Meadowlark selections, Collector Club newsletter, another sneak peek and new arrivals!

 It's a smorgasbord of news today! Maybe we've finally moved past the news dead zone we've been stuck in for the last few weeks? First up, selections for Meadowlark are out, so check your email! I'm happy to say I was drawn to purchase her - huzzah! Only the second web special I've been drawn for this year, so I'm happy! Can't wait to see what she looks like in person! 

Secondly, the June Collector Club newsletter is out as well! Check your email to view that as well. Exciting changes are coming - the "My Collector Story" feature is being replaced by the "Collector Club Showcase," which will feature fan-created content, like short stories, collection photos and the like. Hmm, maybe I'll have to put my creative side to work and write a short story? 

This month's newsletter giveaway is a Checkers model on the Latigo mold. Entries close on July 12, so there's plenty of time to enter for him. 

Thirdly, there's a new sneak peek on the Breyerfest Blog! It says this is the last sneak peek of the season, and my guess is it's a raffle model - which means there must not be a third raffle after all. Oh well! It's glossy, and my (uneducated) guess is that it's a Fireheart. Edit: More astute people than me have concluded that it's a Roxy, and I think it looks like a match. Could she be our stock horse, making Desatado the surprise after all? Fortunately we only have to wait until tomorrow to find out - the release will probably coincide with the release of the Breyerfest program. 

And lastly, I have some new arrivals to unveil! Firstly, here's Livingston! 

What a beauty! He would have arrived sooner, but there was some kind of shipping snafu with my dealer. 

Definitely worth the wait, though - his color is really nice! 

His quality was really nice, too - other than a small box rub, he's pretty much flawless - at least for my purposes. 

I'm also happy to say I was able to trade my Puffin for a Goldfinch! While I liked Puffin, I couldn't turn down the chance to add Goldfinch to my Silver collection. 

He's a beauty too! I love the frosting on his mane and tail, and his color is really nice.

Just a stunning model. Sommer has really been knocking it out of the park with her designs for Breyer.

He does have a hair in the gloss on his off side, which is a bit disappointing, but I'm still happy to have been able to trade for him. 

That's all I have for today, but I'll be anxiously awaiting the program release tomorrow! I wonder if there'll be any surprises in there? Auction models, maybe? I hope so! 

The plot thickens (again!)

 We have...a Friday raffle model! Say hello to Muybridge! 

From the blog: 

Our Muybridge for this year’s BreyerFest Friday raffle pays homage to Muybridge’s Horse in Motion. Done on the Icelandic (mold # 729), sculpted by Kathleen Moody, this handsome boy has been done as a beautiful silver black splash with blue eyes. We know this guy will add some dynamic movement to your herd!

All I can say is...wow! 

 

This guy is stunning! Crossing all my fingers that I win one! 

So I guess we're getting three raffle models this year? Friday, Saturday and Sunday? That would be fun. I wonder if they're going to continue this for future Breyerfests, or if it's a temporary change to make up for not having an Early Bird raffle? Either way, exciting! 

There's also a reveal of some of the live auction lots on the blog: 

These are all items that would usually show up in the silent auction. Hngh...that Best Customs set is stunning too. 

Interesting that it says a full set of Seven Arts Surprise. Are they really doing seven colors? I really hope not...but a full set implies matte and glossy...for a total of 14 models? What a crazy year. Well, now I'm really excited to see the program on Thursday! 

New sneak peek? Finally, a raffle model?

 Good news, everyone - it looks like maybe we are getting raffle models this year! Check out this sneak peek on the blog:

My immediate assumption was that it's a Fireheart, since they like to do raffle models on these brand-new molds, but more astute people on the Internets have concluded that it's the Icelandic/Falhofnir. To which I say: sure! Looks like some type of silver black, like one of last year's Slainte Surprise models. And we get to see what it is tomorrow! 

The post also says this year's Breyerfest program will go live on July 1. Huzzah! I can't wait to see it! They're also doing a printed version this year, which is nice, but we have to buy it, which isn't so nice...bleh. Let's hope they don't cost much. Makes me wish they could do a limited number of 2020 programs as well, so the collectors could keep their collections complete. I mean, I could print my own at home (still trying to find paper that would work for that), but it would be a lot easier if we could buy those from Breyer as well...oh well. 

Meadowlark!

 Hark -a new release! Alert the Internet! Release the hounds! Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! 

Sommer knocks it out of the park once again! I love her! Palomino, pinto and glossy to boot? And that intense blue eye? I love it! Please let me buy one? 

From the website:

Artist Sommer Prosser drew on the Meadowlark for inspiration when designing this sweet model’s coat. Meadowlarks are perfectly at home in the quiet of grasslands, meadows, and farm fields, where you can hear their whistling song while they forage for seeds. The female Meadowlark’s coat is more muted in color during the non-breeding season, but retains its gorgeous patterning. 

Definitely more of an inspiration for this one, but I like her anyway. She's a run of 375, so a bit of an increase from 350, so maybe the planets will align and I'll get drawn for one? I hope so! Good luck to everyone entering! 

Also, there's been some speculation that Bluegrass Bandit is this year's surprise model, but I wonder if this knocks her out of contention? I'm sticking with my Forever Saige (preferred) or Desatado (more likely) predictions. 

Fireheart Delayed Again

 Well, I suppose it was inevitable, but another email about Fireheart went out from Breyer today - he's been delayed again. He'll now be available for ordering from July 7-14, and again after Breyerfest is over. Astute readers will note that the email says he'll be available to order on those dates, but nothing about whether he'll actually be shipping at that point. Maybe they don't know themselves? Anyway, at least we got an update. This did have me wondering whether the Breyerfest models would also be delayed, if not for a post on Facebook today from someone saying they'd been shipped some of their VIP models - the Stablemate set, Gran Cavallo and Rheverence, but not Pollock (their second special run model). Later on they heard from Breyer that this was a mistake by the warehouse and no further models would be shipped until after Breyerfest. I wonder if this will be the final nail in the coffin, as it were, for the new shipping company? I hope so, especially if more models were shipped to VIP customers and the surprise horse identity gets let out of the bag (not that I'd protest at that since there's still time to change my special run selections). Let's hope we get a new, better shipping company out of this, yeah? 

Featured Model - 6/19/2021, Test Splash Desatado

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model I don't own but would like to, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it! This week's model is...the test red dun splash pinto Desatado (try saying that five times fast)! 

This model was one of the possibilities in the Making a Splash voting contest in 2019. He's a test/OOAK produced on the Desatado mold sculpted by Kristina Lucas Francis. 

The Making a Splash vote took place at Breyerfest 2019 - attendees could vote on three different models to be produced as a Collector Club special run the following year. The other two models with this colorway were Esprit and Duende, with Duende ending up the winner and being released as Fabio last year. The other two test models were given away as prizes for finding the most hidden images in last year's JAH, but we never did hear who won them. As an aside, I believe I voted for the Esprit in this contest, but that color is equally handsome on all three of them! Splash is always such a striking color to use. I wonder what they would look like in gloss? 

As for Desatado himself, I keep seeing rumblings that he could be this year's Breyerfest surprise model, and it's definitely a possibility. Some quick research shows that of all the Breyerfest surprise models (except the QHG), only two of them were in regular run production at the same time, so clearly they're not averse to running the mold solely for Breyerfest production (several of them had special runs around the same time as their Breyerfest appearance, which makes sense). This actually makes Desatado more likely to be the surprise model than my other guess, Forever Saige (she's in the current line as Cloud's Encore). I had been going by the "previously appeared in the Breyerfest live auction" rule in choosing her, but since there weren't as many auction models last year as in the past, I'm not sure that rule is worth following this year. I guess personal preference influenced that choice as well, as I'd rather see Forever Saige as the surprise than Desatado, despite having both molds in my collection. Ah, well - we'll find out in about a month! Or maybe longer, if these shipping delays affect the Breyerfest models as well...

Tobias is now available!

 Attention, readers! I've surfaced from the swamps of No-Breyer-News - gasp - to inform you of this important development! Tobias, the next release in the 2021 Stablemates Club, is now available for purchase! 

Sorry if that opening sentence was a little dramatic. But I feel like this has been the most unmemorable lead-up to Breyerfest in years. Do we get an auction model countdown this year? Who knows! Are we ever going to see this year's raffle models? Is there even going to be a Saturday/Sunday raffle? Could be anyone's guess at this point! When is the program coming out? Should be any day now, but they didn't release it until the week before the event last year, so we'll probably still be waiting a while! Ugh! I hate to be a whiner here, but...I just want some news I can post about...

But, at least we can order our Tobias models now. Though I'm personally going to wait until the deadline to order him, because theoretically we're getting Fireheart this month, right? Is that still a thing? Let's hope so...

Featured Model - 6/12/2021, 2014 Auction Ashquar

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model I don't own but would like to, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it! This week's model is...the 2014 Auction Ashquar! Before I get started, though, let's have a moment of silence to mark the passing of Janice Cox, the owner/operator of Identify Your Breyer. From what I've heard, she had been in the hospital for the last couple of weeks and passed away yesterday. Her site has been an invaluable resource to me and many other hobbyists and she will be greatly missed in the hobby. I didn't know her personally, but did sell her a Carinosa PAM a few years ago. 

This handsome boy was a OOAK sold at the Breyerfest live auction back in 2014. He was issued on the Ashquar mold sculpted by Brigitte Eberl. 

He's described as a "Metallic Smoky Black," but he's basically an updated charcoal (not that that's a bad thing). He reminds me of an old toy horse (not a Breyer) I had as a kid - it was black with a white mane and tail and may have had articulated legs. I remember when this model was first revealed, because it was the first new release on the mold since his Premier Club debut the year before, and then it took until the end of 2014 for Chamonix to be released. So the Ashquar release was a bit lonely for the first 18 months of existence! They've made up for it since then, of course. He's only been an auction model twice, though - maybe he'll get another one this year? Speaking of auction models, when are we going to start seeing the ones for this year? I hope it's soon. 

Ashquar is being used as one of the store specials for this year's Breyerfest, and he was one of the special runs for the Seattle Soiree last year, so it's hard to say where we'll see him next. I suspect he'll get a rest for a while, but I suppose it's possible he could be this year's surprise model. I wouldn't be opposed to that, though I think Forever Saige is more likely. Maybe Ashquar will get a web special? He hasn't had one of those for a while, and with those long, spindly legs he could easily pass for a flamingo. Here's hoping! 

Special Run selections are now available!

 More good news today, everyone - those of us who bought Breyerfest All-Access tickets can now set our special run preferences! I'll set mine up later, but my plan is to do the master list option and try to get as many surprise models as I can, same as I did last year. We aren't guaranteed to get all the models we want, and honestly I'm a bit leery as to how things are going to go down this year, since there aren't any special run times. Hopefully we can get all or most of what we want...hopefully. crosses fingers Good luck, everyone! 

Side note - unfortunately, it looks like they aren't telling us the matte/glossy split in advance like they did last year. D'oh...well, I'm going to have to hope it's Pech Merle or Gran Cavallo, to simplify things! 

Thoroughbred Champion is now available!

 Huzzah, more exciting news! The next release in this year's Vintage Club is now available for purchase! Say hello to Thoroughbred Champion! 

I kinda feel like they could have given him an actual name? Seems kind of weird to just have "Thoroughbred Champion" on the nameplate when they could have made something up, or gotten permission to name him after some old-timey racehorse from the 70's. He's definitely pretty, though not something I need to add to my collection. And Breyer posted on Facebook that he can be removed from the base! So if you'd rather display him without the base, you'll have that option. 

If you're a member of the Premier Club, I'd suggest holding off on completing your purchase for a few days in case Fireheart shows up soon. The way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised to see him pop up on the website tomorrow or Friday. The next Stablemate Club release should be out soon too, so I guess Breyer will be draining a lot of our wallets soon! 

I guess I spoke too soon...

 Well, looks like I should have kept my mouth shut one more day, because the 2021 Mid-Year releases are here! Let's start with the one we've all been waiting for: 

WGH CH Marc of Charm!! That's right, the model rumored to be one of the Breyerfest store specials in 2019 (or was it 2020?) is finally here! He's definitely going on my want list, though I hope the mane and tail are less yellow in person. 

Next, we have Tiz the Law! 

Seems like kind of a random choice for a Thoroughbred portrait, but that Lonesome Glory is beautiful! Must add him to the collection!

This lovely black Arabian is KB Omega Fahim, a Shagya Arabian stallion who specializes in dressage. I love the blue sheen to the color! Another one I'll have to add to the collection! 

Ooh, a black Malik! I love it. Though I really think the Shagya Arabian, or another (not-yet-existing) mold would be the best fit for the Black, as he's frequently described as being too big to be pure Arabian and Malik looks Arabian to the core. But I digress...

The horses-as-food series appears to be continuing, with Red Velvet! Ooh, I love red velvet cake...but I don't collect this mold. Looks like an interesting color, though! 

And lastly...Thriller, this year's Halloween model! Apparently dealers are being limited to 12 of these, so be sure to reserve yours fast. I just preordered mine, so hopefully it goes through and I'm the proud owner of a Thriller! 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

 ...there was absolutely nothing going on, and everyone was super bored.

Seriously, what's going on? June is usually a pretty busy month for hobby news - is the current dearth of information yet another thing to blame on Covid? Ugh. We're well into June and we still don't have any information about this year's Breyerfest raffles! Bleh. Speaking of  Breyerfest, today was the last day to buy All-Access tickets - I did decide to buy a couple more, to try to maximize my chances of getting an Uffington. I had exactly enough tickets to get everything I wanted last year, but that was a little too close for comfort, so this year I got a couple extra. Hopefully they're helpful! 

There is one tiny tidbit of news - there are some new pins on the website (view them here). One of them is Fireheart! Aww, nuts...I was going to speculate that we're getting a bay Fireheart raffle model, since the pin looks bay, but on closer inspection it just looks like a rather poor representation of the Fireheart paint job. Oh well...I tried. 

Also, apparently those new blind bag Stablemates we heard about last year (!) are finally starting to show up at local Walmarts - or may be showing up? Or are listed on the website? No one has them in hand yet, as far as I know, but I'm jonesing for a white Darley to add to my conga, so I'll be haunting the local Walmart to see if they get them in. Here's hoping! 

Featured Model - 6/5/2021, 2013 Auction Ruffian

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model I don't own but would like to, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is...the 2013 Breyerfest Auction Ruffian! 

This model was a OOAK piece produced for the 2013 Breyerfest live auction, done on the Ruffian mold sculpted by Sue Sifton. 

I picked this model because she looks like a matte predecessor to Goldfinch! Okay, Goldfinch is a bit yellower, but there's definitely a resemblance. I'm not sure I like the stripes, though, especially in the tail. It makes me want to look up how much she sold for - I don't even remember her being in the auction, even though I was there (only to observe). Anyway, other than the stripes, she looks good in buttermilk buckskin. 

We just saw a new Ruffian a few weeks ago with the debut of Home and Away, the special run from the True Blue Breyer event, so it's hard to say where we'll see her next. Now that I think about it, though...she's never been a TSC special run, so maybe she'll pop up there next year. If they were already putting her into production for TSC, it would be easy to divert some 52 blanks for a True Blue special run. I suppose it won't be too long until we find out! Other than TSC, I'm not sure where else we might see her - Ruffian's last Breyerfest outing was a bit of a flop (still not sure how that happened). It's been a good few years since she was a raffle model, so maybe she'll show up there? Hopefully we don't have to wait too much longer to find out...