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! 

Nope

 Good news, everyone! Today's special run reveal is: Araba! 

From the blog: 

Araba is the Turkish word for a type of carriage or cart used in Turkey and neighboring Middle Eastern countries. These are usually heavy carts, without springs, that are often covered. They can vary in size and decoration and are used for all types of functions, from carrying goods to transporting people.

 

She's pretty and all, but nothing can hide or fix those front legs. Oh well - more for somebody else! There's supposed to be one more reveal tomorrow, so I wonder if it'll be another special run, or another Limited Edition? Time will tell. 

Also, I forgot to mention yesterday that the Grab Bag #1 bundle appeared and then sold out on the website. I didn't partake this time, which is probably a good thing, based on the photos of grab bag contents I've been seeing on Facebook. (Hint: Not worth it, like at all. Like, really?). But that shouldn't be surprising. Guess I'll see if mine is the same as everyone else's when it gets here! 

Zafirah is finally available!

 Good news, everyone! Zafirah, the first release in this year's Premier Club, is finally available to order! 

 

I, uh...kinda wonder if Breyer is aware of many people's concerns about Zafirah's weird-looking front legs? Because that's a cool photo angle, but conveniently leaves the legs out of it. Haha! I do like her head and neck, but those legs are just...nah. I'll pass her on to another owner. We have until 8/24 to order her, so at least there's plenty of time to come up with the money. 

Breyerfest Day 0: Actually Quite Pleasant

 Greetings, readers! I'm happy to report that we made it to the Clarion and have been doing pretty good sales from Room 409. Feel free to stop in and mention the blog for a free Stablemate! The weather has been pretty good so far - usually July in Kentucky is enough to make you wince every time you step outside, but that doesn't seem to be the case here just yet - as long as you stay in the shade.

I can announce that the Breyerfest Live glossies have been revealed - Adamek (NOOOOOO) and the palomino Orren Mixer. I don't have photos I can use yet, however.

Breyer also broke all our hearts today by revealing that the Rhenish Draft will be available in both matte and glossy finishes, randomly shipped:

That means I’ll have to order two of them, dangit.

I also just returned from a trip to the Artisan's Gallery - chaos as always, but I'm happy to finally be back in Kentucky after three years! Here's some of what I saw, starting with Snowbird, this year's Holiday Horse:

I'm definitely going to try to snag one of these at the Breyer Store tomorrow, he's too pretty to leave behind. Guess my husband will have to find something else to buy me for Christmas this year.

Next, here's a not-so-great in-hand (literally!) Zafirah photo:

Next, a shot of various 2022 releases, including the new mid-year release Battlefield Angel. There's also a glimpse at this year's Halloween Horse:

And this year's Stablemates Club gambler's choice: 

I'm still liking the decorator best (is that really a surprise at this point?).

Next, a shot of Constantia:

I definitely like her, but I'm not sure I like how sharp the edges of her markings are with that "roaning" on top of them. Seems like they should be less defined.

Here are some Breyerfest special runs:

Didn't get a great picture of Stein, I guess. I'll make up for that later. Here are some more! 

While I was taking these photos, the volunteers behind the booth were having a debate about smelling the bears and whether they would smell like anything - apparently they've been getting a lot of questions about that (it was announced that they would be scented, presumably like gummy bears). One of the volunteers did eventually pick one of them up and take a sniff. Hah! 

Here's a previously-unseen woodgrain (?) Indian Pony for the Vintage Club. Aren't we missing one more VC release? The optional model maybe? 

Unfortunately, that was all there was to see for the VC. Notice the Kingfisher in the background, taunting me. Someday I'll find one.

Looks like the single-day Stablemates are in boxes this year - I was hoping for bags again, but I guess not. 

I had to backtrack a little to get this photo, as I'd failed to notice the Stablemates Club stuff, including the optional mini Fireheart for later this year. He's darker than I expected, though it could have just been the lighting - the Clarion isn't exactly known for its great lighting.

That's all I have for today - check back tomorrow night sometime for a full report on the Breyerfest Day 1 happenings! Uh, it may be kinda late, as we're probably going to attend the show at the Alltech Arena and get that out of the way. But it'll come at some point, never fear! Hopefully before midnight. Ciao for now - I can't wait until 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! 

More auction models, another Zafirah delay and Breyerfest merch!

 Well, I'll get the bad news out of the way first: we got another shipping update from Breyer, and Zafirah has been delayed again. Breyer now anticipates her to be in stock in late July/early August. I guess that might give us a little time to recover from Breyerfest? Let's hope so. 

Now that that's over with, let's take a look at today's auction model reveals! Here's a weird-looking dapple gray Sherman Morgan: 

Maybe they left out the part where he's also a pinto? A...really weird pinto? Just odd. 

Next, here's a stunning Brishen! 

Mmm, yes please. Looks similar to the auction Alborozo from 10 years ago, albeit with less dappling. 

Lastly, here's...this.

Not sure what to say about this one, except...Nokota does not look good with a haircut. He's described as a, "Black Sabino Criollo with a factory custom roached mane." Cool, I guess, but why does he still have his forelock and the bit of mane at his withers? I mean, other than the fact that the withers mane is molded on. Why would they pick a model so completely defined by his wild hair and then Dremel half of it off? He looks like a plucked goose. Well, partially plucked. Maybe he'd seem less unbalanced if they'd done something about his tail as well? Either way, I'm not a huge fan of this one. 

Lastly, new merch for this year's Breyerfest is in stock! Check it out here.

Well, I hope we get some more exciting auction reveals tomorrow! If not, I hope everyone has a good 4th of July weekend. We're all quarantining with covid, so it looks like it's going to be a low-key weekend for us. Oh well - I'd rather it happen now than two weeks from now when we're about to leave for Kentucky! 

Breyerfest Program, Auction Lots and Raffle Models, Oh My!

 I've used that joke for a headline before, but I don't care. It was definitely an "Oh, my!" type of day, Breyer-wise. I'll start with the biggest news: the program is finally available! Sadly, we didn't get an epic every-auction-lot-ever accidental reveal like we did that one year (2014, I think), but it did have all that important information about Breyerfest we've been waiting for, plus...the reveal of this year's raffle models! Check them out: 

Lederhosen, on Troubadour, and Dirndl on the new Zafirah mold! I'll hold back any gripes about them using Premier Club models as raffle models the same year they debut (grumble) since it doesn't seem to change much. Though it was refreshing to have that not happen for at least the last two years. They're both beautiful! It does look like they've raised prices on the raffle tickets for some reason - maybe they're hoping slightly fewer will sell, since those raffle drums get pretty full. But it's exciting to finally see the raffle models! Good that they've been revealed earlier than last year's - that wait felt like it took wayyyyy too long. But anyway. We got three more auction models today as well! 

Be still, my heart. This is a "sun-faded bay pinto with somatic mutation" Icelandic. What a stunner! I bet he'll go pretty high. 

Ooh, a Missouri Fox Trotter as a "chalky shaded dun with two-tone green ribbons." You know, if you squint a little, he kinda-sorta looks like a big version of the Stablemate MFT that was in the 70th Anniversary blind bags (yes, I know that one was gray). 

And lastly, a "sunbleached bay frame overo mare and baby buckskin foal." Sheesh, these models must be spending a lot of time in the sun! Har har har, I'm so funny. Interestingly, while I'm still not a fan of the mare...if they came out with a release of that foal just by himself, or with another foal? I might actually buy it. I didn't want the Firefly and Hawkeye set purely because the mare just doesn't do anything for me, but the foal is another story. Kinda the opposite of Rhian and Cadell for me, really. Well, maybe at Breyerfest I'll find someone selling a Hawkeye I can inspect up close, eh? 

That's all I have for today - but maybe my Breyerfest tickets will come tomorrow! I hope so! Hurry up, mail! 

Zafirah has been delayed

 I know I’m really late with this post, but we did get a shipping update about Zafirah last week saying she should be in stock in late June. I guess the shipping delays are still happening, despite the fact that it seems like Breyer is back to their regular schedule with most of their other releases. Maybe the Zafirah models are stuck on the same boat with the mystery April release we still haven’t seen? Who knows. Anyway, at least we got an update. Now we get to wait and see if the June Stablemates Club release will come out on schedule!

Now that's what I'm talking about

 Hark, readers! We have a new sneak peek for next year's Premier Club! 

Hmm, this is a promising sneak peek. I like what I see so far, but I'll have to see the whole model to be sure if it's something I want. 

There's also a new angle of Zafirah, the first release in next year's club:

I do like her from this angle - love that fiery mane. I think I'd like her better if she wasn't lifting that hind leg, honestly. 

Well, now I just have to get around to renewing my Premier Club membership, but I'll wait a couple more weeks in case we get even more tidbits. 

2022 Premier Club is open for signups!

 Exciting news, everyone! The 2022 Premier Club is open for signups! Check out the first release for 2022! 

Say hello to Zafirah! She's a "stunning show stance Arabian" sculpted by Brigitte Eberl. I, uh...hate to say it, but this sculpt isn't really stunning me. I think I need to see her from a few more angles, because this one is kind of awkward. The color is fine, but she looks a little odd, and commenters on Blab have noted she lacks detail on her face and ears. I'll still join the club like I always do, but I need to see more of this one before I decide whether to keep her or not. 

I'm also wondering who the other two sculptors are for next year, since they didn't see fit to announce them like they usually do. Come on, Breyer, it's hard enough joining the club when we don't get to see all the releases beforehand; you could at least tell us the other two sculptors. Though I may be the only person hoping for a new Moody? She hasn't had one for a while...but anyways. Maybe they'll tell us later on to drive signups. Anyway, I hope we get some more angles of Zafirah soon!