Sage is here!

Good news, everyone - the first year of the Fairytale Friends Club (or, as I like to call it, the Glitter Unicorn Club) is finally complete - my Sage and Mini-Sage came! Observe!

She's pretty nice, as far as $3 Walmart unicorns go.

Green and silver do look good together, though. Wait, is she a member of Slytherin House? ...We'll just have to let that slide. I guess the glitter would probably disqualify her from membership - I imagine glitter is more a Ravenclaw thing, or maybe Gryffindor.

Here's the mini-Sage:




He does stand on his own, surprisingly enough, but his horn is warped. Oh well.

Word on the street is that there's going to be another year of the Glitter Unicorn Club, but....I really hope they put some better paint jobs on these things. I know it must be costly to introduce all these new molds at once, but the paint jobs should really be more complicated for the price point. If they keep on with the $3 paint jobs, I'll probably just skip joining and get the ones I want secondhand so I don't have to bother with selling the ones I don't want.

Sage, sneak peeks, and Breyerfest updates!

Lots of new today, readers! First off: Sage, the final release in the Fairytale Friends Club (at least for now) is now available, so make sure to get her/them ordered!



I'll note here that Sage is indeed referred to as a mare, and she's on the new Stablemate Warmblood Mare who keeps being referred to as a stallion for some reason, so...the new mold should really be called the Warmblood Mare, since that's...what it is, and I'm not sure what's been causing the confusion, since all of her releases so far have been mares. Anyway, her companion for this set is the Spanish Barb, transformed into a Mini Whinny! Exciting stuff, though I'll be selling the Mini Whinny and hoping he makes another appearance as a Stablemate someday.

Now that the Fairytale Friends Club's first year has been completed, I'll just say that I hope they put some better paint jobs on the models if they do it again. Pastels and glitter might work for a $4 Walmart release, but people expect something a little more complicated than that for $25 a pop. Let's hope Breyer takes those ideas into consideration!

In other news, I can't believe I forgot to post about all this yesterday, but there's a new sneak peek on the blog (Reiterating that I'm tired of sneak peeks - just post the thing!):



Clearly it's the crystal, but which one? It kind of looks like the back of a shoulder/part of a belly, but I don't know what it could be. Once again, the photo is cropped too closely to tell what it is. Hopefully we see it tomorrow! I don't envy people trying to buy crystals this year, though, what with all the fragility and shipping through the postal system and all. Fun times!

In other news, more Breyerfest updates have also been posted on the blog. I'm not going to try to sum everything up here, but Bonus Benefits for ticket holders have been posted here (free raffle tickets, woo!), and an explanation of model categories is here. Also, Jaime has a new video explaining some more of the benefits here (apologies if you're unable to watch that one; I wish they'd post it on YouTube). Lots of exciting stuff in store to be sure, and even some fun items for international collectors that can't participate in raffles and contests!

Sunchaser and Starlight are here!

Hark, a ray of sunshine in these dark times! My Sunchaser and Starlight models are here. Okay, Sunchaser has been here for a few days, but I wanted to wait until Starlight got here so I could put them both into one post. So, let's start with Sunchaser!

Not a whole lot to say about Sunchaser that hasn't already been said - I like his color a lot better than some of the previous releases in the club, but I hope they do some different, more-complicated paint jobs in the future.

At least he's relatively flaw-free! The glitter encrustation on his mane and tail don't seem to be as bad as previous releases, though I'd prefer to see the glitter go away completely. I forgot to take a picture of his matching Saddlebred counterpart, but it won't stand up anyway, so you're not really missing much.

So, let's take a look at Starlight!

I was excited to see this girl after all the photos I've seen online, and she doesn't disappoint!

As usual, she's huge - I like her flying tail and everything, but part of me wishes it wasn't quite so long. I'm pretty sure she's the longest Breyer model I've ever had - maybe that's why Zena was discontinued so soon, because she's just so LONG! 

I didn't see any flaws on her either, other than the usual mane/tail overspray. I wonder if that was done on purpose, to emulate the flaws of yesteryear? Heh heh.  If I were inclined to nitpick, I'd want her muzzle to be a little darker, but it's not a dealbreaker. She can join her sisters on the shelf (and already has). I hope everyone else likes their Starlights just as much! 

Sunchaser is now available!

Good news for Fairytale Friends Club (or as I like to call it, Glitter Unicorn Club) members - the next release, Sunchaser, is now available!



While I like this one's color, it looks a little blah in the photos - hopefully it's better in person. Still wishing Moonbeam had been on a mold I like. Hopefully he doesn't take too long to get here! I'll  be keeping the Stablemate, but as usual the Mini Whinny will be for sale.

Moonbeam is now available!

Attention to Fairytale Friends Club (or as I like to call it, the Glitter Unicorn Club) members! Moonbeam, the fourth release in the club, is now available for purchase!



I really like the color on these, but the G3 Arabian is too cartoony for me, and I've never been a fan of the Rising Sun resin, so I'll have to pass. And hopefully they'll do some slightly more complicated paint jobs for these (with less glitter) when the next year of the club debuts.

Georg, Rose and Mini-Rose are here!

Good news, everyone! My Georg and Rose set finally arrived (well, they've been here for a few days now), and I finally got some time to write about them. I'll start with Georg!

I really, really like this guy. Despite the banged tail, he's definitely handsome (and a chonk)!

If I had my way, he'd only have mane on one side of his neck, but that's a minor nitpick (along with the banged tail). He has a handsome face and I really like his topline and the way he's standing. And color me surprised that the painters actually managed to more-or-less pull off Sommer's paint job!

Quality-wise, he's very, very good - I didn't see a thing wrong with him, although the bottom edge of his dappled area could have been blended into the body color a little better - it stops a little abruptly for my tastes.

Next, let's see Rose and Mini-Rose!



Magnolia's millionth release of the year is actually quite pretty, with the silver and rosy pink. I'm hoping the models for next year don't use the same aesthetic as the current ones, though - the glitter flaking off them is getting old, as is the simplistic paint jobs. I didn't join the club just to help pay for more Mini Whinny molds I don't collect, so let's hope they mix things up a little bit next year.



I didn't see anything particularly egregiously wrong with these two, other than the warped legs on Mini Rose (but I suspect that's pretty common with the bendy plastic they use). I'm surprised the model can even still stand, really.

That's all I have for today - let's hope we find out what that upcoming web special is soon. So much for finding out "very soon," huh?

The next release in the Fairytale Friends Club is available!

Attention, members of the Glitter Unicorn Club! Rose is now available for purchase!


It's Magnolia and her (presumably new mold) doppelganger! I have to say,  I really like Rose's color, despite my general dislike for pink. Sadly, I don't collect Magnolia or Mini Whinnies, so my set will be for sale. Hopefully Breyer gives Mini Magnolia a break soon, because they're going to wear out the mold soon if they don't! Sheesh.

Alas, I'm not going to purchase my set right away anyway - I'm expecting Georg to be released later this week, so I might as well wait and see if I can combine shipping on them. Hope they release him soon!

Seafoam crashes in!

Whoa, that was fast. Seafoam, the second release in the Fairytale Friends Club (also known as the Glitter Unicorn Club) is now available for purchase!



I wonder how well that rearing Mini Whinny will stand with the bendy rubber legs. I guess we'll find out? I also hope Seafoam's color is a little more vibrant than it looks in the photos. It might be hard to tell him apart from the new Walmart unicorn blind bags...

Dazzle (and "Razzle") are here, plus Hero's Welcome breakdown!

Exciting news, everyone! The first release of the Fairytale Friends Club (though I call it the Glitter Unicorn Club around here), Dazzle, arrived today! There's no official name listed for the Mini Whinny, but I've seen people on the Internets naming theirs Razzle. If I were planning on keeping mine, I'd probably name it that. As is, though, he'll be going to the sale pile.

Anyway, let's take a look at Dazzle!



I have to say, I like the lighter area on his back/hindquarters. I was expecting him to just be flat pink, so that was a nice surprise. Still not crazy about the glitter, though.



His quality is decent, but for this price point I'd have liked the front hoof paint to not be splattered halfway to the horse's ankles. Sheesh. The mane is really sloppy on the left side, too.



I'd have liked more detail to the eyes than "black dot" too, honestly.

I hope I'm not complaining too much, but this set cost $20, and the models are barely painted better than $4 blind bags at Walmart. Let's hope the next set is better.

Next, let's take a look at Razzle:

He's cute - I love his little horn! But I've never been a fan of Firebird, and since he's made of that rubbery plastic, his legs warped and he doesn't stand up. You know, in retrospect, I don't really know if including the Mini Whinnies was a good idea, especially if more of them have issues with standing. I've seen photos of warped horns on this guy, too - I think it's just too small.

Lastly, here's the satin pouch they came in!

I do like the pouch! It's a pretty color and I've always liked the pouches. Now if the Stablemate Club could go back to using them...

Well, enough of that. Let's talk about the numbers breakdown on the Hero's Welcome models! They finally released the numbers on the blog today.

Dark Dapple Grey: 1000 Matte, 200 Glossy

Chestnut Pinto: 850 Matte, 200 Glossy

Dappled Pearl: 650 Matte, 200 Glossy

Rose Grey: 520 Matte, 200 Glossy

Decorator: 400 Glossy

Pearly Black Leopard Appaloosa: 30 Matte

So all of the decorators were glossy? I could have sworn mine was matte. Oh well! He was the second rarest of the bunch, so I'm glad I got one. And I was surprised that there were more of the chestnut pinto than the pearl (previously referred to as the champagne); it seemed like the chestnut pinto was more desirable than any of the other colors other than the rose gray. I'm not surprised that the numbers on the dapple gray were so high, since it seems like everyone and their dog was trying to unload them at the Clarion and afterward. I'm just glad I was able to trade for the chestnut pinto and the rose gray, since I doubt I'd be able to make the same trades now that the numbers were out.

All in all, though, the surprise colors were really great this year, as usual. I can't wait to see what Sommer designs for us next year!