Breyerfest Closeups: Jota

 Good (or I guess bad) news, readers! We've reached the last of our Breyerfest Closeups posts for this year. Let's take a look at Jota, the next Collector Club special run. He's a very handsome glossy black splash pinto on Smart Chic Olena - here he is!

I like his white face and tail! 

I'm thinking he's chalky as well? It's amazing how much more striking a black pinto looks when they add a coat of gloss.

Definitely chalky! 

I don't need to buy this guy, but I really do like his white tail. The pointy part of his splash marking reminds me of Silky Keno from several years ago. 

That's it for today - let's hope we get more exciting reveals this week! 

The Breyerfest special run is revealed!

In the last of today's Friday news dump...I was right! The special run is SCO!

Although that's a really nice color and pattern, I'm slightly disappointed - I was hoping for something I'd actually want to buy! I don't collect SCO, so that's another nice release gone by the wayside.



He's certainly pretty, though! And his name is another nod to a Marvel superhero - Peter Quill, of Guardians of the Galaxy fame! I approve. From the blog:

Susan Carlton Sifton sculpted this handsome fellow, mold #595, and for this year’s BreyerFest he’s been decorated in a fun silver grulla blanket appaloosa pattern that is sure to rule your galaxy!

That's a galactic paint job for sure! Hopefully the next special run is just as nice - and something I want to buy! 

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?

Gideon is finally available!

At long last, Gideon is available to order!



From the website:

"Gideon is the epitome of the beauty and athleticism of the American Paint Horse. His deeply shaded and beautifully patterned coat accentuate his strong working stock horse conformation and flowing mane and tail.

As a Breyer Collector Club special edition, Gideon will be a treasured addition to your collection! Marked Collector Club 2016 on the belly."
Here's his other side!


So, I think his color is some kind of grullo? They didn't give any hints in the blurb. Although, they are actually giving us a run number this time - I don't think they've done that before. He's a run of 1,000 - they must think he's going to be pretty popular. I wonder if he was delayed to make the run a little bigger?

I don't collect SCO, so I won't be ordering him. That's okay - more for everyone else!

So, I wonder when the 2017 Stablemate Club will become available, and when this year's JAH will arrive. Geez, by this time last year I think all of the clubs were open, and had been for a while. What's with the delay?!

Santana and Garrett have been revealed!

We finally know what this year's Tractor Supply special runs are: Garrett, a bay roan Smart Chic, and Santana, a bay pinto Silver! Photos courtesy of a Blabber (used with permission):

Garrett:


And Santana:


I'm glad we finally know what these are! The suspense was killing me. And I'm thrilled that one of them is on Silver! I've been hoping they would start to use him more again. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, since they used him for Breyerfest and as a web special this year. It's very similar to what they did with all the Goffert runs in 2014 (BF celebration model, then web special Kashmir, then Halloween Horse, so not quite the same). His appearance does look a little more like the Treasure Hunt bay pinto than I would prefer, but it's not a deal-breaker by any means.

Garrett's color looks like buckskin from a distance, but the box describes him as bay roan, and if you look closely at the photo he does appear to have roaning.

So, I foresee a trip to our "local" TSC in the near future! I won't be buying Garrett since I don't collect SCO, but the Santana will definitely be coming home with me.

2nd 2016 Collector Club Special Run - Gideon

One of the new releases shown at Breyerfest was the upcoming second Collector Club Special Run model Gideon on the Smart Chic Olena mold. Photos I took at Breyerfest:

I'm not entirely sure what that color is, honestly. Looks like some type of dark buckskin or bay?

In any case, I won't be ordering him, as I don't collect the SCO. Nothing particular against the mold; I'm just not that into stock horse molds for whatever reason.

The same thing happened with last year's Tallulah; nice color, but not on a mold I collect. I ended up selling my Latigo because he wasn't growing on me. Same with Wyatt and Bobby Jo. I do like Geronimo, however, so he must be the exception to the rule. I also liked Roxy (only on her show side), but not enough to pay the big bucks most of her releases tend to sell for, so I finally gave up and sold my three at Breyerfest this year.

I guess the upside is that my wallet will be happy. Better luck next time!