Featured Model - 2/10/2018, I'm Yours

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...I'm Yours!



I thought it would be fitting to feature her this week, as my other Valentine's Day-themed model. She was produced in 2012, in a run of 222. Despite her low (and slightly odd) run number, she wasn't terribly popular at the time, probably because people were tired of seeing decorator Web Specials. She was produced on the popular Bluegrass Bandit mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody and Sommer Prosser.

In last week's post, I mentioned I liked the style of red roan that looks like candy - almost good enough to eat - and this model looks even more candy-like than Be Mine! I love her. Her color is a little redder than Be Mine's, and she's got some nice gold highlights on her mane to set her apart even more. Sure, the lip prints are kinda tacky, but it's still a clever idea. Too bad Breyer never produced a foal or two to match them.

We also haven't had many decorator Web Specials since 2012, other than the Big Cats and the obligatory silver filigree special runs. I doubt we'll get anything zany this year with the continuation of the America the Beautiful theme, but maybe we'll get another kooky Big Cat! And who knows what next year will bring.

I really hope we get a new Bluegrass Bandit soon. We did get Repeat the Beat at Breyerfest last year, which might mean there's something new forthcoming. Hopefully it's something nice (and attainable!).

That's all I have for right now. I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day!

The special run is revealed!

The mystery is solved - the latest Breyerfest 2018 special run is on Ruffian! Meet Dead Heat!



When this was first posted on Facebook, I misread the name as "Dead Hat" and was really confused for a second.

But anyway. Woohoo, a Ruffian! And this means she isn't the surprise! I always thought Ruffian had been criminally underused at Breyerfest. Only one of her four appearances there has been actually attainable for the masses - surely she could have been a tent SR again before now? Oh well. This also means she won't be the volunteer model - one more mold we can strike from the list of possibilities!

Her color is pretty, although I feel compelled to point out she's basically the same color as the three models in the "Who Wore it Best?" contest last year, as well as Fletcher. Was there a discount on orange paint this year? I kid, of course - I definitely want her to join the collection.

There's one other interesting thing about this reveal - the Breyer reveal photo on Instagram showed Dead Heat with the original, longer Ruffian tail rather than the current American Pharoah tail. What gives? Are we going to see both tail variations amongst these models at Breyerfest? I don't know if two different tails is enough to make me buy two of them.

Another sneak peek on the blog!

I know I'm late to the party on this (busy day yesterday), but there's a new Breyerfest sneak peek on the blog!



Opinions on what it is have ranged all over the board, but this is a hard shot to figure out. The colored area looks vaguely like a flank with the start of a hindquarter on the bottom right, but it's hard to tell what mold it is. I personally hope it's Cigar, since I don't collect that mold and the fewer things I have to buy this year, the better.

Whatever it is, it looks like a fun design! I'm guessing we'll find out what it is tomorrow.

The America the Beautiful series continues!

Woohoo, I got my wish! I (and a lot of others, it looks like) wanted the America the Beautiful web special series to continue this year, and it's happening! Check out the first entry in this year's series!



Whoa - the Stretch Morgan? I didn't see that coming. His name is Kaibab! From the website:

The Kaibab National Forest is located in northern Arizona. Stretching 1.6 million acres, it borders both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon. It features dramatic scenery such as evergreen forests, jagged and sparse plateaus, and places like the Sycamore Canyon Falls, where the cliffs plunge towards the river - changing color from an earthy brown-red to a silver grey.
Kaibab's silver dapple tobiano coat evokes the colors of the richly-hued rocks, and the rugged natural texture of the wind- and river-carved plateaus. He features detailed eyes, and has a high gloss finish that really highlights his gorgeous shading! His belly is marked with "Kaibab 2018."

He's pretty! And it's the first time the Stretch Morgan has been used for a while, unless I'm forgetting something. Unfortunately, I won't be entering for this one, as I don't collect the mold. And I'm already seeing rumblings online that he'll be difficult to show, due to the fact that he's tobiano, the one pinto pattern that doesn't appear in the Morgan breed.

Of course, the continuation of the series does beg the question of what will appear next? Unfortunately, it doesn't look like they updated the clue list from last year. The deep, dry canyons, snowcapped mountains, etc were all references to web specials from last year. Somebody must have overlooked that...oops! Hopefully we get a new list soon. 

I did a thing

So I know I said I wasn't going to do this, but I was at Walmart the other day and decided to check the toy section to see if they'd gotten anything Breyer-related in stock since the last time I was there. They didn't have any Stablemates, but there was a box of the blind bag Mini Whinnies. One thing led to another, and before I knew it...

So now I have a silver filigree Mini Whinny of my very own! Here's the other side.



The legs are kinda bendy, like I thought they'd be. But at least the eyes are painted.

Now, don't be getting any ideas from this. I still don't have any plans to buy more Mini Whinnies. This one was just lying on top of the pile, and as soon as I felt the stand I knew what it was, and then it was in my cart...

Ahem. Anyway. He's on our entertainment center with the rest of my silver filigree models. I do actually kinda like this sculpt, as it's less blobby than other Mini Whinny molds. You know, come to think of it, they used this one for a zipper pull at Breyerfest a few years ago...NO! I will not be sucked in!

Featured Model - 2/3/2018, Be Mine

Hello and welcome to another edition to Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. In honor of the fast-approaching Valentine's Day holiday, this week's model is...Be Mine!




This model was produced in 2011. He's item #712043 and was part of a run of 150. He was produced on the ever-popular Huckleberry Bey mold.

Interestingly, this was the first web special model I was able to purchase after my return to the hobby in mid-2010. In those days, Breyer used Shopatron (now known as Kibo, apparently) for product sales. As such, the current lottery system hadn't yet been implemented, and the company had been experimenting with different distribution methods with each web special. Be Mine was offered in a first-come, first-serve method, which was and still is controversial because, well, not everyone has high-speed Internet. Fortunately, my Internet speed was fast enough to purchase one of these babies, and he's been part of my collection ever since (for the record, I'm a fan of the lottery system, as it seems to be the most fair way to distribute limited models).

2011 was a year of web special decorators; 4 out of 5 releases were decorators of some sort. As the first web special of the year, this one was a Valentine's Day-inspired design; he's red roan, but with heart-shaped dapples and star. As an aside, I really like this version of red roan (as Breyer alway seems to be switching up the roan paint job); he might not be the most realistic, but he looks like delicious candy. I love candy, so this guy is right up my alley!

Huck, of course, is usually a very popular mold with collectors, and I wouldn't be completely surprised to see him get used at this year's Breyerfest. He last appeared as a special run in 2015 and has been a tent SR at least twice prior to that, so I doubt he'd be in the special run line. But maybe he'll be a prize or raffle model? Or perhaps a store special? Doubtful, since there are already two of them, but they've done three before. Or maybe he'll get another web special release this year? I'd be okay with that.

That's all I have for today, but tune in next week for another Valentine-themed Featured Model!

Another Breyerfest store special!

Wow, it looks like this year's Breyerfest is going to be one for the ages! Check out today's blog post!

According to the blog, one of this year's seminars is going to be a panel discussion about women in horse racing, featuring Donna Brothers and Rosie Napravnik, among others (presumably). Not only that, but Donna Brothers will be doing her horseback interviews (eyeroll) in the Covered Arena on Friday and Saturday, and Rosie will ride her racehorse-turned eventer Old Ironsides during breed demonstrations on Saturday. Speaking of Old Ironsides...he's getting his own store special model! Behold:



Wow, that color looks nice on Strapless! It's very similar to last year's Jacy, actually. Nothing I need to buy, fortunately, but I bet this one will be hard to get your hands on in the store! She's pretty!

That's about all I have for today, except I'm really hoping we get a web special this weekend, since it's now February and that's when last year's first web special showed up. The anticipation is killing me! And we'll probably get the first Stablemate Club horse of the year next week, too. Exciting!