Porcelain to Plastic: Addendum

A few months ago, I wrote a post about Breyer's fondness for introducing new porcelain molds that are later released in plastic, and the likelihood (or lack thereof) that any of the old porcelains from the '90s would ever be released in plastic.

Well, the other day I was reading through some of my old issues of JAH, and stumbled across this little gem.

So, if this little blurb is accurate, it explains (kind of) why we haven't seen any of those old porcelains released in plastic: "Something something too hard to do, something something." Or, the porcelain molds have more detail than a plastic mold would, therefore never going to happen? But they make new molds from resin sculptures all the time, and we all know how detailed resins are. But I do remember reading an article by Sarah Mink about sculpting for Breyer, and the sculpt in question had to be able to cleanly pull the finished plastic out of the mold without catching on anything - maybe that would be an issue with the old porcelain molds.

Or, a simpler explanation would be that Breyer doesn't think there would be enough of a market for these old molds to justify the expense of converting them to plastic. Surely the technology has advanced in the last 23 years to make it possible, right? But if Breyer doesn't think the demand is there, they aren't going to spend the money on it.

Which is unfortunate, because I'd really like to see the Spanish Barb and the Sarah Rose Hambletonian in plastic, but it doesn't look like that will ever happen (though the Hambletonian is a bit newer, so might actually happen). But I can always hope!

Featured Model - 11/25/2017, Blue Roan Pinto G2 Scratching Foal

Hello and 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...the blue roan pinto G2 Scratching Foal!

This cute little baby was the titular foal in the Mystery Foal Surprise Family 6 set, item #5883, which ran from 2013-2014. He was issued on the G2 Scratching Foal sculpted by Sarah Rose.

I usually like Breyer's various attempts at roan, probably because so many of them end up looking like candy. This one almost looks like he's made out of Sweet Tarts or something - I just want to eat him! Unfortunately, I don't think ABS plastic tastes very good, so he'll have to stay on the shelf with his friends.

I like this mold because, well, what's not to like about him? He's teeny and cute and doing a cute little scratch, like a mini-me of the Trad Scratching Foal. Best of all, he doesn't take up much room, so it's easy to accumulate more of him!

Although I may be starting to sound like a broken record lately, we are due for new Stablemate releases next year, so maybe we'll see something new on this guy. I wouldn't mind seeing some new Mystery Foal Surprise sets. We should find out soon! 

2018 Celebration Model Brass Hat - Confirmed!

Greetings, readers! I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I don't have the biggest news to report today, but thought I'd post it.

It's been a couple of weeks since the news of Brass Hat being the 2018 Breyerfest Celebration Horse escaped into the wild, but the image used to promote it was on a card purportedly being handed out by Breyer at the Royal Horse Show. Well, the same cards got slipped into the shipping boxes for St. Moritz! Behold!

So, there it is! Official confirmation that doesn't involve blurry cell phone photos of the card. The Brass Hat model looks appropriately brassy in the photo - maybe he'll be metallic? Theoretically we'll get better pictures in January when tickets go on sale, so that's not too long of a wait. Have we ever found out the Celebration Model this early before? It feels like a record.

And here's the other side of the card, just for kicks.

I can't wait for next year's Breyerfest! Only 33 weeks left to go! 

St. Moritz is here!

Greetings, readers! My St. Moritz model arrived today, so I thought I'd post some photos of him. Behold!

I have to say: I love, love, love this model. His blue color is a little more intense in person than it appears in the photos, and I love it. He's beautiful!

A couple of days ago I saw a post on Sommer Prosser's Facebook art page indicating that she had designed this model. I should have known! Her designs are always great!



The model is clearware, obviously, but an unexpected touch here is that the snowflakes are masked all the way through the paint, making them see-through! Genius!

Quality-wise, he's pretty good - some blurred masking here and there and some kind of weird rough white spot on his mane tendril - but nothing really bad. Even his eyes are nicely painted, and that's saying something in the era of black-splotch-eyes!

Finally, I want to talk about how his mane, tail and feet start out frosted and transition to clear on the ends, for an icy look - it's perfect for this model.

See? It's genius! Oh, I said that already. Well, suffice it to say that this is one of my favorite new releases from Breyer in the last few years - something to break up the monotony of silver filigree releases year after year, and a way to use up those leftover clearware Esprit bodies at the same time!

The only other question I have relates to the prototype - Sommer said she designed this model on a different mold, not having a clearware Esprit on hand at the time. So, which mold did she design this model on originally? That would be fascinating to know - this is a paintjob I think would look good on any model. He's a welcome addition to my collection! 

Featured Model - 11/18/2017, Mini Corazon

Hello and 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...Mini Corazon!



This little guy was part of a set, Mini Hermoso and Corazon, that was the free gift to Premier Club members back in 2015. They were miniature versions of that year's mare and foal set, Hermosa and Corazon. Since Breyer doesn't like to announce how many of the Premier Club models are produced for some reason, run numbers on this set are unknown - but I'd guess around 750. This model was issued on the G3 Standing Foal sculpted by Jane Lunger.

I tend to be ambivalent about Stablemate foal molds for some reason - they just kind of accumulate on my shelves when they get bought as part of other sets. That's how my collection on this mold got started - when I received this set at the end of 2015. But this mold grew on me quickly, as he is pretty cute. Little Corazon was my first on this mold, but now I have 10 of them - so Little Corazon has plenty of company!

This set themselves are pretty cute, though I wish mine didn't have gloss flaws. Otherwise they look pretty nice - they both have snappy paint jobs. Time will tell where Breyer uses this mold next - we're due for some new releases next year, so maybe we'll get this guy in a new color! We'll find out soon.

Early Black Friday sale for Collector Club members!

Today's early morning surprise from Breyer: the annual Black Friday sale!

Currently the sale is only available to Collector Club members, but will open to the general public at some point. Amongst the goodies available: Riptide, the Vintage Club Stablemate; Hermoso and Corazon, the Premier Club Stablemates; Cypress, this year's Vintage Club extra; Tallulah, Moondance and Abdul, CC special runs from the past few years; and the Premier Club Ashquar, among other models. A lot of them are already sold out, so if there's something you're on the fence about buying, don't wait too long!

I didn't buy anything this year, as there wasn't anything I needed, but these sales are fun to see all the same, just to see what they come up with every year.

Also, I've been hearing that the free shipping code on the back page of this year's Breyer catalog (arriving in mailboxes now!) may or may not be compatible with this sale, so don't forget to try it!

Carina and Selene and Rosalind and Rigel are here!

Whew, that was a bit of a mouthful. Nonetheless, they're here! They actually arrived last week, but this is the earliest I've had time to take some quick photos of them. I'll start with Carina!

I really like this mare's pose! She looks like she's doing the piaffe/passage, but could also just be prancing. It could go either way! She has a nice face, too.

I'm still not crazy about the pink eyewhites trend Breyer seems to be stuck on, but that's a relatively minor issue. Quality-wise, my Carina and Selene models are both pretty nice - some seams got missed, and there's some blurred masking here and there, but nothing major. Now for Selene!

I'm not quite as enamored with the foal as I am with the mare - there's something odd about her front legs, and it seems strange that she's not also trotting to keep up with the mare. But I like her slightly turned head and the impression that she's giving us the side-eye.

Like I said, some blurred edges, but nothing major.

Next: Rosalind!

I really like the color on this mare! She's so shiny and pearly - I love it! And like I said before, I like that the horn looks natural rather than a vaguely-horn-shaped bit of plastic slapped on the horse's forehead. Now let's take a look at Rigel!

He matches his mother pretty well, and has a cute little baby horn! I like their blue eyes, too. Sometimes blue eyes can look weird on a model, but I think it works here.




Quality-wise, they have a few small issues (some small scuffs on the foal, pinpoint black marks on the mare), but again nothing major. I'm happy to have them join my herd!

In other news, I was drawn for a St. Moritz! Huzzah! Hopefully he gets here fast so I can take some photos of him for the blog. He needs to join my Esprit herd!

Featured Model - 11/11/2017, Mini Tseminole Wind

Hello, readers, and welcome to the latest installment of Featured Model! Featured Model is 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...mini Tseminole Wind!



This little guy is item #711080, on the G2 Rearing Arabian mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. He was part of the 20th Anniversary Commemorative Set released at Breyerfest in 2009; a total of 500 sets were produced. The Commemorative Set consisted of Stablemate-sized portraits of the 20 Breyerfest Celebration Horses that had been done at that time.

I like the color on this model, mostly because flashy bay pintos are totally my bag. I used to have the Traditional-size version of this model, on the Sham mold, and loved him for years until I finally decided his shelf space needed to go to molds I liked more. Fortunately, Stablemate molds take up a lot less space than Traditionals, so I'm not likely to ever need to get rid of my models on this particular mold.

I always liked this mold, despite his lack of detail. He has attitude! Like the poorly-behaved Arabian halter stallions of yore, he definitely gets your attention one way or another. And like most of the Stablemate molds, he's seen a lot of use - I think I have around 15 of them in my collection. The more the merrier! Who knows where we'll see him next, since he was just used in this year's Stablemate Club. But we're due for some new Stablemate releases next year - maybe he'll pop up there!

Odds and Ends

Okay, this one might be old news by now, but it was revealed last week that the 2018 Breyerfest Celebration Horse will be Brass Hat, on the Carrick mold! I've been waiting for more official confirmation than "blurry photo of a flyer" but we haven't gotten that yet, so here we are.

I'm excited for this news - mostly because I like Carrick, and the (poor-quality) photos look pretty good - he actually looks somewhat like brass! And I'm glad they chose this particular horse for the Celebration Model - so many people were getting starry-eyed about their favorite famous racehorse (usually expensive breeding stallions) being the Celebration Horse, but I knew it would have to be some type of moderately successful Thoroughbred, probably a gelding, and ideally one that went on to have a successful second career after racing - and Brass Hat is all of those things! Huzzah! I'm excited for next year already!

Secondly, a few days ago Breyer put up another free calendar offer on the website - the usual spend $50, get a free calendar thing - and now the calendar is showing up at people's houses. And inside the calendar are some surprise reveals for next year! Again, I'm waiting for an official announcement, or photos better than "blurry photo of a calendar page," but I can say that the surprises include a white unicorn Yasmin (Yes! But white, again? Bleh), and...California Chrome is finally getting his own portrait model, on Cigar (meh). I like Chrome, though not enough to call myself a Chromie or anything. I'd probably like him more if his owners weren't such imbeciles, but that's another story for another day. Sadly, I cleared my shelves of my Cigar models a couple of years ago, and have no plans on adding more, so the Chrome model won't be joining my herd. That unicorn Yasmin, though...bring her on!

St Moritz: Silver Filigree Replacement?

So I wonder if there won't be a silver filigree special run this year? If this is the replacement, I think he's pretty spectacular!



Say hello to St. Moritz! From the website:

The magnificence of winter is on full display with St. Moritz!  Sledding, ice skating, and riding in fresh snow are wonderful ways to enjoy the season!  Breyer's St. Moritz is a spirited equine that looks like an ice sculpture and is decorated with frosty blues and warming pinks.  Clear snowflakes and windy swirls adorn his sides for an elegant wintry motif.  Limited to just 380 pieces, St. Moritz will be gone before the snow melts, so act fast!  He is marked St. Moritz 2017 on his belly, and comes in a Breyer mail order box.

I love him, though the cynical part of me wonders if he was made from leftover clearware from last year's decorator Samba Surprise. But never mind that! I love his color scheme - there's a level in Super Mario 3D World that has that exact color scheme - ice, blue, purple/pink - and I just love those colors together! And since there's 380 of him (kind of an odd number, but whatever), I've got a good chance of getting my hands on him! 

I won't be upset if there isn't a silver filigree model this year - I think Breyer was starting to get a little predictable, to be honest. And it's not like they've done one every year in the past - sometimes things need a little break. I think this is a worthy silver filigree replacement!

The 2018 Stablemate Club is now open for signups!

 Like the title says, the 2018 Stablemate Club is now open for business! And we get to see another of the models!



From the website:

The 2018 Stablemates Collector's Club begins with Kohana, a stunning bay roan Mustang! Designed by talented Australian customizer Franceyn Dare, Kohana has MAPPED overo pinto markings and Indian feathers in his mane!

Interesting that they're not starting with the G1, but I suppose they have to mix things up sometime. I'm more impressed that they managed to pull off mapping on a Stablemate! Too bad I don't collect the G3 Mustang.

As for the other releases, I think it's safe to assume those silhouettes are in fact the other molds that will be used next year, as they showed up on the promotional banner:

 

Which means I only need one membership next year, as I only collect the mini Brishen and possibly the new mold (if it isn't too weird-looking). Which begs the question, why haven't we seen the new mold yet? I suppose they'll show it later to drive more last-minute signups. I can't wait to see what the new mold looks like!

Yet another test run model on the website!

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this point, but...we have another test run model available for entry on the Breyer website!



This time it's a Roy! Not my favorite mold, but whatevs. He looks very similar to the Clydesdale Foal that was offered earlier in the year. From the email:

We have a lot of roan horses in our archive!  They are a fun color to test, and there are also many techniques to achieve roan so we've had lots of variations over the years.  Old Roy was an early test run, probably from 2000.  He's seen better days, but we cannot bear to send him out to pasture!  His blaze and four socks, done with masking tape, give him character, and his bay roan shading and big dark hooves add so much character.  But he does have wear.  He has rubs on eartips, hooves, right knee, left barrel, and inside the left hind leg.  There are a few shiny marks and a few colored rubs from being too close to another model at one point in time.  He has stress marks on his face seam and it's a little rough there too.  But we still love him and hope he finds a home, because he's actually quite adorable - look at that face!! 

So he's a "roan" color, with tape-masked markings, in a shade oddly similar to that Clydesdale Foal. I'm guessing they were probably painted around the same time. They'd make a nice set if you could get ahold of them both! Which won't be as difficult with this particular piece, because he only costs $650 instead of the usual $850.

I won't be entering for this one, but good luck to everyone! 

Retired Models for 2018

So the retired list for 2018 has been making the rounds, and I thought I'd post it here:

Craft Activity
4203 3D Paint-by-Number – Dapple Grey
Classics®
61019 Doll & Accessories 6 pc Asst
61024 Pet Groomer
61039 Vet Care
61048 Pony Care
61068 Abigail, English Rider
61069 English Horse & Rider
61070 Western Horse & Rider
61082 Best Friends Set
61085 Gift Set 6 pc Asst (2 pcs of #61024, 61039, 61048)
61090 Show Jumping Set
62034 Rock & Roll Forever
62037 Race Horse & Jockey
62118 Bella, 2017 Horse of the Year
9184 American Pharoah - Classics
My Favorite Horse
1409 Let's Go Riding English
1410 Let's Go Riding Western
1727 Let's Go Racing
Pony Gals®
7118 Chloe Care For Me Vet Set
Stablemates®
5377 Barrel Racing Play Set
5388 Competing at the Games Gift Set
5410 Tractor Play Set
5900 Stablemates Singles 24 pc Asst
5935 Horse & Rider 12pc Asst
5949 Visiting Vet Gift Set
6020 Gift Pack 6 pc Asst (3 pcs of #6021, #6022)
6021 Super Sporty Gift Set
6022 Gentle Giants Gift Set
6031 English Horse & Riders 12 Pc Asst
6032 Western Horse & Riders 12 Pc Asst
9154 Valegro - Stablemates
9183 American Pharoah - Stablemates

Traditional

1769 Bandera - "Ranch" Horse - limited to 5,000 pcs
1357 Big Chex to Cash - Quarter Horse
1739 Chocolate Chip Kisses - Pinto World Champion
1749 Sweet Pea - Foal Collection
1750 Scooter - Foal Collection
1751 Rocky - Foal Collection
1754 Icelandic - Svali frá Tjӧrn
1758 Cherry Creek Fonzie Merit - Canadian Horse
1759 Cortes C - Show Jumper
1761 Hickory Hills Wall Street - miniature donkey
1764 BHR Bryant's Jake - Spotted Draft
1768 Brunello - Champion Hunter
9171 Best of British Irish Draught
9175 Best of British Shire and Corgi Set - 1/12 scale
9176 Best of British Ponies and Draught 4pc Set - 1/32 scale
Traditional Series Tack and Accessories
2069 Winners' Circle Accessory Set - English
2063 Winners' Circle Accessory Set - Western
2061 Going to the Horse Show Set

I'm a bit surprised that they're already retiring the Icelandic, Bryants Jake, Cortes C and Hickory Hills Wall Street - those were all only introduced last year, and if I remember right, some of them were mid-year releases. Usually they let a regular run go for at least two years - heck, Big Chex to Cash has been in the line since 2008. But I guess that means more new regular runs for 2018, so I can't complain too much!

I'm more excited about all the Stablemate stuff that's getting retired, including all of the single-assortment Stablemates. That means we're getting a ton of new Stablemate stuff next year! I can't wait to see what they are. Looks like my Stablemate collection may be expanding- a lot!

Featured Model - 11/4/2017, Dapple Gray G2 Andalusian

Hello, readers, and welcome to another edition of Featured Model! Featured Model is 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...the original Dapple Gray G2 Andalusian!



This model was part of the original Special Edition Stablemates Gift Set offered through JAH in 1998, which introduced twelve new Stablemate molds to Breyer's lineup! Prior to that time, the Stablemates line had not been updated since the Maureen Love sculpts were introduced in the '70s. It was definitely time for an update!

Interestingly, this set doesn't appear to have had an item number, but 5,000 sets were produced for JAH in 1998. I remember buying this set when it first came out - it may have been the first JAH special run I was actually able to purchase (prior to that time the special runs would sell out by the time I got my copy of the magazine and mailed in my order). This model, like all of the G2s, was sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

Unfortunately, the sets were plagued with quality issues, which I remember noticing when I received mine - but I only would have been twelve years old at the time, so the concept of exchanging things was totally unknown to me. Oh well! My set has taken some damage (some of which can be seen in the photo), but that's bound to happen when they're owned by a twelve-year-old (with a weird habit of sometimes putting them all back in the foam insert in the box for some reason).

I always liked this particular mold because it's so stereotypically Andalusian, from the pose to the thick mane and tail, even the color (on this release). I love dapple gray horses in general, but a nice dark one like this is really hard to resist. His allure has faded a little bit since his introduction almost 20 years ago, but I have no intention of getting rid of mine - he's the fairy tale horse so many people have dreamed of!

2017 Unicorn Set - Rosalind and Rigel!

That's not all the exciting reveals we've had today - we also got a new set of unicorns! Behold:



Rosalind and Rigel!

I'm super happy to see this release - Giselle and Gilen need to be used more often, and what's more fitting than a unicorn set? I like how the horns look, too - a lot of times the added horns look really goofy (looking at you, Stone). But these look perfectly natural. I'm mildly annoyed that they did another mostly-white unicorn set, though - expand your horizons a bit, Breyer! Unicorns could come in a lot of different colors! Branch out a bit.

The names are kind of weird, too. Okay, Rosalind is perfectly reasonable, I guess, but...Rigel?

EDIT: Reading fail...his name is Rigel, not Regel. Apparently Rigel is the name of a star. D'oh! That makes a lot more sense.

I still bought this set along with my Carina and Selene, though. Sheesh, with today's releases and renewing my Premier Club membership, Breyer has gotten a lot of money out of me lately. I've been cutting back on my purchases for the last couple of months, though, so I don't feel too guilty. But I can't wait for these unicorns to get here so I can see how pretty they are!

There has been some speculation that this is our holiday mare and foal set, but I wouldn't be so sure - those sets come with blankets, and have been issued on older, less popular molds. I think the holiday mare and foal set are still on the way - I'm hoping for Susecion and Le Fire, but we'll see what we get.

Carina and Selene are now available for purchase!

Wow, that was quick! Carina and Selene, the final Premier Club releases for 2017, are in stock!



I can't wait to see these beauties in person! Hopefully they don't have a lot of quality issues...I'm a little nervous about that paint job, though. I'm glad these don't seem to have been delayed like the Duende models were - hopefully this means the mini True Norths will ship on time as well. I'm looking forward to seeing mine!

The 2018 Premier Club is now open!

Signups are now open for the 2018 Premier Club! Check it out:



They gave us a slightly larger photo of the sculpt, at least. While I'd like to just see the full photo like the rest of the world, they're probably waiting on showing complete photos to try to drive more signups before the deadline.

Also interesting to note that the stand pictured with him won't necessarily be the actual production stand. Though I think I'd like something like this better than say, Newsworthy's stand (which way is it supposed to face? Does it matter? I like to think putting it on backward makes him look like he's cresting a wave). But I'd rather not have that dilemma with this one.

No, I'm not implying that I'm going to keep my Bristol, but the release of this photo definitely made things more promising. We'll see what the full body and the other side look like before I make my decision. I really do like his paintjob, though, for what it's worth.