Collector Club newsletter and a few more auction models!

 More good news, everyone! A few more auction models were revealed today - behold! 

It's a pretty leopard appaloosa Marabella! So cute. 

We saw most of the other reveals yesterday, except for this stunner:

Whoa! It's safe to say we have our top seller here, but will he break the $75,000 record from 2022? I suspect this one will be disappearing off to Australia, never to be seen again. But I could be wrong. It's cool that they put the wings on him, but I think I prefer this guy from last year. I like the detail of the blue color with gold mapping, though. 

In other news, the June Collector Club newsletter came out today! There's an article about drastic customizing, a Big Lex giveaway, an update on the upcoming collector event Hoofbeats and Maple Treats (entries will now open in July), and this sneak peek! 

I suspect this is the next Collector Club special run, to be revealed at Breyerfest, but I guess we'll find out soon! Only two weeks until Breyerfest, and I still have to do a lot of prep for the show...eep! Better get to it! 

Tigerlily and Firestorm and Hot Cocoa and Freya and Annika!

That's a long title. Good news, everyone! I had three new models arrive today. I'll start with the second Premier Club release, Tigerlily and Firestorm - behold! 

Yay! I really like them. Tigerlily really is basically an updated Running Mare. Firestorm is his own feisty self, though. 

They're both pretty much flawless, except for...

...this groanworthy arrangement of reverse dapples. Do they all look like this? It's pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, but still irritating. They look like a grid, or a honeycomb or something. It's probably something to do with how they're painted, but like...try to make them a little more random or something, you know? 

Otherwise I have no complaints with the quality. I'll probably take them both to my next show. 

Next, here's Hot Cocoa! 

I love her pearly tail! 

I just love her tail in general. And the rest of her. It's a really attractive color! 

She has some minor flaws, but nothing major. If I can figure out a breed for her, I'll take her to my next show too! 

Also, the holiday mare and foal set was revealed today, along with a bunch of other stuff! Say hello to Freya and Annika! 

They're currently on backorder and expected to ship the week of 10/28. They're cute, and I like Freya's color, but neither one is anything I need. They even come with an ornament and a satin bag! 

Along with them, we have this year’s holiday Classic! Meet Nor’easter!

He’s also nothing I need - I wish they’d used a different mold. 

Lastly, the Kid’s Club has been updated with a new Classics model!

Also nothing I need, but that’s a handsome color. 

That’s it for today - whew, that was kind of a lot. I wonder if anything will be revealed tomorrow?

Oops, missed a few things

 Well, I didn't get a chance to blog about the end of the Collector Club Appreciation event, among other things - we were traveling back from New Zealand over the weekend, so I didn't have much spare time for blogging. But never fear! I'm here now. 

So anyway, these were the four Collector Club Appreciation glossies! 

I was immensely relieved to see Marc of Charm was not among them. Of course, that probably means he'll be a Breyerfest Live prize instead. Well, let's try to stay positive here. I'm hoping to get the Theo and Omega Fahim from my two orders, and will be looking to trade for them if I don't. Here's hoping! 

Next, there was a new hint on the Breyerfest Blog on Friday, and we got the reveal today! Behold:

It's the Breyerfest Live Reserve Champion prize! Her name is Hildegard. What a beauty, huh? Nothing I need, but she sure is pretty. I like the contrast of her white tail against the rest of her. 

And lastly, we have a silent auction lot reveal as well! 

This cute set is a reference to the Bremen Town Musicians story. They're adorable! I wonder if they're permanently attached to each other? This is the first time the Breyer donkey has seen the light of day in ages, and the color fits him pretty well. 

There was one other silent auction reveal last week, but it wasn't anything we haven't seen before - just a full set of the alternate-color models from Breyerfest 2021. Hmm, maybe those things weren't as randomly-shipped as we thought? Heh. 

That's all I have for today - hopefully we get some more fun reveals this week! 

Things that were, things that are...and some things that have not yet come to pass.

 Exciting news, everyone! Lots of new things to post about today - but I'll start off with an alert for Vintage Club members: Nugget and the Dusk and Dawn set are ready to purchase! 

This is the gambler's choice release for this year's Vintage Club, so you won't know which color you're getting until you open it. In addition, the free Stablemate for this year must already be in stock, as they're shipping with the Nuggets. That's a refreshing change from the norm; usually we don't see those until January of the following year! 

The Stablemates, mini Yellow Mounts on the Stablemate SCO mold, are also randomly shipped - some with a forearm spot, and some without. This all makes me really glad I don't collect Brighty or SCO!


Dusk and Dawn are an optional purchase:

 

In recent years I would have wanted to get my hands on these, but my Marabellas went down the road quite a while ago, and my Ambers will probably be on the chopping block soon as well. They look really nice, though, so I'm a bit sad about that. 

Anyway, to move on...there are a couple of new additions to the website today! They were revealed in people's JAH magazine yesterday, but fortunately Breyer was on the ball about adding them to the website promptly. Firstly, here's Snickerdoodle:

A new release on Rhian? And without her foal?? Gasp! Must order this one as soon as it's available! I'm pretty ambivalent about Cadell, so I'm not too bothered that he isn't included with her. She looks so cute in palomino, I just wish there was a photo of her sans blanket! I love those little reindeer antlers, too. 

Lastly, here's Baltazar, this year's Winter Decorator (and Limited Edition):

Ohhh, he's pretty, but I just don't want to start a new conga. Too bad...I really like his design. But I have to save room on my shelves for other things! 

Let's hope they get Snickerdoodle and Baltazar on the website soon, because I have more ordering to do! 

More new reveals!

Good news, everyone! We now have photos of Dusk and Dawn, this year's optional Vintage Club set! Check them out! 

If you're a member of this year's Vintage Club, check your email for more information. VC members will (or should) be able to combine shipping with Nugget, the decorator Brighty release, so that's good! Marabella and Amber look pretty good in gloss, though I have to admit they look a little lost without Ashley there as well. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on that foal, but I may have to undertake a significant herd reduction in the coming year and unfortunately my Ambers (and Ashleys) would be on the liquidation list for said reduction, so I'll hold off on trying to get one for now. That charcoal color is really nice, though! I prefer the darker-black charcoal models to the more chocolate-brown ones. 

In other exciting news, we have another new release on poor Malik! It seems like he's been a little neglected since his debut 2 years ago, but with the new Black Stallion and book set and now this, things are starting to look up! 
 

Oh boy, I really like this one. He definitely resembles his name, while I'm over here thinking if his legs were a little darker, he'd definitely have a "Fire and Blood" theme going on. But anyway...I did order one, even though those toothpick front legs still bother me a little. The Marchador mold, also sculpted by Sarah Mink, had the same issue and I ended up getting rid of him, so hopefully it doesn't become too much of an issue with these models, or they'll end up on the liquidation list too. 

A couple of odd new Breyer models popped up on eBay today - they can be seen here and here. What are they? The black one is like a simplified Marabella, but I don't recognize the other one. Maybe Breyer is starting a lower-quality toy line with more durable models, like Schleich or CollectA? I guess we'll probably get more information eventually. 

Tractor Supply special runs are available!

 Good news, everyone! This year's Tractor Supply special runs are now on TSC's website! Find them here. And here they are! 

Best of all, TSC is having a Labor Day sale right now, and the new releases are included in the sale! I scored an Eclipse for $27.99, and you can have it shipped to your local store for free! Definitely don't miss out on this if you want these! I love the blue shimmer on Eclipse, so I can't wait to get him in hand! 

Tractor Supply special runs!

 So the photos of the Tractor Supply special runs have escaped into the wild! I don't have any photos I can use yet, but someone who works at a Tractor Supply shared this year's planogram. So, the special runs are as follows: 

Salidago - dunalino Boomerang
Lapwai - bay minimal blanket Appaloosa Marabella
Eclipse - black pinto Emerson
and a white/gray Mighty Muscle/Brabant with a cute little TSC blanket! 

There's also a new Mystery Foal Surprise set with a gray Darley and what looks like a buckskin...pinto? G2 Saddlebred. Exciting stuff! I hope our local stores start getting their stuff set up soon, because I'm most excited about the new Mystery Foal Surprise set. Of the others, the only one I need is the Emerson, so hopefully I can get my hands on him too. Although I'm a little irked that they used the black pinto color scheme on him when Travis happened not that long ago...oh well. 

Mid-Year Releases have been revealed!

Good news, everyone! This year's mid-year releases are out, and I only need to buy one of them! Huzzah!

I'll start with this year's Halloween horse, Calavera. Behold!

 

I won't lie; I was a little taken aback when I saw this one. But then  I looked at it a little closer. While I still don't love it, I do like the mane and tail color and the color combinations on the (presumable) decals on the horse's body. I like the lower leg color too, though I wish there was more of it. The Day of the Dead theme is a nice touch; Breyer must be running out of Halloween ideas again by now. All things considered: he's not perfect, but I'll add him to the herd. Bonus: he was designed by the hobby's own Lauren Hoeffer!

Next - Slick by Design!

Interesting enough - I don't really follow barrel racing, so I don't hear much about famous barrel racing stallions. But now we have two successful barrel racers in the regular line, with Babyflo. This is definitely one color SCO hasn't been released in yet, so that's worth a few points. I don't collect SCO though, so won't be buying this one. 

Next: PVF Peace of Mind!

 

My reaction: ho-hum. Do we really need another bay Marabella? More importantly, why did they pick this mold to portray a successful performance horse when the mold itself has been said by the sculptor to be portraying your typical Morgan broodmare? I'm sure Breyer has other molds that could pass for Morgans that could have been used instead. A year ago I would have had to add this model to my buy list, but I recently culled all my Marabellas for shelf space - and so far I'm not regretting it. 

Next: Cosmus!

 

Ho-hum reaction to this one too. Yet another pegasus release on the Classic Lipizzan mold. Can't they find something else to slap a pair of wings on? Harper would look good with wings. Not buying this one either.

And last on our list - Cobra!

 

 This one would make a good companion with Padre - not one, but two dressage mustangs! Now that I think about it though, there was another dressage mustang model back in the day - JB Andrew on the old Friesian mold! I wonder whatever happened to that horse. This model, though, looks nice and snappy with his four white feet and what looks like a nice dark bay color (similarities to the original Flash notwithstanding). That said, I don't collect Flashes, so this guy won't be coming home with me either. He has a really nice color, though.

Conclusion: I'm mostly just relieved by these, as I have pretty much no space left for any new purchases (hence the Marabella culling, along with the Big Bens, probably the Wixoms and maybe even the Henrys if I can convince myself to let go of Naughty and Nice). My pocketbook is relieved, too - money has been tight lately with the move, and it's not going to improve anytime soon. Anyway, let"s hope some of all of these beauties are available at Breyerfest - it'll be nice to see them in the flesh. And since most of them are portrait models, I wonder if any of the real horses will show up as last-minute guests?