TSC special runs are here!

 Good news, readers! My Tractor Supply special runs (Merle and the Playful Pony Family set) arrived today, a day early! Huzzah! Let's take a look at Merle first: 

He's a bit darker than in the promo photos, and I was kind of hoping he'd be metallic, but doesn't really seem to be. 

It's a really handsome color nonetheless! 

His ears look bizarrely long in this photo. Must be the angle. 

Quality-wise he's pretty good; some small factory flaws, but nothing major. I'm glad I got this one, and super-glad he arrived this fast - looking at things last year, these models weren't arriving at people's houses until September or later and I was really worried I should have had them shipped to our new address. Fortunately it wasn't a problem! Now if my Adonis would show up...

I also received the Playful Pony Family! 

I didn't take the stallion out of the box because I'm hoping to resell him. 

I really like this pair! Attractive colors on both. 

I really like this color on her - she has a slight pearly sheen, but it's not nearly as noticeable as on the Stagecoach Surprises, for example. 

I was also pleasantly surprised to see the mare has tiny little eyewhites, though the stallion and foal don't. The eyes at at least neatly painted on all three, though- a lot of the recent Classics releases have had really sloppy eyes. 

Quality-wise they aren't bad - some minor flaws, like Merle, but nothing major. Guess I didn't take any separate photos of the foal, but he's pretty nice too. 

In other TSC-related news, I got a report that the TSC Flash (Applegate) isn't a flat bay, but rather has metallic undertones, so he's probably worth picking up if you're a Flash collector. In addition, the blue cow ornament may be too heavy to hang on a tree - probably cast in resin like the recent unicorn ornaments. Thanks to Sarah M.! 

That's all I have for today- maybe tomorrow we'll get an announcement about the Breyerfest leftovers sale!