2024 mid-years or Salvino II: Electric Boogaloo

 Good news, everyone! Breyer finally revealed this year's mid-year releases! I'll start with Salvino:

Yes, this is the same Salvino that got his own portrait on Salinero for Ponies & Palm Trees a couple years ago. The model is pretty (actually really pretty, must have one!), but I'm a little confused as to why they're doing another portrait of Salvino when there have to be other prominent dressage horses they could have chosen instead. Especially since it's an Olympics year. Maybe I'm just being crotchety. For the record, I don't own (or want) the Salinero version of him, so I don't really have a dog in the fight. He is pretty though. Calling it now: he'll be one of the Breyerfest glossy prizes next year. 

Next, we have Quietway Spinabbey:

This one is a portrait of one of Guy McLean's horses, with a custom roached mane! I wonder if Breyer is trying to step up their game and compete with Stone a little more with all these factory custom releases they've been doing lately (roached Mirado, Newport and now this). This guy isn't anything I need, but he looks nice without his mane. 

Next we have a unicorn set, Cyrus and Solana! 

Ooh, I really like these! I'm sensing a "brown" pattern with these releases, but this set is so pretty I don't mind! Selene has been a unicorn before, but Duende makes a good addition to the unicorn herd. So, since Breyer usually does the unicorn set during the holidays, I wonder if there are going to be two this year? Or if the yearly set just got pushed forward a bit? Maybe they thought it would sell better. 

There's also a new Freedom Series playset and some new Collectas. All new releases can be seen here! I hope they have these releases at Breyerfest so I can get a close look at them! 

Wallowa, and Spokes and Spurs

 Greetings, readers! Wow, it's been a while since I last posted. Oh well - there just hasn't been much to post about lately. Firstly, my Wallowa has arrived: 

He's glossy! And has decent ears, unlike many of them out there. I'm a bit surprised that I managed to get a glossy one. I suppose not wanting to keep it means I'll get the finish that's more sought-after in the long run...but anyways. Still hoping to sell this one, so I'm not taking him out of his box just yet. 

Also, there's a new plush out! Behold: 

That is...almost eye-burningly colorful. Whew! Guess we won't have any trouble spotting him in a room, huh? Order him here, if you're so inclined. 

Lastly, the Spokes and Spurs collector event is happening this weekend! I hope all the attendees have a great time. It looks like things are getting started now - the special run models for the weekend have been revealed! Check them out. Photo borrowed from Facebook: 

I'm...actually really relieved for this reveal. I was sure there was going to be a micro run Othello in the mix, but instead I'm getting astoundingly lucky - the only model I need here is the Esprit! And with a run number of 96, I might actually be able to get one later on! 

Interesting that they're using poor underappreciated Sea Star with the Misty. I guess Stormy needed a break! The colors are nice on the rest of them, especially the Gem Twist. The Foundation Stallion looks vaguely like last year's Buggy on Django. 

That's all I have for now - let's hope we get some exciting news soon! I'm supposed to be getting my replacement Domingo soon, so hopefully I'll be able to post about him at some point. 

TSC planogram has leaked!

 Good news everyone! In addition to the recent Stablemates Blind Bag news, this year's Tractor Supply planogram has shown up on Facebook! Behold: 

So, in the upper right corner we have what looks like a bay American Dream/Freedom Series Rearing Mustang, and it looks like the Classic American Quarter Horse Foal in black is in there with him. On the row below them is a couple of Snowbirds and then what looks like, "Blue," on the Geronimo mold, as some kind of special run for FFA. Below him are a black pinto Zippo Pine Bar or "Zeke," a dapple gray Latigo or "Ashton," and a dunalino long-tail Lady Phase as "Jolene." Below them are the Phantom and Misty set, a new set that appears to be some kind of pinto Classic Black Stallion, Classic Morgan Foal in black pinto and a chestnut Harper, and then Chocolatey. On the bottom shelf there are a couple of styling heads and a Breyer Farms barn I'd like to see up close to see what (if any) models come with it. Whew, that's a lot of stuff! 

Fortunately, I don't need any of it except the new American Dream set and the Classics family set with the Harper. Blue looks pretty attractive, though - but I'm biased toward blue things anyway. Let's hope these new offerings don't take too long to show up at our TSC stores! 

Collector Club Appreciation, Auction Models and more!

 Exciting news, everyone! My Collector Club Appreciation orders are here! Behold! 

Though I didn't get a photo of it, in my first order I bought four styling heads for gifts, the pin board and the new Unicorn Crazy (or whatever it's called) stable. And when I opened the (huge) box, the second thing I saw was a really skinny Breyer box, upside down. I could see the label read "KB Omega Fahim" and got really excited and pulled him out glossy! 

I love this shade of blue-black and wish Breyer would use it more often. He's stunning! I'll have to compare him to my matte Omega Fahim and see if there's any difference between them. 

I guess there is a risk of them looking more like decorators if there's too much blue...but then, blue is my favorite color, so I'm not going to nitpick that too much. Haha! 

For my second order, I went ahead and just bought the glossy model outright, as I don't have any more space for extra stuff I don't want or need. And look who I got! 

I had been hoping to get the glossy Theo, though, so it looks like I'll be looking for a trade. Ideally with someone at the Clarion when we're there in 3 weeks. Speaking of the Clarion, we got some more Breyerfest auction models today! Check them out: 

As someone on Blab noted, this Fighter would make a perfect dad for Robin and Nestling. Aww, a family! 

An amazing star-dappled gray on my least-favorite Latigo mane/tail combination. He's pretty, though!

And lastly:

A really, really nice Valegro, but I can't help but think he would have been completely amazing in gloss! 

And lastly, Breyer introduced Sparkler, a 4th of July plush, today! 

He's already sold out, so if you wanted one, I hope you were able to get one. I'm not a plush collector, so I didn't partake, but he's a cute design! 

That's all I have for today - I hope we get more auction models tomorrow! And, uh, a Breyerfest program, since it's now the 20th? Is that too much to ask for? You know, because people want to plan out their activities and it's kind of hard to do that without the program. 

Featured Model - 5/14/2022, Hunter Hayes

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model I don't own but may have an interesting story behind it, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is...the Hunter Hayes model! 

This model was a OOAK produced on the Latigo mold sculpted by Sommer Prosser. He was presented to the country singer Hunter Hayes by Breyer shortly before his concert at the KHP in 2016. 

I remember we were all a bit bewildered by this release, because Hunter Hayes isn't exactly a household name - but clearly somebody at Breyer likes him, because now he has this (very handsome) model horse. I wonder if he has any idea how much it would be worth if he were to sell it? Let's hope somebody clued him in when they gave it to him. Maybe it was intended to be a regular run release that was later canceled? Those little HH logos couldn't have been easy to apply - maybe it just didn't work out for a mass production run. 

As for Latigo, he's had a healthy number of releases over the years, in a variety of hairdos, so it's hard to predict where he'll show up next. He was the Holiday Horse in 2019, the Breyerfest surprise model in 2017, and a Breyerfest prize in 2020, among other things...but it doesn't look like he's been a TSC special run, surprisingly enough. Maybe he'll show up there this year? That or a web special would be my guesses. 

Notoriously Framed!

 Good news, everyone - the winner of last year’s Who Wore It Best contest has been announced - it’s the Latigo! Check him out!

He’s pretty, but nothing I need to buy. They’re doing a short- and long-haired variation of this guy, too - shipped randomly, of course. According to the email, he received almost 50% of the vote. Purchases are limited to one per Collector Club account.

Lots of new reveals today!

Hello, readers! First off, as you may have noticed, Featured Model was on hiatus last week. I guess I was just enjoying having the weekend off from work so much that I completely forgot to write a new post. Oh well!

Anyway, I'll start with the reveal of the last Breyerfest special run for the Fling! Souvenir Shop: a Mini-Raffle Stablemate set! Huzzah!

All I can say is: YES PLEASE!

Okay, I can say more than that. These are amazing, especially the mini North Star! I love it. And this is series 1...so there are going to be more! These models are mini versions of the raffle models Carlisle, Viajero, Windswept, North Star and Que Sera Sera. Great idea, Breyer!

Next, the mid-year releases have been announced:

Peptoboonsmal on Dundee!



Checkers on Latigo! Nothing I need, but look at that rich chestnut color!



Apparition - the 2020 Halloween Horse! Interesting concept, but also nothing I need.



Adiah HP, the previously-announced pinto Totilas!



And, last (and least, honestly...for me anyway)....more blind bags.



You'll have to excuse me if I'm not terribly excited about these, because I'm tired of blind bags as a concept. Fortunately, I only want two of them (the mini-Brishen and mini-Emma). I'm also not excited about the chase piece and "super-chase." Just what I want; yet another, even more-impossible-to-find chase! And it's probably a mini Othello to boot. Yawn. I'll get the Brishen and Emma secondhand rather than give Breyer the satisfaction of ordering any of these. Bleh.

That's all I have for today! Hopefully we get more Breyerfest news soon! I'm anxiously awaiting the email where we make our Breyerfest model selections!

Single-Day tickets and Custom Contest reveals!

Exciting news, everyone! Single-Day Breyerfest tickets are now available, including the 4-pack! Find them here.  As a reminder, the only way to get all four Stablemates is to buy the 4-pack, which includes a Breyerfest 2020 magnet. If you buy four tickets separately, the Stablemates you get will be randomly selected, so you might not get the ones you want. So make sure to buy the 4-pack before they sell out! 4-packs are limited to two per purchase!

In other news, Monday's sneak peeks have been revealed: they're the Custom Contest prizes! Firstly, meet Cornwall, the grand prize:

He's Latigo, but in black! I guessed it would be Hamilton in black, so at least I was close. And whew, this is one I don't want.

Next, let's take a look at the finalists' prize, Breton:



Like many others on the Internets...ugh, there goes my conga. He's Darwin, but in black...but...my conga...you'll have to excuse me while I go mourn a little bit.

Okay, anyway, those are the prizes! Interesting that the diorama contest and the custom contest seem to be going full steam ahead with the limited, expensive prizes, but not the live show...

More 2019 releases!

Greetings, readers! We got more 2019 goodness today - I'll start with the Holiday Horse!



Say hello to Minstrel! His costume is definitely different...but interesting at the same time. He looks like some kind of silver bay underneath? Pretty, but nothing I need to buy. Looks like they used the mold's original mane and tail - I think the loose mane and tail would have looked better, though.

And here's the unicorn ornament!



Holy crap, it's the Spanish Barb! But that means...are we finally going to see the Spanish Barb converted to plastic? Is he going to show up as a Stablemate now? Ahhhhh!!! I've been waiting for this moment for 8 years! I mean, I would have preferred to see him as a Trad or Classic, but I guess beggars can't be choosers. Also, I think he's mirrored from the original sculpt? I wonder why.  Edit: He isn't mirrored. I'm not sure why I thought he was. Carry on!

The rest of the 2019 holiday stuff is listed here.

Edit: The 2019 Flagship model was just posted on Triple Mountain's website! It's a Clydesdale Stallion!



His name is Seamus! I don't need him, fortunately. I'm guessing Breyer doesn't think he'll be as popular as previous flagship models, because they're only making 2500 of him. He's very striking, though!

In Stablemate-related news, apparently there's going to be another set of blind bag unicorns, found at Walmart...



Would it have killed them to use some different molds? And is the chase piece a new mold? The one in the picture looks like a hodgepodge of a few already-existing molds. I suppose that would still be a better alternative than another chase piece Alborozo. Speaking of chase piece Alborozos, though...



The chase piece for the new blind bag set is another Alborozo. Why?! When I haven't managed to get my hands on any of the already-released Alborozos. I'm getting very close to just being done with blind bags altogether. Sorry if I sound like a whiny baby. Blind bags are fun once a year at Breyerfest, but having to do it multiple times across multiple years takes all the fun out of it and makes it look like the naked cash grab it is. "Let's keep doing blind bags, those cash cows collectors will buy it all!" I'm sick of it. Hopefully the blind bag fad dies soon, because it's getting very frustrating.

I don't want to end on a bad note, though, so I'll talk about Serendipity! There's a new Classic unicorn out in the wild, presumably the followup to Skyler and Sarafina. She's a pretty blue color on the Harper mold! I don't yet have a photo I can use, but I'll post one as soon as I can! I can't wait to pick one up, along with some of the other new for 2019 stuff! It looks like next year is going to be another great year in Breyer land.