Featured Model - 7/30/2022, Flower Girl Test Wixom

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model I don't own but may have an interesting story behind it, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is...the Flower Girl Test Wixom! 

This model comes from the 2003 Breyerfest "Blast from the Past" which was, "a celebration of Breyer past and present." She was a OOAK produced on the Wixom mold sculpted by Donna Chaney. 

This particular model was famous (well, to us collectors, anyway) because she appeared on the cover of that year's Breyerfest program, though the more famous model was probably the tie-dye Rejoice on the old Breyerfest mailer that used to go out to JAH subscribers. I can't speak for other people, but my reaction upon seeing both of these models was, "WHOA!" I may have been the tender age of 17 at the time, but I, for one, definitely wasn't used to seeing such colorful models from Breyer. Maybe I'm remembering things wrong, but that's how it was for me, anyway. 

There are a lot of auction models out there that haven't really seen the light of day since they were sold all those years ago, and Flower Girl (and the tie-dye Rejoice) are two of them - does anyone know where they are? Sometimes these legendary models pop up at shows, but I don't show, so I don't really get much opportunity to see them. Maybe someday we'll see them again, I suppose. 

As for Wixom, she appeared as the web special Puffin last year, and I think it's entirely possible we see her show up at Breyerfest 2023, given the Driving Forward theme. Maybe she'll be the Celebration Model? A lot of people think Constantia will be the Celebration Model, but I don't think they'll use another brand-new model right after introducing the German Riding Pony mold this year, and I think Wixom would be a good candidate. I guess we'll find out soon enough! 

Featured Model - 9/19/2021, Buckskin Test Shire B

 Hello and welcome to another edition of 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 Buckskin Test/Auction Shire B! 

This model was a OOAK produced for the Breyerfest live auction in 2003. He was produced on the Shire B mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. 

I remember seeing this model up for sale a few years ago, but I don't remember what the sale price was. Probably more than I wanted to pay at the time, but still less than it would be in today's crazy market. Or maybe not, since Classics aren't as popular as Traditionals. Anyway, I like the Shire B in this color - he has a lot of shading and it looks like his ribbons are fairly detailed. This guy is a bit of a rarity anyway since you don't really see Classic auction models anymore. I wonder if anyone has ever used their Design Your Own Breyer lot on a Classic mold? That would be interesting to see, if probably a waste of money (especially now that it costs upward of $5,000 to buy). 

I feel like I've posted about the Shire B (and/or A)a lot in recent times, so I'm not sure there's much I can say - I doubt he'll have any special run appearances since he was Callahan in 2018, but you never know. Maybe he'll get a new RR release next year? Both molds are sadly neglected, so it would be good to see a new release on one of them. Ooh, I have an idea - they could do a set for Halloween in some type of realistic color, with orange/black ribbons! Buttermilk buckskin, maybe? Orange and black ribbons for one, and purple/green for the other? I'd buy that! 

Featured Model - 10/10/2009, 2003 Auction Lonesome Glory

 Hello and welcome to another edition of 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. Because we had the Sassy model release earlier this week, today's model is...the 2003 Breyerfest Live Auction Lonesome Glory! 

Like the title says, this model was one of the OOAK models sold at the 2003 Breyerfest Live Auction, produced on the popular Lonesome Glory mold sculpted by Kitty Cantrell. He's described as a "Light Blue Mosaic with Silver Mapping and Horseshoes," although in the above photo he actually has silver hooves except for that rear left one, which is shell-colored and doesn't appear to have a horseshoe painted on it...interesting. 

 Okay, I'll admit LG isn't quite at the top of my list of favorite molds (not that I don't like him at all, or I wouldn't have any in my collection), and as such I don't always feel the need to have them in my collection...but this one is a huge exception. WHO OWNS THIS MODEL AND HOW MUCH WOULD THEY SELL IT FOR? Holy crap. I love blue, I love silver, I love both of those combined with white pinto markings...it's a winner all around. I know, it's probably not for sale anyway. I'd actually be interested to know if it's developed any seam splits at all, since the early LG models were kinda known for that. If so, would Breyer fix it, or replace it? Interesting quandary. 

Anyway, I decided to feature a Lonesome Glory this week because of the Sassy release, and also because I came to the realization that the LG mold is now 20 YEARS OLD. When did that happen?! Sheesh. I guess I don't need to speculate about upcoming releases for him since Sassy just came out, but I do wonder if this means he'll get another release soon. Maybe a new RR for next year? He's had about a billion appearances at Breyerfest, but it looks like his last RR appearance was 2016's Holiday Horse, Woodland Splendor (I'm pretty sure that counts as a RR for that year?). The Zenyatta run ended in 2015 in any case, so it's been a while since we've seen a wide release on him. I'd say it's high time for another! Or perhaps a web special? One never knows.