How fast does a year fly by?
Last year, this Saturday, we said good bye to the greatest equine athlete we’ve ever seen and perhaps the best globally of all-time when WINX retired….after winning the Gr 1 Queen Elizabeth.
She has since tested positive in foal to I Am Invincible as chapter two of her storied life unfolds.
But to commemorate her achievements on the racetrack, a huge American company has started making statues of her.
Winx, our Aussie Winx, is the poster child for Breyer Horses in the thoroughbred section of this U.S. company.
Breyer creates model horses for people to paint. Kinda like model car making but these are already made.
But that’s not all. There are some models, like the Winx version, that are already hand painted by their own experts at the site. They come as a finished product.
The Winx model, which is available online for US$46, stands about 20cm tall from hoof to ear tip. It is a stunning representation of her. Even has her famous brand to authenticate her.
“We didn’t set out to release the model on the anniversary of her retirement, but we are lucky that it has coincided,” said Jocelyn Cote when I contacted Breyer.
These guys have been around since 1950 making model horses. Their work is outstanding.
The manufacturing process is like this:
A wire armature is created to give basic shape to the body and pose.
Sculpting clay is applied by hand to the wire armature to build the underlying muscle structure. They used many photographs of the mare to achieve a perfect replica.
The finished sculpt is cast into a copper and steel mold.
Molds are injected with Cellulose Acetate, an expensive resin selected for its ability to capture the depth of detail, delicate feel and richness of color in the models.
Once the model is molded, each individual model is prepped and finished by hand and then turned over to the painting department for hand painting and detailing, using both paint and air brushes to achieve unique techniques.
It’s a pity the ATC didn’t know about these babies. They would have made great trophies for the day.
But perhaps they can still get a few for when the Winx Stakes is on later this year.
