TSC special runs!

 Good news, everyone! The TSC special runs have been revealed! Two of them were previewed in the Collector Club tent, but now they're all available for viewing on the TSC website. Behold: 

This is the black Shannondell that was previewed in the Collector Club tent. I don't need him, but he sure looks good in black! 

This is the other one that was previewed - a pretty FFA blue appaloosa Latigo. I don't need him either, but I love that color! Maybe someday they'll put it on something I want. 

Ooh, a liver chestnut True North! He's handsome. Nothing I need, though. 

A pretty palomino pinto Zafirah! She reminds me of Studebaker. Still nothing I need, though. 

And lastly, the Classic family! Nothing I need there, either. Wow! It's a Christmas miracle! The models can't be ordered yet, but hopefully they'll be in stock soon. Good luck to everyone wanting to purchase! 

The first batch of auction models!

Exciting news today, readers - the first batch of auction model photos has been posted on the blog! Behold:

Be still, my heart. I’m sure this one will be out of my price range, but it’s nice to dream. I’m not planning on bidding on any auction models this year, anyway. 

Ooh, a handsome black splash (I think?) Wyatt! Nothing I need, though. 

Interesting color on this one, but still nothing I need. It kind of reminds me of the roan pinto Stagecoach Surprise, actually.

I’m pretty meh on this one, honestly, but I’ve never been a fan of True North. Needs more white, I think. Or a coat of gloss. This group is sadly lacking in the gloss department.

That’s it for this week - dare I hope we get more auction models this week? I wish they still did the one-model-per-day countdown, though - I feel like it helped build excitement way better. 

Yessssss, finally some 2024 releases! LET'S GOOOOOOOO!

 The hour is finally upon us - 2024 new releases have finally been revealed! Hustle on over to the Breyer site to see them, but here are the ones I'm most excited about! 

A new Georg, YES! I love him! And he's a portrait of a horse I've seen many times at the KHP! Must buy! 

Woohoo, a regular run Constantia! Can't wait to add her to the collection either. She'll look really striking next to Via Lattea. 

Ooh, new molds for the Classics Horse of the Year release! The mare looks tantalizingly familiar, but I think she's a new mold. Not sure if I'll buy this set (they both look really awkward for some reason). The colors are pretty, though! 

There's a new Classics "Elements" collection, featuring some very handsome models! I'm not as excited about these as I could be, since they're going to be randomly shipped. Get out of here with that crap! We have enough randomly shipped stuff as it is. I added it up and there were at least twelve randomly-shipped releases last year, between Breyerfest, the clubs and various special runs. Stop it already! Fortunately, at least some dealers will be letting people order them directly - which is good, because I think we all know the Mustang is the only one people will actually want, while the other five colors will barely sell. 

Not all of the releases are on Breyer's site yet, so here's a link to Triple Mountain, which has them all. 

Here's the Halloween Horse! Ooh, a werewolf. Nothing I need to buy, but that shade of bay is really pretty. There was some drama on Facebook about that (stolen? not stolen?) wolf design on his left shoulder, so we'll see what happens with that. The discussions have disappeared, so I suspect shenanigans are afoot. 

The Holiday Horse (Apres Ski) is on Big Ben! Also nothing I need to buy, but he looks good in silver(ish) bay. Or is it just bay with a gulastra plume? Not sure. Anyway, I missed the model's name at first and spend more time than I want to admit trying to figure out if the ski poles were swords or guns, before my husband pointed out they were in fact ski poles and the brown things are the skis. Just throwing that out there. 

The unicorn ornament is a mirrored Porcelain Shire Mare with a new tail! Huzzah! I like her way better with the new tail. Does this mean we'll get her in plastic someday? I hope so, although it's more likely she'll join the ranks of the Spanish Barb, who also was an ornament a few years ago but hasn't been seen since. 

There don't seem to be any new Stablemates other than the ones that were at Tractor Supply last fall, which is irksome. Also no word of the Flagship release (or any mention of Flagship stuff, according to Triple Mountain) which makes me wonder if the whole Flagship concept has been killed off (not surprising). Guess we'll hopefully find out more on Monday. 

I'm also excited about Neptune and Cossaco! But I don't want this post to get too long, so let's move on. We also got a Breyerfest reveal - behold! 

Her name is Miss Independent, which is a Kelly Clarkson song, so I'm just going to resign myself to the fact that all of the special runs are going to be named after crappy pop songs. She's a nice color, but once again nothing I need to buy. Maybe this year I can get away with just buying one ticket and spending all the money I would have spent on horses on raffle tickets instead? I probably still wouldn't win the raffle, though, so saving my money would probably be better. 

2023 Models are officially released!

 Good news, everyone -we finally have confirmation of the whole 2023 product line, including the 2023 Holiday Collection, Flagship model and more! Check it all out here. But here's the 2023 Holiday Horse! 

Highlander, eh? But there can't be only one - this is a regular run item. Uh, anyway...it's a nice color on the True North - looks a lot like the amber champagne models they've been doing lately, although the description calls him a buckskin. 

Next, here's the 2023 Flagship model(s), Mariposa and Flor! 

Ooh, a new release on the coveted Susecion and Le Fire molds. And what a rich shade of bay! I wouldn't have minded a white sock here or there, but they're still really nice. Triple Mountain is all sold out of these (I managed to snag a set from them), but there are probably still quite a few other retailers that can get them. Chelsea's Model Horses will have them at 6pm EST on 1/5, and Golden Oaks will probably have them at some point also. 

Next, let's take a look at the 2023 Halloween Horse, Spectre! 

He's an Ashquar, so I have to have him in any case, but I sorta wish he had a little more black in his design. Purple seems like a relatively recent addition to "Halloween colors," and I figure it would tie in a little bit more if there was some black. Oh well. 

The rest of the releases can be viewed on Triple Mountain's webpage. Now let's hope Amazon gets the new regular runs in stock soon, because I have some gift cards burning a hole in my pocket and I want to see that new Astrid in hand! 

Lastly for today, we got a reveal of a Breyerfest 2023 special run! Woohoo! I definitely wasn't expecting that today, so I was pleasantly surprised to see this guy! Say hello to Speos! 

What a beauty! I've seen some speculation on the Internets that this guy may be the matte/glossy split, and all I have to say about that is...I really hope not. But he would be stunning in gloss! 

What a beautiful prancy boy! 

Tomorrow we get another special run reveal, so I'm super excited to see what that will be. See you tomorrow! 

The last few auction models have been revealed!

 Happy Friday, everyone! In just one week, it'll be Breyerfest time in Kentucky for the first time in three years! I'm so excited to leave on Tuesday night - just four more days, and only two more work days! Breyer unveiled the online auction platform today, along with the last few auction lots we hadn't seen yet! I thought we'd have to wait until next Friday to see them, but looks like Breyer decided to be merciful for once. Anyway, here they are! You can view them by clicking on the link to BidSpirit's website in the Breyerfest Blog post and then viewing the auction catalog. 

First off, it's a glossy color-shift-paint version of Dani! Very nice. 

Next, a glossy smutty buckskin Hamilton! Oh, he'll go high. Personally, I'd prefer if this one had a little white, but to each their own. 

Next, a beautiful Astrid in red roan pintaloosa, and with a new mane option we haven't seen yet! I wonder if we'll see this mane in the special run line as well? I hope so! 

Next, an amazing pegasus on Silver that's very reminiscent of this auction Esprit from 2014. Is he a test of a test? It's turtles tests all the way down! Ahhhhh! 

And lastly, an In-Between Mare (!) and PAF who clearly takes after her sire! I kid, I kid...but these two would make a great family for that Ukraine benefit piece that was auctioned off a few months ago. 

These reveals also remove True North, Hamilton and Silver from contention as the surprise model. I think I had been saying the Cleveland Bay, since my original guess of Brishen is out, but I think I'm going to go with Goffert. Othello would be the other obvious choice, but he's already been done in just about every color and was a treasure hunt model, so I don't think it'll be him. There's a suspicious lack of draft models in this year's lineup, and Goffert is close enough to make me think it's probably him. 

This year's raffle models are also in the auction, as per usual, so there are photos of them as well. Check out the Zafirah/Dirndl model: 

I just...I want to like her, but I can't get over her front end. It's like her entire shoulder area should be twice as wide (long?), and her front legs are super-skinny. It's too bad, because I like her head and neck, and the hind end isn't so bad (though I'd rather she be standing squarely). It's just the front legs and shoulder area that bother me so much. Oh well. Her color is nice, at least.

I don't think this color is doing Troubadour any favors, honestly. But if I won him, I wouldn't turn him down, I guess. I may be toying with the idea of selling off my Troubadours, though, so we'll see what happens with that.

I'm also wondering why there are only 21 lots, when there were 28 lots in the before times. I thought reducing the number of lots in the live auction was a Covid thing - I guess Covid isn't strictly over just yet, but it still seems odd to have so (comparatively) few auction lots. Spread the money around, as it were. 

Anyway, that's all I have for today. Not sure how much more posting I'll be doing until we arrive in Kentucky, but never fear - if all goes well, I'll be reporting from each day of Breyerfest as it happens, like I usually do! Safe travels, everyone! 

The Breyerwest Special Run returns!

 Good news, readers- Breyerwest is coming in February, and this year there'll be a special run you can buy! It's been a few years since we've had one of those. 

That's right - he's a glossy version of Lionel, the flagship horse for 2020. Nothing I need, but he sure is pretty! There are 250 of him and they'll be sold for $150 each. From the website:

 This model is limited to 250 pieces and is only available for participants who will be joining us at BreyerWest, taking place as a part of the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo in Denver. 

You have to purchase a Breyerwest ticket first before you can reserve one, and then have to pick it up in person once you get there. Seems a little convoluted, but I guess they don't want to end up having to bring any unsold models back with them afterward. They are a bit spendy ($150) so they may end up having some leftovers anyway...but I digress. 

In other news, the glossy Limited Edition models from last year's Breyerfest are starting to show up! My glossy Rheverence, Josie and Apollo shipped out today, so I should see them in about a week. I'm excited to see all of them, especially Rheverence! I'm not so excited to try to fit them onto my shelves, though...

Breyerfest 2021 VIP models are here!

 Greetings, everyone! I had a pleasant surprise today -  my VIP swag and some of the models showed up on my doorstep today! I hadn't gotten a shipping notice yet, so this was a welcome addition only a day after Breyerfest ended. Behold! 

I love the VIP swag, especially the...coin purse? Clutch? Used ticket holder? Well, whatever it is, it's iridescent pink/green and I love it. The pins and stickers are fun too, though I'm not really a pin person. My kids had to fight over who got to wear the visor and the sunglasses, and rainbow is TOTALLY my thing, so I'll definitely be wearing those sunglasses. And rumor has it the cup changes color with the temperature of the liquid inside, so I'll have to test that out later. I like the presentation of it too, with the fun box and all the little goodies packed inside. Great idea! 

The models are very nice as well - I love the color on Rococo, which makes me all the more sad that I'm not a fan of SCO in either size. I hope they use the color again soon. I like the color on Noveau as well, so selling him makes me a little sad as well. The blue on Dada seems a bit flat, though; I like it, but I guess I was hoping for a little more shimmer. No complaints about Avant Garde; he seems just as advertised. Dani is quite nice as well, though she'll be for sale as well; I didn't see any flaws on her in a quick once-over, which seems like quite an accomplishment given how complicated that pattern is. 

I love the satin bags as well! They complement the models' colors really nicely. Certainly a big improvement over the McDonald's boxes and blister packaging of past years. 

That's all I've got for now! The rest of the Breyerfest stuff isn't supposed to start shipping until next week, but I'm going to cross my fingers and hope they get an early start on it this week. Here's hoping! 

New year, new announcements!

 Hello, readers! There have been a lot of new reveals and announcements today - I'll start with the new Breyerfest Celebration Horse/ Model! Say hello to Danash's Northern Tempest, or Dani! 

And here's her model!

My reaction: WOW. This is a much more appropriate choice for Celebration Horse, and the model is amazing! Look at all those details! This may be the best Celebration Model Breyer has ever done! Too bad I don't collect True North...and can you imagine how much the glossy ones will be worth? Holy crap! I hope they give away a few more of them this year...well, anyway. 

On to the sadder announcement...Breyerfest 2021 is officially virtual again this year. While I'm not surprised the decision was made, it's still sad to know we won't be gathering in Kentucky this year. Let's hope Breyer can iron out some of the wrinkles from last year, eh? 

I do want to talk about the Kentucky Horse Park, though. The past year has been hard on all of us, and the KHP is no exception. Since we won't be traveling to Kentucky this year, I think it would be a very good thing if collectors would take some of the money they would have spent on this year's trip and donate it to the KHP. Here's their donations page - you can pick from a number of different areas your donation goes toward. I'm not sure how much, or any, funding the KHP gets from the Kentucky government, or whether they're eligible for any of the business loans from the federal government - and we all know the KHP needs all the help it can get anyway. I've asked Breyer to make the KHP one of the Breyerfest beneficiaries in the past, but it never seems to happen. I hope collectors can help the KHP survive! 

And lastly, the Coal model for this year's Christmas event has been revealed! I don't have a photo I can use yet, but as I suspected, it's not a black Icelandic - they used the Galiceno. It makes sense that they would use a different mold since we've already had a glossy black Icelandic (two, if you count the auction model from 2014), and they were probably angling for a mold that would have the same or similar size and weight to the Icelandic, so I can see why they picked it. My Jol models aren't scheduled to arrive until Wednesday/Thursday, so I'll be waiting until then to see what I got! 

My wallet just breathed a huge sigh of relief!

More exciting reveals today, everyone - I'll just keep the goodness coming! Let's start with the 2020 Holiday Horse!



Shannondell, eh? The outfit is interesting, but I've never been a fan of mealy bays. I'm sure he's pretty under all that greenery, though! Next, more holiday items:



I'm not sure who decided the not-terribly-popular Rising Sun resin should be converted into a Stablemate, but it saves me money, so I guess I'm okay with it. I like that 70th anniversary ornament! None of the rest of it catches my eye though. Hmm, I'm sensing a pattern!



The Mini Whinny advent calendar is a super-cute idea, but again - nothing I need. Maybe for my kids? I'll have to think about it.

Next, say hello to the 2020 flagship model!



Lionel certainly is a handsome one, especially in palomino Appaloosa, but I'll pass. Looks like 2020 might be a fairly light year for me!

Now these have me excited. The Stablemate mystery foal sets return, now with unicorns?! Sign me up! I'll need all of those. That Warmblood Mare sure is a bright shade of pink, though. She looks like sherbet or something. Am I really surprised that there's yet another unicorn Alborozo and Magnolia? No. At least they won't be hard to get ahold of.



Now, these are interesting. Are they different combinations of the various horses, or are they in certain pairs, as the photo shows? I see they're randomly shipped, which is another way to say "blind bag garbage," so it could be hard to get them all...but I need almost all of them, so if I order four of them, I have a decent chance of getting all the ones I want...right? I'm glad to see a realistic color on the Warmblood Mare and the Walking Thoroughbred. Breyer is certainly getting plenty of use out of their new Stablemate molds, huh?



These are the last, for now. Are those Mini Whinny versions of Rising Sun, Firebird and the porcelain Cleveland Bay? Say it ain't so! None of those are molds I'm into, so I can resist these...for now. I guess Breyer figured out a way to sell just about anything - slap a horn on it and paint it purple and you're good!

Even more auction models!

Surprise, surprise - Breyer posted more auction models on the blog! Oooh, exciting! Let's start with Lot 15, the Few-Spot Appaloosa on True North (!):

Ooh, he's pretty! I bet this guy will go high. Definitely a unique color! Nothing I need to take home, but somebody will spend a pretty penny on him!

Next, lot 16, on Wixom with a custom tail:

It's the Shannondell tail, according to the blog. Ehhh...I don't think I like it. Her color looks similar to this auction Totilas from 2015, but not glossy. It's not bad, but I don't think the tail works on her.

Next is lot 17, on a totally-unexpected nonhorse mold:

It's the Longhorn Bull! In "Brown Brindle," apparently. Uh, that doesn't look like anything brindle to me - Breyer does know what brindle is, right? Maybe the brindling is more visible up close. Interesting that there's a bull in the auction - maybe they're going to put the mold into production in the near future?

Next is lot 18, and according to the blog, they "hate to keep doing this to you, but you'll have to wait a bit longer." Okay, really? No one's making you do it. You're just doing it so we can't figure out what the surprise model is. Don't waste our time with that apologetic nonsense when you could just show us the model so people wanting to bid can plan how to spend their money. Ugh.

And lastly, lot 19:



Oooh, I like this one! The blog describes him as a Shaded Black Rabicano Sabino with a Gulastra Plume (meaning he has a white tail). This is similar to his only other auction appearance, back in 2014. I definitely like him, though - I think this is the first auction model I've seen that I actually wanted, not that I'm going to bid or anything.

That's it for the auction models. As for the surprise model speculation, it's looking more and more likely that it's Smarty Jones, since he's a racehorse mold and he hasn't popped up anywhere else yet. But this is Breyer we're talking about, and Smarty Jones is too obvious. Are there still any other candidates? Taking a quick look at last year's auction models, the Show Jumping Warmblood is still a possibility, along with Totilas, the Fell Pony (both unlikely), Laredo (also unlikely), the Cleveland Bay, the Indian Pony, Desatado, Giselle, Gem Twist, the Trakehner, the PAM and the Fighting Stallion. Of all of those, Smarty and the SJW are the only standouts - the others are too old and/or too unpopular to be used. Unless Smarty shows up as one of the last few auction models, I'm going to consider him the surprise. Can't wait to see the rest of them!

Breyerfest 2018 tickets are now available!

Exciting news, everyone! Tickets to Breyerfest 2018 are officially on sale, and we have official photos of the Celebration Model Brass Hat, along with a couple of other reveals!



Ooh, I like the Brass Hat model more every time I see him. He'll make an excellent addition to the Carricks, although I hope they put a little more effort into his production than they did with Nazruddin last year. He's shiny without being glossy, as far as I can tell. Which means Glossy Brass Hat will likely be the prize for the costume contest! Must think of an entertaining entry...

We also know the early bird model - Riddle!




Undoubtedly named after Samuel D. Riddle, owner of Man o' War, War Admiral and others in his Thoroughbred breeding operation. The model is a really nice color, at least, but the only other thing I really have to say about it is...at least they got this mold out of the way early, and I don't have to be disappointed if I don't get drawn for the early bird!

Lastly for the reveals, we have a store special - Icabad Crane!




There's a blurb about him on the Guest Horses page, but it's not surprising at all that they're bringing at least one other former racehorse to Breyerfest! His model is on True North, so I don't need to buy one, fortunately. The color looks good on him, though!

Speaking of guest horses, two of them are real horses behind this year's new portrait models! EZ to Spot and Empres are both listed as guests, along with Foiled Again and Lil' Ricky Rocker (who will be on the guest horse list until the day he dies, presumably).

Exciting stuff! I hope more gets announced soon, though this time of year does tend to be dreary and dull. Maybe Breyer will be a little more generous doling out the tidbits this year? I hope so.

Wolfgang and True North are here!

My Wolfgang and True North models arrived last week/the week before, but got lost in the shuffle of Breyerfest news and the auction model countdown. Since there isn't an auction model reveal today (gotta do whatever they can to keep us from guessing the surprise), it seemed like a good time to share some photos of these guys. First, Wolfgang!

 

I don't have much to complain about with this guy. I like his color, he stands reasonably well, I didn't see anything particularly bad about his paint job...he's just nice all-around.

 

His gloss is nice and smooth, too. I guess if I did have any nitpicks, it would be that some of the peacock spots don't quite line up with their mapping. Not a big deal.

In short, I'm pretty happy with this release - he has a lot of detail for such a tiny model, and (this one, at least) was pulled off quite well. I hope the quality of the rest of the year's releases is up to the same standard!

Next, we have True North!

 

I was hoping to get this guy sold directly from Breyer so I wouldn't have to deal with him further, but fickle eBay buyers being fickle led me to having him shipped here. He'll be for sale at Breyerfest. The sculpt just doesn't appeal to me - I'm not sure why.



 

Quality-wise, he's okay - he doesn't have anything too majorly wrong with him, but he does have some booboos. Like silver horseshoe paint on his leg...

 

...whatever's going on with the inside of his left ear...

 

...questionable mapping on the edge of his mane....

 

...and this last thing, which I'm not sure is a flaw. Why does his body color go onto the bottom of his tail? I've never seen that before.

 

But, none of these would really be enough to make me want to exchange him, especially this close to Breyerfest. And they're all pretty minor, in the grand scheme of things.

Tune in tomorrow for another auction model reveal! I mean, presumably there will be one. They wouldn't skip two days in a row....or would they?