Collector Club store!

 Attention, Collector Club members! There's now a Collector Club store on the Breyer website. Find it by mousing over "Clubs" on the main page, then "Collector Club" and "Collector Club Store." There isn't much to buy at the moment, but the website says there may be older Collector Club releases that didn't sell out in the past. I wonder if this includes old web specials? Time will tell. I'll have to snag one of those pins at some point. 

Alana and River City Live show report!

 Attention, Stablemates Club members! The second release in this year's club, Alana, is available for purchase! 

What a beauty! I can't wait to add her to my collection. 

In other news, I attended the River City Live model horse show in Indiana last Saturday, and here's how I did! 

The show awarded mugs and Stanley cups instead of rosettes, so just imagine that that mug is a rosette. Huzzah! This was probably my most successful show so far. Here's one of my happiest moments: 

I've been doggedly bringing my Via Lattea to almost every show I've attended for the last year, and prior to Saturday she'd placed anywhere from third to sixth almost every time, but never better than third. I thought about changing her name to Old Reliable because she usually was at least in the ribbons. But on Saturday she got second in her class! Huzzah! 

Other highlights:

• I've been trying to put a little more thought into my breed assignments, because my collection of green NAN cards is/was sorely lacking, and one of the fruits of that labor was my glossy Namid winning her class as a Murgese! Okay, I'll admit Cosimo is the only reason I know the Murgese breed exists, but I'll take it. 
• I almost didn't bring my new Mallorca, but stuck him in his box and took him along and he not only won his class (for collectibility), but got reserve champion for the Spanish/Gaited section! 
• My Churchill won his class as a Norwegian Dole, which has happened before, but this time he got reserve champion in the section and got his name (Ricky Spanish) announced out loud. The judge recognized the reference and whispered it, which was pretty great. 
• I entered my no-stand Fight Song (I refuse to type out that entire name) as a Mustang and he also won his division! This was totally unexpected. 

All in all, it was a pretty great show, other than my Stablemate show string almost completely flopping (again). Starting to think about giving up on showing them as they don't seem to do very well most of the time. Back to the drawing board, I guess! My next show will be Bluegrass Live on May 10, so I have a lot of planning to do! 

April Fool Stablemate is here!

 Greetings, readers! Well, my April Fool gamble arrived today. Did I hit the jackpot? 

Unfortunately, no. I wanted the Georg, so it looks like I'll be looking for a trade. Better luck next time, I guess. 

Featured JAH - 4/5/2025, Nov/Dec 2007

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! We're wrapping up 2007 with this week's issue, so let's get going with Nov/Dec 2007! 

On the front cover, Wintersong and his rider take a leisurely stroll through a wintry wonderland. 

In the Editor's Desk, Arlene previews the issue and announces Meg MacDonald's departure from writing Vintage Point. There's also a contest to win a mare and foal set from the 2008 Treasure Hunt. 

On page 3 we have Letters to the Editor as usual. 

On page 4 we have an always-timely article about model horses not being just for girls. Actually, I think I counted at least 3 guys showing models at Huntington Live, which has to be a record. 

The model-horses-not-just-for-girls article wraps up on page 5. 

On page 6 we have the reveal of the 2008 Treasure Hunt! This was before it was revealed that each mare and foal set had variations. 

 

After skipping what amounts to an ad for the Saddle Club line, plus an artist's showcase and Winners' Circle and some Stablemates playsets, on page 11 we have an article about Aztecas! 

On page 12 we have a Breyer UK update, including the Locarno 62 model. 

The ever-popular Rubicon makes his debut on page 13! He's still one of the more popular Connoisseur releases. 

After skipping Mailbag, the 2008 retired list, Model Horse Show, Collector's Corner and the Model Horse Show results, on page 20 we have an article about the creation of the cover image for this issue. Usually I skip the how-to articles, but the amount of detail that went into this one made it worth covering. 

The holiday cover article wraps up on page 21. 

On page 22 we have another article about creating a winter wonderland! 

The winter wonderland article wraps up on page 23. 

After skipping the holiday art contest winners, on page 26 we have this week's Vintage Point featuring Touch of Class! 

Vintage Point wraps up on page 27. I didn't have a big collection of Touch of Class models, but I did have the gray one from the JCP Three-Piece Horse Set. I always thought it was a pretty color, and I played with her a lot! She had a lot of scratches. 

After skipping On the Trail with Breyer and the Calendar of Events, we've arrived at the back cover! Feast your eyes on the Two-Stall Barn with pretty gray El Pastor (not included, presumably). And with that, we've reached the end of this week's issue! Check back next week for Jan/Feb 2008!

Mallorca is here!

 Good news, everyone! My Mallorca arrived today - a whole day early! I wasn't expecting him until tomorrow. He makes a great birthday present. Behold! 

What a beauty! I love his blue eye. He isn't as yellow in person as he appears in these photos, though - must be the lighting. 

I like his subtle frosting, too. 

Did I mention I love his blue eye? 

Like the writeup said, he does have a slight shimmer to his coat, but it's VERY subtle. He's pretty good-quality too - I noticed some minor flaws, but nothing too nasty. I'll have to bring him to a show soon! Not sure if I'll bring him to Saturday's show, but my next show for sure. 

April Fool's giveaway and more blind bags!

 Greetings, readers! Well, yesterday's April Fool's joke has been revealed as a joke (not surprising), but in an unexpected twist, Breyer is giving away three test models based on yesterday's joke model! 

They did clarify on Facebook that the joke model is in fact real (vindication!), so I hope it shows up in the Breyerfest silent auction, because I want to see that thing in person. Anyway, the entry period ends tomorrow night, so get your entries in if you want one! I don't collect Nikolas, but entered anyway for trade fodder. Good luck to everyone entering! 

In other news, we were a bit confused this morning when the Pal test models were revealed, because there was a mystery Stablemate in the background. 

People wondered what it was, and speculated all kinds of things, but we didn't have to wait too long - it turned out to be part of another set of April Fool's blind bags! 

I'm a bit confused that they produced these, considering the ones from last year seem to have gone over like a lead balloon (they're still available on the website). And of course they used the hugely popular mini Georg, so he's the only one anyone is going to want afterwards. At least they used the G1 Arabian Mare this time instead of the G2 Clydesdale or Magnolia? I'm also glad the Georg didn't end up being part of a 75th Anniversary blind bag set. I only ordered one of these - crossing my fingers for the Georg. 

VIP swag bags and April Fool!

 Greetings, readers! Well, I meant to write about the VIP swag bags yesterday, but completely forgot about it, d'oh. So anyway...VIP swag bags were revealed yesterday! 

As usual, most of it is pretty meh. Looks like the trend of only 3 VIP pins instead of 4 is how it's going to be from now on. But wait a second, there's something funny about those pins...

It's hard to see, but the Croi has the same pattern as Get This Party Started, with the light/dark colors reversed. Could this be the micro run we've been waiting to see? But what are the other two pins? Belesema Sapphire and Tight Lines are portrait models - those don't get variations. But...a blue Belesema Sapphire? Sapphires are blue...this can't be a coincidence. These alternate colors have to mean something! Remember last year when the VIP pin of Fight Song had the alternate tail and we all (more or less) wrote it off as nothing? But why is the Cigar red? Normally the portrait models don't get variations, but it's not like it's The Law that it couldn't happen. And we all know Breyer loves to break their own rules, right? 

Well, who knows what's really going on, but those pins mean something. And it's going to be torture waiting until July to find out what it is! 

In other news, it's April Fool's Day today! Check out Breyer's prank:

I laughed as soon as I saw it...I mean, who wouldn't? Those eyelashes! Great idea, whoever thought of it. Breyer's April Fool's jokes are always the best. I do think this is a real, actual model, because of this clip, but who knows if it'll ever see the light of day again. Maybe it'll be in this year's Breyerfest silent auction? Or maybe it's not real and I'm just an idiot, who knows. It could go either way. 

That's it for today - now I have to get back to prepping for River City Classic on Saturday. As always, if you're there, look for Geralt and Roach and say hello!