the irises were painted in a U shape, which produced vertical pupils; horse pupils are horizontal.)

Hoof color corresponds with the markings on the legs - black (now more accurately dark grey) hooves for solid-colored legs, peach hooves on legs with white markings, even stripes on the hooves of Appaloosas, or horses that have ermine spots (a black spot on a white leg marking) or bi-colored hooves on a horse with a partial white marking.

But what if you really like a mold, but Breyer hasn't produced it in a color you like?  Or a new mold comes out and you think "Geez, that would look fantastic in bright chestnut!" but it's been released as a bay.  If you don't want to wait for Breyer to maybe release it in the color you want, there's always the option of customizing the model.

Customizing can be as simple as just repainting the model to the color/markings you want (And that can be as little as just adding white markings to the OF paint, or changing the color entirely) or as involved as straightening bent legs, lifting a lowered head, or even swapping out body parts entirely between two different models.

Jamaica Mistaica, a simple repaint on the Justin Morgan mold

Desperation Samba, a drastic custom of the Show Jumping Warmblood

 Jamaica is a black splash overo; I sanded off the Breyer logo (found inside a hind leg, up near the belly) and any rough seams, carved his ears out so they didn't look like solid plastic triangles, sprayed him with primer, drew out the pattern with a pencil directly onto the primer (based on Gambling Man, a famous Paint horse), then hand-painted him. 

Samba, on the other hand, is a perfect example of a drastic custom - artist Kathleen Moody (who designs models for Breyer) turned the tail out to the side, tucked the head, turned the ears back, roached the mane, and tucked under the right foreleg.

Compare Samba with Wascechun-Tashunka ("American Horse") below; yes, it's the same mold.

Some people who customize hand-paint in acrylics (like me), some use an airbrush.  Some prefer oils to acrylics, and some use pastel dust.  Yep, pastel chalk dust can be used to "paint" a model horse - after the model is prepped (seams & logo removed, any repositioning or carving done, and the model is primed) layers of pastel dust are applied, with a paintbrush or a Q-tip, or a make-up applicator.  You scrape the pastel stick with a blade of some sort until you get a pile of dust on your paper plate, dip your dry brush into the dust, and "paint" it right onto the model.

This is a slower method of customizing a horse, since the color has to be built up in layers, and each layer needs to be sealed before the next one can be applied to prevent smearing, and to give the next layer something to hold onto, but the end results can be fantastic.  Below is Brychan ap Llewellyn, an Indigo Blue resin I did in pastels; I did a base layer in acrylic, then applied layers of dark brown and black pastels. 

So how did Kathleen change that model so drastically?  Well, the short version is: magic!

But seriously.  It takes practice and talent to reposition a model.  If you check out this fantastic entry in artist Laura Skillern's blog, "Don't Eat the Paint," you'll get a quick explanation on the resculpting process.

Next up: model horse showing!