New Arrivals: RCMP Liam, Man of the Hour, Mini Gooitzen

Continuing with our series of new arrivals, let's take a look at the RCMP Liam!



I have to admit this guy is a cute mini-me of the Trad RCMP horse, even down to the glossy maple leaf on his butt! He even had the little maple leaf hang tag, and his box matches the Trad's box (at least, I think it does). Too bad Liam had already been done in black as Black Beauty, or I probably would have been more impressed with him. Quality was nice, though.

Next, the volunteer model Man of the Hour!



I was lucky enough to be able to trade for this guy. I'd been dreading finding out the identity of the volunteer model, fearing it was something I'd need to buy, but trading for him worked out perfectly! And he's a beautiful color; I think Breyer described him as a "Dark Bay Pearly Roan." He's definitely pretty! I'm a little iffy about that marking on his left front hoof, though - shouldn't the hoof color be a little more different from the body color? The way it is now looks like somebody accidentally airbrushed the body color onto the hoof.

And while we're on the subject of Totilas, I was finally able to break the Koh-i-Noor curse and found one for a good price! Huzzah!

Next, let's take a look at the Mini Gooitzen model from the 30th Anniversary Set!



Sorry for the subpar photo. True to his Trad counterpart, the mini Gooitzen fan Teakesyl (RIP) is glossy black. I was surprised to notice he has brown eyes, so I had to check my Trad Gooitzen and sure enough, he has brown eyes too - I'd forgotten. The Trad also has eyewhites, but those didn't make it onto the mini - I suppose there just isn't enough room for bi-eyes on a Stablemate. I half expected to find gloss flaws on this guy, but fortunately there aren't any! He's quite nice in that department.

That brings me to the end of New Arrivals for today - I still have several models left to go, so tune in next time for more!

Mid-Year Releases are in stock!

Good news, everyone! Breyer's mid-year releases are finally in stock on the website. I was hoping I'd find some of them in the store at Breyerfest this year, but ended up being too busy to take even one trip through the store, sadly. In any case, now they're on the website!



I'd like to order something, but I think I'd rather save something for the Collector Appreciation event at the end of the year. I'd rather buy stuff I'd keep than stuff I'd probably have trouble reselling later, honestly.

And speaking of the Collector Appreciation event, poor Bisbee is still available through the Breyer website, too (further down on the New Products page). Anyone else foresee her appearing as one of the glossies this year? I'd thought she was fairly popular this year from how fast most dealers sold out, but maybe not. If she does get released in gloss, I hope I don't have too much trouble getting one!

New Arrivals: Liver Chestnut Natasha, Decorator Hero’s Welcome, Banner

Next in our series of New Arrivals to the herd: the liver chestnut Natasha!



Breyer confirmed only a few days ago that she is in fact a run of 30, so I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten one. Well, technically my husband got her in one of his many trips through the SR line. He got the decorator surprise this year, too - maybe I should have him go through the line every time? It probably couldn't hurt.

When I first unwrapped her, I saw she wasn't the expected Natasha color, but put her aside pretty much immediately and didn't think too much of it. Clearly I didn't have the luck to draw something SUPER rare, right? It had to be some kind of half-and-half run. This was in the chaos of Friday morning, when all kinds of variations were turning up and anything was possible. So I didn't get too excited about the special Natasha...until it became clear this was anything but half-and-half. Or thirds. or fourths. Or...you get the idea.

I'll admit this Natasha isn't the rarest model in my collection, but I'm really grateful that my Weather Girl collection will remain almost complete! And I'll be watching to see what prices this mold brings on the secondary market, so I know exactly how much she's worth.

Next, let's take a look at the decorator Hero's Welcome!

I could have sworn that this model was matte, but Breyer is claiming all of the decorators were glossy this year, so...he must be glossy, I guess. I still haven't decided if I'm going to name him Pond Scum, Swamp Gas or something else - Silver Moss, maybe? He seems to be right in the middle, color-wise - not overly green, but not all that silvery either. Silvery Moss? Clearly I need to think about it more.

We laughed when I unwrapped this one, because it seems like we always get the decorator (in years when there is one). And usually we get both finishes, to boot! I'll admit I kind of wonder what Breyer was thinking with this one, color-wise (is that supposed to be army green?), and since Sommer didn't design it, we can't even get an explanation from her! He's pretty, in his own way...but maybe I will name him Pond Scum.

Lastly, here's Banner!



I didn't expect this model to be as popular as he was, considering the lukewarm reaction from the hobby when he was first introduced, but I suppose I should have expected it, considering his low run number. Someone said the numbers worked out so there were only 42 of them per hour? Crazy stuff. I was worried about not being able to get one, but we ultimately ended up with three of them - I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try to pull a blue one. Lightning didn't strike twice there, but it was interesting to see the different variations in the run. One of the two I sold had a very orange muzzle! Interesting stuff. Now all I have to do is figure out how I'm going to fit this one onto my shelves...

That's all I've got for today. Check back later for more New Arrivals!

New Arrivals: Natasha, Glossy Pearl Hero's Welcome and Hal

Next in our series of new arrivals: Natasha!



I'm a bit surprised this special run has gone under the radar as much as it has, since I had thought the Weather Girl was a pretty popular mold. But I got the liver chestnut Natasha in my first trip through the store, so when I got this one later, it was almost as an afterthought. She doesn't look like the promo photos (do they ever...?),  but she's still nice. I think this run really should have had a matte/glossy split to help with sales, even if that meant I had to keep buying her all weekend trying to get both. I know I've pooh-poohed that in the past, but as far as I know, the Natashas didn't sell out, and she would have been a perfect candidate for gloss.

Next: the glossy pearl Hero's Welcome!

I'm so glad I managed to pull a glossy this year! Well, other than the decorator, since it appears those are also all glossy (My husband pulled that one this year). At first I thought I'd gotten a third matte pearl, so it was a nice surprise to unwrap him and see SHINY! He doesn't have a lot of flaws, either, so it's win-win. And he has a nice gold sheen to his color that I'm not sure my matte pearl has - or maybe the gloss just brings it out more. Either way, he's pretty!

Lastly, let's take a look at Hal!

I feel like Hal has been another sadly-overlooked model this year - probably because of his plain chestnut wrapper (though the production run size and purchase price probably didn't help; $75 for this, really?). His paintjob has a lot of nice shading, and he has that long white blaze to complement his face. His eyes aren't terribly detailed though, and he has those pink eyewhites that make me wonder if he's been burning the candle at both ends again. But I think he'll look nice on the shelf next to Dundee!

That's all for now - tune in again soon for more new arrivals!

Featured Model - 7/27/2019, Malik

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...Malik!



As you're probably already aware, Malik is this year's Classics Horse of the Year model. He's a brand-new sculpt by Sarah Minkiewicz-Breuning  and is item #62119.

At first I wasn't terribly enthralled by this mold - his hair is a little over-the-top. And he has a rooster tail, just like Sarah's previous sculpt for Breyer - the Croi mold. However, over time he grew on me - he is an Arabian, after all, and I like Arabians. All the same, I feel like he should have been named Def Leppard or something - he'd fit right into an '80s music video.

While the mold is nice, the execution (at least, the paint job) is a little lacking. They couldn't make sure to paint his entire mane the same color? The bit that flows onto his withers is the same as his body color. And he looks like they forgot to paint his right front hoof. I mean, this is a $20 RR model I'm talking about, but still.

Anyway, I'm excited to see how they use this guy next year. Breyerfest, maybe? Or some kind of Collector Club special run like Callahan or Calvin. But let's maybe nix the randomly-shipped thing, okay? I'm getting tired of that. And for that matter, when are we getting a new Mason? Are we due for new Classics next year? I hope so.

Dazzle (and "Razzle") are here, plus Hero's Welcome breakdown!

Exciting news, everyone! The first release of the Fairytale Friends Club (though I call it the Glitter Unicorn Club around here), Dazzle, arrived today! There's no official name listed for the Mini Whinny, but I've seen people on the Internets naming theirs Razzle. If I were planning on keeping mine, I'd probably name it that. As is, though, he'll be going to the sale pile.

Anyway, let's take a look at Dazzle!



I have to say, I like the lighter area on his back/hindquarters. I was expecting him to just be flat pink, so that was a nice surprise. Still not crazy about the glitter, though.



His quality is decent, but for this price point I'd have liked the front hoof paint to not be splattered halfway to the horse's ankles. Sheesh. The mane is really sloppy on the left side, too.



I'd have liked more detail to the eyes than "black dot" too, honestly.

I hope I'm not complaining too much, but this set cost $20, and the models are barely painted better than $4 blind bags at Walmart. Let's hope the next set is better.

Next, let's take a look at Razzle:

He's cute - I love his little horn! But I've never been a fan of Firebird, and since he's made of that rubbery plastic, his legs warped and he doesn't stand up. You know, in retrospect, I don't really know if including the Mini Whinnies was a good idea, especially if more of them have issues with standing. I've seen photos of warped horns on this guy, too - I think it's just too small.

Lastly, here's the satin pouch they came in!

I do like the pouch! It's a pretty color and I've always liked the pouches. Now if the Stablemate Club could go back to using them...

Well, enough of that. Let's talk about the numbers breakdown on the Hero's Welcome models! They finally released the numbers on the blog today.

Dark Dapple Grey: 1000 Matte, 200 Glossy

Chestnut Pinto: 850 Matte, 200 Glossy

Dappled Pearl: 650 Matte, 200 Glossy

Rose Grey: 520 Matte, 200 Glossy

Decorator: 400 Glossy

Pearly Black Leopard Appaloosa: 30 Matte

So all of the decorators were glossy? I could have sworn mine was matte. Oh well! He was the second rarest of the bunch, so I'm glad I got one. And I was surprised that there were more of the chestnut pinto than the pearl (previously referred to as the champagne); it seemed like the chestnut pinto was more desirable than any of the other colors other than the rose gray. I'm not surprised that the numbers on the dapple gray were so high, since it seems like everyone and their dog was trying to unload them at the Clarion and afterward. I'm just glad I was able to trade for the chestnut pinto and the rose gray, since I doubt I'd be able to make the same trades now that the numbers were out.

All in all, though, the surprise colors were really great this year, as usual. I can't wait to see what Sommer designs for us next year! 

Special run numbers revealed!

Exciting news today - Breyer finally released the run numbers of all the variations of the Breyerfest special runs! Well, except for the surprise models, because they couldn't just tell us everything and be done with it. That would be too easy!

Anyway, Breyer confirmed what we've all been wondering: the alternate, pearlized colors of the special runs are indeed all runs of 30. This means my liver chestnut Natasha is a run of 30 and my husband is really lucky! (He technically was the one who pulled it from the SR line.)

When I first opened her, I didn't think much of it and figured it was some kind of 50/50 split, because there was no way I could be lucky enough to get something super-rare! Clearly I was wrong. She'll be a treasured member of my collection for years to come!

In addition to the runs of 30, Quill was this year's glossy/matte split, and the Diana run was 50/50 braided and loose manes/tails. I kinda figured they'd make Natasha matte and glossy as well, since she's a popular mold, but I'm glad they didn't - less to buy!

And while I don't have any interest in buying it, I have to admit the blue Bucky looks pretty cool.



The pearly pinto Rocket is really nice, too:



If only...

But I can't really complain, since I did get the Natasha.

Hopefully Breyer releases the Hero's Welcome breakdown tomorrow! I know I'm tired of waiting.

New Arrivals: Dapple Gray, Chestnut Pinto and Rose Gray Hero's Welcome

Greetings, everyone! In yesterday's post, I began introducing my new purchases from Breyerfest. I'll continue today by starting with the Dapple Gray Hero's Welcome Surprise!



I've seen a lot of differences in color with these models - some of them are incredibly metallic, where others aren't. Mine seems to be somewhere in the middle; somewhat metallic, but not excessively so (not that lots of metallic paint would bother me). The metallic sheen steps up a paintjob that might have been somewhat boring otherwise! I like the white in his tail, too.



Now, I think this guy is my favorite of all the Hero's Welcome colors. He's pearly, he's a pretty color, and he's a medicine hat pinto to boot! I love him. If only I'd been able to pull a glossy from the special run line...but I can't really complain. Even if his color isn't realistic for his breed, I still love him. I'm really glad Breyer made him so pearly despite not being the super-rare variant like the black Appaloosa. And I'm super-glad I was able to trade my extra dapple gray for this one!



The chestnut pinto is my favorite of the surprise colors this year, but the rose gray is definitely my second favorite. He's gorgeous! Too bad his dapples couldn't be a little more subtle. And it might have just been the small sample size, but when I was trading my extra champagne for this one, both of the available rose grays I had to pick from were riddled with small flaws, so that was disappointing. Were more of them like that? I hope not.

Altogether though, the surprise models were all beautiful this year! Check in again (maybe tomorrow?) for more new arrivals!

New Arrivals: Champagne Hero's Welcome, Rocket and Rico

I can't believe it's already been a week since we came home from Kentucky! Time goes by way too fast these days. Since we haven't seen the numbers breakdown from Breyerfest, or much of anything else exciting (except the first Glitter Unicorn Club release), here are some cell phone photos of my Breyerfest arrivals. I'll start with the champagne Hero's Welcome, Rocket and Rico!



This guy's color is really nice! I don't know who to credit for it, though, because Sommer Prosser (the usual surprise color designer) has said online that she designed all of the Hero's Welcome colors except the decorator and the champagne. So who did design him? Who knows, but whoever it was made a good choice! Too bad he's got that ugly black mark on his right hip. Hopefully I can get it off with some work.

Next, we have Rocket!

I really like the color on this guy, but I wish his dapples had been better. I ended up with three Rockets in my quest for a pinto one, and all three had really unsubtle dapples. None of them were chalky, either, so I guess I'll have to be satisfied with my normal one. I really liked the pearly pinto, though! Also, for some reason the paint on his back is barely there (I'm guessing it's an attempt at shading), which looks rather odd. But I think I can get over it.

Lastly, let's take a look at Rico!



This guy's paintjob is really nice! I hadn't realized he would have fleabites - I guess I didn't look at the promo photo closely enough. He does have lots of little brown fleabites though, and they look great! I didn't see much of anything wrong with him - or with most of the other models this year, for that matter. It's good to see the quality making a comeback, especially on the Celebration Models. I'm still irritated about how poor-quality the Nazruddins from 2017 were.

That's all I've got for today - tune in later for more New Arrivals!

Featured Model - 7/20/2019, Bonne Fete

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. After last week's Breyerfest hiatus, we're back this week with...Bonne Fete!



It's pretty fitting to feature Bonne Fete this week, since he was a special run at the 25th Breyerfest back in 2014. He was a run of 1,425 and was item #711183 produced on the Carrick mold sculpted by Sue Sifton.

I love the color on this model! Extended blanket appaloosa is always hard to turn up your nose at, and he just looks so good in bay! His paintjob is quite detailed for a Breyerfest special run - I like the contrast of the white areas on the legs that would normally be black. I wish they'd use this pattern on him again, honestly. Well, who am I kidding - he probably has a few tests in different colors that weren't used in the Breyer archives.

Carrick is among my favorite of the molds introduced through the Premier Club, so up until last year I had impatiently been waiting for him to be used as a portrait model. Seriously, how did it take 5 years for Carrick to be used to portray a real racehorse? At least he got two portraits in the same year (Brass Hat and Justify). I guess he had been used as Cortes C before that, but even that took 3 years. What gives?

Anyway, I wonder where we'll see Carrick next? He'll probably get a bit of a rest after being used as the Breyerfest Celebration horse and as Justify (and I don't think Justify will leave the RR line anytime soon), but I wouldn't say no to a web special on him. Or maybe a Collector Club special run? I guess that won't happen soon either, since we're getting the one on Valegro soon and the first one for next year will presumably be whoever wins the Making a Splash contest. But I can hope for someday!

Collector Club Christmas in July Sale

There's a Christmas in July sale on the website, and Collector Club members get early access to it!

Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot to choose from, and some of it isn't even on sale at all...

Maybe the sale is aimed at the collectors that didn't spend all their money at Breyerfest? Because the timing is really awkward, otherwise. And we all know they're going to be taking our money again next month with the next releases in the Premier and Stablemate Clubs, and probably the Vintage Club to boot. Sheesh.

Dazzle is now available!

Exciting news - the first release in the Fairytale Friends Club, Dazzle, is now available for purchase!

I'm excited to see Dazzle in person - maybe his mane and tail will be less, uh, encrusted? He looks like he's covered in glittery barnacles. Like a disco version of ol' Bootstrap Bill or something. Hopefully he and his mini-me don't take too long to get here, although I'm less excited about the mini-me. Thankfully, at least he's small enough to fit on my post-Breyerfest sales pile.

The Breyerfest Blues - Again

Although this year's Breyerfest was much more of a hassle this year, I'm still sad that it's over - time seemed to flash by faster than ever before. Yesterday morning I was at the Kentucky Horse Park taking photos (they were still dismantling things from Breyerfest), and today, the following afternoon, I'm wistfully writing about it on my blog. How does the time go so fast? Oh well.

One thing that isn't going so fast is Breyer posting the numbers breakdown for the Hero's Welcome Surprise and all those variations in the other special runs. Hurry up, dang it!

My daughter and I got home very late last night after our flights back were delayed, but we made it. My husband is still driving and will be home in a couple of hours, so my models (and camera) are still packed in the car. But, fear not! I'll start working on my Breyerfest Closeups series as soon as I have access to my photos again.

In the meantime, voting is still happening for the Making a Splash contest on the Breyer website. If you need a refresher, Breyer is holding a vote for one of these three horses to be a Collector Club special run next year:



Honestly, all three of these are molds I collect, so I'll be happy with whatever the result is. I voted for Esprit, but I'm guessing Duende will probably win due to how new he is. And since I don't have space for any new Desatados or Esprits, it'll be easier fitting him onto the shelves! Voting ends on 7/22, so don't waste any time getting those votes in!

Breyerfest Day 3: Over for Another Year

It's all over, folks! Breyerfest 2019 is a wrap. As always, I'm sad it's over, but I was definitely ready to be done with hot, sweaty walks to and from the car (even if I did spend more time in air conditioning than usual).

So what was our tally for surprise models? We were very lucky and wound up with two dapple grays, two champagnes, one decorator, and a glossy champagne. I was then able to trade my extra gray and champagne for two chestnut pintos. I'd like to trade the chestnut pinto for a rose gray, but no one has taken me up on that yet. Personally, I thought the chestnut pinto was the prettiest, but the rose gray is nice too.

So I'll be excited to see what Breyer releases for run numbers, especially the rare variations of each special run. I really didn't think they'd do the rare variations again - 2014 was a special anniversary year (25, 50, 75, etc), after all. Then again, who knows if Breyerfest will still be around in another 20 years? I guess they should do this special stuff while they can, no matter how much it confounds the rest of us.

And next year's theme is Celtic - interesting! I was hoping for a Japan theme myself, but maybe they want to get away from Olympics themes. I wonder if the Connemara Mare (Croi) will be the surprise? She showed up in the auction this year, so it could happen. Then again, Breyer broke that rule with the Hero's Welcome surprise, so who knows anymore.

That's about all I can think of for now (I think the sun fried my brain). Time to get some rest and recover. I did get photos of the upcoming models in the Collector Club tent, so be prepared for some Breyerfest Closeups posts in the near future! I hope everyone else had a great Breyerfest!

Breyerfest Day 2: Blisters on my feet

Whew, it's been a long day. We decided to go to the Horse Park later in the morning so the baby could have a nice long nap before we left, but that meant we had to park in the Alltech Arena parking lot even though we could see cars leaving the main parking lot. So it was a long, hot walk back to the car at the end of the day, compounded by a fussy, sleepy baby and my lack of luck in the Early Bird and Saturday raffles.

But I'm used to striking out in the raffles, so I won't complain about that. There's a fifth surprise SR color showing up - a beautiful pearly black leopard Appaloosa. Maybe I can get my hands on him tomorrow! In the meantime, I'll have to decide which name I like better for the green decorator - Pond Scum or Swamp Gas.

As for the blisters, I have at least two big ones on my feet - which is odd, because my shoes aren't new and I wear them every day at work. Very odd.

We have three more special run tickets left, so I'll be trying to get more surprise models tomorrow. We've gotten the dapple gray, decorator and the champagne, but I'd love to get a glossy! I guess we'll see. I may also try for a blue Banner, unlikely as it may be. And then there's the Sunday raffle. And I need to get into the Collector Club tent for photos! Busy day tomorrow. Good luck, everyone!

Breyerfest Day 1: Give me something for the pain and let me die

So many exciting reveals today. I was right about the surprise - the Moody Andalusian! We’ve gotten two of him so far. And it looks like every special run has at least one variation. The rumor is each variation is 1 of 30, but I’d take that with a grain of salt until we hear otherwise. The volunteer model is Totilas! Do I want him? I don’t know! The next web special is on Valegro. He was a web special in 2017; do we really need another so soon? I struck out in the costume contest, but that was to be expected. I saw photos of the Premier Club Stablemate for this year; not a fan, sadly. Let’s see, what else? The plastic version of Hamilton looks promising. There’s a new Who Wore It Best with a splash pinto on Duende, Desatado and Esprit; I think I like the Desatado the best.

Whew! That’s a lot to get through. I’m sure I’m forgetting some things, but my brain is scrambled and I just want to be done with everything. But I’m looking forward to day 2, though I’ll probably forgo the live auction again. Maybe next year!

Breyerfest Day 0: Wishful Thinking

Whew. Another long day is finally over! Two people came to the room, asked about the blog, and got a free Stablemate - keep it coming! Anyway, after I got the baby to bed, I decided to check out the Artisan's Gallery so I could see the Breyerfest special runs for myself. Along the way, I checked out a few rooms full of sales models. And there's a lot of wishful pricing out there. Just saying...

Anyway, after a long wait (the longest I've ever had to wait to see models in the AG), I finally made my way to the front. So, let's take a look at Oliver, the Celebration Model!

Okay, that's not the best photo, but whatever. I keep seeing photos of the real Oliver where he looks more like a bay than black, but he could just be sun-faded. I'll have to take a closer look at my Celebration Models later and see if they're flat black or not.

Next, here's the Oliver plush!

 

He's definitely a cutie! Next, here's Natasha, Banner and the 30th Anniversary Stablemate Set:

I was surprised at the size of the Stablemate set's box, but I guess it does have to fit 10 models in it. Ugh, I hope I can get one in the pop-up store line tomorrow! That's where we're headed first. I was also surprised at Natasha's color - I was expecting more of a buckskin, but she almost looks bay. Was she described as buckskin in the writeup? I can't remember. And Banner looks nice - I shouldn't sound so unenthused about him, but he's definitely going to be our top priority in the special run line since his quantity is only 800.

Next, let's take a look at Hal, Pepper and Quill (and Banner again):

Take a look at the cartoon graphics on Hal's box - I love it!  They're really playing into the superhero theme (kind of to the detriment of the military/anniversary themes, I feel). Quill and Pepper both look nice - I see Pepper's mane doesn't look as yellow as it did in the promo photo.

Next, here is the crystal:



 

She is definitely tempting me more than the crystals usually do, but I just don't buy breakables. Now if they'd only come out with her in plastic!

Next, here's Rico, Diana and Zipped in Black Magic:

 

Rico's box is really cool! I love the starry colors against his light color. And could Diana be any more scrumptious! A good gloss coat makes everything look great. I guess I really am a gloss junkie - more or less. I must resist buying her, though! And Zipped in Black Magic's box has the same cartoony look as Rico's, though I accidentally cut it out of the photo. Next, here's a look at Emerson:


 

I guess you can kind of see Zipped's box in the back there. Anyway, Emerson looks nice, although the mold is (as usual) hard to photograph well. I'll get my hands on him eventually.

Next, let's take a look at Sarge and Bucky:

Sarge's box is cute! It's almost enough to tempt you to buy another one to keep it in the box...almost. As for Bucky, I really think they should have done some type of army mule for the animal special run, since we all know how well Beethoven sold in 2010 (hint: not well). Hey, a mule isn't technically a horse, right?

And lastly, here are the single-day Stablemates!

 

I'm not terribly thrilled about the blister packaging, even though it's cute. I'm not one to leave anything in its packaging, so to me it's just more trash to fill up the landfill. And since most people like to see both sides of a model before they buy it, I won't be the only one! Sheesh.

In other exciting news, the hidden auction lots have been revealed at the Horse Park. I didn't get a chance to sneak over there today, but I saw photos on the Internets! The hidden lots are on Silver, the Cantering Welsh Pony, the Fighting Stallion (looks like the test from the voting contest that led to Starlet's existence), the dapple gray Bristol we already knew about, and...an Alborozo! They're really going all out with the auction models this year! I'm almost afraid to see what that Alborozo will sell for. Anyway, that's all I've got for right now - I'll definitely try to get photos of these amazing auction models tomorrow! I have a lot of stuff to get done before we go to bed! Breyerfest is almost here!

Breyerfest Day -1: Calm Before The Storm (Kind Of)

Hello everyone! I don’t have much of an update, but I wanted to let everyone know we’re set up in Room 409 and will be open for business sometime tomorrow. I saw plenty of rooms open on a quick jaunt through the halls, but I didn’t do too much shopping - I don’t want to blow through all my money the first night! 

Our trip down had a few tense moments, but nothing too bad - I was afraid we’d miss our connection in Chicago, but we made it with a few minutes to spare. Hopefully we make better time on the way back!

As for today’s post title, my husband tells me there’s a hurricane bearing down on the Gulf right now and the remnants may hit us later this week. I say some rain is a good thing, but maybe not tropical storm rain...Hopefully Breyerfest doesn’t get rained out!

That’s all I have for now. I’m excited to see the artisan’s gallery tomorrow so I can see some special run models in person! It won’t be long now!

Not Throwing Away My Shot

The second Premier Club release of the year is revealed! Meet Hamilton:



I'm relieved we got to see him yesterday - I was afraid they'd make us wait until Friday for the reveal!

While it's too early to say I love him yet (I'll save that for whenever I get into the Collector Club tent to see him this weekend), I'm definitely leaning in the "buy" direction. He's just so beefy! Like I said, I know they're supposed to look like that, but still!



The beefiness is especially evident in the off-side shot. I like his tail better from this angle, though.



I do like his head, though. Another question - will Breyer's painters be able to pull off that paint job? It doesn't look terribly complicated, so I'm optimistic about it. Can't wait to see him this weekend!

Speaking of this weekend, I would have had this guy posted yesterday, but we were up until midnight packing and loading the car, so I just didn't have the time. My husband started the drive this morning, and my daughter and I are flying out tomorrow, so I probably won't be able to update again until Thursday. Fortunately, that's when the action starts! I won't make any promises, but I'm hoping to be able to provide updates all weekend for viewers at home. As usual, we're staying in room 409 (giddyup!), so stop by and mention the blog and you'll get a free (RR) Stablemate, while supplies last! See you all soon!

Second Premier Club sculpt revealed!

Good news, everyone! The second Premier Club sculpt of the year has finally been revealed on the Premier Club blog! Check out his head:



Wow, look at the detail! I'm guessing this is the clay master, so it's anyone's guess how much of that detail will end up on the plastic version. I'm a little hesitant to say I like it just because he's so beefy, but Saddlebreds tend to look like that, so I'll have to get over it. Here's the front view:



I'm hesitating to reserve judgement until I see the whole sculpt, but I like his head at least. I'm a little perplexed as to why they'd make a new Trad in the same pose as last year's Classics Mason, but it's good to have a new Saddlebred. I imagine they'll wait until Friday morning at Breyerfest to reveal the whole thing, but who knows, maybe we'll see it tomorrow! I hope so.

Featured Model - 7/6/2019, Glossy Palomino Pinto Pop the Cork

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. In honor of Breyerfest being a week away, this week's model is...the Glossy Palomino Pinto Pop the Cork!



This shiny fellow was a run of 155 and was item #711181 on the Nokota mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. He was one of the possible colors that could be obtained as part of that year's Pop the Cork surprise run.

Although I like palominos, I'll admit there are some shades of that color I don't like. Fortunately, this guy isn't one of those shades. He looks like caramel! Mmm. And his blue eye is so striking! If I'm going to be nitpicky, I'd like to see a little bit of darker shading on the mane and tail (to set them off from the white markings a little more), but it's no biggie. He almost looks good enough to eat!

The Nokota himself has been used in many ways, but we haven't seen him at Breyerfest since his 2014 appearance as the surprise model. He was the big cat Java in 2017, as well as the limited edition Illumination, and was the event model at the 2018 Scottsdale Stampede, so I wonder if Breyer's giving the mold a bit of a rest? Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing a new regular run on him, despite his odd shape negating a wider-than-usual box. More regular run Moody molds is never a bad thing!

Anyway, I hope we see a new Nokota soon - as long as it's one I can get my hands on!

The last few auction models!

Less than a week until I leave, and the last group of auction models has been revealed! Lot 23 is another hidden lot, so let's take a look at Lot 24:



It's Valour and Honour, the Sunday Raffle set! I'm not sure why Breyer decided to use the British English spelling for those names, but I'm not going to question it too much.

Next, Lot 25!



It's the SJW from the program! I'm still not really a fan of the Croi tail on him, but that gloss is incredible. I love him!

Next, Lot 26:

Ooh, we hadn't seen this one yet! That's a Dundee! He's supposed to be a "Bay Varnish Blanket Appaloosa," but he looks more like some kind of gray to me. And I'm not really a fan of those little spots around the eyes, even if it is more realistic. The rest of him is great, though!

Lot 27 is next:



Wow, I don't think we'd seen that PAF before, only the PAM in the program! Wow, that set is going to go high! The foal looks like a foal version of Polaris from a few years back.

That's it for auction models, as Lot 28 is another hidden lot. So, I don't think we got a reveal of that Bristol from the program, did we? That's interesting. All in all, though, this is an incredible group of auction models this year! I'm definitely going to have to make the effort to attend the auction this year.

That's all I have for today - only a few days left until we're all in Kentucky again! And Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Premier Club sneak peek and silent auction Valegro!

Finally, a clue as to the second Premier Club release of the year! Breyer posted a portion of a sketch on the Premier Club Blog (probably never to be updated again) today!



Ooh, it looks like a Saddlebred! Breyer is definitely overdue for a new Trad Saddlebred, although it might be a little bit weird to get one in pretty much the same pose as last year's Classic Mason. Maybe it's a TWH? I might be able to get behind that, or a Morgan. Saddlebred is definitely my first choice, though! Good thing we only have to wait a week or so to see it, eh?

In other news, photos of one of the Breyerfest silent auction lots went up on the Breyerfest Blog today!



Ooh, a glossy black Valegro! He'll go high, although I kinda wish they'd found a different stand to put him on. Black horse, black stand, not enough contrast. Speaking of contrast, I think he needs a little white - maybe a snip or a small star, Friesian-style.

His costume is amazing, though!

Created by the amazing Didi Hornberger, who made last year's racing tack set for the OOAK Carrick in the silent auction. So how much will this set sell for? I'm guessing at least $3,000 - possibly more, since Valegro is a popular mold. More importantly, this knocks Valegro out of the running for this year's surprise model. It's looking more and more like the Moody Andalusian is the way to go this year, and if that's the case I hope the volunteer model is something I don't want, so I don't have to try to get both!