Talk about a glow-up!

 Wow, speaking of unexpected reveals...I guess tomorrow is National Unicorn Day, and Breyer is sparing no expense to celebrate it this year! 

If you're a Collector Club member, check your email! 

Saturday, April 9th is National Unicorn Day! To celebrate, we’re offering three Breyer Collector Club members a special opportunity to win one of three spectacular sets of test run unicorns. One test run glossy set, each produced from three previous unicorn mare and foal sets - 2018’s Rosalind and Rigel, 2019’s Mira and Antares, and 2020’s Bellatrix and Spica - will be given away to three separate lucky winners!

Three winners will be randomly selected. And with a fun twist in our process, the first name drawn gets first choice of three sets, the second name drawn gets second choice, and third name drawn will be awarded the final remaining set. Each of these special sets of test run glossy unicorns will include a certificate of authenticity.

I almost skipped right over the email, thinking the photo was of the matte Mira and Antares and I already have that set, before I doubled back and actually read the email. Holy crap, Bellatrix and Spica are to die for! Be sure to get your entries in quick, because we only have until midnight 4/10 to enter. Good luck, everyone! I'm crossing all my appendages that I'm one of the three lucky winners, though it'd be hard to pick just one set if I did get drawn. They're all on molds I collect! 

As an aside: I wish Breyer would do test run giveaways more often - the last one I remember is Caramel Macchiato from 2012. Maybe slightly more than once a decade? Haha. 

Featured Model - 9/25/2021, Buckskin Pinto Auction Hermosa

 Hello and welcome to Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model I don't own but would like to, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is...the 2016 Breyerfest Live Auction Hermosa in buckskin pinto! 

This pretty girl was a OOAK on the Hermosa mold sculpted by Brigitte Eberl. 

I really liked this model back when she was first revealed, because her color is very reminiscent of Scallywag's. They'd make a great pair! Her color is so soft, and but also has a lot of depth. Now if Breyer would just make a foal to match her...wait, scratch that idea as I probably wouldn't be able to get my hands on it. But anyway...

Hermosa isn't the most popular mold out there, but she did get a couple of new releases last year - she was the Breyerfest special run Boudicca and then appeared as the web special La Molina at the end of the year. She also appeared as the unicorn Mira in 2019, the same year her regular run appearance as Fantasia del C ended. It's anyone's guess as to where we'll see her pop up next - maybe as a Collector Club special run? Or a mid-year or brick-and-mortar release? Anything that's obtainable is okay by me! 

New Arrivals: Boudicca, Matte and Glossy Silver Black Slainte Surprises

Greetings, readers! Let's get back to the new arrivals from Breyerfest! I'll start with Boudicca:



Her design is a little bit odd to be sure, but like I said in my previous post about her, I like how her blue isn't all one shade - it's darker on her back, neck and legs and lighter on the belly, hip and face. If it weren't for the woad, she'd make a nice mate for Alejandro! Maybe someday we'll see a foal that matches. Hey, why doesn't Breyer do family sets anymore? The last one I remember off the top of my head was the Quarter Horse Family in the Vintage Club a few years ago.

Getting back to Boudicca, she was definitely more popular than I thought she would be - or maybe people were so desperate to be able to buy anything at all that they snapped her up? In any case, I'm glad I was able to get one.

Next, let's look at the matte silver black Slainte Surprise!

I've seen a lot of complaining online about her pearly mane and tail, but honestly, I love it! The more pearly the better! There was also a bit of confusion about what her color actually was, until the designer (Sommer Prosser) confirmed on Facebook that it's intended to be silver dapple black. Which is a color we don't see from Breyer very often, so maybe we'll get it again in the future? I hope so. Anyway, it's been hard for me to figure out which Slainte Surprise color I like the best, but this one is definitely up there - but I don't know if I like it better in matte or glossy. Speaking of glossy...



Her color really pops with the gloss, doesn't it? I feel like the silver black is going to be the most popular color going forward, despite the run numbers being the same. She's stunning! I haven't gotten these put onto the shelves with my other Giselle models yet, but I'm looking forward to it! I'm looking forward to seeing them all together!

That's all for today - check back later for more New Arrivals!

That Girl Is On Fire

Yay, we got a reveal of that sneak peek the very next day! Say hello to Boudicca!



Ha, she looks like somebody went a tad overboard with the woad! She'd make a good companion for Alejandro though! Anyway, it looks like we're getting a ninth special run this year! Took them long enough - it's been eight for years, so I'd say we were overdue for an additional model in the special run line. I'll definitely be tracking this one down - she's so unique! I was also familiar with her name in passing:

Our homage to the ancient Celtic Queen of the Iceni, Boudicca famously led an uprising against the invading Roman forces in Britain during the middle of the first century CE. 

There's a movie about this, starring Alex Kingston, that I'm vaguely interested in watching. Maybe I'll get around to that eventually, with all the lockdowns and stuff going on!

Featured Model - 10/12/2019, Fantasia del C

Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it! This week's model is...Fantasia!



This pretty girl is item #1777, a regular run on the Hermosa mold sculpted by Brigitte Eberl. She's a portrait of the real Fantasia, an Andalusian mare who was one of the guest horses at Breyerfest 2017.

This photo is actually of my old Fantasia model; I sold my original Fantasia/Gozosa set because the mare didn't stand very well and was starting to get rubbed up from falling over. When I ordered a new set, I was pleasantly surprised to see the mare was chalky! I don't have a photo of her, though.

Anyway, I think white/light gray works very well on this mold, probably because white works well on almost any mold. She embodies the mythical white horse very well. Even the chalky version of her is quite nice, and I generally don't like chalky models.

As for the mold, she was used as Celeste, the surprise Collector Club model, about a year ago, and she's still in the regular run line as Fantasia, so I don't know where we'll see her next. Maybe at Breyerfest? She was a special run there in 2016, though, so it seems unlikely unless she's a prize model. Maybe she'll be a web special next year? That would be fun. For that matter, she and Corazon could show up as this year's holiday mare and foal set; I wouldn't be opposed to that. Maybe some companion unicorns for Rosalind and Rigel? I'd totally be down with that!

So there IS a second collector club horse this year!

I'd pretty much given up on getting a second collector club release this year, since we didn't get a preview at Breyerfest. Oh, ye of little faith:

It's Celeste! Huzzah! And are those a pearly mane and tail I see?



Looks mildly pearly to me. Yay! She'll make a nice companion for Silverado. It's interesting that they didn't paint up a foal to match her, but I find that kind of refreshing - a lot of the mare and foal pair releases end up only being used as mare and foal sets until the end of time, when either or both could just as easily be stand-alone releases (I'd be partial to a 2-foal set sometime, myself).

Anyway, this girl is definitely a beauty! Hope mine comes fast. I might have to put her on the shelf next to Celestine with that name, though...

Featured Model - 10/22/2017, Hermosa

Ack! Somehow I forgot to write a Featured Model post for yesterday! My memory must be failing. As usual, Featured Model is the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is - Hermosa!



This pretty girl is item #90173, and is the first release on the Hermosa/Andalusian Mare mold sculpted by Brigitte Eberl. As the first release in the 2015 Premier Club, she was part of a run of around 750 and was also part of a set with her foal, Corazon/Andalusian Foal.

I really like this mold, especially the expression on her face, her light trot and her flowing tail. Has anyone else noticed most of the molds Brigitte has done for Breyer are trotting? Must be her specialty. This particular release had a lot of quality issues, including mismatched masking on her hooves, but mine was mostly okay.

Unfortunately, trotting molds have an unfortunate tendency to tip over, and many of Brigitte's sculpts are no exception. My Weather Girls are pretty bad about this, as are my Gilens, and Hermosa needs to be added to that list too, unfortunately. My three Andalusian Mares are currently living on my dresser, and Fantasia del C has to be propped up to get her to stand. This means she falls over and takes out Mamacita every time I forget and open a drawer too vigorously. If I was braver, I could take a hair dryer to her leg, but I'm just not that brave. So, the dominoes continue until I find a better place to put the mares. Oh well.

Hermosa has been used only twice (in actually attainable releases) since her 2015 debut - as 2016's Breyerfest special run Mamacita, and as this year's regular run Fantasia del C. She's been a BF live auction model once, and was the winning prize in the first year of the BF customs contest. I'm seeing a pattern here...hopefully she gets used outside of a Breyerfest context soon - perhaps as a web special, or collector club special run? A mare this pretty should be used more often!

Live Auction Lot 14 - AHHHHHHHHHH!

Today's auction lot is making me want to liquidate some stock or something! Gah!



Sadly, I'd probably need to sell $5000 worth of stock to afford this pair, and that's just not something I'm prepared to do right now (and there are so many more practical things to spend it on...). Sigh....wouldn't these make a web special to die for? Or they could be this year's holiday mare and foal set. Or some type of family set with the palomino Totilas from 2014? They'd go so well together! Come to think of it...Totilas is being done in a lighter shade of palomino as this year's Holiday Horse. Please, Breyer, release these two as the holiday mare and foal set to match, I'm begging you!

Have I mentioned that Breyer is knocking it out of the park with the auction models this year? I can't wait to see what else they have for us!

2017 Releases: Fantasia del C/Gozosa, Palomino Liam are here!

Greetings, readers! Exciting news today - my preorders of Fantasia del C and Gozosa and the new palomino "Morgan" Liam arrived! Without further ado...here they are! I'll start with the Liam.

 

Part of a set with the AQHA Foal/Frolicking Classic Foal (still in the box, because he's for sale), this set is being sold as a "Palomino Morgan and Foal" set. I was pleasantly surprised to see that both models have a shimmery sheen to their coats, rather than being a flat palomino. The only way I'd like this color better would be if the mane and tail were whiter, rather than having a lot of the body color fade into it. Quality-wise, I was a bit disappointed - no box rubs, but he has a big smear in the shimmer on his left haunch.

Next, Fantasia del C:

This pretty mare appears to be basecoated in white! She looks a lot like Sahran, actually. Hermosa looks pretty good in white/gray! She doesn't have any major quality issues, but is iffy about standing - always a risk with trotting models. Seems like Brigitte has done a lot of iffy-trotting sculpts for Breyer...

I'm not sure how I feel about Fantasia's eyes, though. Behold:



Her eyes aren't fully painted, which is weird-looking. Is it Breyer's quick way to add some "eyewhites," or is it just something new they're trying? Her eye on the other side is painted slightly more than this one is, but there's still a lot of blank white eyeball there. Also, my Fantasia doesn't appear to have a VIN, which is odd.

Lastly, we have Gozosa, daughter of Fantasia:





Her horseshoe brand is cute! Unfortunately, "she" apparently fell victim to poor planning, as it appears these models still have their sheaths; you'd think it would have been relatively simple to grind that off while polishing the models, but apparently not. Like Fantasia, I didn't see any major paint flaws on this model, and she (he?) does have a VIN. Not sure what's going on there. He/she's eyes are painted normally, though.

So, that's all I've got for today. Hopefully we get some new Breyerfest news soon; I'm dying over here!

Chasing the Chesapeake Day 2: Eventing, "Craft" Beer and Cornboxes, Oh My!

Well, the first part of Chasing the Chesapeake  Day 2 is over! Currently we're in the hotel waiting for the costume contest and related activities to start. So, I thought I'd type up a quick update!

Firstly, last night's raffle models were as follows (from Blab):

Sugarloaf
My Kind of Town
Tortuga
Copenhagen Sailor
Glossy Perlino Quelle Surprise
Chesterfield (resin).

So, I don't feel as bad about missing yesterday, although I wouldn't mind getting a Tortuga or glossy perlino. Oh well!

Cross country at Fair Hill was quite fun - we saw lots of horses, walked most of the course, and saw both Philip Dutton and Buck Davidson in action, which was pretty cool. All photos by me:

We were bemused by the sight of the "craft" beer tent with a Bud Lite truck parked next to it:

We didn't go inside, so I can't testify as to how crafty the beers were. 

Lastly, I was amused by the "corn sandbox" they had in the kids' play area. I've probably seen similar things before, but it amused me for some reason. Definitely less messy than a sandbox, for sure:

I'd totally play in that if I were still 5 years old. 

So, that's a quick recap of how our day went. Apparently a mockup of this year's JAH is floating around out there, featuring a photo of a mostly-white Hermosa (portrait of a real horse and RR for 2017), but I don't have a photo I can use, so that will have to wait until later. I'll update later with the centerpiece raffle model and other fun stuff!