Christmas in July "Sale" and more New Arrivals!

 Attention, Collector Club members! I'm a bit late with this and most of the good stuff is sold out, but Breyer is having a Christmas in July sale now (or "sale," since none of the prices are lower than they were originally)! They're not giving the warehouse any sort of a break, huh? Check out the sale here. The sale went live while I was sleeping, so I didn't get anything (not that I would have, except maybe a Tannenbaum). Maybe next time! 

In the meantime, it's time to continue with the New Arrivals! First up: 

That's right, it's the man of the hour, BF's hottest item (other than Oseburg and The Wanderer), the bestseller in every time zone - Helsinki! Seems like everybody wanted this guy - they were flying off the tables faster than the workers could unpack them at the handout tent. But can you blame him? He looks great in that shade of blue, with the dapples and shading, and a layer of gloss over the top? Beautiful. Another reason I was glad I got the VIP ticket, so I'd get the Stablemate 4-pack and be guaranteed to get him. 

Next we have Stjarna, one of the models from the Best of Breyerfest Series 7 set. He's a mini version of Seren, the 2008 contest prize on Bouncer. Kit looks good in bay overo, though I don't know what breed to assign to him. Some kind of American sport pony? More thought is required. 

Lastly for today, we have Faroe, also from the Best of Breyerfest Series 7 set. Stjarna and Faroe were the only models from the set I wanted - the rest went on sale in my room at the Clarion. Anyway, Faroe is a mini version of Capri, the early bird raffle model from 2008. I don't think he matches the Capri all that well, though - Capri has more shading on his legs and muzzle and the body color doesn't quite match. Still looks nice, though. 

And that's it for New Arrivals for today! More New Arrivals are coming soon, as well as Breyerfest Closeups! 

More Stablemates Club stuff and another Breyerfest reveal!

 Greetings, readers! The end of the year is coming up fast and the reveals are still coming fast and furious! I’ll start with the latest Breyerfest silhouette:

Ooh, a Django! I wonder what color he’ll be. I’d speculate about us finally getting a solid black one, but that would be kind of a waste on a Breyerfest model, so I guess we’ll see.

In other exciting news, we got to see all four of the Stablemates Club gambler’s choice models today. Behold:

I love that decorator! I hope I get one. So far I have two SMC memberships for next year, but I’m thinking about getting another one. 

And lastly, here’s the full reveal of Derecho! Yesterday’s photo didn’t show his stand.

Ophelia and Brilliance set!

 Good news, everyone! My Ophelia and the Brilliance set came today! Behold:

Isn't she pretty? 

Bluegrass Bandit looks really nice in this color, though I can't help but wonder what she'd have looked like in gloss. 

Quality-wise she's pretty nice, other than this gnarly box rub on her hip. Le sigh. 

Next, here's the Brilliance set! 

I like the colors on all four of these, especially the holographic Fireheart. But it really irks me that the Othello, the DRAFT horse, is the smallest of the four! Why did they make him so smol? 

Seriously, he's pony-sized compared to the rest of them. 

Fortunately, they're all mostly nice in the quality department, except for this big gloss/paint flaw on the Fireheart's side. Le sigh, again. 

Oh well - at least they came earlier than I thought they would. And I've heard the Premier Club welcome letters are arriving at people's houses, so hopefully I can post about that soon as well! 

More Spooky Stablemates!

 Good news, everyone! My second Spooky Stablemates order arrived - behold the results! 

Score! I got the mini Apparition, the only one of the three I wanted! 

And another Cornelius! I do like the little guy, but don't need two or them, or one of them. I'll figure out what to do with them later.

What a handsome guy. I don't have the full-size version of him, so it took a minute to realize exactly what the markings were supposed to look like. Looks like they did a pretty good job miniaturizing the design. 

They were both pretty good quality as well, no major flaws that I noticed. I hope everybody else managed to get what they wanted as well, or is able to trade for what they want. 

In other news, my Traditional and Classics models are now all unpacked (except my Breyerfest purchases), though not all are on the shelves, because I ran out of shelf space (again) despite my husband building two new shelves. Fortunately, there's room for another shelf in the room, so we'll have to get that taken care of this weekend. I haven't unpacked any Stablemates yet because I want to wait until I have all the bigger models arranged on the shelves the way I want before I start putting Stablemates up there. But I like the way things are looking so far! It's good to see the models I bought over the past year on the shelves with their buddies, though. So I'm excited to get that last shelf built so I can finish unpacking and also get my Breyerfest purchases unpacked! I'm looking forward to seeing all those Stagecoach Surprise models with the rest of my Hamiltons! 

Let this Halloween release sssssslither into your hearts!

 More good news, everyone! Today the U-Haul truck was unloaded (with some casualties, including a Christmas tree with almost an entire bottle of bleach spilled on it), and unpacking has begun! I'm a bit scared to unpack my horses, what with the casualties we've already had - but at the same time I'm excited to get to it, because I want to add my Breyerfest purchases to the herd! Anyway, I've also found the time to get my computer set up, so I should be able to get back to posting with my usual frequency. Also, I'm now in the Eastern time zone! Woohoo! 

Anyway, Breyer's Halloween store was announced today, including this beauty! 

From the website:

Uncoiling and slipping his way out of the darkness on All Hallows’ Eve is Slither, our 2023 Freedom Series Halloween Horse. Artist Christine Jordan dreamed up a truly unique coat for this reptilian decorator. Slither features markings inspired by the quagga, a now-extinct species of zebra that had stripes only on the front half of their bodies, paired with scales and hidden snakes slithering through his mane and markings. His metallic glossy coat features green-bronze color shift paint that mirrors the sheen of a snake’s scales.

 

Ooh, I really want this one! He looks really cool.  I love how glossy he is. And I really like his white tail! His white areas glow in the dark (naturally) so I'm excited to see what he looks like in the dark! 

Also, we get this:

Cute! I love his little fangs. Too bad he doesn't have a couple of little blood drops around his mouth, too. 

And lastly, the Halloween Stablemates for this year:

So this year we get Mini Nevermore, Mini Poltergeist and Mini Cornelius! Cute! D'oh, another addition to the Django conga! Of course, they're blind bags as per usual, so I'm going to have to think about whether I'll buy more than one. I'd probably just get one, but I have to have that Django and I'm not interested in paying $100 for it later, so...guess we'll have to see how I feel when the sale goes live. Speaking of which, the Halloween store goes live on Wednesday at 1:30 EST, so be ready, everyone! I'm sure the Classic and the Stablemates will both sell out pretty quickly, so be ready with ordering! Looks like last year's Tabitha and Skelly must not have sold out, because those are back this year as well. There's also a cute Spectre pin and Spectre-themed hoodies, so I'll definitely have to pick up that pin. I hope everyone is able to get what they're looking for! 

Special run numbers and some Breyerfest New Arrivals!

 Greetings, readers! I have some good news - the special run numbers for Breyerfest were finally released today! The final breakdown can be found here, but I've copy-pasted the verbiage below:

If you brought home that adorable mare and foal pair, Surrey & Axle, you might have noticed that we snuck in a variation for cute little Axle – this adorable blanket appaloosa foal was a 50/50 split between the Action Stock Horse Foal mold (#235) and the Standing Stock Horse Foal mold (#228)! 

Fan-favorite Wells, created on the loose mane version of Shannondell in a handsome silver dapple black, was this year’s 50/50 matte and glossy split. We think he looks dashing in either finish!

You might have guessed that the name for this year’s Fell Pony, Scurry, was a clue at a possible variation! Scurry driving is a fast-paced sport where a pair of ponies pulls a cart across a course, so we had to give fans a fun pair of this model in two colorways! Scurry was done as a 50/50 split in both red bay tobiano and perlino tobiano!

We were wowed when we learned about the Jump & Drive event hosted in Aachen, so to give our Jump & Drive model a bit more of a “wow factor” for fans, we did this already handsome glossy sooty buckskin splash pinto on the Bristol mold as a 50/50 mane and tail split. Half of this model had the loose mane and tail, and half had the braided mane and tail.

The handsome Speos really shook things up for fans when folks discovered this variation!  Only 10% of this handsome model was done in a stunning red and black colorshift decorator finish, for a total of 240 pieces!

The beautiful Araba was also done as a micro-run variation! 10% of this stunning model – 240 pieces – was done as a beautiful rose grey sabino pinto, which we fell in love with here at HQ.

And finally, for our last Special Run reveal, the adorable Peanutine!  This cute spotted donkey stole everyone’s hearts at this year’s BreyerFest, and we thought it would be fun to include a fun decorator variation! 10% of the run was done in a stunning rose/green/gold colorshift that really makes him shine – a total of 200 pieces!

For fans who purchased our online-only Limited Edition models Studebaker and Buggy, we revealed BreyerFest weekend that we created fun variations of these models, too!  Which one did you get? Only 10% of each run was done as the variation! A total of 250 pearly blue/purple colorshift tobiano pinto Studebakers were created and just 200 pearly gold glossy Buggy models were made!

I'm a little surprised by some of these - I thought the deco Speos was way more common, as well as the blue Studebaker judging by the number of them I've seen on Facebook. I guess I got luckier with the Speos than I thought I did! I'm glad we finally got these numbers, though - it seemed like it was taking forever for them to be released. We'll get the Stagecoach Surprise numbers tomorrow for some reason. 

But in the meantime, two of my three online Breyerfest orders arrived today! I made two orders of Studebaker and Buggy, and one order of just Studebaker. This morning I had still not received any shipping notices, nor did UPS My Choice show anything coming my way, so I called Breyer to ask when they would ship and was informed that all three orders would be delivered today! Huzzah! 

So, a couple of hours later, I was super excited when my doorbell rang! When I opened the door...there were only two boxes outside the door instead of three. Whatever! I guess the third one will show up tomorrow...I hope? Anyway, it was my first two orders, with Studebaker and Buggy. I opened the Buggys first, so take a look at what I got! 

 

Yes! I got both colors! 

I guess I should feel super-lucky, since we now know the alternate Buggy was a run of 200! 

Next I opened my two Studebakers:

Not so lucky there - two palominos. I'm not sure which one I want to keep - the one in front is way more metallic, but the seam on her mane wasn't smoothed very well and has some kind of black debris in it in a couple of places. The other one is less metallic, but less flawed. Not sure what I'm going to do just yet. I still have one more Studebaker coming, so with just a little more luck it'll be blue and I won't need to get anything from the leftovers sale for the first time in...probably ever. I do still need a glossy black pinto Stagecoach Surprise, but I'm not really interested in taking that gamble for one model - the less extra stuff I have to sell right now, the better.

Well, that's all for today - tune in again tomorrow for the Stagecoach Surprise numbers and hopefully a resolution to the mystery of the last Studebaker! 

The final Limited Edition reveal and Flamingo!

 Good news, everyone - we have our final Breyerfest Limited Edition reveal! Say hello to Buggy! 

He's pretty, but very reminiscent of the blind bag Django from 2018. I feel like they could have been a little more creative with his color here, and the Buggy name honestly makes me think of bugs more than horse-drawn vehicles. Maybe Hansom instead? Then they could have made some sort of "Handsome" joke. Oh, I crack myself up. 

Anyway, Buggy is the online-only Stablemate Limited Edition, and they've said this is the last reveal for this year's Breyerfest. So there isn't going to be a single decorator Stablemate for the in-person store this year, I guess. Maybe the last few haven't been selling very well? Who knows.

Lots of people are wondering why we haven't seen an Old Timer among this year's offerings, and I have to wonder if he'll end up being a raffle model. It's not exactly set in stone that the raffle models be brand-new molds, so it's definitely a possibility. I was going to suggest that he could be the diorama contest prize (he'd be perfect for that, honestly) before I remembered that prize has been replaced with glossy Bravo 54 models - what a letdown. Anyway, let's hope they don't make us wait until July to see the raffle models (again), but I'm not holding my breath. 

In other news, my Flamingo unexpectedly arrived today! Last time I looked at the tracking, the delivery was estimated as happening tomorrow, so I was pleasantly surprised. Behold! 

What a beauty! She could stand to be a bit pinker, honestly, but she's not terrible.

Her dapples are nice and subtle, too. No chicken wire in this house! 

She isn't the worst thing I've ever seen, quality-wise, but has a lot of plastic goobers from a less-than-stellar cleanup job before being painted. A bit disappointing considering her price, but not horrible. 

That's all I have for today - keep in mind that Breyerfest tickets go on sale tomorrow! I'm hoping to snag a VIP ticket and then wait until later to buy the rest of my tickets - don't want to spend that much money all at once. Ciao! 

Anamar and new arrivals!

 Greetings, readers! Well, first off - just as yesterday brought the 2022 Stablemates Club to a close, today ushered in the conclusion to this year's Premier Club, as the final release (Anamar) is now available to purchase.

Fortunately, I haven't ordered my Stablemates Club horses yet, so I'll be able to bundle these together and hopefully save a bit on shipping. Don't forget that the free Stablemate, Giorgio, will be bundled with these guys as well. Can't wait to see mine! 

In other exciting news, my Merry & Bright orders arrived today, and luck was more-or-less on my side! I guess I couldn't hope to strike gold twice in a row after getting exactly what I wanted from the Halloween Stablemates, but this was good enough for me. Behold! 

Two out of three ain't bad! I was really dreading getting four Corbins here, so I'm really happy to get two of the three I wanted. And I've already secured a trade for the Twist, so that turned out really great! And my kids had great fun opening the bags.

These are both really nice in person - their paint jobs don't photograph very well due to the dark color and glossy finish, but in person they're really great. I especially like the Django, but I'm biased toward blue, so take that how you will. 

I had to include this photo because the reflection on his eye makes him look a bit surprised. "You mean I'm going straight into a storage unit after this? But it's cold in there!" Or something like that. 



Quality-wise, these guys were pretty good - one Django had some lint in the gloss on his butt, and the others had minor imperfections here and there, but nothing major. Luck of the draw, I guess. 

Also, my Poppy & Ollie sets finally shipped yesterday (if the tracking is to be believed), and are on schedule to show up...on Tuesday next week. Ugh! Let's hope they get here a little sooner - these guys weren't supposed to be delivered until tomorrow and unexpectedly showed up today, so maybe the same will happen with my mare and foal sets. I guess we'll see! Can't wait to see what colors I get! 

Poppy & Ollie, and new releases this week!

 Lots of exciting news to share today! Firstly: the final release of the 2022 Vintage Club, Poppy and Ollie, is now available to order for Vintage Club members. Remember that the free Stablemate for this year, Dandy, is bundled with this set. Woohoo! 

Secondly, this year's second Collector Club release, Chadwick, is finally being released on Wednesday at 12PM EST. Here's a pic to jog your memory! 

He's nothing I need, but that's okay. More for everyone else! 

And lastly, this year's holiday Stablemate blind bags (groan) have been revealed:

They're definitely pretty, and I need three of them! They're limited to two per order, so I'm just going to order three and be done with it. That's the number I'd buy if we were allowed to pick the ones we want. So let's hope I'm lucky again! These will be available TOMORROW at 12PM EST. I expect they'll sell out fast, so if you want them, don't waste any time ordering. And good luck! 

Official reveal of Kit, and new arrivals!

 More exciting news today, everyone - we have an official reveal of Kit, the final release in this year's Stablemates Club! 

Very nice, though I don't really think the mold resembles a Haflinger very much - looks more like some kind of draft to me. I kinda want to see one next to another Stablemates mold to see how they compare, size-wise. I do like him though, especially his head and neck. Can't wait for him to be released! Looks like Breyer hopes to release him in early December, along with the bonus Stablemate for this year (Helios), so their shipping must have gotten back on track - at least, for the Stablemates Club. I guess we'll see if that happens or not. 

In other exciting news, I had an exciting pony arrival day today! First up, my Deluxe Stablemates Club model, Ellington:

What a handsome boy.

Very few flaws to speak of too, which was nice. He does have a spot on his belly that looks...overly red, for lack of a better description:

But he's still a pretty nice model, and I was happy to see he came in the satin bag again like usual. I wish the Stablemates Club would go back to those, honestly. 

Next, my Kalahari arrived today as well! 

Certainly a striking paint job! 

He leaves a bit to be desired in the quality department, however:

He's got something weird going on with the paint on his butt just above the flipped part of the tail, and the tail itself is a little weird where it attaches to the model. 

His left front hoof seems oddly sunken all the way around, and since my other Marwari models are in storage, I can't compare models to see if they're all like that. I feel like I would have noticed it if they were? But maybe not. 

He's also got some eye-colored paint underneath his eye and numerous small flaws in other places, but honestly...I've seen worse ones on Facebook, including one where the tail wasn't even attached to the hindquarters, so I guess I'll just put this one in storage with the others and be done with it. 

I also got my second Atli today and it was another chestnut, which is looking like the least desirable color (and hardest to trade), so the less said about that, the better.

So it was a pretty good mail day overall - let's hope we get some more fun reveals tomorrow! 

2022 Collector Club and Deluxe Collector Club signups are open!

 Well well, I guess it's that time of the year again...club renewals! 

Looks like next year's Collector Club special run is this beauty, Honeybear! 

What a handsome guy! I almost wish he was glossy, but that might set the hobby on fire even worse than the Lafayette situation, so I'll hold back and just hope I can buy one next year. Gotta keep that Georg conga complete! 

And check out the Stablemate for the 2022 Deluxe Collector Club, Ellington:

I may have uttered a few expletives when I saw this one, because I was hoping next year's Deluxe Club would have a Stablemate I wouldn't need to buy. Nope, guess not. It's funny that the Django mold was released 5 years ago and we still don't have him in solid black. Maybe someday! 

Anyways, I'll be joining the Deluxe club again next year - let's hope the shipping snafus resolve themselves eventually. Can't wait to see both of these models in person! 

Hendrik is here, and True Blue Breyer selections!

 Greetings, readers! First off, my Hendrik has arrived - behold! 

He's gorgeous! Definitely one of the best releases they've done on this mold so far (I realize that isn't saying much, since he hasn't been used all that often). 

I've seen a lot of examples of bad dappling on this run, but fortunately this guy's are nice and subtle. 

I love his little star! I don't remember if that was visible in the promo photos.

I was a bit afraid to take him out of his wrappings, honestly- it sounds like this run has had a lot of quality issues. I saw one on Facebook that looked like the forelock masking had almost completely missed his actual forelock - ugh. Fortunately it's more-or-less lined up on mine. He does have a couple bits of lint in the gloss, and the masking isn't perfectly lined up on the bottom of his mane, but considering some of the ones I've seen on Facebook, I think he looks pretty darn nice. Huzzah! 

Also, the selections for the True Blue Breyer collector event went out today, and...I wasn't picked, again. I'm trying not to be too disappointed about it, but...I'm still disappointed. It's a virtual event, they didn't need to limit themselves to 200 or 400 or 600 tickets I'm sure there'll be more in the future that I'll get to be part of. Maybe I'll get drawn from the wait list? I hope so. In the meantime, congratulations to everyone that did get drawn! 

The early bird gets the Hendrik!

 Good news, everyone! The next Stablemates Club release is here, and - brace yourselves - he's actually early! Huzzah! 

I can't wait to add this beauty to my herd! Check him out here. 

Edit: Apparently I can't read, and his name is actually Hendrick, not Henrik. Carry on...

Oh boy!

 Wow! After today's reveal, I'd be racing to join next year's SMC if I hadn't already! Check this guy out! 

Say hello to the amazing Henrik! He's a beautiful glossy palomino on the Django mold! This guy is spectacular. I can't wait to add him to my collection! Okay, I'll stop gushing about him now. If you haven't signed up for the 2021 SMC yet, it's not too late - the deadline is 12/31 at 11:59pm.