April Collector Club newsletter is here!

 Exciting news, readers - the April Collector Club newsletter is out in the wild! Check your email inbox for more. There’s an article about bloaties (I have to wonder if there’s a back story behind that bloated Celebration), a Chadwick giveaway, and this sneak peek:

What could it be? The next Destinations web special? Something in black pinto obviously, but it’s impossible to tell what it could be. Guess we’ll find out in a few weeks!

Zayn is now available!

 Well, if you're looking to buy a Zayn, they're now up on the website and available to purchase! 

I put in the picture of the glossy bay one because it's the one I liked the best. As of now, they're still available to purchase, but I'd suggest not wasting any time buying if you want one, because it's anyone's guess how long they'll last. 

Also, what's with the new item numbers lately? B-CS-10011? What does that even mean? I feel like the prior numbering system was better...but what do I know? I'm just a collector. Domingo and a few other recent releases have the same weird item numbers too, so it's not just a one-off. Weird. 

Someone's been listening to One Direction...

 Whoa, an unexpected new release! The Classic/Freedom Series gambler's choice release for the Collector Club is coming back - behold Zayn: 

Those colors are all really nice, and it's good to see the CAS get a new release, but they're nothing I need. They'll be available tomorrow around 1PM EST (if the website doesn't glitch out again). Happy buying! 

Dastardly Domingo Discord

 Well, as some of you may have seen on Blab, my Domingo model came in, and I was super excited to open it! He was a super-handsome model...until I checked out the other side and saw this. 

It may be a little hard to see, but there's an oval area on his neck where the paint is rubbed off. Next to it is an area where (and I was dumbfounded to discover this) the paint was so fragile that I could scrape it off with my fingernails with very little effort. I have never, ever seen this happen before - not that I intentionally try to scrape off models' paint, but I was trying to figure out if the scrapes were actually scrapes or something stuck to his neck, and it scratched right off. I'm...reasonably sure the paint is supposed to bond with the plastic so that doesn't happen? Right? 

I've seen reports of other people having issues with yellow spots on the side of the models, but I haven't seen anything about the paint scratching off super-easily. So maybe it's just something with my model specifically? Some type of mold release agent not being fully washed off the model and keeping the paint from adhering properly? Who knows. 

At any rate, Domingo is now on his way back to New Jersey. Let's hope the replacement is better! Hopefully sans yellow spot, as well. 

Featured JAH - 4/20/2024, Sept/Oct 1999

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week we'll be looking at the Sept/Oct 1999 issue. Let's get going! 

On the front cover, Molokai strikes a pose at Breyerfest 1999, presumably at the guest barns. On the back cover, Northumberland Flowergirl poses with fans, also at Breyerfest 1999. I'm not sure where this photo was taken - maybe on the roadway behind the Covered Arena that leads up to the Hall of Champions? I didn't start attending Breyerfest until 2012, so I'm not entirely sure where everything was located prior to that. 

In the Editor's Desk, Stephanie announces the winner of the World's Best School Horse contest and also announces the dates of Breyerfest 2000. On page 3 is a droolworthy assortment of 1999 Breyerfest Live Auction models. It's mildly amusing that a Sherman Morgan with the original tail was the highest-priced item, considering his lack of popularity now, but in 1999 the mold had been semi-retired due to the tail section of the mold becoming damaged. Later on in the year, we'll get the news of Shermie's exciting return to the regular line with a brand new tail! Huzzah! Other interesting auction models on this page: the semi-famous rainbow Huck (I believe he is still owned by the same person and pops up on the model horse show circuit regularly, though I could be wrong), the gold charm Zippo Pine Bar, the off-center Rose Grey Fighting Stallion and Zeppelin, the 1999 volunteer model (back when volunteer models commanded prices worthy of appearing in the live auction). 

On page 4-5 we have the Breyerfest recap! Feast your eyes on all things Breyerfest 1999.



After skipping the Breyerfest Live show results and also the NAN show results, on page 10 we find a list of 1999 Breyer fall tour stops and also the debut of Eclipse, the fall show special. I wanted this guy so badly in 1999! I never did get one, though. On page 11 is a cover contest for decorating the first JAH cover of 2000! There's also an announcement of the BreyerWest show at Spruce Meadows. Is this the first BreyerWest? I can't be bothered to look it up and be sure. 

On page 12-13 we have an article about Mario, the winner of the World's Best School Horse contest. 

On page 14-15 is the rest of the World's Best School Horse article. 

On page 16-17 is an article about Poco Lena, the subject of this porcelain sculpture. 

On page 19 (page 18, Collector Chat, cropped out), is a farewell article for Breyer portrait horse Niatross, who died on June 7, 1999. 

After skipping an article about cutting and cutting terms, a how-to article, a judge's clinic, Horse Trader and some Breyer jr. stuff, on page 38 we come to Blast From the Past (featuring the Black Beauty Family Set) and Just About...Breyer Animals! featuring the Spanish Fighting Bull. On page 39 is the first part of this week's Vintage Point, featuring the Grazing Foal! 

And on page 40-41 we have the rest of the Vintage Point article. The Grazing Foal had really not had a lot of releases prior to this article, had it? Little did Breyer know that the Cream and Cocoa set was on the horizon for 2009...and some say that set still haunts the NPOD at Breyerfest to this day! 

That's it for this issue - check back next week for Nov/Dec 1999! 

Whoa, a new test run!

 Exciting news today, readers - there's a new test model for Collector Club members to enter to win the chance to purchase! Sheesh, that was a wordy sentence. Oh well - say hello to glossy Bisbee! 

She, uh...doesn't look all that different from regular Bisbee in the promo photos. 

I guess you can at least tell the glossy one is glossy, even if it doesn't look like the super-glossy models we're used to. But Breyer's promo photos are always bad, so hopefully whoever wins this one will provide better photos so we can admire her! 

I'm a bit surprised that they're selling off a relatively-recent release, but Forever Saige isn't the most popular mold, so that may be why they picked her. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for me, I have many Forever Saiges in my collection, so naturally I have to enter for this one. Her price tag is $1,000 - but that's still less than she'd go for on the open market, even on an unpopular mold like this one. I hope I get drawn! But good luck to everyone else too, of course. 

Glossy HD Harkness!

Great news, readers - my glossy HD Harkness has arrived! Many thanks to my sister-in-law, who picked him up in Denver for me. 

What a beauty! 

Harkness looks great in gloss. 

Unfortunately, his quality isn't so great - he's got some scuffs and scratches under the gloss. You'd think they'd inspect these guys a little bit before glossing them? Gloss flaws are one thing, but clearly visible black scuffs are another story altogether. 

It doesn't seem like these glossy Harknesses were very popular - not that the glossy Breyerwest special run has ever been that popular, as far as I know. I wonder if they're going to keep doing them in the future? Probably doesn't help that the original Harkness wasn't that popular either, probably because the promo photos showed a shaded bay but the actual production models were a pretty flat bay color. Maybe next year they'll only gloss 200 instead of 250? Who knows. Looks like a few of them did sell in the $300-$500 range on eBay recently, so maybe I'm totally off base and they were popular after all. 

But since my focus is on collecting, not really showing, I'm not too upset about it. He'll look pretty on the shelf next to my regular Harkness! 

Guess I'm an April Fool after all

 Well, my one April Fool's blind bag has arrived - and it looks like I got fooled after all. Serves me right for buying one in the first place! Behold:

I was hoping for the green Arabian but ended up with the Swaps instead. Oh well- hopefully it won't be too hard to find someone to trade with. I still haven't found a trade for my blue Swirls'n'Snowflakes guy from over the winter, either - bleh. There's a swap meet here coming up on May 18, though, so maybe I'll find someone there! Who knows. In any case, I hope everyone else had better luck than I did! 

Featured JAH - 4/13/2024, July/Aug 1999

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week's edition is July/Aug 1999. I'm definitely ready for summer here, so let's get going! 

On the front cover, Zippo Pine Bar and the Jack Russell Terrier make their debut! On the back cover is a similar scene featuring a foal and a pug. Aww! 

In the Editor's Desk, Stephanie talks about model horse shows and hangs out at the Rolex Kentucky. On page 3 is the beginning of part 3 of the airbrush painting article series continued from the last issue. 

The airbrushing article continues on page 4 and wraps up on page 5. 

On page 6-7 is a short story by a young writer.

On page 8-9, the Companion Animals make their debut! It's kind of funny that they tried to disguise one new mold as three (the different colors of Lab) by just turning it different ways. I didn't have any of these particular models, but I do have the border collie and the Dalmatian. 

After skipping some information about companion animals, on page 12 we have a Breyerfest update, and on page 13 is a Blast From the Past featuring Stud Spider and a Just About...Breyer Animals! featuring the Bighorn Ram. 

After skipping a judge's clinic and the photo show results, in the centerfold we have the photo show champions in full color! I've never been partial to haired models, but I do love that Clydesdale in the center. 

On page 22-23 is a Brushstrokes article about the creation of the Huckleberry Bey mold. Huck really was a revolutionary model - I don't think we'd really seen anything with his level of detail prior to his release. Nowadays, things like carved frogs, open areas in the mane and tail, and other fine details are things we take for granted, but at the time it was pretty mindblowing. 

On page 24-25 we have an article about Zippo Pine Bar, the latest Breyer portrait horse.

On page 26 is Dear JAH, and on page 27 we have the beginning of an article about Montie Montana and Poncho Rex.

On page 28 is the rest of the article about Montie Montana. The first page of Horse Trader is cropped out. 

After skipping some Breyer jr. stuff, we have a Who Am I? on page 38 featuring some kind of Ideal Quarter Horse, and a paint variation of the palomino Rearing Stallion. On page 39 is the first page of this issue's Vintage Point article, featuring Pluto! 

On page 40-41 is the rest of the Vintage Point article, and that brings us to the end of this week's issue! Check back next week for Sept/Oct 1999. 

Suddenly, some new releases!

 Well, I don't think anyone was expecting we'd get not one, but two new releases today - but we did! Behold, the second Stablemates Club release, Wallowa: 

This release is a matte/glossy split and is randomly shipped (naturally), so we won't know which finish we received until we open up the box. I'm hoping to sell mine - I don't collect the G1 molds and this one is particularly wonky-looking, so he'll be moving on. 

In more exciting news, we now have the answer to the Marguerite Henry clue in the Vintage Club welcome letter! Say hello to Domingo! 

He's a modern interpretation of the old San Domingo! And comes with a copy of Marguerite's San Domingo book, to boot. I'm not a member of the VC, but hoping I can snag one of these guys - San Domingo's color looks great on Fireheart! I'm kind of wondering why they didn't just call him San Domingo, since it's the same colorway...but I don't make the rules, I guess. Anyway, if you're also looking for one of these, there will be 1,000 of them out there, so don't pay inflated prices to get one - they'll likely settle closer to issue price later on. 

Aww, how cute!

 Just a small update today - there's a new plush set available for purchase! 

They're named Queenie and Beanie and they're so cute! I love the names. Nothing I need to buy, but those names are totes adorbs (did I do that right?). 

In slightly more exciting news, my one April Fool grab bag is supposed to arrive tomorrow! Let's hope it's the one model I wanted and I don't get April Fooled (though it seems likely). 

Spring Releases revealed!

 Ooh, some new reveals - this year's spring releases! I'll start with the decorator, which was teased in last month's Collector Club newsletter. Say hello to Gilded! 

He's...interesting, I guess. He kind of looks like if someone painted a TSC Blue with gold paint and then the paint started to flake off. I guess the blue is a bit lighter than Blue's color, though. Nothing I need, thankfully.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to get my hands on this year's brick-and-mortar release, because...behold! 

Ooh, Picante is beautiful! If I can stop thinking about salsa, that is. It's a little funny that they're trying to pass her off as a Quarab to explain her color, but savvier people than I on the Internets have pointed out Quarabs only have to be 1/8 QH, so theoretically you could get this color on a mostly-Arabian looking horse (I suspect it would take a few tries, though). This also theoretically knocks out Weather Girl as the Breyerfest surprise horse for this year - not that I thought it was her. I'm sticking with my guess of the Arabian Mare/Make a Wish. 

Anyway, she's beautiful! Guess I'll have to find a brick-and-morter retailer around here - shouldn't be too hard. Good luck to everyone that wants one! 

Featured JAH - 4/6/2024, May/June 1999

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week's issue is May/June 1999, so let's get going! 

On the front cover, Lucy Lawless as Xena poses with Argo. On the back cover, the Breyer model of Argo makes its debut! I never had an Argo as I wasn't a Xena fan (too cheesy). 

In the Editor's Desk, Stephanie talks about various upcoming releases and poses with a Xena impersonator at the NY Toy Fair. On page 3 is a Breyerfest 1999 update, including a reveal of raffle model Ransom and announcements of various guests.

On page 4 is the announcement of Equitana 1999 and Grane! I desperately wanted Grane when I saw this article but never thought I'd own one at the time. I did eventually get one and then sold him off later when I sold my Legionario models. On page 5  are some other special run models for 1999.

On page 6 is a Brushstrokes article about Marrita McMillian, and on page 17 is the beginning of a how-to article by Sheryl Leisure about airbrush-painting a model. 

On page 8-9 is the rest of the airbrushing article. Although I never did get into painting models, I always liked this article for the step-by-step instructions and all the photos of the stages of painting the model.

After skipping an article about Classic-scale racehorses, this week's Blast From the Past features a retrospective of past Breyerfest raffle and Celebration Models. I can't remember if there were any raffle models I really wanted back then. Maybe the Sham? or the Hackney? Or the Big Ben? Hmm, I'm sensing a pattern here. Nothing I want these days, though. At various points I had Mego, Tseminole Wind, Rejoice and Molokai, but they've all since been sold off. 

After skipping a judge's clinic about gymkhanas, on page 18-19 we find an article about Breyer portrait model Wahoo King. 

On page 20-21 we have the article about Xena and Argo. 

On page 22-23 is an article about showing models at Breyerfest, including a photo from the days of showing models on the dirt floor of the Covered Arena. Fun! 

After skipping the results of a display contest, some Breyer jr. stuff and Horse Trader, we come to Who Am I? featuring some type of Belgian, the rest of the Brushstrokes article about Marrita McMillian and this week's Vintage Point, this time featuring the Grazing Mare. 

And on page 40-41 is the rest of the Vintage Point article! That brings us to the end of this week's issue - check back next week for July/Aug 1999! 

April Fool blind bags and Premier Club welcome letters!

 Good news, readers - the April Fool blind bags are available for purchase (and haven't sold out yet as of this writing) - honestly, I suspect they may take a while to sell out, what with the "legendarily unpopular paint jobs" theme. But they did update the website to allow 2 blind bags per order, and they do qualify for free shipping, so do what you will with that information. They aren't shipping until the warehouse opens back up on 4/8, so don't get antsy that they aren't showing up right away. 

In other news, the Premier Club letters are arriving in members' mailboxes! Here's mine: 

Nothing in there that we didn't already more-or-less know, except that the Stablemate at the end of the year will be another Mindy Berg sculpt. I'm excited to see it - hopefully at Breyerfest, or earlier would be nice too.

Here's the sketch of Llywellyn (try saying that five times fast, or spelling it for that matter) - looks promising so far, but I'll wait until I see the final photos (or better yet, have him in hand) to pass final judgement. 

And lastly, the sticker. I'm more than a little irritated that they went out of their way to make a sticker out of his sketch, rather than the actual model like the previous stickers in the series, instead of JUST SHOWING US THE MODEL. COME ON! We're going to be buying it in about a month anyway, just show it already! Sheesh.