A new website? Right before Breyerfest? Oh boy

 Today I (and probably a lot of other people) got an email from Breyer that they’re having their website upgraded over the weekend. “Again?” I thought…and then realized it’s been almost six years since the last time Breyer did a major overhaul (Sept. 2018). 

I kinda question the wisdom of messing with the website less than a month before it gets slammed for Breyerfest…but they must be figuring they’ll have all the bugs worked out in the next couple of weeks? (HAHAHAHA!) Good luck, I guess. Maybe the new website will be easier to navigate. 

Oh, I'm so blue...

Hark, collectors! In case you thought Breyer had run out of ways to empty our pocketbooks, here comes another test model for sale on the website!



He's Stud Spider, painted with a conventional Stud Spider mask...but instead of the standard black, he's blue! Okay, I've never been much of a Stud Spider fan, but I have to admit even he looks good in this color. And look at the detail on his eyes! Somebody took their time with this one! He's nothing that needs to join my collection, but if you're entering - good luck!

Another test model!

Just in case Breyer hasn't already taken everyone's money, there's another test model to enter for on the website!



Ooh, she's pretty! If I were still a Wixom collector, I'd be all over her (le sigh). The entry deadline is 11/17, so don't waste any time entering for her!

Another test model!

Wow, exciting news today - Breyer posted another test model for sale! Check him out!





From the website:

Chris Hess’s iconic Five Gaiter (mold #52) comes to life in a shaded fiery chestnut with detailed eyes and a healthy coat of gloss! This striking Saddlebred was likely created sometime in the early 2000s. His coat is solid with no white markings, and his ribbon is unpainted. This model was created on older whiteware, as designated by the U.S.A. stamp alongside the Breyer Molding Co. logo on his inside right leg.

Here's the other side:

 

While this model would normally be a pass for me, I'm not going to lie. I haven't been able to recover my post-Breyerfest finances as well as I'd like, so I'm entering for him in hopes to sell him. Similar to the glossy Semi-Rearing Mustang sold earlier this year, I can see this guy going pretty high...even if he's technically not a OOAK (according to a thread on Facebook earlier today). He's definitely handsome, though! Personally, I'd like to see more white, but that's a minor quibble. I'm also wondering why they didn't bother to paint his ribbons, but I suppose those kinds of details don't really matter on something that isn't going to see production.

Anyway, entries close on the 22nd, so make sure to enter early and often! Good luck, everyone!

Holy crap!

Exciting news today - there's a new test run available for entry on the Breyer website! Here he is:

Okay, I'll admit I've never been a big fan of the Semi-Rearing Mustang, but that color is STUNNING!



From the website:

The Semi Rearing Mustang is one of the most popular Chris Hess sculptures! He was sampled in this striking glossy dappled black in the last decade. His mane and tail are a smoky shaded pearly grey, giving him a very dramatic look.

Dramatic, indeed! I'm surprised they're parting with something so relatively recent - I don't think many of the other tests they've sold over the last couple of years were less than 20 years old. Whoever wins this guy will have a beautiful addition to their collection! Or...they'll have a really, really nice resale piece.

I'm not going to lie; I'm entering for this guy on all our accounts. His price from Breyer is $850, but if he's sold on the secondary market, I'd be astounded if he didn't bring at least $3000. We've been saving for a new car, and well...that's a really nice chunk of change we could add to the down payment.

I'm guessing there are a lot of other people intending to do the same thing, though, so I won't get my hopes up. He should go to a permanent home first, anyway! 

The 2019 Black Friday sale is a go!

Attention, collectors: the Black Friday sale has popped back up, and there are some nice goodies in it that weren't there before!



Unfortunately, the mini True North and St. Moritz are already sold out, but there are a few other things there that might be worth picking up. And sheesh, Bandera must have REALLY flopped last year...he's now marked down to $27 from $52. Maybe that wouldn't have been the case if they'd bothered to paint his eyes...

But anyway. I noticed Griffin had disappeared from my collector club homepage and wondered where he went, and there he is! Still not buying one, though. And I'm also not surprised they still have Forever Saiges floating around the warehouse (good luck selling them for $10 more than the original price when they're selling for Vintage Club prices on eBay). I am surprised to see Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh on there; I thought they'd sold out the year they came out.

I'm glad to see this year's sale didn't turn out quite as lackluster as it first appeared, though. Congrats to everyone who got a St. Moritz or Mini True North!

Website Revamp Shenanigans

Looks like Breyer finally decided to redo their website. The last time they did a major update was back in 2011, so it was definitely time for a facelift. I'm not sure I like it, though...people complained about the list of links on the side of the page, but I never had a problem with it. Now everything is spread out in those dropdown menus and well...it's taking some getting used to.

So if you get an email from Breyer about activating your account, it's legit. It also takes some poking around in the website to find things like Club Home. They're also already selling membership renewasl for 2019, but I'm not going to buy it just yet. It's not like I'm not going to join for next year, but I want some incentive first...like a preview of next year's Collector Club special run, for instance (since it doesn't appear we're getting a second one this year).

This could also explain the almost complete dearth of news lately - they've been working on the website redesign and haven't wanted to release much of anything new until they get all the bugs worked out. That would be my assumption, anyway.

Hopefully this means they can get back to business as usual soon. I mean, there will be bugs with the new system - there always are. But I wouldn't think it would take them too long to get those fixed and then we'll be golden! I'm waiting for my Vintage Club Weather Girl, Breyer! Don't make me wait too much longer!

Yet another test run model on the website!

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this point, but...we have another test run model available for entry on the Breyer website!



This time it's a Roy! Not my favorite mold, but whatevs. He looks very similar to the Clydesdale Foal that was offered earlier in the year. From the email:

We have a lot of roan horses in our archive!  They are a fun color to test, and there are also many techniques to achieve roan so we've had lots of variations over the years.  Old Roy was an early test run, probably from 2000.  He's seen better days, but we cannot bear to send him out to pasture!  His blaze and four socks, done with masking tape, give him character, and his bay roan shading and big dark hooves add so much character.  But he does have wear.  He has rubs on eartips, hooves, right knee, left barrel, and inside the left hind leg.  There are a few shiny marks and a few colored rubs from being too close to another model at one point in time.  He has stress marks on his face seam and it's a little rough there too.  But we still love him and hope he finds a home, because he's actually quite adorable - look at that face!! 

So he's a "roan" color, with tape-masked markings, in a shade oddly similar to that Clydesdale Foal. I'm guessing they were probably painted around the same time. They'd make a nice set if you could get ahold of them both! Which won't be as difficult with this particular piece, because he only costs $650 instead of the usual $850.

I won't be entering for this one, but good luck to everyone! 

Another test model on the Breyer website!

It's a new month, and that means a new test model on Breyer's website, apparently. Here he is:




Oh, I am definitely entering for this guy. He's still kind of ho-hum, like most of the other tests have been, but at least he's on a mold I collect!

From the email:

This particular test run was painted circa early 2000's. He's a very well done splatter roan chestnut with three small socks with character, and a unique lightning blaze. His tri-eyes sport a U-shaped brown iris and eyewhites in the back corners of his eyes. He's really nicely shaded on both the body and the mane and tail, with slightly darker lower legs and grey shading on the bottoms of his hooves.

He didn't look very roany at first, until I got to a computer and could see the photos more clearly. His roaning is definitely pretty subtle! He's definitely attractive, though, and I prefer the loose mane/tail SJW, anyway. He's definitely worth the price. Good luck to everyone who enters! 

Chasing the Chesapeake: Update!

Breyer has updated their club news to add that the tickets for Chasing the Chesapeake will go up for sale on Thursday, Aug. 25! No time, though; hopefully they add that in later. No word on the Chesapeake model, or what the host hotel is either! I'm hoping the tickets will have more info with them. I'm still working on whether or not we can go; hopefully I can get that straightened out by the time tickets go on sale.

Breyerfest Leftovers Are Up!

The moment we've all been waiting for has arrived - Breyerfest leftovers have been posted to Breyer's website!

Included in this virtual truckload of goodies are items from several Breyerfests past, including Stunt Double and the Dances with Wolves porcelain from 2010, Wish on a Star and the Aurora porcelain from 2011, Prince of Chintz from 2012, and many, many other things!

Fortunately, none of it was anything I needed. I was surprised to see the Platinum Star from 2014 listed. He was the hottest item on the list at Breyerfest that year (luckily for me, as I don't collect the mold), so I was surprised that any of them were still available. I am less surprised that Stunt Double (2010) is still available, as I remember seeing leftovers of her in the Breyer store at Breyerfest 2012 and 2013. Seems someone overestimated the popularity of that special run, and/or failed to take into account that we'd already seen an Indian Pony in pretty much that exact same colorway back in 2002 with High Sierra.

I was also surprised to see Namib listed among this year's leftovers, as I'd thought I heard she sold out on Sunday afternoon. Clearly, word of mouth isn't always to be trusted. Mamacita and Chico appear to have sold out on the website, however, so they must not have had as many of them left over at the event as I thought.

I have seen some grumbling that these models aren't available to the general Collector Club masses, but it makes sense. If they were made available to the general public, it wouldn't be fair to those of us who bought the tickets, traveled to the events, stood in all those horrible lines, and so on. It removes the incentive to actually GO to the event. A large part of Breyer's marketing is that these models are only available at Breyerfest. Sure, they're breaking their own rules a little bit by putting them on the website in the first place, but limiting it to 3-day-ticket-holders only helps to keep things exclusive. Just my two cents on the matter.