Featured Model - 2/29/20, American Dream

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! My apologies for missing last week - I'm not always the best at planning ahead. This week's model is...American Dream!



This guy was one of my purchases from last year's Collector Appreciation event, and I don't think I've talked about him much since then, so I figured I'd feature him now. He's item #62203 on the brand new Rearing Mustang mold sculpted by Maggie Bennett.

I liked this model the instant I saw him, because he's like a budget version of Wahoo. Too bad Stone beat Breyer to the punch on that one. Anyway, according to Breyer, this is also the first Breyer model to be digitally sculpted. I wonder if we'll see more of that in the future? Who knows. And blue roan is a fitting color for a Mustang - there are a lot of roan Mustangs out there, and I love roans! Too bad he doesn't have a little more detail, like some corn spots and things of that nature.

As for the mold himself, I think there's a fairly good chance he'll be used at Breyerfest this year in some capacity (if he doesn't get shoved out by the new Brabant). If not, he'd make a good Halloween-themed release as well. Maybe as the Headless Horseman's horse? He's a little too new to show up as this year's gambler's choice Classic, but you never know. I don't think he's been retired from the regular line yet, so he could really show up anywhere. I guess we'll find out eventually!

Gotta collect 'em all!

Greetings, readers! The highly anticipated Friday reveal is finally here - observe!

Othello - my favorite mold! Gasp! And he's beautiful! Sheesh, and I thought it would be hard to get ahold of Oak. I think this guy is now the front-runner for most popular special run! We still have a few more reveals, though, so I have a feeling he may be usurped by something even more amazing.

This also knocks out Othello as the surprise model (not that I was nervous about that or anything...) and as something horrible like a live show prize or glossy prize. Woohoo! And since he's being advertised as glossy from the start, I doubt he'll turn out to be a half matte/half glossy release.

From the blog:

 Considered sacred and referenced often in Celtic mythology, figuring particularly prominently in the Celtic and North Germanic creation myths, ash trees are also part of a magical trilogy of trees associated with fairy lore. Ash trees were so revered in Ireland that even in times of strife, people refused to cut them down for firewood – except to be used in the sacred fired during Beltane celebrations in the spring.  Both Oak and Ash trees are closely related to kingship and considered sources of ancient wisdom. 

Apparently the third tree in the "tree trilogy" is the hawthorn. Interesting - I wonder if we'll get a third tree-themed special run? They used the Hawthorn name already with the woodgrain pig a while back, so I'm wondering why they didn't mention the third tree if they weren't going to use it for something. Maybe they'll spell it Hawthorne instead? I guess we'll find out. 

As for Ash himself, while the blog explained the meaning of his name, "Gotta catch 'em all!" was the first thing I thought of when I saw it. I guess that's what happens when you grow up in the '90s.

In other news, tomorrow (2/29) is the deadline for Breyerfest volunteer applications, so if you haven't gotten that done yet, make sure you get them submitted (and/or postmarked) by tomorrow! I did end up submitting an application after all, so I'm crossing my fingers I get picked! 

I'm so relieved!

So we got a reveal earlier than Friday after all! Take a look at this show-stopper store special:



Gasp! He's beautiful. Too bad I'm not a Shannondell collector, because he'll be a hot commodity this year! From the blog:

Benelli, a blue roan Clydesdale gelding, is a versatile asset for the Hawkes Ranch hitch as he can be driven in any position, but he truly shines out front as the leader of this hitch that pulls an unmistakable purple cart. 

Ooh, I love draft hitch teams! And the blog says they'll be at Breyerfest! Our local draft horse show recently went kaput, so I'll take a hitch sighting wherever I can get it! This year's Breyerfest is looking to be a doozy (and I mean that in a good way)! 

Another sneak peek (sigh) and...horse styling heads?

So the biggest news from Breyer over the weekend was this reveal, at Toy Fair in New York.


Uh...cool, I guess? In all honesty, I probably would have wanted one when I was 9 years old, and they are fairly cute. I wonder if Sommer sculpted them? It'll be interesting to see if they're popular!

In other news, instead of revealing whatever they were teasing us with last week, Breyer posted another unidentifiable sneak peek on the Breyerfest blog today:



The subtext says they'll reveal it soon, but then at the bottom it says it'll be revealed at Breyerwest on Friday. That's not soon! That's four days from now! Bleh. It's no fun to try to guess what any of these photos are showing when they're so tightly cropped you can't tell anything about it, either. Guess we'll just have to wait, because I have no idea what any of these peeks are supposed to be.

Featured Model is on hiatus this week

Hello, dear readers! Due to a sad lack of time and planning this week and a weekend trip out of town, Featured Model is on hiatus this week. But fear not - there’s another sneak peek on the blog, rather than the Friday reveal I was expecting. Who could this sneak peek be? Maybe a Cadell foal to go with a theoretical Rhian mare? I guess we’ll find out - hopefully on Monday!

Another Breyerfest sneak peek!

Oops, I'm a bit late with this sneak peek for Breyerfest! Take a look:



I figured I didn't need to be in any big hurry to post it, since it's impossible to even make a guess as to what it could be. I mean, I could speculate that it's Rhian and/or Cadell, but that color looks like it would be fairly similar to Rhian's original color, so that's out. I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

Also, I can't remember if I mentioned it anywhere else, but I have a dynamite idea for the next Berries Ponies release - "Strawberries and Cream" as a red roan Rhian and white/light palomino Cadell. Make it happen, Breyer!

Klaus and Jujube are here!

Good news, everyone! My Klaus model (well, models) arrived a few days ago, and Jujube came today! I'll start with Klaus's handsome self:

I almost wish they'd made him glossy, or done half-and-half, but then he'd have been even more similar to Wolfgang, so I can see why they left it off.

He's definitely a cutie, though! He'll look good on the shelf next to Darwin and Mini Allegro.

Quality-wise, he's great! I didn't see anything majorly wrong with him. I love the swirl of spots on his flanks area - makes him look more realistic that way. I do wish his eyes had been a little more detailed, but I guess we can't have everything.

Here's a look at the back of his box:

If they're going to insist on using these boxes, they could at least use photos from the current year's club. But then, I'd rather see them use the satin bags from before. Get off my lawn, and all that. At least the first year of the boxes had a whiteware preview of the new mold! No such luck this time.

Next, let's take a look at Jujube!

She's beautiful!

I love the contrast of the non-pearly parts of her mane vs. the pearly parts. There's been a lot of talk on Blab that she's like a cross between a decorator and a realistic color. I'm not sure if that was on purpose or not, but I'm definitely down for more of those types of crosses.

I love her blue eye! I almost wish the other one was visible so it could be blue, too, but then again - we could have ended up with this disaster (the eye on that side is mostly covered by mane, so they painted on a black dot where it should have been). No thanks!



I didn't see many quality issues, other than these dapples (par for the course) and the mane color ending up halfway up her right ear due to a masking issue. Nothing worth griping over, really. She's so pretty! I can't wait to shelve her with my other Emmas. I hope they use the mold again in the future - maybe at Breyerfest? Let's hope so!

February newsletter teaser and Premier Club welcome letter!

Exciting news today - the February newsletter has been released for Collector Club members! This month's exciting giveaway is...a glossy chestnut AQHA 75th Anniversary model! Not something I'm terribly interested in, really, but it's easy to enter if you want him!

More exciting is the sneak peek that was part of the newsletter - check it out!



It looks like a mouth of some sort - the consensus on the Internets is that it may be Misty? I'm wondering if it's the next Berries Ponies release, since Misty is a pony after all. Some type of Appaloosa? I've never been much of a Misty fan, but an Appaloosa pattern could be fun on her. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long to find out.

In other news, my 2020 Premier Club welcome letter arrived today! While they couldn't just tell us what the other two releases are for some reason, there are a couple of clues - the Fraley sculpt "has majestic presence and expression" and the Parks sculpt "will make performance showers happy." So I'm thinking a drafter for the Fraley? And the Parks will...not have much hair, or its mane is blowing in the wind or something? I'm thinking we need better clues than that, but whatever. And lastly, the Stablemate is "a frequently-requested breed" sculpted by Brigitte Eberl! Some kind of drafter, as a mini of the Fraley? Exciting! Hopefully we find out sooner rather than later...

Carter and Charleston are here!

This is kinda old news, since they've been here a while - but my Carter and Charleston models have arrived! I'll start with Carter!



He's definitely a pretty boy! He makes a good match for the rose gray Hero's Welcome, though I never got around to photographing them together.

His dapples definitely could have been more subtle though, especially on the belly.

He sure is handsome, though! Can't wait to see what Breyer does next with the mold.

Quality-wise, he's pretty nice - I don't remember seeing much of anything wrong with him other than the less-than-subtle dapples. I've seen some complaining online about the amount of pearly in his finish, but I'm a sucker for pearly, so that doesn't bother me at all.

Next, here's Charleston!



I didn't get many photos of this one - I'm still pretty meh about him. It's like his neck is too short, or so arched it looks like it's broken, or something. Add that to the tail's resemblance to the G2 Paso Fino and he's just not something that needs to stick around.



I feel like his eyes were decently well-detailed, though - too bad my photo isn't good enough to show it. Oh well!

That's all I've got for today - tune in again soon to see Klaus!

Featured Model - 2/15/2020, Walmart Unicorn Crazy Surprise Series 2 Warmblood Mare

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 Walmart Unicorn Crazy Surprise Series 2 Warmblood Mare! Sheesh, that's a long name.



This pretty girl (and I do mean girl; I have no idea why Breyer labeled it a stallion when she clearly doesn't have any bits) is one of the unicorns to be found in the Series 2 blind bag unicorn assortment at Walmart (slowly being replaced by series 3). She's item #97268 and was sculpted by Kristina Lucas Francis.

I picked this model because I love that color scheme! There's just something I really like about the pink/purple/blue color scheme. Other things that use this color scheme are various Frozen memorabilia and this level from Super Mario 3D World, among other things. I love it! I hope Breyer uses this color again in the future. 

As for the mold, she's certainly gotten a lot of use since her introduction waaaaaay back in...2019? Sheesh, it seems like it's been longer than that for some reason. Well, I'm sure they want to get their investment in the mold back as soon as possible. Where will we see her next? The possibilities are endless, but I suspect she'll be the mysterious Unicorn Crazy Series 3 chase model that no one has found yet. There's a decent chance she'll pop up as the Stablemate at the upcoming Seattle Soiree - I personally hope it's a mold I don't collect - the fewer things I have to track down afterward, the better. And maybe she'll get another realistic release as well? Let's hope so.

Say hello to Hamish!

So the Internet hordes were right! The sneak peak was of an Irish Moiled bull, Hamish!



Not that I thought said hordes were wrong. He's beautiful! Nothing I really need to buy, but I am slightly tempted. Certainly an attractive color for the Angus Bull's first Breyerfest appearance!

Another Breyerfest sneak peek, and Jujube selections!

Well, first things first: there's another sneak peek on the Breyerfest blog!



It's cropped so closely it's impossible to tell what this is, but most people on the Internets think it's some type of cow - namely, an Irish Moiled. I'd never heard of it before, so it'll be interesting if that's what it is. I guess we'll find out soon!

In other news, selections for Jujube went out today - and my husband's account was drawn! It was the bright spot I needed after a bad weekend that involved working overtime, frustrations about working overtime, emergency toilet replacements and canceling our annual Oscars party due to aforementioned overtime. Bleh.

So anyway, I can't wait until my Jujube gets here! Hopefully it doesn't take too long to ship her.

Featured Model - 2/8/2020, Acadia

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...Acadia!



This handsome guy was a web special back in 2017. He's item #712223 on the Valegro mold sculpted by Brigitte Eberl, and was a run of 350.

Acadia was from the first year of the America the Beautiful web special theme, and he was definitely popular! He's definitely a beautiful color. He even has nicely-done, subtle dapples...which is more than I can say for some of Breyer's dappled models. And I love his blue eye! I don't remember if both his eyes are blue, but it definitely makes him more striking. He also has plenty of chrome, which I always like to see on a model. Hopefully we see this color on more models in the future - I think the new Ideal Quarter Horse on Geronimo is pretty similar to this.

As for Valegro, he's gotten quite a few releases since his 2015 debut. Will we see him at Breyerfest? Maybe as a prize or auction model - he was used in the special run line in 2017, so I wouldn't expect to see him again there so soon. But you never know - he was the second Collector Club special run last year, so they probably have plenty of  bodies lying around if they wanted to do another release. Maybe there will be a glossy Lucien in the silent auction? That would be fun to see (if spendy for somebody). But I hope his next release is something I can get ahold of!

Klaus is available too!

What timing! I hope the Vintage Club members that are also Stablemates Club members waited to place their orders, because now Klaus is available too!



There's no word on whether Klaus is this year's glossy and matte split, though, which irks me, because we have three accounts this year and I'd rather just sell two of them up front so I don't have to deal with selling them later. So I guess we'll wait for all three to get here and see if any of them are glossy? I don't know which other release it could be, because I think the rest of them are either glossy  by default or the gambler's choice. Watch it turn out to be the new mold we still haven't seen yet...

Trailblazer is now available!

Attention, Vintage Club members - Trailblazer, this year's first release, is now available for purchase!



So it turns out he comes with the saddle and the reproduction grooming kit!

I'm not a member of the Vintage Club this year (or probably ever again), but he sure is pretty - and it definitely took long enough for the Western Horse to show up! I hope he's as nice as person as he looks in the photographs!

The Berries Ponies series returns!

Color me surprised - they brought back the Berries Ponies series after all. And what a model to open it with - finally, a new Emma!



She's beautiful! I hope I get drawn for one. From the email:

Like the Jujube tree, which survives in a wide range of conditions, including hot sunny summer days and chilly autumn mornings, this pony is a steady partner and thrives in any climate.
Reminiscent of a warm summer berry, she is a sweet and mellow friend. Artist Sommer Prosser designed her charming silver dapple tovero coat.

Per the website, she's an edition of 350, priced at $150 each. I have to say, that price seems a bit steep, especially for a pony. Isn't the lower price the whole idea behind using the ponies to start with?

Well, anyway, I still hope I get drawn for one! Good luck to everyone who enters! 

I don't think she matches that teaser photo from the newsletter, though. What else does Breyer have in store for us?! I can't wait to find out!

Featured Model - 2/1/2020, Salem

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...Salem!



This model was one of the Halloween special runs for 2019, part of Breyer's burgeoning Halloween collection that seems to grow every year. He's item #712300 on the Mason mold sculpted by Kitty Cantrell. Run numbers were never published, which seems to happen more and more these days.

I thought this guy was a really clever design! He looks realistic at first, until you notice all the cats in his pattern and the purple interference in his color. If you don't look too close, he also makes a good mini Hamilton, so if you had this guy, the original Hamilton and the Charleston Stablemate, you might be able to make a fun group show entry or something. This particular model had a badly warped front leg, which I don't have the courage to attempt to fix - but he still stands on a shelf, so I can overlook it.

As for Mason himself, I feel a bit sorry for the mold - it's been sadly neglected since its 2018 debut. We didn't even get a glossy Mason for the live show giveaway last year! Not that I'm going to complain too much about that, since it was one less model I'd need to track down later, but still. Will he get a release at Breyerfest this year? Cue the complaining about him not fitting the theme. Maybe he'll get a mid-year release? Or maybe Breyer will punish me for writing this post by making him the late spring/early summer gambler's choice Classic release. That seems fairly likely. Let's hope his next release is something more mundane!