Collector Club newsletter and a few more auction models!

 More good news, everyone! A few more auction models were revealed today - behold! 

It's a pretty leopard appaloosa Marabella! So cute. 

We saw most of the other reveals yesterday, except for this stunner:

Whoa! It's safe to say we have our top seller here, but will he break the $75,000 record from 2022? I suspect this one will be disappearing off to Australia, never to be seen again. But I could be wrong. It's cool that they put the wings on him, but I think I prefer this guy from last year. I like the detail of the blue color with gold mapping, though. 

In other news, the June Collector Club newsletter came out today! There's an article about drastic customizing, a Big Lex giveaway, an update on the upcoming collector event Hoofbeats and Maple Treats (entries will now open in July), and this sneak peek! 

I suspect this is the next Collector Club special run, to be revealed at Breyerfest, but I guess we'll find out soon! Only two weeks until Breyerfest, and I still have to do a lot of prep for the show...eep! Better get to it! 

Featured Model - 4/10/2022, Smutty Palomino Auction Alborozo

 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 smutty palomino Alborozo auction model! 

This model was a OOAK produced for Breyerfest 2008, the year of the introduction and then destruction of the Alborozo mold sculpted by Brigitte Eberl. I believe he was painted by Karen Gerhardt, but I could be wrong on that. 

This guy doesn't have that much of a story behind his creation (that I know of), but his claims to fame are twofold; he's one of the very few Alborozo auction models we've ever seen, and prior to 2019 he held the record for highest-priced Breyerfest auction model, selling for a hefty $13,500 price tag. Adding to his legendary status is the fact that he hasn't been seen in person again since (again, that I know of). Palomino isn't always my favorite horse color, but it's hard to make Alborozo look bad in any color, so this one is no exception. Too bad he wasn't glossy! Seems like I say that a lot...maybe I'm more Team Glossy than I want to admit? Either way, an enviable piece for anyone's collection. 

Of course, since Alborozo's mold was destroyed, we aren't likely to see much else produced in Traditional scale, other than the occasional auction model. But his (mirrored) Stablemate counterpart has seen plenty of use since its introduction in 2018. It's almost easier to ask where he hasn't been used over the last few years! I guess Breyer is just making up for lost time! 

Featured Model - 1/15/2022, Glossy Bay Auction Alborozo

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model I don't own but would like to, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is...the glossy bay Breyerfest 2012 Auction Alborozo! 

This stunningly handsome guy was, as previously mentioned, an auction model at Breyerfest 2012. Issued on the popular Alborozo mold sculpted by Brigitte Eberl, he was the sale topper at a (then) eye-popping amount of $8,000. This model has a little extra significance for me, as 2012 was the first Breyerfest we attended and this was the first auction Alborozo that Breyer had released since 2008. What a beauty! I believe this piece was painted by Sommer Prosser as well. 

The Stablemate version of Alborozo (mirrored so as to be not an exact replica of the original) has seen heavy use since its introduction in 2018 (sheesh), but his Traditional counterpart has seen very little use due to the destruction of his mold. He was the early-bird model for Breyerfest 2014, a run of three, and has been an auction model three times, but appearance as the early bird model makes me wonder if he might get a micro-run release for a Breyer collector event - or perhaps as an extremely desirable Coal for a Christmas release! They'd have to name him something like Black Diamond in that case, I suspect. Not that it's likely, but it's sort of fun to think about. I mean, until you think about the extremely small likelihood of getting one...But anyway. It's probably safe to assume we'll get more Alborozo auction models over the years, but I hope he gets some kind of slightly-larger release eventually - the mold deserves it! 

Featured Model - 2/13/21, Alegria

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

Ahh, the elusive Alegria. He was the early bird model for Breyerfest 2014. We all knew it was going to be a great Breyerfest when he was unveiled, because it was the first time since 2008 that he'd been used in a run that wasn't a OOAK. I mean, a run of 3 may as well be OOAK, but still. He's the holy grail for a whole lot of people, myself included. It stung pretty badly when I didn't hear my name called for one of these bad boys. He's item #711192 and was issued on the popular Alborozo mold sculpted by Brigitte Eberl. 

Alborozo has had a bit of a renaissance lately since being repurposed as a Stablemate. We're still very unlikely to ever see a run of more than one of the Trad version of him ever again, but he's certainly had no shortage of Stablemate releases. Now if we could just get some more realistic colors on him we'd be set! Almost all of his Stablemate releases have been decorators in some form or fashion. Let's see some realistic colors! I suppose I probably should have just used a photo of his smaller, mirrored form for this post since, like I said above, we're not likely to see a new Trad Alborozo anytime soon. The safe bet is an auction model at Breyerfest eventually, but who knows - maybe he'll get a small run of 5 or 10 for a collector event some day. That would be fun! Provided I had a good place in the boutique line, of course. In the meantime, we'll have to keep collecting our Stablemate Albys and dream of an end to Covid times. 

Featured Model - 6/17/2017, Alborozo

Greetings, readers! Welcome to the latest edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is the model, the myth, the legend...Alborozo!

 

Alborozo was, of course, the Breyerfest Celebration Model from 2008, and is most famous (or infamous) for his mold being destroyed after that appearance. He's item #711108, and was one of the first models Brigitte Eberl sculpted for Breyer. Approximately 6,000 Alborozo models were produced before the mold was destroyed.

Questions still swirl around Alborozo's unfortunate-but-planned demise. Why did they do it? Some sources say it was because of an  agreement between Breyer and the real horse's owner. Others say it was a gesture of good faith from Breyer toward Brigitte Eberl, because she had been burned by Stone in the past. Still others say it was just a publicity stunt. Word from Breyer itself seems to have been scarce, and I wasn't participating in the hobby at the time, so I can't provide any word-of-mouth knowledge of my own. The page on the mold's destruction from the Sept/Oct 2008 issue of JAH says only that, "Because BreyerFest is an event we work all year long to share with you, and because it is the greatest expression of our brand ... we really wanted to do something exciting and collectible - something we've never done before!"

So that wording tends to support the publicity stunt angle. I tend to think the reasoning may be a combination of all three of those possibilities, and maybe others as well. It probably seemed like a good way to drum up interest in Breyerfest at the time, though it is a disappointment that the mold they chose to destroy for Breyerfest was such a nice one. Unfortunately, we'll never get a regular run Alborozo, or a web special, or anything else other than a few auction models, perhaps another early bird special, or maybe a raffle model. Breyer did say they'd held back a few blanks to use as auction pieces (and the 2014 Early Bird Alegria), though we've only seen one since 2008 (in 2012). Maybe this year we'll get another auction Alborozo! It won't be long now until we find out.

As for me, I'm happy to have my Alborozo - he's an important piece of hobby history, and perhaps a good example of what not to do to sell Breyerfest tickets. It's unlikely I'll ever be able to get my hands on a glossy Alborozo or Alegria, so I'll cherish this guy forever.