Belize it or not...

 ...There's a new web special to enter for! It's the next (final?) Exotic Destinations release - meet Belize! 

Ooh, pretty color! I'm not a Sham collector, but I recognized the water pattern right away. I won't be entering for this one, but good luck to everyone who wants one! The entry period ends on 7/30 at 11:59pm EST, so don't waste time getting your entry in! 

New Arrivals: Pinto Maya, Black Overo Harper and Sapphira

 Greetings, readers! Well, I would have written this post earlier, but I had some technical difficulties, so it had to wait until later. Anyways, it's time for more New Arrivals! Technically none of these are Breyerfest models, but I picked them up and/or bought them while I was in KY, so close enough. I'll start with the pinto Maya:

She's pretty! Does her head marking count as a medicine hat? Either way I like her. 

Next is the black overo Harper, which I thought I bought earlier in the year, but apparently I just hallucinated that! Anyway, she's here now. Black and white is always a flashy combination, and this Harper is no exception. 

Last for today is Sapphira the unicorn! I definitely bought this one earlier this year, but she arrived with the horn broken off, so I had to return her. So I tried again at the KHP. I ended up shipping her home in the second box of models I bought, and kicked myself for a few days for not putting her in the suitcase and shipping a different Classic home instead, because I would have been majorly annoyed if she'd arrived with the horn snapped off again. Fortunately, she was intact when I unwrapped her! Fun stuff. Anyway, she's a nice teal/aqua shade, which I like, and I even like the pink areas even though I'm normally not a pink fan. They go well together! 

That's it for today - check back soon for more New Arrivals! 

Featured Breyerfest - 2001

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Breyerfest! Now that Breyerfest is over, we're returning to our regularly scheduled programming. This week we're covering Breyerfest 2001, so let's get going! Notable events from the year 2001:

• Nintendo releases its much-maligned GameCube game console (I still have mine!)
• The September 11 attacks happen, kickstarting the global war on terror
• Tiznow wins the Breeder's Cup Classic for the second time in the first major post-9/11 sporting event. He remains the only horse to win the Breeder's Cup Classic twice
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is released in theaters, a major event for yours truly

And, of course, Breyerfest 2001 took place! 
Dates: July 27-29, 2001
Celebration Horse: Atlantis Bey V
Number of Celebration Models produced: 3,700
Attendance: unknown

Here's the first 2001 page from the commemorative program:

The real Atlantis Bey V was a son of Huckleberry Bey, whose famous portrait mold launched a generation of Kathleen Moody fans and still commands a hefty following to this day. On this page we can also see the aptly-named Siren raffle model, as well as Silver Fox, the other raffle model. The volunteer model was the droolworthy and rarely-seen-for-sale The Poet, the only porcelain volunteer model (so far). 

As for the special runs: the keychains finally went away, to be replaced by flocky Stablemates. There were also those bronze Hucks for sale, but since paying more than about $75 for a Breyer (other than an auction model) was a pretty laughable proposition in those days, they didn't sell too well. Some of those bronze models can still be found in the Collector Club tent at Breyerfest! Although I didn't see any this year. The "Classic Racehorse Set" kinda kills me, considering all three of those colors are either nonexistent in the TB breed or very rare. Why didn't they just call it a stock horse set instead? All three of those molds could be passed off as Quarter Horses. But I digress. I love the color on the Mesquite model, even though the bulls aren't really my thing. He's beautiful! We also had Shadow of Blue, the foal of regular run model Silky Keno, as well as the collie Jester and of course the beautiful glossy bay Silver. This was the beginning of the "use Silver as a special run or prize model every year for the better part of a decade" era. 

JAH didn't have a traditional Breyerfest recap this year - just photos instead. Here's the first page:

I feel you, Tanya. I really do. 

That's it for the JAH wrapup. Let's take a look at some auction models! 

I had to talk about this one because he's so reminiscent of High Wire that I wondered if he was a test, but High Wire has four stockings, so probably not. Similar color, though. 

This buckskin pinto Sham is absolutely beautiful. Give me this color on every mold! He's a lot like Rheverence, come to think of it. Anyway, give me that color on every mold!

There's no way I couldn't talk about the legendary Over the Rainbow! The Connoisseur line had made its debut earlier in 2001, including the new paint techniques that introduced mapping, so of course Breyer had to show off and make a rainbow version of Mosaic. I imagine he's the holy grail of many a collector, and it's no surprise why - lots of people (myself included) love rainbow models. I wonder where this guy is now? 

And lastly, I had to cover this one because (without doing any research to back it up) I think this may be the first, or one of the first, silver bays Breyer ever did? He looks a bit different than the silver bay models we see now, but I still wouldn't mind having him in my herd. What a beauty! 

That's it for this week. Check back next week for Breyerfest 2002! 

Christmas in July "Sale" and more New Arrivals!

 Attention, Collector Club members! I'm a bit late with this and most of the good stuff is sold out, but Breyer is having a Christmas in July sale now (or "sale," since none of the prices are lower than they were originally)! They're not giving the warehouse any sort of a break, huh? Check out the sale here. The sale went live while I was sleeping, so I didn't get anything (not that I would have, except maybe a Tannenbaum). Maybe next time! 

In the meantime, it's time to continue with the New Arrivals! First up: 

That's right, it's the man of the hour, BF's hottest item (other than Oseburg and The Wanderer), the bestseller in every time zone - Helsinki! Seems like everybody wanted this guy - they were flying off the tables faster than the workers could unpack them at the handout tent. But can you blame him? He looks great in that shade of blue, with the dapples and shading, and a layer of gloss over the top? Beautiful. Another reason I was glad I got the VIP ticket, so I'd get the Stablemate 4-pack and be guaranteed to get him. 

Next we have Stjarna, one of the models from the Best of Breyerfest Series 7 set. He's a mini version of Seren, the 2008 contest prize on Bouncer. Kit looks good in bay overo, though I don't know what breed to assign to him. Some kind of American sport pony? More thought is required. 

Lastly for today, we have Faroe, also from the Best of Breyerfest Series 7 set. Stjarna and Faroe were the only models from the set I wanted - the rest went on sale in my room at the Clarion. Anyway, Faroe is a mini version of Capri, the early bird raffle model from 2008. I don't think he matches the Capri all that well, though - Capri has more shading on his legs and muzzle and the body color doesn't quite match. Still looks nice, though. 

And that's it for New Arrivals for today! More New Arrivals are coming soon, as well as Breyerfest Closeups! 

New Arrivals: Carmen, Glossy Carmen, and Roan Maya!

 Greetings, readers! I've got more New Arrivals for today, so let's get started! 

This girl was purchased a while ago and had been waiting for me in KY, so I was happy to finally be able to pick her up! I do like her, but I'm not crazy about the lack of detail on the left side of her face. I hope they're able to fix that for future releases. Her color is beautiful, though! I hope they put that on a few other releases, because it's too pretty to only use once. 

Next is Glossy Carmen! Also purchased prior to Breyerfest and dropped off in KY. She's even more beautiful than the matte version! What a beauty. Can't wait to see what Breyer does with her next! Probably a Breyerfest special run. 

Lastly, here's the roan version of Maya from a few months back! Like the Carmens, she was purchased prior to BF. I think she's my favorite of the three colors - there's just something about a good roan that I like. And I love her flaxen mane and tail! So pretty. 

That's it for today - check back soon for more New Arrivals! 

Drifter is now available for purchase, and more New Arrivals!

 Exciting news, Vintage Club members! The latest release, Drifter, is now available for purchase! 

He's nothing I need, but those colors are pretty. I hope everyone gets the color(s) they want! 

And in other news, we have more New Arrivals! Behold: 

The beautiful glossy Oseberg! I'm so happy I was able to get this one with my VIP ticket. The matte one should be much easier to acquire for a decent price on the secondary market later. He looks so great in gloss! A beautiful color for my favorite Traditional mold. And I was even able to squeeze him onto the shelves with my other Othello models! Not sure what I'm going to do if/when I find a matte one, but I'll worry about that later. 

Next is the underrated Midnattssol, who got kinda overlooked in the Oseberg/Wanderer/Litha craze. Another one that would have looked great in gloss! I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record here, but it's true. We needed one of the special runs to be glossy-only! I guess I'm Team Glossy after all. Anyway, Cosimo looks great in this color! I love his blue eye. Do we think Cosimo will be next year's Celebration Model? It would be great to see Carletto as the Celebration Horse, though unlikely since he's based in Europe. There is a blue roan Murgese stallion in Montana, though. Guess we'll find out in a few months! 

This isn't a Breyerfest model, but they had plenty of them in the Breyer store when I went through, so I snagged one. It's Fuego, this year's Halloween model! Dragons aren't really the first thing I think of when I think about Halloween, but I suppose bats and ghosts are pretty played out at this point. And since longboi is long, you can fit some pretty big dragons on him! Very nice. Ooh, and when they do a blind bag Stablemate version of this guy in a few years, they can use Darley, since he's basically the Stablemate longboi! Winners all around. 

That's it for today! Check back later for more New Arrivals! And hopefully they'll get around to announcing the Scandi Surprise run numbers one of these days...

Kiana models are shipping and more New Arrivals!

 Good news, Deluxe Collector Club members! In a shocking turn of events, this year's DCC model, Kiana, is already in stock and shipping! I hope you had the correct address when you joined the club, because they're shipping to that address automatically rather than having us confirm which address we want to use. Which could be problematic, so maybe give Breyer a call if you're concerned about that. 

It's a gambler's choice of which Kiana you'll get - matte or glossy. I hope I get both! I accidentally used my NZ address for my first club membership, so it might take a while for that one to get here. Oh well. 

In other news, it's time for more New Arrivals! 

That's right, it's The Wanderer - a hot item for many Breyerfest attendees, as they sold out pretty quickly. Luckily, I got one with my VIP ticket. He's so pretty! I really like the blue/black of his feathers, along with his mismatched eyes and the slight blue tint to his mane/tail. But I can't help but wonder what he would have looked like in gloss...

Next we have the original Litha, who seemed like the black sheep of the event, because no one seemed to want this one - but he did sell out eventually, so who knows. I suspect there will be a lot of them for sale at the Clarion next year (if room sales continue). But he's a really nice color! Which also could have been really great in gloss...

Lastly for today, we have the decorator Litha! He was certainly a hot item, and probably the reason the entire run of Litha sold out. But his color is really great! I love the shade of blue they used - more like turquoise, really. And you can't see it in this photo, but I love the blue spot on his right front knee, as well. Add that to the gloss and you pretty much have the perfect model! I love him. 

That's it for today, but we'll have more New Arrivals soon!