Antonia is now available!

 Good news, everyone! As announced yesterday, the latest Collector Club special run, Antonia, is now available for sale! 

I got mine ordered right away at 1PM, so hopefully she's on her way here soon! I'm excited to see her. It's been more than an hour since she went up on the website and she hasn't sold out yet, so I wonder how many they made. Seems like things haven't been selling out as fast (or at all) lately, so I guess we'll see how long she stays in stock. 

Finally, an update!

 Well, readers, it looks like we've reached the February doldrums again. Most of the Breyerfest reveals are over (other than the raffle and prize models, presumably), so there hasn't been a whole lot to post about...until today! I'll start with this year's first Vintage Club release, which was revealed today:

His name is Scorpion! What a handsome boy, although nothing I need. There was apparently a bit of a snafu right after he was released - some of the promotional copy was apparently not vetted well enough and called him a dunalino (I think) and said he would come with leg wraps. As far as I can tell, that wording has now been removed from the website. Still, uh, proofreading is a valuable skill, guys! Maybe give it a try sometime? 

Anyway, here's Scorpion's box! 

Wow, the model matches the picture on that box pretty well. 

In other exciting news, there's a new St. Patrick's Day plush! 

He's cute, and kinda reminds me of the plushie from Breyerfest 2020. Nothing I need, fortunately. 

In other, other news, my Heath came today! Woohoo! 

The sun wasn't quite down when I took the pics, but I didn't want to wait any longer to photograph him! He's a beauty. 

Definitely one of the best colors they've done on this mold - I'm excited to see what he looks like next to Saltire and Rainier. 

Of course, the big controversy surrounding this release (other than the release-day delay) has been the honeycomb paper he was wrapped in. For some reason, whoever wrapped these guys at the factory apparently forgot that you have to stretch out the honeycomb paper before you use it, so it'll, you know, protect the model. There's absolutely no protection if you don't use the paper properly - you might as well wrap it in Walmart bags or tissue paper. The technique can't be that hard, as it was used to good effect at last year's Breyerfest (though the glue on those paper bags needed to be stronger). So... what happened? While the Heaths were still packed in a plastic bag before the paper was wrapped around their heads and tails, many of them suffered rubs to the left ear due to the ear poking through the plastic bag and rubbing on the tightly-wrapped paper. When I opened my Heath, his ear had indeed poked through the bag, and while I think the ear does have a small rub, the paint on the edge of that ear is thinner than in other places, which effectively camouflages the rub and makes it hard to see unless you're looking from the right angle. 

So how do we fix this? Clearly whoever's packing the models needs to actually stretch out the honeycomb paper (for economics' sake, if nothing else; you use a lot more of it if you don't stretch it first), but they need to either use thicker bags on the models or wrap the heads less tightly (or go back to bubble wrap, but we're trying to be environmentally conscious, here). This issue has been pretty much all anyone can talk about for the last couple of days, so hopefully Breyer got the message. 

That's all I have for today! Presumably Breyerfest tickets will go up for sale tomorrow, since Breyer said it would be this week and well, it's Thursday and nothing yet. Hey, tomorrow is payday for me, too...but I also need to pay a visit to the KHP gift shop and see if they have the 2024 new releases yet, so I shouldn't get too crazy with the spending! 

Heath-anigans

 Well, after a bit of a delay, Heath came available for sale today! 

Barely a blip in the grand scheme of things, really - at least the sale still happened today. Last time there were technical issues, it took a little while for the sale to actually happen. Hopefully Breyer will get those glitches figured out at some point? It's only been 5.5 years since they switched to this new website...

But anyway. I'm excited to see my Heath! His mane and tail almost do look pearly in these promo photos. I'm looking forward to seeing him in person! It doesn't look like he's sold out yet (as of 7:48PM EST), so they must have made plenty of them (again). Still, Othello is a pretty popular mold, so I wouldn't suggest waiting too long before you order yours, if you want one. 

Grab yourself a Heath tomorrow!

 More good news, everyone! This year's first, hotly-anticipated Collector Club model, Heath, will be released tomorrow! 

Othello is pretty much my favorite mold, so I may be biased, but he sure is a pretty boy. I wonder if his mane/tail will be pearly? I'm kinda wishing he were glossy. 

Anyways, he'll go live at 1PM EST tomorrow, so be ready to buy if you want one! He'll cost $75 plus shipping (and taxes, bleh), which isn't too terrible of a price. I suspect he won't last overly long, since Othello is such a popular mold. Happy buying! 

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!