Today, we're going to be discussing a topic that I see pop up all the time... the difference between chalky and non-chalky models. Before I continue, I want to make it clear that we're talking about modern chalky models, not vintage. Breyer doesn't make true basecoat chalkies anymore (in which there was a layer of basecoat painted over the bare plastic before adding the color due to the differences in paints of the time period) but they DO sometimes repaint models that didn't sell into a brand new color, and call them "basecoat" chalkies, or just simply "chalkies" by collectors. These modern chalkies mostly pop up in the Tractor Supply models. A lot of the first models released as Tractor Supply exclusives are repaints, but not all of them are. For example, the horse on the right in the picture below was a the holiday horse, Snowbird, that I purchased from my local Tractor Supply when they first put them out for Christmas. He was clearly a repaint. Later, when I was sent the holiday horse from Breyer (before I decided to no longer sell regular runs at the end of 2022) I was sent the non-chalky model shown on the left. If you look closely especially at the facial features, you'll see that the chalky model (right) has sharper bone structure and the mane is also very pronounced compared to the softer look of the model on the left. With the chalky, the cheekbone is very visible and all the muscling in the face is cleary noticeable. Let's zoom in a bit: The shading of the chalky also seems to pop a bit more whereas the non-chalky has more of a soft, well blended shading. Some collectors have said that if you can shine a light through the horse, then it is not chalky, however I will note that this isn't always 100% true, as I've had chalky models that I know were chalky (as in Breyer purposely advertised them as chalky) and you could still see light pass through them, so take this method with a grain of salt. The best way to tell is simply by looking for the sharper features. Once you see a chalky, it is usually easier to tell when you see it in person.
I think the chalky looks the best on greys, although I have seen it pop up on other colors as well. As these two were so different, I've decided to keep them both. Comments are closed.
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