Questions and Answers
Here are the questions I have put up so far. I will probably add more later. They are not linked, just listed here so you know what can be found, and you can scroll down and find them by number:
1. Where can I buy Grand Champions?
2. How do I identify an old Grand Champion horse I have?
3. Who is making Grand Champions now?
4. What happened to the Grand Champion line? How come they're not in stores anymore?
5. How do I get a Grand Champions Catalogue?
6. Where do I get the 2002 horses?
7. Are they really "The Most Beautiful Horses in the World"?
8. and 9. Do Grand Champions have any relation to Breyer Horses?
10. Are you going to set up a Guestbook here at your site?
11. What does "FAQ" stand for, and how do you pronounce it?
12. Do you answer all your email?
13. Why do you mention your website "rating" on your homepage?
14. How come Alpha's site is so weird?
15 and 16. How do I donate a photo to your website, or change how I've been credited for one?
17. Why do some of your site photos look funny?
18. Why is your site so opinionated?
19. Who are you and what's your deal?
20. Why are you not a part of any online Grand Champion Clubs?
21. How did you make this website? Can I make a website?
22. Where did you get all the graphics for your website?
23. Who is Joyce Freese?
24. Why do the traditional horses get shafted in color variety?
25. Why is your site so hard to get to when I type in the URL?
26. How can I find out when and how your site has been updated?
27. How come your GC coverage begins at 1996? Where are the early years?
28. What Blue Ribbon horses are available now? Can I get Kamira? I NEED Kamira!
29. How come your site is sometimes called Blue Moon?
1. Where can I buy Grand Champions?
You can buy them at eBay and from other collectors, and they also sell them brand new at Wal*Mart. There are a couple of online retailers, too, like Farm Goods for Kids and Birdsong Farms, which you can visit from my links page. The Alpha International Website does appear to have a sale area, but they don't truly sell GCs "online." It looks to me like more of an advertisement for the mail order department, because they do not take credit cards or other forms of payment, so you have to mail your order in. (What the point is of having an online storefront that only does mail order...? When I find out, I'll tell you guys.)If you're in the United States, you will not find Grand Champions at Toys R Us and most other places. If you're near one of the quickly-vanishing Kay Bee toy stores, you can find Clydesdale Families, Parade Horses and Mini sets there. I don't know if they will ever stock Classics, though. To get Classics, you need to go to Wal*Mart.
If you're in Canada, you may be able to find Grand Champions at Wal*Mart, and at other department and retail stores. Alpha's comment on this is: "Zellers, Wal Mart, Sears, London Drugs, Value Drug Mart, Northern Drugs, Pharmasave, Guardian and IDA, Toys R Us." Wal*Mart and Zellers and Sears (in some capacity) are confirmed GC retailers, but I don't know about the others.
If you're in Australia, I don't know where you get Grand Champions... I can only pass along Alpha's answer: "KMart, Myer Grace Bros., Target, Big W."
2. How do I identify an old horse I have?
A comprehensive picture ID site of all the GCs ever made is currently in the works, but until it's finished, a good place to start is The Grand Champion ID Site's Model Lists. There, you will get to pick the gender of your horse and select his/her mold (pose) from a bunch of pictures. Then you will be directed to a text list of the horses that have been made in that pose, and you will have to decide what color he is, and look at his markings to help identify him. This is helpful (at the very least, it will narrow the ID of your horse down to 2 or 3 individuals, and their names.) though not a great way for people who don't know the Grand Champion line very well.Failing that, or if you don't want to invest the time and frustration into searching for your horse, your best bet is to just Email Me with a photo, a link to a photo, or a detailed text description, and I'll ID your guys for you. I am always happy to identify Grand Champions for people, just be sure to provide as much detail as possible on what color the horse's body and hair are, where the white markings are, and if it's male or female. Especially on pintos and solid coats, the facial markings become very important, so be aware if your pinto has a dark face or a light one, a white muzzle or a dark patch on one nostril, etc. Also, it's of great help if you know what mold your horse is in, or at least can describe how his feet are arranged.
3. Who is making Grand Champions now?
A company called Alpha International. (You can see their dorky Grand Champion website HERE.) Alpha is a huge giant scary toy corporation, which suggests that they are financially sound, and the Grand Champion line will be produced for years to come. (Good news for collectors :o))4. What happened to the Grand Champion line? How come they're not in stores anymore?
Because the company that was previously manufacturing them, Empire Industries, went bankrupt in 2000. Empire was purchased by Alpha International in 2001, and they now own all the rights to the Grand Champion line and many other toys. But after Empire went under, Grand Champions were taken off the shelves of most of the stores they were in. I have been told that Grand Champions were not the cause of Empire's financial problems, but Alpha may not be certain of their popularity. This could explain why Alpha has decided not to re-introduce Grand Champions into the stores they were in previously, or it could be that the previous corporations such as Toys R Us, Target and other stores, will not agree to stock these horses. Or that Wal*Mart requires that GCs not be sold anywhere else. I don't know, but the point is that Wal*Mart and Kay Bee are the only retail sellers of GCs right now.5. How do I get a Grand Champions Catalog?
I believe that every year they make full sized catalogs (about 8 x 10") which are very nice and have tons of pictures. I managed to get one of these for the 2002 horses, but I have been told that Alpha does not like to give these out to consumers. If you want one, you need to send them about $6 (and maybe a bit more- it can't hurt to butter them up) and you need to beg and say "Please" a lot... and then MAYBE they'll send you a catalog.I can't guarantee that this will work and that they won't just pocket your check and never send you anything... but if you really want a catalog, you could try this method. That's what I did and it worked for me.
If you do get a catalog, count yourself lucky. I was told that these catalogs are designed for executive types, so if you're a lowly consumer who gets one, you're in special company.
6. Where do I get the 2004 Horses?
Try Wal*Mart. Keep looking. Sometimes they are just slow to distribute everywhere.7. Are they really "The Most Beautiful Horses in the World"?
I don't think so. Your average Breyer horse will have a more detailed and realistic mold and paint job, and sanded seams, and I think these traits lend them to being more beautiful and lifelike. However, Breyers cost up to and including $50 each, and that is not so beautiful. If we're talking about Grand Champions and factoring in the price, Grand Champions are definitely The Most Beautiful Horses You Can Get for the Money. GCs also have more character than the competitors do - a certain personality to them, lent by sweeter faces and more expressive eyes. Of course, not all GCs are equal. As with any type of model, some are going to be beautiful, many pretty, and some, occasionally, ugly.8. Do Grand Champions have any relation to Breyer Horses?
No. Well, they are both made of some form of plastic, and they are both horse lines. But no, they are unrelated manufacturers, and competitors. When you purchase a GC over a Breyer, or vice versa, you are potentially helping/hurting a rival company.9. But what about those Breyer "Pony" things? And those "Dapples" horses they used to make?
These are often confused with Grand Champions, but they too, are Breyer horses and not related to the Grand Champion line. They just look very similar, being the same size and having synthetic hair, and they sometimes end up in secondhand collections together. If you don't know anything about these horses and must tell them apart, look at the mold stamp inside one of the hind or forelegs. A Breyer will be labeled "Reeves/Breyer" or "BMC," While a Grand Champion will be labeled "Marchon," "Empire" or "Alpha."10. Are you going to set up a guestbook here at your site?
I don't think so. I might, if I get requests for it.11. What does FAQ Stand for, and how do you pronounce it?
It stands for Frequently Asked Questions, but I am not sure of the official pronunciation. Maybe it is just "Eff Aiy Que" ... Or "Fake," "Fack," Or "Fackwa" ? I suppose it is similar-sounding to the Eff-Word, but I personally say it as "Fack." But since this is not a talkie webpage and no one is critiquing our reading skills, we can all say it however we darn please. ;o) Now the real question is, how do we pronounce "URL"??12. Do you answer all your email?
I try to, but I tend to be slow on personal email. It may take me several days (or even weeks!! I'm terrible!) to respond to your email. Also, if you send me email that is garbled or poorly-written, I may not answer it at all.Also, I may not respond to emails if you keep bugging me about the same things over and over, or if I just don't feel like it, or if I'm too busy with work and other stuff. It just all depends.
ALSO... If you are emailing me to make site comments or propose a trade or something, please put that in the "subject" of your email. If the subject says "Hi !" or "hello" or some other nebulous greeting, and it's from an address I don't recognise, I may delete it right off. Please put "Grand Champions" or horses in the subject somewhere, or a specific reference to the horse you're asking about, or something that will distinguish your email from the spam.
Too, I am suspicious of email addresses... If your address has a lot of X's in it, or appears to have jumbled letters, underscores or other weird symbols, or alternating capitals and lower-case letters, I may assume it's a spam address and delete it no matter what the subject.
13. Why do you mention your Website Rating on your Home Page?
I thought it might be a good idea... I don't know what the situation is on website content, if that kind of thing is monitored at all. But of course, surfers will be along and may want a notice of what material they are likely to find here, because some people are offended by that sort of thing ... So yes, you will find the occasional mild profanity, but nothing too obscene.14. How come Alpha's site is so weird?
Alpha's site has finally been revamped and updated, and an attempt has been made to turn it into an online selling area. Currently, there are a couple of the adult Blue Ribbon horses available, and the riders and some accessories. All of the Preview photos have been taken down completely, so consider yourself fortunate if you happened to steal those pics while they were up.I guess they deserve credit for actually doing something with the site, but... Well... Let's just say they're not exactly winning me over with the dorky, poorly animated cartoon pictures? And what is the point of having an online storefront that only sells what is already available through the mail by using any of the brochures that collectors already have a million of?
Ok, so everybody? Go online and look at the site, then turn off the computer and order your Snowy Knight the regular way.
15. I want to be a *STAR*. How do I donate a photo to Blue Paradise? And if I do, will I get kudos and attention and stuff?
You'll probably get your own separate "Photo Credit" line, and get thanked and have your name put in bold. If you want to donate a photo, all you have to do is Email Me and please TELL ME you're sending me a photo, ahead of time.16. I have already donated a photo to your site. How do I change the way I've been credited?
Just Email Me and tell me what you want changed. Unless they tell me to do otherwise, I usually credit people by their online names (if I know the people) or by their eBay handles, if the photo has come from an auction, but you can be credited however you want. I can even link your credited name to your website, if you like.17. Why do some of your site photos look funny?
Do some of my photos look funny? This entire site has been created on a laptop computer, and if you know about laptops, you know that the screen colors change depending on what angle the screen is tilted to. I do a lot of editing of photos to get them Site-Ready, and it's hard for me to tell how the colors look when I'm looking at my screen, because they change with even the slightest shift in viewpoint. So some of my photos here may be too dark, light, or contrasted.I am forever trying to learn the secret to getting the photo colors to look good, and I'm slowly getting better at it. Because of that, newer pages will tend to have better looking photos than older pages.
18. Why is your site so opinionated?
My site is full of opinion because most sites don't provide much commentary. A lot of them are just like a bunch of pictures with "These are the horses from Year X," and I find that kind of boring. I wanted my site to contribute something new to the online community of GC Collectors.19. Who are you and what's your deal?
My name's Sloane, but most online people know me as Balto or Baltoship. That is "Balto" as in the movie, and Baltoship as a wannabe-clever takeoff of the board game "Battleship"... It all began when I joined an online Balto Club and needed a unique name, but all the good Balto names were taken, so I made this one up. I never expected it to go this far (I always get a laugh when I show up on people's mailing lists as "Balto") and I should have picked something more simple. But now everybody knows me as Balto or Baltoship, so I have stayed with it. (What can I say? I sunk it! :o) I collect Grand Champions, and I made this website all by myself! My email address is beansnfranks@lycos.com, and I live in Washington State, in the USA. I am 27, female, single (A confirmed bachelorette, thank you!) and I have a cat. My eBay handle is VanHelsingFan.20. Why are you not a part of any Online Grand Champion Clubs?
I now AM, thanks to the evolution that has occurred in the Grand Champion clubs and community over the past year.Update: I'm in Samantha's Grand Champion Collectors II.
I am also part of Neena's Group, Free Spirit Grand Champions.
I believe in Free Speech (no topic sanctioning) and active, improvement-oriented moderation, and both of these groups are founded on these ideals. Check them out! Tag Up ! Start some chatter!
21. How did you make your website? Can I make a website?
Well, you don't need my permission :o) but making and maintaining a website is a lot of work. If you're willing to put the effort in, another Grand Champion Website would help other collectors AND help the horses themselves. Internet Activity is a unique assay for exposing what is popular and in demand, so more GC Sites can only help our cause as collectors.Before I made this site, I didn't know anything about Webpage building. That changed when I bought a couple of books: "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Webpage" and, especially, "Creating Web Pages With HTML Simplified. 2nd Edition" I highly recommend these, and you can probably get them at Barnes & Noble or maybe eBay. If you're new to Webslinging, I highly do not recommend attempting to build a webpage without a simplified, How-To book to show you what to do in step-by-step instructions. "HTML for Dummies" does not provide this; the "Simplified" book tells you exactly what to type, and shows you exactly what the result will be on your webpage.
HTML is the code language of the computer, and you have to learn it if you want to make a webpage. It's not hard, (It's just English mixed with symbols found on your keyboard) but you may get frustrated quickly if you get the wrong book- one that is too complicated or does not give you clear, in-color examples of the use of HTML, and shows you the causes and effects of the different HTML codes on what you're typing.
Oh yeah... If you want to build a website, you will probably also need some Webpage Software. That's a computer program that helps you make your webpages; You can buy them at places like Office Max and Office Depot, or you can pay for the program online and just download it. Blue Paradise was created with Sausage Software, which I got from their website (Sausage.com)
If you want to, I do encourage you to make your own website. It is an educational experience and will give you all kinds of modern, computer savvy. Also it's very hip and happenin' and it's what everybody is doing these days. So if you want to be cool, you should do what we're all doing. (Look, a bridge!)
22. Where did you get all the cool graphics for your website?
I got most of them from Free Graphics websites on the Internet. There are a lot of places that let you use their pictures as long as you either give them credit, mention them and link to their page, or both.Borrowing graphics can be really easy or a big headache, depending on the attitude of the original graphics site. If they demand that you credit them and link to them on your site at every single place their graphics appear, that is a big headache and the people are goony egomaniacs. They may be more trouble than they're worth - I have generally avoided using graphics from places like that, and focused instead on "Use it, but link to me somewhere" sites, and I have compiled the Graphics links in my Links Section, so you can go check them out yourself, and also read more about this subject.
Also beware that some graphics sites are run by other types of goons who will require you to register with them before they'll let you look at their stuff.
23. Who is Joyce Freese?
Joyce Freese is someone who works for Alpha and handles the Grand Champion Blue Ribbon sales. If you have called Alpha or emailed them asking about Grand Champions, you've probably spoken with her. She is like the Customer Service Representative, but is also in close contact with all the Alpha bigwigs and Grand Champion designers. She is not unfriendly, but you can tell from talking with her that she is:
a)Bored with talking to GC collectors and telling them the same stuff over and over.
probably also:
b)Not really cut out for Customer Service, and has been thrust into that capacity unwittingly.
and possibly:
c)Not as familiar with the Grand Champion line as your average collector, and the horses and fans would probably be better served if someone more adept in the realm (I vote Neena) could be employed in her place. I believe it takes a collector to know what the collectors want.
24. How come non-traditional Grand Champions tend to have greater variety in coat color and pattern?
I don't know. It's just a cryin' shame that the Minis and micros and FNNs have so much more character and color variation than the regular run traditional horses. I think the only black and white leopard spot appy, and the only albino, are micros. The only light bay pintos are FNNs or Micros. The only dapplegrays that have a realistic pattern of dapples are either Sound n' Action or Collector Editions. The micros have more than their share of airbrushed, real-looking appaloosas, and multitudes of pintos in unique colors.
25. Why is your site so hard to get to when I try typing in the URL?
I don't know. I can never get here, either. I have to bookmark my place because I can never seem to type in the address correctly. I think this is the address here:
http://bluegallop.topcities.com/BlueParadiseHome.htm ,
and here is a link for your convenience:
Blue Paradise Stables
However, I would not leave topcities unless there was some pressing reason to. I like it here because there are no annoying popups on the regular pages, (At least...I usually do not encounter any when I visit..) unless you find a broken link and end up on a lost page. Then it's like Popup Hell.
26. How can I find out when your site is updated, and what has been changed?
Go to the NEWS PAGE. Go there !!! OK? That is where you go. It is even an interesting page because it's not just site updates... It's everything I've been hearing about in the GC world, discussion on the horses, and any information I get about upcoming things that I think the collectors would like to know. If the site has been changed or updated significantly, it will be discussed on the News Page. So go there.. Ok?
27. How come your coverage of Grand Champions starts at 1996? Where are the earlier years?
The site is NOT FINISHED yet. Not even close !!! There is tons of stuff that needs to be done still. The earlier years will be here eventually, along with extensive coverage and reviews of all the molds, customs, factory flaws, weird stuff and lots of other things that I just have not had time to make. It takes me a long time to get things done though, so please be patient.
Making webpages is a ton of work that takes dozens of hours. I also have a day job (really!) and a million other things I need to work on, so I don't get nearly the time I would like to get the site looking more complete.
28. What Blue Ribbon horses are available now? Can I get Kamira? I NEED Kamira!
Ok, settle down. :o) We ALL need a Kamira in mint condition, but unfortunately she (and most of the older Blue Ribbon offers) is not being sold from the manufacturer anymore. The same goes for Commotion and stuff. As far as I know, the only Blue Ribbon horses available right now are Snowy Knight, SkyDancer and the bunch of 03 and 04 foals.
29. How come your site is sometimes called Blue Moon Stables ?
Uhh.. Hmm. Blue Moon was the old name of the site, from when it was first created and before it got linked into public awareness. You may find the odd "Blue Moon" somewhere in the site, and that would be an older page I haven't updated in a while, or it's a page footer that slipped under the radar when I changed everything to "Blue Paradise."
©2005 Sloane Eljay
Blue Paradise Stables