More auction models!

 Woohoo, Breyer posted more auction models today! Here they are: 

I love this rainbow Misty and Stormy! The mare has gold mapping, which I didn't notice at first, but I don't think the foal does. 

Next up is a beautiful buckskin sabino Gem Twist! He doesn't get out much these days, so it's nice to see a new one even if it is an auction model. 

Another auction longboi! How dare they. Ugh, I want him so much! 

This one is cute! The blog says this one was designed by Kathleen Moody. Not surprising given the other intricate designs she's done for Breyer. Hey Kathleen, can you sculpt something new for us? The ravening hordes hunger for a new Moody sculpt! 

Next up is a handsome red bay blanket Sherman Morgan. This mold also doesn't get out much anymore, so it's good to see a new one! I love his rich red color. 

Last for today is something sorta unexpected: an auction Cosimo! Some people thought maybe he'd be a raffle model this year, but it looks like that probably won't be the case. He's pretty! Will he be this year's top seller? I think there's a pretty good chance of that happening, but we'll need to see some more auction models to be sure. Bring them on, Breyer! 

Beebe Ranch Benefit Auction and a huge step forward for Breyer...

 Hmm, more news to report! How odd. It's almost like...things are happening? Weird, I know. Anyway, Breyer announced this eBay auction yesterday to raise funds for saving the Beebe Ranch:

A OOAK gold charm Misty and Stormy set? They'll go high. As of this writing the bidding is up to $7300. It ends tomorrow at noon, so if you want to bid (and have suitably deep pockets), don't miss out on this. It's good that they're doing a fundraiser like this, because while it would be nice for them to produce something 99% of the populace could afford to buy, production runs like that have to be planned many months in advance, and the Beebe Ranch only has until the end of this month to raise the funds. I do wish Breyer would match whatever price this set ends up going for so the ranch can get more funds, though. 

In other news, we got a pretty amazing announcement from Breyer today - they're phasing out the use of so much plastic in the Breyerfest special runs! They'll come wrapped in honeycomb packing paper, with more paper cushioning for ears and tails, with an outer paper wrapper, and only one plastic bag inside. This is great news! I always feel bad about the amount of plastic packing material that come with each model, even though I do reuse my bubble wrap wherever possible. I've seen some grumbling about increased risk of broken models, but Breyer's Facebook post specifically said multiple types of packaging were tested to make sure it could stand up to being shipped, so I'm not worried about shipping damage. Some people are taking this to mean the models won't be shipped in boxes at all, which...doesn't seem to be the case, and I'm not sure why they'd suddenly not be shipped in boxes anymore when that means you could end up with 10 packages going to somebody's house, rather than just one. As for broken models, I've seen several reports on Facebook and Blab that they've had multiple far more breakable things shipped in the honeycomb packaging with no ill effects, so I'm not going to worry about it. Yay for Breyer! 

I posted too soon!

Clearly I jumped the gun on my Lucien post yesterday. We also got the reveal of this year's Vintage Club bonus Stablemates:



For a second I almost thought they'd converted the Performing Misty porcelain over to plastic before I remembered the G1 QHM. I wonder if these will have the same nose issues Primrose had? I hope not. It looks like they're going to be a popular set! I'm not interested in the Misty, but I do collect the foal mold...so hopefully I can get my hands on it at some point. Maybe I could trade this year's Premier Club Stablemate for the set? I hope so.

In other exciting news, Breyer may have low-key revealed the last Premier Club model of the year, by including its silhouette in these 70th Anniversary products on the website - a journal, towel and blanket.

Take a look at the upper center area of the blanket, in between Lonesome Glory and Lady Phase. It looks like a drafter, labeled "2019." Could it be the elusive Premier Club draft sculpted by Brigitte Eberl! The hobby thinks so! Opinions are mixed at the moment, but I'm hesitant to say I like it just yet. From going by the silhouette, so far I see the same problem Stone's Bunny mold has: I like the front end, but not the back end. It just looks...odd. Hopefully the actual mold will look better, but who knows. If I do end up liking him, it'll be the second year in a row I ended up keeping all three of the PC releases...so we'll have to see.

Edited the post to add this teaser for the PC model, posted on the Premier Club blog today:



Not sure why the background is black. Anyway, it definitely looks promising! I'm hoping for a nice bay or blue roan, myself. Looks like we'll find out next week!

That's all the news I can find for the moment! Hopefully we get more exciting reveals soon!

Benasque selections and Holiday Mare and Foal set!

Greetings, all! The selections for Benasque are finally out, if you haven't heard. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we were drawn on any of our accounts. I'll have to hope for the waitlist!

In other news, the annual holiday mare and foal set has returned this year! Say hello to Wish and Wonder!



According to the Internets, this is the first time Stormy has been issued with a pinto pattern other than her original Stormy pattern, although the 2009 Waiting for Santa set is somewhat different from the norm. The mold also appears to have developed a parrot mouth due to the ravages of time - that will happen when a mold is continuously in production for most of the last 40 years.

Anyway, here's some ad copy from the website:

Chincoteague Ponies can have many different coat colors and patterns, just like the ones seen on this island-dwelling pair. The windswept mare Wish has a beautifully-shaded dapple-grey coat, and her sweet filly Wonder has a sooty buckskin pinto coat.

So the mare is Wish and the filly's name is Wonder. This is clashing with my old memories of a different horse called Wonder, but I think I'll cope. They both appear to be chalky, to boot! They're nothing I need to buy, sadly - I wish they'd use Susecion and Le Fire for one of these releases. They don't get enough love from Breyer, and it's not like they wouldn't sell out instantly. Maybe next year!