Breyer Halloween Store and August Collector Club Newsletter!

 Well, the Halloween Store is officially opened - and as of now, the only thing that's sold out is the Spooky Stablemates. I got my orders in for a Slither and four of the Spooky Stablemates - apparently there were some glitches with the store, but I missed out on that completely as I'd gotten my orders in prior to it happening. So let's hope nothing weird happens with my orders! 

I find myself liking Slither more the more I look at him - I love his stripey mane and his glossy shininess. I can't wait to see him in hand! 

In other news, the August Collector Club newsletter was released today! If you're a Collector Club member, check your inbox for more. There's an informative article about rare breed models Breyer has done, a "Splatter Dapple Disco Decorator" workshop, an Adamek giveaway and this sneak peek:

Presumably it's the next installment in the Wild Animals series, possibly a gazelle? The Internets are guessing that the mold is Georg or Bristol. While I don't really want it to be either mold (gotta cut down on the spending!), I'm leaning more toward Georg on this one, because Bristol was just a web special last year (Georg was a web special at the end of 2021, but that's at least a little less recent than Bristol). Hopefully we don't have to wait too long to find out! 

Santino is now available!

 Alert, readers - as was announced last week, this year's Classics special run, Santino on the Polo Pony, is now available for purchase! 

He doesn't appear to be sold out yet, so get your orders in if you're wanting one. I didn't order any, so that's more for everyone else! I'm honestly not surprised he isn't sold out yet - the Polo Pony isn't the most popular mold, and the stands have a tendency to warp over time, so who knows if or how well they'll stand in future years. The colors are nice, but the fact that only one of them is glossy may also affect sales - if they were all glossy, or two of them were, they'd probably sell better since people tend to go nuts over glossy finishes. I guess we'll see how long it takes for them to sell out! 

Let this Halloween release sssssslither into your hearts!

 More good news, everyone! Today the U-Haul truck was unloaded (with some casualties, including a Christmas tree with almost an entire bottle of bleach spilled on it), and unpacking has begun! I'm a bit scared to unpack my horses, what with the casualties we've already had - but at the same time I'm excited to get to it, because I want to add my Breyerfest purchases to the herd! Anyway, I've also found the time to get my computer set up, so I should be able to get back to posting with my usual frequency. Also, I'm now in the Eastern time zone! Woohoo! 

Anyway, Breyer's Halloween store was announced today, including this beauty! 

From the website:

Uncoiling and slipping his way out of the darkness on All Hallows’ Eve is Slither, our 2023 Freedom Series Halloween Horse. Artist Christine Jordan dreamed up a truly unique coat for this reptilian decorator. Slither features markings inspired by the quagga, a now-extinct species of zebra that had stripes only on the front half of their bodies, paired with scales and hidden snakes slithering through his mane and markings. His metallic glossy coat features green-bronze color shift paint that mirrors the sheen of a snake’s scales.

 

Ooh, I really want this one! He looks really cool.  I love how glossy he is. And I really like his white tail! His white areas glow in the dark (naturally) so I'm excited to see what he looks like in the dark! 

Also, we get this:

Cute! I love his little fangs. Too bad he doesn't have a couple of little blood drops around his mouth, too. 

And lastly, the Halloween Stablemates for this year:

So this year we get Mini Nevermore, Mini Poltergeist and Mini Cornelius! Cute! D'oh, another addition to the Django conga! Of course, they're blind bags as per usual, so I'm going to have to think about whether I'll buy more than one. I'd probably just get one, but I have to have that Django and I'm not interested in paying $100 for it later, so...guess we'll have to see how I feel when the sale goes live. Speaking of which, the Halloween store goes live on Wednesday at 1:30 EST, so be ready, everyone! I'm sure the Classic and the Stablemates will both sell out pretty quickly, so be ready with ordering! Looks like last year's Tabitha and Skelly must not have sold out, because those are back this year as well. There's also a cute Spectre pin and Spectre-themed hoodies, so I'll definitely have to pick up that pin. I hope everyone is able to get what they're looking for! 

Brighton is here!

 Greetings, readers! A brief update today -the move is well underway and we’ve arrived at our new house, but haven’t finished unloading the moving truck yet. But, fear not - I do have something new to post! Behold: my Brighton!

What a beauty! He’s lusciously glossy and almost looks like a decorator rather than a realistic color. I can’t believe it’s almost September and this is the first Stablemates Club I’m not selling. I really like him!

He’s really nice in the quality department, too - I don’t see a flaw on him other than some overspray on his eyes - and that may be an attemp at shading? Who knows. But I’m happy to add this guy to my collection! 

Lots of unpacking to do tomorrow, but hopefully I’ll have more to post about soon!

Featured JAH - 8/26/2023, Winter 1993

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week we're looking at Winter 1993, so let's get started! 

On the front cover, an Arabian stallion named The Heat Ison frolics with a mostly-cropped-out handler. On the back cover is a very familiar photo of Bey Shah+ from the American Horse Trust Library. As one might guess from the photos, there's a heavy focus on Arabians in this issue! 

What a shock - instead of the usual Editor's Desk in this issue, we instead have the Publisher's Desk and a message from Peter Stone, Breyer Man. Breyerfest 1993 was a big success and Megan Thilman's tenure as editor has come to an end. On the opposite page is various horse news and the Pen Pals column. 

Feast your eyes on the Breyerfest wrap-up article for 1993. It's always interesting to read about the Breyerfests of yore. Were you there in 1993? I'm not sure if I knew Breyerfest existed in 1993, but probably would have loved to be there. Like I said before, Breyerfest was only two days long in those days, and took place much later than it is now - July 30 and 31. That's really late! Anyway, I like how Peter Stone, Breyer Man is the only person quoted in the article. They couldn't find anyone else from Breyer to say something about it, I guess? 

On page 14 we have some times for vintage model buyers (continued on page 15), and on the next page we have Blast from the Past with the wheat-ear Sham! Long story short: the Sham mold used to have a "wheat ear" mark on the chest, as well as being painted with one white heel like in the King of the Wind book by Marguerite Henry. However, collectors and production workers both thought the wheat ear was a flaw in the mold (apparently no one informed the workers or read the book), and the wheat ear was eventually removed from the mold. I had a wheat ear Sham at one point in time, but eventually sold it in a collection purge.  Interestingly, some of the older Sham bodies must have been used later on, because some of the fleabitten gray Shams from 1988-1989 turned out to have wheat ears as well. 

In the centerfold of this issue we have the elusive, beautiful JAH special run for 1993, Steel Dust! Still sought after today. Whoever originally got this magazine didn't order her, because the order form is still intact. Those forms had to be returned ASAP if you wanted to get one of the models, because they tended to sell out very quickly. 

Here's the remainder of the JAH wrap-up article. The opposing page contained the rest of an article about the different Arabian strains. 

Lastly, we have this photo of the releases on the PAM up to this point in 1993, including a photo of the very first silver filigree model (though she's labeled as dapple gray, hah). The silver filigree PAM was a run of 30 and served as the Breyerfest volunteer model for 1993 (maybe the first volunteer model?). The article says two of them were auctioned off for the benefit of the Misty of Chincoteague Foundation for the prices of $1,025 (equivalent to $2,169 now) and $1,050 (equivalent to $2,222 now). Princely sums for the time, but still far less than they would sell for these days. 

Other things appearing in this issue: an article about Arabian native costumes by Melody D. Snow and varying strains of the Arabian by Margie Johnson.

That's all I have for today, and we've finished the year 1993 for JAH! Check back next week for Spring 1994. 

Featured JAH - 8/19/2023, Fall 1993

 Hello and welcome to another thrilling edition of Featured JAH! This week's issue is Fall 1993! Let's take a look, shall we? 

On the front and back covers we have a very flashy Shire hitch called a Royal Ambassador Shire hitch. Interesting. There's a big focus on Shires in this issue! I wonder if it's hard to get that wagon through some doors with that tall....whatever that is right behind the driver. Maybe it can be lowered? Kind of weird how high the driver is elevated, too. Shows my lack of knowledge about hitch vehicles, I guess.

On the first page we see a "Breyer Summer Special" release, an Appaloosa Sport Horse on the leopard Appaloosa Morganglanz, with Canongate Deluxe saddle. There's also sneak peeks of the 1994 new molds: the Challenger Mesteno and Llanarth True Briton's head.

A few pages later, we have a profile of Martha White, sculptor of the much-maligned Llanarth True Briton mold, and the beginning of the article about Shires! 




 So, the funny thing about this issue is that the last issue said, "finally, the Clubs listing!" would appear in the next issue, but my copy of the magazine has a printing error. Pages 11-14 are replaced by 25-28, as you can see in the following example (along with a continuation of the Shire article). The Clubs listing was supposed to be on page 22.

Pages 15-18 are okay, but then pages 19-22 are replaced by pages 5-8 repeating. 

Unfortunately, that means my copy of the magazine doesn't have the Clubs listing, which I find mildly humorous. I have no idea if this print error was widespread or just my issue - there's no mention of it in future issues, so maybe I've got a rare misprinted issue. One of these days I should probably try to find another copy of this issue and see if it has the same error! 

Here's the Blast from the Past for this issue (duplicated Horse Trader page cropped out). 

And lastly, this issue's Vintage Point focused on the Shire Mare. 

I had a few of these girls at one point, but eventually had to clear them out for shelf space. Looks like she hasn't been a Breyerfest auction model since 2010, but maybe that means she'll get a new release soon. 

Other things not covered in this issue: the rest of the Shire article, because it's missing due to the printing error (sorry); an article about braiding a drafter, also partially missing and/or duplicated; and Mail Etiquette Revisited (read it, love it, live it!), also missing. 

That's all for this week - check back next week for the Winter 1993 issue! 

Santino coming August 29!

 Attention, Collector Club members! Check your Club Home for some information on the Classics gambler's choice release, Santino! Here's an official photo! 

From the news post:

 If you stopped by the Collector Club Tent at BreyerFest this year, you might have noticed a sneak peek at this year’s Freedom Series Gambler’s Choice model: Santino! For the first time since 2008, the Polo Pony will be returning to the line in three fabulous, modern colors designed by Lesli Kathman. The Polo Pony first debuted in 1976 and was one of the first Breyer models to use a base to support a dynamic pose!

They'll be available for purchase on 8/29 - no time listed, but maybe we'll get that later. So if you haven't ordered the latest Stablemates Club release yet, it might be worth waiting until this guy is available so you can combine shipping. He's nothing I need, but I hope everyone gets the colors they want! 

Brighton is now available!

 Well, it's a little bit late, but the next Stablemates Club release is now available! Finally, something I'll keep: 

Woohoo! I had her shipped to our new address, though, so it'll be a while before I see her. Packing is well underway for our departure next week! Let's hope everything else with the move goes smoothly. I'm excited to get into our new home! We have until 8/31 to order Brighton, so if you're waiting for anything else to come out this month (like something Vintage Club-related), it might not be the worst idea to wait on ordering. 

Breyerfest Second Chance Sale!

 Well, the Breyerfest leftover sale is more-or-less over - it's still going on until Thursday, but I think the exciting part is over. All of the special runs were available (more or less), as well as most of the limited editions except for Buggy and Tilly. From reports online, I believe the Stagecoach Surprise and Peanutine sold out first, followed quickly by Speos, Wells and Araba, along with Studebaker, the Best of Breyerfest set and the Oregon Trail tank top. Everything else is still available. 

I had two Stagecoaches in my cart immediately after the sale started (no Studebakers were in the sale when it started, so I figured she was sold out), but I just didn't want to have to bother with reselling the inevitable doubles - highly unlikely I'd get the glossy black overo, which is the only one I still need. So I walked away from the computer and was sitting down to eat my lunch when I checked Facebook and saw Studebaker had become available, at which point I ran back to my computer and quickly ordered four of them. I was originally going to only order two, and I'm probably going to regret buying four, but I really want that blue one, dang it! 

Surrey and Axle, Jump & Drive and poor unwanted Nemea are the only special runs still available, and who knows when (or if) they'll sell out. The remaining Limited Editions are still available as well, oddly enough - I thought Via Lattea would have sold out by now, at least. HD Harkness seems to have flopped pretty hard, so his not selling out isn't as much of a surprise. I'm just hoping neither of them gets glossed later and used for next year's Breyerwest. 

In any case, I hope everyone was able to at least get something they wanted - there were a lot of reports of items getting yanked out of carts. And good luck to everyone hoping to get a variation! 

Adonis and Breyerfest second chance sale!

 Lots of great news today, readers! First off, my Adonis arrived today! Behold: 

Very handsome! 

Definitely an impressive sculpt. At first he just looks like a rearing horse, until you look a little closer and realize he's actually hopping. 

Unfortunately, I think this is the first Premier Club model I've had whose paint job could be described as "atrocious." He had little bits of something black and sticky all over him, along with debris in the paint job, rubs/smears on some of his spots, and something that was hard to pick up in photographs - brown overspray over parts of his white areas.

It's hard to see, but in the above picture, the overspray (if that's what it is) forms a vague upside-down U shape over the horse's back. It's also present on the top of his right hindquarter. 

It's somewhat visible in this photo - it almost looks like a shadow on the horse, but instead it's that brown overspray over the top of the hindquarter and also on the stifle. You can also see one of his messed-up spots in this photo. 

His eartips are a little questionable too. Some of the black specks I was able to pick off without too much trouble, but others, not so much. Is this the worst-painted Premier Club model I've ever seen? I think so. I guess he looks fine from a distance? I'm actually tempted to ask for an exchange on this one, but we're moving in less than two weeks, so it's going to have to wait until afterward. Maybe I'll just put him on my shelf and call it a day. I'm also a bit unhappy that I paid for 2-3-day shipping and the horse still took 6 days to get here. Normally my orders are here in a week, so this is within a normal shipping time...if I'd stuck with standard shipping. So I suppose I'd have been waiting until Thursday for him if I hadn't paid for the faster shipping. 

In happier news, the Breyerfest second chance sale has finally been announced - it's happening tomorrow at 1pm EST. I'm probably going to try to get a couple more Studebakers, and I'm toying with the idea of getting a couple more Stagecoaches to try to get a glossy black one. But do I want to risk getting stuck with a couple of mattes nobody wants? I'll admit it's fun to open them, and they probably wouldn't be too hard to get rid of if they're not what I want, considering Hamilton's popularity. I guess I've still got a few hours to think about it. But the Studebakers are definitely my first priority. Good luck tomorrow, everyone! 

Oriole is here!

 Well, there's still no sign of my Adonis (sigh), but at least my Oriole arrived yesterday! Here she is! 

What a beauty! I love her minimal white markings. They don't always have to be so flashy, you know? 

She isn't metallic at all, and definitely has tons of leg barring. 

Here's her trademark boss mare stare. Stay out of her way or get trampled! 

Her eartips (and bottom of her forelock) are kinda weird-looking, and she has a few other tiny issues, but nothing major. 

All in all, another worthy addition to the Forever Saige conga. I wonder if we'll get more Birds of a Feather models next year? Breyer's posts on the subject were kind of ambiguous. As for Adonis, I don't think I'm going to pay for 2-3-day shipping again if I'm going to wait...let me check my notes...5 days and counting for it to arrive. Actually 6 days since the earliest it can arrive now is tomorrow. Let's hope day 6 is the charm? Sheesh. 

Featured JAH: 8/12/23, Summer II 1993

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! In this issue, we see some pretty horses (as usual), learn about Peter Stone the Breyer Man, and more! Let's get started.

On the front cover, a guy gives a thumbs-up on a strutting park horse. On the back cover is the same horse from the opposite side (you can see the back of the ribbon in the first picture). Curiously, the back cover photo appears to have been cropped to just show the horse's head, as the photo credit on the table of contents page shows the entire photo (the guy sitting on the horse bareback again). Interesting. The credit says the horse is Countess Vanessa, but no information on the rider's identity. 

On the Editor's Desk page we see a stallion being goofy on a visit with Megan. They visited a stud farm for a photo shoot for a new model for 1994 - ooh, a mystery! Who could it have been? I guess we'll find out in a couple of months when I get to that issue. I also liked the bit at the bottom about things coming in the next issue, including "the Clubs listing, really!" They must have had some trouble with that. 

On the opposite page are some announcements and the Pen Pals for this issue. Apparently advertising was free? Seems kind of counterproductive. 

Next we have an article about National Show Horses, the next big thing in the showing world. Ahh, so Countess Vanessa is a NSH and her rider was Jim Stachowski. Mystery solved! 

And on this page we discover that Vanessa ended up being a six-time national champion park horse. Pretty impressive! Aww, the article is continued (again; that's awkward). Anyway, on the opposite page is an article about the one, the only, Peter Stone! Yes, Peter Stone (now of Stone Horses, the main competitor to Breyer) was once the head honcho at Breyer. 

Feast your eyes on Peter Stone's life story. 

I think that article may have been longer than the one about Countess Vanessa. Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for more of Peter's antics. On the opposite page, there's a Blast from the Past about the Open Top Buggy with flocked PAS. Breyer flockies are kind of the stuff of legend and tend to command high prices whenever they show up for sale. 

Here's the rest of the article about Countess Vanessa. Maybe the Stone article wasn't longer than this one. In any case, it's interesting that Breyer would make this horse the cover model for the issue, do a huge article about her and then not make a Breyer model of her. Maybe they just didn't think they had a mold that could do her justice? Heck, the Saddlebred Weanling probably would have worked, if nothing else. And it ended up taking another five years for Breyer's NSH mold to debut. 

Hey look, the Vintage Point for this issue is about the Saddlebred Weanling! It could have been perfect...oh well. I guess Countess Vanessa's article helped set the stage for Rejoice down the line. Edit: on further contemplation, the Saddlebred Weanling appears to have a set tail, which isn't allowed with the NSH breed. But they could have put her on an Arabian or something, I guess.

Other things appearing in this article: a death notice for Dixie Blue Devil, subject of the "A Pony for Keeps" book and gift set (issued in 1990); an update on the Misty of Chincoteague Foundation; a how-to article on photo shows; a sneak preview of the Rowland Cheney illustration that became "The Challenger" gift set; and a how-to article on indoor photography. 

Check back next week for the Fall 1993 issue! 

TSC special runs are here!

 Good news, readers! My Tractor Supply special runs (Merle and the Playful Pony Family set) arrived today, a day early! Huzzah! Let's take a look at Merle first: 

He's a bit darker than in the promo photos, and I was kind of hoping he'd be metallic, but doesn't really seem to be. 

It's a really handsome color nonetheless! 

His ears look bizarrely long in this photo. Must be the angle. 

Quality-wise he's pretty good; some small factory flaws, but nothing major. I'm glad I got this one, and super-glad he arrived this fast - looking at things last year, these models weren't arriving at people's houses until September or later and I was really worried I should have had them shipped to our new address. Fortunately it wasn't a problem! Now if my Adonis would show up...

I also received the Playful Pony Family! 

I didn't take the stallion out of the box because I'm hoping to resell him. 

I really like this pair! Attractive colors on both. 

I really like this color on her - she has a slight pearly sheen, but it's not nearly as noticeable as on the Stagecoach Surprises, for example. 

I was also pleasantly surprised to see the mare has tiny little eyewhites, though the stallion and foal don't. The eyes at at least neatly painted on all three, though- a lot of the recent Classics releases have had really sloppy eyes. 

Quality-wise they aren't bad - some minor flaws, like Merle, but nothing major. Guess I didn't take any separate photos of the foal, but he's pretty nice too. 

In other TSC-related news, I got a report that the TSC Flash (Applegate) isn't a flat bay, but rather has metallic undertones, so he's probably worth picking up if you're a Flash collector. In addition, the blue cow ornament may be too heavy to hang on a tree - probably cast in resin like the recent unicorn ornaments. Thanks to Sarah M.! 

That's all I have for today- maybe tomorrow we'll get an announcement about the Breyerfest leftovers sale! 

Adonis is now available for purchase!

 Attention, Premier Club members: this year's second release, Adonis, is in stock and ready to purchase! 

That's a bit earlier than most people were expecting - I think at Breyerfest they said he'd be available in the fall. Guess they were just trying to be realistic? Maybe the shipping problems are a thing of the past? Let's hope so. I paid for faster shipping on this one to make sure he would arrive before we move, so I'm excited to potentially see him in two to three business days! 

Of course, this means the next Stablemates Club release will probably come out tomorrow and I'll be kicking myself for not waiting a day. I'll just have to pay for faster shipping on that one too...

Breyerfest Closeups: Jota

 Good (or I guess bad) news, readers! We've reached the last of our Breyerfest Closeups posts for this year. Let's take a look at Jota, the next Collector Club special run. He's a very handsome glossy black splash pinto on Smart Chic Olena - here he is!

I like his white face and tail! 

I'm thinking he's chalky as well? It's amazing how much more striking a black pinto looks when they add a coat of gloss.

Definitely chalky! 

I don't need to buy this guy, but I really do like his white tail. The pointy part of his splash marking reminds me of Silky Keno from several years ago. 

That's it for today - let's hope we get more exciting reveals this week!