Uh...is this thing on?

So, I'm sure we're all wondering where Acadia is. The drawing was supposed to have happened today, and the 24-hour deadline passed at 5pm Eastern...

By 5pm EDT 5/22/17, three hundred fifty (350) entries plus a stand-by list will be randomly drawn (but not posted). Please do not call to see if you have been selected. We will contact those individuals who have been selected by email within 24 hours with instructions on how to complete their purchase.

Did Breyer have a website outage? Is something wrong with their software? Did the person in charge of hitting the button to draw the names call in sick or go on an unexpected vacation this week? I have no idea, because the only communication we've had on the issue is an intrepid Blabber calling customer service to be told the drawing hadn't taken place yet and they hoped to get it done this week. Really?

I usually tend to cut Breyer some slack on these types of issues, as I do with the usual snafus that happen at Breyerfest every year, because this is a small company and we all know they have enough on their plates as it is. I also feel we all (or at least I) have more important things to worry about day-to-day than whether we can buy our plastic horses on time. But the lack of communication on this issue is irritating. How hard would it be to post an update on Facebook and Twitter?  Surely they could spare someone for the few minutes it would take to type a couple of sentences and hit the "send" button.

At the end of the day, I'm beginning to wonder if Breyer has simply taken on too much here. Between managing the Premier Club and all the work that entails, developing and managing the Vintage Club, the second year of the Stablemate Club, and planning Breyerfest (it's got to be getting close to crunch time for Breyerfest-related issues), plus managing the regular run inventory, planning new molds and releases, managing web specials and special events, and all the traveling various employees do...it seems like someone may have bitten off more than they can chew here. Add that to the events manager job posting that's been listed on the website for the past few months and I can see how the workload can pile up. Perhaps it's time to hire a few more employees, Breyer? It might be worth looking into.

Featured Model - 8/16/2016, Frolic

Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, where I pick a random model from my collection, give some stats on it, and provide commentary. This week, our lucky model is...Frolic, the Springtime Foal!

This model was released in spring 2004, and presumably ran until the end of the year. She is item number 1230 on mold number 489, Ashley. Sculpted by Kathleen Moody, the mold made its debut in 1997 with accompanying mold Amber.

I remember when this model came out, because at the time it seemed like Breyer had run out of ideas and decided to go all-in on the "Think spring!" theme. Several spring-themed plush horses were released concurrently, and I remember seeing all of them featured in a spread in JAH and thinking, "They really need to hire someone else to do their product development."

On further inspection, however, she is rather cute. I like the combination of colors they used, though I'd personally like to see more blue (my favorite color, so I may be biased). I love the little winged eyelashes and the pearly effect on her tail. The masking on the butterflies seems to have been pulled off fairly well, unlike the bats on 2002's Nosferatu. I'm still not sure that this model really needed to exist (and neither was anyone else, based on her short production run), but she could have been a lot worse.

That brings me to the end of this week's edition! Tune in next week to see which model I'll feature next!