Arabian Mare, Liver Chestnut (Horse Country by CollectA)

Review and images by Harecraft Horses; edited by bmathison1972

When the promotional pictures of this stunning mare from CollectA came out, I was really concerned they might be a ‘too good to be true’ thing, showing a one-off custom artist’s proof paintjob, and then the factory models would be plain and lacking in comparison. But I am pleased to announce that they’re just as good as the images we were being tempted with!

I just love the way the mane is done, with the graduated shading combined with crisp hand-painted ends. The blond tips are painted on over the body colour, then the brown shading is sprayed into the mane and tail afterwards, leaving a lovely effect which you don’t ever usually see in factory produced models. Her colour is very deep and vibrant, and set off beautifully with the flaxen mane and white markings which make her look flashy and eye-catching – just the sort of thing real Arabian breeders want for the show ring!

As with the Appaloosa and Hanoverian, this is one of CollectA’s older moulds, from 2011 this time, so she has fine and crisply sculpted well-detailed legs, essential for her to look true to breed type. The Arabian is one breed which really wouldn’t work in their more recent style with smooth plump legs and less prominent joints, so I’m glad they brought back the original instead of bringing out a new ‘matching’ stallion in the new style.

I think this colour is an improvement on both the first chestnut (sold as Golden Chestnut), and the grey released at the same time. The next photo compares today’s model with 2010’s Golden Chestnut Arabian Mare – as well as the obvious difference in the shade of chestnut, you can see the massive improvement in the way the white socks are done now. The older release has a nice crisp face marking, but her legs have a blurred fuzzy edge rather than a realistic sharp line between colour and white.

A very elegant horse, with a good pose which is typical for the breed but also very pretty – I can see people who aren’t even really horse fans taking to this one, as it’s got a lot of visual appeal whether you know much about the Arabian breed or not.

A couple more angles ‘cuz she really is very photogenic:

Some pictures on a plain background:

I thought it might be helpful to photograph the sculpt with the same breed from some other brands. From left to right: CollectA Grey Arabian Mare (2010), Safari Arabian Mare (2009, retired), WIA Sharif (2021), Schleich Arabian Mare (2008, retired):

And finally, take a look at the wonderful eyes! It’s a shame they’re not a feature for all CollectA’s 2022 releases; the Yakut and Appaloosa don’t have eye colours, and we’ll have to wait and see whether they appear on the Noriker, Saddlebred, Orlov Trotter, and Paint horse at the end of the year.