Stagecoach Surprise run numbers!

 Good news, everyone! The Stagecoach Surprise run numbers have been announced, at last! 

Here are the numbers for each one: 

First up, the handsome pearly black and white tobiano pinto with a striking yellow and blue ribbon in his mane. 1,250 of this version were done in matte, and 375 pieces were glossed, for a total run of 1,625 pieces.

Next up, the dashing shaded light dapple chestnut with lime green mane ribbon.  1,125 of this model were in a matte finish, and 375 were glossy, for a total run of 1,500 pieces.

Our third variation was the beautiful, shaded buckskin tobiano pinto with teal ribbon in his mane. Just 1,025 of this colorway were done in matte, with 375 pieces glossed, making for a total run of 1,400 pieces.

Fourth in line is the eye-catching chestnut sabino roan frame pinto with purple and gold ribbon, making this 1,325-piece run look especially regal. 950 pieces were done in a matte finish and 375 pieces were glossed.

Next, the gorgeous shaded dapple grey with contrasting red mane ribbon. This run was a total of 1,225, with 850 pieces done in a matte finish and 375 in a glossy finish.

And finally, the smallest run of the bunch, the beautiful glossy blue and bronze decorator, with a coordinating blue mane ribbon. This piece was only released in gloss and just 625 pieces were produced.

So at least there weren't any crazy mane switches or some of the models only matte, only glossy, etc (except for the decorator). I'm feeling even more lucky now, since I managed to pull all of the mattes except the buckskin from the line myself - and it makes sense that I drew two matte black tobianos, since they were the most plentiful. As for getting three glossy buckskins, that must have been pure luck too, since all of the glossies were the same run number except the decorator (which I also feel super-lucky to have gotten). Sheesh, I hope my luck is this good next year, since we're presumably getting even more micro runs for Breyerfest's 35th anniversary. I'm still wondering why poor Nemea didn't get any variations, though - that whole design was stenciled on, not decals - so it shouldn't have been too hard to switch some of the paint out or something. Oh well. 

 

Go Ahead; Make My Day

Good news, everyone! My Callahans finally came, and I just had to get them opened up. I was so excited to see this mold appear in the (Breyer) dead pool! But first, I have to torture you a little bit. Here are the three boxes!

By some miracle, only one of them was smashed. Apparently many, if not most, of the boxes for this release have been getting pulverized.

But anyway...What could be inside? What mysteries do the boxes hold? Do I feel lucky? Time to see if Breyer went ahead and made my day.

The plot thickens! I think I can see what they are! Time to get these punks unwrapped. I'd tease you more, but a good woman always knows her limitations, so I'll cut to the chase.

Drat! Breyer must have forgotten my fortune cookie - I'm SOL. I didn't manage to hit the trifecta, but at least I didn't get three of the same color. Here's a pic of one of the silver bays up closer.



I'm having trouble deciding which of these three colors I like the best, but I think the silver bay wins. He's got just a touch of pearly in his mane and tail, though, which puts him in the lead. Here's a picture of the silver bay and palomino with their Trad-size doppelgangers:



I think Breyer did a pretty good job of emulating the original paint colors, although the Callahans don't have any dapples like the original releases do. Nor does the silver bay have mapped markings like Silverado, although I wouldn't have expected that. The original Silverado doesn't have the pearly mane and tail, though, which makes Callahan unique! They almost look like proud dads escorting their kids to a show (or a Vikings game, going by the palomino's ribbon colors), or perhaps experienced police inspectors taking their rookie partners out on patrol. Just as long as the rookies don't get killed, right?



Quality-wise, they run the gamut - one of the silver bays is quite nice, while the other has a number of minor flaws that are making me consider exchanging him if I can't get him traded for a silver filigree. Maybe if I exchange him, I'll get a silver filigree! As for the palomino, he's mostly nice, but his eyes are very sloppily painted. I'll hang onto him though - with my luck, if I exchanged both of them I'd get two silver bays back and be even more SOL.

All in all, I think this was a great special run - the Shire B mold is sadly underused, and this special run was a totally unexpected sudden impact! Maybe Breyer saw my Featured Model post about the Shire B back in October, eh? Probably not, but it's nice to dream. Maybe we'll see the mold pop up somewhere else, since they put it back into production for this special run? I hope so!