Another test run to enter for!

 Exciting news, readers - the last test model of 2023 is available to enter for! 

It's a very pretty chestnut on the Classic Black Beauty mold. What a looker! 

The price is still too high, considering Classics molds don't tend to sell for that much, especially older ones, but he'd still make a nice addition to someone's collection. Nothing I need, but good luck to everyone entering! 

Featured JAH - 10/28/23, July/August 1995

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week's issue is July/August 1995, so let's get rolling! 

On the front cover, a donkey does his hee-haw thing to amusing effect. On the back cover, Willow and Shining Star, the latest JAH special run, make their debut! 

On the inside cover, Riddle Passing Through Time and Eagle and Pow Wow (wow, indeed) make their debut. Pow Wow may be an early example of Breyer doing a splash pinto paint job. 

In the Editor's Desk, Stephanie intoduces the Dapples line (now known as Ponies), and in EquiNews, Peter Stone, Breyer Man prepares to appear on QVC in August (more on that later), a new Götz doll with two Stablemates models makes her debut, and Breyer portrait horses Ruby, Wildfire and Starfire prepare to attend Pyallup Breyer Day in Oregon. 

On pages 4-5 we find an article about longears and artist Bonnie Shields' work, along with a sneak preview of the upcoming Brown Sunshine model! 

On page 14 we have an article about how to position models in action photos, and page 15 has a useful graphic about Presentation Models, still hard to find today.

Page 16 contains results of a survey by...someone? Not sure who actually wrote this one, but anyways. Obviously a lot has changed in 28 years, though the woodgrain category is still pretty much the same. Page 17's Blast From the Past features the Donkey with Baskets set, still sought after today, and the Just About...Breyer Animals! features the Kitten, which...for the most part isn't too sought after.

 

This issue's centerfold features the Dapples, including a little storybook. I can't remember if I wanted any of the Dapples models back in 1995 - I probably would have if I knew they existed, since I had a lot of Grand Champions around that time. The little book's story is cute, if a bit simplistic. 

This issue's Vintage Point was about the Balking Mule - fitting, given its "longears" focus. The Balking Mule is surprisingly large in person - maybe she's a draft-type? Haha. 

That brings this issue to a close - this one was kinda light on interesting stuff, but there'll be more next week! Tune in for Sept/Oct 1995! 

Vintage Club preview and Nimbus!

 Sheesh, I guess I wrote today's earlier post too early - the news wasn't done yet! Firstly, we have an amazing sneak peek for next year's Vintage Club, Kirk:

Whoa, a night light! That's super cool. Looks like some kind of glossy splatter dapple gray on Geronimo? Can't say I had "night light" on my bingo card, though I'm starting to think I should have. Despite having been burned in the past, my inability to secure any Thunderbirds (so far) is making me regret not joining the club this year. Must resist! Most of the releases don't resell for issue price, and I don't collect most vintage-themed stuff! Must resist! 

Anyway, our second bit of late-breaking new is that Nimbus is available to order! 

Naturally I had to order him as soon as possible. I guess I could have waited to order Wintergreen along with Nimbus - she's still available on backorder. Oh well, not like I haven't wasted money on shipping before. 

That's (hopefully) it for today, unless Breyer comes out with something else unexpected in the next few hours! 

October Collector Club Newsletter!

 Greetings, readers! Well, it's another fall day here in Kentucky, and this month's Collector Club Newsletter is here! If you're a Collector Club member, check your email to read it. This month's feature story is a show report from Ponypallooza Germany, and there's also a link to the various replays of Fun Day activities if you missed those. The October giveaway is a palomino Ideal Quarter Horse, and the newsletter closes with this tantalizing hint! 

I had no opinion one way or the other as to what this is, but the prevailing opinion on the Internets is that this is Totilas. Looks like the Benasque colorway is making another return! I hope we don't have to wait too long to see what this is. The newsletter also says we're getting a 2024 Vintage Club sneak peek "soon," so hopefully we don't have to wait too long for that either! 

2023 Retired List

  Well, it's that time of year again - the 2023 Retired List has been announced! Check it out: 

Traditional Series Models & Accessories

1810 Truly Unsurpassed

1816 Buckeye

1828 Winx

1830 Adiah HP

1841 Obsidian

1843 Theo

1844 Sporður frá Bergi

1848 Tiz the Law

1862 Get Rowdy

1868 The Ideal Series - Appaloosa

1870 Secretariat - 50th Anniversary Limited Edition

1875 Washington

1876 Spectre - 2023 Halloween Horse

1878 Barranco - Brick and Mortar Exclusive

1878 Leif

61213 Hope

760251 Mariposa & Flor - Flagship Dealer Exclusive

2043 Brush Box Jump

2053 Colorful Blanket Asst.

2486 Stable Feed Set 

Freedom Series Models

62060 Le Mer, Unicorn of the Sea

62068 Lysander 

Stablemates Models & Accessories

6227 Horse Foal Surprise - Family 13

6228 Horse Foal Surprise - Family 14

6229 Horse Foal Surprise - Family 15

59215 Breyer Farms Deluxe Wood Stable Playset

59220 Unicorn Magic Sparkle Playset

Mane Beauty

7404 Daybreak Styling Head

7405 Stardust Styling Head 

Craft and Activity

4249 Paint and Wear Enamel Pins

4243 All About Horses Craft Kit

CollectA

Dogs & Cats

88179 Bull Dog

88181 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

88185 Dachshund

88384 Bull Terrier

88610 American Staffordshire Terrier 

Horses & Equids

88734 Bay Hanoverian Foal

88114 Red Dun Quarter Horse Foal

88815 Black Friesian Foal

88893 Barock Pinto Foal 

Prehistoric Life

88039 Pteranodon

88145 Iguanodon

88199 Triceratops Baby

88237 Liopleurodon

88340 Tarbosaurus

88395 Jobaria (Deluxe 1:40 Scale)

88441 Hatzegopteryx

88511 Ornithoscheirus

88777 Styracosaurus (Deluxe)

88778 Deinocheirus (Deluxe 1:40 Scale)

88889 Mapusaurus - Hunting

888910 Kamuysaurus

88917 Neovenator - Scenting Prey 

Safari

88216 Polar Bear Cub

88356 Koala

88415 Lioness

88459 Ostrich 

North American Wildlife

88207 Flamingo

88211 Mute Swan

88456 Red Squirrel

88499 Bumble Bee

Nothing terribly surprising there, though I'm not sure why they bothered to list stuff like Washington, Leif and other things we already knew were limited editions, but there it is. Make sure you get these before they fade away into the sunset! Uh, and let's hope there isn't another CCA event featuring whichever ones haven't already been glossed for other stuff.  

Wintergreen and a Breyerfest teaser!

 Greetings, readers! Well, Wintergreen is now available to order (on backorder) and is supposedly shipping next week! 

Can't wait to see this one in hand, along with Nimbus, who should be available any day now. Too bad he couldn't have come available as well so I could combine shipping...bleh. 

Anyway, there was a new post on the Breyerfest blog today! 

I have to admit I like the banner, though the "girl-power tunes" thing had me rolling my eyes. It's supposed to be a clue for the Celebration Horse reveal (next week! yay!) but I don't know what it's referring to. Guess we'll find out next week! 

Anton is here!

 Good news, everyone! I finally got my hands on an Anton, and he arrived today! Behold! 

He's so cute, with his little box, and the design that comes straight off of a Classic Lipizzaner box from the '70s, and his gloss, and...aww! I love him. 

He even has some very minor pinking on his muzzle! 

Quality-wise he's pretty good, though I wish his eyes had a little more detail (and were more neatly-painted). But you don't really notice it unless you look really close, so I guess I can overlook it. 

I've also seen some mentions on the Internets that he looks squished, and mine is no exception - he's substantially narrower through the chest than my other Darwins. The major difference between Anton and the rest of the Darwins is that Anton is molded from cellulose acetate, as Stablemates were in the "Vintage" days (modern Stablemates are molded from ABS). So the speculation is that something may be going wrong when switching the molding process from ABS to cellulose acetate. The Valerio models from a few years ago also had some major issues with looking like they'd been pinched or something. Hopefully Breyer gets the issue straightened out at some point, ideally by switching all Stablemate production back to cellulose acetate - though that seems unlikely. I can always hope, though. 

Featured JAH - 10/21/2023, May/June 1995

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week's issue is May/June 1995, so let's get started! 

On the front cover, a very handsome Norwegian Fjord stares off into the distance. I liked Fjords as a kid (and still do), so if I'd had this issue as a child I probably would have loved it. On the back cover, the Norwegian Fjord mold makes its debut (or at least the painted resin the mold was based on), along with a couple of real Fjords pulling some type of vehicle. 

On the inside cover, much information about Breyerfest 1995 has been revealed! Feast your eyes on Mystique, the raffle model, along with Favory and two test models from the 1995 live auction. Opposite those is the ticket order form for Breyerfest 1995 (actual ordering information on the back of this page). Another year, another country/western theme, I guess. 

On page 4-5 we have the official Breyerfest '95 article with all pertinent information to the event. most notably that 1995's Celebration Horse was Mego, one of the "stars" of Walker, Texas Ranger, which I'm sure was many people's grandparents' favorite show in the '90s. 

Page 6 features the announcement of two live model horse shows - the regular live model horse show, and the beginner/youth show! Huzzah! And on page 7 we have an article all about Mego the Celebration Horse.

On page 12 we have an article about the differences between the muscle/no muscle Clydesdale Stallion, and page 13's story is written from the perspective of a smoke Belgian model (JAH would occasionally feature these types of stories and I really liked them). 

Page 14 is a continuation of the smoke Belgian story and also the Who Am I? for this month (Roemer?), and page 15 features a harness parts identification guide. 

On page 16 is more draft harness stuff, while on page 17 the Blast From the Past shows the previous few years of Breyerfest Celebration Models, many of which are hard to find today, and Just About...Breyer Animals features the Spotted Poland China Hog. 

This issue's centerfold is all about Mego! Feast your eyes on the photo of Mego himself as well as the model - definitely a handsome use of the Adios mold and a pretty horse! Too bad he ultimately never made it to that year's Breyerfest due to a veterinary embargo on several states (sorry if that's a spoiler). 

Lastly, this issue's Vintage Point covered the Belgian mold - how fitting, considering my recent thoughts about starting to collect this guy. I don't know...there's still something weird about the length of his head and how it connects to his neck. Maybe it's just an optical illusion or something. More importantly, he's a draft mold, and I don't know how I'd make him fit on my shelves - I have some open space, but not much! I'll have to think about it some more, and maybe stop in a TSC on Saturday and look at a Gibson think about it some more. 

That brings us to the end of the magazine for today, but check back next week for July/Aug 1995! 

The 2024 Stablemates Club is now open!

 Well, I was partially right - we did get another reveal today! The 2024 Stablemates Club is now open for enrollment. In a reversal of the last couple of years (and return to the beginnings of the club), next year's final club release and new mold has been revealed! 

His name is Augustus! What a hunk. This guy will probably end up joining my herd, though I'll have to see him in person to be sure. Of course, I'm not going to actually join the club until some time passes and we see a few more reveals (I'd be happy with just the mold silhouettes...hint hint). But this is a good beginning! Now dare I hope we get a Vintage Club 2024 reveal on Monday? 

Once it starts it just doesn't stop

 The reveals just keep on coming - we have our (presumably) first Premier Club release for 2024, because the 2024 Premier Club is open for enrollment! Check out Tigerlily and Firestorm! 

From the page: 

Among these three releases will be Tigerlily and Firestorm, a playful Mustang mare and foal set sculpted by Rayvin Maddock with colorful coats brought to life by Lynn Casells-Caldwell. In 2021, the Mustang stallion “Fireheart” debuted as part of the Premier Collection and quickly became one of the most beloved Breyer releases in recent memory. For this year’s edition of the club, he’s adding a beautiful mare and foal to his herd! Tigerlily is a stunning dappled blue roan with her mane and tail dancing in the breeze, and their playful colt Firestorm takes after his father with his blanket appaloosa pattern and fiery personality, rearing up on his hind legs.

I say it's presumably the first release because, well, these reveals usually are the first release. But the wording on the website is "among these three releases," which is a bit confusing. If these aren't the first release, is that first release going to be revealed later? They usually hold off on revealing the subsequent releases as long as they possibly can, but I can't see them making us wait until May to even see the first release. And the first PC release has been a mare and foal set before (Hermosa/Corazon and Rhian/Cadell), so it's not like these couldn't be the first release. Hopefully we get some clarification on this in the near future. Although I guess I wouldn't say no to more of the PC models being revealed before the registration deadline. 

So, do I like this pair? Well, I'll be honest - they're not doing anything for me so far. But Fireheart got the same reaction from me when he was first release, and I have four of them on my shelves now, so things may change in the future. Maybe it'll be easier to decide when we get some better photos. 

Today's other exciting reveal is the final release for the Stablemates Club! Say hello to Brio!

We saw a few teasers for this guy last year, but nothing since then. They must be getting enough signups for the club now that they don't feel the need to entice people with reveals. That said, I'm not going to join the club until as late as possible because hey, the more reveals we get ahead of time, the better.

So, do I like Brio? Honestly, this one isn't really doing much for me either, but I suspect I'll like him better in person. It's still October, though - I'm not looking forward to waiting until December to order him, but I guess them's the breaks. We'll be able to order Nero, this year's optional model on the mini Georg mold, at the same time as this guy - and I'm definitely excited to see him! 

Sheesh, now I'm almost scared to see what (if any) reveal we get tomorrow - if you mouse over the Club dropdown menu on the Breyer webpage, the 2024 Vintage Club and Stablemates Club pages are primed and ready to go. Will something be revealed tomorrow? Maybe it all will - we can only hope! 

Jota and Tuxedo!

 Good news, everybody! Not only is Jota (still, as of now) available to purchase, but Tuxedo as well for VC members! 

I'm still working on getting ahold of one, but I hope everyone gets the variation they want! I'm most partial to the star-with-socks one, followed by the solid black, but I'd be happy to get any of them, really. Happy ordering! 

It Begins

 Well, like I said yesterday, it looks like the holiday buying season is upon us! Jota will finally be available at 2pm (EST) tomorrow! 

Pretty, but nothing I need. I hope everyone who wants one can get one! If he's anything like previous Collector Club web special, he'll be priced around $75, so not overly expensive. I wish they had put that color on a mold I liked for this release! Oh well. 

In other news, we have an unboxing video of the PC mare and foal from yesterday. Check it out here - plenty of useful views, including confirmation that they aren't as small as some were fearing yesterday. I wasn't that worried, considering the size of some of Kylee's other sculpts, but there was some consternation on the Internets about it yesterday. 

Rhiannon and Rhemi, plus the holiday collection!

 Great news, readers! This year's final Premier Club release has been revealed - say hello to Rhiannon and Rhemi! At last, we have a new draft foal! 

Wow! I really like them. Here's another angle! 

From the blog:

Known worldwide for their colorful coats and abundant hair, Vanner horses first arrived in the United States only a few decades ago, but are now one of the most beloved breeds in the country. Across the Atlantic Ocean, however, these small but hardy draft horses have been carefully maintained by Irish and Romani Travelers for many generations. They had need of a horse strong enough to pull a wagon but be gentle enough for a life spent around people, and thus the Vanner horse was born.

Kylee’s own experience with draft horses and motherhood come through in this pair with their warm expressions and tiny details that make them spring to life on a shelf. Kylee shares, “As a mother, a horse breeder and lover of heavy drafts, this whole process touched on all of my favorite things and I love every moment of it.” She also designed their coat colors – mother Rhiannon sports a beautifully-dappled sooty buckskin tobiano (AKA “skewbald”) coat with mapping, kissy spots, and cat tracking. Her filly Rhemi is a bright palomino tobiano that pairs beautifully with her dam. Rhiannon and Rhemi are currently scheduled to arrive for 2023 Premier Club members in November.

The mare is beautiful, and the foal is so cute! I can't wait to order them next month. But this post wouldn't be complete without mention of this year's Premier Club Stablemate, Akilah! 

 

I'll admit I like mini Zafirah better than the big version - I think it's because her front feet aren't so perfectly in line with each other like the big version - but the shoulders still look weird and I'm not terribly interested in starting another conga (and with the 50/50 split I'd have to buy two of them). More sales fodder! 

In other news, some of this year's holiday collection are now available to order - pretty much everything except the two things I want (naturally). Oh, and the Highlander hat, but I can live without that. Nimbus is supposed to come in stock next week, and Wintergreen the week after that. I have no idea if Nimbus will sell out before Wintergreen has a chance to come in stock so I can combine orders, so I'll probably order Nimbus separately (sigh). I wonder if we'll get another CCA sale again this year? The mid-year releases haven't come in stock yet either, and there's a flood of other holiday purchasing coming my way - I guess the holiday season is coming up fast! I hope everyone is ready. 

Featured JAH - 10/14/2023, Mar/Apr 1995

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH. This week's issue is Mar/Apr 1995, so let's take a look! 

On the front cover, an Arabian crests a sand dune. This photo looks familiar - I think it may have been used as some type of catalog insert? Can't remember for sure. On the back cover, the Porcelain Arabian Mare in Costume makes her debut! 

In the Editor's Desk, Stephanie talks about her travels so far and hints about the Breyerfest 1995 Celebration Horse, which won't be announced until the May/June issue. I guess we're kinda spoiled these days with how early we find out details for the next year. Not that Breyer needs any excuses to slow down on the announcements or anything...

Anyway, the EquiNews on the opposite page announces the retirement of Big Ben's retirement, possibly foreshadowing the eventual Big Ben model coming up in 1997. 

Page 4 has an article about the Porcelain Arabian Mare, with a photo of the entire model. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind seeing this one released in plastic, sans tack. On the opposite page is an article about Breyer model horse costumes. 



On page 14-15 we have an article about the real horses behind various Breyer portrait models, including Oxidol, Mister Mister, Tobe, Goliath and Rojo. 

Page 16-17 contains an article about the Kiger mustang Rojo, and page 17's Blast from the Past is the famous (or infamous) Kipper, while the Just About...Breyer Animals features Corky and Bimbo. 

On the centerfold we have images of the aforementioned portrait horses and their corresponding models. Not gonna lie, sometimes I think about starting a conga of the Belgian because I like the American Cream Draft color on him, along with the blue pinto from the Vintage Club a few years back. There's something weird about his head, though, so I guess I'll have to keep thinking about it. Maybe I'll take a look at a Gibson and see what I think of him in person. 

On page 24 and 25 we have an article about Breyer glossies. Gloss had been mostly phased out of the line by 1995, with a few exceptions - CH Imperator being one of them. I wanted CH Imperator back in the day but never got one. 

Lastly for this issue, the Vintage Point covers San Domingo, who'd had a healthy number of releases by 1995, though I don't see Oxidol in this lineup. I guess readers are just supposed to remember he's also in the centerfold of the magazine - probably not a big ask unless you're like me and have terrible short-term memory. I guess he is in the list of special runs. I think I wanted Oxidol back in the day too, but never got him either.

That's all I have for this week - check back next week for May/June 1995! 

Virkie and Kid's Club Harper!

 More good news today, readers! My Virkie and the new Kid's Club Harper have both arrived! For a wonder, they both came on the same day despite Virkie being ordered a day earlier. I'll start with Virkie - behold! 

That's right - I got the splash! He's pretty - I almost wish I hadn't sold off my G2 Shetlands. 

I like the lighter paint effect on the ends of his mane - it almost makes the model look translucent, though it really isn't. 

Sorry for the photo being slightly out of focus - I was trying to get a closeup of his face. Anyway, he's definitely pretty cute! I didn't see any major flaws, so now I'll have to see if I can find a buyer. 

Next, here's the Kid's Club Harper! 

She's a beautiful color! I love Breyer's grays. 

She doesn't have too many flaws, aside from a weird flat spot on the back of her right front foot, which looks like it's missing some paint as well. 

Sorry for this one being out-of-focus as well. She's a really nice color! I'm happy to add her to my collection. 

That's it for today - hopefully we get more exciting news soon, like a reveal of the last Premier Club release for this year! 

OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Attention, readers: after a bit of a dry spell, I come bearing some hot, fresh news! Signups for the 2024 Collector Club are now open, and these reveals may just blow your mind! I know they did mine. Check out the first special run for next year, Heath! 

Well, I guess we'll get a lot of Collector Club signups for next year - let's hope they make enough of these guys to go around, because they're going to sell like hot cakes. But they've done a pretty good job of giving people a heads-up on this year's special runs, so we probably won't need to worry about that...probably. 

The real issue here is the Stablemate for the Deluxe Collector Club...

That's right - the Othello mold has been miniaturized! I've been afraid of this! I assume next time they use the mold will be as the runner-up prize in next year's Best Customs Contest or something equally unobtainable. He is pretty, though...darn it...I was really hoping they'd use a Stablemate I don't collect next year so I wouldn't have to join the club...well, I guess I'll have to join...

Anyways, at least I have plenty of time to join the club. I have to have both of these guys!