2027 Clubs!

 Exciting news, everyone! The 2027 Deluxe Collector Club (and regular Collector Club) are now open for memberships! Check out the Deluxe Stablemate! 

Just like the accidental leak from a few weeks ago said, his name is Petrichor and we can choose whether he has wings or not! I'm so glad we can choose instead of being stuck with a gambler's choice again. I definitely need both of them! 

Tip: when joining the club, make sure you select "Horse" or "Pegasus" (right above the "add to cart" button) before you add it to the cart. 

And check out this British Spotted Pony (named Felicity) for the Collector Club! Presumably she'll be the spring Collector Club model. 

She's so pretty! Looks like I'll have to get her too. 

And, here's a preview of a Premier Club release for next year, from the Collector Club join page! 

At a glance he looks like an Arabian, because of the pose and the way his hair is arranged, but if he is an Arabian he must be some kind of cross, because he doesn't look like a pure Arabian. Either way, I want him too! Very pretty. His name is Fresco. Looks like 2027 is going to be an expensive year for me...

Woohoo!

 Good news, everyone! My Halloween blind bags have arrived! I was hoping to get the mini Thriller and mini EEK, so behold! 

Woohoo, my luck does still exist! I got both of the ones I wanted. 

I love the mini Thriller! His design matches up to the full-size one so well. Too bad I didn't get a photo of them together. 

I like the mini EEK as well, although the nitpicky side of me noticed there's not a whole lot of differentiation between the thorax and abdomen on the spider silhouettes. They're kinda mushed together. 

Many of the spiders on the original EEK have the same problem though, so at least they're consistent. 

Quality-wise, these guys are both pretty nice! I can't wait to get them on the shelves with their full-size compatriots. 

Breyerfest 2023 Single-Day Stablemates Revealed!

 Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone had a good holiday season. As promised last week, the single-day Stablemates for this year's Breyerfest were revealed today! First, here's Wheeler:

What a nice color for Kit! Looking forward to seeing this one in person. Next, here's Teamster:

Nice color on the Corbin as well! Next, here's Navigator:

Also a nice color on the G2 Saddlebred, though she seems slightly out of place for some reason. Saddlebreds can drive, though, so she really shouldn't feel out of place. Guess I don't know why. Anyway, here's Whip! 

Wow, I think I know which one of these is going to be the most popular! I might have to buy a VIP ticket just so I can be guaranteed to get one. Oh, let's face it, I'll probably buy a VIP ticket anyway - it's just too handy to be able to be guaranteed two special runs I want. Uh, unless I end up not wanting any of the special runs this year, but that...isn't likely. 

Anyway, these are all really nice reveals and they make me excited for Breyerfest! Also, this means we'll probably have a lot of reveals this month, since tickets go on sale in February. I can't wait to see what else they've got for us this year! 

More blind bags. Yay.

 Well, you’d think after my angry rant last year, I wouldn’t fall for the blind bag garbage again, but then these happened. Ugh, more blind bags. And they’re way too expensive for those paint jobs!

But, I ordered two of them, because I have to have the Darwin and Brishen (he’ll go really well with my Aspen!). At least they qualify for free shipping if you get two of them, though I was mildly irked that they don’t also qualify for the Collector Club discount like the Halloween Stablemates did. Oh well.

I’m still deliberating about ordering more of them to increase my odds of getting the ones I want, but I don’t know if I will. If we want the blind bags to go away, we’ve gotta stop buying them, but it’s hard not to buy! Bleh.

Anyway, here's a picture of the dumb things. Hopefully I get the ones I want! Good luck to everyone who orders! And Breyer, take a hint and quit doing these! 

Walmart Stablemates finally found!

 Greetings, readers! I can't remember if I ever uploaded photos of these Walmart Stablemates from a few months back, but I finally found them at one of our local Walmarts, so here they are! To start with, the liver chestnut mini Brishen: 

He certainly is handsome! Next, here's the palomino Mirado: 

Mirado definitely looks good in palomino. 

There's also a pinto G4 Driving Horse, but I didn't buy one. Not sure why I didn't just take a photo of an actual one in its package while I was still at the store, but whatever.

I think there are still more carded Stablemates showing up in Walmarts now, but I can't remember what they are at the moment...so I guess I'll have to keep haunting the local stores in case I can find them, along with the new series of blind bags. Stay tuned! 

70th Anniversary Stablemates!

Good news, everyone - my 70th Anniversary Stablemates came today! I only bought two of them, secondhand, so there aren't any exciting chase reveals. But I'm still excited to show them - behold!



Starting with the mini Emma - isn't she a cutie? I love how tiny they made her!

She even has tiny eyewhites! I'm excited to see what they do with her next! She's a good match for Black-Eyed Susan, too.

Next and last, the Brishen!

There's been quite a bit of variation with the manes and tails on these, and I was pleased to get one with a darker mane and tail. Although he's not really a 1:1 match with Solar, is he? I forgot Solar has some belly spots and a funky blaze. I guess that's what happens when you convert the paint job to a $4 Stablemate.



Silver bay still looks great in miniature, though! He's a pretty one. Now if I can get my hot little hands on a platinum one...

Blind bag chase models are revealed!

Well, here's a couple of new tidbits amid this inexplicable dearth of news: The chase pieces for the 70th Anniversary blind bags have been revealed! While nothing has been confirmed so far, it appears that the regular chase model is a chrome/platinum Mini Brishen, and the super-chase is a blue/yellow filigree on the mini Indian Pony. So at least I don't need the super-chase - whew! Prices are already ridiculous on the platinum Mini Brishen, but hopefully that calms down in the coming months so I can add one to my collection! I don't have photos of either of them yet, but they'll be posted as soon as I can find some!

New Arrivals: Toe Tapper, Arya, Mini Pecos and Andante

Getting back to the New Arrivals, let's take a look at Toe Tapper!



This cute little guy is a good match for his Trad-size counterpart! I still think his color was a little too on-the-nose, but I'm not going to complain too much - it's not like the color patterns on raffle models get reused very often.

Next, here's Arya!



 Sorry for the poor photo (again). Was I the only one that was annoyed they used a Game of Thrones name for this model, or is it just me? Maybe I'm still bitter about season 8. That's probably it. Anyway, mini Areia is also a nice representation of the Trad counterpart, though he was male and I don't think he had a pearly mane and tail. I do like this new mold more than I thought I would, though! And I bought the Paint-Your-Own Unicorn version with my Dazzle and Razzle, so now I have the blank version in my collection as well. I'm looking forward to seeing what else they do with her in the future!

Next, here's Mini Pecos:



It's good to see the poor Mirado mold getting some more love this year. He'd languished unused since his initial 2017 release, but now he's gotten two new releases in the same year! Three, if you count both the matte and glossy versions of Fiero. I really like him as Pecos, too! It's hard to go wrong with a pearly mostly-white horse, though. I just wish his eyes had been done better - they're just black splotches. Oh well.

Lastly, let's take a look at Andante!



This guy was a hot commodity - I feel like I should probably feel lucky I even got my hands on it. Reports conflicted on how quickly these guys sold out, but I made sure to pick up my set as early as I could on Friday (it's easier to get the ones you want if you go for all four). I was able to resell Chiffon almost immediately, so it was a win-win situation! And I'm not terribly likely to ever own the prize model this guy is based on, so I'm glad I was able to get him. He's very pretty! He'll look good on the shelf next to my Darwin - though I'll admit I'll be glad when they release this mold in an actual Lipizzaner color. Maybe we'll get some new RR Stablemates next year? I hope so - as long as this one isn't the chase piece. I'm totally over the blind bags!

That's all I have for today. I'm almost done with New Arrivals post - only one more left to go! Hopefully I can get that out on Sunday!

Too Obvious, and Beau

The second single-day Stablemate has been revealed, and it's Toe Tapper!



Now, don't get me wrong; Boot Scootin Boogie has a beautiful paint job. But I didn't want to speculate that they'd use his color on the Brishen mold's mini doppelganger, because it was just too obvious, and Breyer doesn't usually do obvious. They must not have been able to resist, and it's not like they've ever done this before - we haven't seen the Mini Alborozo or Mini Magnolia released in the same colors as their Trad counterparts yet.

That said, I'll definitely be trying to get my hands on this guy - and the way things are going, I might just break down and buy four single-day tickets so I can get the ones I want. It's not like it'll be hard to sell the Magnolia, anyway, and every time I look at that new warmblood mold I want it a little more.

In other news, we've finally found out the results of the My Strongest Suit vote from Breyerfest last year! Check out Beau!



So the dapple gray prevailed after all - and he's being released in the loose and braided versions! Ugh, that braided one looks really nice...but I can't start another conga! I just can't!

Like the rest of the world, I'm wondering why Breyer is releasing yet another product when it seems they have yet to straighten out the trainwreck that is their warehouse move, but I guess I'm not the one in charge of produced releases over there. Hopefully they get things fixed soon!

I wonder what'll happen to the other three tests of this guy? I bet at least one of them will be in this year's silent auction. I guess we'll find out soon!

Single-Day Stablemate molds are revealed!

A bit late to the party here, but our Single-Day Stablemate molds have been revealed on the blog. Of course, I just put out my single-day predictions not that long ago, so now I look like a chump for getting them all wrong! But, I digress. Here are the molds!










Those are Darwin, Mini Brishen, Magnolia and the new Warmblood Stallion mold, currently only appearing as a Unicorn Paint-Your-Own. You know, at first I wasn't really into him, but he's starting to grow on me for some reason.

So, yes, I got all four of the Single-Day molds wrong, but I figured Magnolia would show up somewhere, so at least I didn't completely strike out. So I'll need to get my hands on the Darwin, Brishen and possibly the Warmblood Stallion, if he keeps growing on me. According to the blog, we'll find out the colors next week. I still feel like they're going to be decorators, but I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Virgil is here!

Hello, readers! In lieu of anything else to post about, my Virgil finally arrived yesterday! After a trip to our old apartment building to pick him up (the box didn't get forwarded to our house for some reason), here he is!



He's so pretty! Look at his cute little horn. He really works well as a unicorn - now if only Breyer would come out with a full-size companion for him!

I'm not sure if Breyer was going for a glossy finish with this guy or not - his show side is more semigloss, but his off side definitely looks glossy.



Quality-wise, he's...okay. There's a weird line at the top of his shoulder in the above photo that almost looks like a failed attempt at marbling. He doesn't seem to have it anywhere else except in a spot at the base of his mane on the other side of his neck, so I'm not sure what happened there.



He also sheds glitter from his glittery areas, oddly enough. I was surprised by that because usually Breyer seals that stuff on there pretty well. Maybe it's different for their Christmas ornaments.

 He's still cute from a distance, though! Only a few more weeks until I can hang him on our Christmas tree!

Also, I'm a little perplexed about his name. It's not really the name I would give a mystical unicorn. I think maybe Jasper and Virgil should have had their names switched. Wikipedia says jasper can be blue (rarely), and that almost fits this guy! Maybe I'll just call this guy Jasper in my head.

Sapporo is here!

Good news, everyone! My Sapporo finally came, and I had some time today to snap some quick pictures of him. Behold!

He's definitely a pretty guy. He's not that blue-tinted in person - it's been a cloudy, rainy day here today. But I guess that fits with the inspiration for his name!

This photo is more true to his color. I can't get over how much of a mini-me to Brishen he is! They did a really good job shrinking him down. The crotchety traditionalist inside me is still grumbling about the whole situation, though. Get off my lawn, and all that.

I didn't see much wrong with him quality-wise, though I didn't look at him that closely before or after I dropped him behind our couch, so I don't know if he has damage from that or not. He was really loosely tied into his box, though, similar to the Aiden situation. So I'd still rather see the satin bags.

He did have this weird half-dorsal-stripe I've been seeing on other people's models, so I'm wondering what's up with that.



He's definitely a beauty, though - too bad he's the only Stablemate Club release I'm going to keep this year, unless I really like the Arab at the end!

So many exciting things happening!

I'm woefully behind on the news lately! Firstly, in yesterday's excitement I didn't get a chance to post about the Breyerfest 2018 crystal being revealed. Meet Home Straight!



Bwuh? It's a crystal of the Sarah Rose Hambletonian resin! But I want this guy to be released in plastic! Wahhhh!

Also, as impressive as the crystal horses have become in recent years, this one kinda seems like a step backward in quality. Last year's Bobby Jo crystal was practically indistinguishable from the plastic sculpt, so I have to say I'm not terribly impressed by Home Straight. I don't collect the crystals anyway, though, so my opinion probably doesn't matter all that much. I'm hopeful that this means we'll eventually get Hambletonian in plastic, though!

In other exciting news, the latest entry in the 2018 Stablemate Club is available for purchase! Say hello to Sapporo!



Kind of an odd name there, but the description says he's inspired by "cool, snowy mountains," and Sapporo, Japan hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, so there's that. This is the only release from this year's club that I actually want, so I couldn't hit the order button fast enough!

Lastly, the selections for the Scottsdale Stampede were released today. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like my husband or I were drawn, but I'm hopeful that we'll get pulled from the waitlist. The starting ticket purchase deadline is on the 15th, so we won't have too long to wait...for the first waitlist round. I guess we'll see what happens!

(I'd grumble more about them switching up the ticket purchase method every time, but I suspect they do it in an attempt to keep the attendees from always being the same people.)

Mini True North is here!

Greetings, readers! Exciting news - my Premier Club freebie, Mini True North, came in the mail today! Observe:

As most people were probably aware, this year's Premier Club Stablemate freebie is a Stablemate-sized version of the Traditional Brishen mold. I'm surprised (and impressed) that Breyer went to the expense of shrinking down and then creating an all-new Stablemate mold from a Trad mold just for a Premier Club freebie, but I suppose all the funds they get from a year's set of subscriptions (almost $400,000 a year if the subscription numbers are the same as in the past) can probably pay for a new Stablemate mold as well as the other three new molds.

Here's his other side!

I was surprised to discover that this model is molded from ABS/styrene, not cellulose acetate. I would have thought they'd have used good old CA for a new mold, but evidently not. This year's Stablemate Club release on this mold should be molded from it, though.

And here's a view of his head!



Quality-wise, this model is excellent - I didn't see any major flaws aside from the paint looking weird around the bottom tendril of his mane on the right side - like the masking for the mane was too big and covered part of his withers as well. Otherwise, he's painted very well!

Interestingly, the parts of his mane that stick out on the Trad release appear to have been flattened down onto the rest of him to make sure they don't stick out - maybe they'd hang up in the mold if not fixed. It's interesting to see how things change in the shrinking process. I wonder if that will preclude certain other Trads from ever being converted to Stablemate size? Which one will get shrunk next. if any? I'm still not sure how excited I am at the prospect, but I wouldn't say no to a Stablemate Othello...

Hopefully we don't have to wait too long for the Stablemate Club release of this mold - I want to compare them!

Yes, Collectors, There Is A Santa Claus

Breyer finally got their rears in gear and released the information for the 2018 new releases - it's a Christmas miracle! Since there are too many photos to post here, I'm going to direct readers here. But, here's the release I'm most excited about!

 
Yes - a regular run Ashquar, and I love his color! Just what I wanted to see next year! Exciting. He's a portrait model, so I wonder if we'll see the real horse at Breyerfest next year.

 Here's another one that makes me happy:



UNICORN YASMIN! Whoo! She's never, ever going to fit in my photo tent, though - it was hard enough to fit Yasmin and Kaalee in there for their photos! I guess I'll worry about that later.

I'm also super excited about this one:



CARINA AS THE HOLIDAY HORSE AND IT'S PEARLY AND BEAUTIFUL AHHHH!

Too bad I have to wait a year to get her. I'll have to console myself with the knowledge that this year's holiday horse, the palomino Totilas, is hidden somewhere in our apartment and I get to open him in less than a week. Yay!

Moving on to the Classics, check out this one!



It's the 2018 Classics Horse of the Year, and I really like him! At first dumb me thought he was a TWH, but he's a Saddlebred. Oh well, I still like him! No word as to who the sculptor was - I thought he looked like a Prosser piece, but evidently it wasn't her. It's a mystery!

In the slightly-less-excited-about-but-will-still-buy group is, uh, this one:



Kind of a weird idea, but it looks like something that would appeal to kids. The design reminds me of wallpaper border or something. Think about it - you could put up a single shelf all the way around a room and line it with these models instead of border for your wallpaper. It could totally work! Waste of money, though. But she's cute and I like clearware, so I'll pick her up at some point.

Well, that's the Trads and Classics I'm most excited about. Let's look at some Stablemates!



Wha? Officially-sanctioned Suncatcher Stablemates? Sommer's been doing the workshop at Breyerfest for years, but I never expected clearware Stablemates to show up in a painting kit for some reason. Genius! I'll probably get a kit just to leave unpainted, but I'm tempted to paint some of them just for the fun of it.

We also got a new blind bag assortment (groan):




Whoever came up with the idea for blind bag stuff (in general) needs to get punched in the face. Sure, they're addictive and fun, but it's impossible to stop at just one and you know it's just a gimmick for companies to sell more stock. Why have everything neatly labeled as to what it is (and only sell some of it) when you can do the blind packaging, throw in a rare piece and sell all of it? It's genius and diabolical at the same time. And this time only one in four boxes has the rare "copper florentine" chase piece.

Clearly they learned from the Spirit blind bags, where most people (I assume) just bought the whole box at once to get the models they wanted. I'd do that this time, but each box has three of each model, which makes an entire box cost almost $100. Sheesh. I preordered eight of the single bags; if I'm really lucky, I'll get the ones I want in one swoop - I only collect four of the molds, so those are...somewhat decent odds, I guess.

Oh well. On to the next exciting thing!



That's right - the shrunken Brishen is making yet another appearance, and this time he's a Brishencorn! I gotta have him.

There are a lot of other new releases for 2018 to drool over, but this post is getting long, so I'm going to wrap things up. Let's hope we get lots of other exciting new reveals this week!