New Arrivals: Matte Appy Dark Horse, Chestnut Dead Heat and Matte Bay Pinto Dark Horse

Hello, everyone! I have more new arrivals to talk about, so let's get right to it! Firstly, the matte Appaloosa Dark Horse Surprise:



I hate to say it, but of the five different Dark Horse Surprise colors, this one was my least favorite. I guess maybe I'm just not into leopard Appaloosas? I liked Pay N Go well enough back in the day, I guess, but since then the leopards just tend to fall to the bottom of my lists.

I'm also wondering why his base color is bay, when we also had the matte bay pinto as one of the surprise colors? I don't know, make him a chestnut or gray or something. Gray leopard could have been really interesting! Oh well.

Next, we have the chestnut Dead Heat!



I really like this model - just not quite as much as I like the palomino one. The color looks really nice on Ruffian, though the short tail still looks a little odd to me. I love his shading, and I love the little snip on his nose! I always like to see a little white on a horse's face, so that really appeals to me. Also, this one's name is now officially "Dead Hat" in my records, to set it apart from the palomino "Dead Heat." Heh heh.

Lastly, let's look at the bay pinto Dark Horse Surprise!



I'd probably rank this guy just above the leopard Appy, but not because I don't like him - he's just overshadowed by the black, decorator and palomino splash. He has a nice pattern, and the color looks really good on him. I like his two-toned mane and tail - I bet the glossy version of him is really nice! Hopefully I can get my hands on him somewhere down the road. In the meantime, this guy is a worthy addition to the collection!

Quality-wise, these models were really nice - again, I've seen few quality issues with this year's Breyerfest models. Either I got lucky, or Breyer stepped up their quality game. Either way, I'm happy with it!

New Arrivals: Matte Deco Dark Horse, Palomino Dead Heat and By a Nose

Hello, everyone! In my continuing coverage of new models acquired at Breyerfest, today I'll be showcasing the matte decorator Dark Horse Surprise, the palomino Dead Heat and By a Nose. Let's get started with the decorator Dark Horse!



I love this model. He's a combination of "it goes faster because it's red" and "the flames make it go faster" and I love it! And I love the transition from solid on his body to clear on his mane and tail. The only way to make this model would be to gloss it...and guess what, they did! I'll talk about him later, but I definitely think this guy is one of the coolest surprise models Breyer has ever done.

Next, palomino Dead Heat!



It was funny how when Breyer posted the Dead Heat numbers on the blog last week, they bothered to say, "You had an equal chance to get the palomino or the chestnut." Apparently nobody noticed the guy handing them out in the special run line was asking people what their color preference was. Not that I'm complaining, because I was expecting to spend the whole weekend trying to get one color or the other, but I still thought it was...if not eyeroll-worthy, then sigh-worthy.

Anyway, the palomino Dead Heat turned out just how I thought he would - a nicely shaded palomino with a beautiful pearly mane and tail! I definitely like him a lot, so I'm not really sure how these two releases flopped so hard. As far as I know, they're still available in the leftovers on the Breyer website. Ruffian is a reasonably popular mold, and it's not like either color was badly done, so it's confusing to me. Maybe a combination of too many made, plus they probably would have sold better if it really had been a random draw like Breyer said it would be? Who knows.

Next, let's take a look at By a Nose!



This girl (yes, she's female! Zenyatta strikes again!) was definitely the hot item at this year's Breyerfest. So hot that she repeatedly sold out even before the Dark Horse Surprises. It took us until Sunday to get our hands on one, because we kept getting poor ticket draws.

Like I said in the past, I love this type of paint job; it looks like tasty, tasty candy! And I love the pinking in various areas. Better than yellow legs, am I right? Still scratching my head over that one.

Anyway, this one was definitely one of the more popular special runs Breyerfest has ever had, but I'm glad I ended up buying two of them, because the first one I got had a lot of small flaws that wouldn't have been so bad, but all of them together made it a really mediocre model. It was definitely the worst-quality model I saw this year; all in all, I thought the quality was really good this year.

That's it for now, but I'll be posting more Breyerfest content into August! Stay tuned!

Haha! Joke's on you! Oh wait...it is on us.

Breyer uploaded a funny "joke" on the blog over the weekend - a photo they'd seemingly already used to tease Dead Heat, except a slightly lighter shade. "Ha ha, joke's on them," I thought. "Somebody screwed up and used the wrong picture." Except it wasn't the wrong picture! It was Dead Heat in an entirely different color! We've got ourselves another gambler's choice in the lineup!

Palomino? Pearly palomino? I'm sold! But it turns out the joke really is on us, because now all the Ruffian fans like me have to buy two (and probably more) of these in the special run line in order to get both colors. I suppose it was only a matter of time before Breyer figured out the whole "blind bag packaging = everything sells out" could be applied to...well, everything.

Does this mean eventually everything at Breyerfest will go the blind bag route? Probably not, since it would just frustrate everyone more (see the recent Spirit Series 2 blind bag fiasco for more on that; I'll write about that later). But what if they also decide to do a matte/glossy split on these? That would mean I'd have to track down four of these danged things! And I'd do it, too...although I'd be grumpy about it, especially if the surprise is something I have to have. We don't all have money trees growing in our backyards, Breyer...

The special run is revealed!

The mystery is solved - the latest Breyerfest 2018 special run is on Ruffian! Meet Dead Heat!



When this was first posted on Facebook, I misread the name as "Dead Hat" and was really confused for a second.

But anyway. Woohoo, a Ruffian! And this means she isn't the surprise! I always thought Ruffian had been criminally underused at Breyerfest. Only one of her four appearances there has been actually attainable for the masses - surely she could have been a tent SR again before now? Oh well. This also means she won't be the volunteer model - one more mold we can strike from the list of possibilities!

Her color is pretty, although I feel compelled to point out she's basically the same color as the three models in the "Who Wore it Best?" contest last year, as well as Fletcher. Was there a discount on orange paint this year? I kid, of course - I definitely want her to join the collection.

There's one other interesting thing about this reveal - the Breyer reveal photo on Instagram showed Dead Heat with the original, longer Ruffian tail rather than the current American Pharoah tail. What gives? Are we going to see both tail variations amongst these models at Breyerfest? I don't know if two different tails is enough to make me buy two of them.