Skyler - Classics Unicorn Walmart Exclusive?

So yesterday afternoon we were doing some overdue Christmas shopping and looking through the toy section at Walmart when I spotted...this.

Bwuh? A Breyer at Walmart, of all places? They never have those! And it doesn't look like anything that was listed in the 2018 new releases. Am I the first person to discover this? I never find things like this in the wild! Holy crap!

It looks like this might be some kind of Walmart special run? Probably why they used the Morgan stallion, since it was already being used as Forthwind the unicorn, and this way they could divert some of the bodies, paint them a different color and then sell them at the low price Walmart would require. His item number indicates that he's a Walmart special run, in any case.

I really wish he'd been on a mold I collect, though - he's glittery and rainbowy, and I love both of those things! Oh well.

There were two of these on the shelf at our Walmart, so I bought them both and gave one to my niece (it was her birthday yesterday), and the other is currently listed on eBay. Here's what the back of his box looks like, for funsies:



I hope this guy is a good seller - maybe we'll get more special runs for Walmart!

Featured Model - 12/30/2017, Solar

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...Solar!



This handsome guy was a web special in 2015, part of Breyer's Celestial series. He is item #712134, and a total of 350 models were produced.

I chose this model in honor of the new Premier Club mini-Brishens being shipped out! I can't wait to get mine. In the meantime, this is one of my favorite models on this mold. Silver bay is an excellent color and Breyer usually pulls it off pretty well - the only way to make this one better would be to gloss him, in my opinion. Not that silver bay necessarily needs to be glossy, but gloss just seems to make it pop so well!

Brishen is also among my favorite new molds introduced in the last few years, despite his conformation issues. He's just so floofy and fun! I like the Laredo version of him too, though his legs are admittedly noodly. I hope we see Brishen used again somewhere this year, at some point. But his mini doppelganger is scheduled to appear in the 2018 Premier Club and as a Christmas tree ornament at the end of the year. Does that count toward uses of the full-size mold? We know Breyer doesn't like to use the same mold too many times in the same year.

Whatever the future holds for this mold, I hope the releases aren't too unobtainable! The collection demands more!

Winter Wonderland and Glossy Bandera!

Greetings, readers! I have new pictures to show you - I was finally able to open my Winter Wonderland, and the glossy Bandera I traded my glossy Hickory Hills Wall Street model for came today! I'll start with Winter Wonderland:

I love this model. He's gorgeous! My weakness for pearly paint strikes again!

I could be biased, but I think this is one of the better Holiday Horses they've done in recent years. He's so shiny and beautiful! I almost wonder what he'd look like in gloss...

And he's very nice, quality-wise! I didn't see anything majorly wrong with him, and only a few very minor issues. All in all, he's yet another worthy addition to the collection!

Next, Glossy Bandera:

I thought this guy was nice enough in his original release, but the gloss makes him really nice!

And I didn't see any major quality issues with him, either! And they certainly didn't skimp on the gloss with this one - he has that deep wet look that goes really nicely with his metallic coloring.



I still wish they'd painted the eyes on this release, though. He just looks so dead-eyed and unfinished, especially with the "patina" look they put on his mane and tail. It's an unfortunate misfire, but something I can get over. He's just so shiny!

That's all I have for now. In other news, it does look like people are starting to receive their Mini Brishen models, so I'm hoping to get some photos of mine next week once it comes in. I can't wait!

It's the annual Year-End Warehouse Clearance Sale!

It's time for another year-end clearance sale! Yay, an excuse to spend more money!

I'm...not as impressed with it this year as I was last year. Mostly because last year we could get 20% off along with the free shipping, and (as usual, these days) the free shipping code doesn't stack with any other discounts, even the free calendar they're still advertising on the website banner. Well, that and there's nothing on the website I want to buy - I wish they'd put up the stuff for next year, but I guess that's probably too much to hope for.

EDIT 12/29: The 20% discount for Collector Club members is now active! Shop on and save money, Club members!

If you do order something, make sure you do it before 12/29 - the warehouse is closing for inventory and won't be open for shipping until 1/8. 

So many new Club reveals!

Breyer has been revealing a lot of stuff lately, especially things from the Stablemate Club! Here's what got sent out yesterday - the Valegro release from the 2018 Stablemate Club! Meet Aiden!



He's pretty, but not really my thing. But now we've seen all of the releases except the new mold and the mule, and the prevailing thought is that the mule will be next year's gambler's choice, since there doesn't seem to be a decorator. But I'm wondering if Breyer will mix things up a bit and make the new mold the gambler's choice? That would be a quick way to get a new mold out in several different colors. I'm sure we'll see what it is before the end of the year, so we don't have too long to wait, at least.

In other fun news, Breyer has also revealed the other two sculptors for the 2018 Premier Club - Sue Sifton and Kitty Cantrell - and the artists designing the paint jobs for those two releases - Tammi Palmarchuk and Nikki Button. Exciting - these are both sculptors I like! I wonder what the horses will be. Sue Sifton has done a mix of horses - three TB/QH racehorses, a warmblood, a QH - maybe we'll get another Thoroughbred? Or a warmblood? Bristol is a warmblood-type though, so maybe another QH?

As for the Cantrell, she's done a mix of things as well, but I wouldn't mind seeing something like a draft horse or maybe a Morgan? We haven't had a new one of those for a while. Or I could get really pie-in-the-sky with my expectations and hope Breyer bought the rights to Kitty's Wahoo resin - I love him and we need another rearing horse!

In other news, there's only one release left for the 2017 Premier Club - the Brishen mini-True North! The free Stablemate usually ships in December, so hopefully we'll see those start shipping this week. Last year's did get delayed to January, but I haven't heard anything about other shipping delays this year, so hopefully that's not the case with this one. I can't wait to get mine! And hopefully we'll get to see what next year's free Stablemate is before the end of the year!

Shiny Christmas Bouncers!

The Christmas surprise is up and I love it!



Three translucent Bouncers, in green, magenta and blue, and GLOSSY?! Sign me up! We bought one on all three of our accounts. I love it when they do a nice glossy translucent - they look so cool! I almost think I like the green one best, even though blue is my favorite color. But I love them all!

There are 350 of each color, so it'll probably take a little while for them to sell out. At $95 each, they're a little spendy, but the shipping is included in that price no matter where you ship them to, so I think it's a good deal. I'm mostly just stoked that they used Bouncer; it seems like he never gets used anymore. One of the downsides to having so many new molds every year, I guess.

I hope everyone is having a good Christmas! I can't wait until these guys arrive - crossing my fingers that I get different colors!

Christmas morning surprise!

It's that time of year again - time for Breyer to post a Christmas Eve heads-up!



Usually they send out an e-mail, though. I wonder what the surprise will be? I'm still hoping for a candy cane zebra, myself. I guess we won't have to wait too much longer to find out what it is! And I get to unwrap my holiday horse tomorrow, too! Woohoo! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!