Starlet!

The winner of the Who Wore It Best? contest from last year's Breyerfest has finally been revealed - Starlet!



Can I just say I love that banner? The colors are really nice and the Starlet Hollywood sign is really clever. And Croi does kinda have that "diva" thing going on, too.

I'd been wondering when this contest winner was going to be announced - but the color is so similar to Fletcher that I figured the whole thing had been written off and they decided to put it on him instead. They should make a foal to match Fletcher and Starlet so we can have a family!

I'm not a Croi collector, so this girl isn't coming to my house, but she's definitely beautiful! I probably could have voted for her since I thought she looked the best, but figured I should abstain since I wasn't going to buy one.

This also makes me wonder if they're still going to have their usual Collector Club special run for the latter half of the year? That model is usually revealed at Breyerfest. I suppose they probably still will - maybe this is the only year they're going to have three. Or maybe this is a new tradition! Who knows.

Featured Model - 4/21/2018, Mr. Chips

Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. In honor of this week's not-so-popular Tanner from the Vintage Club, this week's model is another unpopular VC special run...Mr. Chips!



This poor guy was the Vintage Club "extra" - not a required purchase - in 2014. He's item #712107 and was produced on the Newsworthy mold sculpted by Sue Sifton. 500 of these guys were originally produced, but 95 of them wound up being glossed and sold to VC members as extras later on.

I suppose the rate of sales must not have been that bad, as 405 is a little more than 80% of the total (I can't remember if matte extras ever showed up in the NPOD or anywhere else), but I know I hesitated to try buying one at the time due to the price tag. $135 plus shipping for something with little more than a dash of paint on it? No thanks. I did finally score one for $80 later, a price I was much more willing to pay. And yes, I know he's on his stand backward in the photo, but I like it better that way - I think it fits the mold's forward motion better.

Of course, the glossy Mr. Chips is much harder to come by and thus much more expensive, so I haven't added him to my herd yet. Maybe someday I'll find one. Although 2014 was the only year I've wanted one of the VC extras, I still wish they'd gloss and sell the leftovers - this guy and 2013's Lucy were the only times they did it.

I can see why they'd stop, though - people would probably stop ordering matte ones as often if they knew the extras would end up being glossy instead. It's a nice thought, though.

Newsworthy is currently in the regular run line as EZ to Spot, but he hasn't been used at Breyerfest in any sort of obtainable fashion, so I wonder if he'll make some kind of surprise appearance this year. The surprise, perhaps? Probably not - I doubt people would be excited to spend $85 on a pony. I guess I wouldn't have much of a problem with that - his web special sold for more than that in 2016. Or maybe he'll be a web special again this year! I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Newmarket!

Newmarket has been revealed, and it's...Flash?

Okay then! Well, I like his color - blue is my favorite color, after all. And I like that his white areas are pearly - I love pearly!

Sadly, I'm not a Flash collector, so I won't be buying him. And I'm not the biggest fan of his "lipliner" shading - it's too big and makes him look clownish.



I'm not really sure I like the whole "harlequin effect," either, but let's be honest...if it was on a mold I collected, I'd buy it.

As it is, though, my wallet is happy! This means I only need four (possibly five, if the surprise is something I want) of the special run models. Huzzah! More money I can spend at the Clarion instead! Uh, I mean..more money I can...save? Sure, that's it.

Grab bags are back again!

'Tis the season...for grab bags. Behold!



Look, I know they have an Alborozo silhouette on the banner, but don't let that fool you. I highly, highly doubt any Alborozo models will show up in these grab bags. It's most likely going to be a whole lot of Bandera models and regular run models, with maybe a smattering of old Breyerfest special runs that weren't especially popular. And/or some of the other special editions we've seen lately - Fiona and Rory, Scotty, Calvin, things of that nature.

I mean, I could be wrong, and we might see some Alborozo models, but I doubt it. I haven't heard of any being found in the NPOD for a few years now, so I'm guessing they're sold out. I'll be happy to eat crow if I'm wrong, though! I'm not going to order one anyway - my thoughts on grab bags usually run to, "not worth it," and I don't have the money to throw down anyway. But good luck to everyone that does order! I admit it'll be exciting to see what everyone else gets.

Tanner is now available!

Greetings, readers! If you're a Vintage Club member, this year's extra model, Tanner on the Semi-Rearing Mustang, is now available for purchase! 

While I am a VC member this year, I won't be buying this guy - I don't collect the Semi-Rearing Mustang. Fortunately, he's not a required purchase to stay in the club, so if you're in the same boat I am, don't feel pressured to buy him.

He certainly looks interesting! I wonder how well they'll pull off that paint job. I guess we'll find out when they start arriving in mailboxes! 

Newmarket?

So there's a new hint on the blog, but we already know what its name is!



A rumor had been going around the last few days, that the decorator SR was named Newmarket, but nobody knew how it got started. Then a scan of a vendor order sheet for this year's Breyerfest was posted on Blab. When vendors are selling at Breyerfest, they can order vendor packs of SR models, so they have a chance at the models without having to go through the line, because as vendors they might not have time to. This is the first time I can remember seeing one of these order sheets ahead of time, and sure enough, it has Newmarket listed on it as a decorator.

Interesting stuff! As for the preview, I like blue and white together, but I kind of hope the whole model isn't patterned like that? I don't know, it kind of just looks like a painting nightmare. As for the mold, the photo looks like something's barrel, but it's so indistinct it's hard to tell exactly what we're looking at or which mold it belongs to. It's already Wednesday, so hopefully it gets revealed tomorrow or Friday!

Incidentally, the vendor order sheet also lists Sierra Rose as the matte/glossy split for this year. That's excellent news for me - I'm not planning on buying her, so I don't have to be bothered with it! I'm sure I'll have enough trouble getting both versions of Dead Heat, so the less I have to worry about, the better.

Featured Model - 4/14/2018, Elska

Hello and welcome to yet another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it! This week's model is...Elska!



We're currently dealing with a snowpocalypse while I pack models for our upcoming move, so I thought I'd pick a wintry model. So, Elska it is!

This pretty girl was the Brick and Mortar special run from 2015, only available to dealers with an actual physical storefront, and prohibited from being sold online. She's item #1731 and also holds the distinction of being the (so-far) only female release on the Falhofnir/Icelandic mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. At the time of her release, I still had a brick-and-mortar dealer within driving distance, but that's no longer the case - so I just have to hope future brick-and-mortar special runs are all on molds I don't like. 

This model has the advantage of not only being a Moody mold, which I have a crippling weakness for, but she's also a dapple gray, which I also have a crippling weakness for. So, she had to join my collection! I love her soft dappling and the contrast between her light-colored body and darker legs.

The Icelandic mold has been rather lightly used since its first release in the Premier Club - he was a regular run briefly as Svali fra Tjorn and was the web special Honeysuckle in 2016. Other than last year's Early Bird heartbreak (still sad about that one), he just hasn't been used much. The Icelandic is doing the tolt gait, which is unique to the Icelandic breed, so he can't really be portrayed as anything else. That's the problem with molds that are too recognizable as one particular breed, like this one - lack of mold utility means it just doesn't get used as much.

I doubt he'll show up at Breyerfest this year, although they did somehow get away with using him as the Early Bird at a Breyerfest that otherwise had absolutely nothing to do with Icelandic horses, so they could always surprise us with him again. Maybe he'll be a web special again? Or another regular run? I'm sure he'll pop up somewhere eventually.