Featured Model - 3/26/2022, Decorator April Fool Khemosausages

  Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model that I don't own but has an interesting history behind it, give some stats on it and provide commentary on it. This week's models are...the April Fool's decorator set of Khemosabis! Behold the awesomeness:

They were produced on the rather infamous Khemosabi mold sculpted by Pam Talley Stoneburner, and were sold as a set at the Breyerfest silent auction in 2014, selling for the princely sum of $2,000. So, $500 each. Seemed about right at the time, but who knows...with today's prices, even these guys would probably sell for an eye-popping amount. 

So what's the story behind the decorator Khemos? They were the focus of a truly epic April Fool's joke in 2014. Breyer posted this photo and jokingly announced that these would be the surprise model at that year's Breyerfest. Everyone (well, almost everyone) had a good laugh about the ridiculous notion that they could possibly be the surprise model (still a bit of a silly notion now - it would probably be the first time in history that almost no surprise models sold at all). After the joke was revealed (APRIL FOOL!), the four sad decorators faded into history - until they showed up at the Breyerfest 2014 silent auction. To be fair, Khemosabi tests are really, really rare, so if you're into collecting those rarities, they might just be somewhere near the top of the heap - but I was perfectly happy to ogle them from a safe distance that year. 

As for poor unloved Khemosabi himself, he's only had three attainable releases since his debut in 1990, and three test models other than the above set, so it's probably safe to say he won't have a new release anytime soon. Now, to be fair - I do like his head and neck, and maybe the shoulder area there (looking at the wedgewood one above). The rest of it though...ehh. I'll also admit that I wanted a Khemosabi when I was a small child, so he clearly did appeal to a few people. Maybe if they gave him a flashy enough paint job, it'd hide all his flaws? Something like Auld Lang Syne, or perhaps one of the coveted rainbow paint jobs? Rainbow, my only weakness! I don't remember if any Khemo tests popped up in last year's Breyerfest broadcast - I hope they go back this year so I can watch for them. There's gotta be at least one, right? 

March Collector Club Newsletter!

 Wow, the Collector Club newsletter is out early again! This must be a new trend. Let's hope it continues! If you're a Collector Club member, check your email for more information. Anyway, there's an article about the return of Breyerwest, information about this year's Breyerfest contests, a Lafayette (!) giveaway, and a blind bag BOGO offer (buy one, get one 50% off with BOGO2022 code).

Ooh, there's even a photo (in the Breyerwest article) of the Giselle Slainte Surprise test from the Breyerwest silent auction! Check her out!

Most importantly, there's a new sneak peek! 

The clue is: "There's lots to get excited about this April, including a group of spectacular models for 2022 Collector Club members! Something shiny is on its way next month..." 

Hmm. Collector consensus (as far as I've seen) is that this is probably the next Classic/Freedom Series gambler's choice release. Possibly a newer mold? They seem to alternate between old and new molds, and last year's release (Slyder) was done on Hollywood Dun It, which first came out in 1998. 2020's Nayati was on a pretty new mold, so it might be a safe bet that it's a new mold...perhaps Fairfax? Or Mason? For the sake of my pocketbook, I hope it's a mold I don't collect, but that doesn't seem terribly likely. I guess we'll find out next month! As for the color, it looks similar to Dani - maybe we're getting three mini Celebration Horses? Hah. Seems a bit random, but I'd take it. 

Mini Fireheart is here!

 Good news, everyone - my 2021 Premier Club Stablemate, Mini Fireheart, is finally here! Behold! 

I just couldn't resist putting him on his full-size counterpart. And they're a pretty decent match! 

He does make a good Stablemate, that's for sure.

I've seen a lot of reports of bad mane masking, and mine has decent masking on his left side, but not-so-good masking on the right side. His tail is reasonably well-masked, though. 

Quality-wise, the paint job isn't bad other than the masking, but the bigger issue is...this.

His chest is so pinched he's practically caving in at the shoulder, and his whole left front leg is angled outward as a result. These photos aren't in focus (apologies), but you can still see how bad that shoulder/leg are.

I'm tempted to request a replacement for him, but considering Breyer still hasn't fixed that issue where the Stablemate gets shipped to the address the last release of the year shipped to, no matter how fast you delete the address from your account, and I had to leave a message with Breyer to get the address changed (kudos to them actually doing it without my having to call them again), I'm not sure it would be worth the effort. So I'll have to think about it for a while. These pinched chests have been a problem for a while (I'm reminded of the pinched Alborozos from the Stablemates Club a couple years back), so it would be good to bring a little more awareness to the issue. 

Sandman, and a benefit for Ukraine!

 First off, this year's second Vintage Club release, Sandman, is now available for purchase! 

Let's hope they have the right belly stamps this time, eh? Haha. 

In other news, Breyer is auctioning off a brand-new Emerson test to benefit the war effort in Ukraine! 

The auction doesn't seem to be live yet, but it'll be on eBay when it does show up. Gorgeous model to be sure! Almost makes me wish I hadn't decided to sell off my Emersons, but...ah well. I'm sure he'll go for a lot of money - Breyer is donating all of the proceeds PLUS a company match to "various aid organizations supporting relief efforts." Sure, it'd be nice if they'd done a larger run that people could buy, but that kind of thing takes months to come to fruition, and Ukraine needs the money now. He sure is pretty, though! I wonder how much he'll sell for.

Featured Model - 3/19/2022, 2015 DYOB Moody Andalusian

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model that I don't own but has an interesting history behind it, give some stats on it and provide commentary on it. This week's model is...a 2015 DYOB Moody Andalusian! 

This absolutely stunning model was a OOAK produced on the Andalusian Stallion model sculpted by Kathleen Moody. 

Nicknamed "Diamante," this model was the final result of the DYOB silent auction lot sold at the 2015 Sweet Home Chicago collector event. He was based on the table centerpieces raffled off at the 2009 Lone Star Event collector event, with added gloss and diamond dust. Another completely droolworthy piece that would be an amazing addition to anyone's collection. He was originally owned by a Blabber, but I don't know who has him now. The 2017 LE Liberty is another version of this paint job, and some of these were even glossed (I didn't get one, sadly). Definitely a paint design I wouldn't mind seeing pop up again! Although, I've always wondered about the longevity of those crystals - they'd probably stay on a glossed model pretty well, but it would be a pretty cringe moment if they started popping off those Fighting Stallions. 

I think I've already posted about the Moody Andalusian relatively recently, but I'll reiterate that I think he'd make a great peacock web special. Failing that, give us a new regular run! Make it happen, Breyer! 

Premier Club Stablemates, Sandman and Robin and Nestling!

 Exciting news today, everyone - first off, if you were a member of last year's Premier Club (and completed all your purchases), check your Collector Club account, because the freebie Stablemates (mini Fireheart, if you remember) are starting to ship! Be sure to check that they're using the correct shipping address, because pretty much anyone who sold their Firefly and Hawkeye sets and had them shipped directly to someone else, is now having their Stablemate shipped to that address. Including myself...so I attempted to call Breyer's customer service today, but only got an answering machine. Hopefully I can get ahold of them before my Stablemate ships! Good luck, everybody! 

In other news, the next Vintage Club release has been revealed - but won't be available to purchase until later this month. If you're a member of the Vintage Club, check the VC blog for more information. In the meantime, here's Sandman! 

Smoky was used as the silhouette in the advertisements for this year's VC, so seeing him here isn't too surprising. That's a nice color, though - too bad I'm just not a Smoky fan. Now, if they'd just tell us what the rest of the releases are so we can stop wondering....

In other other news, the selections for Robin and Nestling went out today as well! Congrats to everyone that was picked - I didn't enter, so they won't be coming here. Hope they get shipped out soon! 

Featured Model - 3/12/2022, Bay Rabicano Auction PAS/PAF

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model that I don't own but has an interesting history behind it, give some stats on it and provide commentary on it. This week's model is...the 2004 Breyerfest Auction Bay Rabicano Proud Arabian Stallion! And the Foal, as well. 

These models were OOAK test models produced on the Proud Arabian Stallion and Proud Arabian Foal molds sculpted by Chris Hess.

Wow! I had no idea these two models even existed. I was perusing IDYB, looking for models to write about, and this guy jumped out at me when I clicked on the Proud Arabian Stallion's page. They're painted to match the Connoisseur Shalimar model on the Proud Arabian Mare mold. What a beautiful family they'd make! It would be amazing to have these in my collection. I hope their owner has a Shalimar so they can all be together. Here's the foal:

I guess that just goes to show that Breyer should make more family sets, since they don't seem to do that very much anymore - the only recent exception I can think of is the OOAK glossy Dominante/Fantasia Del C/Gozosa set that was sold at Breyerfest a few years ago, though I'm probably forgetting something. We get plenty of mare and foal sets, but not so many stallions (though I guess we do get plenty of  Classics/Freedom Series families, now that I think about it). Well, whatevs - we need a new Traditional family, says I! 

Not sure where we could expect to see the PAS/PAF used next - vintage molds tend to get shoved aside by newer ones, though I'll note we haven't seen the PAF in the Vintage Club yet, and we still haven't seen the full lineup for this year - maybe we'll get something there? Hmm, maybe a PAS/PAM/PAF family set in, like...Appaloosa Performance Horse paint? That's already been done on test models, but that doesn't necessarily keep Breyer from using it in a wider release. And I'm sure they'd be popular. Failing the APH colors, maybe buckskin? Probably wouldn't sell as well, though. Either way, it's definitely a possibility. They'd probably be spendier than the usual Vintage Club release, too, but I suspect collectors wouldn't mind that too much. It'd certainly be exciting to see! 

Flock together, indeed!

 It's official, everyone: the Birds of a Feather web special theme is...still back, and here's the second release of the year: Robin and Nestling! 

They're cute! And piebald robins are things that exist (if rare), so the fact that they're pintos don't really bother me. What does bother me is that these photos look...really artificial? I'm not sure what it is, but they look really weird, like the gloss was added with Photoshop or something. There are 500 of these sets, so...I'm wondering if Breyer is going to have a lot of leftovers of these? They're nothing I need, so no competition there. I guess we'll see if they show up on the website later on, eh? Good luck to everyone entering! 

There was also a Vintage Club blog post today acknowledging the Cooper stamp snafu, so Kingfisher is definitely a future web special. Can't wait to see what he is! Could we be getting our first decorator Bird of a Feather? I hope so! 

Contest information, finally!

 Good news, everyone - Breyerfest contest information has finally been released! Not before time...but anyways. Check out the contest info here. Some befuddling stuff there - the diorama prize model is apparently a thing of the past, and has been replaced with glossy Celebration Horses instead. Also, photos of the dioramas have to be submitted ahead of time, but then they still have to be at Breyerfest in person to win? Uh, except for the residents of certain US states who aren't even allowed to enter. A little confused there. It's enough to make me want to wash my hands of the contests completely, and I don't even compete in them - I can't imagine how the diorama builders out there feel. My sympathies.

Let's see, what else was there? The costume contest is entirely online this year - the prizes for that remain glossy Celebration Horses like normal. We don't know what the prizes for the Best Custom Contest are yet, but their names are Brandenberg and Westphalia. Quick prediction - Brandenberg is a black version of Troubadour (NOOOOO!!!!!) and Westphalia is a black mini Fireheart (also NOOOOOO!!!). We'll see if I'm right! I almost went with a black Hamilton, but I think Troubadour would more easily pass for something German-inspired, and Hamilton has already been done in glossy gray/black, so people would probably complain if it was him. 

In other news, Breyer has a new plush - P'Eggy! 

What a cutie! Uh, I guess they're already out of stock (they went up yesterday), so I hope you all got yours, if you wanted one. I didn't buy one, so no competition there. 

Also, one last tidbit - people's Vintage Club Cooper models have been showing up with the wrong belly stamp. They have a Kingfisher stamp, with a little bird - which seems to be an accidental reveal of an upcoming web special, as well as a rather huge oops for Breyer. I guess it'll make him more memorable that way! So I wonder if that sneak peek from last month was, in fact, Kingfisher? I guess we'll find out...someday. 

Featured Model, 3/5/2022, Merlin

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model I don't own that has a interesting backstory, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is...Merlin! 

This dragon-horse hybrid was a raffle model at Breyerfest 2005. He's item #711205 and was a run of 26 produced on a modified version of the American Saddlebred Stallion sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

This model has a pretty interesting history behind him - he's based on one of the entries in the Tricked-Out-Pony contest that was held at the now-defunct West Coast Model Horse Collector's Jamboree. Entrants in the contest were provided with a primed model (a different mold each year) that they could customize any way they wished, and one of the entrants turned their blank Moody ASB into a dragon horse that Breyer then purchased the rights to and made a resin mold from it. 25 of these were raffled off at Breyerfest and another was sold in the live auction, but there may be more than that out there - I remember seeing anecdotes on Blab about these being spotted on people's desks at Breyer headquarters during some tour or another, and I'm sure there's one in the archive room. Since the major difference with these models was that they were molded in resin, they have metal rods in the legs for reinforcement - and I've read that at least some of them have still ended up with cracked legs from supporting the weight of the model. I'm not a resin collector anyway, so I don't really have much desire to add one of these to my collection, but if the legs are that fragile on top of that, count me out - I don't do breakables. 

The Moody ASB is a pretty popular mold, and he was used as last year's flagship model, so I don't anticipate a new release on him anytime soon, but I wouldn't turn one down. They might be able to shoehorn him into a Tractor Supply release, I guess - those fancy parade saddles are Western saddles, after all. I guess the bigger question would be what color to release him in, since he's been done in just about every color...except solid black. Hmm...I'd be down for that! 

Plenty of Honeybears to go around!

 Well, Honeybear has been available since just before 2pm EST today, and...for a miracle, he hasn't sold out yet! 

People who've been keeping track of order numbers say it looks like around 2300 have (probably) been ordered so far, which makes me wonder if they made 2500 or even more? Either way, it's good that (pretty much) everyone who wants one has been able to order one so far. Better than the alternative, right? If you haven't ordered yours yet, he can be found here. Note: shipping is not included with this one, and you'll get charged sales tax if you live in an applicable state. C'est la vie!