Breyerfest Closeups: Drifter

 Good news, everyone! Now that the (Breyerfest) new arrivals are finished, I can get going on this year's Breyerfest Closeups! I'm starting with Drifter, the latest Vintage Club release, since that one is available to order and they're starting to show up in collectors' hands. 

I think I like the appaloosa the best, but let's take a closer look.

I don't have any Stock Horse Stallions in my collection, so I hadn't noticed how huge his head is. Maybe it's just the angle? 

It seems oddly wide? Anyway, I think the grullo is my second favorite color. 

The blue eyes on the pinto are cool. 

I like the appaloosa's face. 

The grullo also has a nice face.

There's a view of the pinto's other blue eye. 

I'm not in the Vintage Club, so I won't be ordering this one, but I hope everyone gets the color they want! 

New Arrivals: Scandi Surprise Matte and Glossy Bay and Appaloosa Maya

 Greetings, readers! Well, we've finally reached the end of New Arrivals - I did get a few other models while in KY, but this wraps up all the Breyerfest models and I need to get started on Breyerfest Closeups before more of those releases start to pop up. So, let's start with the matte bay Scandi Surprise! 

I do like the shading on the bays, though I think I ranked this color fifth? Not sure. Middle of the pack, anyway. Not to say it's a bad color, because it looks great on him. 

As usual, the color looks better in glossy. And it appears that I got a variation matte one, because Breyer's photos show a light muzzle on the matte bay, but mine has a really dark muzzle (at least on the sides). Interesting! 

Lastly for this year, we have the appaloosa Maya! I do like black appaloosas, so I rank her second of the three colors, but I still wish one of them had been glossy (or all of them?). Oh well. Maybe next year! 

Featured Breyerfest - 2002

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Breyerfest! This year we're covering 2002, so let's get going! 

Notable events from 2002: 

• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is 2002's highest-grossing movie (I did my part by seeing it four times)
• The 2002 Winter Olympics take place in Salt Lake City
• Seattle Slew, 1977 Triple Crown winner, dies at the age of 28
• War Emblem wins two legs of the Triple Crown, only to stumble at the start of the Belmont and ultimately finish fourth
  

And Breyerfest debuts its first theme, "Spirit of the West." 
Dates: July 26-28, 2002
Celebration Horse: RSV Inolvidable
Number of Celebration Models produced: 4,000
Attendance: approximately 4,000

Here's the first 2002 page from the commemorative program:

The real RSV Inolvidable was a very handsome Peruvian Paso, who unfortunately wasn't able to attend at Breyerfest at the last minute (these things happen from time to time). His owners sent Escorpio de Oro in his place. Inolvidable passed away in 2018, according to the Jorge Valenzuela Training Center. 2002's raffle models were St. Louis Blues on the MFT and Gold Rush on Huckleberry Bey (a model I would love to get my hands on someday). The volunteer model was a florentine Clydesdale Stallion, and the prize models were the black version of Bold Impression and Jake the hat contest model (among others). Breyer also introduced porcelain special runs for the first time with the release of the G2 Warmblood and G2 Saddlebred as special runs. 

Other special runs included High Sierra, Ahote, Bandit and Kohana, Choc the buffalo and WH Annie. There was also a run of around 100 bronze Shire A models sold in the Artisan's Gallery that didn't sell well. Those are also often seen in the collector club tent at Breyerfest. 

Here's the first page of the Breyerfest wrap-up for 2002:

And more:

And the last pages:

Amongst the guest horses were Cupid and Arrow, the cute mother-son duo consisting of a bay mare with a heart-shaped mark on her forehead, and Arrow, her black pinto son with an arrow-shaped mark on his back/hindquarters. Cupid has since passed on, but as far as I know, Arrow is still alive. 

Now, let's take a look at some auction models! 

First up is this interesting dapple gray PAS. He's described as a "glossy smoky pearl gray." He sure is pretty. I like the little stripe on his hoof, too. 

Next up is this alternate-color version of Nosferatu, complete with non-fuzzy bats. The original version is way more orange, but this one is more purple with a green hue. Kinda like this one is taking place after the sun has mostly gone down rather than at sunset. 

I thought this Peruvian Paso had the same paint job as Mauvelous, but on closer inspection, it's merely similar. Pretty, though. 

And lastly for today is this rainbow version of Masquerade! This guy was my grail, once upon a time. Not really anymore, since I got rid of all my MFT models, but he's still pretty cool. 

That's it for this week! Check back next week for Breyerfest 2003! 

July Collector Club newsletter, Belize selections and more Christmas in July stuff!

 Well, it's that time again, readers...time for the latest Collector Club newsletter! If you're a CC member, check your email for more information. There's a cover story about how Vindur from Dalalif was selected as a portrait model, a giveaway of a Vindur from Dalalif and this sneak peek! 

It doesn't look like the gray sneak peek from June that was never revealed. Hope we get to see it soon! 

And lastly, more stuff was added to the Christmas in July sale! Some of it is gone already, but other things are still available (though I don't advise spending $185 on Zafirah, as she can be found online for much less than that). Peruse those offerings here. 

And lastly, the selections for Belize went out today, so check your email. I didn't enter, but congrats to all the winners! 

Scandi Surprise numbers breakdown and more New Arrivals!

 Good news, everyone! We finally have the Scandi Surprise numbers breakdown! Read at your leisure here. Otherwise, here's the listing:

Matte Bay Roan - 1,150 pieces

Matte Chestnut Tobiano Pinto - 1,015 pieces

Matte Champagne - 1,150 pieces

Matte Black Leopard Appaloosa - 870 pieces

Matte Dark Dappled Bay - 1,060 pieces

Glossy Bay Roan - 385 pieces

Glossy Chestnut Tobiano Pinto - 385 pieces

Glossy Champagne - 385 pieces

Glossy Black Leopard Appaloosa - 385 pieces

Glossy Dark Dappled Bay - 385 pieces

Glossy Gold Sabino - 630 pieces

Somehow, despite the blue roan being the most common color last year, I'm surprised that the bay roan was the most common color (tied with the champagne) this year. I was expecting the dark dappled bay to be the most common, based on getting two of them myself, the number of them I saw for sale and the number of people getting multiples of that color. I'm also not surprised that the appaloosa is the rarest color, since they seem to like doing that. 

I'm not surprised that the decorator was the most common of the glossies, though - the same was true last year and multiple years prior. I think he'll stay in high demand, though - his color is so cool! I don't think they've ever done a decorator roan/sabino before, though I could be wrong.

Anyways, let's get going with some more New Arrivals! I'll start with the decorator Scandi:

Isn't he great? Definitely my favorite of the group. So pretty! 

Next is the matte leopard appaloosa. I don't always like the leopard appaloosas, but I like black better than chestnut, so that's probably why I like this one. 

And here's the glossy! I feel incredibly lucky that I was able to get so many of these without having to trade for them. I got every single color and finish on my own except the matte and glossy amber champagnes. I wonder what the odds of that are...and then I ended up getting two glossy appaloosas! Definitely a great year for surprise luck. 

That's it for today, but more New Arrivals are coming soon! 

New Arrivals: Scandi Surprise Glossy Bay Roan and Matte and Chestnut Pinto

 Greetings, readers! More New Arrivals today. I'll start with the glossy bay roan Scandi Surprise:

The roan was my second favorite color, and he looks even better in glossy! So pretty. 

Unfortunately, while it's a nice color, I have to rank the chestnut pinto last, because (I think) he's sort of plain compared to the rest of them. But your mileage may vary. 

He looks a lot better in gloss! I think if he had some pearl in his whites, or flaxen mane and tail, or a bit of shimmer in his paint, I'd like him more. But, different strokes for different folks. 

That's it for today! Check back later for more New Arrivals! 

New Arrivals: Scandi Surprise Matte and Glossy Amber Champagne and Matte Bay Roan

 Greetings, readers! I'm back with another set of New Arrivals! Behold, the matte amber champagne Scandi Surprise:

I think the color looks great on him, though I'm not crazy about the mottling on his muzzle (I'm not crazy about mottling in general, but that's just my opinion). Of all the colors, I rank this one fourth. 

He looks so good in gloss! I really need to get one of those Team Glossy magnets. 

Lastly for today, it's the matte bay roan! Such a pretty color. I rank it my second favorite after the decorator. I've always liked Breyer's bay roans and this one is no exception. I did sell off most of my Vermeers during Breyerfest last year, but regretted it and bought them all back later...so I'm happy they used him as the surprise this year! I would have been annoyed if I'd sold them all off previously, only to have him show up as the surprise the following year. 

That's it for today. More New Arrivals coming soon!