Say hello to Oak!

The second Breyerfest special run has been revealed - Oak, on the Georg mold!



I love him! He's like an updated version of the old Appaloosa Performance Horse. He's being presented as a Noriker, which...well, at least he's not some random American breed, eh? I suspect this one is going to be the hot item next year. I may need to buy more tickets than usual, and hope really hard that he isn't the glossy/matte split.

Premier Club and Vintage Club Stablemates are finally arriving!

Check your mailboxes, everyone - the free Stablemates from the 2019 Premier and Vintage Clubs are finally arriving! As a reminder, the Premier Club Stablemate is Charleston, the mini Hamilton, and the Vintage Club set is Misty and Stormy on the G1 Quarter Horse Mare and G3 Standing Foal. I hope my Charleston gets here soon - I've arranged to trade him for the Vintage Club set, so I want to get the ball rolling on that as soon as possible!

Carter is in stock!

Wow, Carter is already in stock. That's kind of surprising, considering Breyer still hasn't shipped out last year's Vintage Club and Premier Club Stablemates - I think this is the longest we've ever had to wait. To think we used to get them in December in ages past...



There's no indication of how many Carters there are, and the webpage says "while supplies last," so if you want him you'd better order while you still can. It makes me yearn for the days of only a few years past, where you put down a deposit in advance and then completed the purchase a few months later, so you were guaranteed to get one. Oh well.

Check out this description of him - it made me snicker a little...

Carter features an exquisite shaded pearly dapple rose grey coat that mimics the color of the sunrise over snow-covered fields.

I mean...I guess it might look like that, if you have an active imagination. Considering the beachy promotional photos, I'd have expected them to write something about fun in the sun. It's good to see the rose gray color from last year's Hero's Welcome Andalusian reused, though. Can't wait to see mine! He's a bit spendy at $75, and doesn't qualify for free shipping, so I threw in a High Tide since I was paying for shipping anyway. Don't forget to use the collector club discount (CLUBPLUS20) if you order anything else - Carter doesn't qualify, but regular run stuff does. I saved a whopping $2.49 on High Tide! Hey, it's better than nothing. 

Another Breyerfest hint!

I guess the January doldrums haven't been as terrible as usual - we got another sneak peek on the blog today! Check it out:



Bwuh? It looks like the old Appaloosa Performance Horse colorway, but with a weird orientation. Fortunately, more astute minds than I have concluded the photo is upside down and it's showing a portion of Georg's mane, neck and upper shoulder. Oh man, an Appaloosa Georg would be the best! The usual naysayers will probably complain that it's not properly Celtic-themed, but I'm totally down for a flashy new Georg color!

My 70th Anniversary models arrived!

Greetings, readers! Exciting news - my 70th Anniversary Collection purchases have arrived! They're the only 2020 releases I've purchased so far, though I'm sure more will find their way here eventually (part of me is grumbling about the unicorn mystery foal sets not being on Breyer's website yet). So, without further ado...let's take a look at the palomino Hamilton! Here's the back of his box:



Sorry in advance for the horrible photos. It's certainly an interesting and informative box! I know you all want to see the model, though, so I won't delay any longer.

He's...he's...so beautiful...just like the calendar photo indicated he would be. I still can't believe he's a regular run! I thought he would be a raffle model or limited edition for sure.

My hasty cell phone photos don't do him justice at all. He's stunning...and I really hope Breyer doesn't end up glossing some of these for the collector club appreciation event at the end of the year. They usually save the glossing for stuff that doesn't sell as well, though, so this guy probably won't show up there, if recent sales history has been anything to judge.

Next, let's take a look at the Andalusian!

Another fun box! But let's see the model.

At first I was a little disgruntled that the Moody Andalusian was being done in gray again, after two of the colors he was used for at Breyerfest were also gray, but on closer inspection I don't mind it so much, because he's so drastically different from other gray editions. I've always had a soft spot for grays with the really dark mane and tail - in a real horse, it means he's still fairly young and still has a long ways to go before he completely grays out. And he's beautiful!

He's not as yellow-looking as the photos make him look.

And, last but not least...the chase piece! Yes, I was able to get one!

There's his box. But let's see the real thing!

What a handsome boy! I wish Breyer would do black and white pintos more often.



It may be hard to see in the photos, but he does have two blue eyes, and they're actually pretty nicely done. His eyes are a nice pastel blue, instead of being really stark like Isadora-Cruce or similar.

I did find it interesting that a lot of people are pooh-poohing this release because he's "boring," when last year's Breyerfest Best Customs prize model, Leap of Faith, was basically the same color and everyone loved him. Undoubtedly part of that is because Bristol is the new hot item and Smarty Jones is old news, but I still found it a little funny.

Quality-wise, these guys were all excellent - I didn't see any issues with any of them. I suppose Breyer probably wanted these to be really nice because they're part of a special collection. Well, they're definitely welcome here! Now let me go back to hoping one of us gets drawn to go to the Seattle Soiree next week (no luck again today)...

Featured Model - 1/25/2020, Blue Roan Sabino G2 Clydesdale

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. Long ago, long before he was banished to unicorn hell, there was...the G2 Clydesdale!



This handsome guy was the inaugural release of the G2 Clydesdale sculpted by Kathleen Moody. He's so old I don't know what his item number was, but he was an edition of 5,000 (along with the rest of the G2 Stablemates making up the 1998 JAH Stablemate Set).

This was a momentous event because it was the first time Breyer had issued new Stablemate molds since the 1970s. Exciting stuff! And these models were even more exciting, because they were issued in cellulose acetate - Breyer had started making Stablemates from styrene a few years before. This particular guy is a beautiful blue roan sabino - he was one of my favorites from the set. He's a worthy first edition in the G2 Clydesdale's lifetime!

As for the G2 Clydesdale itself, let's hope he gets some non-unicorn releases soon, because even I'm starting to get tired of seeing him as unicorn after unicorn. Maybe at Breyerfest? It's been a few years, so it's certainly possible he could show up there again. We'll have to wait and see!

First Breyerfest special run and January Collector Club newsletter!

Greetings, readers! We finally got a resolution to the sneak peek that went up earlier this week - meet Epona!

Strapless, eh? Not what I was hoping for...and with that name, the color doesn't seem right either. She's pretty, but not really my thing. Let's hope the next special run is something more in my wheelhouse!

In other news, the January collector club newsletter was released today, so CC members should check their email. They're doing a model giveaway every month for the entire year as part of the 70th anniversary celebration, and check out the first giveaway!

Swoon! A WEG chestnut Esprit, limited to 250 made back in 2010 for that year's World Equestrian Games! These were a promotional item for members of the media, so it's unknown how many have actually made it into collectors' hands. I still haven't managed to get my hands on one, so needless to say, I'll be entering the giveaway! Good luck to everyone!

There was also an interesting "berry"-themed sneak peek in the newsletter:



With the "berry" clue, my first thought was the less-than-popular Berries Ponies series of web specials from 2016,  but more savvy Blabbers and Facebookers have suggested it could refer to Huckleberry Bey as well. Maybe Huck is getting his first web special? Exciting!

Moonbeam is now available!

Attention to Fairytale Friends Club (or as I like to call it, the Glitter Unicorn Club) members! Moonbeam, the fourth release in the club, is now available for purchase!



I really like the color on these, but the G3 Arabian is too cartoony for me, and I've never been a fan of the Rising Sun resin, so I'll have to pass. And hopefully they'll do some slightly more complicated paint jobs for these (with less glitter) when the next year of the club debuts.

We have a sneak peek!

I'm a bit late with this, but we got our first Breyerfest sneak peek on the blog yesterday! Check it out:



What could it be? The general consensus on the Internets is that it's Othello, or possibly Brishen. I'm thinking Brishen myself, if only because it seems odd they'd use Othello when Brishen is right there and has never been used in the special run line or had a release in gray pinto. Othello was done in a (lighter) gray pinto for the Treasure Hunt back in 2010. I mean, I'd still buy it, but Brishen seems like a more logical choice. Plus, we know they've used the Brishen mold in a production run recently, since he was one of last year's Tractor Supply special runs. So, my guess is Brishen. I guess we'll find out soon!

Featured Model - 1/18/20, Times Square

Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give stats on it and provide commentary about it. Since we're still pretty early in the new year, I thought it would be fitting to talk about something New Year-themed! So...this week's model is Times Square!



This striking model was a special run for Breyerfest 2007. He's item #711037 and is a run of 1,250 on the Ethereal mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

This guy's design is certainly inspired - the visual of fireworks going off in the night works pretty well on him, I think. It doesn't hurt that he's glossy, of course! I'm not quite sure why his mane and tail have that gold tint, though - I suppose for dramatic effect or something. I know Ethereal has his detractors, but he's always appealed to me - I can see where his legs look bigger than they should be compared to the rest of his body, and his poofy muscles are admittedly odd-looking, but that's just part of Kathleen's style.

Ethereal has only appeared as a decorator a couple of times (more if you count auction models), so it might be fitting for him to show up at Breyerfest this year as a Celtic-themed decorator. He hasn't had any new releases lately other than the Calavera for Halloween a couple of years ago, so he's definitely overdue. I suppose he's always had a bit of an erratic release schedule - he (or part of him) technically premiered in an issue of JAH three whole years before Conquistador finally appeared on the scene, so I suppose it makes sense if he has a lot of gaps in his production schedule. Still, I'd like to see a new color on him soon! Maybe he'll be a web special? I hope so!

Breyerfest 2020 Predictions

Wow, I guess I'm getting an early start on Breyerfest predictions this year. Well, when you're plowing through the winter doldrums (and snow), you have to liven things up somehow. So let's get cracking! I did do some copy/pasting from my old predictions posts here, so if anything looks familiar, that's probably why.

I'm not terribly good at predicting things in advance, especially since Breyer likes to play fast and loose with their "themes." But I'll give it my best shot!

While none of this year's eight releases for the special run line have been revealed, it's safe to assume there'll  be at least one or two Premier Club molds in the mix. It's glaringly obvious that Rhian and Cadell, the Welsh mare and foal set from last year, will appear. Georg will probably appear as well - but not Hamilton, since the rumor is he'll appear as one of the store specials. We can definitely count on not seeing any molds used in the last two years, so that knocks  Flash, the Elk, Smarty Jones, Ruffian, Duende, Carina and Selene, the Proud Arabian Mare, Lonesome Glory, Emerson, Weather Girl, the St. Bernard, the American Saddlebred Stallion, the Moody Andalusian, Roxy, Smart Chic Olena and the Clydesdale Mare out of contention.

If Rhian and Cadell are used, they'll fulfill the mare and foal set that usually - but not always - appears at Breyerfest, so I won't speculate much about that.

I'm guessing the decorator will be something green with shamrocks or Celtic motifs. Maybe on Ethereal? He hasn't been used at Breyerfest since 2011, so it's possible.

As for the animal mold, the prevailing thought online is that it'll be some kind of bull, which I'd agree with - I don't know if any of Breyer's other animal molds would really fit the theme - not that Breyer really adheres to it that much. Or possibly a deer family? It doesn't seem likely, but you never know.

So that's four of the eight. What else? I'm ruling out Brishen for the special run line, since I already predicted Georg and I don't think we'd see two draft models. We still need a vintage mold, though - maybe the Jumping Horse, as some kind of Irish Thoroughbred? Or possibly the Cantering Welsh Pony. Seems weak, but nothing else is really coming to mind. What more recent molds might appear? Possibly Idocus? There's not a whole lot to choose from that fits the theme - not that Breyer cares, since they can just do whatever mold they want and give it some vaguely-Celtic name afterward. Not that I'm bitter or anything. I think I'll throw Big Ben in there just for kicks.

All that leaves us is the surprise model. Here's a list of previous surprises:

2009 - Quarter Horse Gelding
2010 - none
2011 - Ethereal
2012 - Flash
2013 - Roxy
2014 - Nokota
2015 - Lonesome Glory
2016 - Esprit
2017 - Latigo
2018 - Smarty Jones
2019 - Moody Andalusian

The surprise model is usually something that appeared in the live auction the previous year, but Breyer broke this streak last year  by using the Moody Andalusian. Will they go back to the formula this year? Maybe they realized we figured it out, so they had to go in a different direction. I guess I'll just try to pull something from the auction models as usual.

After taking a quick look at the 2019 auction models, I definitely think Croi is at the top of the list. She's popular, but not enough to cause fistfights in the special run line like a lot of newer molds, Othello or Silver. Other contenders include Bobby Jo, Ruffian, Goffert and maybe Totilas - wow, a short list this year. So that's why I'm thinking Croi, since there isn't a whole lot to choose from. Or maybe Brishen? Personally I hope it's Croi, since I wouldn't need any of them.

Here's a recap of what I have so far:

Rhian and Cadell
Georg
Ethereal
A bull (Charolais?)
Cantering Welsh Pony
Idocus
Big Ben
Croi for the surprise

I don't even want to venture a guess as to what color any of them will be, except for the aforementioned green and Celtic for the decorator and the usual surprise formula of solid, pinto, another pinto, Appaloosa, maybe a decorator.

So, that's all I have for today - hopefully they don't make us wait too long for another reveal. Otherwise, it's going to be a long, cold, boring winter!

Seattle Soiree entries are out!

Check your email accounts, Collector Club members - the selections for Seattle Soiree tickets went out today. If you didn't get an email, check your collector club account home and/or do a search for "Seattle Soiree" on the website - if you were picked, you'll be able to purchase tickets even if you didn't get an email.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we were chosen on this round, but I'll hold on to hope that we'll be drawn from the waitlist. I'm still kicking myself for not finding a way to attend the Sunshine Celebration in Florida back in 2011 after I was drawn from the waitlist for it but couldn't afford it at the time. So there's still hope for the waitlist! That should go out on Monday, so I'll be crossing my fingers (and frantically checking our accounts again).

Volunteer applications and Walmart unicorns and blind bags, oh my!

I'm a little late with this one, but as of January 10, Breyerfest volunteer applications can be submitted to Robin Briscoe! Find the application here. Hmm, they used that same volunteer photo (with me in it) they did for the webpage last year - interesting. I haven't decided if I'm going to apply this year or not - it all depends on whether my mom is feeling up to watching both of the kids while we're gone, so we don't need to bring either of them with us...I guess we'll have to get that decided by February 29, because that's the application deadline. Good luck if you do apply! I always have a lot of fun volunteering (although it can be exhausting and sweaty, I won't lie).

In other news, there are more blind bag Stablemate unicorns at Walmart again, featuring the same tired molds as before. Yawn...but there is a light blue Greyson that is definitely calling my name, and would probably look good next to the purple/blue Warmblood from the last series. The other colors are a gold Alborozo, pink/white Magnolia, eye-burningly yellow-green Magnolia, purple/white G2 Clydesdale and an as-yet-unknown chase piece. I'll have to send my husband to prowl Walmart again, I guess....

Featured Model - 1/11/2019, Lonesome Glory Akhal-Teke

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 Akhal-Teke on Lonesome Glory!



This handsome guy is item #1282 and was the 2007 Limited Edition. IDYB doesn't say how many were made, but I'd guess around 3,000? Either way, he's one you don't really see too often for sale anymore. He was issued on the popular Lonesome Glory mold sculpted by Sue Sifton.

As far as I know, this model has been the only time Breyer attempted to do an Akhal-Teke model, aside from the new Altynai model for this year - Lonesome Glory only bears a passing resemblance to a real Akhal-Teke, but he was the closest they had. Real Tekes can be a bit weird-looking compared to other horses, so their "look" can take a little getting used to, but once you get past that, I find them just as pretty to look at as almost any other horse (and that extra-shiny coat definitely doesn't hurt). So that explains why this guy is so shiny - though they probably should have just made the whole run glossy and called it a day instead of only glossing 31 of them for Breyerfest that year. But that's just my two cents!

Lonesome Glory is still a fairly popular mold - his special run at Breyerfest 2018, By a Nose, was definitely the hot item that year - and 2019 marked the first time he was used as a web special, for the giraffe Nadifa release. Where will we see him next? Maybe as an auction model at this year's Breyerfest? I don't see him being used again for something more attainable, because he was used so recently already, but you never know. Maybe he'll get a new mid-year release? I hope so! He needs to be used more often.

My last Christmas Candy zebra came!

Good news, everyone! My last Christmas Candy zebra finally came, and it's...a gold!



I'm a bit sad not to have gotten a black one, but hey...at least it wasn't a duplicate color!



Like the others, she's really well-done - I didn't see any flaws, nor was she damaged from being crammed into the mailbox by our mail carrier...(not sure why this one arrived via USPS when I clearly saw a UPS guy drop off the other two). Anyway, now I'll just need to get my hands on a blue one! I've been working a lot of overtime lately, so hopefully I can find some extra room in the budget to get one. I hope we get some more exciting reveals soon!

Someone just picked a whole bouquet of oopsie-daisies!

So this showed up on a British Breyer dealer's website today...



Looks like Winx is getting her own Breyer model! But evidently it wasn't supposed to be released, according to a former dealer who posts on Blab. So I'm guessing we'll all get the old cease-and-desist song and dance soon. I'm guessing this is a mid-year release that snuck out early? There's also speculation that she's a UK-only release, which...I hope isn't the case, frankly, because I'm not interested in paying what it would cost to buy one and then have it imported from overseas. I'd most likely just sell all my Emersons instead. For that matter, I'm thinking about solving my not-getting-an-Ambrose problem by selling all my Geronimos as well. The ever-present shelf space limitations and financial concerns are rearing their ugly heads again...

We have an Early Bird model!

Drumroll, please! This year's Breyerfest Early Bird model has been revealed...



Not sure why the background is black...well, anyway, he's beautiful! But I have to wonder why they did another glossy black early bird model, after Sokkar in 2017...

But anyway. The blog says the Early Bird winners will be announced in May this year instead of at Breyerfest. Which should theoretically let the Saturday raffle get over a little earlier...but I wonder what Breyer plans on doing if any of these winners don't show up when their names are called? Maybe they're just hoping that doesn't happen, or they'll confirm things with the winners before the names are announced.

From the blog:

Named after the 10th century Viking settlement in Ireland, Dyflin is the Old Norse derivative of the Irish “Dubh Linn” which means black pool.  The settlement was named after the junction of the River Liffey and the River Poddle that created a naturally deep pool used to moor boats in the middle ages.

Interesting name for an interesting place. I hope I win this guy!

Sleepless Not-In Seattle!

Well, the entry period for the Seattle Soiree has begun - and check out the ticket model! Be still, my heart!



His name is Redmond, and he's to die for! Ugh, I'll be so disappointed if we aren't picked to go. Collector Club members can enter for tickets here. Note that we can only enter to be drawn once - well, you can enter more than once if you want, but only the first entry will go into the drawing. So we don't have to worry about remembering to enter every day - which is probably a good thing, considering the state of my memory lately. Good luck to all the entrants! The drawing will take place on 1/13, but if you aren't drawn in the initial batch, don't lose hope - there's a decently good chance you'll be drawn from the wait list eventually - this happened with my husband back in 2015 when we attended the Sweet Home Chicago event. Also, if you're local to Seattle but don't get drawn, you might just get a phone call from Breyer if they get down to crunch time and still have unsold tickets - they've been known to rope in locals from the surrounding area to fill up the events!

Featured Model - 1/4/2020, Haute Couture

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...Haute Couture!



This handsome guy was one of the special run line items at Breyerfest 2015. He was item #711222 and was a run of 1200 on the Marwari mold sculpted by Brigitte Eberl.

Haute Couture was the hot model of Breyerfest 2015! Everyone had to get their hands on him...which is odd, since the mold isn't super-popular. But he did have a new hairdo for this release, so that probably had something to do with it. Incidentally, the new 'do wasn't seen again until last year's Khalid special run. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of the mane and forelock...but the swishing tail is fun. As for his color, black leopard is always eye-catching, and this guy is no exception. I don't really have anything to complain about with this guy - he even has mottling on his muzzle!

Too bad we don't see the Marwari mold used more often - I feel like he's been overshadowed by more recent releases, which I guess is a risk you take when you suddenly start releasing 3-4 new molds every year for the foreseeable future. We did get the aforementioned Khalid, and in May we'll get some glossy Khalids - I hope I get one! No real predictions about where else we'll see him, with or without his curly ears - maybe he'll be a web special? I don't see him popping up at Breyerfest, but I suppose it's always possible. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long to find out!

Two of my zebras are here!

Excellent news, everyone! Two of my Christmas Candy zebras came today, a day early - behold! A red and a green! I'll start with the red:

I really like them! I wasn't sure Breyer would be able to pull off this type of paint job, but I think they turned out really well.

The eyes were nicely detailed as well, for being simply painted:



I liked the right ear on this one - I kinda wish they all looked like that. Not that I'm complaining or anything. Here's the green!

I love how they nailed the "candy" look to these. Like, even if they aren't candy cane-shaped, they still look almost good enough to eat. Mmm!



They were both really nice in terms of quality - nice crisp stripes and well-painted eyes. They had a couple small pinprick-sized goobers here and there, but nothing major. As for the prices, well, it would have been nice if they were cheaper, but I suspected the complexity of the paint job would mean the prices would be higher in return, so I'm not going to complain about it too much.

My last zebra is still on its way - I'm not sure if it'll be here tomorrow or next week. Crossing my fingers for a Licorice, of course, but I'd be happy with a blue or a gold too!

Breyerfest tickets are on sale!

Exciting news, everyone - Breyerfest tickets are now on sale!



Not a lot of new reveals - they'll still be doing the Breyer Lounge in the Covered Arena as usual - those tickets are $35 each on top of the Breyerfest ticket cost. I can't remember if that's an increase from last year or not! I don't think I'll be springing for those - I would have been more interested last year, since we had our daughter with us and spent most of our time upstairs in the Covered Arena (I was terrified she would come down with heatstroke). The refreshments are decent, though (not that I would know or anything...)

I did see that the Early Bird model is called "Dyflin." I'm going to grumble a little bit here, because they usually reveal the Early Bird model when tickets go on sale....grrrr. Oh well. We can pick our special run times again, which is nice.

There's no costume contest this year, so that'll be something different. Still plotting whether I'll try to attend both of the Celebration of Horses shows at the Alltech to maximize my raffle chances with the glossy Celebration Model...

Info for the Diorama Contest is very specific - entrants are limited to scenes from Celtic mythology or the early history of Great Britain or Ireland ONLY! I'm sure that'll narrow things down.  I wonder if anyone will do a Lady Godiva? If so, I'm rather partial to this painting, myself. Lonesome Glory with a lowered head would be a pretty good match for the horse, and if the rider is in the same pose, you might be able to keep it somewhat family-friendly. Too bad I don't have the artistic skills to pull it off...

As for entertainment, this year we'll have the Freestylers of Piping (bagpipe music) and the Bluegrass Cieli Academy dancers, as well as Sylvia Zerbini! Sounds interesting, as long as nobody gets deafened by the bagpipes.

Guest horses are Ballynoe Castle RM, natch, as well as the driving ponies the Gangsters, Avatar's Jazzman, Stingray, Tempel Lipizzans (cool!), all of whom have new models in the 2020 lineup. The website doesn't say if there will be any other guests to correspond with the mid-year releases, so we'll have to wait and see on that one.

That's about all I could find for pertinent information - hopefully we get some model reveals soon. We're fast approaching the part of the year where exciting reveals are few and far between, so any new reveals are greatly appreciated around here!