Zion and Moab are here!

Okay, I confess - they got here a few days ago, but I had other things to blog about. So, here they are!

 

I was a little worried about what they'd be like, quality-wise. I'd been hearing a lot of bad things about the mares - namely, that the seams were really bad on some of them, and others were poorly painted.

 

My two aren't too terrible in the paint department - Zion has a smudged spot on her neck, a tiny eartip rub and a couple of other minor issues, and Moab doesn't have any issues at all that I can see, not even with the seams. Which lines up with what I'd been hearing - the mares are messed up, but not the foals.

 

Sorry for the naughty bits in that picture. My Zion is pretty okay, seam-wise, but she does have that very visible seam where the tail joins the body and another right next to the vulva. The factory workers in charge of sanding the seams must have been asleep at the wheel or something, because they're kind of...really noticeable.

 

They do have nice color, though, and I like that the mare is even browner than the set I saw in the Collector Club tent at Breyerfest. Much better than the grayish color in the promo photos. I did notice one odd thing with their eyes, though...

 

...namely, that Moab's eyes are much more detailed than Zion's. The foal gets eyewhites and blue eyes, and all the mare gets are sloppily-painted black blobs with eyewhites? That's weird. You'd think the mare would have some type of eye color too, but evidently not. I almost wonder if the mares were painted in one factory, and the foals in another (I believe Breyer has two factories in China).

But like I said earlier, their paint jobs aren't bad at all - it's just that someone dropped the ball with the seams on the mare. Let's hope that doesn't become a trend!

All in all, I really liked the releases in this series and I hope Breyer continues with it, if only because I really want a glossy alabaster Weather Girl. I think Sommer has done a really good job designing these, and I can't wait to see what comes up next!

Zion and Moab!

Whoa, that was fast! Zion and Moab are already on the website!





 From the website:

In southern Utah, there is a fantasy land of strange and wonderful places, winding slot canyons, towers of rocks that stand like sentinels of the desert. High sandstone cliffs ripple with color. Hot desert sun reflects off rocks, while cool canyons offer relief. These magnificent parks are a delight to hikers and adventurers from around the globe. This rich western landscape inspired Zion and Moab, a striking bay dun overo mare and foal. The gentle nuzzling mare and her newborn have distinctive dun striping, wild pinto patterns, and the baby sports blue eyes. The mare is marked with Zion and Moab on her belly in gold.

 The colors are interesting, for sure. They're a very attractive set - I hope I get drawn for them! I wonder if they'll be metallic at all? Here's a quick photo I took of the set they had at Breyerfest:

 

It could be the lighting, but they look a bit redder there than in the promo photo. I hope they're closer to that color, honestly - I think it looks better. Good thing my room sales went so well this year, because their price is $195. Seems fair, since we're getting two models instead of one. Good luck to everyone entering for this pair - I have a feeling they'll be popular!

Featured Model - 1/21/2017, Impressionistic Page

Hello, readers! Welcome to yet another installment 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...Impressionistic Page!

 

This little guy is one half of the Decoupage/Impressionistic Page Connoisseur set, item #90128 - a run of 350 released in 2004. They were issued on the popular Susecion and Le Fire molds, sculpted by Kathleen Moody.

Some people give Le Fire flak for his mule-like ears (and I've seen at least one custom turn him into a mule baby based on those ears), but I like them. They give him some personality. As to his color, I think he's supposed to be bay, so I sort of wish his lower legs were a little blacker - although I don't know that much about foal colors other than their tendency to be born one color, then shed into another color. It's not that much of an issue, anyways. His paintjob is quite nice, as Conns from that era usually are.

More interesting about this mold is his rough coat, meant to represent a wet, newborn coat. I don't think Kathleen has done any other rough-coat models for Breyer, and we don't generally see a lot of rough coats in general, either. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Breyer issue some type of Bashkir Curly-type mold - as long as it was a Moody, of course.

But, back to the mold(s) being discussed. I always wonder why Breyer doesn't use these molds more often, given their popularity among collectors (and resulting high prices on the secondary market). A new RR set would probably sell quite well, at least for the first few years - especially to customizers looking for affordable bodies. It's probably economical in nature - I don't know what the original Susecion/Le Fire's sale price was, but right now the new Andalusian Mare and Foal set (Fantasia Del C and Gozosa) are retailing for around $50 - not much more than your average new regular run Traditional model. When those molds debuted in the Premier Club in 2015, their price was the same ($175) as any of the other Premier Club releases thus far, meaning we essentially got the Corazon mold for free. If Breyer can't expect to do much more than give the foal part of the set away for free with the mare, it might explain why they don't use the molds very often.

On the other side of that coin, though, it's not like they haven't released numerous mare/foal sets in the past, and the GG Valentine and Heartbreaker set were in the regular run lineup for quite a few years (Are they still being produced? I'm not sure).

Whatever the reason for their relative disuse, I hope Susecion and Le Fire get to come out to play again soon. It would be nice to see them as this year's holiday mare and foal set, although that doesn't seem likely with the FAM/FAF right there (not that I'd complain either way). Come on, Breyer, throw us a frickin' bone here!

More new arrivals!

The Bravo I managed to snag from the early Black Friday sale is here!



I was a bit nervous that my order would be canceled, so I didn't want to say anything until he showed up. Yes, I took off the blue ribbon sticker; it would have eventually peeled off his glossy finish anyway, and I'm not really into stickers on models. He's really nice quality, though - I didn't see anything warranting a return. Yay!

Another recent arrival is the one splurge I allowed myself after selling Dixon (the rest of that money went to pay down my credit card):



One of my goals this year was to increase the number of Susecion/Le Fire sets in my collection, and I'd say that's been a success so far. I had two sets at the start of the year; now I have seven. I'll have to start thinking about what next year's goals are going to be! In the meantime, the Susecions and Le Fires will always have a place on my shelves.

I'm still waiting to hear when Yasmin will be available for purchase...I would really hope it's this week, since Breyer appears to have missed their "November" goal. Hurry up and release her already!