Last Day for Volunteer Applications!

Attention, Breyerfest 2019 attendees: Today is the last day to get your volunteer applications in! If you're planning to apply and sending through the mail, your application has to be postmarked today. If you're emailing your application, get that email sent today!

I'm not applying to volunteer this year, but it's always a rewarding and fun experience - and the closest I'll ever get to actually working for Breyer. You won't regret being a volunteer, and you get a pretty model (and sometimes some other swag) to boot!

Here's the link to the application! Good luck to everyone who applies, or has already applied!

Aww, Geez

I completely blanked on posting about yesterday's Breyerfest special run reveal! What a dunce. Well, better late than never. Say hello to Zipped in Black Magic!

He's our first Store Special model to be revealed! The real Zipped in Black Magic is a therapy horse in Pennsylvania, according to the blog. He's definitely pretty, although I don't collect the Zippo mold!



As a Store Special, he shouldn't be too hard to get hold of, for those that want him. In the meantime, let's see something I actually want to buy! I'm 0 for 4 so far - although that does mean this year's Breyerfest may be lighter on my pocketbook than usual!

Featured Model - 2/23/2019, Rajah

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...Rajah!



Rajah was a Collector Club special run for the first part of 2014. He's item #712114 and was produced on the Marwari mold sculpted by Brigitte Eberl. While I don't think we ever got production numbers for him, these types of special runs tend to number around 1,000, so that's what I would assume his production size to have been.

Whew! I guess it's been a while since I took a look at this model - he's a bit small anyway, and I have so many other models that this mold tends to disappear on the shelves. This color looks smashing on him, though! He has great shading, and while Breyer's dapples tend to leave something to be desired, his aren't too bad. And I love the snip on his nose! He's definitely a pretty guy.

As for the mold itself, it's gotten a bit of a rest in recent years - it was originally introduced in the 2012 Premier Club, and has since been a  regular run, a Breyerfest live show prize, a Breyerfest special run, the Breyerfest Celebration Model in matte and glossy (I'm sensing a pattern here), and several Breyerfest auction models. Where will he pop up next? I'm wondering if Breyer would use him (or his modified counterpart, to fit the America the Beautiful theme) this year. He isn't the most popular mold of all time, so who knows if they'd actually do it. But I wouldn't complain if they did!

I doubt we'll see him at Breyerfest this year unless he's the surprise model, but that doesn't seem likely to me. That reminds me - I need to do a Breyerfest predictions post for this year. Hopefully I'll find some spare time later this weekend!

Muir Woods is here!

Hello, readers! Sorry for the delay in getting this posted - my Muir Woods model came on Tuesday, but I just haven't had a chance to write about him until today. Here he is!



Here he is with glosssy Fiero! As you can see, they're actually a pretty good match, though Muir Woods may be a tad darker.

I have to say I love the sheen on this model. "Sheen" is the best word I can use for it, because I'm not sure what it actually is - I don't think it's metallic. Pearlescent, maybe? Or iridescent? Like I said, it's some type of sheen, and I love it.

His eyes are nicely done, but I've come to expect that by now. He does have a slightly bent ear tip, but it's nothing major.

Quality-wise, he's not perfect - those dapples aren't very subtle at all, and he has a small piece of hair in his gloss on his right shoulder. It's not very noticeable unless you really look for it, though, so at least there's that.



All in all, this guy is another knockout addition to the America the Beautiful series and a great addition to my collection. I can't wait to see the next model in the series! (As well as any other upcoming releases on this mold, since Breyer has been using him relatively frequently lately - Kehinde, Muir Woods, Cap...anything else, while you're at it?).

St. Patrick's Day grab bags!

Another holiday, another new grab bag! This time it's St. Patrick's Day!



They're "mini" grab bags this time, so they only cost $20. The items inside are supposed to have a value of $44.85. Kind of a weird number, but whatever.

My feelings on grab bags remain unchanged, so I won't be buying one. Happy hunting to those that do, though!

P.S. I know my Muir Woods post is sadly overdue, but I've been very busy this week. Hopefully I can get that posted tomorrow.

Holy crap!

Exciting news today - there's a new test run available for entry on the Breyer website! Here he is:

Okay, I'll admit I've never been a big fan of the Semi-Rearing Mustang, but that color is STUNNING!



From the website:

The Semi Rearing Mustang is one of the most popular Chris Hess sculptures! He was sampled in this striking glossy dappled black in the last decade. His mane and tail are a smoky shaded pearly grey, giving him a very dramatic look.

Dramatic, indeed! I'm surprised they're parting with something so relatively recent - I don't think many of the other tests they've sold over the last couple of years were less than 20 years old. Whoever wins this guy will have a beautiful addition to their collection! Or...they'll have a really, really nice resale piece.

I'm not going to lie; I'm entering for this guy on all our accounts. His price from Breyer is $850, but if he's sold on the secondary market, I'd be astounded if he didn't bring at least $3000. We've been saving for a new car, and well...that's a really nice chunk of change we could add to the down payment.

I'm guessing there are a lot of other people intending to do the same thing, though, so I won't get my hopes up. He should go to a permanent home first, anyway! 

Fiero is here!

Greetings, readers! Exciting news - my Fiero is here! Okay, I got two of them because I have two accounts, but they were both glossy and the extra one has already been packed up to trade for a matte one. So I only have (poor) photos of one of them! Behold! (Today was long, and tiring, and frustrating, and I didn't have a chance to get better photos).



Starting with an in-box photo. Although I didn't get a photo of it, it looks like the Fiero models were packaged in leftover boxes from last year, because they have the same artwork on the back of the box (including the photo of the unpainted Darley, etc). Are they going to look like that all year? Why wouldn't they update the boxes for this year? Sigh. I still wish they'd go back to using the satin bags.

But anyway. Here he is out of the box!



He's definitely handsome despite the bad photos. He's got great shading and I love the contrast of his white feet against the solid body (if only all four feet were white!). He has a lot of dapples - almost too many, really. And they're out of scale with his body, which is something we've seen with Stablemate Club releases before.



Quality-wise, he's fine - other than the too-large dapples, the only issue I saw with him was some kind of paint flaw on one of his tail tips - no biggie.



Even his eyewhites were decently painted!

I did manage to find a Muir Woods for a not-terrible price, and he's due to arrive tomorrow - so I'm hoping to get both of these guys together and see how similar they are shade-wise. They probably won't match each other, but it'll be fun if they do!

All in all, this guy is a worthy addition to the Stablemate Club collection, even if it is the second time the mold has been used in the club. More to love!

Featured Model - 2/16/2018, Django

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...Django!



This incredibly handsome guy was the final release in the inaugural year of the Stablemates Club! He's item #712191 and was sculpted by Josine Vingerling. Approximately 1500 of these models were made for the Stablemates Club, but an unknown number of them have since been customized.

Django was a big hit when he was first released, and he's been very popular since then - and it's not hard to see why! He's a beautiful, stately chunk of a model, with a lot of presence - and long, flowing hair to boot! All of his releases have been very popular, especially the copper filigree chase piece from last year's blind bag sets.

While he's definitely a handsome guy from the sides, closer inspection reveals his translation to plastic wasn't completely successful - he's narrow through the middle and his front legs are visibly different sizes. It looks like Django got hit with the same issues that have been happening to some of Breyer's new sculpts lately - they don't all seem to translate to plastic very well. The worst case in recent years is definitely the Mangalarga Marchador, but Duende, Croi (and others I'm probably forgetting) all appear to have suffered some issues. Hopefully Breyer can get to the bottom of it soon, because watching the total crapshoot happen over and over is getting tiresome.

But, back to Django. This mold has gotten a healthy amount of use since his end-of-2016 debut - in addition to being last year's chase model, he's appeared at Breyerfest, been a regular blind bag item, and is currently appearing in the (new-ish) 4-piece Walmart sets. Where will he pop up next? I wouldn't mind seeing him at this year's Breyerfest, although it might  be a little soon after his 2017 appearance. Maybe he'll get some new RR releases? We'll have to wait and see!

Diana!

The third Breyerfest 2019 special run is revealed - Diana! Whoo, I was right about the color!

And she's glossy to boot! Ooh, she's pretty.



She's going to be a hot commodity, I can tell! Not anything I need to buy, unfortunately - I sold off the few Roxy models I had a few years ago for shelf space. But it looks like my loss is everyone else's gain - she's so pretty!

Breyer is 0/3 with me so far with their special run releases - let's hope the next one is something I want! We haven't seen any Premier Club molds yet - maybe we'll see a pretty Dundee next? I hope so!

Whoops, I forgot about Darwin.

So my Darwin arrived last week, and I unpacked him, took a look at him, put him on my entertainment center...and then forgot about him. Oops! So, here are some photos!

I'd been fervently checking my mailbox for ages waiting for him to get here, so I'm not sure why he slipped my mind so fast. Oh well - he's really nice!

I didn't see any quality issues with him, either - which is nice!



Isn't he nice? I'm excited to see what they do with him in the future, provided he doesn't just languish unused like Mirado did. I wonder if he'll get some kind of Breyerfest release this year? I hope so!

Darwin's arrival brings my participation in the 2018 Premier Club to a close. It was definitely a good year - the first year I've kept all of the releases since 2012! Unless something changes...looking at you, Emerson.

But anyway, here's hoping the 2019 Premier Club brings us models as amazing as last year's were!

Yet another hint on the blog!

Hello, readers! Exciting news - there's another Breyerfest clue on the blog!

It's...a hoof? Okay, I admit this isn't much to go by, and I thought it looked like Carrick's left front hoof at first, but the consensus on the Internets is that it's Roxy's left front hoof. Which, given the wording on the blog, would make sense:

For our next Special Run model we hunted through countless breeds and disciplines, the wild woodlands and amazon isles, and even went as far as the moon for our inspiration.

This is pretty clearly a reference to Wonder Woman, but I also wonder if it means we'll get multiple Roxys with different hairdos? Kinda interesting to do that after she already had a variety of hairstyles when she was the surprise model in 2013, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'm guessing her color will be a nice red bay, since red features so prominently in Wonder Woman's costume.

Since the blog mentions Valentine's Day, I'm hoping we see the model reveal on Thursday rather than Friday! Crossing my fingers! 

Featured Model - 2/9/2019, American Spotted Draft Shire B

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...the American Spotted Draft Shire B!



This handsome guy was produced in 2009 as a regular run. He's item #620 on the Shire B mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

I've always wondered why this guy's production run was so short - he's definitely handsome! Classic models aren't always known for being hot sellers, though, so that might explain it. I finally got my hands on him a couple of months ago (two of them, actually) and they spent a couple of months in a sunny window in the hopes it would cure their unfortunate yellow tinge, but I don't think it did much. Oh well. It's a nice paint job, though! And his blue-and-yellow ribbons make me happy; they're probably just supposed to be Breyer colors, but my alma mater also uses those colors, so yay!

As for the Shire B himself, he still doesn't get much use these days, but last year's Callahan special run was definitely appreciated! I hope they use him again soon! Maybe he'll get a new regular run release. I can only hope!

Fiero is now available!

The first Stablemates Club release of the year, Fiero, is in stock on the Breyer website! Breyer must have gotten their warehouse backlog worked out - yay!

I already ordered them on both my accounts. Hopefully I get lucky and they send me a glossy and a matte so I don't have to worry about trading!



These guys are definitely pretty! Can't wait for them to get here. It's interesting that Mirado has had all of two (well, three if you count both finishes) releases, and they're all molded in cellulose acetate. Maybe he'll get a Breyerfest release this year too? I hope so.

I'm not going to lie; I was kind of hoping the first release of the year would be the new Thoroughbred sculpture and the last would be the new sporthorse, to "bookend" the club releases, as it were. Oh well - maybe the new Throughbred will be next!

Muir Woods winners have been announced!

Unfortunately, I wasn't a winner this time (which irks me, because I thought it'd be a cinch I'd get drawn, going by the mostly-negative hobby reaction I've seen). Hopefully I can find one for a decent price! If you haven't gotten an email, be sure to check your club account anyway - sometimes the option to buy shows up before the email goes out. Congratulations to all the lucky winners!

Rosemary is here!

Greetings, readers! Exciting news today - my Vintage Club freebie Stablemate, Rosemary, is finally here! Behold!



The vintage-style packaging for her is right on the money, I have to admit.

I'll admit I haven't been too excited about getting this model because old-style red roan is one of my most hated colorways (along with sandy/mealy bay), but at the same time...free stuff! It's hard to say no to that. And because I never leave models imprisoned in the packaging, here she is after being freed.

She isn't for sale, because I do collect the G2 Saddlebred, but I'll never be more than "meh" about the color.

But anyway, I'm happy to report that she's molded from cellulose acetate, as a properly vintage Stablemate should be! I'll have to put her next to my original black Saddlebred from the JAH collection back in '98...

...which makes me sad to think about, because it's already been 20 (soon to be 21!) years since these molds were released! Now I feel all old and stuff.

Her ribbons are cute - I wonder if they're Breyer's colors on purpose? Probably. It doesn't hurt that they're my alma mater's colors as well. Huzzah!

Quality-wise, she's pretty nice, but as you may have noticed from the previous pictures...



One of her front legs is significantly shorter than the other! What gives?! I have 16 others on this mold, and while some of them display a slightly-shorter left front leg, none of them have it to this degree. I think cellulose acetate is more vulnerable to environmental fluctuations than ABS, but this is ridiculous.

Oh well. She was free (for a given definition of, "free,") so I can't complain too much. To the shelf she goes! And with her arrival concludes my participation in the 2018 Vintage Club - probably the only time I will ever join, unless they drastically rework the club in the future.

I'm still fervently waiting for my Darwin to arrive, but I'm one of the many who didn't get a shipping notice for him, so your guess is as good as mine as to when he'll show up. I've also seen a few reports of people's models accidentally being sent to the wrong addresses, so make sure you clean up your address book on Breyer's website if you haven't done so already. Hopefully mine gets here soon!

A Pig in a Poke

Turns out I'm not the only one celebrating Chinese New Year! Breyer is too - check it out!



It's the Year of the Pig, so they're giving away a free pig if you order $10 or more of Breyer by Collecta merch. Nothing I'm interested in, but that sounds like a decent deal to me!

Hopefully I have more exciting things to post about soon, though...

Featured Model - 2/2/2019, Mu Wen Ma

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! In keeping with last week's Chinese New Year theme, this week's model is...Mu Wen Ma!



This guy was a regular run for 2014 only. He's item #1717 issued on the American Saddlebred Stallion mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

Breyer's other Chinese-themed release for 2014, he was inspired and named by the "wood horse" in the Chinese zodiac. The box card can explain it better than I can - thank goodness for IDYB!

This guy holds the distinction of being the first woodgrain model to appear in the Breyer lineup since the old 1970s production runs (as far as I know, unless I'm forgetting something). Collectors had been asking for a woodgrain return for years, but the bits of hobby knowledge I remember hearing were that it was a messy, time-consuming paint job, and some of the paints involved may have been environmentally hazardous. So Mu Wen Ma was a bit of a surprise when he was unveiled!

Since then, though, we've had at least two other woodgrain releases - Cypress and the recent Woodgrain Hog. Both of those were special runs with limited numbers, so my assumption is that the woodgrain colorway is still messy and time-consuming - though the environmental concerns, if any, probably haven't been a problem due to China's more lax environmental standards (sadly).

As for the Moody Andalusian, he's having a bit of a busy year! He was used for the Kehinde web special last year, will appear later this year as the Breyerfest 2019 early bird model Cap, and was just unveiled yesterday as the first web special of the year! Where will he appear next? I suspect Breyer will give him a bit of a rest, unless we're getting a new RR release soon. I definitely wouldn't say no to that!

The Breyerfest special run is revealed!

In the last of today's Friday news dump...I was right! The special run is SCO!

Although that's a really nice color and pattern, I'm slightly disappointed - I was hoping for something I'd actually want to buy! I don't collect SCO, so that's another nice release gone by the wayside.



He's certainly pretty, though! And his name is another nod to a Marvel superhero - Peter Quill, of Guardians of the Galaxy fame! I approve. From the blog:

Susan Carlton Sifton sculpted this handsome fellow, mold #595, and for this year’s BreyerFest he’s been decorated in a fun silver grulla blanket appaloosa pattern that is sure to rule your galaxy!

That's a galactic paint job for sure! Hopefully the next special run is just as nice - and something I want to buy! 

Rockford is now available!

In the day's other exciting news, it turns out Rockford really is the first release of the 2019 Vintage Club - and he's available for purchase now!

In all fairness, that color looks really stunning on him, and so does the pattern - I'm just not into collecting the Pacer. It's incredible what a head shot can do, huh?

Anyway, if you're a Vintage Club member, he should be available on your Collector Club homepage. Let's hope these guys are all nice-quality! And I also hope we don't have to wait too long to find out the rest of the releases....

The America the Beautiful series continues for another year!

Wow, I don't think anyone was expecting the America the Beautiful web special series to continue for another year, were they? Not that I'm complaining - all of the models from it have been beautifully designed so far, and now I'm really excited to see what else they have planned this year! Say hello to Muir Woods!



From the website:

California’s Muir Woods National Monument was named after the esteemed naturalist John Muir, and is home to old growth redwood trees that range from 400-800 years old. Towering up to 250 feet high, they are a spectacular sight to behold as one meanders through the trails looping through the coastal forest, complete with views of the Pacific Ocean.

He's definitely reminiscent of a redwood tree!

While I'm thrilled that the America the Beautiful theme is continuing for another year, I'm a bit perplexed that they're using the Moody Saddlebred so soon (well...relatively soon) after he appeared as Kehinde last year. He sure is pretty, though!



Very handsome - I just hope that paint job is worth the price tag! $165, ouch! I wonder what he'd look like next to Mu Wen Ma? Hopefully I get drawn for one so I can find out!