Lots of things to post about today!

 Well, we had a little bit of a dry spell the last few days- but it was definitely broken today! First off: 2024 Stablemates Club members can now order Augustus, the last release in the club: 

I'm excited for this little fellow! The optional release, the Hadley and Holden set, is also available:

I'll be ordering both of these releases, though I only want the Standing Foal version of Holden. Let's hope my luck is in with that one. 

In other news, we got another reveal for the 2025 Stablemates Club today! Behold, Spencer:

Pretty color, but I'm not interested in the mold, so he'll be for sale. 

Lastly, registrations for various BreyerMidWest activities will go on sale this Wednesday at 1pm EST! I'm tentatively considering attending this year so I can get a glossy Marc of Charm, so I may end up reporting from the event just like Breyerfest! We'll see. 

That's it for today - let's hope we get more exciting reveals soon! And the last Premier Club release! 

Y'all ready for this?

 Get ready to dance, people (or cringe, if your bank account is running low) - Breyer has some new releases in stock! Huzzah! Let's start with Tigerlily and Firestorm! 

I'm excited to see this pair in person. I wonder how many of them will turn up at my next live show? Hahaha...anyway. The order deadline is 10/16, so we have plenty of time to order. But let's not let the Stablemates Club feel left out of this - their next release is available too! 

That's right - it's the gambler's choice, Miguel! The order deadline is also 10/16. I'm hoping to sell mine, but good luck to everyone wanting all four colors! 

Dylan is here

Greetings, readers! Well, in the midst of our slow news month, my Dylan has finally arrived! Though I didn't order him until the day of the deadline, so his late arrival is really my fault. Drat! 

 

Despite my lack of fondness for his mold, he really is very pretty. If only they'd used a mold I collect! But hopefully I can sell him. I did eventually find a buyer for my Wallowa, so there's still hope. 

That's it for today. I hope we get some new news soon! 

Dylan is now available!

 Good news, Stablemates Club members - the next release, Dylan, is now available for purchase! 

The purchase deadline is 8/22, so we have plenty of time. I'm hoping to sell mine since I don't collect the mold, so hopefully I can find somebody by then! 

Breyerfest Closeups: Remaining Stablemates Club Releases

 Greetings, readers! Well, we've reached the last of our Breyerfest Closeups for this year! The thrilling conclusion is...the rest of the releases for the 2024 Stablemates Club! Behold! 

Here we have all the colors of Miguel, the gambler's choice for this year. I don't collect the Stablemate Donkey mold, so I don't need any of these for my own collection, but I do like the blue one.

The placements of the Stablemates may vary a little bit in these photos, because the floor shifted as I was taking photos of them and caused them to take an unfortunate tumble all over the table. 

They sure are cute, though. 

I'm a little surprised that none of them are glossy. You'd think the blue one would be, at least.

Next is Dylan. I'm guessing he's the August release? I don't think they'd release the gambler's choice this early, but who knows. 

He's pretty, and while his paint job is slightly better-executed than the very similar Phineas from a couple years ago. 

Next is the optional release for this year. I guess I only got one photos of these guys. Oh well - the color is nice, but I don't need the mare or the lying-down foal, so I hope I get the one I want. Insert grumble about gambler's choice stuff here.

Last is Augustus, the final release in this year's club. I like him! He's like a spicy little drafter.

I love his swishy tail! 

That's all I have for today. Let's hope we get more exciting Breyer news soon! 

Newport is here!

 Good news, everyone - my Newport has arrived! Incidentally, I finally figured out what her name reminds me of: that episode of Family Guy where Lois inherits the fancy house in Newport. Anyway, here's Newport! 

She's a beauty! I love her color. Her "Breyer blue and yellow" tail ribbon colors are a nice touch. 

The G2 Thoroughbred certainly makes a nice polo pony! I'm guessing we'll probably see this iteration of the mold again in the future.

Quality-wise she's pretty nice. I've seen a few posted on Facebook that had pretty bad box rubs, so I was happy when I got mine out of the box and she didn't have any. I'd still prefer going back to the satin bags, though. 

All in all, a fine addition to my collection! Now I just have to get up the willpower to go stand up all of my G2 Thoroughbreds without knocking them all over, again...and maybe my G3 Friesians while I'm at it...

Newport!

 Wow, something new to post about! Feels like things have been kinda slow lately. Still no sign of this year's first Premier Club model, but the next Stablemates Club model is available to order! 

From the website:

Our third release for the 2024 Stablemates Club is here! Does something about this gal look a bit familiar? The G2 Thoroughbred got a polo makeover! Customized by Franceyn Dare, she now sports a tucked head, roached mane, and braided tail.

So did they make an entire new mold from Franceyn Dare's customized model? Seems like a lot of expense to go to for one release. Guess we'll be seeing a lot more of the new polo pony G2 Thoroughbred in the future! I'm excited to get mine and see what she looks like in person. And then I'll get to have fun putting her on the shelf next to my other G2 Thoroughbreds, probably after standing them all back up after falling over for the billionth time. 

I almost ordered mine, but then I remembered the first Premier Club release. I wouldn't be surprised if that one becomes available after the deadline for ordering this one passes, but you never know. We have until 6/24 to order and I'm not sure they'd make us wait that long, but you never know. I think I'll wait a few days before order Newport, just in case. 

Wallowa, and Spokes and Spurs

 Greetings, readers! Wow, it's been a while since I last posted. Oh well - there just hasn't been much to post about lately. Firstly, my Wallowa has arrived: 

He's glossy! And has decent ears, unlike many of them out there. I'm a bit surprised that I managed to get a glossy one. I suppose not wanting to keep it means I'll get the finish that's more sought-after in the long run...but anyways. Still hoping to sell this one, so I'm not taking him out of his box just yet. 

Also, there's a new plush out! Behold: 

That is...almost eye-burningly colorful. Whew! Guess we won't have any trouble spotting him in a room, huh? Order him here, if you're so inclined. 

Lastly, the Spokes and Spurs collector event is happening this weekend! I hope all the attendees have a great time. It looks like things are getting started now - the special run models for the weekend have been revealed! Check them out. Photo borrowed from Facebook: 

I'm...actually really relieved for this reveal. I was sure there was going to be a micro run Othello in the mix, but instead I'm getting astoundingly lucky - the only model I need here is the Esprit! And with a run number of 96, I might actually be able to get one later on! 

Interesting that they're using poor underappreciated Sea Star with the Misty. I guess Stormy needed a break! The colors are nice on the rest of them, especially the Gem Twist. The Foundation Stallion looks vaguely like last year's Buggy on Django. 

That's all I have for now - let's hope we get some exciting news soon! I'm supposed to be getting my replacement Domingo soon, so hopefully I'll be able to post about him at some point. 

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. 

Lanin is here!

 Good news, everyone! My Lanin model has arrived - behold! 

He's way more purple than I thought he'd be! 

In-hand, he doesn't look as weird with no mane as he did in the promo photos (typical). 

Quality-wise he's pretty good, other than a purplish smear on his butt, and a warped left hind leg (visible in the above photo). While I didn't take any photos, I did compare him to my other models on this mold, and the ones molded from cellulose acetate (prior SMC releases like Mirado and Fiero) are definitely skinnier through the shoulders than the ABS ones (all other colors). The speculation is that the factory workers aren't giving the models enough time to cool before removing them from the molds, leading to some "collapsing" in the shoulder area. All Stablemate models have a void or air bubble inside (just take a look at the clearware ones), which could lead to some collapsing of the plastic around the shoulder area, so the theory seems solid. Is Breyer ever going to address this? Has it even been brought up to them? Who knows. 

Interestingly enough, it looks like the process to eliminate Mirado's mane (presumably by Dremeling it off) also eliminated most of the detail on his neck. Let's hope this doesn't happen on any future roached releases of this mold, I guess. 

On a small side note, the First Timer's Guides to Breyerfest (in-person and virtual) have been released on the Breyer website, and they do mention a plush as one of the store items (but no photos of said plush). So the plush is presumably still coming? Who knows. 

The promised sneak peek and Lanin!

 Greetings, readers! Well, the promised prince sneak peek arrived on the blog today! Behold: 

Wow, I think I'm going to like it! It looks like the pink stripes are color-shifting to purple and blue? I love it already! It's giving Lisa Frank vibes (look at me all hip and cool, using the young people's lingo. How do you do, fellow kids?). Anyway, the background green/yellow color is interesting - it looked green when I saw it on my phone, but it does look more yellow when viewing it on my desktop screen. Unfortunately, I have no guesses as to what mold it is, and neither does the rest of the Internet, apparently. It kind of looks like it could be some type of Moody muscling? Maybe the Nokota? He's never been a Breyerfest special run, other than Pop the Cork. We need a decorator Nokota at Breyerfest! 

In other news, the first release in this year's Stablemates Club, Lanin, is now available for purchase! 

I'm not sure what to think about a roached-mane Mirado, so I'm excited for him to get here! Let's hope it doesn't take too long. 

The Grinch strikes again, and other stuff

 Good news, everyone! My Wassail models all arrived today - I was able to use UPS to delay their arrival until today. So without any further ado...here we go with the unboxing! 

What a tantalizing stack of boxes. While I am getting pretty tired of the gambler's choice everything, it is fun to open up a stack of random things every once in a while. 

I carefully opened each box, pulled out the model inside without looking at it, made a pile on the table, and took a photo (also without really looking at it, which is why it isn't centered). 

And after a lot of unwrapping...behold! 

Rats, I was hoping for a better color distribution than that (doesn't everyone?) - but hey, at least I didn't get four solid greens. 

There's actually a lot of variation between the three solid greens. The one on the left is pretty dark, the one in the middle is about average, and the one on the right practically GLOWS green in comparison. I was a little torn about which one to keep, but ultimately settled on the greenest one, because...he's just so green! And these paint jobs do look better in person than they did in the photos. 

Here's a closeup where you can hopefully see more detail on the glitter. How cool would it have been if they'd had some holographic effects on these guys, too? But they still look pretty cool. 

So I'm keeping the green filigree and the brightest of the solid greens, and I'll be looking to trade the other two for the solid red and filigree red. I may have a trade for the solid red lined up already, which is good. Hopefully I can get the other one traded as well and have the full (obtainable) set! 

In other news, there are so many things I need to write about today! I'll start with the stuff from yesterday, since I just didn't have a chance to write a post yesterday. We were busy flying back home to KY after a Christmas visit to our home state. So where do I start? We got another Breyerfest Stablemate silhouette:

Cool, it's the Prince Charming mold again. Hmm, I thought to myself. Could they be on a streak here? Dare I hope they pick four molds I don't collect, and I don't need to bother with getting any of the single-day Stablemates for once? It's too much to hope for! 

Yesterday's other big reveal (unless I'm forgetting something) was the optional purchase for the 2024 Stablemates Club! Behold: 

It's Cassidy! And two foals! The foals are randomly shipped, so you won't know which foal you're getting until it arrives! I am not happy about this! 

I had reservations about this year's Breyerfest mare and foal set for the same reason - anyone that collects both the Standing Stock Horse Foal and the Action Stock Horse Foal would inevitably end up with an extra of the Lady Phase from this set (if they didn't end up buying multiple sets trying to get both versions of the foal). I don't have quite the same problem, since I only want the standing foal from this set, but it still irritates me. 

Also, I'm confused by the Cassidy's color (clearly Breyer really is trying to get their money's worth from the mold). The clue about the Breyerfest Cassidy seemed to imply a primitive color, but Hadley's color is primitive too. Would they do two? I'm confused. Maybe the clue was referring to something else. But I suppose we'll find out more next week. 

So that's our full Stablemates Club lineup for 2024! It looks like I'm only going to need three of the releases (or I guess four if you count the standing foal version of Holden). Oh well - I think that's better than this year. So I broke down and joined the club today (along with the 2024 Premier Club because I didn't want to forget about it). 

Back to Breyerfest 2024: today's teaser was...this! 

Holy crap, they did it! They actually did it! I won't need any of the single-day Stablemates next year! Hooray! It probably sounds weird that I'm celebrating not needing to buy anything, but every little bit helps, right? Maybe I won't need to bother with a VIP ticket, either. Well, maybe I won't hope for that yet...much. 

Let's see. What else was revealed today? The final Collector Club newsletter of 2023 is in email inboxes, so check your email if you haven't. There's a whole bunch of archive footage from the 1990s, a giveaway of a Mustang throw blanket (really? That's all you could find?), and this sneak peek:

There's been some speculation online that this is a new bull. That works for me - I won't need to buy it! The new for 2024 line is slated to be released next week, apparently (so much for releasing it before 2024 actually gets here). So we won't have to wait too long to see it. 

Other random things that were released sometime in the last few days: updated packaging for the Premier Club (Nobody cares about the packaging! Give us the first release in the club!); the PC Stablemate will be a new mold (Trying to figure out the odds on whether this is an actually new mold, or something shrunk down to Stablemate size again); Grab bags are being offered again on Breyer's website (not worth it! Avoid! Avoid!) and 2024 Stablemates Club releases will be released in window boxes rather than the hat boxes (Boo! Go back to the satin bags!). There may be more I'm forgetting.  

At any rate, I can't believe we're already at the end of 2023! I don't know if I'll have anything else to post about before the end of the year, aside from one more Featured JAH post. Let's hope there's something...but in the meantime, I hope everyone has a happy New Year! Here's to a great 2024, everybody! 

Yet another Stablemates Club reveal!

 Good news, readers - the burning question about the 2024 Stablemates Club has been answered - which mold will be the gambler’s choice? And the answer is - the donkey!

That’s right, the G3 Donkey - a mold so obscure, the only time it’s been used outside of a play set was as Senor Carrots in the Spirit Riding Free blind bags. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t expecting a donkey for a gambler’s choice. Sheesh, and I thought the packaging for the G2 Shetland gambler was tiny this year!

Fortunately for my wallet, I don’t collect the donkey, so it looks like I only need one club membership yet again next year. Woohoo! These four donkeys are cute (and the zonkey looks like it’ll be interesting), none of them need to join my herd. Now we just need to see the optional model and we’ll be set!

In other news, we have a silhouette hint on the Breyerfest Blog!

Not sure when the reveal is going to be, but I’m guessing this is one of the event Stablemates. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long to find out!

Also also, per an email from Breyer today, the other two Premier Club releases for next year will be a Criollo by Morgen Kilbourn and a Welsh Cob by Eva Rossiter. Cool, but I’d still like to see some kind of visual representation of what we’re getting. Like a photo? Preferably of the first release. Come on Breyer, time’s a-wasting!

Another Stablemates Club preview!

 Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Good news tonight - we have another Stablemates Club preview! Say hello to Dylan!

Hmm, he looks like a miniature Anamar. But haven’t we pretty much already seen this color in the Club? Phineas was a very similar color, complete with poorly-executed star dapples. Phineas was also rather hard to resell afterward, and I suspect this one will be the same situation since I don’t collect the mold. On a more positive note, Breyer does need to do more practicing and experimenting if they want to improve, so let’s hope this leads to something better in the future!

Well, I think the only reveal we’re still waiting for is the gambler’s choice. Oh, and the optional model. Any speculation on which they’ll reveal first? The gambler’s choice would probably sell more memberships, so I’m going to hope for that. 

Newport!

 Well, readers, now that we’ve started getting Stablemates Club reveals, they’ve been coming fast and furious! Breyer sent out a link to an unboxing video today, with an epic reveal of Newport! Here are some screenshots from the video!

This is the polo pony that was alluded to a few weeks ago. More importantly, it’s a reworked G2 Thoroughbred! She looks so different with a roached mane and new tail. 

The resculpting was done by Franceyn Dare. I like her with this new look! I wonder if the mold will always look like this going forward? Or maybe we’ll effectively have two versions of this going forward? I guess we’ll find out eventually. Well, I’m excited to see the next reveal!

2024 Collector Event, and more!

 Exciting news today, readers - the 2024 Collector Event has been announced! I’m typing this post on my phone while traveling for the holidays, so please forgive any formatting errors.

Ooh, interesting! We’re heading to Oklahoma City this time. I was just thinking about this event the other day and the possibilities for the theme - though I thought it would probably be in New Jersey, since it’s been almost 10 years since the last NJ collector event.

So, here are the ticket models for the event! Each attendee will receive these models as part of their ticket. Behold!

Whew! Nothing I need so far. Nice color on the Bobby Jo, though. The tickets are being done via lottery again, and I’m definitely going to try to enter - I’ll have started a new job by then, but I’m hopeful that I’d be able to take Friday off if I managed to be drawn to attend. Shouldn’t be too hard to jump on a Thursday night flight to OKC from where I am if I do get chosen. I’d be thrilled to be able to report from the event as it’s happening - I haven’t been able to do that since 2016! But I’d better not start counting my chickens before they’re hatched. Let’s just hope I manage to get drawn.

In other news, we got another Stablemates Club reveal today, too! Say hello to Wallowa!

So this is the G1 release for next year! And he’s being released in a glossy and matte finish - bad(ish) news for people who collect him, not-so-bad for people who don’t, like me. Huzzah! Kind of a strange color - why are the spots on the front half of his body so light? Actually, he looks like a fleabitten gray in front and black Appaloosa in the back. Maybe he started graying out in front first. At any rate, he’s nothing I need, so I’m going to need a little more encouragement before I join the club for next year. Maybe we’ll get another reveal tomorrow?

In other, other news, people who shelled out the money for the expedited shipping on the Wassail models started receiving them today (!), and while I don’t have any photos I can use just yet, they’re definitely interesting-looking. No one has gotten a Coal yet, but all four of the other colors have appeared. First off, none of them have bald faces, so I have no idea how that description got into the original description on the website yesterday. Secondly, I guess “with filigree” just means “filigree” after all, because both the red and the green “with filigree” were the same as every other filigree model we’ve ever seen, except they don’t have bald faces and look a little weird as a result. The colors look nice though! I was just kinda hoping for a slightly more interesting paint job…and they would have tied in really well with the Swirls’n’Snowflakes horses. Oh well. 

That’s all I have for today, and I’m tired after a day of traipsing through airports. Let’s hope there’s more exciting stuff to post about tomorrow!

Finally, a Stablemates Club preview!

 Well, I have good news - we finally have a preview of a 2024 Stablemates Club release! Not before time...but I digress. Here he is! 

He's a Mirado with roached mane and possibly a modified tail! He's kind of like a small version of this not-well-received Nokota auction model from 2022. I'm cautiously optimistic about this guy, but it's not enough to join the club just yet. I'm guessing this is the polo pony they hinted about earlier, but I demand more! At least give us the outlines like usual. 

The 2024 Stablemates Club is now open!

 Well, I was partially right - we did get another reveal today! The 2024 Stablemates Club is now open for enrollment. In a reversal of the last couple of years (and return to the beginnings of the club), next year's final club release and new mold has been revealed! 

His name is Augustus! What a hunk. This guy will probably end up joining my herd, though I'll have to see him in person to be sure. Of course, I'm not going to actually join the club until some time passes and we see a few more reveals (I'd be happy with just the mold silhouettes...hint hint). But this is a good beginning! Now dare I hope we get a Vintage Club 2024 reveal on Monday?