New Arrivals: Toe Tapper, Arya, Mini Pecos and Andante

Getting back to the New Arrivals, let's take a look at Toe Tapper!



This cute little guy is a good match for his Trad-size counterpart! I still think his color was a little too on-the-nose, but I'm not going to complain too much - it's not like the color patterns on raffle models get reused very often.

Next, here's Arya!



 Sorry for the poor photo (again). Was I the only one that was annoyed they used a Game of Thrones name for this model, or is it just me? Maybe I'm still bitter about season 8. That's probably it. Anyway, mini Areia is also a nice representation of the Trad counterpart, though he was male and I don't think he had a pearly mane and tail. I do like this new mold more than I thought I would, though! And I bought the Paint-Your-Own Unicorn version with my Dazzle and Razzle, so now I have the blank version in my collection as well. I'm looking forward to seeing what else they do with her in the future!

Next, here's Mini Pecos:



It's good to see the poor Mirado mold getting some more love this year. He'd languished unused since his initial 2017 release, but now he's gotten two new releases in the same year! Three, if you count both the matte and glossy versions of Fiero. I really like him as Pecos, too! It's hard to go wrong with a pearly mostly-white horse, though. I just wish his eyes had been done better - they're just black splotches. Oh well.

Lastly, let's take a look at Andante!



This guy was a hot commodity - I feel like I should probably feel lucky I even got my hands on it. Reports conflicted on how quickly these guys sold out, but I made sure to pick up my set as early as I could on Friday (it's easier to get the ones you want if you go for all four). I was able to resell Chiffon almost immediately, so it was a win-win situation! And I'm not terribly likely to ever own the prize model this guy is based on, so I'm glad I was able to get him. He's very pretty! He'll look good on the shelf next to my Darwin - though I'll admit I'll be glad when they release this mold in an actual Lipizzaner color. Maybe we'll get some new RR Stablemates next year? I hope so - as long as this one isn't the chase piece. I'm totally over the blind bags!

That's all I have for today. I'm almost done with New Arrivals post - only one more left to go! Hopefully I can get that out on Sunday!

No One...and a new test model!

The third single-day Stablemate has been revealed, and it's a mini-Areia! Say hello to no one Arya!



I guess I'd been under the impression that this mold was a stallion, but I don't see a sheath under there. Fair enough.



At this point, I'm 99% sure I'm going to just get four single-day tickets so I can get the full set. I'll worry about whether I want to keep this one later...

In other news, there's a new test run available to enter for on the website!



From the blog:

In 2014, a few different colorways were created to find a deco for Hope, the 2015 Breyer model that benefited several Autism charities.  This lovely blanket Appaloosa version was a bit too complex for regular production and just this single pretty test piece was made!  She sports a pearl base and a metallic palomino coat with multi-colored puzzle pieces as her “spots.” 

Wow - usually these tests are fairly old, but this one is pretty recent! I like her, despite not being a fan of the Quarter Horse Yearling. She's cute, but I can see why the pattern didn't make it to production. She's a test for this autism benefit model. Honestly, I think they should have kept looking for a different colorway...the one they went with seems really garish and weird-looking. I like the test model better - maybe if they'd abandoned the "Appaloosa" part of it and used the puzzle piece pattern they eventually settled on for Hope?

Despite the fact that I like this model, I don't collect the Quarter Horse Yearling, and I don't see this model having the resale value the last one did, so I'm not going to enter for it. Good luck to everyone who does!