Petra!

 Whoa, that was unexpected - we have a new web special to enter for! Say hello to Petra! 

From the website: 

We have one last Exotic Destination to visit for the year, and it’s a beauty! The ancient city of Petra in Jordan is rich in archaeological history. Famed for its rock-cut architecture and cultural heritage, it is now protected as a World Heritage Site.

Designed by artist Sommer Prosser, Petra's red dun color is meant to reflect the unique stone hues of this ancient city, which is often called the "Rose City" for its color. His splendid coat is complete with a dorsal stripe and leg barring. This stallion features “Petra 2024” in gold on his belly.

 

What a beauty! Sommer Prosser has done it again. 

 

I definitely need to get one of these guys! Good luck to everyone entering. The entry deadline is Monday night, so don't dawdle! 

Breyerfest Closeups: Horatio

 Greetings, readers! I have another Breyerfest Closeups post for you today - let's take a look at Horatio, the Deluxe Collector Club model for 2024! 

This model is a shrunken-down version of the popular Othello sculpt with a modified tail. 

He certainly is handsome! His paint job is a gray version of the Heath release from earlier this year. I like how his tail now looks like it's being ruffled by the wind. 

In this photo we have a better view of the Deluxe Collector Club pin as well as Horatio. 

I'm definitely excited to get my Horatio! They'll be released later this year (hopefully not in January or later). The color looks really nice on him, despite Othello having appeared in gray many times before. I wonder what they'll do with this new Stablemate mold in the future? Perish the thought...

That's all I have for today - check back later for another Breyerfest Closeups post! 

Edit: I forgot to mention Breyer's Christmas in July sale yesterday. Check it out here - most of the good stuff was already gone by the time I saw it yesterday, but there's still a couple fun items! 

Breyerfest Closeups: Auryn

 Greetings, readers! I've been on a roll lately with all the posts I've been making, so let's keep things going with Breyerfest Closeups! Today we're looking at Auryn, the new Classics/Freedom Series unicorn! 

He's cute! Let's take a closer look.

He has a dark purple/light yellow color scheme, which seems different from what we usually get. 

His paint job seems fairly intricate for a Classic, too. 

I don't collect the Rearing Stallion, so I don't need to get this release, but I like the shade of purple/violet they used on him. 

Not sure when he'll be available to buy, but probably not until later in the fall. 

That's it for today - check back tomorrow for another Breyerfest Closeup! 

Nope

Huzzah, a second blog post for today! A bit of an unexpected reveal today - Bandalero, the third Premier Club release for this year! 

From the email:

Bandalero, a Criollo stallion, was sculpted by Morgen Kilbourn, an artist known for her dynamic poses and faithful breed portrayals. Bandalero’s unique pose is a high-speed lead change, a maneuver which is useful in a variety of competitive events. His loud blood bay sabino coat was created by finishwork artist Heather Bullach as her first design for Breyer. And now you get to select whether you would like a glossy or matte finish on this stately stallion!

Taking a look at the model...well, I like his tail, and the color is nice...but not so much the rest of him. My copy won't be staying with me! Sorry to Morgen (yet again). It's fun that they're letting us pick his finish, though - although that may not be so fun for the people that want both!  

Breyerfest Closeups: Beowulf

 Good news, everyone! Now that we're done with the New Arrivals post, we can keep moving right along and get started with Breyerfest Closeups, the series of posts I do every year detailing the new models revealed in the Collector Club tent at Breyerfest. It didn't seem like we got as many new reveals this year as we usually do, but I'll keep trucking along with the ones we did get. Today's model is Beowulf! 

Breyer had a number of these models available in the Breyer Store during the event, and they all sold out (unsurprisingly, as the model was highly-anticipated). 

You may recall that there was some controversy over this model back when it was first released, after it came to light that parts of the design were lifted from an existing design that was originally used as a tattoo. The designer of said tattoo surfaced on Blab and confirmed that the design was hers, and then we didn't hear anything else. The model is still in production, and Breyer commented on a Facebook post (or was it Instagram?) that an agreement had been reached with the original artist, so (hopefully) she was compensated for her work. 

I don't collect the Semi-Rearing Mustang, so I won't be getting this guy, but I wanted to get some detailed photos of him for the blog. I like the slash marks on his face and neck. 

I wasn't expecting him to be so vibrantly red in person - he seemed like more of a brownish-red in the promo photos. 

That's it for today's post - check back tomorrow for another Breyerfest Closeups! 

New Arrivals: The Grand Finale

 Well, we've reached the end of the Breyerfest new arrivals for this year. I held this guy back for last, and here he is...Lot 8 in the Breyerfest Live auction, the Shimmer Dapple Silver Grey with Somatic Mutation! 

Yes, I spent too much on him, but that's what credit cards are for, so I'm not going to dwell on that topic. He sure is pretty, though - he managed to catch my eye, despite his weird face marking. I'm happy to report that his face doesn't look bloody in person! It's just a somatic mutation. So, if this were a real horse, presumably he would eventually gray out and turn white everywhere except that side of his face. That would be an interesting thing to see! But anyway. 

I must not have been paying attention when this model was first revealed, because when I unwrapped the model after paying for him, I was surprised to discover his braids are painted silver and blue, two of my favorite colors. I've complained in the past about them not bothering to paint the braids on other releases using this mane (why have the braids in the mane if you aren't going to paint them?) so it's fitting that this guy does have painted braids. He was meant to live with me! I can't wait to put him in a class at a model horse show. Not that I expect him to do any winning in breed - everyone I talked to about him knew right away what mold I was talking about whenever I mentioned the "noodle legs Andalusian." I still think he would have been pretty great with a coat of gloss, though! Of course, then he probably would have sold for a lot more and I wouldn't have bought him. All's well that ends well, I guess. 

Well, that's it for the new Breyerfest arrivals - I didn't buy as much this year, probably because I knew (or at least hoped) I'd be able to take another auction model home. Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to pay off this credit card. In the meantime, Breyerfest Closeups is next on the docket - check back tomorrow for the first one! 

New Arrivals: Light Chestnut Worth It, I Will Survive and Glossy Black Tobiano Stagecoach

 Greetings, readers! It's time for another New Arrivals post! I'll be showing three more models today, so let's get started with the light chestnut Worth It, one of this year's volunteer models! 

This was my lovely reward for volunteering across all three days of Breyerfest 2024. Volunteering was a great time as always, and it was interesting to see how much had changed since 2018, the last time I volunteered. I've probably said all this before. I initially got the liver chestnut in the model handout, but was able to trade for the light one since I already have the dark one. She's so pretty, and has that textured paint job like the other two colors. Definitely glad I was able to volunteer and get her! Hopefully I can volunteer next year as well. 

Next, here's I Will Survive:

We don't often get new releases on the Zebra mold, so it's always great to see a new one, and it's especially fun to get a quagga. Hopefully this means we'll get a new Zebra release soon? We could use a new regular run zebra, since Breyer's painting techniques have changed a bit in the last 20 years. 

Lastly, here's the glossy black tobiano Stagecoach Surprise! 

I didn't do much shopping at the Clarion until Sunday night, and this ended up being my only purchase other than the stuff I got directly from Breyer. It was a selling year, I guess. This was also the only Stagecoach Surprise I still needed for my Hamilton conga, so it was great to find one on Sunday night and complete that collection. What can I say? Most models look pretty great in black pinto, and Hamilton is no exception. 

That's almost it for this year's New Arrivals - check back tomorrow for the grand finale!