Psych!

 Well, readers, if you've been watching your email and/or the Breyer website like a hawk this week, waiting for Shelby to pop up, or a new SMC release, or....SOMETHING...you are (or were, I guess) in luck this afternoon, because we finally got something new to buy! What was it?! Get excited! 

I...oh. More grab bags? Never mind then. There were Vintage Club grab bags also. They're long since sold out, but I wouldn't have participated anyway - there aren't any PC or VC releases from 2013-2021 I wanted that I don't already have. Now bring on Shelby already, dang it! Or Sidewinder! Dare I hope something shows up tomorrow? Other than like, old Stablemates Club blind bags. 

Magpie!

 Well, looks like I was wrong once again - we have a decorator Birds of a Feather release! Check out Magpie! 

What a beauty. I hope I get drawn! Gotta add him to the rest of my Show Jumping Warmbloods. I've always liked him with the loose mane and tail. The entry deadline is 11:59PM March 16, so definitely don't waste time entering! And good luck to everyone entering. 

In other news, the grab bags from the end of last year are coming back! No word on what the "special surprise" is this time, but it's probably more Breyerfest store special leftovers. Yawn- nothing I need there. 

Lastly, there's a sample Paddy for sale on Breyer's eBay account! Check him out here. Paddy was a web special from way back in 2012, and only 222 were produced. There was also a "Pot o' Gold" buckskin Paddy produced, but I don't know if he's ever surfaced or been photographed. Good luck to everyone bidding! 

Easter plush and kids' grab bags!

 Hmm, I'm not sure if we were expecting this - but Breyer did a plush for Easter this year! Check out Blossom! 

She's cute! I like the little flowers. Order here here if you're so inclined.

In related news, Breyer is doing Easter kids' grab bags! I'm not a grab bag person myself (aside from the ones at the end of last year - what a dummy), but supposedly the kids' ones are usually good at making actual kids happy. Nothing I need to buy, but maybe someone out there has kids that need birthday presents or something? 

Won't Get Fooled Again, and other matters

 Well, my Grab Bag #2 has arrived, with little surprise about the contents. Behold:

Could be worse, I suppose - I guess the people who ordered the Grab Bag #1 got hit by a warehouse snafu and only got about $200 worth of items in their box (they were advertised as containing $350 worth of items). It's not a complete bust, anyway - I'll keep the puzzle and the Stablemates painting sets, and the Classics will make good birthday presents for the kids. And I will admit it was fun to open the box and pull out all the stuff inside. Maybe next time the boxes will have a little more variety...not that I'll be buying. 

In other news, there's a new set of sneak peeks on the Breyerfest blog! Behold:

They seem to like posting sneak peeks that are about impossible to figure out, so it's hard to say what these are - but speculation online is that it's some kind of pony set, possibly including something on Midnight Tango. I guess we'll find out tomorrow! 

End-of-year news roundup!

 Sheesh, there's been a ton of sneak peeks today! I'll start with the outline for the fourth single-day Breyerfest Stablemate:

Ooh, a special run for Kit! I can't wait to see what this one looks like. Unfortunately, it does look like we'll have to wait until Monday to see these, because the blog post says it's the last teaser of 2022. Bleh! But we got a whole bunch of other sneak peeks today, so let's take a look at the next one:

It's a Premier Club sneak peek, and...could it be? Could we finally be getting a new draft foal? It's a Christmas miracle! And if we're getting a new draft mare, I hope they got the rights to Truly Jolie - I wouldn't mind seeing her in plastic, especially with a matching foal. I suppose I'll have to break down and join the club tonight. If you're still waffling, the deadline is tomorrow night, so you still have a little time to think about it. 

Next, this month's Collector Club newsletter has been released - if you're a Collector Club member, check your email to read it. There's an interesting article about the creation of the reining horse holiday ornament on Bobby Jo, a Bristol giveaway (!) and this tantalizing sneak peek:

...Unfortunately, it's way too zoomed-in to tell anything from it. Maybe the sleuths out there on the Internets can figure it out? It's probably the first web special of the year (more Birds of a Feather? I'm kinda hoping for a new theme, myself). It kind of looks like a neck/jaw area?  But that's all I can figure out. 

As for the sneak peeks, here's the last one for today - it's the new sculpt for the Stablemates Club! 

Looks promising. I still need to think about it some more - but I really don't think I need to even join next year. I don't want the gambler, and I don't think it'll be hard to find the other two (possibly three, if I like the new sculpt) releases for issue price later on. 

And lastly, there's a new round of grab bags out! Looks like this round already sold out, but the email says another round is coming in January. Apparently each bag contains more than a dozen items, including a, "special surprise." I decided to get in on this, because I'm curious about the surprise and I'm still sorta kicking myself for not getting a grab bag at Breyerfest this year and missing out on the holographic Uffingtons. I'm sure I'll probably regret buying it, but I was a good girl for Christmas and didn't buy any of the Gabriels, so...I need something fun to open! I hope it gets here soon! 

Stablemates Club blind bags!

Well, we may not have any new releases to talk about, but at least there are Stablemates Club blind bags! 

No word on which years, specifically, are included in this - each grab bag has two randomly selected Stablemates, so I suppose you could get pretty much anything from previous years. Nothing I'm interested in buying, but it'll be interesting to see what people get! This offer is only open to current Stablemates Club members. If it's only your first or second year in the club, it would probably be worth it to pick one of these up! 

4th of July grab bags!

In lieu of anything more exciting to post about... grab bags are available once again!



Supposedly they contain more than $100 worth of surprises for the low, low price of $49.99, but we all know how that goes. It's probably just stuff they can't move out of the warehouse any other way. 

St. Patrick's Day grab bags!

Another holiday, another new grab bag! This time it's St. Patrick's Day!



They're "mini" grab bags this time, so they only cost $20. The items inside are supposed to have a value of $44.85. Kind of a weird number, but whatever.

My feelings on grab bags remain unchanged, so I won't be buying one. Happy hunting to those that do, though!

P.S. I know my Muir Woods post is sadly overdue, but I've been very busy this week. Hopefully I can get that posted tomorrow.

Kids' Valentine Grab Bags!

First off, I apologize for not getting a Featured Model post up last week; I was too busy (and tired) last weekend to get it done! Featured Model will return this week.

In today's news, it's good to see Breyer has their priorities in order - they're too behind to ship out our Premier and Vintage Club Stablemates or let us know there's been a shipping delay, but they can still get the Valentine's Day grab bags in stock!



Hopefully they get caught up soon, because the first Vintage Club release of the year usually comes out in January, and they're running out of time!

Anyway, my feelings on grab bags remain unchanged - not worth it. But apparently there's $108 worth of merch in each bag, so they might be worth it. Then again, they might just be full of unsold stock Breyer hasn't been able to get rid of before now. I like how the fine print has to say the items don't actually come in a bag - heaven forbid they put something in there that actually matches the holiday theme. But I digress. It'll be interesting to see what's in these bags, but not interesting enough for me to buy one.

Holiday Grab Bags and More Teasers

Greetings, everyone! First order of business - holiday grab bags are now available from the Breyer website.

I like how the fine print has to have a disclaimer that the grab bag items don't actually come in a bag. It's just marketing, folks.

My opinions on grab bags should be well-known by now, so it should go without saying that I won't be buying any. Personally, I'm waiting for the "Collector Appreciation" event that will hopefully happen next month. With any luck they'll do the 20%off+free shipping combination again and I can buy this year's remaining regular runs I haven't purchased yet. And I know I'm not the only one hoping they do another random glossy event like they did last year!

In other news, more clues about the mystery Cleveland Bay model have been posted on Instagram.

The real mystery about this mystery Cleveland Bay model is why Breyer hasn't just revealed it already.



Just reveal it! We already know what it is! And the scuttlebutt on Blab is that this is a portrait of Oliver, one of the KHP police horses, and he's going to be next year's Celebration Horse! Exciting, though if that's the case I won't be adding him to my collection (I don't collect the Cleveland Bay). Hopefully we get to see the entire model tomorrow!

Kids' Halloween Grab Bags!

What a shock - I have something new to post! Talk about a bad month for news...well, at least I have something to post today: Kids' Halloween grab bags!



Despite my disinterest in grab bags, I'm mildly tempted to buy one just to see what I'd get, especially if there was actually something Halloween-themed in it. Do they have leftover Goblins from last year? That might be fun, although I already have one.

I'm also going to need to buy a Sprocket for my son at some point, so if that was guaranteed to show up, I'd maybe think about getting a grab bag. It's not on clearance yet, though, so I doubt he'd show up anyway.

But, as always, good luck to everyone who buys! It'll be interesting to see what's in the bags on this round.

Grab bags are back again!

'Tis the season...for grab bags. Behold!



Look, I know they have an Alborozo silhouette on the banner, but don't let that fool you. I highly, highly doubt any Alborozo models will show up in these grab bags. It's most likely going to be a whole lot of Bandera models and regular run models, with maybe a smattering of old Breyerfest special runs that weren't especially popular. And/or some of the other special editions we've seen lately - Fiona and Rory, Scotty, Calvin, things of that nature.

I mean, I could be wrong, and we might see some Alborozo models, but I doubt it. I haven't heard of any being found in the NPOD for a few years now, so I'm guessing they're sold out. I'll be happy to eat crow if I'm wrong, though! I'm not going to order one anyway - my thoughts on grab bags usually run to, "not worth it," and I don't have the money to throw down anyway. But good luck to everyone that does order! I admit it'll be exciting to see what everyone else gets.

Kids' Valentine Grab Bags!

For lack of anything else to post about...Valentine grab bags for the kids are now available!



The days of really great stuff in grab bags are long gone, so I've never bothered to purchase one. But each bag supposedly contains $116 worth of items, so $50 might be a good deal. Good luck if you purchase one!

Stablemate Club grab bags? Why doesn't that surprise me?

I suppose it was only a matter of time. Stablemate Club grab bags, everyone!






Unfortunately, they're models from last year's Stablemate Club, which makes them infinitely less interesting to me, as I only kept two of last year's models. But, never fear! There's a chance you'll get a Diesel or Django, rather than someone's leftover Ricochet or Shiloh. And there's two Stablemates per grab bag, so that's double the chances! Current 2017 Stablemate Club members can buy them here.

Edit: Oh snap, they were already sold out by the time I posted this. Wow! Well, I guess the demand for them was higher than I thought it was. Good luck to everyone who bought one!

Kid's 4th of July Grab Bags Available!

Today's live auction lot is the live show prize model on the Cleveland Bay, and we've already seen him. So, July 4 grab bags it is!

 

I'm pretty ambivalent toward grab bags in general, but this probably isn't too bad of a deal if there's a lot of regular run stuff you haven't added to your collection yet (or if you need a 4th of July gift for your kid, natch). Looking at the fine print, this is actually a $105.89 value, not the $100 I was originally thinking. That's not too bad, really. If anyone buys one, I'll be curious to see what's in them!

Vintage Club Cypress and Kid's Easter Grab Bags!

Greetings, readers! Great news - if you're a Vintage Club member, Cypress is now available to order!

 
Her purchase deadline is April 11, so there's plenty of time to get the money together. I'm not a member of this year's Vintage Club, so I'm not ordering one, but that's okay. Here's hoping they all show up in a timely manner and free of major flaws! I don't think the 2014 Mu Wen Ma had a lot of issues, but I could be wrong. 

In other news, Kid's Easter Grab Bags are also now available for order:

 More than $100 of surprises from Breyer for your favorite horse lover for only $49.95 plus shipping & handling!*

Could be interesting to see what's inside, but I'm not going to take the chance. Good luck to everyone who orders!

Kid's St. Patrick's Day Grab Bags!

Another holiday, another grab bag...



But this time they're only $20!

Grab Bags include Stablemates and an assortment of fun Blind Bags! Limited quantities of grab bags are available! Shop now, while supplies last!**

*Each Grab Bag (item #712970) contains an assortment of Breyer models and products appropriate for children ages 4+, with a total estimated retail value of $42.90. Assortments may vary. Limit one (1) Luck of the Irish Kid's Mini Mystery Grab Bag per order, while supplies last. Gift wrapping is not available for this item. Grab Bag contents individually packaged; does not come in a bag. This item is excluded from all discounts, promotional codes, sales and/or special offers at this time. **All sales final, no returns or exchanges on this item.

Ah, that explains why they're so cheap. Stablemates and blind bag stuff isn't especially spendy. I wonder if the blind bags might include the golden buckskin G3 Friesian? That might actually make it worth the purchase...

Nothing I'm going to bother with, but good luck to those who do!

Also, Bandera is now available to order on Breyer's website! Whoo! I think I'll wait and see if I can get my husband to buy him for my birthday, though.

Kid's Valentine's Day Grab Bags!

It's that time of year again - another holiday, another round of grab bags. This time it's for Valentine's Day!



I'm not terribly interested myself, but it might make a fun gift for that horse-loving kid in your life. Find them here!

Grab Bags (yawn) and Free Shipping Weekend!

Another month, another round of grab bags!



This time they're Collector Club grab bags. There are three different grab bags - each containing $219 of items, all for the low, low price of $135! I won't be buying one - grab bags haven't been worth it in years, IMO - but good luck if you do!

Breyer is also doing another free shipping weekend on purchases over $25 - and the grab bags count toward it! So there's that, I guess.

That's it for this week - hopefully we get some exciting announcements next week!

Holiday Grab Bags are back!

It's that time of year again (again): Holiday grab bags have returned!



This time the bags are available in two different sizes - Elf ($50) and Kris Kringle ($100). Don't miss out on your chance to get some unsold stock from the past year! (I won't be buying; read my past thoughts on grab bags here.) The red bags in the photos aren't included.  At this point, I just hope we don't see more 75th Anniversary AQHA models in the bags, but I won't hold my breath. Good luck to all the buyers!