Okay, this one DOES look like Bella. (Also, Scottsdale Stampede update!)

There's a new, tiny hint on the blog! Check it out!



So I'm pretty sure that's a picture of a horse's flank/hindquarter area, and if I'm not mistaken, it looks a lot like Bella's.

Are we looking at another jockey-silks-inspired decorator? Or just a racehorse-themed one? Those colors certainly look interesting, although I already know it won't be enough to make me want to buy it. Poor Bella just looks too lumpy and awkward (and like a redo of the G2 Thoroughbred) for me.

The swirls on this one make me wonder if it's another one designed by Lauren Hoeffer? She's certainly turning out to have a nice talent for designing models.

In other news, the entry period for the Scottsdale Stampede opened today. It looks like collectors can only enter once, which immediately makes me think our chances of being drawn just cratered. But at least we don't have to remember to enter every day. The entry period ends 6/3, so there's plenty of time to put in your name. Good luck to everyone! 

Featured Model - 5/19/2018, Alaric

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. This week's model is...Alaric!



My first thought on seeing this model is always, "Oooh, rainbow!" My weakness for rainbows strikes again. If only he were glossy to boot! Oh well. This release doesn't seem to have had an item number, but he was produced for QVC in 2002. I'm not sure if his quantity was ever released, either! What a mysterious guy.

The QVC stuff always really frustrated me, so I'm glad it's gone. Seems like it was always on in the middle of the night (which is bad when you're still in high school and have to go to bed), and the one time I actually tried to tune in, I'm not sure if the broadcast was canceled or if we read the schedule wrong, because it didn't come on that night. Plus there's the whole paying for things over the phone with a credit card thing, and I'd have had to borrow my parents' credit card, which they probably wouldn't let me do anyway, and...yeah. I'm glad that hassle is gone.

And when they released beautiful models like this one, that made the frustration even worse! Gah. But I finally managed to get my Alaric, a number of years after his original release, and he never fails to wow me. For a while I had the complete "family," with him, Alida and Elidor, but I ended up selling my Alida last year along with the rest of my Marabella models.

The Huck model used to be super-popular in the years immediately following his release - probably because he was among the first of the super-detailed molds that have since become the norm - but his popularity seems to have faded in more recent times. Has he been overshadowed by newer releases? Probably, and his inability to stand without the disc base - and the propensity for those bases to break - hasn't helped. I have a lot of Hucks, and even I get frustrated with those crappy bases, especially when the peg breaks off in the model's foot. I have a Huck that's been living on his side for close to two years now because I hate drilling those pegs out and the hot needle trick never seems to work...oh well.

Will we see a new Huck release anytime soon? He was last seen at Breyerfest 2015 as Giverny and as an auction model the same year, so I'd say he's due for something. He probably won't be a web special - or if he is, he'll probably show up later in the year, since I don't think Breyer would use two models that need a stand in a row. We haven't seen this year's Breyerfest show prize models yet, so maybe he'll show up there? Or as a mid-year release? Only time will tell.

The mystery is solved - Rialto!

Well, it's like I thought - yesterday's mystery Appaloosa is the next America the Beautiful web special!



I wonder if somebody was inspired by last year's Wolfgang? They'd make a nice pair. From the website:

The third release in the 2018 series draws its inspiration from Washington's Olympic National Park. The park covers almost a million acres, and includes coastline, mountains, and rain forests. The ocean meets the coastal forest at Rialto Beach. Views are punctuated by the incredible sea stacks, which are large rocky formations that jut out of the water near the shore. Worn down by the waves and wind, they stand silent watch over the coast.

Suddenly I want to play Dragon Age Inquisition again and hang out on the Storm Coast...

But I digress. I'll be entering for this guy on all my accounts! I haven't found a Koh-i-Noor yet, so this is a Totilas I must add to the herd! He's all glossy and shiny and pretty! And speaking of Koh-i-Noor, we're getting two Totilas special runs in a row. Did they have that many bodies left over from the Holiday on Parade run? Oooh, maybe we're getting a new regular run soon! Mid-year releases should be out fairly soon; I hope he pops up there!

It was the plush! Duh!

Durrrr. Not sure how I forgot about the plushie. His name is Furlong!



He's...interesting, but plushies aren't really my thing. That's certainly a hodgepodge of jockey-silks-looking designs they've got going on.

Oh well. On to the next exciting reveal!

Web Special? Koh-i-Noor consolation? Something else?

Today's big news is this mysterious photo that popped up on Breyer's Instagram:



Ooooooh! He's pretty! He reminds me a lot of Labyrinth! I guess Labyrinth has more black, but I'm pretty sure they're both basecoated white. And this mystery guy is glossy!

Prevailing opinion is that someone accidentally posted the next web special early, due to the background of the photo. But there's also speculation that he's a consolation prize for those who didn't get Koh-i-Noor? I could get behind that, although I think it's more likely he's a web special. Hopefully Breyer gets this little snafu resolved soon!

Pop-up store sneak peek!

There's another sneak peek on the blog!



Unfortunately, I'm kind of over the whole "let's use a tiny picture that doesn't show any identifying features so it's impossible to guess" thing. This one looks like a blanket. How are we supposed to guess anything more than that? We haven't seen last year's new Classic (Bella) pop up anywhere yet, so I'm going with that in lieu of more useful clues.

At least they used the right form of peek this time? Sigh.

How do you solve a problem like Brunello?

Don't lie, you sang today's post title in your head. (The hills are alive with the sound of...confusion?)

Anyway, today's post is about a subject I've been thinking about for a while...Brunello, on the Idocus mold. Here's a photo:

This model was released in 2016, and was notable because he came with a brand new hairdo. Here's an original-issue Idocus:

I've never been a fan of the original Idocus, but before Brunello's release I never thought about it much. Not a fan; end of story. But then Brunello came out, with his braided mane and tail, and I realized: it was his hair. I've never been a fan of the banged tails on dressage horses, and the original Idocus's mane isn't doing him any favors. It's just kind of there. But Brunello practically makes him look like a whole different model. I really like his head and neck with the braids! And his tail isn't banged! Win-win!

But that opens up a whole new can of worms. I like Brunello, but do I like him enough to buy him? (So far, no.) Should I buy him? But I don't generally like to only have one model of a particular mold. But I don't like any of the other Idocus releases because of the blah mane and banged tail. However, Wapiti's tail is different from the usual. Here's a photo:

He still has the iffy mane...but my urge to buy is rising! Ugh! I wonder if they'll use the braided mane and tail on other releases in the future. I know last year's auction model on this mold had the braids. Maybe if they keep using those I'll think about starting a conga...maybe. Or maybe I'll see a Brunello at Breyerfest this year and won't be able to resist...we'll see.