Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket...

 Exciting news today, readers! My Collector Appreciation orders came today! Huzzah! My first order consisted of two shirts, the Fireheart throw blanket and an ill-fated Beautiful Breeds Belgian ornament (more on that later). I love me some throw blankets, so the Fireheart one was an acceptable purchase, and I can always use more shirts. But...on with the reveal! Here's the glossy from my first order:

Whoo, glossy chase piece! Though, truth be told, I was hoping to get a glossy Andalusian, because the Smarty Jones models in my collection are probably going to get sold off next year due to lack of shelf space...but getting this glossy chase piece is threatening to make me change my mind. Glossy black pinto...how can I refuse? 

My second order was pretty simple...enough 70th Anniversary blind bags to add up to $150. I was hoping to get a chrome Brishen, and while that didn't happen (out of 31 of those danged things, only two of them were even Brishens to start with), the glossy I got with this order totally made up for that! 

That's right - the glossy palomino Hamilton, my first choice! Joy! 

Oddly, on inspection after removing him from the box, it doesn't look like they glossed his mane or tail for some reason. Just...seems a bit of a strange choice. Are they all like that? I mean, he has the pearly effect on there already, but I never say no to more gloss, so...it just seems odd. 

Also, it appears that these glossy models were made specially for the Collector Club Appreciation event, because they have VINs from this year and the boxes show the 8224 product number rather than having a UPC sticker slapped over the original one like in past years. Interesting...and might explain why the glossies didn't sell out, if they made a ton of them for this. Which means there will probably be leftover CCA glossies in the NPOD at Breyerfest this year. Just one more thing to look for, I guess! 

In other news, my VIP apology pin came today as well:

I haven't yet managed to find a decorator Seven Arts for my herd yet, so it's nice to (kind of) have a smaller one in my possession. Now if my dratted pin board would ever show up...

And in other other news, my Zugspitze came yesterday! Behold the awesomeness! 

What a chonk! 

New silver sparkleponies never disappoint. 

Quality-wise, all of these models are pretty nice - I didn't see anything wrong with any of them. Maybe Breyer's putting a little more effort into their QC? Who knows. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of assuming my Belgian ornament's ribbon ends were tied together when picking it up (you'd expect them to be tied, right?), so he promptly slid off the untied end and fell on the floor, breaking off both his ears and cracking two legs (turns out they're wire-reinforced). So that was a waste of $18. Still steamed about that one. 

Anyway, I'm still waiting on my Chalice (and the last PC release of the year and the mini Fireheart), so I definitely have more things to look forward to, hopefully this month! Let's hope they come out soon! 

70th Anniversary Stablemates!

Good news, everyone - my 70th Anniversary Stablemates came today! I only bought two of them, secondhand, so there aren't any exciting chase reveals. But I'm still excited to show them - behold!



Starting with the mini Emma - isn't she a cutie? I love how tiny they made her!

She even has tiny eyewhites! I'm excited to see what they do with her next! She's a good match for Black-Eyed Susan, too.

Next and last, the Brishen!

There's been quite a bit of variation with the manes and tails on these, and I was pleased to get one with a darker mane and tail. Although he's not really a 1:1 match with Solar, is he? I forgot Solar has some belly spots and a funky blaze. I guess that's what happens when you convert the paint job to a $4 Stablemate.



Silver bay still looks great in miniature, though! He's a pretty one. Now if I can get my hot little hands on a platinum one...

Blind bag chase models are revealed!

Well, here's a couple of new tidbits amid this inexplicable dearth of news: The chase pieces for the 70th Anniversary blind bags have been revealed! While nothing has been confirmed so far, it appears that the regular chase model is a chrome/platinum Mini Brishen, and the super-chase is a blue/yellow filigree on the mini Indian Pony. So at least I don't need the super-chase - whew! Prices are already ridiculous on the platinum Mini Brishen, but hopefully that calms down in the coming months so I can add one to my collection! I don't have photos of either of them yet, but they'll be posted as soon as I can find some!

My 70th Anniversary models arrived!

Greetings, readers! Exciting news - my 70th Anniversary Collection purchases have arrived! They're the only 2020 releases I've purchased so far, though I'm sure more will find their way here eventually (part of me is grumbling about the unicorn mystery foal sets not being on Breyer's website yet). So, without further ado...let's take a look at the palomino Hamilton! Here's the back of his box:



Sorry in advance for the horrible photos. It's certainly an interesting and informative box! I know you all want to see the model, though, so I won't delay any longer.

He's...he's...so beautiful...just like the calendar photo indicated he would be. I still can't believe he's a regular run! I thought he would be a raffle model or limited edition for sure.

My hasty cell phone photos don't do him justice at all. He's stunning...and I really hope Breyer doesn't end up glossing some of these for the collector club appreciation event at the end of the year. They usually save the glossing for stuff that doesn't sell as well, though, so this guy probably won't show up there, if recent sales history has been anything to judge.

Next, let's take a look at the Andalusian!

Another fun box! But let's see the model.

At first I was a little disgruntled that the Moody Andalusian was being done in gray again, after two of the colors he was used for at Breyerfest were also gray, but on closer inspection I don't mind it so much, because he's so drastically different from other gray editions. I've always had a soft spot for grays with the really dark mane and tail - in a real horse, it means he's still fairly young and still has a long ways to go before he completely grays out. And he's beautiful!

He's not as yellow-looking as the photos make him look.

And, last but not least...the chase piece! Yes, I was able to get one!

There's his box. But let's see the real thing!

What a handsome boy! I wish Breyer would do black and white pintos more often.



It may be hard to see in the photos, but he does have two blue eyes, and they're actually pretty nicely done. His eyes are a nice pastel blue, instead of being really stark like Isadora-Cruce or similar.

I did find it interesting that a lot of people are pooh-poohing this release because he's "boring," when last year's Breyerfest Best Customs prize model, Leap of Faith, was basically the same color and everyone loved him. Undoubtedly part of that is because Bristol is the new hot item and Smarty Jones is old news, but I still found it a little funny.

Quality-wise, these guys were all excellent - I didn't see any issues with any of them. I suppose Breyer probably wanted these to be really nice because they're part of a special collection. Well, they're definitely welcome here! Now let me go back to hoping one of us gets drawn to go to the Seattle Soiree next week (no luck again today)...

2019 JAH is here!

Good news, everyone! My JAH arrived today, with a wealth of new reveals! There's a lot of exciting things to go over, so let's just get started!

I decided to leave out the cover this year, in case those of you who haven't seen it yet don't want to be spoiled. I will be covering the reveals inside, though, so beware!

I'll start with next year's first Premier Club release, Altynai:



The prototype is beautiful, and I definitely like the color (sculpted by Heather Puleo, sculptor of Greyson) and painted by Amanda Brock), but I'm not sure if I like this one enough to keep him yet. I'll need to see more photos of him before I decide...hopefully they show us more when club signups open up. Also, why all the buckskins lately? Were those paint colors on sale?

Anyway, next year's other two sculptors are Lynn Fraley and Kylee Parks. I took a look at Lynn Fraley's other work and didn't see anything that I had to have, so the jury is out on her sculpt too; Kylee Parks has done some impressive work for the custom contest at Breyerfest for the last few years, so I'm sure hers will be pretty nice.

Next, let's take a look at this little item on the Table of Contents page:



Ooh, a giveaway! I took a look at the entry website, and it looks like we have until November 30 to enter. I haven't submitted my official count yet, but it looks like they got clever with a lot of the images, so make sure you pay close attention to every page of the magazine!

Next, here's a sneak peek of a new sculpt by Mindy Berg on the editorial page:



While the magazine doesn't say what this new sculpt is for, it looks like a Classic to me - probably next year's Classics Horse of the Year. Honestly, he looks like Duende with his head turned up and to the right, so I can't see him being a Traditional. I wonder what color he's supposed to be - silver bay maybe? I hope we find out soon.

Next, a look at next year's Live Show Benefit horse and the 4th release in the Fairytale Friends Club:



Another buckskin, on San Domingo! He looks like he'd match Lillian and Molly pretty well. The ad copy says next year's glossy Classics model will be the glossy Malik - a return to glossing the previous year's Classics Horse of the Year model, which makes me wonder even more why they didn't gloss some Masons for this year (not that I'm complaining!). In the bottom photo, we see the fourth release in the Fairytale Friends club, with a glittery purple G3 Arabian and what looks like a shrunken-down resin Rising Sun. Makes me wonder if we'll see Rising Sun in other scales eventually? With all those new Walmart Mini Whinnies, it seems like Breyer is going nuts with shrinking stuff lately, so I wouldn't be surprised.

Next, here's the Fighting Stallion sneak peek:



In Stephanie Macejko's editorial, she mentioned that the "70th Anniversary Collection" will consist of a number of Traditional-size releases, and this Fighting Stallion will evidently be one of them. Maybe they'll pick one mold from each decade for this collection? That would be fun. The Fighter here is pretty, but nothing I need to buy. Can't wait to see the other releases!

Next we have the Vintage Club sneak peek that has everyone excited:



Yes, that's the In-Between Mare! What color is she? Looks like some kind of glossy dapple black to me, but it could be a dark bay. More importantly, will this lower the value of the handful of IBMs in collector hands? Probably not, since they're so old. I wonder if they'll all be this color, or if they'll be the gambler's choice for next year? Another important question is...will they be popular? The IBM is definitely valuable, but, well...there's a reason the mold was rejected in favor of the FAM, if you know what I mean. Food for thought, I guess.

Next, here's a look at the Fairytale Friends Club's third release!



That's Mini Magnolia and a Mini Whinny I don't recognize. Maybe it's a flipped Show Arabian? Not sure why they'd bother to flip it, but that's the closest guess I have. I won't be keeping either of them, fortunately (or unfortunately). There's an article in this issue about unicorns in other parts of the world, featuring a number of unicorn illustrations by Rayvin Maddock. I hope we see some of those colors in the Fairytale Friends Club next year!

Lastly, here's a look at Corbin, who also appeared on the cover of this issue:

He's pretty, but I don't think I'll be keeping either of mine. More for the sales pile!

Edit: Gah! I forgot about the Premier Club Stablemate, Charleston! Here he is!



He looks a lot like the G2 Paso Fino...which is a bad thing, for me. I've tentatively arranged to trade him for the mini Misty and Stormy set from this year's Vintage Club, though, so at least I've got that going for me. His paintjob looks like a pretty faithful representation of Hamilton, though, even down to the slightly-pearly whites, so there's that.

All in all, it was a great issue - I think there were more reveals in this issue than the one from last year, so that was nice. And it's great that they're doing a giveaway for the test Beau! Now if we could just see the rest of next year's Vintage and Stablemate Club releases, that would be great!