Freshly Baked!

 Good news, everyone! The Freshly Baked Stablemates are out of the oven and ready to fly into your mouths mailboxes! Behold: 

The four colors are: Linzer Cookie (G4 Arabian), Crinkle Cookie (mini Georg), Peppermint Bark (G2 Saddlebred) and Gingerbread (G3 Mustang). I ordered two of them, because I want the Georg and the Saddlebred. Hey, I may be slightly irritated that they used molds I collect, but at the same time, at least they didn't use tired molds like the G2 Clydesdale, Alborozo, Magnolia, etc. 

Seems like most people only want the mini Georg, so I'm wondering if I'll be able to trade for it if I don't get him. Pondering going back and ordering more of them...

FINALLY!

 The big reveal is finally upon us, readers- this year's Best of Breyerfest Stablemates set! Here it is in all its glory: 

From the blog: 

Schumacher (mold 5625) has been inspired by Senna, 2016's Open Show Grand Champion Prize Model, in a flashy red dun blanket. Named after Michael Schumacher, one of the most successful Formula One Drivers in the world.

Linzer (mold 5746) has been inspired by Brigadeiros, 2016’s Open Show Reserve Champion Prize Model, in an eye-catching bay tobiano. Linzers are a popular cookie found throughout Germany, filled with different jams and preserves.

Müller (mold 5745) has been inspired by Pele, 2016’s BreyerFestCarnavalesco Challenge Diorama Contest Prize, in a stunning glossy dappled bay.  Named after Thomas Müller, a German Soccer Player, who plays for both Germany’s National Team and state team Bayern Munich.  

Radler (mold 5735) has been inspired by Caipirinha, 2016’s volunteer model, in a beautiful dappled rose grey. A Radler is a Bavarian drink which is a mixture of light beer and sparkling lemonade.

Maifeld (mold 5629) has been inspired by Polomar, 2016’s Early Bird Raffle, in a light bay leopard appaloosa. Named after the Maifeld Cup, which has become one of the most popular and prestigious polo events in Europe.

So that's another set I'll have to get my hands on! I only want the Radler (though his color doesn't quite match his Trad counterpart) and Maifeld, though - they seem to have a knack for mostly picking molds I don't collect for these things. That Croi is really pretty though, and this is (I think) only the second time we're seeing the mini Prince Charming in a realistic color. That said, my only nitpick for this is the color for Maifeld - similar colors on the G3 Cantering Warmblood have been done several times before, and since he's not glossy he just looks kind of blah. Why would you pick something that looks like a $4 RR when they could have easily done a mini Cinza instead? Mind-boggling. I hope he at least has detailed eyes. 

Sounds like tickets (or at least, more information about them) might be revealed on Monday! I think we only have the crystal model left to be revealed (aside from prize and raffle models), so I'm excited to see what that is as well. Happy weeekend, everyone! 

Spirit Series 2 Blind Bags are here!

Greetings, readers! My Spirit Series 2 blind bag assortment finally arrived, and I'm excited to share photos of them!

Collectors had been assured that these boxes would contain one of each model, like last year's assortment, but it seems that assumption was incorrect, as some of the boxes going out have contained 0 chase models and have had varying degrees of duplicate models inside them instead. Somehow I was lucky enough to get a complete box, however. Behold!

I had been dreading the box's arrival, because I only needed four of these guys for my own collection, and I was pretty sure I was going to end up only getting multiples of the models I didn't want. So I was pleasantly surprised!

The standout models in this box were (in my opinion) the chase piece (duh), the pearly perlino Andalusian and the dapple gray G4 Driving Horse. Here's a closeup of the chase piece:

I've never watched the Spirit Riding Free show, but apparently those warpaint markings are from an episode of the show. Obviously all or most of them had to be done using decals, but some of them didn't get put on quite right and the edges of them are visible. The model also had some significant rubs on his nose and nostrils, which was disappointing.

Next: the Andalusian!

I may have mentioned my love for pearly finishes a time or two before, but this guy is really nice. Almost nice enough to forgive those Groucho Marx eyebrows! I know these models are based on characters from a TV show, so I try not to complain about the eyebrows too much, but they make this one look pretty ridiculous. I know, I know; they added eyebrows to the horses to make the eyes more expressive, but part of me just wishes they could have toned it down a bit for this model. Maybe if they'd used light-brown eyebrow paint instead of black? That might have helped.

Next: the G4 Driving Horse!

I'm not much of a fan of this mold, but this color looks really nice on him. I love how soft his dapples are! I'd personally like to see a dark mane and tail to go with his legs; I don't think I've ever seen a dapple gray horse that didn't have the dark mane and tail to go along with the legs. Oh well.

And I want to write about the G3 Cantering Warmblood as well:



I wish they'd quit using these weird, unrealistic pinto patterns, but I suppose that's probably the TV show's failing rather than Breyer's. Clearly whoever designed the horses' colors should have done some more research.

That's all I've got for right now. On a side note, it's now April (you probably noticed that already), which means the next Stablemate Club release should be out anytime! I'm hoping for the gray Brishen, but it shouldn't be too long until we find out!

Kohana is here!

My Kohana arrived last week, but I just haven't had the time to talk about him yet. Observe!

I guess it's true what they say: anything is adorable in miniature! Look at the cute little box! And I really like that color on the G3 Mustang. He's already been sold, though, so I'll just have to bide my time until the mini Brishen comes out.

The lack of detail on the feathers is a little weird, considering the lengths they went to to give him mapping and a blue eye, plus the roaning in his coat. They're basically just feather-shaped blobs.

Other than the feathers, I didn't see anything majorly bad quality-wise, although I didn't take the model out of his little box due to it being a sales piece. I'll leave that to the new owner.

And check out the back of the box!

An actual photo of this year's new mold! We'd only seen a silhouette before, I think. I'm not sure I like it...it just looks weird. Maybe once we see it with paint? I wonder if it'll look like that gray horse on the box? I wonder how long we'll have to wait before we see it. I guess that's the tradeoff for being able to see all of the molds in advance. Definitely a tradeoff I'll happily take, since it meant I only needed one club membership this year. 

Kohana is now available!

Good news, everyone! The first Stablemate Club release of the year, Kohana, is finally available!



I'm surprised they didn't make us wait until the payment deadline for Kaibab was over to pay for this one (congrats to everyone who was drawn for him, by the way).

Kohana's color is nice, and I like that they mapped his markings, but the mold just doesn't appeal to me (I think he looks like he just had a stroke and is about to fall over dead). So, mine will be up for sale. Can't wait for that dapple gray mini-Brishen, though!

2018 Stablemate Club update!

So Breyer sent out an email today to all the foot-draggers out there - I wonder if they aren't getting as many signups as they want for next year's Stablemate Club. Here's the latest reveal!

His name is Raleigh! And he's glossy! Mine will be up for sale, sadly, as I don't collect any of the G1 molds (too blobby for me). But if you're a G1 collector, this guy is for you!

And here's another photo of Kohana, the first release in next year's club.



He's nice, but nothing I need - to me, that mold looks like it just had a stroke and it's about to crash onto the ground or something. But I'm glad they're showing us this many releases in advance - makes it easy to figure out how many memberships I need to buy!

The 2018 Stablemate Club is now open for signups!

 Like the title says, the 2018 Stablemate Club is now open for business! And we get to see another of the models!



From the website:

The 2018 Stablemates Collector's Club begins with Kohana, a stunning bay roan Mustang! Designed by talented Australian customizer Franceyn Dare, Kohana has MAPPED overo pinto markings and Indian feathers in his mane!

Interesting that they're not starting with the G1, but I suppose they have to mix things up sometime. I'm more impressed that they managed to pull off mapping on a Stablemate! Too bad I don't collect the G3 Mustang.

As for the other releases, I think it's safe to assume those silhouettes are in fact the other molds that will be used next year, as they showed up on the promotional banner:

 

Which means I only need one membership next year, as I only collect the mini Brishen and possibly the new mold (if it isn't too weird-looking). Which begs the question, why haven't we seen the new mold yet? I suppose they'll show it later to drive more last-minute signups. I can't wait to see what the new mold looks like!