More auction models!

 Woohoo, Breyer posted more auction models today! Here they are: 

I love this rainbow Misty and Stormy! The mare has gold mapping, which I didn't notice at first, but I don't think the foal does. 

Next up is a beautiful buckskin sabino Gem Twist! He doesn't get out much these days, so it's nice to see a new one even if it is an auction model. 

Another auction longboi! How dare they. Ugh, I want him so much! 

This one is cute! The blog says this one was designed by Kathleen Moody. Not surprising given the other intricate designs she's done for Breyer. Hey Kathleen, can you sculpt something new for us? The ravening hordes hunger for a new Moody sculpt! 

Next up is a handsome red bay blanket Sherman Morgan. This mold also doesn't get out much anymore, so it's good to see a new one! I love his rich red color. 

Last for today is something sorta unexpected: an auction Cosimo! Some people thought maybe he'd be a raffle model this year, but it looks like that probably won't be the case. He's pretty! Will he be this year's top seller? I think there's a pretty good chance of that happening, but we'll need to see some more auction models to be sure. Bring them on, Breyer! 

Featured Model - 12/11/2021, Crescent City

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model I don't own but would like to, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is...Crescent City!

This handsome guy was item #712122 and a run of 48 on the Sherman Morgan mold sculpted by Jeanne Mellin Herrick. 

It's hard to go wrong with this color scheme - metallic blue, black, pinto and glossy? Definitely a winner. Though if I'm going to nitpick, I'd have painted all his hooves black. But that's a small nitpick. Otherwise, he's scrumptious - no wonder Breyer has used this color a couple of times since then, on the G4 Icelandic and the rare variation of Ansel for this year's Breyerfest. He's to die for! 

As for Sherman Morgan, he was last used as Prisma, the crystal horse for this year's Breyerfest. Prior to that he was an auction model for Breyerfest 2020. He'd had a bit of a break before that, with his last appearance being as the 2016 Christmas Day surprise model. So it's been a while since we've had an obtainable plastic release. It's hard to say where we'll see him next - maybe as next year's equivalent to Ambrose and Midas? I don't think he'll get a RR release anytime soon, since Troubadour is right there and he hasn't been a regular run yet (though he should be getting his first RR next year), and I don't really see him as a web special either. I guess we'll see eventually! 

VIP ticket lottery and more new reveals!

 Good news, everyone! Breyerfest 2021's VIP ticket lottery is now available for entry! Check here to enter. It looks like there are 1000 VIP tickets, with 800 of those being distributed through the lottery and the rest to be sold first-come first-serve in the beginning of February. So if you don't get drawn in the lottery, there's still hope! 

In other news, we have two Limited Edition (formerly Store special/pop-up tent items) reveals today - let's start with Queen of Hearts! 

As I suspected, she's a portrait of the real Queen of Hearts. From the blog:

While Josie looks every bit the typical bay warmblood on her right side, it’s her left side that has been known to turn quite a few heads, as it’s covered in unique white brindle markings that resemble stripes! These markings, which only appear on one side, may possibly be the result of her being a chimera, which occurs when two non-identical embryos fuse together in utero.

While I'm seeing rumblings on the Internets that "Josie" probably owes her color to a somatic mutation, rather than chimerism, I definitely like the model! Definitely not something you see every day, eh? I'm a little perplexed at the oversprayed stand, though. They couldn't give it a quick acetone wash after they painted the model? Sheesh. Anyway, they're making 3500 of this girl, so it shouldn't be terribly difficult to add one to my herd. 

Today's other reveal is the crystal! Take a look at Prisma! 

While I don't collect the crystal models, I admit it would be fun to set this one up so the light shines through it to make a rainbow. I see they bumped up the quantities on this one too - a more cynical person might wonder if they did that so they'd have more replacements for the ones that inevitably break in shipping. 

Anyway, can you believe we've had this many reveals so far? This time of year is usually a barren wasteland of news - a long, cold slog punctuated by occasional dribs and drabs from Breyer headquarters. But now it's the middle of January and we've already seen most of what this year's Breyerfest has to offer! I wish it could happen every year. But I guess that means the news wasteland will shift to March, April and May instead of the beginning of the year. I suppose there's a tradeoff for everything...

Featured Model - 11/7/2020, Carpe Noctis

 Hello and welcome to Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model I don't own but would like to, give stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is...Carpe Noctis! 

Wow! This handsome sunset decorator was a Breyerfest auction model waaaaay back in 2001, made as a sort of "companion piece" to the Carpe Diem release. He was released on the old version of the Sherman Morgan mold sculpted by Jeanne Mellin Herrick. 

I really like Carpe Noctis! He really pulls off that sunset look - at least by 2001 standards. I mean, his old tail isn't the greatest, but I wouldn't mind finding this guy in my collection either. Not that that's very likely - I heard through the grapevine that someone got the deal of a lifetime at the Clarion back in 2016 by buying this guy for the princely sum of around $40. So whoever that was probably won't be letting go of him anytime soon! But...if you're out there and you change your mind...

Anyway, I don't have many Sherman Morgans in my collection, but all of them are decorators (my kingdom for a Crescent City!). My Carpe Diem model has the interesting distinction of being the only model in my collection that I sold, then regretted selling and bought back. His colors are just so pretty! Since all of my Shermies are decorators, I'm not sure if my subconscious decided it only wanted decorator Shermies in the collection or if it's just a coincidence - he hasn't been getting any realistic releases lately, so it's hard to tell. I mean, if somebody offered me a Best Supporting Actor for a good price I probably wouldn't turn them down, but for the most part, I'm all about the deco Shermies.

So where will we see a new Shermie? I could see him being used as a web special soon - he hasn't gotten that treatment yet, and Breyer seems to like using older molds as web specials. The mold first debuted in 1987, so he could show up in the Vintage Club, depending on your definition of vintage. Well, if they put an original decorator color on him I'd probably have to buy him, so there's that! 

Featured Model - 4/20/2019, Frankincense

Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is...Frankincense!



This model was one of the three possible colors one could receive when ordering Breyer's Christmas Day special model back in 2016. He was a run of 350 on the Sherman Morgan mold sculpted by Jeanne Mellin Herrick. He's item #712207.

While the intent on this model was good (red/green/gold Christmas decorators for the second year in a row), I feel like the execution was a little lacking - his shade of green tends to look more like Army green than anything festive. However, all of his white areas are pearly, so that helps make up for the failing in the green department. The green wasn't the only production failure - something apparently went wrong when many of the tails were glued on in this run, because I remember seeing a ton of complaints that models had arrived with their tails broken off. Let's hope that was a one-off thing that doesn't persist in the future.

Sherman Morgan is the only mold in my collection that I prefer to see in decorator colors rather than realistic ones, probably because he's not the most realistic mold ever sculpted. What's he doing, anyway? As such, the only Shermies in my collection are decorators - the three Christmas horses, Carpe Diem and Celebration. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on the Joker's Wild Connoisseur releases, or Crescent City, but that seems unlikely - they rarely pop up for sale, and they tend to be expensive when they do. Maybe someday, though!

The Sherman Morgan mold isn't currently in production, and it's hard to say when he'll be used again. He's not the most popular mold - the original, old-tail version of the mold only had four releases before it was retired, and it's only had 8 (or 9 if you count the Connoisseurs) attainable releases since its reintroduction in 2000. I wouldn't be surprised to see it pop up in a Let's Go Riding set somewhere down the line, though - a lot of older molds have been used for that line.

That being said, if he gets a decorator release, I'll probably want to buy it - so I hope he gets released in a spectacular decorator color soon!

My Christmas Ponies Arrived!

Okay, technically they came a few days ago, but I've had a few more important things to post about since then. So, here they are! I got Frankincense/Myrrh!



I think the red one would be Frankincense? I'm not completely sure. His red color is a little more pink than I was expecting, but I think it plus the pearly effect makes him look like he's made out of candy. Yes, please. Next: Myrrh!

 

I'm a bit less enthused about this one's color, because it kinda screams "US Army." I think something more akin to Ivy's color would have looked better, although Ivy was a pretty dark green. Maybe they had issues getting the colors to look right - I remember hearing about a Breyer factory tour a couple of years ago - maybe during Big Easy Bash? - where they saw the Christmas decorators being worked on and were having problems getting the colors right.

Quality-wise, they were both fine - I won't say they're flawless, but anything I noticed was minor. I've seen so many photos of broken tails on Facebook/Blab that I was worried mine would be broken too, but they both arrived in one piece.

Although I was hoping one of my two would be the gold one, I'm not going to complain too much - because at least I got two different colors. I'll have to set my sights on finding a Gold later on. I'm looking forward to seeing what Breyer comes up with next year - the candy cane zebra someone mentioned on Blab would be excellent!

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh!

The surprise is up - it's three new Sherman Morgans! Because nothing gets you in the holiday spirit faster than repeatedly hitting "refresh" on Breyer's website on Christmas morning.



They are Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh! It's a gambler's choice, so you won't know which one you got until you open the box. Order quick before they sell out! There are 350 of each model, so there should be plenty to go around, but you never know. My husband and I both ordered one (I like Sherman Morgan in decorator colors, not so much realistic ones), so I'm hoping to get green and gold, myself. Good luck to everyone that orders!

And before I forget - Merry Christmas, everyone!