A veritable avalanche of news!

 Wow, so many things to report on today! Okay, I'll admit I kinda forgot about updating some new reveals on the blog yesterday, so I'll start with those. Firstly, the special run for next year's Breyerwest has been revealed! 

That's right - it's a glossy version of Chardonnay from this year's Breyerfest! I wondered if we were going to ever get glossy store specials. I believe they'll need to be preordered in advance, one per customer, and ID will be checked at the door - they're really serious about people only getting one of these. So if you want one, good luck! I don't need one, fortunately. 

Next, here's my first Atli model! 

Not gonna lie, I was hoping to get one of the other colors, since the chestnut doesn't seem to be very popular so far. I have another one coming at some point, though, so let's hope that one is a more exciting color than this one. Quality-wise he's fine - I didn't see any issues with him, except that the chestnut color on his legs doesn't go quite far enough to cover up the gold underneath, so it looks a bit like he has gold mapping. No biggie. 

Okay, on to the news from today! I'll start with the Black Friday sale (not sure why they opened it, uh, checks notes two weeks before Black Friday, but whatevs). Lots of cool stuff there for Collector Club members, so if you got anything, congrats! I didn't see the sale in time to buy anything, but wouldn't have gotten anything if I had, so I'm cool with it. 

It'll be interesting to see if anyone gets a matte Claude - I'm surprised they had any left over to start with. Same with Midas, honestly. 

And lastly, the Ponies & Palm Trees event is going on as we speak, and the special runs for the event have been revealed! Behold: 

Ugh...very sad I didn't get drawn to go. I need that Duende and Bouncer for the conga! Secondhand prices will be through the roof, but maybe I can trade for one someday or something. Anyways, congrats if you are there and get to buy some of these beauties! I hope attendees are able to get the models they want. Kind of a weird mix of molds for something that was supposed to be based on polo, but I guess that's Breyer for you. I guess the Strapless fits, but not the rest of them. 

That's all I have for today - I'm excited to see the centerpiece raffle model for Ponies & Palm Trees, though! Good luck to the attendees! 

More TSC Additions and Hope!

 Good news, everyone - my other TSC order has arrived, as well as my Hope horse! Let's start with the TSC set: 

As you can see on the box, this is the Desert Paint Horse Family on the Classic Black Stallion, Harper and Classic Morgan Foal. 

I plan on selling the stallion and foal, so they're still in the box. But here's some shots of the Harper:

I really like her color - she's chestnut, but has a metallic or some type of sheen to her coat, which I found interesting.

I'm still hoping to get my hands on those new mystery unicorn foal sets, as well as the Alborozo from the blind bags - with any luck I'll find those soon.

I wasn't terribly impressed with the eyes on these - it's a little hard to see here, but they're basically just glopped-on black with no detail. Somebody cheaped out there; that happens a lot with Classics though. 

Anyway, let's move on to Hope! 

Her color is much more interesting than the promo photos made it look - she has a purple sheen over most of her body except the mane and tail, which have a blue sheen. Cool! 

Pretty similar to last year's Raider in the Stablemates Club, actually.

I really like the blue sheen, but I really liked it on the Omega Fahim models as well, and I'm partial to blue anyway, so I may be biased.

I also liked the box design for this release - no plastic to be seen! Even the ties holding the model into the box (like the old touchability boxes with a slipcase over top of it) were paper rather than wire or plastic. Let's see more of that, please! I always feel a little bad throwing empty Breyer boxes in the recycling bin, not knowing if they bother to recycle any of it (presumably the inserts are recyclable, but I don't know about the plastic fronts?). 

Anyway, another great release from Breyer, and it's always good to see a new release on Bouncer.

Let's hope we get some exciting announcements soon! I feel like we're in a bit of a dry spell, news-wise. 

Disco Duck

 Happy April Fool's Day, everyone! I hope nobody was fooled too badly this year, but it's kinda hard not to when Breyer is putting stuff like this out there...

According to the Facebook post, his name is "Discoheart" and he'll be available at the end of the month...but, well, it's April Fool's Day and they've done stuff like this in the past, as I talked about in my last Featured Model, so...at best, this particular model will probably be in this year's Breyerfest silent auction. I would buy him if he were a real release, though - he's the same pattern as last year's much-maligned Montana. Although if I were going to name a model horse Discoheart, I'd probably give him a holographic color scheme - just saying. 

In slightly happier news, I'm pretty sure this next release isn't an April Fool's joke:

Enterprising collectors found him on the Breyer website today, but I don't know how long he's been there. What a cutie! It's good to see Bouncer get more use, and I like his color (check out the hidden images in his pattern). It says he's supposed to be released in June, so I hope I can get my hands on him. Must add him to the collection! 

In the "nonexistent photo" side of things, this year's patriotic decorator appears to be named Anthem, according to this Amazon listing. Here's a blurb from the listing:

With his mane and tail blowing like a flag in the wind, Anthem is a richly-hued decorator model that pays tribute to America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” His pinto coat takes on the familiar hues of red, white, and blue, along with a splash of metallic silver.

The listing states the model's measurements are 13 inches long by 10 inches high, and enterprising collectors have noted that Hamilton (gulp) and Huck both fit these measurements, plus they both have hair that could be said to be blowing in the wind. After doing some quick measuring of my own, Goffert and the Show Jumper both fit that description, so it's anybody's guess which one it might be. There's no mention of whether this new one is clearware or not, if that makes any difference (The Show Jumper is the only one of those four molds that's been issued in clearware before). For those in favor of Hamilton, the American Saddlebred does seem like a good choice, since it's an American breed - and better yet, it'd rule out all the speculation that he's this year's Breyerfest surprise model, which is always good. I hope we find out soon!  

 

Gingerbread is here!

 More exciting news, everyone! My Gingerbread has arrived! 

First off: this model is indeed a mare, despite being referred to as a "he" in the promo material. Oops! 

What a little beauty! Her blanket is darling, also (doofy me didn't get a photo of it, though). 

Unfortunately, her quality leaves a little to be desired - lots of little booboos all over, and she has the dreaded blanket stains. It's nice that they wrapped the horse's middle in plastic to protect it from stains, but the edges of the blanket still got her front and rear legs on that side. D'oh! Maybe it's time to start packing the blankets alongside, rather than on, the models? Might save some money on wasted plastic, also. 

Lastly, I forgot to mention yesterday that the second Collector Club special run of the year is also pictured in this year's JAH - it's a mealy bay Wixom named Brunhilde! Let's hope the official photos get released soon so I can post them here (though with a name like that, the only thing I'm thinking about is this). 

Now all we need is some milk!

 Attention, collectors: there's a new Pony for Christmas release on Breyer's website! His name is Gingerbread; check him out! 

I couldn't order this one fast enough. A new Bouncer, and what looks like a nice coppery chestnut to boot? My only nitpick is that I wish there was a photo without the blanket. Though he can definitely pull off the ugly-Christmas-sweater look! Can't wait to see this one in person! 

Also, more TSC models are showing up in stores, and it looks like there are new Mystery Foal Surprise sets out there. The photos I've seen showed a dark blue Greyson, gold/palomino Croi, some type of G2 Morgan, a Prince Charming, a green G3 Prancing Arabian, blue pinto Magnolia, and one of the foals is the new draft foal in lime green. Definitely going to have to pick up those sets if our local TSC stores ever get them in stock! 

Featured Model - 5/29/2021, Glossy Bouncer

 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 Bouncer! 

This shiny pony was one of the Breyerfest Live Show prizes back in 2007. He's item #707G, and a total of 28 glossy Bouncers were produced on the Cefnoakpark Bouncer mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. 

You really don't see glossy Bouncers up for sale very often - I think I've seen maybe one for sale since my return to the hobby in 2010. Of course, this is the type of model that changes hands in private sales, so I'm sure some have been sold since then. One wonders what type of price he would bring in today's inflated sales market, though I imagine he'd be worth at least $1,000 even prior to that. In any case, gloss suits him well - it really brings out the undertones in his paint job. 

As for the Bouncer mold, we haven't seen anything new on the mold since last year's Bilberry. He's a mold that doesn't tend to get used very often, for whatever reason, so I don't anticipate seeing any new releases soon, but you never know - maybe they'll come out with a new pony for the mid-year releases - we should be seeing those soon. Or maybe they'll come out with some type of scrubby children's pony for one of this year's TSC releases? That could be fun. In any case, I hope I can get my hands on the next release! I still haven't managed to find a Bilberry for my collection - but I'm sure I'll track one down eventually. 

Featured Model - 1/16/21, Tom Thumb

 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...Tom Thumb! 

This cute little guy was the Overall Reserve Grand Prize model at Breyerfest 2011. He's item #711460 and was a run of nine created on the popular Bouncer mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. 

What a cute little pony! I love his soft buckskin color. He's unassuming, but still totally handsome when you really look at him. He almost looks like he'd be soft to touch, like a nice deerskin glove. Ha! 

As for Bouncer himself, he was used as a web special last year (that I still haven't managed to obtain - sigh), so it's hard to say where we'll see him next. Despite his popularity, he really hasn't had all that many obtainable releases - anything other than his original release and maybe Icicle can't be had without laying out three or more figures' worth of cash. So, I wouldn't mind seeing him get a new regular run or some kind of special run, or even better -a Breyerfest special run! Aside from the crystal, he's never appeared there other than as prize models or auction models. Maybe they think people wouldn't want to pay Breyerfest prices for such a small mold? Who knows...but I hope poor Bouncer gets a new, attainable release soon! 

Kelpie!

Good news - the crystal hint has been revealed! It's Bouncer!

Like I said yesterday, I don't envy anyone trying to buy one of these. I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of broken ones this year...

Bilberry!

Whoa, what a shock! We got a new Berries Pony today! I guess it was about time, but I was still surprised:



He's a Bouncer! I wondered if they'd ever use him for a Web Special. And he can be yours, for the low, low price of...$160! Sheesh, that's a lot of money to spend on something as small as Bouncer. I guess I'll be entering anyway, but jeez...

Anyway, I do like him, especially his stripey tail and black feet. At first I thought he was just a plain black-and-white leopard, but on closer inspection he does have some pinking going on, so that's nice. Too bad they didn't gloss him so he'd look more like a mini of Rialto! Oh well. Good luck to everyone entering!

Featured Model - 12/14/2019, Sapphire

Hello and welcome to another 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...Sapphire!



This model was one of the three possible colors for Breyer's 2017 Christmas Day release. He's item #712233 and was a run of 350 on the Bouncer mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

I really like the shade of blue Breyer used for this model! It looks amazing with his gloss. I'm less enthralled with his ribbon decorations, though. The bells kind of look like the scratch-off part of a scratch art piece, or a lottery ticket or something. If only I could win a million dollars by scratching them off...

Well, anyway. Bouncer is a cutie and I have most of his releases - it's disappointing that he doesn't get used more, but sometimes that's just how it goes. He's never been a web special, presumably because collectors wouldn't want to pay full price for such a small model; the same probably applies to the Breyerfest special run line, though I personally wouldn't mind seeing him there. Maybe we'll get him next year for Celtic Fling? I hope so. He's definitely due for another release!

Featured Model - 9/7/2019, Sand Dollar

Hello and welcome to another 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...Sand Dollar!



This little guy is item #90141 on the Bouncer mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. He was one of the Connoisseur releases for 2007 and was a run of 350 pieces.

I picked this model because I think it's high time for a new release on Bouncer! I think this guy is one of the better-executed Connoisseur models, despite his chicken-wire dapples - his color is soft enough that you don't notice it too much. It's interesting that I like this model so much, considering he's very similar to Victory, who I wasn't as much of a fan of. For that matter, it looks like Victory doesn't have any dapples at all - kinda disappointing for a 10-piece run. But I digress.

When did we last see a new release on Bouncer? He was an auction model at Breyerfest last year, but it looks like the last attainable release on him was Icicle back in 2013. Sheesh! For a mold as popular as he is, he hasn't even had that many releases in the first place. So I hope we get a new one soon!

Featured Model - 6/15/2019, JCPenney Bouncer

Hello and welcome to another 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 JC Penney Bouncer!



This little girl (!), the only mare release on Bouncer so far (barring any oopsies later), was part of a two-piece set produced for JCPenney. I don't know how many were made, but she's item #410423 and was produced on the Bouncer mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

This girl has an interesting color - she's nominally a bay pinto, but light enough to almost pass for a buckskin. I like a nice red bay, like Seren, but that's just me. For some reason her long tail makes me wonder if Breyer has ever considered other hair options for this mold. I think the mane is part of the neck, so probably not, but it'd be fun to see an alternate tail show up in the Breyerfest live auction.

As for Bouncer himself, he still hasn't been used lately other than his Chrismas release a couple years back. When will we see him? It might be nice for him to pop up as a Collector Club special run, if we presume he'd have a lower price due to his small size. Breyer's been doing the best they can to clean out collectors' pockets lately, so a less-expensive special run would certainly be welcome.

I wouldn't mind seeing him as a web special or even a Breyerfest special run, but it's probably too late for him to show up at Breyerfest, except as an auction model. A web special seems more likely, but the ponies seem to get short shrift when it comes to web specials, probably because the price would have to be lower, and we know Breyer likes to charge more money for extra-limited models. So it's anyone's guess where Bouncer will turn up next - I just hope it's sooner rather than later!

Featured Model - 5/26/2018, Icicle

Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a random model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. Because it's so dang hot outside today, our model for the day is Icicle!



This cute little guy was the flagship model for 2013, only available to Breyer's flagship retailers. Item #1702, he was a run of 3500 on the Bouncer mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

I remember the hullabaloo when this model came out - a new Bouncer! And he's SHINY! And the hobby collectively lost their minds over him. Nowadays, he may have lost some of his luster (doubtful), but I still like him. He's a really nice color, well-shaded, has subtle dapples (not to mention SHINY!) and he's just as cute as the rest of his pony counterparts.

I think part of why hobbyists were so excited about this model is because he doesn't get used very often (although that's common with a lot of Breyer's molds). He's reasonably popular, too, as is evidenced by the fact that Brookside Pink Magnum joined the regular run line in 2012 and is still running today. So why doesn't he get used for more special runs?

He did show up (in clearware, no less!) as last year's Christmas models Amethyst, Emerald and Sapphire. So it's probably safe to assume he's gone back into the metaphorical vault for a while. I still think Breyer wasted a perfectly good opportunity to use him in the Berries Ponies web special series in 2016 - he easily could have replaced Croi, Flash or the Icelandic. D'oh! It's probably his tiny size - hobbyists get cranky about paying web special prices for one of the smaller molds, which is also probably the reason we'll never get any kind of foal or Classic web special (in the traditional, highly-limited sense of the term).

So, it's anyone's guess where this guy will show up next. Like I said, he was used for last year's Christmas release, so I wouldn't expect to see him anytime soon. But who knows - maybe he'll be a special run at the Scottsdale Stampede later this year. I certainly hope so!

Christmas Bouncers are here!

I can't believe it's taken me this long to post about it, but...my Christmas Bouncers are here!

Okay, two of them have been here for almost a week, but the third didn't arrive until yesterday. I bought one on each of our three accounts, and was lucky enough to at least get a Sapphire and an Amethyst, but the wayward third box revealed...another Amethyst. Sigh. But I was able to find someone to trade an Emerald for my extra Amethyst. Success!

I should be biased toward Sapphire, since blue is my favorite color, but I can't decide which one of them I like the best. They're all so pretty!



I was pleased to see that the eyes are painted, even if they are plain black. Way better than Bandera's creepy unpainted eyes! And they were all quite nice in the quality department - I didn't see anything really wrong with any of them. While I think this was a bit of a weird idea for a Christmas release, I'm pretty sure no one was expecting jewel-tone clearware Bouncers for a holiday release. Breyer thinking outside the box once again! Clearly we needed to move away from the red/green model (though I still want to see a candy cane zebra someday). I can't wait to see what crazy thing they come up with for Christmas next year!

Shiny Christmas Bouncers!

The Christmas surprise is up and I love it!



Three translucent Bouncers, in green, magenta and blue, and GLOSSY?! Sign me up! We bought one on all three of our accounts. I love it when they do a nice glossy translucent - they look so cool! I almost think I like the green one best, even though blue is my favorite color. But I love them all!

There are 350 of each color, so it'll probably take a little while for them to sell out. At $95 each, they're a little spendy, but the shipping is included in that price no matter where you ship them to, so I think it's a good deal. I'm mostly just stoked that they used Bouncer; it seems like he never gets used anymore. One of the downsides to having so many new molds every year, I guess.

I hope everyone is having a good Christmas! I can't wait until these guys arrive - crossing my fingers that I get different colors!

Featured Model - 11/19/2016, Applejack

Hello and welcome to yet another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary. This week's selection is...Applejack!



This dapper little fellow, item #1457, was produced in the latter half of 2011 as part of the (now-discontinued) Collector's Choice series, where collectors could send in their ideas for models and possibly have them produced as a limited run. He was produced on the Cefnoakpark Bouncer mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. There's no indication of how many of these were made, but I think Collector's Choice models were considered regular run items, so: however many RR items could be produced in a 6-month period, presumably. This particular release is obviously inspired by My Little Pony (though I'm not sure Breyer got the memo?).

I wasn't able to buy Applejack when it first came out because I hadn't yet located the one flagship dealer in my area that would probably have carried it. I was especially irked about it because earlier in the year, Breyer had made a Collector's Choice model (Gathering Storm) available directly from their website - but didn't bother to do it with Applejack. So frustrating!

But on to the commentary- I really like this model. Before I bought him, I hadn't realized how shiny and pearly his mane and tail were, and was pleasantly surprised when I unwrapped him. He's pretty! I'm a sucker for pearly, though. I also seem to remember that a lot of these models had box rubs and other factory flaws, but I'm happy to report mine has very few.

I like the Bouncer mold a lot, but only have 4 of his releases. This is another mold that needs to be used more often - I still can't believe they didn't use him for one of the Berry Pony web specials. And I'd have been totally fine with the 2012 Breyerfest Sixes and Sevens being on Bouncer instead (can you imagine the hysteria over the glossy/matte split?). Okay, maybe it's better they didn't do that release on Bouncer.