New Arrivals: Mini Nazruddin, Mini Brass Hat, Mini All Glory and Sarge!

This post marks the last of the New Arrivals! Whew, that took longer than I expected. Well, on with the show; let's take a look at Mini Nazruddin!



I was excited to see Darley get used for something, after his lukewarm reception at the end of last year. He looks good as a Marwari - or as close to one as Breyer can get without actually bending his ears (at least, to my eyes). He even has a bit of a semigloss look going on! I don't think the Trad Nazruddin had that, but it's a nice touch on this guy - and he has eyewhites, instead of the black splotches on Pecos. Interesting how each model differs in execution.

Next, here's the mini Brass Hat!



I'd thought the mini Brass Hat models would have that hint of blue interference in the paint the way the Trads did, considering Breyer's attention to detail with these mini-mes, but I guess it wasn't to be. He looks nice, though - but the mold looks like it could stand to be a tiny bit bigger. He's a bit smaller than other Stablemates molds, proportion-wise - or maybe it just looks like he is, since he has so much more detail than the older Stablemates like the G2s. Either way, though, he looks nice in bay!

Next, let's take a look at Mini All Glory!



See what I mean? The G2 Morgan looks positively blobby compared to mini Brass Hat. I don't know what Breyer is doing to make their new molds so small (trying to save on plastic?) but it's getting more and more noticeable. Mini All Glory looks good, though; I don't have the Trad version of him, though, so I can't really compare the two.

Lastly, here's Sarge!



Sorry for the blurry photo yet again. Now, there have been reports that some of the Sarges had unicorn horns, but I'm sad to say mine wasn't one of the horned ones. We haven't heard anything from Breyer as to how many unicorn Sarges there are; maybe someone could ask Stephanie about it next year. I'm sure it probably happened on purpose, but maybe not - wouldn't they have announced the quantity of the unicorns if that were the case? Oh well. He does look good in color-shift paint, if a bit similar to the blue unicorn chase piece at first glance. Maybe someday I'll find one at our local Cracker Barrel so I can do a comparison!

So, those are all my new additions from this year's Breyerfest. Not pictured: Nobel II, Koh-i-Noor, the copper chase Django, glossy Mr. Chips and a customized nail polish Stablemate Alborozo. That's a lot of new models! And I have to figure out how I'm going to fit them all on my shelves...just as soon as I can get my photo tent set back up so I can photograph them all. I had to move it to clear some space in the house and it's currently buried under a bunch of empty boxes I haven't gotten rid of yet. Someday I'll get that set up! In the meantime, I'll go back to waiting for Hamilton, and the next Stablemate Club release, and whatever else Breyer has cooked up for us...

THE PROGRAM IS OUT! AHHHHH!

Holy crap, I am SO excited right now! The Breyerfest program is available to view, and I just got the most incredible surprise when I looked through it! They're making a 10-piece Stablemate set of all the Celebration Horses since 2010, to continue on from the 2009 set! I can't believe they're actually doing it! They'll be in the Hero's Salute Shop!

So, I'm pretty sure Breyer's intention was to have this song going through my head while I stared at these models in the program (language warning).



So, let's take a closer look at the photo. Here they are:

1. Pecos (2011) on the Mirado mold
2. Brass Hat (2018) on the new Walking Thoroughbred/Greyson mold
3. Oliver on the G4 Driving Horse mold
4. Simba (2015) on...I can't tell what mold that is
5. Gooitzen fan Teakesyl (2014) on...I think Django? I wonder if he's glossy.
6. Imperador das Aguas (2016) on the G2 Paso Fino mold
7. Smart and Shiney (2013) on the G4 Reiner mold
8. Nazruddin (2017) on the Darley (!) mold
9. All Glory (2010) on the G2 Morgan, I think?
10. Mariah's Boon (2012) on the Tushar mold

I am completely blown away - I don't think I've ever been this excited about a Breyerfest release in my life! Kill me now...or at least let me be first in line to buy one on Friday! Fortunately, it looks like they're making 2000 sets, so I don't have to be desperately clawing my way to the front of the line to get one. Not that I would, or anything...

Ack! Now I'm more excited for Breyerfest than I was before! Friday the 12th can't come soon enough!

There are also several never-before-seen auction models in the program! Behold - there's a rainbow Croi with gold mapping!

And a red bay PAM!



And a star dapple rose gray braided Bristol!

And a silver dapple bay pinto Lonesome Glory!

And a glossy dapple liver chestnut Show Jumping Warmblood with Croi tail!

And lastly, a pearly cremello Totilas!



Wow, that Bristol is to die for! And the Croi - that knocks her out as the surprise or the volunteer model. I'm not sure I like the Croi tail on the SJW, but his color is really nice. Wait, another liver chestnut? That makes three now. Is liver chestnut going to be the color of choice for Breyer's regular run line next year? Sheesh! Well, anyway, I can't wait to see these models in person IN THREE WEEKS! AAHHH!

Featured Model - 10/27/2018, Mini Merry Widow

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. Since Halloween is fast-approaching, this week's model is...Mini Merry Widow!




This cute little guy was released in 2005 on the G2 Morgan mold sculpted by Kathleen Moody. He's item #5917 and was part of the first Spooky Stablemates collection. These sets featured Stablemates painted like mini versions of previous Traditional Halloween releases. As his name suggest, Mini Merry Widow (or Merry Widower, as I call him) is a mini-me of the original Merry Widow.

The model is definitely one of my favorite Halloween Stablemates; just look at him! His masking is so intricate for such a small model, and I love the tinge of green in his color. I've always liked the G2 Morgan anyway - I love his sweeping tail and his prancy pose. I hope he shows up in next year's Stablemate Club.

As for the mini-me models, I love it when Breyer does things like this. I wish they'd do Stablemate versions of Traditional releases more often. How cool would it be if we got a whole line of mini Premier models, instead of one a year? Or miniature Holiday Horses, for that matter.

While he probably won't be a mini-me of anything, I think this mold has a fairly good chance of appearing in next year's Stablemate Club. He hasn't been used for much lately other than random regular runs, and he last appeared at Breyerfest in 2014. So, I'm hoping he shows up in next year's SMC - maybe even as the gambler's choice! Fortunately, we won't have to wait too much longer to find out. Let's hope the reveal is soon!

Featured Model - 3/25/2017, Mini Mosaic

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...Mini Mosaic, on the G2 Morgan!

 

This model comes from the 2006 JAH Miniature Connoisseur Collection, item #701706, which contained miniature versions of Mosaic, Appropos, Third Time's A Charm, Quarterflash and Masquerade. 3000 sets were produced, but must have been a bit of a flop at the time, because I remember ordering one from Breyer's old Shopatron website back in 2010 or 2011. A far cry from the JAH specials of old, which usually sold out before any order I tried to make even made it back to Breyer headquarters. Ah, well.

I always liked this set because of how much detail they all had for such tiny models - eyewhites, irises, hoof details, etc. And the thing I like most about this particular mold was his tail - not terribly realistic, but it appeals to me a lot for some reason. He's so prancy and full of attitude!

He does make a good approximation of a miniature Mosaic, aside from his lack of mapping (that would have been truly impressive). Although bay isn't usually my favorite horse color, there's enough red in it here to make me really like him (if only he'd been a blood bay!).

Despite the fact that I like this mold, I don't actually have that many examples of it - less than 10, truth be told. For comparison, I'm a little more ambivalent about the G3 Cantering Warmblood, but somehow have 16 of them. I went quite a few years without really expanding my Stablemate collection much, though - I think there were so many I needed that I just didn't really want to get involved with it other than buying the occasional Breyerfest Stablemate.

That changed last year, though, when I finally got my hands on some of the old JCP Parade of Breeds sets I needed. One thing led to another and then my Stablemate collection increased by a good 50 models, if not more. Gah! The little shelf I display them on is nearly full - I'm going to have to find another one if this keeps up. Hopefully I can find some more G2 Morgans - I still have a little room for them. I hope they use this mold in this year's Stablemate Club!