Sculpted by Sue Sifton, this model was released in 2013 as the first release in that year's Premier Club. I don't think we've ever gotten exact numbers on how many were produced, but it was somewhere in the range of 740 if I remember correctly. This model's release marked the first time Club members were offered the choice of matte or glossy finish (the only other time being Falhofnir in 2014).
I ultimately opted for a glossy Carrick in 2013, and I ended up regretting that choice later when it became clear that most people had made the same choice I did. We never got a matte/glossy breakdown on this release, but based on what I've seen afterward, I'd guess most people opted for glossy. I've seen far more glossy Carricks for sale on the secondary market than mattes, and it ended up taking me until shortly after BreyerFest this year to find a matte one for a price I liked.
A big part of the problem with finding a Carrick for sale in the first place is that many of them had quality issues - a visible "glue line" next to the base of the tail being a common complaint, along with poorly removed masking and lint in the finish. The problem was so bad Breyer ended up issuing refunds to a lot of people (and allowing them to stay in the club) because they had run out of extras to exchange.
My glossy Carrick wasn't too bad quality-wise, so he got to stay. The matte one does have the glue line next to the tail, but it was never that big of a problem with me due to not being that noticeable in the first place - and I don't show, so the models don't necessarily have to be perfect to stay with me.
All of that said, I think Carrick is a lovely model. I'm not always a fan of palomino paint jobs, but I like this one. We definitely needed a new TB/racehorse mold, and I'm usually happy to add a new Sifton sculpt to my shelves. My only gripe is - did it really need to be a pinto? Couldn't we have gotten a color that better represents a Thoroughbred, like they did with Ashquar? I know some types of pinto patterns, and the palomino color, can be found (very rarely) in TBs, but still. A nicely shaded bay with four white socks and a blaze could have been spectacular, and just as flashy.
Oh well; what's done is done. And I do like the color on both my Carricks. Here's hoping he gets used again soon - California Chrome portrait, anyone?
No comments:
Post a Comment