Javiers and a Rowan

 Greetings, readers! My Javiers and Rowans have arrived! Well, okay, they've been here for a few days now, but it took me a while to get a chance to write this post. Alas, one of the Rowans (the stallion) went back to Breyer because of an unfortunate paint issue, but the other one is here to be admired! Behold!

As usual, she's not as yellow in real life as she is in the photos. 

She's so pretty! 

I definitely like the mare version better than the stallion version. 

My stallion Rowan had to go back because it turns out you shouldn't be able to just scratch the paint off the horse with your fingernails. Who knew, right? Anyway, hopefully I get a new one in a reasonable time frame. 

Anyway, let's move on to my Javiers! I got a matte one from my Stablemates Club membership, and then the second one I bought turned out to be glossy! Woohoo! 

They look great together.

I'm also super glad they finally used the G3 Peruvian Paso in the club. Seems like this mold is kinda underused? Only one Breyerfest release and I don't think he's ever been a unicorn either. We want more Pasos! 

Quality-wise they're both pretty nice, although the glossy one has more prominent eyewhites. He looks like he's seen some things, man. Well, he can have a nice life with me from now on. 

Breyerfest Closeups: Isla

 Greetings, readers! It's time for another Breyerfest Closeups post: feast your eyes on this year's Premier Club Stablemate, Isla! 

She's supposed to be grazing, I think? 

She's cute and all, but that pose is giving "sniffing a pile of poop" vibes. Maybe it's just me...

Not sure if I'll keep her - maybe once I get her in hand and can take a look at her. They'll be sent out with the third release, which I don't want to keep, so I might be able to sell them as a set. 

I am happy that they showed her to us this year, instead of doing a teaser (or nothing at all, like last year) and making us wait until the release to see the model. 

And with that, we've reached the end of this year's Breyerfest Closeups! Tune in, uh, hopefully next year, for more Breyerfest Closeups! 

Rowan, and Breyerfest Closeups: Hyperion

 Greetings, readers! Well, as I suspected, this year's next Premier Club models were released today - the highly-anticipated Rowan and Rowan! 

Rowan is/was available as a shaggy stallion or a braided, less-shaggy mare, and I ordered both since I got two memberships this year. Can't wait to see mine! 

And I really need to keep going with these Breyerfest Closeups, so say hello to Hyperion! 

This handsome guy has gone pretty much completely under the radar. I haven't seen him discussed anywhere! I don't collect the mold, but the color is interesting (pink and silver? pink and blue? I'm not quite sure). 

He certainly is handsome! 

It's only the third time this mold has been released as a unicorn - I thought there had been more, but I guess not. 

He'll probably be available in the fall/holiday season, along with other as-yet-unannounced holiday releases.

That's it for today. Check back soon for more Breyerfest Closeups! 

The Cosimos are here!

 Good news, readers! I haven't really had much to write about lately...but never fear! I have a new update. My Cosimo models finally arrived today - behold! 

Look at these handsome fellows. 

They aren't as brown in real life - as usual, the camera lightened things up a bit. 

I love the detail in his face, although I kinda prefer the matte one, just because all that gloss makes it harder to focus on the details. Look at all the detail on his muzzle! 

I've also seen a lot of criticism of his dapples, which is fair - I was kinda hoping they'd be even more subtle, even though they are pretty subtle on both my guys. 

Quality-wise they're both pretty nice, although the matte one has a rub on his off-side mane. The glossy one seems like he has a lot of little bits of something in his gloss - I'll have to look at him more closely later and see if those are just dust or actual debris in the gloss. Anyways, I'm definitely glad these guys came! Hey, I need to get pics of them with my Namid models. I think they'd go well together! 

Cosimo is now available!

 Good news, Premier Club members! This year’s first release, Cosimo, is finally available for purchase!

I have two memberships this year (curse you, Breyer), so I’m getting both finishes, but I’m almost more excited for the matte one. Look at the depth on his paint job! I hope mine looks just like that. Now if I could just get some stuff sold to help pay for him…

Premier Club welcome letter!

 Greetings, readers! Well, my Premier Club welcome letters came - yes, letters, because I have two Premier Club memberships this year. Dang Breyer got me again, but I couldn't resist, considering this year's offerings. Anyways, here's the letter! 

It gives us important information like the order of releases (Cosimo, then Rowan, then Winnifred) as well as the sculptor of the Stablemate for this year (Maggie Jenner-Bennett). You know, standard stuff they should have told us when we joined the club. But I digress. Here's the sketch! 

I'm definitely glad Cosimo is the first release after all - something to look forward to! Woohoo! 

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to work on show documentation...and that reminds me, I'll be at Huntington Live: Birds of a Feather on Saturday! Look for Geralt and Roach and say hi! 

Alert for 2025 Premier Club members

 Attention, members of the 2025 Premier Club! We can now select which version of Rowan we want and which finish we want for Cosimo! 

The fine print says they will be released around August and November, so they must be the second and third releases, and the mule is the first release (which was what I always thought). 

They make a good-looking group! Selections have to be made by 1/15, so don't wait too long to get yours submitted. 

Last-Minute Reveals

 Well, if you haven't joined the Premier Club yet, there's still a couple of hours left to join. Breyer graced us with some new photos of next year's offerings, including a group photo: 

They certainly make a nice-looking group, don't they? Too bad we don't get a sneak peek of the Stablemate, but it doesn't look like they're going to reveal that. Anyway, here's a dapple shot of the glossy Cosimo:

He looks really nice! And here's a shot of the hairy/stallion version of Rowan's other side:

His soft color kinda reminds me of Rhian and Cadell. He'd make a good stallion for them! 

Somewhere there's a photo of Cosimo's off side, but I can't find it now. I don't like him as much from that angle, though, so I'm not too upset. 

In other news, we got another silhouette on the Breyerfest Blog! 

Well, looks like we're staying at 3/4, because I don't collect the Indian Pony. I still think these silhouettes are most likely the single-day Stablemates. They did say they'll be revealed tomorrow, though, so I'm excited for that! And for the New Year, naturally. Happy New Year, everyone! And don't forget to join the various clubs, if you're so inclined. 

I Should Have Known

 Well, in the most exciting news development of the day, it seems poor Winnifred had a surprise for us after all: 

According to the website, randomly-distributed amongst the Winnifred production run will be 75 gray Winnifreds! What a shocker. But I should have suspected they would do something with Winnifred, since they're going all out with the other two releases in the club. I signed up for two memberships last night, too. So I'm going to have to decide if I want to try to presell my two Winnifreds or wait until they get here and then sell them once I see if I got a gray one or not. Decisions, decisions. If this is what they're doing with the Premier Club for the 75th anniversary, I'm really regretting not joining the Vintage Club...but anyway. 

Today's other news is another hint on the Breyerfest Blog! 

It's a Mirado! I'm still pretty sure these are the single-day Stablemates. We're sitting at 3/4 so far. Presumably they'll hint another one tomorrow and then do the reveal on Wednesday? Think they'll pick a fourth mold I collect? Guess I should expect it after not wanting any of them at the last one. Well, we'll find out soon enough! 

Another Stablemates Club reveal, Cosimo and Christmas surprise (oh my!)

 Well, it’s been a crazy weekend of reveals! Quite a lot of things have been revealed, actually - like next year’s regular run releases, but those will supposedly be officially revealed tomorrow, so I’m going to wait until then to talk about them. But in the meantime, we also got to see another 2025 Stablemates Club release! Say hello to Alana, who can be seen here. I’m not at home and my tablet isn’t cooperating, so you’ll have to view the links to see the models. Anyway, Alana is very promising! Another release I’ll have to join the club for. I love her turquoise braids! So that just means we have one more reveal to go - the gambler’s choice for next year. I’ll wait on joining until we see what that is. Hopefully it’s on a mold I don’t want so I can just get one membership like I’ve been doing for the past few years, but we’ll see.

We also got an unprecedented third Premier Club reveal! They teased a sketch of the model yesterday and then revealed a cropped photo today, which can be seen here. I definitely like what I see! But I do like a nice Roman nose on a horse, so it’s not surprising. I also like black horses! So he’s probably going to stay with me. Dare I hope we get to see the Stablemate next? Hahaha. I’ll hold out on joining until he very end of the year, just in case. I don’t think we should necessarily expect to get this many reveals next year, though - I suspect it’s a 75th Anniversary thing and we’ll be back to normal at the end of next year. I hope I’m wrong, though! It would be great to be able to see all the releases in advance every year.

Lastly, Breyer sent out an email today that this year’s Christmas surprise will be revealed tomorrow at 1pm EST! So I’ll have to haunt the Breyer website tomorrow to see what it is. My guess is some type of Fell Pony, but who knows. I think I guessed her last year and it turned out to be Huck. Guess we’ll find out tomorrow! Good luck to everyone! 

Courchevel and another Premier Club sneak peek!

 Good news, everyone! My Courchevel model arrived today! Behold:

He's definitely more purplish than the promo photos, but still not really that purplish, if that makes sense. They should have used color-shift paint on this one, honestly. 

Like many others, I didn't get the shipping notice for this guy until after he'd been delivered, but UPS MyChoice was still up-to-date, so I knew he was coming. Christmastime is always a busy time for Breyer, but lots of people have had issues with being shipped the wrong items or their orders taking a long time to ship - I don't remember it ever being this bad before. Maybe Breyer will finally give CCG the boot? I hope so. 

Quality-wise he's pretty nice, despite being wrapped in un-accordioned paper. Like come on, guys. How are they not getting that they have to stretch out the paper first? It's like popping bubbles on the bubble wrap. Get with the program already! 

The only flaw I noticed was a mangled back edge of his right ear, which must have happened during the production process as it's under the paint. Oh well. 

In other news, Breyer defied tradition and posted a preview sketch of the third Premier Club release for next year!

Looks like something Spanish? I generally like the Spanish horses, and/or a nice Roman nose, so I'm sure I'll like whatever this turns out to be. Dare I hope they show him to us? 

I'm sure I'll post again before or on Christmas, what with the inevitable Christmas Day surprise model (they must have decided to go back to revealing it on the actual day), but in case I don't - I hope everyone has a good Christmas! 

Whoa! I wasn't expecting this!

 Wow, we actually get to see what color the Rowans are going to be next year! That's right - I said Rowans, plural. Take a look! 

There are two of them! And they don't just have different manes/tails! From the webpage:

In honor of Breyer's 75th Anniversary, 2025 Premier Club members will have some fun surprises and additions in store for their club experience. These will include the ability to choose between two versions of Rowan the pony – members can select a picturesque Highland Pony stallion or a British Riding Pony mare with a lighter build, less cresty neck and clean legs that suit her breed perfectly.

I'm super-excited for this release! I think I like the braided/mare one better, but they're both pretty nice. Can't see the mare's tail in that photo, but I'm guessing it's also braided in some way. I think I'll order a braided one, since it seems the stallion version may be easier to find on the secondary market. No need for a second Premier Club account here...yet. I'm super-happy that we got to actually see this release! I wonder if signups are down, or if it's just a 75th Anniversary thing. Maybe a little bit of both? Dare I hope we get a peek at the third release, too? I can tell it's going to be hard to wait until August or later to get these two in my collection!

Also, if you haven't gotten a Courchevel yet, they're now available to the masses, and Breyer added the production quantity to the description - they made 2,000 of them. Seems like a bit of a high number for the price - oh well. 

New Premier Club Preview!

 Wow! Good news, everyone - we have a really good preview of another release in next year's Premier Club! 

According to the email, he's a Highland Pony and his name is Rowan. He's sculpted by Kelly Sealey, with the color yet to be revealed. Kelly Sealey also sculpted the Copperfox Cob, which I used to have a small conga of. And I like what I see so far! Definitely a good indicator that I should join next year's club, but I'm going to wait until the last minute (as usual) and see if we get any other hints or previews. I'm kinda surprised (but not complaining) that we got to see almost his full body - this is the first time we've seen so much of the model in a preview. Keep it coming, Breyer! 

November Collector Club Newsletter!

 Good news, readers and Collector Club members! The 2024 Collector Club newsletter is out in the wild! If you're a Collector Club member, check your email to read it. Firstly, the feature story is "A Closer Look at 2025 Specialty Clubs," which offers, among other things, a turntable video of Winnifred, the first Premier Club release of 2025. Here's the thumbnail:

Ehh...I'm thinking, "Nah," on this one. I like her head from certain angles, but that's about it. The rest of her doesn't really appeal to me, nor does the mealy/pangare coloring. Better luck with the next one, I guess. 

Excitingly, there's also a turntable video of Madonna, the PAM/Zara release in the 2025 Stablemates Club! Here's a more-different angle of her: 

I'm toying with the idea of keeping her just for the novelty - and really, she's one Stablemate, so it's not like I don't have room for her. I'm somewhat irritated that it turns out she's the "new sculpture" for 2025's club - I thought she was the first release! So we won't even get her for another year. Happily, there's a reveal of another 2025 Stablemates Club model! 

Cute! He's almost like a mini version of Churchill, though the whites are different. I was already planning on joining the club, but this guy definitely makes it easier! 

That's about it for the feature story, but there's also a giveaway of a Hot Cocoa and this sneak peek: 

At first I thought it was something 75th Anniversary related, because of the blue and gold, but then someone pointed out it appears to be some sort of color-shift paint (see the red/purple in the bottom left). So, I have no idea what this is. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long to find out! It's probably the winter decorator web special, but who knows. 

2025 Premier Club!

 More good news, readers! The 2025 Premier Club is now open for enrollment. As a reminder, here’s the first release in next year’s club:

Turns out the new mule was sculpted by Laura Skillern-Sailer. I haven’t rejoined the Collector Club for 2025 yet, so it wouldn’t let me view the 2025 Premier Club page. Anyone know if there are any other photos of Winnifred? I’d kind of like to see more of her before I decide if I want her or not. 

A big change for next year’s club is the revelation that shipping will now be “free” in exchange for each release now costing $195. Presumably the deposit will still be deducted from the cost of each model. The costs had to go up sometime, I guess. We have until 12/31 to join the club, so don’t feel like you need to rush to sign up!

Y’ALL READY FOR THIS??

 Well, clearly I used the above title too early when I ordered my Tigerlily and Firestorm. Today we have reveals for next year’s Premier and Stablemates Clubs! Apparently these were pages in one of the holiday catalogs that’s being sent out. Are you guys excited yet? I’ll start with the Premier Club:

That’s right, we’re getting a mule! It’s about time we had a new one, though I’m going to reserve judgement on this one until we see some better photos. 

Zomg! It’s a shrunken PAM with a turned head! Or at least that’s what I thought at first, until a particularly astute Blabber pointed out how similar she is to the original Hagen-Renaker Zara that the PAM is based on, using this photo from an eBay listing…

They’re pretty much identical! But how did Breyer get the rights to use Zara? Will they be coming out with more officially-licensed Hagen-Renaker stuff in the future? I believe the company (or what’s left of it) is owned by sometime Breyer sculptor Kristina Lucas Francis, so I’m thinking we may see more in the future. Exciting!

There was also a blurb about the 2025 Vintage Club, but Breyer seems to have an aversion to previews of that club, so no photos. The only pertinent information is that membership numbers are being increased to 1200, which seems like a mistake - most of the releases sell well below cost on the secondary market, and increasing the numbers won’t help that situation.