BF Custom Contest Additions and Breyerfest SR Teaser!

Breyer has been busy with the Blog the last couple of days! Yesterday's post announced a new category addition to the Customs Contest - Fantasy! My lack of customizing skills precludes me from entering, but it's always good to see more possibilities for customizers. Looking forward to seeing what amazing things show up in the contest this year!

Also new to the contest: they added more prize models - special edition Stablemates for the runner-up entries! While I notice they haven't announced what the main prize is for the winners, I'm guessing it will be the same as in previous years - an alternate color on one of the Premier Club horses, probably True North. So I wonder if the Stablemate prizes will be alternate colors of one of the Stablemate Club releases this year? That would be interesting to see!

Most excitingly, today's blog post was a teaser for the first Breyerfest SR reveal! Here it is:



My immediate thought was Geronimo, though I don't have access to mine at home to check. He almost looks like some type of dun, or possibly palomino? I'm excited to see the whole picture! Hopefully they show us tomorrow so we don't have to wait too long.

On a slightly different note, today is the last day to preorder Moondance, the red dun pinto Forever Saige collector club model. If you're still on the fence, make up your mind fast!

Featured Model - 1/28/2017, Phantasma

Greetings, readers! Welcome to Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it! This week's model is... Phantasma!

This interesting model was released in 2005, presumably a regular run. He's item #710005, issued on the Smarty Jones mold sculpted by Sue Sifton. He was the fifth release in Breyer's Halloween Horse series of models.

I'm not sure where Breyer got the idea to do a Halloween-themed series, but I definitely like this guy. I like his color gradient from yellow to orange - he's an ombre horse, before it was trendy! It would have been interesting to see how these guys were painted - you can definitely feel the edges of the black markings. The paint must have been pretty thick!

Smarty Jones, the mold, is more middle-of-the-road for me - I've yet to see him released in a color that really wowed me, with the possible exception of the rainbow cheetah test from Breyerfest 2014. Though, to be fair, Tempest and Frankel are both pretty nice too. I wouldn't mind seeing Smarty used as another web special - it's been long enough since we got Riley. Or maybe he'll show up at this year's Breyerfest? I wouldn't be surprised to see him used for a tent SR in his polo pony iteration, given polo's connection with India. That would be fine with me!

2017 Releases: Fantasia del C/Gozosa, Palomino Liam are here!

Greetings, readers! Exciting news today - my preorders of Fantasia del C and Gozosa and the new palomino "Morgan" Liam arrived! Without further ado...here they are! I'll start with the Liam.

 

Part of a set with the AQHA Foal/Frolicking Classic Foal (still in the box, because he's for sale), this set is being sold as a "Palomino Morgan and Foal" set. I was pleasantly surprised to see that both models have a shimmery sheen to their coats, rather than being a flat palomino. The only way I'd like this color better would be if the mane and tail were whiter, rather than having a lot of the body color fade into it. Quality-wise, I was a bit disappointed - no box rubs, but he has a big smear in the shimmer on his left haunch.

Next, Fantasia del C:

This pretty mare appears to be basecoated in white! She looks a lot like Sahran, actually. Hermosa looks pretty good in white/gray! She doesn't have any major quality issues, but is iffy about standing - always a risk with trotting models. Seems like Brigitte has done a lot of iffy-trotting sculpts for Breyer...

I'm not sure how I feel about Fantasia's eyes, though. Behold:



Her eyes aren't fully painted, which is weird-looking. Is it Breyer's quick way to add some "eyewhites," or is it just something new they're trying? Her eye on the other side is painted slightly more than this one is, but there's still a lot of blank white eyeball there. Also, my Fantasia doesn't appear to have a VIN, which is odd.

Lastly, we have Gozosa, daughter of Fantasia:





Her horseshoe brand is cute! Unfortunately, "she" apparently fell victim to poor planning, as it appears these models still have their sheaths; you'd think it would have been relatively simple to grind that off while polishing the models, but apparently not. Like Fantasia, I didn't see any major paint flaws on this model, and she (he?) does have a VIN. Not sure what's going on there. He/she's eyes are painted normally, though.

So, that's all I've got for today. Hopefully we get some new Breyerfest news soon; I'm dying over here!

Kid's Valentine's Day Grab Bags!

It's that time of year again - another holiday, another round of grab bags. This time it's for Valentine's Day!



I'm not terribly interested myself, but it might make a fun gift for that horse-loving kid in your life. Find them here!

Breyerfest Blog Updates

As of last week, the Breyerfest Blog on Breyer's website has begun posting new things related to this year's Breyerfest Gateway to India. I couldn't help but notice they posted some new information about Sokkar, the Early Bird raffle model.

Sokkar is a shaded black, minimal Splash Pinto on Kathleen Moody's Icelandic mold, number 729. His super high gloss finish is set off with four stockings, a big blaze, and two mesmerizing blue eyes.

I had been thinking Sokkar's paint job actually reminded me a lot of Fox Valley Oliver's, especially the glossy prize FVO (although, on further inspection, Sokkar has more white on his feet than FVO). But if Sokkar is a splash pinto, could he have some white markings on his other side? It would be interesting if we could see a photo of his other side (cough, cough).

In other news, today's post gives some history about Marwari horses and Nazruddin, the Celebration Horse. His owner, Francesca Kelly, donated three horses to the Kentucky Horse Park, which can be seen at the Breeds Barn; here's my (bad) photo of one of them from a few years back.



Wow, I forgot that was from 2012. Here's the same horse in its stall later.



 

We'll have to swing by the Breed Barn this year and say hello - we've missed the Parade of Breeds the last few years we've been there.

Anyway, now that the blog is being updated, hopefully they start showing us some of this year's releases. Maybe this week? One can only dream.

Mystery Stablemates at Walmart?

The latest model-horse-related developments involve Walmart, of all places. Last week someone posted on Facebook (Modelholics Anonymous) that they'd found a small Breyer display at a Walmart in Virginia, mostly featuring Stablemates. Most interesting was that there were blind bag Stablemates...and amongst those was a gold buckskin G3 Friesian. Of course, that's a must-have for me, so I promptly traipsed through five local Walmarts and had my husband check a sixth, to no avail.

After seeing a myriad of new spring toy displays in various degrees of completion, I was getting frustrated to say the least. But on Friday morning, someone (maybe the same person) posted a photo of one of the setup sheets from those Walmart displays. According to the sheet, only "28-ft modular" stores will receive these Breyer displays, because they're an experimental display. Which, of course, leads to the question of figuring out which stores are "28-ft modular." So far I haven't been able to find much. Though when I checked Facebook again this morning, I was unable to find that post with the setup sheet, so take that how you will.

I did see a post from someone in Oklahoma stating they had found this display at their Walmart, including the blind bags and golden Friesian, so we can add that to the list. I've also seen people saying they've found the display (minus the blind bag Stablemates, naturally) at Toys 'R' Us. I haven't gotten into our "local" TRU to check for myself; maybe later this week.

The blind bag Stablemates, other than the golden Friesian, aren't anything special; just regular run SMs from other sets/single assortments. So I'm not terribly excited about those, but I'd really like to find a gold Friesian! I even posted on a Walmart subreddit asking about it, but haven't gotten any replies yet. Now I wish I knew someone who works at a Walmart so I could ask them! For the record, I worked at a Walmart approximately 10 years ago, but not in any capacity to know what a "28-ft modular" store is. Rats!

Featured Model - 1/21/2017, Impressionistic Page

Hello, readers! Welcome to yet another installment of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is...Impressionistic Page!

 

This little guy is one half of the Decoupage/Impressionistic Page Connoisseur set, item #90128 - a run of 350 released in 2004. They were issued on the popular Susecion and Le Fire molds, sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

Some people give Le Fire flak for his mule-like ears (and I've seen at least one custom turn him into a mule baby based on those ears), but I like them. They give him some personality. As to his color, I think he's supposed to be bay, so I sort of wish his lower legs were a little blacker - although I don't know that much about foal colors other than their tendency to be born one color, then shed into another color. It's not that much of an issue, anyways. His paintjob is quite nice, as Conns from that era usually are.

More interesting about this mold is his rough coat, meant to represent a wet, newborn coat. I don't think Kathleen has done any other rough-coat models for Breyer, and we don't generally see a lot of rough coats in general, either. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Breyer issue some type of Bashkir Curly-type mold - as long as it was a Moody, of course.

But, back to the mold(s) being discussed. I always wonder why Breyer doesn't use these molds more often, given their popularity among collectors (and resulting high prices on the secondary market). A new RR set would probably sell quite well, at least for the first few years - especially to customizers looking for affordable bodies. It's probably economical in nature - I don't know what the original Susecion/Le Fire's sale price was, but right now the new Andalusian Mare and Foal set (Fantasia Del C and Gozosa) are retailing for around $50 - not much more than your average new regular run Traditional model. When those molds debuted in the Premier Club in 2015, their price was the same ($175) as any of the other Premier Club releases thus far, meaning we essentially got the Corazon mold for free. If Breyer can't expect to do much more than give the foal part of the set away for free with the mare, it might explain why they don't use the molds very often.

On the other side of that coin, though, it's not like they haven't released numerous mare/foal sets in the past, and the GG Valentine and Heartbreaker set were in the regular run lineup for quite a few years (Are they still being produced? I'm not sure).

Whatever the reason for their relative disuse, I hope Susecion and Le Fire get to come out to play again soon. It would be nice to see them as this year's holiday mare and foal set, although that doesn't seem likely with the FAM/FAF right there (not that I'd complain either way). Come on, Breyer, throw us a frickin' bone here!

Chestnut Liam and Mini Geronimo are here!

Greetings, readers! Good news - I finally got my hands on the new chestnut Liam, and my Premier Club Mini Geronimo came today! Let's start with Liam.

 

I have yet to find a color I don't like this mold in. He's just so handsome! I love his shading here, although I have to admit I'd have liked a paintjob more akin to Abdul's with the dark points. And he doesn't have box rubs - score another one for Breyer's QC! I found this pretty guy at Toys 'R' Us along with most of the rest of the new Classics, but presumably he'll be available at other places as well, plus the Breyer website.

Next, we have Mini Geronimo!



This little mare is very nicely done - I didn't see a flaw on her anywhere. I was a little irked that they didn't manage to get these sent out before Christmas, but at least we got her at all - we didn't get the free Stablemate for the first time until 2014. She matches the original Geronimo pretty closely, though I was sad to note she's made from ABS - I'd hoped for cellulose acetate, but oh well. She's pretty, but I'm just not into the mold, so she'll be for sale at some point.

That's all I've got for today. Tomorrow is Friday - let's hope we get another exciting Breyerfest-related announcement!

Breyerfest 2017 Volunteer Applications

According to Breyer's website (in the application itself), today is the first day to start submitting Breyerfest volunteer applications! I have been a volunteer three times now and it's always been a great experience! I love being an official part of Breyerfest - it's as close as I'm ever likely to get to working for Breyer!  It's always fun to get involved and do your part to help Breyerfest be a success.

I haven't decided if I'm going to apply this year - I doubt I'd be chosen for a fourth year in a row, and it might be nice to have a casual, stress-free Breyerfest for a change (or as stress-free as 3 days in the hot, humid Kentucky summer can ever be...).

...Well, I still have some time to think about it. The deadline for submitting applications is March 1, with volunteer selections to be notified on or around March 28. Good luck to all those who apply! Find the application here.

Blossom and Belle, First Release of the 2017 Vintage Club, Available Now!

Blossom and Belle are now available on the website!

Their color is inspired by the old San Domingo, but with a coat of gloss over the top. They look luscious enough that I almost want them... but I don't have the space. Interesting that they didn't go with a color that would match Dandy, though at least they're pinto. I don't think these will have a lot of quality issues either, due to the relatively simple paint job, but that remains to be seen. Let's hope they were glossed on a non-dusty day, eh?

Vintage Club subscribers have until 1/31 to complete their purchases, so if you're in the club, don't wait too long!

Glossy vs Matte

Whenever Breyer announces a new release, one of the most important factors is its finish. Will it be glossy or matte? For some, the finish makes all the difference. Some people only collect glossy models, while others only collect matte. Some collectors would like to see every release come with a shiny coat of gloss; others, not so much. It seems to be another one of those things that comes down to personal preference.

For the record, I'm generally ambivalent about gloss. If something is available in both finishes, I want both - but most of the time the glossy finishes are limited to special runs, Breyerfest tent models and glossy prize models, things that are for the most part difficult to obtain for a reasonable price. Sure, I'd love to get my hands on more glossy prizes, but I don't show, and I'm not willing to pay more than $400 for one. So, most glossies will likely remain out of my reach.

So, I don't get too worked up about gloss - if a particular release has it, cool! If not, it's not a problem.

I do think a glossy finish enhances a model's look most of the time. Giverny, the rainbowy Huck from Breyerfest 2015, is one model I think was greatly improved by the glossy finish. Another would be Aurelius, the chestnut Desatado from 2013. A couple more would be GG Valentine, on Giselle, and the glossy Fall, on Wintersong - while the matte versions of those models are nothing to sneeze at, the glossies are stunning.

But it does seem that a glossy finish can hurt some models, mostly darker ones. I don't have a glossy Cortes C from last year's Breyerfest, but I imagine he's a nightmare to photograph. My glossy Namid (Namib?) tended to disappear in group shots of models (so did the matte one, to be fair), and she was hard to photograph in my light tent. This may be my fault for using a black backdrop - the nitpicky part of my psyche demands all the backgrounds match. I had the same issue with Ganache - beautiful in person, and he looks just like melted chocolate, but so hard to photograph!

So, I don't get too excited about the gloss vs. matte dilemma, except when I'm trying to get all the variations of the surprise models at Breyerfest. That madness is enough to drive anyone insane! I almost hope this year's surprise is on a mold I don't collect, so I don't have to deal with it. But then I wouldn't have the anticipation of opening the bags to see what color I got and...argh!

Featured Model - 1/14/2017, Esprit

Hello, readers! Welcome to yet another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is... Esprit!


 

A relatively recent creation, Esprit was first released in 2010 in conjunction with that year's World Equestrian Games, which were being held in the United States for the first time. He is item #9101, and was technically a regular run for 2010 only (as far as I know).

Okay, I know this guy doesn't have the best conformation. And looks weird from certain angles. Here's one in particular that makes me cringe:  



That particular photo is at least partly a bad Photoshop job (I hope), but all the same, I try to arrange mine so I don't usually see them from that angle.

That said, I still really like the Esprit mold, despite his weirdness. Why? I'm not sure. I definitely like his  flowing tail. I think I'd like his mane better if it was attached to his neck - I'm guessing it's the way it is so he could theoretically have different mane options, though we've never seen him with an alternate mane. I believe part of Breyer's description of the model was that it was supposed to be a representation of the "equine spirit" (which I can definitely get behind) and not necessarily a real horse per se. But the mold has been used as a portrait model at least once since 2010, so...YOLO, I guess.

And despite his oddness, he's been quite popular since his release, and has been used in quite a few limited releases; his appearance as last year's Breyerfest surprise model seemed like a foregone conclusion almost from the start.

An issue I remember people running into with the original Esprit release was weird undappled squares on the model's back and belly, suggesting that they had been clamped into something to paint the dapples, which prevented the dapples from being painted onto the clamped areas. This eventually was fixed sometime before the end of the year; mine has the squares, but I'm pretty sure later ones don't. It doesn't bother me too much, as it's just one of those things you don't really notice unless you're looking for it.

In any case, the Esprits are a welcome addition to my collection. Pecos, in particular, is quite nice; I suppose that goes back to the "mystical white horse" thing. See also: Novelisto D. I look forward to seeing what Breyer does with this mold in the future! (Hopefully not something like Mu Wen Ma; I still wonder what the Chinese painters thought of that one.)

Moondance is now available for preorder!

Collector Club members: Moondance is now available for preorder here! 

She's supposed to ship in April according to the fine print, but we'll see if that actually happens. That's significantly earlier than any previous CC special run has shipped out. Here's her off side:

 

 And she only costs $65 - that's practically a bargain! She's a nice color, and I like her pattern on her show side. Kinda wish the off side pattern was a little more like the show side, but we can't have everything. I'll be preordering her, and I can't wait to add her to my herd. I'll be looking for a Hwin, too, so I can add her to my group of boss mares. The sooner this girl is at my house, the better! The preorder deadline is 1/31 with a $20 deposit, so get your orders in!

Bits and Bobs and Catching Up

Looks like Breyer is getting some housekeeping items out of the way today. I saw on Facebook that they'd finally done the raffle for Stablemate Club members - apparently they put everyone into a drawing for a set of all four colors of Diesel. Congratulations to the winner, Katherine D. of MA! Honestly, I don't even remember them saying anything about a raffle last year when we were signing up for the Stablemate Club, but I'm glad someone did. Seems like the raffle, and a lot of other things, got pushed to the back burner along with all the other product delays we had last year. Hopefully they can get it together this year now that they've (theoretically) worked out the bugs from last year. Jury's still out on whether Coco will be released this month as was advertised, though.

 

Another belated announcement via Facebook today: the winner of the first Yasmin off the production line!

 

 

 

She sure looks nice on a stand. Congrats to Chandler S from VA!

 

Next: Live Show Benefit Program information has been announced for this year, including this year's LSBP horse! Meet Reno!

 

 

 

He's certainly handsome! Interesting that Buckshot is getting another super-limited release this year after last year's Beyerfest Diorama Contest prize model Pele. Maybe they're going to use him for a wider release soon? We'll have to wait and see. And, according to the benefit program information, the kids' raffle model will be last year's Classics Horse of the Year Harper in glossy. Fun!

 

And lastly, word on the street (aka Blab) is that the 2016 Premier Club Stablemate, Mini Geronimo, is finally shipping out. Keep an eye on your mailbox for her!

 

 

Christmas Sale items are here!

Greetings, readers! The models I ordered from Breyer's end-of-year sale are here. I ordered Sweet Pea, Bryants Jake and Svali Fra Tjorn. So, without further ado, here they are!

First, Sweet Pea:



That looks like a rub on her right shoulder, but it's just glare from the overhead lights. I don't believe Amber has been done in this shade of gray before - I really like her. She's cute! I don't really go for accessories, though, so those stayed in the box. Maybe I'll try to unload them at Breyerfest or something.

Next, Bryants Jake:



This model was supposed to have been released earlier in 2016 (beginning of the year?) but was delayed due to unspecified quality issues. This is a mold that started out as a mare, so my guess would be they had issues with adding the proper "parts" to the mold. That or a paint issue, as that would be a fairly intricate stencil. (I'm somewhat amused that they added a sheath to the mold, but didn't go all the way and give it testicles as well. That worked for Kong the gelding; not so much for Jake the stallion.) My only nitpick with this one was the color of the tail ribbons - they couldn't pick a color that didn't clash with the tail color? Oh man, this just came to me - how awesome would it have been if they'd put Wintersong's tail on this release, since the real horse's tail is so long? That would have been the best! Oh, well.  I don't have very many Wixoms due to how big they are, but I do happen to have room for this one on my shelf. Looking forward to seeing him at Breyerfest this year!

And lastly, Svali fra Tjorn:



I was excited when we first heard about this guy - finally, a regular run Icelandic! He hasn't been used a whole lot since his debut in 2014 (although I'll admit I thought we'd see him as a Breyerfest store special first). His color is nice, although confusing - is he buckskin or bay? Either way, he's pretty. I'd prefer that he had some white on his feet, but since this is a portrait model, I'll just have to live with it.

Happily, none of these models had box issues! Huzzah! There's hope for Breyer's QC yet.

Featured Model - 1/7/2017, Silver

Hello and welcome to Featured Model - the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is... Silver!

 

This model, as the name should tell you, was the inaugural release of this mold. Item #574, he was sculpted by Kathleen Moody and released in 2001 - a portrait of The Lone Ranger's Silver. His release ran from 2001-2006 - unsurprising, as this mold was very popular from the get-go. Silver was the first release in Breyer's Hollywood Heroes series, and in the early years of the run, he came with a VHS tape (lol) detailing Silver's exploits.

I chose this model mostly because of how well he shows up against a black backdrop. He's so handsome! I was still in high school when Silver was first released, and didn't get around to buying one before graduation. After graduating, I put my horses away to concentrate on college, and by the time I finished college, the Silver mold had been given a temporary retirement because it had been used so much. I count 24 releases between 2001 and 2010 (not counting glossy prizes. Thanks, IDYB!). It probably didn't help that Silver was a Breyerfest SR for 3 years in a row (2001, 2002, 2003).

I returned to the hobby in 2010 after I graduated from college. Silver had just been used as a Breyerfest SR yet again (Star-Studded). But since then, Silver was only used a couple of times until recently - Nottingham, the Breyerfest 2011 Volunteer Model and Zeus, the Greek God web special in 2013.

I couldn't afford to attend Breyerfest 2011, and wouldn't have been brave enough to volunteer if I had, and I wasn't drawn for Zeus. So, I spent 2010-2016 wishing Breyer would use Silver for something, while I'm sure most of the other people in the hobby were glad they were giving the mold a break.

Fortunately, Silver made a resurgence last year; he was used for an unprecedented fifth time as a Breyerfest SR, Estrela do Carnaval (to a mixed reception), as the Tractor Supply SR Santana (also to a mixed reception, due to the resemblance to the TH Silver), and as the fourth Big Cats release, Leandro. For the record, I bought all three and have them proudly displayed with my other Silvers. In addition, I was fortunate enough to greatly expand my Silver collection in the last year, so the few I had before don't look so lonely. Let's hope Silver gets another release in the near future, or dare I suggest: the Surprise model for Breyerfest? (Let's hope not!). Only time will tell.

So, that brings me to the end of today's post. Tune in next week for another thrilling installment of Featured Model! Hi-yo Silver, away!

My Christmas Ponies Arrived!

Okay, technically they came a few days ago, but I've had a few more important things to post about since then. So, here they are! I got Frankincense/Myrrh!



I think the red one would be Frankincense? I'm not completely sure. His red color is a little more pink than I was expecting, but I think it plus the pearly effect makes him look like he's made out of candy. Yes, please. Next: Myrrh!

 

I'm a bit less enthused about this one's color, because it kinda screams "US Army." I think something more akin to Ivy's color would have looked better, although Ivy was a pretty dark green. Maybe they had issues getting the colors to look right - I remember hearing about a Breyer factory tour a couple of years ago - maybe during Big Easy Bash? - where they saw the Christmas decorators being worked on and were having problems getting the colors right.

Quality-wise, they were both fine - I won't say they're flawless, but anything I noticed was minor. I've seen so many photos of broken tails on Facebook/Blab that I was worried mine would be broken too, but they both arrived in one piece.

Although I was hoping one of my two would be the gold one, I'm not going to complain too much - because at least I got two different colors. I'll have to set my sights on finding a Gold later on. I'm looking forward to seeing what Breyer comes up with next year - the candy cane zebra someone mentioned on Blab would be excellent!

CollectA/Corral Pals: Addendum

I've been thinking about yesterday's post about the new Corral Pals. I said I wasn't interested in buying any of them, but it does seem a little unfair for me to not talk about them simply because I'm not personally interested in them. One of the main reasons I created this blog was to keep people informed about all new Breyer releases, not just the ones I'm interested in.

So, I took another look at the Corral Pals. Some of the molds do appeal to me - my disinterest in them stems from my lack of interest in buying vinyl models; if they were cellulose acetate I'd probably be more interested. That said, I have been known to buy a Schleich or two for my niece and nephew, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that I could buy some of these for them.

So, here are a few of the sculpts that caught my eye:

The Friesian Stallion is definitely attractive. I generally like Friesian-type models, and if I spotted this in a store I'd have a hard time not picking it up.





The Hanoverian Stallion is also handsome. From this angle he looks a lot like Geronimo, though I admit I'm not a fan of the banged tail look. But, moving on.



I've been wishing Breyer would do a Lipizzaner in this pose for quite a while, so this one I definitely like. I think he could use some more mane and tail, though.



Here's the Arabian. I like her, although I wish her tail wasn't in poop position. It doesn't bother me a whole lot, but that's the first thing my husband would notice if I bought one and then I'd never be able to see anything else.



The Knabstrupper Mare is kinda fun. It'll be interesting to see what other colors she's released in.



The Appaloosa Stallion looks nice, despite my general dislike for stock horses.  Not so sure about the mottling on his face, though.

So, those were the models that looked interesting at a glance. It looks like these will be available for sale in the same manner as the CollectAs: on an open shelf, similar to the way Schleichs are sold. So, next time I'm looking for a present for my niece/nephews, I'll have to try to find these.

CollectA Models (Corral Pals) Now Available on Breyer Website

Breyer now has some items from the CollectA line they purchased (relabeled as "Corral Pals") available on the website, as can be seen here:

Corral Pals Horse Collection
Corral Pals Farm Animals Collection
Corral Pals Cats & Dogs Collection

There are a large number of horses, but not many of the other items. Presumably they'll be available soon; I'm not interested in buying any of them, but keep an eye on the website if you are! It will be interesting to see what Breyer does with this line in the future, and it'll be good for Breyer to have a less-expensive product in their lineup.

Breyerfest Tickets Available Now!

Greetings, all! I hope everyone had a good New Year's. Mine just got a whole lot better - Breyerfest 2017 tickets are now available! You know what that means - the unveiling of special runs! First off, the Celebration Horse, Nazruddin:

So it looks like he's keeping his original mane and tail. Exciting! I like what I can see of him - can't wait to add him to the collection!

Unfortunately, the only other model that's been revealed thus far was the Early Bird raffle model - a luscious glossy black Icelandic named Sokkar:



My initial reaction to this was, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Because I want him, badly. Oh, so badly. I haven't wanted an early bird raffle this much since Alegria in 2014. I need him. Ugh. I'll be crossing all of my fingers and toes at the Saturday raffle, I can tell you that right now.

So, that's all we've been shown thus far - am I off base in thinking they usually show us one of the regular raffle models at this time, too? Bleh. Darn Breyer and keeping their secrets so secret. I hope they reveal it soon.

Other tidbits on the website are the "Bollywood Bash" costume contest and the "Gateway to India" diorama contest. I have to admit I have some reservations about this whole theme. I can see a whole host of ways the costume contest - and this Breyerfest theme, in general - could go wrong, with regards to cultural appropriation and stereotypes and...I kind of don't want to go anywhere near that. Which is bad, because I actually thought about trying the costume contest again to try to win a glossy Nazruddin. Let's hope Breyer puts a little more thought into the special run names - Mamacita and Chico and Sheila were particularly cringeworthy choices last year.

(I tried to look up Sokkar on Google, but couldn't find much. Anyone know what it refers to? Is it a common surname in India?)

We'll have to wait and see what Breyer has planned this year. Let's hope they can pull it off!