Rotating Draft Surprise numbers and Collector Club July Newsletter!

 Greetings, readers! Well, first things first - we finally have our Rotating Draft Surprise numbers! Has it really been two weeks since Breyerfest already? Well, here's a look at all the glossies together:

Here are the numbers:

Dapple Gray Pinto with Braided Mane: 1,110 matte / 375 glossy

Chestnut Leopard Appaloosa with Braided Mane: 1,250 matte / 475 glossy

Buckskin Pinto with Loose Mane: 950 matte / 375 glossy

Glossy Silver Bay with Loose Mane: 1,250 glossy only

Wedgewood Blue Pinto with Loose Mane: 975 matte only

Varnish Blue Roan Appaloosa: 375 matte with braided mane / 375 glossy with loose mane

 

Interesting that they did a Glossy Only option and a Matte Only option - the only previous time I remember them doing that was in 2019, with the decorator Hero's Welcome - those were all glossy. I'm glad I don't collect the Cleveland Bay, though - I wouldn't want to have to squeeze 10 more of them onto my shelves. Someone pointed out the silver bay looks like Epona, though, which I can totally get behind. I do like the wedgewood blue pinto, as well - he has the same pattern as Josiah from the 2020 Vintage Club, which was a release I liked, but not enough to buy. Same with this one - well, maybe someday they'll use the color on something I want. Interestingly, the blanket Appy has the same pattern as Chickory, which makes me wonder if Sommer designed these colors as she usually does? That particular color has a kind-of-old-school look to it, which I liked. The glossy gray pinto was quite pretty, too. No surprise that the glossy quantities increased again this year - I pulled three of them this year, which is about as well as I usually do. 

Anyway, today's other news is the July Collector Club newsletter! If you're a Collector Club member, check your email for more. There's an informative article about showing, a pony pouch giveaway, and this reveal of the mysterious Classics gambler's choice sneak peek we first saw back in April - Johann!
 

Interestingly, it looks like all four of these are glossy - usually they leave at least one matte option, but not this time apparently. More on these guys whenever I get started with my Breyerfest Closeups series! In the meantime, I need to finish up with the New Arrivals first...

Breyerfest Day 1: Confusingly, Still Pleasant

 Greetings, readers! As the title says, I'm still a bit confused about how relatively nice the weather has been in KY this year. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like it isn't nearly as oppressively hot and humid outside as it normally is. Maybe I forgot what KY is like, since I've been gone for 3 years? Who knows. In any case, it made for a much-less-tiring first day of Breyerfest. But I digress. Here's my report on Breyerfest Day 1:

Firstly, and most importantly, I can confirm that the surprise model is the Cleveland Bay! Here's the set being sold in the silent auction:

I know at one point I had changed my prediction to the Cleveland Bay, but I can't remember if I changed it to something else after that, so I'm going to just say I was right for once! Huzzah!

Unfortunately (or fortunately for my wallet), the Cleveland Bay is not a mold I collect, so now I'm going to have to figure out what to do with 9 Rotating Draft Surprise tickets. On a similar note, the only special run variations we've seen so far is what appears to be a matte/glossy split on Landler and an alternate bay color for Marzipan. So, I may end up trying to trade Rotating Draft tickets for more Landler tickets if I can't get a glossy one with my one remaining Landler ticket. Otherwise I'll probably just redeem all the Rotating Draft tickets and sell the models, but part of me just doesn't want to be bothered with that many models. Guess I'll figure all that out tomorrow.

Anyway, here's the test Halla from the silent auction!

And here's the Musicians of Bremen test set!

And a glossy Nikolas from the silent auction gift basket!

And the Best Customs Contest grand prize and runners-up prize, Brandenburg and Westphalia:

And here's the full set of alternate deco models from Breyerfest 2021!

And a glossy Ben Nevis volunteer manager's model from Breyerfest 2020!

That's about it for the silent auction - there's also a Design Your Own Breyer lot as usual, though that didn't have any bids when I went by.

Let's see, what else do I have to talk about? There are some fun reveals in the Collector Club tent, but I don't want this post to get too long, so I'll cover that tomorrow or Sunday. I redeemed a few of my model tickets today, but not all of them - I want to spread things out to potentially increase my odds of getting any variations, if there are any others. I'm completely befuddled that they would do an alternate color variation on Marzipan when a mane switch for Rapunzel is RIGHT THERE. Oh well.

Sales-wise, things are going quite well, except in the Stablemates and Classics department - I've sold very few of those so far. I also haven't had anyone come by and mention the blog yet, which is a little concerning for me as I usually get at least a few people. 

Ooh, and it's been revealed that the bonus Stablemate for the Vintage Club this year is a mini-me of the woodgrain Indian Pony from yesterday, so that's exciting.

It's getting pretty late and I'm too tired to think of other things to talk about, so I'll wrap this post up for now. Check back tomorrow for my recap of Breyerfest Day 2!

Another Monday news roundup!

Ugh, there are so many new things to talk about, but I just haven't had the time to blog about them! I meant to write another silver filigree speculation post, but that just didn't happen. I would have guessed this year had a silver filigree on True North, since we didn't get one last year...but I would have been wrong! Meet Benasque!



From the website:

Benasque has an exciting electric blue filigree coat. Complimented by a high gloss finish, it is absolutely stunning no matter which way you view it! His features include pinking on his nose and ears, and his socks and blaze are painted freehand. A unique masterpiece, Benasque is a spectacular homage to the winter season.

Electric blue filigree? Looks like Copenhagen to me. Well, whatever. He's still beautiful and we wants one, precious!

It also says he's stamped "Benasque 2017" on the belly, but I'm guessing that's a typo. Also, it's a pretty short entry period - I wonder if he was supposed to have been released last week? They must be busy at Breyer too!  Good luck to everyone who enters!

Also, next year's Celebration Horse has been revealed - it really is Oliver from the KHP!



Breyer put up a post on the Breyerfest Blog today that gives a little more information about Oliver! From the blog:

One horse immediately came to mind – Oliver, Captain Lisa Rakes’ equine partner. As a member of the Kentucky Horse Mounted Police 11 year old Oliver (a Shire cross) certainly stands out in a crowd with black and white pinto pattern and his large stature. His friendly and curious nature has served him very well so far in the first six years of his career; he joined the unit at age 5. 

Definitely a fitting choice for Celebration Horse - I can't count the number of times I've seen Oliver at Breyerfest! Though the model itself won't be gracing my shelves (I don't collect the Cleveland Bay), he's definitely striking! Maybe the extras will have a higher resale value than normal, eh? 

Next on the list, the Stablemate for the Scottsdale Stampede was finally revealed yesterday, and IDYB already has photos!





It's Magnolia! I'm a little relieved it's on a mold I don't collect, though I'm a bit sad at the same time - I was really hoping it would be Mirado, since he really needs some love! Good thing he's in next year's SMC.

The centerpiece model from the Scottsdale Stampede was revealed on Saturday night, and I was totally bewildered when I saw it - Foalzilla? Well, okay then...



They're just not giving up on this mold, are they? Her name is Peplum. Well, fortunately it's nothing I need to buy - but the centerpiece models at these events tend to be on molds I don't collect, so I was expecting it to be something I didn't need. Interesting color, though - I'd like to see them use that on something else (more attainable) in the future! But clearly someone wanted her, because the scuttlebutt on Blab is that a couple of unsavory individuals tried to steal one, but were thwarted and kicked out of the Saturday dinner (and then didn't show up to buy models on Sunday). I suppose it was only a matter of time, since these models are worth so much. Hopefully Breyer doesn't do away with centerpiece models completely as a result.

As for when the next event will be, Breyer collector events happen in New Jersey every six years, and the last one was the Big Easy Bash in 2014 - so I'd expect the next event to be at Breyer headquarters in 2020. I suppose they could squeeze something else into 2019, though. I haven't heard anything from attendees about whether another event was hinted at, so we'll have to wait and see.

That's about all I have time to write about today, but fear not - I have more to post! My Emerson came on Saturday, along with my JAH - so stay tuned!

Holiday Grab Bags and More Teasers

Greetings, everyone! First order of business - holiday grab bags are now available from the Breyer website.

I like how the fine print has to have a disclaimer that the grab bag items don't actually come in a bag. It's just marketing, folks.

My opinions on grab bags should be well-known by now, so it should go without saying that I won't be buying any. Personally, I'm waiting for the "Collector Appreciation" event that will hopefully happen next month. With any luck they'll do the 20%off+free shipping combination again and I can buy this year's remaining regular runs I haven't purchased yet. And I know I'm not the only one hoping they do another random glossy event like they did last year!

In other news, more clues about the mystery Cleveland Bay model have been posted on Instagram.

The real mystery about this mystery Cleveland Bay model is why Breyer hasn't just revealed it already.



Just reveal it! We already know what it is! And the scuttlebutt on Blab is that this is a portrait of Oliver, one of the KHP police horses, and he's going to be next year's Celebration Horse! Exciting, though if that's the case I won't be adding him to my collection (I don't collect the Cleveland Bay). Hopefully we get to see the entire model tomorrow!

Another news roundup? Why not?

It definitely looks like Breyer is trying to make up for their lack of news over the last couple of months. First up, the first release in the 2019 Premier Club has been revealed!

It's a "Welsh Mountain Mare and Foal Set" sculpted by Josine Vingerling! Ooh!

I have to admit I'm not terribly excited about the foal, but I do like the mare. I join the Premier Club every year regardless of what the first release is, so I'll be getting this set regardless, but it looks like this particular set might be getting split up. Sad...

Not sure what it is about the foal I don't like. The rough coat, maybe? He'd make a nice companion for Croi, but I don't have any Croi models either. I guess it's curtains for the poor foal. Oh well.

Next, Breyer started teasing more things on Instagram today, starting with this:



And this:



Followed by this:



The general opinion on the Internets is that this is a Cleveland Bay, which I agree with. The question is, what is it? A new release for 2018? The Scottsdale Stampede is happening this weekend, so it could be a special run for that, but it seems weird to use a British breed for an Arabians-and-western-themed event. Also, the Cleveland Bay was used at the 2014 Big Easy Bash, so it seems a bit early to be using him again.

I also saw a suggestion that he's the 2018 Breyerfest Celebration Horse, which might make sense if said horse is some type of police horse. That seems as likely an option as anything else, so I'll go with that. Hopefully we find out what it is later this week.

Griffin is now available for purchase!

Another day, another dollar...or model, in this case. The second Collector Club special run for 2017, Griffin, is now available to order!

A sample of this model was displayed at Breyerfest, and he (or at least that particular sample) looked a lot more orangey than in these promo photos.



My suspicions about Griffin's curiously dark hooves (and his true color) were correct, though -  he's a blond chestnut, and his hooves have been blacked for the show ring! From the email:

This special edition Irish Draught cross is a beautifully shaded and dappled rich blonde chestnut.  Four high white socks and a blaze give Griffin character.  His mane is braided and his hooves are darkened, making him ready for a show in his athletic trot. 

As usual, there's no word on how many were produced, although this type of run tends to be around 1,000.

He certainly is handsome, although nothing I need to buy. But I hope everyone who buys him is happy with him! 

Breyerfest Closeups: Griffin

As I was pondering the mysteries of life, the universe and everything today, I realized I never did a closeup post about Griffin, the upcoming second Collector Club special run. So, here goes - Griffin!

 

I must say, he looks mighty orange in that photo, but it could just be something with my camera's settings that day. At first I thought he was a palomino, but he almost looks like a blond sorrel instead.

 

I do have to question why his hooves are all dark, though. Shouldn't they be white, since he has four white socks? Maybe we're supposed to think he's being shown with his hooves blacked, since this is the braided mane version. Or they're doing as much as they can to differentiate this horse from the palomino JCPenney special run from a few years ago.

 

He's definitely handsome, but nothing I need to buy.  As for when he'll be available to the masses, I'd guess sometime next month or in October - it looks like Gideon, last year's second collector club SR, didn't become available until almost Halloween, so we could be in for a long wait.

In other news, it appears that Duende's release has been delayed until September, according to a Breyer employee's post on the Premier Club forum on the website. It'd be nice if they could post that a few other places, but that's Breyer for you. But we're pretty close to September already - just a couple more weeks! Hopefully he comes out promptly! I'm waiting for him.

A Big Solution to the Tiny Hint

The Breyerfest Live Show Champion and Reserve Champion prizes were revealed today, first through the show's Yahoo group and then on the blog (well, the grand prize, anyway. Desi will probably show up tomorrow). Here's the first one - Cassia, the Overall Grand prize:

 

Whew! It's not an Othello. Nice color, too! Next, the reserve prize, Desi!

 

 That's a handsome Gem Twist - he almost looks like they put the dark bay Appaloosa Quelle Surprise color on Gem Twist, with a few extra details. Fortunately, neither of these are anything I have to have. Excellent! And I can't help but notice somebody forgot to crop Desi's picture. That looks like my photo tent! Haha.