New Arrivals: Liver Chestnut Natasha, Decorator Hero’s Welcome, Banner

Next in our series of New Arrivals to the herd: the liver chestnut Natasha!



Breyer confirmed only a few days ago that she is in fact a run of 30, so I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten one. Well, technically my husband got her in one of his many trips through the SR line. He got the decorator surprise this year, too - maybe I should have him go through the line every time? It probably couldn't hurt.

When I first unwrapped her, I saw she wasn't the expected Natasha color, but put her aside pretty much immediately and didn't think too much of it. Clearly I didn't have the luck to draw something SUPER rare, right? It had to be some kind of half-and-half run. This was in the chaos of Friday morning, when all kinds of variations were turning up and anything was possible. So I didn't get too excited about the special Natasha...until it became clear this was anything but half-and-half. Or thirds. or fourths. Or...you get the idea.

I'll admit this Natasha isn't the rarest model in my collection, but I'm really grateful that my Weather Girl collection will remain almost complete! And I'll be watching to see what prices this mold brings on the secondary market, so I know exactly how much she's worth.

Next, let's take a look at the decorator Hero's Welcome!

I could have sworn that this model was matte, but Breyer is claiming all of the decorators were glossy this year, so...he must be glossy, I guess. I still haven't decided if I'm going to name him Pond Scum, Swamp Gas or something else - Silver Moss, maybe? He seems to be right in the middle, color-wise - not overly green, but not all that silvery either. Silvery Moss? Clearly I need to think about it more.

We laughed when I unwrapped this one, because it seems like we always get the decorator (in years when there is one). And usually we get both finishes, to boot! I'll admit I kind of wonder what Breyer was thinking with this one, color-wise (is that supposed to be army green?), and since Sommer didn't design it, we can't even get an explanation from her! He's pretty, in his own way...but maybe I will name him Pond Scum.

Lastly, here's Banner!



I didn't expect this model to be as popular as he was, considering the lukewarm reaction from the hobby when he was first introduced, but I suppose I should have expected it, considering his low run number. Someone said the numbers worked out so there were only 42 of them per hour? Crazy stuff. I was worried about not being able to get one, but we ultimately ended up with three of them - I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try to pull a blue one. Lightning didn't strike twice there, but it was interesting to see the different variations in the run. One of the two I sold had a very orange muzzle! Interesting stuff. Now all I have to do is figure out how I'm going to fit this one onto my shelves...

That's all I've got for today. Check back later for more New Arrivals!

New Arrivals: Natasha, Glossy Pearl Hero's Welcome and Hal

Next in our series of new arrivals: Natasha!



I'm a bit surprised this special run has gone under the radar as much as it has, since I had thought the Weather Girl was a pretty popular mold. But I got the liver chestnut Natasha in my first trip through the store, so when I got this one later, it was almost as an afterthought. She doesn't look like the promo photos (do they ever...?),  but she's still nice. I think this run really should have had a matte/glossy split to help with sales, even if that meant I had to keep buying her all weekend trying to get both. I know I've pooh-poohed that in the past, but as far as I know, the Natashas didn't sell out, and she would have been a perfect candidate for gloss.

Next: the glossy pearl Hero's Welcome!

I'm so glad I managed to pull a glossy this year! Well, other than the decorator, since it appears those are also all glossy (My husband pulled that one this year). At first I thought I'd gotten a third matte pearl, so it was a nice surprise to unwrap him and see SHINY! He doesn't have a lot of flaws, either, so it's win-win. And he has a nice gold sheen to his color that I'm not sure my matte pearl has - or maybe the gloss just brings it out more. Either way, he's pretty!

Lastly, let's take a look at Hal!

I feel like Hal has been another sadly-overlooked model this year - probably because of his plain chestnut wrapper (though the production run size and purchase price probably didn't help; $75 for this, really?). His paintjob has a lot of nice shading, and he has that long white blaze to complement his face. His eyes aren't terribly detailed though, and he has those pink eyewhites that make me wonder if he's been burning the candle at both ends again. But I think he'll look nice on the shelf next to Dundee!

That's all for now - tune in again soon for more new arrivals!

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! 

New Arrivals: Dapple Gray, Chestnut Pinto and Rose Gray Hero's Welcome

Greetings, everyone! In yesterday's post, I began introducing my new purchases from Breyerfest. I'll continue today by starting with the Dapple Gray Hero's Welcome Surprise!



I've seen a lot of differences in color with these models - some of them are incredibly metallic, where others aren't. Mine seems to be somewhere in the middle; somewhat metallic, but not excessively so (not that lots of metallic paint would bother me). The metallic sheen steps up a paintjob that might have been somewhat boring otherwise! I like the white in his tail, too.



Now, I think this guy is my favorite of all the Hero's Welcome colors. He's pearly, he's a pretty color, and he's a medicine hat pinto to boot! I love him. If only I'd been able to pull a glossy from the special run line...but I can't really complain. Even if his color isn't realistic for his breed, I still love him. I'm really glad Breyer made him so pearly despite not being the super-rare variant like the black Appaloosa. And I'm super-glad I was able to trade my extra dapple gray for this one!



The chestnut pinto is my favorite of the surprise colors this year, but the rose gray is definitely my second favorite. He's gorgeous! Too bad his dapples couldn't be a little more subtle. And it might have just been the small sample size, but when I was trading my extra champagne for this one, both of the available rose grays I had to pick from were riddled with small flaws, so that was disappointing. Were more of them like that? I hope not.

Altogether though, the surprise models were all beautiful this year! Check in again (maybe tomorrow?) for more new arrivals!

New Arrivals: Champagne Hero's Welcome, Rocket and Rico

I can't believe it's already been a week since we came home from Kentucky! Time goes by way too fast these days. Since we haven't seen the numbers breakdown from Breyerfest, or much of anything else exciting (except the first Glitter Unicorn Club release), here are some cell phone photos of my Breyerfest arrivals. I'll start with the champagne Hero's Welcome, Rocket and Rico!



This guy's color is really nice! I don't know who to credit for it, though, because Sommer Prosser (the usual surprise color designer) has said online that she designed all of the Hero's Welcome colors except the decorator and the champagne. So who did design him? Who knows, but whoever it was made a good choice! Too bad he's got that ugly black mark on his right hip. Hopefully I can get it off with some work.

Next, we have Rocket!

I really like the color on this guy, but I wish his dapples had been better. I ended up with three Rockets in my quest for a pinto one, and all three had really unsubtle dapples. None of them were chalky, either, so I guess I'll have to be satisfied with my normal one. I really liked the pearly pinto, though! Also, for some reason the paint on his back is barely there (I'm guessing it's an attempt at shading), which looks rather odd. But I think I can get over it.

Lastly, let's take a look at Rico!



This guy's paintjob is really nice! I hadn't realized he would have fleabites - I guess I didn't look at the promo photo closely enough. He does have lots of little brown fleabites though, and they look great! I didn't see much of anything wrong with him - or with most of the other models this year, for that matter. It's good to see the quality making a comeback, especially on the Celebration Models. I'm still irritated about how poor-quality the Nazruddins from 2017 were.

That's all I've got for today - tune in later for more New Arrivals!

Hero's Welcome Surprise!

The hint for this year's Breyerfest surprise model was posted on the blog yesterday - this year it's the "Hero's Welcome" Surprise!


From the blog:

You know we can’t show you this one – the infamous Surprise Model – you’ll just have to wait until you’re in Kentucky to see this handsome fellow!
We hope you’ll give him The Hero’s Welcome into your home that he deserves!

So far I haven't seen anything to change my guess for the surprise model - I'm going with the Moody Andalusian. Like I said before, he definitely has a heroic air about him, and rules (such as they are) were made to be broken, right? Only a little more than three months until we find out!