Finally, something I want!

 Excellent news, readers! Well, excellent for me anyway. We have another Breyerfest reveal! I really hate the pop song he's named after, so I'm just going to refer to him as Fight Song, because ugh. 

Ooh, pretty! I'm not crazy about the spots on his mouth, but the rest of him is pretty nice. I like his fiery mane and tail. And I will be astounded if this model isn't a 50/50 glossy/matte split - he practically screams, "GLOSS ME!!" Let's not think about the inevitable 35th anniversary micro runs (coral? jade? both?). 

I had been wondering what plan of action I'd take if the extremely unlikely thing happened and I didn't want anything from the special run line. Typically I buy 9 or 10 tickets so I can get a lot of surprise models, but I'd been toying with the idea of only buying one ticket. But then I remembered the whole surprise thing, and I'd be kicking myself pretty hard if I only bought one ticket but then the surprise model ended up being on something I like. I'm thinking it may be something a little older this year, since last year's Hamilton is still a pretty new mold - so maybe Weather Girl or the American Saddlebred Stallion. Although I'd be rolling on the floor laughing (and then crying, and then screaming) if it turned out to be something like Alborozo. Talk about an against-all-odds situation! I know it won't be him because the mold was destroyed, but it's still funny to think about (and they must have ways of recreating it if they could make the Stablemate version of him). 

Anyway, now that there's at least one special run I want, I'll probably stick with my usual number of tickets, but I haven't decided if I'll try for actual model tickets or just get wild cards. I feel like that would have been a better strategy last year. If there are 35th anniversary micro runs, though, I might be better off trying to get tickets for the actual models I want, rather than wild cards (in case they sell out). Guess it'll depend on how many more special runs I want - if Fight Song is the only one, I might be able to get away with just getting wild cards. 

Another sneak peek!

 Well, I was right - we got another sneak peek today! 

Not much to glean from this one, though - as usual. Guess we'll find out what it is tomorrow! Also, the entry deadline for Spokes and Spurs is tonight, so don't forget to get your entries in! 

I hate that song!

 Well, we have a new reveal on the Breyerfest Blog today! The good news is: we didn't get our time wasted with a hint. They just up and revealed it! Unfortunately, it's another "song name" horse, and a bad (IMO) song at that. Another repetitive pop song, and I'm also wondering if the name is a jab at those of us who are less than thrilled with the way things are going with the theme? Anyway, here's Sorry Not Sorry:

Yet another model I don't need to buy (sorry not sorry). I'm not a fan of Salinero to start with, nor am I the biggest fan of some leopard appaloosa paint jobs. I think it's the dark feet? Not sure. 

Nothing much else to report for today, except that something else will be on the blog tomorrow! Maybe it'll be something I want to buy? I'm starting to get worried. Time will tell whether it's another hint or a full-on reveal (which would be great!). 

It's not glittery! Not glittery at all!

 ...Boy, is my face red. I thought those little specks in yesterday's hint were way too tiny to be anything other than glitter. Wrong again! We have a mule in our Breyerfest lineup - behold! 

He's really pretty! Too bad I'm not really into the mold. This is looking more and more like a really affordable Breyerfest for me. Huzzah! So this is our second store special after Always Chipper/Chip on Newsworthy. 

The blog says there'll be another reveal (or, well, something), so I'm excited to see what it is! Hopefully something I want to buy! 

In other news, it was announced today that Peter Stone Horses has been sold to a new company headed by Erin Corbett, and Peter Stone, Breyer Stone Man and his wife Elaine have retired. Hmm, dare I speculate that Breyer might have to step up their game in the near future? Time will tell...

Spokes and Spurs entries are open!

 Good news, readers! The entry period for the Collector Club event Spokes and Spurs is now open! 

If you're hoping to attend, get your entry in here. Note that the tickets aren't transferrable - you have to put your name in when you enter, and it has to match the name on your Collector Club account (don't use a nickname!). If you're bringing a guest, you have to put their name in at time of entry as well. Looks like ticket prices had a pretty big jump - usually it's in the $275 ballpark, but now we're up to $375. I guess it had to happen sometime.  Also,the host hotel is the Renaissance Waterford in OKC. Looks decent enough from the pictures. Good luck to everyone entering! The entry deadline is 1/11, so don't dawdle with your entries! 

In other news, it was announced today that visitors to the Kentucky Horse Park won't have to pay parking for the entire year, with the exception of some (unannounced) events. I'm guessing this is going to work similar to my yearly KHP membership, where we get free parking for almost everything except Breyerfest, the Land Rover Kentucky and other large events. We're still waiting to hear if it's going to cost money to park during Breyerfest, but I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't included in this. Guess we'll find out later! 

Not much to say about the Beowulf controversy, except the artwork was clearly "inspired" by someone else's artwork, and that person has surfaced to say it was used without their permission. It's been brought to Breyer's attention, so I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens with that too. 

Lastly, we have a new sneak peek on the Breyerfest blog:

Not sure why they bother with sneak peeks like this when it's impossible to figure out what it is, but whatevs. Looks like something glittery and pinkish? Why doesn't that surprise me? Its name is probably Hit Me Baby One More Time or Handler or something, right? Whatever it is, I'll probably be over in the corner rolling my eyes. 

Featured JAH - 1/6/2024, Mar/Apr 1997

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week's issue is Mar/Apr 1997. We're wishing for spring here, but this will have to suffice - so let's get going! 

On the front cover, a cutting horse shows off his flexibility. On the back cover are the contenders in a JAH popular vote! Readers could vote on which color they liked best. I don't think I voted in this contest, but I think I liked the red roan best (spoiler alert: the gray pinto won). 

In the Editor's Desk section, we have a photo of Stephanie with prolific Breyer sculptor Kathleen Moody. How is Kathleen doing nowadays? Seems like we don't hear much from her these days, but in the late 1990s and early 2000s she sculpted many, many things for Breyer. I strongly believe the company would be in a very different place if not for Kathleen - it would be great to see something new from her! But I digress. On the opposite page, we have some information about Breyerfest 1997. 

On page 6 we have an article about 1997 Celebration Horse Bold, and page 7 holds an article by Stephanie about horse photography.

After skipping an article about cutting and another article about tacking up, on pages 12-13 we have a Brushstrokes article about the creation of the Great Horse in Armor, and a coloring page of said Great Horse! I liked coloring as a child (and still do), so it's interesting that I never colored this page back when it was sent out. A mystery for the ages, I guess.

After cropping out the rest of the tacking up article on page 16, the Blast From the Past on page 17 shows a momentous discovery - the existence of the Small Poodle! Gotta wonder whatever happened to this blue Poodle? The mold in question was eventually put into production to make a few raffle Poodles at Breyerfest 1997, an auction model in 2000 and then used again as the animal special run in 2009. It's been quiet since then - maybe it'll make a reappearance at some point? I don't think the pink one sold all that well, but you never know. 

This issue's centerfold features Bold! I liked poring over these photographs because Bold was such a pretty horse. Gotta love a nice palomino! 

After skipping an article about photo showing western pleasure, on page 24 we have a followup article about the Kiger Mustang herd, featuring Rojo. I don't think we ever did get an update about the mysterious claybank stallion, though. I cropped out the first page of Horse Trader on page 25. 

This issue's Vintage Point article featured the Quarter Horse Gelding - fitting, considering the back cover's popular vote! 

That's it for this week's issue. Check back next week for May/June 1997! 

Yessssss, finally some 2024 releases! LET'S GOOOOOOOO!

 The hour is finally upon us - 2024 new releases have finally been revealed! Hustle on over to the Breyer site to see them, but here are the ones I'm most excited about! 

A new Georg, YES! I love him! And he's a portrait of a horse I've seen many times at the KHP! Must buy! 

Woohoo, a regular run Constantia! Can't wait to add her to the collection either. She'll look really striking next to Via Lattea. 

Ooh, new molds for the Classics Horse of the Year release! The mare looks tantalizingly familiar, but I think she's a new mold. Not sure if I'll buy this set (they both look really awkward for some reason). The colors are pretty, though! 

There's a new Classics "Elements" collection, featuring some very handsome models! I'm not as excited about these as I could be, since they're going to be randomly shipped. Get out of here with that crap! We have enough randomly shipped stuff as it is. I added it up and there were at least twelve randomly-shipped releases last year, between Breyerfest, the clubs and various special runs. Stop it already! Fortunately, at least some dealers will be letting people order them directly - which is good, because I think we all know the Mustang is the only one people will actually want, while the other five colors will barely sell. 

Not all of the releases are on Breyer's site yet, so here's a link to Triple Mountain, which has them all. 

Here's the Halloween Horse! Ooh, a werewolf. Nothing I need to buy, but that shade of bay is really pretty. There was some drama on Facebook about that (stolen? not stolen?) wolf design on his left shoulder, so we'll see what happens with that. The discussions have disappeared, so I suspect shenanigans are afoot. 

The Holiday Horse (Apres Ski) is on Big Ben! Also nothing I need to buy, but he looks good in silver(ish) bay. Or is it just bay with a gulastra plume? Not sure. Anyway, I missed the model's name at first and spend more time than I want to admit trying to figure out if the ski poles were swords or guns, before my husband pointed out they were in fact ski poles and the brown things are the skis. Just throwing that out there. 

The unicorn ornament is a mirrored Porcelain Shire Mare with a new tail! Huzzah! I like her way better with the new tail. Does this mean we'll get her in plastic someday? I hope so, although it's more likely she'll join the ranks of the Spanish Barb, who also was an ornament a few years ago but hasn't been seen since. 

There don't seem to be any new Stablemates other than the ones that were at Tractor Supply last fall, which is irksome. Also no word of the Flagship release (or any mention of Flagship stuff, according to Triple Mountain) which makes me wonder if the whole Flagship concept has been killed off (not surprising). Guess we'll hopefully find out more on Monday. 

I'm also excited about Neptune and Cossaco! But I don't want this post to get too long, so let's move on. We also got a Breyerfest reveal - behold! 

Her name is Miss Independent, which is a Kelly Clarkson song, so I'm just going to resign myself to the fact that all of the special runs are going to be named after crappy pop songs. She's a nice color, but once again nothing I need to buy. Maybe this year I can get away with just buying one ticket and spending all the money I would have spent on horses on raffle tickets instead? I probably still wouldn't win the raffle, though, so saving my money would probably be better.