I'm going to call mine You Only Live Twice

 Much excitement today, readers - we got TWO reveals! Okay, one of them wasn't really a reveal, but still. 

It's the theme for this year's surprise model! Cue the Fireheart predictions! He seems to be the front-runner at the moment, like he'll be every year until they use him. Perish the thought! I saw a reasonably thoughtful suggestion that it could be Bristol, since he's literally overcoming an obstacle by jumping over it (but you could make the argument that Fireheart is overcoming obstacles by stomping them, so who knows). There aren't really any molds standing out in my mind as likely contenders, so any of these guesses could work. Maybe Georg (please no). Who knows. 

Today's second reveal was another special run! Say hello to YOLO (You Only Live Once):

Ooh, he's pretty! I have to have him for the conga! He must join his brothers! Incredibly, this is the first time we've seen a gray Brishen (his "Spanish" counterpart has been gray a couple of times, though). 

Happily, the blog says we're getting another reveal tomorrow! I can't wait! 

Kingfisher, at last!

 Good news, everyone! Months after the accidental tease of Kingfisher through erroneous belly stamps on Cooper, we finally have a reveal! Say hello to the long-awaited newest web special! 

Look at that glossy goodness! He must be mine, despite his noodly legs. This is the first time this combination of legs and hair have been used on this model since Novelisto back in 2014! The entry deadline is 5/12 at 11:59PM EST, so don't wait too long to get your entries in. He's a beauty! 

In other news, the Stablemate runners-up prize for the Best Custom Contest has been revealed: it's a Highland Pony! Observe: 

I gotta wince at that bent ear...there's only going to be like 11 of these things, so how do you miss that? Kinda nondescript otherwise - it's a black version of one of the Iris releases in the Stablemate Club a couple of years ago, but like...why that? Seems like one of those choices they made that's clearly only done to keep us from guessing everything in advance. Also can't help but notice one of those front legs isn't touching the ground. Well, let's hope this one is just a sample and the ones they actually give out will be a little better in the quality department! 

Featured Model - 10/9/2021, Glossy Gypsy Vanner

 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 Glossy Gypsy Vanner! 

This handsome guy was one of the prize models at Breyerfest Live in 2013. He was a run of I think 50 (though IDYB doesn't have that listed for some reason). He's item #1497G and was issued on the Brishen/Gypsy Vanner mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. 

Brishen and his Andalusian alter ego have had a pretty popular run in the years since they first debuted. Brishen, especially, has had a new release almost every year, so he must be popular with somebody! His most recent release was this year's Halloween Horse Thriller, with Obsidian the Unicorn Stallion debuting at the start of this year. He's a popular guy! Sadly, I don't have a glossy Gypsy Vanner in my collection - sometimes I think back to when they could be had for $400 or less and kick myself for not buying then, because they're way more expensive than that now (if you can even find one for sale). Oh well - maybe someday I'll find one, or the prices will go down - or both! 

Brishen is pretty popular, so it's hard to say where we'll see him next - though I note he still hasn't appeared as the Breyerfest surprise model like I thought he would have by now. I imagine next year's Breyerfest will have a lot of drafters with its Gemany theme...so, let's just say ol' Brishen is a front-runner for surprise model right now. I guess we'll have to wait and see! 

A wild Halloween shipment appears!

 Good news, everyone! My Halloween order arrived today. Behold - it's EEK! 

I've seen a lot of reports of these models with broken or damaged legs, but fortunately this guy survived his trip to my doorstep. 

I like his subtle green sheen, and the intricate little spiders in his pattern. I've seen a lot of complaints about the spiders too, but fortunately they're all pretty nice on this one. 

He does have an oddly warped left hind leg, but I can deal with that. 

Next, the single Spooky Stablemate I ordered arrive as well...so check it out! 

That's right, the drafter...just the one I thought I'd get. Fortunately, it's the only one I wanted, so I'm happy with it. He does look like a pumpkin patch under the night sky, though it looks like someone went a little overboard with the glitter.

I thought about ordering that Thriller hoodie, but if I had, I suspect I'd still be waiting for my order to ship, so it's probably best I didn't order it. 

Lastly, here's Thriller himself! In the interest of full disclosure, he did arrive a few days ago, but I thought it was fitting that all my Halloween models arrived around the same time despite massive disparities between when they were ordered.

His green tint is much more apparent than EEK's, which I like. I'm also a fan of his Bride of Frankenstein hair! 

I like the details in his bones underneath the skin, too. Appropriately ghoulish for this time of year! 

That's all I have for now - let's hope we have more exciting news and reveals soon! 

Featured Model - 4/24/2021, Dapple Gray Pinto Auction Brishen

 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 2014 Breyerfest auction Brishen!

I remember this one well because Breyer showed him to us way ahead of time as part of their promotional materials for that year's Breyerfest. What a stunner! He was a OOAK produced on the Brishen mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. 

What can I say - star dapple gray looks great on Brishen! This is one of those models I wish I could find for sale now, though he'd probably cost a lot more than the mere $1,000 he sold for originally. Those were the days...when auction models were much less expensive, but still too expensive for most people. That year's most expensive model went for "only" $4,400! Maybe someday those prices will go back down, eh? I hope so. 2014 was a great year for auction models - not just this guy, but the rainbow cheetah Smarty, the heartbreakingly beautiful palomino Totilas, the Appaloosa Performance Horse Esprit, the to-die-for pearly dapple gray PAM, and many more were all up for grabs that year. I think this particular model got a little bit overshadowed by the others, honestly. 

As for Brishen, he was the special run Cheesecake for last year's Breyerfest, and he really hasn't had that many releases in the past (even fewer if you don't count his noodly-legged Andalusian alter ego). Could he be this year's surprise model? It's very possible. He didn't appear in last year's auction lineup, but I don't know if that's really even a rule anymore - they broke it for 2019, and last year had a truncated number of auction models due to the pandemic, so who knows if any of those will end up being the surprise. I think Brishen is a strong possibility! 

New arrivals!

Well, this post is a little bit late, but...my Jol models are here! I was able to buy three of them, and these were the colors I got! Sorry for the lack of fanfare. 

Well, two out of three ain't bad. These arrived quite a while ago, though, so in the meantime...

I was able to trade one of the clears for a red! Huzzah! 

I wasn't terribly disappointed to not get a Coal, since I don't collect the Galiceno mold, so it all worked out in the end. Woo! 

My glossy Cheesecake and WH Topgun models also arrived. Check out Cheesecake! 

Isn't he pretty? I still need to set him up next to my matte one and see how they look together.

I love that kind of "milky" look his paint gets with the gloss added to it. Pamplemousse has the same type of effect and it's great.

Lastly, here's WH Topgun! 

I'm not as happy with him as some of the ones I've seen on the Internets - I feel like his dapples could be blended a little better. I like how he looks like a nicely weathered deerskin glove or something (sorry if that's a weird comparison), but the comparison works better if the dapples are more subtle. 

He certainly is handsome though! And he looks good on the shelf next to his matte counterpart. Unfortunately, unlike the rest of the new arrivals, which didn't have many flaws to speak of, he's not the greatest in the quality department. More specifically, he looks like something snagged the edge of his ear before he was glossed, and both of his ears have rubs. He's got a few other minor flaws too, which all add up to something less than ideal...but I'd rather not deal with the hassle of trying to exchange him, if they even have any to exchange.

So, I'm glad Breyerfest 2020 is finally over for me! Haha! 

Anyway, the draw for the Breyerfest 2021 VIP tickets happens tomorrow! Good luck to everyone who entered. I'm seriously afraid I won't be able to get a Pollock if I'm not drawn, so I'm hoping against hope that I get one! 

New Arrivals: Cheesecake, Stablemate Set and WH Topgun!

Hello, readers! Featured Model was on hiatus again last week due to real-life events - sorry about that. Well, let's get back to the new arrivals - I'll start with Cheesecake! 

Cheesecake is definitely one of my favorite models from the event. He's just so pretty! It would have been even more cool if he had some pearly attributes, but I know that's a turnoff for some people. If the model is at all similar to the real horse, I can see why they call him Cheesecake. 

Next, here's the Best of Breyerfest Stablemate set! 

This set is just darling! Too bad I don't have any of the full-size models to pose with them. Maybe someday...In the meantime, the mini North Star seems to be especially popular on the secondary market. The mini Viajero and Que Sera Sera will be going down the road, but the other three are great additions to my collection. 

Lastly, let's look at WH Topgun! 

While I do like this guy, I wish the original buckskin/bay Connemara (the regular run) had had some white or something, so it would be easier to tell them apart. There's a reasonable amount of difference between their color...but not enough for my tastes. That said, he's a pretty shade of buckskin if you can forget about the RR version! 

Well, that's all I have for today - hopefully some new releases will come out soon. I'm looking forward to the new Premier Club horse and the next Stablemates Club release! 

Can't believe I almost forgot about this!

I'm a bit behind on this news, but we did finally get a reveal of the third sneak peek from last week - another Store Special!



His name is Faugh-a-Ballagh (say that one three times fast) and he's a portrait of the real Faugh-a-Ballagh, a Vanner stallion who'll be a guest at Breyerfest! While I'm thrilled to see they're using Brishen in the store (thus, not the surprise), I've never been the biggest fan of that shade of palomino/cremello...so I'm hoping he has some pearl in his mane or something. I'll try to get my hands on one anyway, but some pearl or metallic would be nice to see. With all these droolworthy models being revealed, I'm starting to get really excited for Breyerfest!

Sampson and Hakan are here!

Okay, so I originally was just going to wait until our local Tractor Supply got its Breyer display set up, but...well, the new models are so pretty...and ship-to-store is free...and I'd have to wait until September to get them the normal way...and then the next thing I knew they were in my cart and I was paying for them.

But anyway, Sampson and Hakan are here! Let's look at Sampson first.



He's not as green as I thought he'd be, but he's not as "buttermilky" as I thought, either. Not that that's a bad thing.



Oh man, he would have looked AMAZING with some frosting. Missed opportunity there! I do like his shading, though. Check out his face!



His star looks really nice, and I love his facial shading. A bit more of that would have been divine!



All in all, a worthy addition to the herd - and I forgot how heavy this mold is. He'd definitely make a good paperweight - sheesh!

Next, let's look at Hakan:



Whoever said he was a budget version of C'est la Vie was right. He's a beauty!



Buckskin definitely looks good on both Brishen and Smarty Jones. And that blanket on Hakan is so snappy! I love it.



Look at that face! He has some nice shading too. From this angle he looks a lot like Ruffian - unsurprising, since they were sculpted by the same person. But now I'm wondering what Ruffian would look like in this paint job. Gah!

Quality-wise, both of these guys were pretty nice - Sampson has a couple of pinpoint black marks, but nothing major, and I didn't see anything wrong with Hakan. Another success story for Breyer!

Of course, I still have to get my hands on a Stella. I wonder if they're leaving her off the website to entice people to come into the store? You'd think they'd have done that with all three models if that were the case, but who knows. Hopefully they get her on the website soon so I can secure one!

Tractor Supply special runs are revealed!

Good news, everyone! This year's special runs for Tractor Supply have been revealed! Say hello to Sampson...

...and Hakan!


There's also a black pinto Bluegrass Bandit named Stella, but I don't have a good photo of her yet. In any case, it looks like I'll have to buy all three of them! Someone on Blab pointed out that Hakan looks like a more affordable C'est la Vie, and I agree! He's beautiful. I'm a little leery of the Sampson - he looks like he could end up being greenish. Hopefully that's not the case! I'm glad we're getting a new Brishen, though. As for Stella, I kind of wish she was a different color since we already have Lady C, plus Bear and the warehouse find. Enough black already! Oh well.

I'm hoping to stop at one of our local Tractor Supply stores tomorrow, so maybe I'll find something exciting. I don't expect these special runs to make their way onto shelves for a few more weeks, but maybe they'll have some unicorn blind bags or something! One can only hope.

Featured Model - 12/30/2017, Solar

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...Solar!



This handsome guy was a web special in 2015, part of Breyer's Celestial series. He is item #712134, and a total of 350 models were produced.

I chose this model in honor of the new Premier Club mini-Brishens being shipped out! I can't wait to get mine. In the meantime, this is one of my favorite models on this mold. Silver bay is an excellent color and Breyer usually pulls it off pretty well - the only way to make this one better would be to gloss him, in my opinion. Not that silver bay necessarily needs to be glossy, but gloss just seems to make it pop so well!

Brishen is also among my favorite new molds introduced in the last few years, despite his conformation issues. He's just so floofy and fun! I like the Laredo version of him too, though his legs are admittedly noodly. I hope we see Brishen used again somewhere this year, at some point. But his mini doppelganger is scheduled to appear in the 2018 Premier Club and as a Christmas tree ornament at the end of the year. Does that count toward uses of the full-size mold? We know Breyer doesn't like to use the same mold too many times in the same year.

Whatever the future holds for this mold, I hope the releases aren't too unobtainable! The collection demands more!

Breyerfest Closeups: Mini True North or: Honey I Shrunk the Breyer

...or as I like to call him, TINY RIIIIIICK BRISHEN!

The first time I saw this model was on a picture someone posted to Blab, and I was super confused by it at first. The sign said it was the Premier Club Stablemate, but it was clearly Brishen? Someone must have messed up somehow...? But why would a full-size model have the same pattern and color as True North? Until I read the caption again and realized it was a tiny Brishen.

 

So Breyer has figured out the technology to shrink a Traditional-size model down to Stablemate size, or presumably any size in between. I am conflicted about this. Trad-size Stablemate models? Classic-size Trad models? Stablemate-size Trad models? How will they do it without the resulting products looking all lumpy and weird like the crystals do? (Although they're getting better at those.) Granted, the mini Brishen here looks pretty good, but I'd have liked to be able to pick him up and take a close look at him.

Anyways, shelf space in my place is limited as it is. I don't have room for a million Stablemate versions of all my favorite Trad models, and vice versa. I'm not one of those people that would have to have every sculpt in every size. I like them to have variety, you know? Not just reproducing the same sculpt in a bunch of different sizes. Part of the allure of the Stablemates and Classics is that they aren't the same as the Traditionals. Call me boring if you want, but I'm just not excited about this development.

That said, I'm not planning on selling my mini True North or anything...but I'm not going to be begging for more shrunk-down Traditionals all the same. At this point I'm hoping it'll just turn out to be one of those Breyer oddities that never goes anywhere. Although I have to admit, if they used this technology on a free model that isn't costing any additional money to the customers, they're most likely going to use it again at some point to recoup their investment in it. I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Breyerfest 2017 Special Run Predictions

Now that we're starting to see Breyerfest 2017 special runs, it's time for me to make some (probably incorrect) predictions about what models we'll end up seeing as Breyerfest SRs. This post will cover special run line items; I'll save other stuff for a later date so this post isn't a mile long.

Firstly,  we can discount any mold that was used last year. So Make a Wish, Silver, Wyatt, Bobby Jo, Forever Saige, Esprit, Hermosa/Corazon and the Brahma Bull are all out. It's probably safe to discount any molds from the 2015 special run line as well, so Huck, Lonesome Glory, Wixom, Croi, Ashquar, the Spanish Fighting Bull, Totilas and the Marwari are out as well (not that anyone thought Marwari or the bulls would be in this year's special run line).

From yesterday's sneak peek, we know that one of the SRs will be on Geronimo. Breyer has established a pattern of using a previous year's Premier mold for at least one Breyerfest SR, and he fulfills that pattern. However, I and a lot of others assumed Yasmin would be used for Breyerfest. Last year's special run line had all three of the previous year's Premier molds in the lineup, so it's still safe to assume Yasmin will also show up in the special run line. As for the animal mold, prevailing opinion says they will use the Elephant, and I have no reason to doubt that.

Last year's Breyerfest had a total of four Premier Club molds in the lineup, including all three of 2015's, so I think it's completely possible we could see a third Premier mold show up. I think Shannondell would be the obvious choice, because he hasn't been used for anything else yet - it's been a while since we've had a mold debut in the Premier Club and then not go into the regular run lineup the following year or be used as a Breyerfest special run (I believe Ashquar would be the most recent example, and even he languished unused until the fall of 2014).

So that's four possibilities, out of a presumed total of eight. Another would be Smarty Jones, using the polo pony configuration; India has a strong connection with polo (apparently modern polo comes from India - thanks, Wikipedia!). The last time Smarty Jones appeared in the Breyerfest lineup was 2007's Rushmore (excluding the 2012 raffle and 2016 Early Bird, both as polo ponies, interestingly enough), so I think he'd be a safe choice.

I'm not sure if we'll get a mare and foal set or not - we don't see one every year. Here's a quick list of the past few years:

2010 - Stage Mom and Child Star
2011 - Hansel and Gretel
2012 - none
2013 - Naomi and Wynonna
2014 - Kodiak and Denali (bears)
2015 - none
2016 - Mamacita and Chico

So it might be safe to assume we won't get a mare and foal set. Which molds would they use, anyway? The most likely candidates would be Giselle and Gilen, unless they Frankenstein together a random mare and random foal. Marabella and Amber, perhaps? The number of foal molds likely to actually get used is fairly small. Bluegrass Bandit and Gilen, maybe? I mean, they might use the Thoroughbred Mare and Nursing Foal, which I wouldn't be opposed to, but it doesn't seem likely. There are Thoroughbred horses in India, though (legacy of its history as a British colony?), so it might be doable.

...Actually, I like that. I'm going to add the Thoroughbred Mare and Nursing Foal to my list as the mare and foal set.

So that just leaves the decorator and the surprise. I have no clue what a decorator relating to India would look like - perhaps something similar to last year's surprise Esprit decorator, except with mandalas? I would think it would be something brightly colored, maybe with henna-like designs. It might be on the Brishen mold, if we think Breyer will use four Premier molds again. Or maybe a Goffert, since he hasn't been used at Breyerfest since 2014, and not in the special run line since 2010? I wouldn't mind seeing a Ruffian either, though, and she was last in the special run line in 2007. So many possibilities! I think Brishen will go on my final list, though.

As for the surprise, the precedent for most, if not all, previous surprise models has been that it's something that doesn't get used anywhere else in the lineup, not even as an auction model (excluding Ethereal, from 2011). Here's a quick listing of the previous surprise models:

2009 - Quarter Horse Gelding
2010 - none
2011 - Ethereal (the one exception)
2012 - Flash
2013 - Roxy
2014 - Nokota
2015 - Lonesome Glory
2016 - Esprit

My gut feeling for this year's surprise model is the Moody Andalusian. Not real sure why, except the lineup usually includes at least two Moody molds and I only have one so far. We'll see if the Andy shows up in some other capacity this year - until then, he's on the list. So, here's my final list:

Geronimo (already more-or-less revealed)
Yasmin
Shannondell
Elephant
Smarty Jones
Thoroughbred Mare/Nursing Foal
Brishen
Andalusian Stallion

As for what colors any of these will come in...I have no idea. Uh...here's another list.

Geronimo - dun
Yasmin - gray (glossy)
Shannondell - bay with more sabino than Shannondell?
Elephant - more-different gray? Or white? (glossy)
Smarty - Chestnut pinto
TB Mare/Foal - Black/baby bay (matte/glossy split)
Brishen - already covered (glossy)
Andy - buckskin, red dun, dapple gray frame overo, red bay tobiano, in matte/glossy finishes

Probably terribly, horribly wrong on those, but time will tell. Hopefully some of these turn out to be correct, but if not - oh well. Breyerfest is hands-down my favorite event of the year, so as long as I get to attend I'll be happy. Hopefully we get to find out more soon!

Edited 2/5/2017 to add matte/glossy finishes and the matte/glossy split to the color predictions.

Chasing the Chesapeake Day 3: Success! (Mostly)

Whew! We're home from Chasing the Chesapeake. It's been a long day - but totally worth it!

After we finished having breakfast in the restaurant, we packed up our stuff and then headed downstairs to wait for our time to go through the boutique line. I'd been fretting for the past two days that we would get another terrible draw and end up with four Masons like last year...but that didn't happen! I ended up being toward the middle of the line, and my husband was 10 people behind me. He did get stuck with two Masons, but one of them will stay here, so...yay! More importantly, I was able to grab a Black-Eyed Susan and Raven. Sagamore Rye was #1 on my list, so I was sad not to get him, but definitely happy I was able to get the other two.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take individual photos of my models before we packed them back up and gave them (happily) to the UPS people who were in residence. Very handy of Breyer to have them there, as it saved us the bother of finding an open UPS location to ship everything back before we went to the airport. So, anyways...here are some group photos I took of the special runs that were on display. Firstly, the two I didn't get:

I used to collect the Shire Mare mold, but sold my three examples of her last year needing more space.

Next, the three SRs I did get:

And lastly, a moderately-better photo of Dixon, my centerpiece raffle model:

While we were buying models today, a Breyer staffer confirmed that these models were made from the last of the old Halla whiteware they dug up in the warehouse. So, that makes her pretty special! I don't collect Halla/Bolya anymore either (again, needed more space), so she will probably be for sale at some point.

After we were done buying ponies and having them shipped home, we headed back to the airport and our two flights home. So, it was definitely worth the trip! I hope I can attend the next one of these events!

More detailed analysis of the event models will come when they arrive here and I can provide better photos. Stay tuned!

Chasing the Chesapeake Day 1 - Special Runs are Revealed!

Hello all! The first day of Chasing the Chesapeake has arrived, although I've been spending it on planes. Currently we're in traffic trying to get to the hotel, but never fear! The word is out about the special runs for this event! Photos courtesy of Julia on Blab:

Writing a blog post on a cell phone is maddeningly frustrating, so if the formatting on this post ends up weird, that's why. So our special runs are not at all what I thought they would be; I don't think a single one really relates to the theme other than Chesapeake and the Stablemate. Speaking of the Stablemate, here he is (his name is Cecil):

While he does somewhat fit the theme, I don't collect this mold, so both of ours will be for sale. 

So, of the available special run options, I will be after Mason, Sagamore Rye, Raven and Black-Eyed Susan. If I'm remembering correctly, the quantities of these models are the same as the ones at Sweet Home Chicago this year. I really, really hope Breyer limits people from buying all the rare ones first, because if we get bad line draws again and end up with four Masons like last year, I am NOT going to be pleased. Maybe I'm just grumpy because I haven't really slept in the last 24 hours? Who knows. 

So those are the only updates I currently have. I will try to update again when I hear what tonight's raffle models are, if I don't suffer a rage-induced coronary from Blogger's total failure to make its software work on the mobile site. Argh!

Featured Model - 9/2/2016, Gypsy Vanner

Hello and welcome to another installment of Featured Model! This week's model is the Gypsy Vanner on the Brishen mold:

The Brishen mold #723, sculpted by Kathleen Moody, was released back in 2012 through the Premier Club, and the bay pinto Gypsy Vanner iteration (#1497) came out as a regular run in 2013 and is still in the regular line as of this writing.

Brishen seems to be another one of those Moody molds that you either love or hate. For the record, I am on the "love" side. His floofy awesomeness endears him to me a lot, and this paint job looks really good on him. I love his fluffy white feet and tail, and he's just the right shade of bay to make him stand out. This is what the original Brishen paint job probably should have been (I'll admit that was subpar, other than the pearly mane and tail). The only thing that could make this particular individual better would be if he were metallic and had pearly whites. I love that effect! This model must be popular with somebody, however, as he's been a RR since 2013 with no sign of being discontinued yet.

This guy was a Christmas gift from my husband, so I named him "Holiday Road" because of the song's association with the Christmas Vacation movie. (Further research reveals this song was used in several Vacation movies, but not Christmas Vacation. Oh well, I'm not going to change the horse's name.) It's hard for me to pick names for models because they all end up sounding really stupid in my head, but if I can tie the name to the horse's color and/or circumstances surrounding how I got it, it's not so bad. (I also tend to pick one-word names so I can more easily remember them, but that's another story.)

I do also like this mold's "twin," the Laredo version of the mold. Yes, he has noodly legs. Does that make me like him any less? No. Novelisto is one of my favorite models - they really got the paint job right with that one. I wouldn't mind seeing every model in Breyer's lineup in that color. Realism of the sculpt doesn't matter to me so much as the mold just being aesthetically pleasing (to me). I expect that the Brishens and Laredos will have homes with me for many years to come.