Finally, some news! And the Collector Club newsletter!

 Greetings, readers! Well, I finally have something new to post about - the reveal of Breyer's Halloween releases for this year! It starts with Beowulf, but we've already seen him, so I'm going to move on to the Classic! 

Meet Draftula! I actually like this design, but I don't collect the mold, so I won't be buying him. I need to save my money, anyway. 

We also get more Stablemate blind bags, as is tradition. I only collect the Icelandic, so I'll buy one and leave it at that. I could have sworn we already got a mini version of Goblin, but I guess not. Breyer, give that poor mini Magnolia mold a rest already! 

And lastly, we get this cute little plush! I love her little heart eyes, even if the rest of her is kinda sinister-looking. 

All of this will be available to purchase on Sept. 5, so prepare your wallets! 

We also got this month's Collector Club newsletter! Members, check your email for more information. There’s an Apparition giveaway and an informative article about sun-bleaching yellowed models, and this sneak peek!

The speculation I’ve seen is that this is the next Wild Animal release and could be an orca, or a poison dart frog, but I’m going with poison dart frog myself - unless it’s sitting under something REALLY blue, it looks more blue than white to me. Let’s hope this isn’t another black and blue/yellow and gold dress situation. 

And a note on the article about sunbleaching models - it correctly notes that this method shouldn’t be used on Stablemates because the plastic they’re made from (ABS) actually yellows more in the sun, but also, not every modern Stablemate is made from ABS. Stablemates Club releases are molded from cellulose acetate and thus can be put in the sun, as well as some other releases, like my Willamette. On the other hand, the article also states that the sunbleaching method can be used on Traditionals and Classics, which is generally true - but be careful, because there’s at least one Trad molded from ABS (the WEG autograph model Cleveland Bay), and one or two Classics as well (the 90s Throwback). 

That’s all I have to say about this month’s newsletter. If you’re entering for Apparition, good luck! 

Another must-have!

 Good news, everyone! We have another Breyerfest Limited Edition reveal - the Best of Breyerfest Stablemate set! Behold: 

Ooh, nice! They're based on models from Breyerfest 2013 this time. Here's closeups, starting with Singletree: 

He's based on the Honky Tonk early bird model on the Nokota, all three of whom seem to have disappeared into the ether. Next, here's Liverpool:

She's a mini version of Music Row, the Open Show Reserve Grand Prize. For some reason I got really confused by this model and thought she had a different tail than the usual Magnolia, but I must be imagining it. In other thoughts...the first thing I thought when I saw this one was GIVE THIS MOLD A REST ALREADY, SHEESH. There have to be some other molds out there that have existed for twice as long as this one has but were given half as many releases. 

Okay, anyway. Next we have Whippletree! 

He's a mini version of the 2013 Breyerfest volunteer model Opry. I wonder if some of them will be matte in a sly reference to the fact that the three manager Oprys weren't glossed? Heh. 

Next, here's Landau: 

This one is based on Minnie Pearl, the Open Show Grand Prize model. Looks like her color matches pretty well! 

Lastly, here's Hames:

 

He's obviously a small version of Walk of Fame, the 2013 diorama prize model! Very handsome, though I feel something is missing without his ribbons. 

All in all, a pretty nice set! I only need two of them, though (Singletree and Whippletree, natch), but it shouldn't be too hard to separate them out and sell the others later. There's yet another reveal coming tomorrow, so I'll be watching the blog again tomorrow to see what it is! 

Georg, Rose and Mini-Rose are here!

Good news, everyone! My Georg and Rose set finally arrived (well, they've been here for a few days now), and I finally got some time to write about them. I'll start with Georg!

I really, really like this guy. Despite the banged tail, he's definitely handsome (and a chonk)!

If I had my way, he'd only have mane on one side of his neck, but that's a minor nitpick (along with the banged tail). He has a handsome face and I really like his topline and the way he's standing. And color me surprised that the painters actually managed to more-or-less pull off Sommer's paint job!

Quality-wise, he's very, very good - I didn't see a thing wrong with him, although the bottom edge of his dappled area could have been blended into the body color a little better - it stops a little abruptly for my tastes.

Next, let's see Rose and Mini-Rose!



Magnolia's millionth release of the year is actually quite pretty, with the silver and rosy pink. I'm hoping the models for next year don't use the same aesthetic as the current ones, though - the glitter flaking off them is getting old, as is the simplistic paint jobs. I didn't join the club just to help pay for more Mini Whinny molds I don't collect, so let's hope they mix things up a little bit next year.



I didn't see anything particularly egregiously wrong with these two, other than the warped legs on Mini Rose (but I suspect that's pretty common with the bendy plastic they use). I'm surprised the model can even still stand, really.

That's all I have for today - let's hope we find out what that upcoming web special is soon. So much for finding out "very soon," huh?

Mira and Antares, and a Christmas miracle!

Exciting news, everyone! The unicorn mare and foal set I posted about last week is now available to order! Say hello to Mira and Antares!



My holiday catalog from Breyer did come yesterday, but I didn't have time to post the picture of this set. Speaking of which, the catalog also featured this bay Haflinger I also posted about last week - A Pony For Christmas:

I didn't buy him, but I did snag the mare and foal set as soon as I could. This time I remembered to try to use the collector club discount code (no luck there), but they do qualify for the free shipping, so at least there's that (at least, the mare and foal did - I don't know if the pony does).

In other news, my constellation unicorns arrived today, and....it's a genuine Christmas miracle! Behold:



I got all four! Woohoo! I was expecting I'd probably get four of the Clydesdale, but fortunately that didn't happen! Yay!

I'm still not forgiving Breyer for the sea of blind bags (and the sea of trash it produces), but this at least helps.

That's all I have for today - I'm hoping we find out the 2020 releases and the optional model for the 2020 Vintage Club soon, though.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...

It's another day in Breyerland, and we all know what that means - more blind bags!

Oh, joy. What do we get to try our luck on this time?

Well, they didn't get me with the Halloween blind bags, but they done got me with these unicorns on the mini Alborozo (again), the G2 Clydesdale (again), Magnolia (again) and the new Warmblood Mare (again). And all for $25 a pop? What a bargain! Or not...

Unfortunately, I was a dumb idiot and ordered four of them, because I'm a glutton for punishment. At least the shipping was free? I hate to complain here, since I hate all the complaining in this hobby in general, but there are at least three things to be angry about here.

First - USE SOME NEW MOLDS, for Pete's sake. This is the tenth new release for the mini Alborozo in the less than two years he's been available as a Stablemate, and I feel sorry for anyone collecting mini Magnolia - it's the twelfth release for her in the same time period! And we're tired of seeing the G2 Clydesdale as a unicorn - give them a rest already. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say there are dozens of Stablemate molds that haven't been given the unicorn treatment - use them! Or just stop making unicorns altogether if you'd rather do that (but don't do that, I still love unicorns in general)!

Second, are these really worth $25 each? The Fairytale Friends club releases might be worth that much, if you include the cost of the new Mini Whinny molds, but I'm not sure the paint job on these is worth the money. And then we're supposed to be happy that they at least qualify for free shipping?

Third, can we please stop with the blind-bag-everything Breyer is so high on lately? I'm seriously considering calling them tomorrow and canceling my order, because honestly? The only way they're going to stop is if we vote with our wallets and refuse to keep enabling these business practices. I've already decided I'm not going to bother with the regular run blind bag Stablemates next year, if there are any new ones, because I want to be able to just buy what I want without ending up with extras of everything or not getting the ones I do want. It's exploitative, a waste of money, and in the end it's just greedy of Breyer, and I'm tired of it. The randomly shipped/gambler's choice/blind bag conundrum has infiltrated pretty much everything Breyer does (the Christmas Day releases, the Breyerfest surprises, the Vintage Club, so many Collector Club releases of the last few years, the glossy/matte or braided/unbraided Premier Club releases), I wouldn't be surprised if they try to convert everything to that model just to further their business. No thanks.

That rant ended up being a lot longer than I intended it to be, but I think it needed to be said. I don't know if I'll actually cancel my order or not, but the whole thing is just making me angry. If (when) there are more blind bag releases in the future, let's hope I can't get fooled again...

The next release in the Fairytale Friends Club is available!

Attention, members of the Glitter Unicorn Club! Rose is now available for purchase!


It's Magnolia and her (presumably new mold) doppelganger! I have to say,  I really like Rose's color, despite my general dislike for pink. Sadly, I don't collect Magnolia or Mini Whinnies, so my set will be for sale. Hopefully Breyer gives Mini Magnolia a break soon, because they're going to wear out the mold soon if they don't! Sheesh.

Alas, I'm not going to purchase my set right away anyway - I'm expecting Georg to be released later this week, so I might as well wait and see if I can combine shipping on them. Hope they release him soon!

Another Curveball

Dang it, Breyer! Just when I think I have things figured out, they go and change it up! Here's Chiffon, the Single-Day Stablemate on Mini-Magnolia:

Look familiar? That's because she's a mini-me of Red Velvet, the Moody Andalusian raffle model from 2009. I kind of thought Breyer would stick with the superheroes theme and give us all decorators for the single-day horses, but they must have decided they needed to do something for the 30th anniversary, so the single-day models will all be mini versions of previous prize models! It's a fun idea, though.



From the blog:

Let’s go back in time all the way to the 20th Anniversary of BreyerFest back in 2009. For those of who don’t remember, it was our 20th Birthday Bash!
Red Velvet was our Saturday Raffle Model and was exceptionally popular with Andy fans and BreyerFest attendees of all ages - and even Red Velvet cake fans!
To honor this amazing prize model, we’ve created a mini-me version – Chiffon!  (We kind of have a thing for cake here at HQ.)

I thought chiffon was a type of fabric - I didn't know it's also a type of cake! Interesting. I'm not a cake person, though (at least, not if I can have pie instead), nor am I a Magnolia person - so this one is going to be a pass. I'm excited to see the rest of the single-day Stablemates, though! Which mini-me versions of prize models would I like to see? Pretty much any raffle model from the last 20 years, I guess!

Let's hope these aren't the only models that pay homage to the 30th Anniversary theme - I'd kind of forgotten about it with all the superhero stuff!

Single-Day Stablemate molds are revealed!

A bit late to the party here, but our Single-Day Stablemate molds have been revealed on the blog. Of course, I just put out my single-day predictions not that long ago, so now I look like a chump for getting them all wrong! But, I digress. Here are the molds!










Those are Darwin, Mini Brishen, Magnolia and the new Warmblood Stallion mold, currently only appearing as a Unicorn Paint-Your-Own. You know, at first I wasn't really into him, but he's starting to grow on me for some reason.

So, yes, I got all four of the Single-Day molds wrong, but I figured Magnolia would show up somewhere, so at least I didn't completely strike out. So I'll need to get my hands on the Darwin, Brishen and possibly the Warmblood Stallion, if he keeps growing on me. According to the blog, we'll find out the colors next week. I still feel like they're going to be decorators, but I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Another Monday news roundup!

Ugh, there are so many new things to talk about, but I just haven't had the time to blog about them! I meant to write another silver filigree speculation post, but that just didn't happen. I would have guessed this year had a silver filigree on True North, since we didn't get one last year...but I would have been wrong! Meet Benasque!



From the website:

Benasque has an exciting electric blue filigree coat. Complimented by a high gloss finish, it is absolutely stunning no matter which way you view it! His features include pinking on his nose and ears, and his socks and blaze are painted freehand. A unique masterpiece, Benasque is a spectacular homage to the winter season.

Electric blue filigree? Looks like Copenhagen to me. Well, whatever. He's still beautiful and we wants one, precious!

It also says he's stamped "Benasque 2017" on the belly, but I'm guessing that's a typo. Also, it's a pretty short entry period - I wonder if he was supposed to have been released last week? They must be busy at Breyer too!  Good luck to everyone who enters!

Also, next year's Celebration Horse has been revealed - it really is Oliver from the KHP!



Breyer put up a post on the Breyerfest Blog today that gives a little more information about Oliver! From the blog:

One horse immediately came to mind – Oliver, Captain Lisa Rakes’ equine partner. As a member of the Kentucky Horse Mounted Police 11 year old Oliver (a Shire cross) certainly stands out in a crowd with black and white pinto pattern and his large stature. His friendly and curious nature has served him very well so far in the first six years of his career; he joined the unit at age 5. 

Definitely a fitting choice for Celebration Horse - I can't count the number of times I've seen Oliver at Breyerfest! Though the model itself won't be gracing my shelves (I don't collect the Cleveland Bay), he's definitely striking! Maybe the extras will have a higher resale value than normal, eh? 

Next on the list, the Stablemate for the Scottsdale Stampede was finally revealed yesterday, and IDYB already has photos!





It's Magnolia! I'm a little relieved it's on a mold I don't collect, though I'm a bit sad at the same time - I was really hoping it would be Mirado, since he really needs some love! Good thing he's in next year's SMC.

The centerpiece model from the Scottsdale Stampede was revealed on Saturday night, and I was totally bewildered when I saw it - Foalzilla? Well, okay then...



They're just not giving up on this mold, are they? Her name is Peplum. Well, fortunately it's nothing I need to buy - but the centerpiece models at these events tend to be on molds I don't collect, so I was expecting it to be something I didn't need. Interesting color, though - I'd like to see them use that on something else (more attainable) in the future! But clearly someone wanted her, because the scuttlebutt on Blab is that a couple of unsavory individuals tried to steal one, but were thwarted and kicked out of the Saturday dinner (and then didn't show up to buy models on Sunday). I suppose it was only a matter of time, since these models are worth so much. Hopefully Breyer doesn't do away with centerpiece models completely as a result.

As for when the next event will be, Breyer collector events happen in New Jersey every six years, and the last one was the Big Easy Bash in 2014 - so I'd expect the next event to be at Breyer headquarters in 2020. I suppose they could squeeze something else into 2019, though. I haven't heard anything from attendees about whether another event was hinted at, so we'll have to wait and see.

That's about all I have time to write about today, but fear not - I have more to post! My Emerson came on Saturday, along with my JAH - so stay tuned!