Callahan, Live Show prizes and more!

Lots of exciting things happening today! Firstly, a surprise new Classics special run popped up on the website - Callahan!



Oooooh! I like them all! And I'm thrilled that they're using the Shire B for this - he hardly ever gets used! From the website (bolded by me):

Everyone’s a winner with this gambler’s choice Web Special! This powerful Classics Shire comes in three striking finishes, each inspired by special releases of the fan-favorite model, Othello! You will randomly receive one of the following Shire models inspired by Silverado, Silver Snow and Pamplemouse (sic):  

• Shaded Silver Bay with silver and blue ribbons and bobs
• Silver Filigree with a high gloss finish and red and green ribbons and bobs
• Shaded Palomino Sabino with a high gloss finish and gold and purple bobs and ribbons

It was "Pamplemousse," Breyer, but good try. I always thought that was a stupid name anyway (French for grapefruit).

But anyway. I love all three of these guys, although the palomino one doesn't look like it quite matches the original Pamplemousse's color. Maybe it'll look better in person. Either way, I want them all! I don't even know which one I like the best - the silver bay, probably, even though silver filigree is supposedly my favorite Breyer colorway. I think it's the bobs - red and green, really? It's not Christmas, you guys.

But I digress. These are randomly shipped and we ordered three of them on our accounts, so with a little bit of luck I'll get all three colors! If not I'll have to find someone to trade with - no biggie. It was refreshing to be able to order these after not one, but two Koh-i-Noor fiascos.

In other news, the Breyerfest Live Show Grand and Reserve prizes were unveiled today - Cloverleaf and Hot to Trot. First, here's Cloverleaf, the Live Show Grand prize!

Great, another super-limited Geronimo I'll never get my hands on. The blog describes him as a silver bay, but...that doesn't look like silver bay to me at all. More like a shaded chestnut? Someone must have gotten confused. It's a nice color, though - too bad I'll never be able to afford him.

Next, we have the Live Show Reserve prize - Hot to Trot!



I'm not as disappointed with this one, because I don't collect the mold, fortunately. I'm surprised they used this mold when they're already using it for the glossy Foiled Again release, but they've been on a kick of using less-popular molds for the live show prizes for the past few years - which is good for my bank account, so I'm not going to argue with it. That color is nice, too! His paint job looks like an older style, although that probably wasn't the intent.

I actually did think about trying my hand at showing this year, but then I made a reservation to see the stallions at the Darley at Jonabell farm, and the only available time was Friday afternoon. Maybe next year!

Ooh, and apparently the glossy prizes have been announced (no photos yet): Brunello and Hwin in glossy. Drat! That just makes my Brunello quandary even worse! And Hwin? I want that, too! I must be getting too far ahead of myself in predicting the glossies - they used to use new releases from the same year, but now they've shifted to new releases from the previous year (or older). I guess they couldn't get too predictable.

My last bit of news is that Rialto came today! But I'm going to save his pictures for tomorrow, since this post is getting long. Stay tuned!

Breyerfest 2018 Stablemate: Hands Down!

Whew, I've been failing at blogging the last couple of days. Just too busy to post! Better late than never, I guess. Yesterday Breyer posted a new teaser on the blog, and it turned out to be for the Garland Gift Shop Stablemate! Behold: Hands Down!


I have to say I'm ambivalent about this one. The mold debuted as a Christmas ornament. The tack and jockey are molded on, right? I've never been a fan of molded-on accessories. It's kind of odd that they decided to convert this ornament over to plastic for Breyerfest - maybe they're going to remove the molded-on stuff when they use it in the future? Even then, the horse is kind of generic - I'd rather have seen the Seabiscuit ornament (though it wouldn't stand without help), or the Secretariat one (also would need help standing)...all right, I guess I see why they used the one they did. Incidentally, did we know the G3 Standing Thoroughbred was used for this ornament in 2015? Weird.

Actually, Breyer, if you're planning on turning more ornaments into Stablemates, I'd be interested in most of the Beautiful Breeds series. Just throwing that out there.

Anyway, I'm going to pass on this one - it's not at all what I was expecting to see, although I suppose I should be glad it's at least following the theme. So, now I at least know I won't need to buy anything from either of the Garland Gift Shops, since I don't collect crystals. That's handy - maybe this year I can finally watch the opening ceremony on Friday, such as it is.

Unless, of course, Breyer throws some unexpected stuff into the mix, which is always possible. Hopefully they don't! I like the convenience of not needing any of the store specials or pop-up-shop stuff. Plus, I save money!

Also, yes, Koh-i-Noor briefly came back in stock on the website today. I missed it, again, and it's always nice to read about how other people bought multiples (again) when I just want one of them. Sigh. Hopefully I can find one at Breyerfest.

Bristol is here!

Good news, everyone! My Bristol model arrived on Saturday! I was so excited for this model, I decided to get out my fancy camera for pictures. Behold!

It probably would have gone better if the lighting had been coming from the other direction, but what's done is done. He's gorgeous!

Most of the comments online I've seen have been along the same lines - he's definitely one of the better releases the Premier Club has ever seen. I love him!

I haven't been this excited about a new release in a really long time. I guess Breyer really was overdue for a new jumper! And the Morgen curse is broken - finally, a sculpt I like enough to keep in the collection!

I love the "height" of his jump, and the curve of his tail, and everything else that suggests his powerful forward motion. And I love his color! I can't wait to see what other colors they put on this guy - I want him in everything! Except maybe old-style red roan. I hate that color. I'm also not a fan of "honey" or wild bay. You know, just in case someone at Breyer is keeping track.

But otherwise...so many possibilities!

Quality-wise, I didn't see anything majorly wrong with him, and maybe one or two minor dings. A couple of little black marks, maybe? I don't even really remember, except my one nitpick: I wish his dapples were a little more subtle. But that's a pretty big nitpick.

Interestingly, he has a new style of VIN, but I couldn't get a great photo of it.

It's bigger than the old VIN - it barely fits on the sole of his foot. I guess we'll have to see if it pops up again on other new models this year.

All in all, this is one model that's definitely going to stay in my herd, along with any others I can get my grubby hands on. I'm definitely going to be buying a lot of raffle tickets at Breyerfest this year, even if it does look like his stand melted in the Kentucky heat! What an amazing mold!

Featured Model - 5/26/2018, Icicle

Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a random model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. Because it's so dang hot outside today, our model for the day is Icicle!



This cute little guy was the flagship model for 2013, only available to Breyer's flagship retailers. Item #1702, he was a run of 3500 on the Bouncer mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

I remember the hullabaloo when this model came out - a new Bouncer! And he's SHINY! And the hobby collectively lost their minds over him. Nowadays, he may have lost some of his luster (doubtful), but I still like him. He's a really nice color, well-shaded, has subtle dapples (not to mention SHINY!) and he's just as cute as the rest of his pony counterparts.

I think part of why hobbyists were so excited about this model is because he doesn't get used very often (although that's common with a lot of Breyer's molds). He's reasonably popular, too, as is evidenced by the fact that Brookside Pink Magnum joined the regular run line in 2012 and is still running today. So why doesn't he get used for more special runs?

He did show up (in clearware, no less!) as last year's Christmas models Amethyst, Emerald and Sapphire. So it's probably safe to assume he's gone back into the metaphorical vault for a while. I still think Breyer wasted a perfectly good opportunity to use him in the Berries Ponies web special series in 2016 - he easily could have replaced Croi, Flash or the Icelandic. D'oh! It's probably his tiny size - hobbyists get cranky about paying web special prices for one of the smaller molds, which is also probably the reason we'll never get any kind of foal or Classic web special (in the traditional, highly-limited sense of the term).

So, it's anyone's guess where this guy will show up next. Like I said, he was used for last year's Christmas release, so I wouldn't expect to see him anytime soon. But who knows - maybe he'll be a special run at the Scottsdale Stampede later this year. I certainly hope so!

Must resist...MUST RESIST!

The latest pop-up-tent model, Born to Run, has been revealed, and...oh no. No, NOOOOOOO!

I want to buy her. NO! I have to stay strong. I can't collect everything Breyer puts out! I'll go broke!

But...I want to buy her...

No. I can do this! They got me with Marigold last year, but they're not going to do it again this year! I can resist!

I really do wonder if Lauren Hoeffer designed this one. I love the colors, and the gold swirls! But I have to resist! I don't even like this mold! Argh!



It's the legs! I don't like the legs! Come on, I can do this!

Rialto selections are out!

Today's draw for Rialto happened right on schedule and...I'm a winner! Yay! Hopefully he doesn't take too long to get here.



I can't wait to see mine! Pro-tip: apparently, if you add another $50 of merch to your cart, this month's free shipping code will work on this guy. I can't verify it for myself because I completed the purchase before I heard the code would work, but it's worth a try, right?

Okay, this one DOES look like Bella. (Also, Scottsdale Stampede update!)

There's a new, tiny hint on the blog! Check it out!



So I'm pretty sure that's a picture of a horse's flank/hindquarter area, and if I'm not mistaken, it looks a lot like Bella's.

Are we looking at another jockey-silks-inspired decorator? Or just a racehorse-themed one? Those colors certainly look interesting, although I already know it won't be enough to make me want to buy it. Poor Bella just looks too lumpy and awkward (and like a redo of the G2 Thoroughbred) for me.

The swirls on this one make me wonder if it's another one designed by Lauren Hoeffer? She's certainly turning out to have a nice talent for designing models.

In other news, the entry period for the Scottsdale Stampede opened today. It looks like collectors can only enter once, which immediately makes me think our chances of being drawn just cratered. But at least we don't have to remember to enter every day. The entry period ends 6/3, so there's plenty of time to put in your name. Good luck to everyone! 

Featured Model - 5/19/2018, Alaric

Hello and welcome to 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...Alaric!



My first thought on seeing this model is always, "Oooh, rainbow!" My weakness for rainbows strikes again. If only he were glossy to boot! Oh well. This release doesn't seem to have had an item number, but he was produced for QVC in 2002. I'm not sure if his quantity was ever released, either! What a mysterious guy.

The QVC stuff always really frustrated me, so I'm glad it's gone. Seems like it was always on in the middle of the night (which is bad when you're still in high school and have to go to bed), and the one time I actually tried to tune in, I'm not sure if the broadcast was canceled or if we read the schedule wrong, because it didn't come on that night. Plus there's the whole paying for things over the phone with a credit card thing, and I'd have had to borrow my parents' credit card, which they probably wouldn't let me do anyway, and...yeah. I'm glad that hassle is gone.

And when they released beautiful models like this one, that made the frustration even worse! Gah. But I finally managed to get my Alaric, a number of years after his original release, and he never fails to wow me. For a while I had the complete "family," with him, Alida and Elidor, but I ended up selling my Alida last year along with the rest of my Marabella models.

The Huck model used to be super-popular in the years immediately following his release - probably because he was among the first of the super-detailed molds that have since become the norm - but his popularity seems to have faded in more recent times. Has he been overshadowed by newer releases? Probably, and his inability to stand without the disc base - and the propensity for those bases to break - hasn't helped. I have a lot of Hucks, and even I get frustrated with those crappy bases, especially when the peg breaks off in the model's foot. I have a Huck that's been living on his side for close to two years now because I hate drilling those pegs out and the hot needle trick never seems to work...oh well.

Will we see a new Huck release anytime soon? He was last seen at Breyerfest 2015 as Giverny and as an auction model the same year, so I'd say he's due for something. He probably won't be a web special - or if he is, he'll probably show up later in the year, since I don't think Breyer would use two models that need a stand in a row. We haven't seen this year's Breyerfest show prize models yet, so maybe he'll show up there? Or as a mid-year release? Only time will tell.

The mystery is solved - Rialto!

Well, it's like I thought - yesterday's mystery Appaloosa is the next America the Beautiful web special!



I wonder if somebody was inspired by last year's Wolfgang? They'd make a nice pair. From the website:

The third release in the 2018 series draws its inspiration from Washington's Olympic National Park. The park covers almost a million acres, and includes coastline, mountains, and rain forests. The ocean meets the coastal forest at Rialto Beach. Views are punctuated by the incredible sea stacks, which are large rocky formations that jut out of the water near the shore. Worn down by the waves and wind, they stand silent watch over the coast.

Suddenly I want to play Dragon Age Inquisition again and hang out on the Storm Coast...

But I digress. I'll be entering for this guy on all my accounts! I haven't found a Koh-i-Noor yet, so this is a Totilas I must add to the herd! He's all glossy and shiny and pretty! And speaking of Koh-i-Noor, we're getting two Totilas special runs in a row. Did they have that many bodies left over from the Holiday on Parade run? Oooh, maybe we're getting a new regular run soon! Mid-year releases should be out fairly soon; I hope he pops up there!

It was the plush! Duh!

Durrrr. Not sure how I forgot about the plushie. His name is Furlong!



He's...interesting, but plushies aren't really my thing. That's certainly a hodgepodge of jockey-silks-looking designs they've got going on.

Oh well. On to the next exciting reveal!

Web Special? Koh-i-Noor consolation? Something else?

Today's big news is this mysterious photo that popped up on Breyer's Instagram:



Ooooooh! He's pretty! He reminds me a lot of Labyrinth! I guess Labyrinth has more black, but I'm pretty sure they're both basecoated white. And this mystery guy is glossy!

Prevailing opinion is that someone accidentally posted the next web special early, due to the background of the photo. But there's also speculation that he's a consolation prize for those who didn't get Koh-i-Noor? I could get behind that, although I think it's more likely he's a web special. Hopefully Breyer gets this little snafu resolved soon!

Pop-up store sneak peek!

There's another sneak peek on the blog!



Unfortunately, I'm kind of over the whole "let's use a tiny picture that doesn't show any identifying features so it's impossible to guess" thing. This one looks like a blanket. How are we supposed to guess anything more than that? We haven't seen last year's new Classic (Bella) pop up anywhere yet, so I'm going with that in lieu of more useful clues.

At least they used the right form of peek this time? Sigh.

How do you solve a problem like Brunello?

Don't lie, you sang today's post title in your head. (The hills are alive with the sound of...confusion?)

Anyway, today's post is about a subject I've been thinking about for a while...Brunello, on the Idocus mold. Here's a photo:

This model was released in 2016, and was notable because he came with a brand new hairdo. Here's an original-issue Idocus:

I've never been a fan of the original Idocus, but before Brunello's release I never thought about it much. Not a fan; end of story. But then Brunello came out, with his braided mane and tail, and I realized: it was his hair. I've never been a fan of the banged tails on dressage horses, and the original Idocus's mane isn't doing him any favors. It's just kind of there. But Brunello practically makes him look like a whole different model. I really like his head and neck with the braids! And his tail isn't banged! Win-win!

But that opens up a whole new can of worms. I like Brunello, but do I like him enough to buy him? (So far, no.) Should I buy him? I don't generally like to only have one model of a particular mold. But I don't like any of the other Idocus releases because of the blah mane and banged tail. However, Wapiti's tail is different from the usual. Here's a photo:

He still has the iffy mane...but my urge to buy is rising! Ugh! I wonder if they'll use the braided mane and tail on other releases in the future. I know last year's auction model on this mold had the braids. Maybe if they keep using those I'll think about starting a conga...maybe. Or maybe I'll see a Brunello at Breyerfest this year and won't be able to resist...we'll see.

Featured Model - 5/12/2018, Lady C

Hello and welcome to 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...Lady C!



This model was produced as special run #711167 for Breyerfest 2013. She was a run of 750 on the Bluegrass Bandit mold, sculpted by Sommer Prosser and Kathleen Moody.

I was lucky enough to be able to purchase this model at Breyerfest the year she was produced; Lady C was one of the guest horses that year. Sadly, I only got a glimpse of her once during the three days of Breyerfest. Here she is in the background of a photo of Tennessee Titan on Friday morning!



Not sure why that was the only time I saw her, as I have plenty of other photos of what was going on across the three days. Oh well.

Lady C (the model) is interesting to me because she seems to have been painted quite thickly - you can feel the raised edges of the black paint all over her where the masking was removed. Not that's it's any big deal,just something I found interesting. There were a lot of QC issues with the run, and it was hard to find one that didn't have a lot of flaws. Mine is mostly okay other than the raised paint edges and some issues with the paint on her barrel.

Black-and-white pintos are always flashy, though, so she's always been a treasured part of my collection.

As for Bluegrass Bandit, her most recent appearance was as Repeat the Beat at last year's Breyerfest. She's been a regular run a few times (her original release, Bear, the short-lived 2012 cancer horse, last year's warehouse find), and pops up regularly in other places (collector events, web specials, Breyerfest special runs), so your guess is as good as mine where we'll see her next. I hope we get her as a web special - the Tennessee Walker is a very American breed, so it wouldn't surprise me if she pops up as an America the Beautiful model. We should be getting another one of those soon, so I'm crossing my fingers!

Another test model on the website!

Today's other exciting news development is this guy! Another test model on the Breyer website!



As usual, this model is a genuine, certified test model circa 2000. He'll be sold to one lucky Collector Club member for the low, low price of $850 (and probably turned around and sold again for 2-3 times the price later).

I still remember when I bought my Black Stallion model; it was at least 20 years ago. IDYB didn't exist at the time, obviously, and I didn't know what the mold actually looked like. That's right - I bought a model sight-unseen from a random person on a JAH sales list. The Black Stallion series of books was my favorite book series at the time, so I was pretty excited to buy my own model of the Black.

Unfortunately, when he finally did arrive, I was...less than impressed. He's so...ho-hum! Just flat black, no shading or highlights (unfortunately common with black models). And why does he have tan hooves? Bleh. I think the Classic Black Stallion comes closer to what one might imagine the Black would look like - probably because the Black strikes the same pose on at least two book covers.

So anyway, I never thought this mold was a good representation of the Black. I'm not sure if we have a modern mold that's a good representation, either - Ashquar would be the closest, but the book purist in me insists Ashquar looks far too pure-blooded Arabian to be the Black (he was too big to be pure Arabian, as Walter Farley was fond of saying in every book). Sham was used as the Black a few years ago, but I had the same complaints about him - he's too Arabian.

So, maybe someday the Black will get his due. It looks like Steven Farley is still writing crappy continuations to the original series (I'm still bitter), so maybe someone will decide to make a crappy movie out of it and then sell the licensing to Breyer. Who knows!

In the meantime, I entered for this guy once, but I'm not going to bother with any more than that - I'm not sure he'd be as good an investment as the past few test models have been. Good luck with your own entries, though!

Custom Contest prizes!

The Breyerfest Custom Contest prizes have been revealed! Say hello to the grand prize, All Out!



Oh, she's pretty. I almost want her! That bay looks so nice on her; too bad there's only 6 of her. So pretty!

From the blog:

All Out was named after the slang term used in horse racing when a horse gives it everything they've got, just like our Best Customs contest entrants!

I was going to give them some guff for naming a model that's clearly not going all-out All Out, but I guess the blog does say the name is referring to the contest entrants, not the model. I stand corrected!

Now, on to the finalist prize!  Meet In the Running!



Surprise, surprise - he's an alternate color of Shiloh from the 2016 Stablemate Club. It's a clever idea, although I thought the mini-me of Geronimo we got last year was a cute idea. Oh well. Not sure how a dressage model relates to racing, but maybe they're trying to evoke Zenyatta's dance moves.

All in all, these are both prizes worthy of the Customs Contest. Fortunately, I don't collect either mold, so I don't have to feel sad for not having the artistic skills to enter the contest. If you are planning on entering, though, you'd better brush up on your skills (hah). Entries are due on June 14!

Bristol is now available!

I have good news for 2018 Premier Club members - the first release in this year's club, Bristol, is now available for purchase!



I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a Premier Club model. I can't wait to get mine! I think I'm going to hold off on ordering him, though - his payment deadline is the 22nd and I have a feeling another web special is going to come up soon. Might as well try to save on shipping, right? Let's hope my luck is good (or the next web special isn't something I need, either way).

And now that Bristol's been released, maybe we'll find out what the next sculpt is? I don't remember when we first heard about Duende last year, but it would be nice to find out what it is before Breyerfest...

Custom Contest prizes?

There's a new hint on the blog. Another tiny photo; what a joy to look at!



Looks like a Bobby Jo shoulder/neck. But wait - haven't we seen that pinto pattern before?



Not only is it the Bobby Jo mold...but it looks like an alternate color of Bobby Jo herself. Now where we have seen that before...?

Oh yeah! It's how they do the Breyerfest custom contest prize every year. Maybe this year they decided to do the prize model on a mold that's already been released to collectors, instead of using the one that's ostensibly only supposed to be available to Premier Club subscribers for the first year of its release?

In any case, if this is the custom contest prize, at least I don't have to feel bad about my lack of customizing skills like I usually do. Huzzah! But if you are a Bobby (or Working Cow Horse, going by Breyer's terms) fan, you'd better put your skills to work. The competition is pretty tough!

EDIT: There's another sneak peek on the blog! Check it out:



I'm adding it on to this post because I think it's the mini-me Stablemate prize for the Customs Contest runners-up. But which mold? I'm not sure, actually...and the pattern doesn't appear to match Bobby Jo's, either. So who is it supposed to be? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Featured Model - 5/5/2018, Secretariat

Happy Derby Day, everyone! I'm rooting for Good Magic - we'll see who wins the Run for the Roses this year! In honor of the Kentucky Derby, this week's Featured Model is about my favorite Derby winner of all - Secretariat!



Secretariat is a legend in the sport, and won the Kentucky Derby in a record time that still stands. I was never the greatest fan of the original Secretariat sculpt, the last one Chris Hess did for Breyer (although it is a decent likeness of the photo of Secretariat it was sculpted from). So, like many fans, I was thrilled to see the updated Secretariat on the Smarty Jones mold sculpted by Sue Sifton! He's item #1345 and made his debut all the way back in 2009! These days, most regular runs don't last much longer than a couple of years, so he must be a pretty big seller if he's still being produced 9 years later. That's practically an eternity!

Secretariat had already been in the regular line for a year when I came back to the hobby in 2010, but I have to confess it took me until 2012 to buy one. At the time I wasn't sure if I wanted to collect Smarty Jones...but when I was looking at the Breyer lineup in a local store and found an especially metallic-looking Secretariat, I was hooked! He came home with me that day. Now he's my cheering partner whenever a Triple Crown is on the line!

As for Smarty Jones, we've been speculating for at least the last two years that he'll show up as the Breyerfest surprise model, but it hasn't happened yet. Will this year be the year? He seems a little too obvious a choice this year to actually be the surprise (way to go, Breyer), but I suppose there's always hope. As always, though, if he shows up as an auction model, he's out of the running. We'll have to wait and see! This year's auction countdown will begin in mid-June, so we don't have that much longer to wait. 

And if Smarty does turn out to be the surprise model, at least I won't be the only one in a mad scramble to try to get all 8 of the surprise models!

Oops - They Did It Again

Periodically, Breyer does a "free shipping with purchase of $X or more" on the website. For instance, for the entire month of May they're doing free shipping with purchase of $50 or more.



(They're also doing a "free American Pharoah resin with purchase of $250 on the website" deal. Hahaha...sorry, but no. No offense to the Champ, but that's a "deal" I'm just going to have to pass up. Plus, I bet it doesn't stack with the free shipping offer.)

Nearly every time they do this, I go to the website and throw a couple of items into the cart to see if they add up to whatever the required amount is. Then I think to myself, "I wonder if I could get this cheaper on Amazon." So I go over to Amazon and sure enough, they have it cheaper there and I get Prime shipping to boot.

So whenever Breyer does the free shipping promotion, my money usually ends up going to Amazon instead. As an example, right now Amazon has Day Dreamer for $18.24 and Mason for $18.25. On Breyer's own website, Day Dreamer costs $25 and Mason costs $22. Now, the deal on Breyer's website might be worth it if my Collector Club 10% discount also worked with the free shipping deal, but it doesn't. Sorry, Breyer, but this is an expensive hobby and I have to make my funds stretch as far as they can. Buying them on Amazon saves me $11, plus I can get free Prime shipping whenever I want. It's generally not worth buying anything directly from Breyer's website unless they're offering free shipping plus 10% (or 20%) off, but that only happens during Christmastime, and I want my new models sooner than that, damn it!

This hasn't been the case as often lately, because in the last few years the Breyer prices on Amazon have been more or less consistent with what Breyer themselves charge. In years past, most Traditional regular runs could be had for around $5 off retail, if not more. That's not really the case anymore for whatever reason, but since these Classics were cheaper, maybe the Traditionals will come down in price again. I certainly hope so!

The Curse of the Koh-i-Noor

Cripes! Breyer released a new special run today - Koh-i-Noor!



According to legend, the Koh-i-Noor diamond this model is named for is cursed. Well, apparently I got hit with the curse, because I missed out on this guy! I saw he had been posted on Facebook this afternoon, and foolishly thought I could finish getting some things done around the house before I bought one! I'll never make that mistake again!

(Okay, technically the curse of the Koh-i-Noor only applies to men, but I'm using it here for dramatic license.)

If this guy looks familiar, it's because we've seen him before - he was produced from extra Winter Wonderland stock. According to the email from Breyer, only 750 of these guys were produced, and some of them will have three, two or even no stockings at all. Gah! I knew I should have ordered one right away! And shipping was free to boot. Curses!

Well, hopefully I can find one somewhere for a reasonable price. The curse can't last forever, right?

Ruffian! (And Man o' War and Silver Charm. Oops!)

Well, one way or another, the remaining single-day Stablemates have been revealed to the world! First off, let's have a look at Ruffian:



So shiny, I love it! ...But I don't collect the mold, so I won't be buying it, sadly. This is one I would have liked to see on the G2 Thoroughbred. Oh well. From the blog:

Foaled at Claiborne Farm near Paris, KY and trained by Frank Y. Whiteley, Jr., Ruffian measured in at an imposing 16.1 hands despite her young age. Though her career in the early 1970s was short-lived, this champion filly won ten consecutive races between 1974 and 1975 earning more than $300,000.

She's definitely a worthy choice for a single-day Stablemate! I wish they'd put her on a mold I collect, but I'm just not into the G3 Standing Thoroughbred.

In other news, I'd wondered if the other two horses were also going to be portraits...and earlier today a photo of a single-day ticket surfaced on Facebook! The photo isn't mine, but it was posted in the "Road to Breyerfest" group. It seems Breyer is already shipping the tickets out? Anyway, the other two single-day Stablemates are glossy Man o' War on the G3 Cantering Warmblood and glossy Silver Charm (!) on the G4 Driving Horse. I really like Silver Charm, so I wish they'd put him on a mold I collect. As of right now, it looks like the only single-day Stablemate I'm going to get this year is the Man o' War!

As for the "leak," I kinda thought Breyer doesn't usually ship those tickets out until after everything is revealed? Somebody made an oops on that one. But we got to see the other two models earlier, so I'm happy with it!

Big Lex!

The first single-day Stablemate has been revealed - it's Big Lex!



All I can say is...WOW! I want one! But I don't collect his mold! But I want one! But I don't collect his mold! Darn you, Breyer!

From the blog:

This iconic big blue horse is the stuff of legend! While it's only a rumor that the famous Kentucky Bluegrass actually turned the real Lexington blue from a lifetime of grazing, what is true is that this horse made history. ... Our BreyerFest Big Lex is done on mold #5621 and is shaded a rich blue with a high gloss finish. We know this fun decorator will make an exciting addition to your mini herd!

Unfortunately, practicality has to win out, so I don't think I'm going to buy this guy. That color, though...too bad they didn't put it on the Cantering Warmblood instead. Maybe they'll use it on something else I want in the future? I hope so. He's blue and shiny and beautiful! I'm resisting the urge to  buy two single-day tickets...