Iquitos selections are out!

 Greetings, readers! Just a quick update today - the selections for Iquitos went out today! If you entered, check your email (or the website) to see if you were drawn. I didn't enter for this one, but congrats to all the winners! 

Speaking of Bristol overload…

 …the Hoofbeats and Maple Treats event models were revealed today! Say hello to Legacy:

As most people guessed from the sneak peek, it’s another bay Bristol…so the reaction to him has been lukewarm at best. Here’s Tamarkuz, the Stablemate:

He’s kind of blah too, so sayeth some collectors. I’m glad they used a mold I collect (I haven’t kept any of the event models from either of the collector events I attended before except for Chesapeake, and now even she is gone). 

Anyway, not sure why Bristol has seen so much use this year, but now I’m glad I decided to sell mine off so I don’t have deal with the Hoopla hoopla and the new froggy web special. Now I just have to find a buyer for my Legacy…

The latest web special revealed!

 Greetings, readers! Hey, I was only off by one day with my wish for last week's sneak peek to be revealed soon - we got the reveal today! Say hello to Iquitos! 

They're sure getting a lot of use out of the Bristol mold this year, aren't they? Matte and glossy Hoopla, the presumed event model for Hoofbeats and Maple Treats, now this guy. Plus he was a web special relatively recently (2022). I'm not sure that color is really doing him any favors, either - I think it's the stripes going over the eyes. Looks a little weird to me. Fortunately, I sold most of my Bristols during Breyerfest this year, so I don't have to feel bad about not wanting this one! I need to save my money for Hoofbeats and Maple Treats, anyway. Good luck to everyone entering! 

Hoofbeats and Maple Treats entries!

 Good news, everyone! Entries for the Hoofbeats and Maple Treats collector event are now open! 

The deadline for Collector Club members to enter the drawing is 8/4, so don't waste any time entering! You must also have a valid passport or US passport card to be admitted, and must meet Canadian entry requirements if traveling there from another country.  

Also, the names of the event models have been revealed! The Traditional is Legacy (Daniel Coyle's show jumper) and the Stablemate is Tamarkuz (champion sprinter). We already know Legacy is on the Bristol mold from this sneak peek released in May:

I'm not sure they should have used Bristol for this, considering he was the event model for the Seattle Soiree in 2020. I guess five years is a pretty long interval, though - it just doesn't seem like that long ago. But I'm kind of glad I decided to sell off my Bristols. We'll probably have other plans going on while this event is happening, so I probably won't enter to be drawn. Guess I'll just have to hope they don't use any molds I collect for the special runs! Oh, and the real Tamarkuz is a sprinter, so my guesses for which mold he's on are Greyson or the G2 Thoroughbred. Good luck to everyone entering! 

May Collector Club newsletter!

 Good news, readers! It’s that time of the month again - time for the Collector Club newsletter! If you’re a club member, check your email for more details. This month’s feature story covers the history of past collector events, and includes a sneak peek of the ticket model for the upcoming Hoofbeats and Maple Treats collector event! 

Another Bristol? He was the ticket model for the Seattle Soirée in 2020, and is being used for this year’s Breyerfest, but okay then…

Anyway, the newsletter also has a giveaway of a Cloud model to one lucky winner, plus this sneak peek:

Looks like the Classic/Freedom Series rearing mustang, also known as American Dream. There’s some debate over whether his white areas are glowing, which would make him a Halloween release. But it hasn’t been all that long since EEK! was a Halloween model, so it seems odd to use him for that again. Guess we’ll see what it is next month!

Hoopla indeed

 Greetings, readers! Well, we have our Monday Breyerfest reveal, and he's definitely ready to cause some Hoopla. Behold! 

He's the online-only Traditional! I wonder what the odds are that he ends up being a matte/glossy split? Pretty dang high, I'd imagine. And that would cause a ton of hoopla! 

We're getting another reveal tomorrow - hopefully it's the online Stablemate, but who knows. We still haven't seen the plush or the crystal, or anything else they're doing, so it could really be anything. See you tomorrow! 

Final auction reveals!

 Good news, readers! We have the last auction model reveal today. Well, it started to happen yesterday, but the post must have gone up too soon, because it was deleted almost as soon as it was posted. Anyway, here it is today! Potential bidders can now register with BidSpirit to bid on the models, and here's the first model from today's reveal! 

It's Bristol in a pretty "Dapple Sooty Palomino." He's nice, but nothing too exciting. 

Next is a beautiful light gray pinto Rhiannon! I'm perplexed that there's no foal with her, but she's pretty nonetheless. This model was briefly featured in the preview image for yesterday's deleted post (and then again today), so it's good to see the full reveal. Her slightly-sticking-out lower lip is really visible in this photo and it irks me for some reason! It's the only thing I don't like about the mold. 

I skipped the raffle model one since we've already seen him. Next is a beautiful Andalusian Mare/Foal set in rose gray/bay going gray. I love them! But I feel like these auction models are suffering from a distinct lack of gloss...

There it is! Some gloss for this auction! I feel like a few more of the lots should have been glossy too. But this glossy bay overo Totilas is spectacular! Could we be looking at the high-selling lot of the auction? Time will tell, I guess. 

Of course, they held back four auction lots to be revealed on Breyerfest Friday, but that's par for the course. Ugh, it's getting so close! Only 10 more days until we're all back in Kentucky for Breyerfest! 

Edit: A Blabber posted something from the program that I missed when I initially looked through it. One of the silent auction lots is a test run gold Nemea!

Now why didn’t they make this a micro run for Nemea last year? Maybe the poor guy would have sold better. In any case, I’ll be interested to se what this one sells for!

Just when I thought my money was safe...

 Greetings, readers! Well, while I wasn't present at the Spokes and Spurs collector event over the weekend, I did receive some photos from Blabbers regarding it. Firstly, the reveal of the next Exotic Destinations model (and the last Stablemates Club model for this year):

His name is Rio. A web special on the Marchador? Nice color, but I don't think it's going to sell very well. Count me out! The sculpt got horribly mangled during the molding process and those toothpick front legs aren't doing it any favors either. 

Next, here's the centerpiece model! 

They usually use older, unpopular molds for the centerpieces, so I wasn't too surprised to see the Western Prancing Horse. He fits in with the western theme pretty well, I'd say. 26 of these guys were given away to Spokes and Spurs attendees! I do like the color scheme, though. Maybe we'll see it on something more attainable in the future. 

Edit: I forgot to mention the silent auction. Although I don't know exactly how many lots there were, I saw photos of the following: a complete set of the Vintage Club Cantering Welsh Ponies, what appeared to be a full set of the Ponies and Palm Trees special runs (!) and the usual Design Your Own Breyer. I don't know what any of them sold for, though. 

Lastly for today...it's time for the Collector Club Appreciation event! Seems like it gets earlier every year...anyways, here are the possible glossy models: 

Buy $150 worth of merchandise, glossies are randomly-shipped, yadda yadda yadda. I need all of them except the Appaloosa, so I'm going to have to decide if I want to order that much stuff or just buy the glossy models outright (if that's still an option). Darn it, I just sold a model and wanted to use that money for the first Premier Club horse! 

Glossy Ezra is pretty, though. And Mojave! And Get Rowdy! Let's hope I get at least one of those, and not the Appaloosa. Hmm, I think I still have a matte Get Rowdy that I haven't been able to get rid of - maybe this will get someone to buy him from me to have a matching pair. Let's look on the bright side here! The sale begins at or around 1pm EST tomorrow, so have fun buying! 

New Arrivals, 2024 PC photos and more!

 Greetings, readers! Well, my Clooney 51 and Cody's Wish models finally arrived, so I thought I'd post a few photos! I'll start with Clooney 51:

What a handsome guy. Normally I'm not that into fleabitten gray as a color, unless they look more like this:

But I can make an exception for Clooney! I especially like his white socks on the rear legs.

I would have preferred this was the loose mane version of the mold, but at least his tail is loose - I'm really not into the braided tail for this guy for some reason. 

Next, here's Cody's Wish! 

He's not this light in real life - must be something with the lighting and the camera. 

He looks pretty good - I think Breyer did a pretty good job matching his color and markings. Now I just need to book a tour to see the real Cody's Wish! And cross my fingers that they don't end up using him for a CCA event or Breyerfest prize or something! 

Next, we have some new photos of next year's Premier Club mare and foal set! 

Unfortunately, I'm starting to like them a little better in these photos (and I'm really noticing how the mare is basically an updated Running Mare). 

I really like the mare from this angle! Gah. Rant incoming - feel free to scroll past it if you're not into that. 

It's looking increasingly likely that these are NOT the first release in the club, or Breyer wouldn't keep saying they were "among" next year's releases. I haven't joined next year's club yet, and frankly I don't want to join if it means I have to wait until next May to see what the first release is! We could end up waiting a full year for this mare and foal set if it turns out they're the last release, and I don't want to wait six months to see what I'll be buying first. Sorry if this reads like I'm throwing a tantrum, but sheesh. Throw us a freaking bone already! And give us some 2024 Stablemates Club previews while you're at it! I won't bother asking about the 2024 new releases, since we'll probably be waiting until after Christmas for those again. 

Bleh, enough complaining. Lastly for today, there's a new giveaway to enter for! 

There's no indication of whether it's open to Collector Club members or the general public, so I'm going to assume it's the general public. I did enter for this one, since I haven't found anyone to trade my purple one for a green yet. Good luck to everyone entering! 

2023 Fall releases announced!

 Good news, readers! The 2023 Fall Releases have been announced! More information can be found here, but let's look at the releases. Firstly, here's Leif, the 2023 Limited Edition/Fall Decorator: 

Ooh, what a pretty Vermeer! I love the gold leaves on his coat. Definitely screams "fall decorator" to me! 

Next is the Cheryl White horse/rider/book set we've already seen, so I'll move on to...Cody's Wish! 

I can't think of a racehorse more deserving of his own model right now than Cody's Wish. Glad to see him getting some attention from Breyer! I can't wait to add him to my collection! 

Next we have Clooney 51!

Ooh, very pretty! This one is very similar to Get Rowdy from last year - I wonder if Get Rowdy is being retired at the end of this year? That would let a new release slot into his place pretty well, and I think Clooney 51 looks basecoated, so I don't think it'll be hard to tell them apart. I also have a fear that Clooney 51 here may end up being a glossy prize model at Breyerfest next year. Ooh, let's move on from that nightmarish thought.

Next, let's take a look at Norwich! 

Hey, a new release on the Hackney Pony! He hasn't had a release since 2020 and that was a web special, so it'll be good to see him in the regular line again. 

Lastly, this year's brick-and-mortar special run, Barranco! 

He's very pretty! Looks pretty similar to Raia, the brick-and-mortar special run from 2020. Maybe a tad lighter shade. With one less sock and a wider blaze. These are only available in physical store locations, so good luck with getting one! 

That's it for new releases for today! The unpacking has been continuing, but is now on hold temporarily until we can get another new shelf built. In the meantime, I haven't had any major casualties, but was dismayed yesterday to discover my palomino Callahan's gloss coat was damaged by the bubble wrap he was stored in. Normally I try to wrap glossies with the bubbles facing out to prevent this kind of damage, but I wasn't paying the most attention when I unwrapped him, so I don't really know if I wrapped him with the bubbles in or not. I guess I wasn't too worried about it since I've never had an issue with bubble wrap and OF gloss before. Lesson learned, I guess. I still have a number of boxes to unpack, so let's hope that's the worst of my issues! 

I stand corrected

 Greetings, readers! Another day, another Breyerfest reveal - and this one is a doozy! I guess I spoke too soon when I said we'd found our Pollock/Stein equivalent for this year - behold! 

His name is Jump & Drive (incidentally, I'm not a fan of this new ampersand trend). What a hunk - but somehow, I'm kind of underwhelmed by him. Not sure why. Maybe it's his blue eyes? Not that I don't want to buy him, and I'm not sure what could be done to make him even better. I guess he looks a lot like the sable champagne Seven Arts Surprise from 2021. But that isn't a bad thing - I just feel like I should like him more than I do. Maybe if his mane was inexplicably white too? I don't know. Either way, I'll probably put him on my VIP selections to be sure I can get one. Happily, the blog says the last special run for Breyerfest will be revealed tomorrow! I guess they're going back to 8 special runs after having 9 for the last three years.

Today's other exciting reveal was the first web special of the year! Good news - the Birds of a Feather series continues with Flamingo! 

I have to be honest here...I'm underwhelmed by this one, too. She's supposed to be a rose grey, but she looks more like the perlino Poppy & Ollie or Apollo, to name a few. I think she'd have matched her name better if she were red roan, or looked more like this Thoroughbred colt I saw at Taylor Made back in 2019:

His name is Ghostliner, if you'd like to do some career research on him. Anyways, that's a lot closer to pink than what we have in the photo above. 

Edit: I was going to mention that Breyer may have wanted to keep her an Arabian color and red roan doesn't occur in the Arabian breed, hence the rose grey instead. But rabicano is a thing in Arabians...so, that would have been an option. Oh well. Bonus: here's a photo of Ghostliner as of July 2022 when he was sold at a Fasig-Tipton sale.

But, Flamingo still pretty and I hope I get drawn for her! Let's hope I have better luck with web specials than I did last year. The run number on her is back down to 500 though, so the odds seem slim. Anyway, good luck to everyone entering for her! 

New Arrivals: Zeitgeist, Rhenish Draft and....

 Greetings everyone! Welcome to my last New Arrivals post for this year's Breyerfest. Tomorrow (if nothing else exciting happens) I'll get started on Breyerfest Closeups! Can't wait. Anyway, I'll start this off with Zeitgeist, this year's volunteer model:

Photos definitely don't do this beautiful girl justice, and I'm really happy I was able to find one for a good price. She's one of my favorites from the whole trip. One of these days I should get a photo of her with Lafayette, because they'd make a great pair. 

Next, here's my matte Rhenish Draft: 

Both of the Rhenish Drafts I ordered turned out to be matte -sigh. Another glossy to put on my list to track down later. I do really like this color on him, though, despite the fact that blond sorrel is really not one of my favorite colors, at all. It suits him really well, though. 

Now it's time for the last New Arrival. I debated about posting about this guy because, well, he cost a lot of money and I don't like to brag. But this may have been my last chance to bring home a model like this, because I may not return to in-person Breyerfest, or any Breyer collector events, for the foreseeable future, for reasons I'm not ready to discuss yet (nothing bad, just planning for the future). So I decided to splurge a bit, pay the most I've ever paid for a model, and bring home...this guy. 

It has been one of my goals to acquire at least one OOAK model for my collection for a few years now, and I finally managed it - this is the Sun-faded Bay Icelandic Horse from this year's Live Auction. Of course, I would have preferred to do it back in 2019 before the prices went insane, but that's just how it goes, I guess. The auction itself was pretty surreal - I was considering bidding on the Andalusian, but just couldn't justify paying that amount of money for a model with a relatively plain paint job. Then, the next few models after that one started selling for far higher amounts, and I started to freak out, thinking they all were going to go that high and I'd missed my chance to even get one. But, I had suspected the Icelandic's price would stay lower, since the mold is slightly less popular and he wasn't glossy, and I was right - so I jumped in, bid on him and won. And now I can stay far, far away from any future Breyerfest Live auctions! Or least from the bidder number registration table. After getting him in hand, one of the things I found interesting about him is that he has some texture to his paint job - my other Icelandics are pretty smooth, but not this guy. I also really like how stripey his mane and tail are. 

Anyway, that brings me to the end of New Arrivals for this year. I'll add that I thought the quality control was pretty good this year - all of the models I looked at up close had few to no flaws, except for my Rhenish Drafts, who both had some minor factory flaws and very mild shipping damage. However, I haven't looked very closely at my Nikolas models yet (the Celebration Horses are often rather...lacking in the quality department). So it's entirely possible that those got the short end of the stick again. 

In other news, emails for Peregrine have gone out! If you haven't received anything, don't give up quite yet - check and see if he's listed on your Collector Club homepage, as sometimes the emails never arrive but you were still drawn to buy him. Looks like I wasn't drawn this time, again (grumble grumble), but I guess there's always hope for the wait list. Congrats to all the lucky winners! 

Peregrine and special run reveals!

 Exciting news today, everyone - there's a new Birds of a Feather web special to enter for! Check out Peregrine: 

What's this? A new Bristol? In a really nice color? With the loose mane and tail, which seem to have become a rarity lately? Sign me up! I definitely want this one. I hope I have better luck than I did with Kingfisher - though they're making 500 of this one, so hopefully I have better luck anyway. Good luck to everyone entering! He's a beauty - I love his dark-ish coat and his minimal blanket.

In other news, the special run split information from Breyerfest has been announced! I was a bit irked when I first saw the announcement because I thought it was the Rotating Draft information at first - the other special run breakdowns weren't that hard to figure out. Nobody cares about those! So Landler was a 50/50 split as usual, and Marzipan's bay variation was also a 50/50 split as expected. Yawn. We want to see the Rotating Draft run numbers! Anyway, here's a Breyer photo of the matte and glossy Landlers together.

The glossy Landler is extremely handsome, I'll admit. 

That's it for today - let's hope we get to see the Rotating Draft numbers tomorrow! 

New Arrivals: Get Rowdy, Snowbird and Chablis

 Greetings, loyal readers! Over the last few days, I haven't been able to shake the feeling that I was missing something during these post-Breyerfest doldrums. It seemed like there was something I was supposed to be doing...so I took a look back at old blog posts to see if I could figure out what it was. 

And then I promptly felt like an idiot, because I had totally forgotten I used to do New Arrivals and Breyerfest Closeups posts after Breyerfest every year! The last year I did New Arrivals was in 2020, apparently, and I haven't done Breyerfest Closeups since 2019 for obvious reasons. On a related note, it turns out you forget a lot of stuff you used to do/plan/pack for Breyerfest when you end up not going to Kentucky for 3 years, as our multiple trips to a Lexington Walmart showed us. It doesn't help that my memory has become atrocious since my kids were born. 

Anyway, let's get started with a brand-new New Arrivals post! I'll start with Get Rowdy: 

I normally don't buy RR stuff at Breyerfest, but the prospect of saving on shipping plus instant gratification won out. So I have a Get Rowdy in my collection! His dapples are nicely understated, and there aren't as many of them, so less chance of getting one with chicken-wire dapples. Need I say more? 

Next, here's Snowbird, sans tack:

His color is interesting - he almost looks like a chestnut-going-gray. There are also new promo photos from Breyer depicting a much-lighter Snowbird than the original promo photo showed - I'm not sure which end of the spectrum my guy is from, since he still looks fairly dark to me. Oh well. His costume is pretty, though it did make me wonder if it was in fact removable, because I could not find a way to get it off the horse. Fortunately I did figure out how to get it off eventually, but it was a bit of a tense moment! 

I did snag a Battlefield Angel from the store as well, but ended up selling it to a tired dad who was trying to find one for his daughters to get autographed by the real horse's owners. I'll have to snag another one at some point. 

Lastly, let's take a look at Chablis! 

As usual, I vastly prefer the braided Idocus to his original loose mane (still don't have a braided Brunello, or Nirvana, though). His paint job is nice, too! Kinda interesting that this mold has now been used for portraits of three similarly-marked bay horses. He's just infinitely more attractive to me with the braids than with his original bad toupee-looking hair. Who knows, maybe this mold would have been a better seller from the start if he'd started out with the braids instead of the loose mane/tail. I know it makes me like him a lot more! 

That's it for today - check back soon for more New Arrivals! 

The last auction models!

Well, we have our last set of Breyerfest auction model reveals! Pay no attention to the fact that this post is very late - I'm not sure what happened.  Too busy playing gwent? I'll blame it on that. Anyway, here's a handsome Esprit! 

Looks familiar...because his pattern is very similar to Enchante from 2015. Uh, minus the yellow legs. I like the white stripe in his tail, too. Very handsome! 

Interesting concept - this one is painted in the colors of the German flag. His pattern is pretty much the same as the Jackpot raffle model from 2018 - unsurprising. I like him! It'll be interesting to see how much this one goes for. 

I'm pretty ambivalent about this one, honestly. Like, if it was only selling for $500, I'd bid, but I wouldn't go into the stratosphere for it either. Not sure why. Maybe because he looks chalky and I'm not generally a fan of that? Who knows. 

Anyway, those are the last reveals we'll get -as usual, there are a few models that weren't revealed, but we won't get to see those until the first day of Breyerfest! Can't wait to see what they are. Only a little more than a week until we leave! 

Mid-Year Releases and Ponies & Palm Trees!

 

Well, it’s official - the Ponies & Palm Trees collector event is taking place this November - it’s been officially announced by Breyer! If you’re a Collector Club member, check your email for more information! I don’t know when tickets will go on sale, but they’ll be allocated by random draw, so I’d be thrilled to be able to attend. I hope we get to see some of the special runs beforehand, though.

In other news, looks like I was right on time with my Mid-Years question yesterday. We have our newest reveal from Breyer! These are the new Trad releases, but the rest of the new releases can be found here.  I’ll start with the new El Pastor!

There’s also a new Vermeer (!):

A black and white pinto - ooh, pretty. I gotta have this one!

And lastly, a new Bristol! I’ll have to get my hands on him as well, although I prefer the loose mane/tail. 

It's a Gloss Extravaganza!

 Sheesh, with all the glossy models I've been getting lately, you'd think I was a Team Glossy person! Well...no further comment there. But my glossy Limited Editions from Breyerfest 2021 are finally here, plus I was able to trade my glossy CCA Smarty for a glossy Moody Andalusian, so adding that to my glossy Astrid and the SMC foals makes for a shiny party! Behold: 

I wish the Andalusian had been chalky, but at least I got one. They all look so good! 

I think the glossy Rheverence is my favorite of the bunch, though. He already looked good in that buckskin color, so adding a coat of gloss on top made him stunning! I like the way his mane is masked, too, even if it doesn't exactly match the actual sculpted mane. He's a beauty! 

Josie's paint job was already luscious in matte, and in glossy she just pops. This isn't even the greatest picture - her bay color has so much depth and the gloss just adds to it. 

The only problem with Apollo is that his gloss is hard to see in photos, similar to the amber champagne Hero's Welcome. Mine also has a rather nastily warped left front leg, which is a shame.

While he isn't basecoated, the glossy CCA Andalusian is still a stunning guy! I've always really liked the "young" grays that still have a lot of black in their color, and this guy is no exception. 

Quality-wise, they have some issues with lint/debris in the gloss, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Nothing too terrible other than Apollo's warped leg, so I'm pretty happy with them overall. Now I just have to fit them onto my shelves....

Edit: I forgot to add that we saw our first Breyerfest 2022 Limited Edition (formerly known as a store special) release today! Say hello to Montanara! 

Not a mold I collect, but I'm always glad to be able to save some money. The old Friesian does look good in that color, I must say. More importantly, does this mean we'll get another reveal tomorrow? I hope so!