Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Santino is now available!

 Alert, readers - as was announced last week, this year's Classics special run, Santino on the Polo Pony, is now available for purchase









He doesn't appear to be sold out yet, so get your orders in if you're wanting one. I didn't order any, so that's more for everyone else! I'm honestly not surprised he isn't sold out yet - the Polo Pony isn't the most popular mold, and the stands have a tendency to warp over time, so who knows if or how well they'll stand in future years. The colors are nice, but the fact that only one of them is glossy may also affect sales - if they were all glossy, or two of them were, they'd probably sell better since people tend to go nuts over glossy finishes. I guess we'll see how long it takes for them to sell out! 

Monday, August 28, 2023

Let this Halloween release sssssslither into your hearts!

 More good news, everyone! Today the U-Haul truck was unloaded (with some casualties, including a Christmas tree with almost an entire bottle of bleach spilled on it), and unpacking has begun! I'm a bit scared to unpack my horses, what with the casualties we've already had - but at the same time I'm excited to get to it, because I want to add my Breyerfest purchases to the herd! Anyway, I've also found the time to get my computer set up, so I should be able to get back to posting with my usual frequency. Also, I'm now in the Eastern time zone! Woohoo! 

Anyway, Breyer's Halloween store was announced today, including this beauty! 










From the website:

Uncoiling and slipping his way out of the darkness on All Hallows’ Eve is Slither, our 2023 Freedom Series Halloween Horse. Artist Christine Jordan dreamed up a truly unique coat for this reptilian decorator. Slither features markings inspired by the quagga, a now-extinct species of zebra that had stripes only on the front half of their bodies, paired with scales and hidden snakes slithering through his mane and markings. His metallic glossy coat features green-bronze color shift paint that mirrors the sheen of a snake’s scales.

 

Ooh, I really want this one! He looks really cool.  I love how glossy he is. And I really like his white tail! His white areas glow in the dark (naturally) so I'm excited to see what he looks like in the dark! 

Also, we get this:











Cute! I love his little fangs. Too bad he doesn't have a couple of little blood drops around his mouth, too. 

And lastly, the Halloween Stablemates for this year:


















So this year we get Mini Nevermore, Mini Poltergeist and Mini Cornelius! Cute! D'oh, another addition to the Django conga! Of course, they're blind bags as per usual, so I'm going to have to think about whether I'll buy more than one. I'd probably just get one, but I have to have that Django and I'm not interested in paying $100 for it later, so...guess we'll have to see how I feel when the sale goes live. Speaking of which, the Halloween store goes live on Wednesday at 1:30 EST, so be ready, everyone! I'm sure the Classic and the Stablemates will both sell out pretty quickly, so be ready with ordering! Looks like last year's Tabitha and Skelly must not have sold out, because those are back this year as well. There's also a cute Spectre pin and Spectre-themed hoodies, so I'll definitely have to pick up that pin. I hope everyone is able to get what they're looking for! 

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Brighton is here!

 Greetings, readers! A brief update today -the move is well underway and we’ve arrived at our new house, but haven’t finished unloading the moving truck yet. But, fear not - I do have something new to post! Behold: my Brighton!









What a beauty! He’s lusciously glossy and almost looks like a decorator rather than a realistic color. I can’t believe it’s almost September and this is the first Stablemates Club I’m not selling. I really like him!











He’s really nice in the quality department, too - I don’t see a flaw on him other than some overspray on his eyes - and that may be an attemp at shading? Who knows. But I’m happy to add this guy to my collection! 

Lots of unpacking to do tomorrow, but hopefully I’ll have more to post about soon!

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Featured JAH - 8/26/2023, Winter 1993

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week we're looking at Winter 1993, so let's get started! 


















On the front cover, an Arabian stallion named The Heat Ison frolics with a mostly-cropped-out handler. On the back cover is a very familiar photo of Bey Shah+ from the American Horse Trust Library. As one might guess from the photos, there's a heavy focus on Arabians in this issue! 

















What a shock - instead of the usual Editor's Desk in this issue, we instead have the Publisher's Desk and a message from Peter Stone, Breyer Man. Breyerfest 1993 was a big success and Megan Thilman's tenure as editor has come to an end. On the opposite page is various horse news and the Pen Pals column. 

















Feast your eyes on the Breyerfest wrap-up article for 1993. It's always interesting to read about the Breyerfests of yore. Were you there in 1993? I'm not sure if I knew Breyerfest existed in 1993, but probably would have loved to be there. Like I said before, Breyerfest was only two days long in those days, and took place much later than it is now - July 30 and 31. That's really late! Anyway, I like how Peter Stone, Breyer Man is the only person quoted in the article. They couldn't find anyone else from Breyer to say something about it, I guess? 

















On page 14 we have some times for vintage model buyers (continued on page 15), and on the next page we have Blast from the Past with the wheat-ear Sham! Long story short: the Sham mold used to have a "wheat ear" mark on the chest, as well as being painted with one white heel like in the King of the Wind book by Marguerite Henry. However, collectors and production workers both thought the wheat ear was a flaw in the mold (apparently no one informed the workers or read the book), and the wheat ear was eventually removed from the mold. I had a wheat ear Sham at one point in time, but eventually sold it in a collection purge.  Interestingly, some of the older Sham bodies must have been used later on, because some of the fleabitten gray Shams from 1988-1989 turned out to have wheat ears as well. 

















In the centerfold of this issue we have the elusive, beautiful JAH special run for 1993, Steel Dust! Still sought after today. Whoever originally got this magazine didn't order her, because the order form is still intact. Those forms had to be returned ASAP if you wanted to get one of the models, because they tended to sell out very quickly. 





















Here's the remainder of the JAH wrap-up article. The opposing page contained the rest of an article about the different Arabian strains. 





















Lastly, we have this photo of the releases on the PAM up to this point in 1993, including a photo of the very first silver filigree model (though she's labeled as dapple gray, hah). The silver filigree PAM was a run of 30 and served as the Breyerfest volunteer model for 1993 (maybe the first volunteer model?). The article says two of them were auctioned off for the benefit of the Misty of Chincoteague Foundation for the prices of $1,025 (equivalent to $2,169 now) and $1,050 (equivalent to $2,222 now). Princely sums for the time, but still far less than they would sell for these days. 

Other things appearing in this issue: an article about Arabian native costumes by Melody D. Snow and varying strains of the Arabian by Margie Johnson.

That's all I have for today, and we've finished the year 1993 for JAH! Check back next week for Spring 1994. 

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Featured JAH - 8/19/2023, Fall 1993

 Hello and welcome to another thrilling edition of Featured JAH! This week's issue is Fall 1993! Let's take a look, shall we? 
















On the front and back covers we have a very flashy Shire hitch called a Royal Ambassador Shire hitch. Interesting. There's a big focus on Shires in this issue! I wonder if it's hard to get that wagon through some doors with that tall....whatever that is right behind the driver. Maybe it can be lowered? Kind of weird how high the driver is elevated, too. Shows my lack of knowledge about hitch vehicles, I guess.

















On the first page we see a "Breyer Summer Special" release, an Appaloosa Sport Horse on the leopard Appaloosa Morganglanz, with Canongate Deluxe saddle. There's also sneak peeks of the 1994 new molds: the Challenger Mesteno and Llanarth True Briton's head.

A few pages later, we have a profile of Martha White, sculptor of the much-maligned Llanarth True Briton mold, and the beginning of the article about Shires! 




 So, the funny thing about this issue is that the last issue said, "finally, the Clubs listing!" would appear in the next issue, but my copy of the magazine has a printing error. Pages 11-14 are replaced by 25-28, as you can see in the following example (along with a continuation of the Shire article). The Clubs listing was supposed to be on page 22.




Pages 15-18 are okay, but then pages 19-22 are replaced by pages 5-8 repeating. 

















Unfortunately, that means my copy of the magazine doesn't have the Clubs listing, which I find mildly humorous. I have no idea if this print error was widespread or just my issue - there's no mention of it in future issues, so maybe I've got a rare misprinted issue. One of these days I should probably try to find another copy of this issue and see if it has the same error! 





















Here's the Blast from the Past for this issue (duplicated Horse Trader page cropped out). 

And lastly, this issue's Vintage Point focused on the Shire Mare. 

















I had a few of these girls at one point, but eventually had to clear them out for shelf space. Looks like she hasn't been a Breyerfest auction model since 2010, but maybe that means she'll get a new release soon. 

Other things not covered in this issue: the rest of the Shire article, because it's missing due to the printing error (sorry); an article about braiding a drafter, also partially missing and/or duplicated; and Mail Etiquette Revisited (read it, love it, live it!), also missing. 

That's all for this week - check back next week for the Winter 1993 issue! 

Friday, August 18, 2023

Santino coming August 29!

 Attention, Collector Club members! Check your Club Home for some information on the Classics gambler's choice release, Santino! Here's an official photo! 









From the news post:

 If you stopped by the Collector Club Tent at BreyerFest this year, you might have noticed a sneak peek at this year’s Freedom Series Gambler’s Choice model: Santino! For the first time since 2008, the Polo Pony will be returning to the line in three fabulous, modern colors designed by Lesli Kathman. The Polo Pony first debuted in 1976 and was one of the first Breyer models to use a base to support a dynamic pose!

They'll be available for purchase on 8/29 - no time listed, but maybe we'll get that later. So if you haven't ordered the latest Stablemates Club release yet, it might be worth waiting until this guy is available so you can combine shipping. He's nothing I need, but I hope everyone gets the colors they want! 

Thursday, August 17, 2023

Brighton is now available!

 Well, it's a little bit late, but the next Stablemates Club release is now available! Finally, something I'll keep: 









Woohoo! I had her shipped to our new address, though, so it'll be a while before I see her. Packing is well underway for our departure next week! Let's hope everything else with the move goes smoothly. I'm excited to get into our new home! We have until 8/31 to order Brighton, so if you're waiting for anything else to come out this month (like something Vintage Club-related), it might not be the worst idea to wait on ordering.