Chase is now available in stores!

I've been seeing more and more Chase models showing up on Facebook, which means he's finally hitting the shelves! From Breyer's Facebook page:

"Take a 'Chance' (item 701735) - #breyer Midstates Special Run now available! #ruralking #bomgars #theisens #north40outfitters #coastalfarmandranch #murdochsranchandhomesupply #D&BSupplyWarehouse #jaxfarmandranch #peaveyindustries #ShiptonsBigRWest #CrestonFarmandRanch"

I haven't had a chance to hit our local Runnings to check, but I'd guess they'll be available there. Not that I'll be buying one - he's a nice color, but I don't collect the mold. More money for other things! Only 3 more days until Chasing the Chesapeake!

New Classics Mustang Sets Announced!

Today Breyer posted two new Classics Mustangs sets on their Facebook page! This set is named Tashunka and Dakotah:


And these are Winona and Wapi:



They will be available at various Mid-States locations, probably at the same places carrying Chase.

As usual, I won't be buying either of these sets. I'm especially not a fan of the Standing Thoroughbred in this color, although it may just be another bad Photoshop job. The head looks...odd. Better luck next year, I guess. Hopefully we get some more flashy new Classics included in next year's releases!

Featured Model - 9/9/2016, Brabant Mare

Welcome to another installment of Featured Model, where I pick a random model from my collection, give some stats and provide some commentary! This week's model is the Brabant Mare.

This pretty lady was a Mid-States special run waaaaay back in 2014. In those long-lost days of yore, our local Runnings store still had a cursory selection of Traditional models from the regular line, plus some Christmas horses and a smattering of Classics, Stablemates and sets and various accessories. Only at Christmastime, of course. You'd have to go back to 2011 to find a time when they had the full Traditional line available at Christmas, and even further to a time when they had the full line available all the time. I miss those days.

ANYway, this girl was issued in 2014. I'm not sure if run numbers were ever released for this model (not that they ever seem to be for Mid-States and Tractor Supply SRs). She is on the massive Wixom mold, sculpted by Donna Chaney and first released as Cedarfarm Wixom in 2001.

Let me start by saying I love the color on this model. This is another one I wouldn't mind seeing on a great many other Breyers.  This color is what tipped the scales and got me to decide to collect this mold (I only had a Kong before her). Now I have 5 on this mold and they're all great. I wish this mold was used more so I could get more of her! I did get the Versailles from Breyerfest last year. They also used the mold another time in 2014 as Demeter, the last Greek goddess - but I just wasn't a big fan of her color for some reason. If I can find one for a reasonable price I might try to snag one eventually, but I'm not going to pay out the nose for one.

The only real problem I have with this mold isn't really that much of a problem, really - she's just so huge! She's by far bigger than any other Breyer model I have. This is a problem when shelf space is fleeting and hard to come by. My husband was kind enough to build another shelf for my models earlier this year, which helped, but if I buy any more Wixoms I'll still have to do a lot of rearranging to accommodate them. I guess the best remedy for that is to have my husband build more shelves...wait, that's a good thing!

Breaking news! Mid-States special run revealed!

This year's Mid-States special run has been revealed - Chance!

Sorry for the crappy cell phone screenshot - it's hard to post from the road. So, Chase is a "red dun pinto" on the Zippo Pine Bar mold. The mystery is solved! I know we were all scratching our heads last year when a special run named Chase showed up on a list of SKUs, only to never appear. The only question now is why he showed up on last year's list. I suppose the most logical explanation is that, since these models are planned years in advance, he probably just slipped onto the list by accident.

My wallet, at least, is sighing in relief. Another model I don't need to buy! I liked Zippo better when he first came out (though I've never owned any examples of the mold), but that faded along with my liking for stock horses in general. Now, if the Tractor Supply SR turns out to also be something I don't want, they'll have achieved the trifecta of second-half-of-the-year releases, with Chance and Gideon. With Chasing the Chesapeake now coming up on the horizon, I need all the breaks from spending I can get!

The rumor on Blab is that more releases will be announced this weekend, so I might have more to post later! Ahh, the excitement!