This model has a long history with me - he was the first and only Connoisseur model I was drawn for until Swirling Sky in 2011 (to be fair, I stopped entering for them after I got Masquerade and eventually left the hobby for college, returning in 2010). He's a run of 350 on the Missouri Fox Trotter mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody, and was one of the last Connoisseur releases of 2001.
His pattern had always been really unique- he's one of the few decorator Conns, and Breyer seems fond of making auction models in a rainbow of colors using this pattern (including, incidentally, an actual rainbow one, which is a grail of mine). They even used it on a Stablemate! That must have been a frustrating process for the painters - hah!
I was still in high school when this model came out, and I remember excitedly discovering my name on the list of winners posted on the Breyer website. Then I had to scrape together the low, low price of $95 to buy him (this was a lot of money for a Breyer at the time, especially for a high school kid). He had a special place of honor on my shelf, and my dad sternly advised me never to play with him. Pretty sure I had stopped playing with them by then, but I don't remember for sure. Anyway, for the rest of high school he was my special, "rare and expensive" model. At the time he came out, I remember seeing one sell on eBay for $1400! Those were the days.
In those days, Conn models didn't come with the velvet bag, only their COA. So poor Masquerade here is the only Conn model of mine that doesn't have a velvet bag. Breyer should really sell some on their website so people could buy one for first-year Conns, or subsequent ones that lost their bags, for that matter.
Similar to the Lonesome Glory models, sometimes I toy with the idea of selling my MFT models. But the thought of selling Masquerade always stops me. He's one of very few models I still have from prior to my return to the hobby, and he's always been very special to me. So he gets to stay in my collection forever!
As for the MFT mold, he was last used (inexplicably enough) at the Chasing the Chesapeake event in 2016. His most recent Breyerfest appearance was as the diorama contest prize Walk of Fame in 2013. I think his last regular run appearance was as Prince Jester in 2012, and that same year he was the web special Arosa. So I'm not sure where he'll be used next - but I'm sure he'll pop up again eventually.
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