Breyerfest Henna Hint!

We finally have a new Breyerfest model hint! Observe:

 

From the blog:

For our next Special Run model we took our inspiration from the classic Indian tradition of henna tattoos. As you can see the horse has intricately designed tattoos which work with the beautiful lines of the mold.

Hmm...looks like Strapless to me, but I'm probably wrong.  I'm not opposed to the idea of a henna horse per se (other than general worries about wrinkled decals), but hopefully it will be a mold I collect. Hopefully we find out on Monday!

Vintage Club Cypress and Kid's Easter Grab Bags!

Greetings, readers! Great news - if you're a Vintage Club member, Cypress is now available to order!

 
Her purchase deadline is April 11, so there's plenty of time to get the money together. I'm not a member of this year's Vintage Club, so I'm not ordering one, but that's okay. Here's hoping they all show up in a timely manner and free of major flaws! I don't think the 2014 Mu Wen Ma had a lot of issues, but I could be wrong. 

In other news, Kid's Easter Grab Bags are also now available for order:

 More than $100 of surprises from Breyer for your favorite horse lover for only $49.95 plus shipping & handling!*

Could be interesting to see what's inside, but I'm not going to take the chance. Good luck to everyone who orders!

BreyerWest 2017 Photos!

BreyerWest 2017 took place this past weekend, March 24-26! I wasn't able to attend, sadly, but luckily for us, Breyer posted some photos from the event on their Facebook page! I was mostly interested in the Breyerfest models, but there are a few other interesting things here.

(Photos are from Breyer's Facebook page, and faces have been cropped out)

First up is a view of one corner of the Breyer booth, where we can see Vahana, Darjeeling, Saffron, Nazruddin, Sokkar and Rangoli.


 

Nazruddin looks really nice, and so does Saffron. I was halfheartedly hoping Breyer would reveal another special run at this event, but no such luck. Oh well.

Next, a view from just around the corner of the booth - on a different day, when the models had been rearranged.

Not getting a good angle on Sokkar in either of these photos, but Saffron (and Vahana) look mighty handsome. Let's see what's next!

 

It's a view from the opposite corner of the booth! Nothing particularly earth-shattering, but there is a view of Saffron's off side, which we don't have a photo of on the Breyer site.

Astute viewers may notice that Kaalee is not in attendance, along with the store specials Repeat the Beat and Dally and Spanky. I remember hearing last year that Breyer only keeps one or two examples of each model on hand, and if one isn't available to bring along, for whatever reason (such as Kaalee and the others) they simply aren't available to view. Patience, readers! We're a mere 15-ish weeks away from Breyerfest and the time will go by fast!

Lastly, here's a view of another part of the Breyer booth, showing some of the new for 2017 releases.



I really like the color on Espresso, the Springtime Filly. If only I were a fan of the mold, and/or the gigantic scale. I'm honestly surprised they continued the series (albeit with a delay) after Camilla's lukewarm reception, but I suppose they need to at least try to get back their investment in the mold.

That's all I've got for tonight - let's hope Breyer releases another special run model soon! We're down to 2 1/2 weeks until the early bird deadline, and they still have 3 special run line models and the surprise teaser left to reveal! Hurry up already!

Meet the Diorama Contest prize, Sona!

The Breyerfest 2017 Diorama Contest prize is revealed, and it's on El Pastor! Look at his pearly goodness!



Seriously, I love his mane and tail. But then, I'm always a sucker for pearly anything. If they put this color on a mold I collected, I'd die of happiness (and then die of despair when it inevitably ended up being something just as unattainable). I'm not entering the diorama contest, but good luck to everyone who does!

Featured Model - 3/25/2017, Mini Mosaic

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...Mini Mosaic, on the G2 Morgan!

 

This model comes from the 2006 JAH Miniature Connoisseur Collection, item #701706, which contained miniature versions of Mosaic, Appropos, Third Time's A Charm, Quarterflash and Masquerade. 3000 sets were produced, but must have been a bit of a flop at the time, because I remember ordering one from Breyer's old Shopatron website back in 2010 or 2011. A far cry from the JAH specials of old, which usually sold out before any order I tried to make even made it back to Breyer headquarters. Ah, well.

I always liked this set because of how much detail they all had for such tiny models - eyewhites, irises, hoof details, etc. And the thing I like most about this particular mold was his tail - not terribly realistic, but it appeals to me a lot for some reason. He's so prancy and full of attitude!

He does make a good approximation of a miniature Mosaic, aside from his lack of mapping (that would have been truly impressive). Although bay isn't usually my favorite horse color, there's enough red in it here to make me really like him (if only he'd been a blood bay!).

Despite the fact that I like this mold, I don't actually have that many examples of it - less than 10, truth be told. For comparison, I'm a little more ambivalent about the G3 Cantering Warmblood, but somehow have 16 of them. I went quite a few years without really expanding my Stablemate collection much, though - I think there were so many I needed that I just didn't really want to get involved with it other than buying the occasional Breyerfest Stablemate.

That changed last year, though, when I finally got my hands on some of the old JCP Parade of Breeds sets I needed. One thing led to another and then my Stablemate collection increased by a good 50 models, if not more. Gah! The little shelf I display them on is nearly full - I'm going to have to find another one if this keeps up. Hopefully I can find some more G2 Morgans - I still have a little room for them. I hope they use this mold in this year's Stablemate Club!

Diorama Contest Prize Teaser!

We have a new teaser on the blog, and it appears to be for the Diorama Contest prize! And they used "sneak peek" correctly! Cheers all around!

 

From the blog:

Can you guess which model this might be based off of this tiny taste?
Hopefully it will inspire a lot of Diorama Contest creativity over the weekend! Keep checking the Breyer Blog next week to see the full model unveiled!

Looks like El Pastor to me - excellent, I don't need to feel guilty about not entering the diorama contest yet again. Hopefully they do something to make him stand out from Escondido and Tesoro - I'm guessing he'll be a pinto of some type. As usual, the mold doesn't really fit the "India" theme, but I really don't think Breyer puts that much thought into the theme when planning which molds to use - I think they just pick the molds ahead of time and make sure they at least name them something that fits.

Let's hope they don't dawdle too much with revealing this - I'll be checking the blog all day Monday!

Breyerwest is this weekend!

I almost forgot Breyerwest is happening this weekend! Maybe that's why they haven't put any new hints on the blog this week. (Like scheduling posts in advance is really that hard...come on.)

Breyerwest 2017 will take place at the Northwest Horse Fair & Expo in Albany, OR. In years past, Breyerwest had its own special run model you could buy, and the model horse show was a lot more like Breyerfest's show, with glossy prize models, volunteer models, etc. Nowadays it's been scaled down a bit, but I'd still like to attend someday.

I briefly thought about attending this year, but we would have had another situation like Chasing the Chesapeake back in October - no sleep at all on Thursday night due to my work schedule, then flying all day on Friday and taking in what we could on Saturday and Sunday before flying back - and there aren't any special runs to buy, nor do I show, so it wouldn't really be worth it other than seeing what Breyerfest models the Breyer staff has on display. Maybe another year, I guess. In the meantime, I'll have to wait and see what's on display - hopefully someone posts some photos promptly!

It's the first day of spring...

...and Breyer hasn't put any new hints on the blog yet this week! Gah! What will I do without my Breyerfest fix?

Well, in the meantime, Breyer is running a Think Spring promotion. Nothing particularly exciting - 25% off select merchandise. But it's something, anyway. Hurry up and post something exciting on the blog already!



(I don't work for Breyer and I'm not trying to shill for them, I promise!) 

Featured Model - 3/18/2017, Cream Soda

Hello and welcome to 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...Cream Soda!



That's right - a Stablemate! I've been featuring Traditional molds since the beginning of the blog, so I decided to branch out a little bit this week.

Cream Soda was a store special (item #711307) at Breyerfest 2007 - wow, 10 years ago this July! She appears to have been one of the first special runs issued on the G3 Belgian mold sculpted by Jane Lunger. As a run of 2500, she's not terribly difficult to find, and she's also a keychain! Not that I would ever use a Stablemate keychain as an actual keychain - they're way too big. But I digress.

I really like the color on this model - she's a beautiful shimmery palomino color and it appeals to me a lot. The G3 Stablemate molds get flak from some hobbyists because of their thicker legs and more cartoonish appearances, but they're meant to be toys anyway, so if the legs are a little too thick, so be it. And this mold is the only model horse I've ever seen that's capable of standing on two feet! Normally that third foot does touch the ground, but I have a few examples of the mold that are capable of standing on the left front/right hind legs alone. Nifty!

She's in the current regular run line (the Gentle Giants four-piece set), so at least she's getting used currently. I wonder if that will make her more likely to show up in this year's Stablemate Club? I wouldn't mind seeing her used in that. Here's hoping!

Darjeeling is revealed!

We've gotten our second SR reveal of the week, and it's the Semi-Rearing Mustang! Here he is:

My hot take on this guy: Wow!

From the blog:

Darjeeling is on Chris Hess's semi-rearing mustang mold (number 87) from the 1960's. Darjeeling is a richly-shaded bay semi-leopard glossy appaloosa with a star, snip, a single sock, lighting marks, and mottled skin. This latest Special Run model was expertly designed by Sommer Prosser.

I think they mean "lightning marks" there, but all the same. This guy is gorgeous! He would make a great companion to the 2014 Sunday Raffle Kick Up Your Heels! He'd also make a good companion to My Kind of Town, from the 2015 Sweet Home Chicago Celebration.

That being said, I won't be adding Darjeeling to my collection, simply because I don't collect the mold. That's okay - more for everyone else!

Truthfully, I'm hoping the next four items to be revealed in the special run line are things that are more to my liking - I'm planning on getting Saffron and Kaalee, but neither of them really wow me that much. Give me a nice hairy Moody sculpt, a stunning Eberl or an irresistible Sifton! I hope we get to see two more models next week - I like that pattern.  

 

Woohoo, another hint on the blog!

Whoo - we do get to see two SRs this week! Breyer put up another new hint on the blog!

Our next special run model is on one of Chris Hess's most iconic sculpts. And because we're feeling generous this fine Thursday morning we'll let you know that the model is named after a region in West Bengal with a rich history.

I'm guessing this is the Fighting Stallion, but no idea what "region in West Bengal" is referring to, or what color he will be. Maybe Darjeeling, and the model will be a reference to tea? We'll have to wait and see. The blog said the model would be revealed "later this week," but today is Thursday, so...we'll probably see it tomorrow. Let's hope so!

The Elephant is revealed! Meet Holi!

In a shocking middle-of-the-night twist, Breyer posted the full photo of the teaser released on Monday...and it's an Elephant! Behold:

 

From the blog:

 Holi is a warm grey elephant with a spattering of freckles across the face and ears...Holi is decorated with a colorful spring pattern of flowers, plants, and stars capturing the spirit of this beautiful Hindu celebration and as a nod to the painted elephant festival that is held each year at Holi in Jaipur, India.

Though the elephant does have decals, they're not as extensive as I feared they would be; maybe they won't have too many issues with wrinkles. But if that back decal is one big decal, I can see where they might have problems...

Interestingly enough,  the blog says Holi will be available in the Bazaar, which is this year's version of the pop-up store located near the Craft and Activity Tent. So, what animal will they use in the special run line? Or will they use an animal at all this year? The animal release is always hit-and-miss, though I'd thought the bulls at the last two Breyerfests sold out. But I wouldn't complain if the special run line animal was replaced by another horse - you can never have too many horses! Hopefully we get to see something else this week, too.

Another New Breyerfest Hint on the Blog!

It's a new week, everyone, and that means we get a new Breyerfest hint! Behold:


 

Here's the accompanying text:

Today marks the conclusion of the Hindu festival of Holi, a spring festival known as "the festival of colors." It signifies the triumph of good over evil and the arrival of spring, and for our next sneak peek, we wanted to give all you Breyer fans a splash of color to remind you of brighter spring days ahead. Can you guess what mold Holi is? Keep checking the BreyerFest blog for the reveal later this week!

Popular opinion is that it's the Elephant, as this year's animal SR, and I don't see any reason to disagree. Could be an interesting-looking Elephant though. That looks like a lot of decals, and the Elephant is wrinkly...I don't collect the animal molds so won't be purchasing one, but it might be hard to find one with decently-applied decals. Cross your fingers! I wonder if we'll get to see two SRs again this week? That would be awesome!

Featured Model - 3/11/2017, Medicine Hat Thoroughbred Mare

Hello and welcome to Featured Model! Featured Model is 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...the Medicine Hat Thoroughbred Mare!

 

This model was issued from 1994-1997 with her matching Nursing Foal, both sculpted by Chris Hess. Wow, I didn't realize the set was that old! They were regular run item #3180. Evidently they got in on the Great Bi-Eye Project of 1997 (thanks for that info, IDYB!), but my set doesn't have bi-eyes.

I think the Thoroughbred Mare is one of Hess's more underrated sculpts. I like her sweet expression, and her foal is a cutie too! And it probably says something that I like her, because she's one of the few Hess molds still remaining in my collection.

It's unfortunate that the set doesn't get used more often (although the various regular run releases ran for a combined 22 years), because I'd definitely have more sets than I currently do. I'm still waiting for them to show up in the Vintage Club in glossy alabaster! Mmm. I also wouldn't mind seeing them at this year's Breyerfest, although that's probably a lost cause. I can only hope!

It's Yasmin! Yay!

Wednesday's Breyerfest special run hint has been revealed, and it's Yasmin after all! Yay! Meet Kaalee:



That's the only photo we have so far. Hopefully we get some different angles soon! She's very pretty, though. I definitely need her to come home with me! Looks like we're getting a lot of roany colors this year between Repeat the Beat, Vahana and Kaalee. It doesn't bother me too much, as I think it's a nice color, but I could see where a person could get frustrated if they aren't fans of that particular style of paint job. Hopefully (and presumably) we'll get a bit more variety with the rest of the special runs. Here's the description of her from the blog post. (Turns out Kaalee means black in Hindi!)

Kaalee is on the Shagya Arabian (mold 740) in a black rabicano pattern that has been "boosted" by sabino. She has four white stockings and a large blaze, as well as roaning on her belly, chest, and neck. This beautiful model was designed by Lesli Kathman.

I'm definitely getting more excited for Breyerfest with each passing day, and this girl is definitely making the wait harder! I can't wait to see her in person!

Another Breyerfest hint, and Beachcomber is showing up in some stores!

There's already a new Breyerfest hint on the blog! Wow, I didn't think they'd reveal two SRs in the same week. Or maybe they'll make us wait until Monday...who knows.

And just like that we're onto the next, Kaalee! For our next Special Run model the next clue is in the name. Keep checking the Breyer Blog to see the horse unveiled soon!

 Interesting...it could be referring to the Hindu goddess Kali. The most logical conclusion to draw from that could be some type of black mare, or so the discussion is going on Blab. From Wikipedia:

Kālī is the feminine form of kālam ("black, dark coloured"). Kālī also shares the meaning of "time" or "the fullness of time" with the masculine noun "kāla"—and by extension, time as "changing aspect of nature that bring things to life or death." Other names include Kālarātri ("the black night"), and Kālikā ("the black one").

So, a black Yasmin, maybe? Or...a glossy black Yasmin? Ooh, that would be nice. But it would be kind of similar to Sokkar; not sure if Breyer would want to do that. Another enterprising Blabber discovered that "kaalee" is the Hindu word for pepper, but I haven't been able to find a source for that. Perhaps this refers to a (glossy?) dapple gray Yasmin, instead? For what it's worth, I figured it was an alternate spelling of Kali, so I'm going to stick with the black Yasmin theory. Just as long as the model doesn't look like this, I guess?

In other, less exciting news, Beachcomber models are becoming available to the general public, and it looks like they're selling out fast! She certainly seems popular. I'm not buying one, but don't wait too long to get yours, or they might sell out!

Wailua Selections and Vintage Club Quinn Available to Order!

Just a couple of notes today - firstly, selections for Wailua went out today! Congrats to everyone who was drawn for this pretty guy! Here he is again:

 

If you weren't drawn, here's hoping you get pulled off the wait list next week!

Secondly,  Quinn, the Vintage Club Sham, is now available to order. Here he is again as well:



His order deadline is 11:59pm on March 20, so don't miss out on his yummy glossy goodness!

That's all I have for today. Let's hope we get some more exciting announcements this week!

I spoke too soon! Vahana is revealed!

Wow, I'm amazed that they actually posted the SR today instead of making us all wait until tomorrow! Here's Vahana!



Let's hope he actually is a tent SR - he almost looks too pretty to be in the special run line! Very nicely done. I won't be buying him, as the mold has never appealed to me very much, but he's pretty all the same.


 

I figured Shannondell would show up at Breyerfest - this is the first time we've seen him since his debut last year. In my prediction, I thought he would be "bay with more sabino than Shannondell." This guy is bay roan...tobiano? So I wasn't terribly far off the mark. And I'm surprised that this wasn't the animal mold! That darn Breyer, always being unpredictable.

At least we didn't have to wait until tomorrow to see this one! I can't stand the waiting.

See Our New Breyerfest Model! But First - Like, Comment and Share!

Feeling a bit salty today about today's Facebook "reveal" of the latest Breyerfest special run, Vahana. They uploaded an image of a lock and said the model would be revealed if the post got 1000 likes (no deadline given).

 

That was the number of likes as of 5:06pm CST. I suppose it's marginally better than their usual way of doing it, IF the SR gets revealed tomorrow after the post finally gets to 1000 likes. They never actually said if they would reveal it the next day, or if the requisite number of likes had to be achieved before closing time today. I would say that if they really wanted to see the model revealed today, they would have made this post earlier, but Breyer seems to be really enjoying clutching every speck of information about this year's new releases until the last possible second, so anything I said would probably fall on deaf ears. Let's hope we see the model tomorrow and that's the end of it.

At least we didn't have to also share the post and comment on it? Small victories, I guess.

As for what the model is? Wikipedia helpfully defines Vahana as a "mount" of the gods.

The deity may be seen sitting or on, or standing on, the vahana. They may be sitting on a small platform called a howdah, or riding on a saddle or bareback^. Vah in Sanskrit means to carry or to transport.

It could be another horse, but I'm guessing it's the animal; probably an Elephant of some type. Seems like last year's Brahma was the second line SR to be revealed, and I don't see any reason why they wouldn't do that again this year. I guess we'll find out soon!

Vintage Club Quinn

If you've been wondering what the next Vintage Club release is for this year, wonder no more - it will be the Sham, Quinn! Breyer posted a new photo of him on their Facebook page, and boy is he yummy!

There's no word on when he'll be officially available yet. He certainly is pretty, and a few years ago I might have bought him, but now...nah. I used to have 11 or so Shams in my collection, but the dreaded shelf space shortage struck again (that's a lot of s-words), so the Shams were culled. It's a nice color though, and I wouldn't mind seeing it on a few other models.

As for whether Sham is really a vintage mold or not, that depends on your definition of vintage. If the Sham mold is older than you are, you'd probably consider it vintage. If you were in high school or college when it was released, you probably wouldn't. It's a question Breyer is going to have to figure out eventually, because the definition of vintage is naturally going to start including newer and newer molds as time goes by. Personally, I don't have a problem with including Sham in the VC (after all, the mold was released before I was born), but I've never been a member of the VC nor have I ever had much interest in vintage models, so my opinion may not be worth much.

Featured Model - 3/4/2017, Falhofnir

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 victim is...Falhofnir!



This hairy, handsome fellow was the first release on the Icelandic Horse mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. He was the second release in the 2014 Premier Club, and holds the distinction of being one of only two releases (so far) that could be ordered with a matte or glossy finish (the other being Carrick). About 750 were made of these, although I don't think Breyer has ever given an exact number, nor did they give us a breakdown of mattes vs. glossies.
I ordered the glossy one because it seemed like a no-brainer, but I still wonder if the glossies outnumber the mattes. Either way, I had to buy the matte version secondhand later on so the collection would be complete. Which was fine, because I sold Croi Damhsa sight unseen after her photos didn't wow me, so I still ended up with three 2014 Premier Club models.

Moody molds usually get a lot of flak for their general hairiness and poor biomechanics, but I actually don't see a lot of criticism of the Icelandic, other than his wasp waist. This may be because real Icelandics have ridiculous amounts of hair, so it's not like the model is exaggerating things at all; Moody probably could have gotten away with sculpting even more hair on him if she'd wanted to.

So far, the poor Icelandic hasn't had a lot of releases; after his original release, we've only seen three: Elska, the Honeysuckle web special and the regular run Svali fra Tjorn that joined the line last year. But now that he's in the regular lineup, it seems likely that we might see him used for other things; every year I'm perpetually surprised that he hasn't been used at Breyerfest yet. Maybe this year will be the year!

Edit: D'oh, I forgot about Sokkar. Well, maybe next year we'll get a more attainable Breyerfest Icelandic.

Wailua, Second 2017 Web Special!

Wow! We already have a new web special for this month - Wailua, the second America the Beautiful release!




They certainly didn't waste any time with this one.

Beautiful Wailua captures the soft grey splash of the twin falls known as Wailua Falls on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Wailua is also home to NouNou Mountains (also known as the Sleeping Giant) that divides the island, and the 20-mile long Wailua River. This striking Andalusian with soft dapples and dark points was inspired by the mists of this lush tropical paradise.  His high gloss finish is a rare feature on the Legionario mold!  Pad printed on the belly with Wailua 2017.

He's definitely pretty, but I won't be entering for him. I used to halfheartedly collect Legionario and had four of them at one point, but he fell victim to a shelf space shortage and had to be cleared out. Now the only Legionario I have is Grane, and I'm fine with that. Ah, well - my wallet is happy.




He looks similar to the Excalibur release from the Big Easy Bash in 2014, really. But less rosy and more glossy. And with a release of 350, there should be plenty for everyone who wants one. Good luck to all the entrants! Collector Club members can enter for him here.

Premier Club Sketch and Last Day to Apply to Volunteer!

Happy March! My Premier Club sketches came in the mail yesterday, and I had to share. Behold:


 

 I was more interested in the contents of the welcome letter, however.

We look forward to a thrilling second edition in the Premier Club with both sculpture and initial colorway designed by Mindy Berg which will be revealed in June. The final piece in the exclusive 2017 Club collection is a blockbuster new set crafted by Brigitte Eberl. We are incredibly excited to share them with you.

 We already have a preview photo of the second release, which was sent out back in December to entice people to join the club:

 

I still think it's an Andalusian or perhaps a Friesian. I guess we'll find out in June (if Breyer meets that deadline). As for the Eberl releases, to me "blockbuster new set" screams draft mare and foal, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. It would be nice if they'd just say it!

The other interesting tidbit in the letter was this:

In addition, your Premier Club exclusive new Stablemates will be revealed in late Spring. You'll like both the sculpt and deco artistry on this piece, where good things - very good things - do come in small packages.

Interesting. So, by "late Spring," I'm guessing June, also? Clearly the Stablemate is a mini of one of the subsequent releases, most likely the Berg, or we would have seen it by now. So why not just say June? 

And I don't like to read a lot into these things, but it does say "Stablemates," plural. Are we getting more than one? Probably not, since it says "piece" later on, but you never know. I'm wondering if the Stablemate will be on Django. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

As for the sketches, it's good that we actually got them this year after not getting them last year. I wasn't all that bothered by last year's lack of sketches; I have little interest in additional fluff besides the models, and the sketches are just more stuff to clutter up my house with. I've never bothered to do anything with the previous sketches (I'm not sure I even know where they are, at this point). But, if they say they're going to deliver something, they probably should make good on those promises; let's hope last year was just an anomaly.

Lastly, today is the last day to get your Breyerfest volunteer applications in! There's still time to submit if you're on the fence! Don't miss out!