Bits and Bobs and Catching Up

Looks like Breyer is getting some housekeeping items out of the way today. I saw on Facebook that they'd finally done the raffle for Stablemate Club members - apparently they put everyone into a drawing for a set of all four colors of Diesel. Congratulations to the winner, Katherine D. of MA! Honestly, I don't even remember them saying anything about a raffle last year when we were signing up for the Stablemate Club, but I'm glad someone did. Seems like the raffle, and a lot of other things, got pushed to the back burner along with all the other product delays we had last year. Hopefully they can get it together this year now that they've (theoretically) worked out the bugs from last year. Jury's still out on whether Coco will be released this month as was advertised, though.

 

Another belated announcement via Facebook today: the winner of the first Yasmin off the production line!

 

 

 

She sure looks nice on a stand. Congrats to Chandler S from VA!

 

Next: Live Show Benefit Program information has been announced for this year, including this year's LSBP horse! Meet Reno!

 

 

 

He's certainly handsome! Interesting that Buckshot is getting another super-limited release this year after last year's Beyerfest Diorama Contest prize model Pele. Maybe they're going to use him for a wider release soon? We'll have to wait and see. And, according to the benefit program information, the kids' raffle model will be last year's Classics Horse of the Year Harper in glossy. Fun!

 

And lastly, word on the street (aka Blab) is that the 2016 Premier Club Stablemate, Mini Geronimo, is finally shipping out. Keep an eye on your mailbox for her!

 

 

Christmas Sale items are here!

Greetings, readers! The models I ordered from Breyer's end-of-year sale are here. I ordered Sweet Pea, Bryants Jake and Svali Fra Tjorn. So, without further ado, here they are!

First, Sweet Pea:



That looks like a rub on her right shoulder, but it's just glare from the overhead lights. I don't believe Amber has been done in this shade of gray before - I really like her. She's cute! I don't really go for accessories, though, so those stayed in the box. Maybe I'll try to unload them at Breyerfest or something.

Next, Bryants Jake:



This model was supposed to have been released earlier in 2016 (beginning of the year?) but was delayed due to unspecified quality issues. This is a mold that started out as a mare, so my guess would be they had issues with adding the proper "parts" to the mold. That or a paint issue, as that would be a fairly intricate stencil. (I'm somewhat amused that they added a sheath to the mold, but didn't go all the way and give it testicles as well. That worked for Kong the gelding; not so much for Jake the stallion.) My only nitpick with this one was the color of the tail ribbons - they couldn't pick a color that didn't clash with the tail color? Oh man, this just came to me - how awesome would it have been if they'd put Wintersong's tail on this release, since the real horse's tail is so long? That would have been the best! Oh, well.  I don't have very many Wixoms due to how big they are, but I do happen to have room for this one on my shelf. Looking forward to seeing him at Breyerfest this year!

And lastly, Svali fra Tjorn:



I was excited when we first heard about this guy - finally, a regular run Icelandic! He hasn't been used a whole lot since his debut in 2014 (although I'll admit I thought we'd see him as a Breyerfest store special first). His color is nice, although confusing - is he buckskin or bay? Either way, he's pretty. I'd prefer that he had some white on his feet, but since this is a portrait model, I'll just have to live with it.

Happily, none of these models had box issues! Huzzah! There's hope for Breyer's QC yet.

Featured Model - 1/7/2017, Silver

Hello and welcome to Featured Model - the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. This week's model is... Silver!

 

This model, as the name should tell you, was the inaugural release of this mold. Item #574, he was sculpted by Kathleen Moody and released in 2001 - a portrait of The Lone Ranger's Silver. His release ran from 2001-2006 - unsurprising, as this mold was very popular from the get-go. Silver was the first release in Breyer's Hollywood Heroes series, and in the early years of the run, he came with a VHS tape (lol) detailing Silver's exploits.

I chose this model mostly because of how well he shows up against a black backdrop. He's so handsome! I was still in high school when Silver was first released, and didn't get around to buying one before graduation. After graduating, I put my horses away to concentrate on college, and by the time I finished college, the Silver mold had been given a temporary retirement because it had been used so much. I count 24 releases between 2001 and 2010 (not counting glossy prizes. Thanks, IDYB!). It probably didn't help that Silver was a Breyerfest SR for 3 years in a row (2001, 2002, 2003).

I returned to the hobby in 2010 after I graduated from college. Silver had just been used as a Breyerfest SR yet again (Star-Studded). But since then, Silver was only used a couple of times until recently - Nottingham, the Breyerfest 2011 Volunteer Model and Zeus, the Greek God web special in 2013.

I couldn't afford to attend Breyerfest 2011, and wouldn't have been brave enough to volunteer if I had, and I wasn't drawn for Zeus. So, I spent 2010-2016 wishing Breyer would use Silver for something, while I'm sure most of the other people in the hobby were glad they were giving the mold a break.

Fortunately, Silver made a resurgence last year; he was used for an unprecedented fifth time as a Breyerfest SR, Estrela do Carnaval (to a mixed reception), as the Tractor Supply SR Santana (also to a mixed reception, due to the resemblance to the TH Silver), and as the fourth Big Cats release, Leandro. For the record, I bought all three and have them proudly displayed with my other Silvers. In addition, I was fortunate enough to greatly expand my Silver collection in the last year, so the few I had before don't look so lonely. Let's hope Silver gets another release in the near future, or dare I suggest: the Surprise model for Breyerfest? (Let's hope not!). Only time will tell.

So, that brings me to the end of today's post. Tune in next week for another thrilling installment of Featured Model! Hi-yo Silver, away!

My Christmas Ponies Arrived!

Okay, technically they came a few days ago, but I've had a few more important things to post about since then. So, here they are! I got Frankincense/Myrrh!



I think the red one would be Frankincense? I'm not completely sure. His red color is a little more pink than I was expecting, but I think it plus the pearly effect makes him look like he's made out of candy. Yes, please. Next: Myrrh!

 

I'm a bit less enthused about this one's color, because it kinda screams "US Army." I think something more akin to Ivy's color would have looked better, although Ivy was a pretty dark green. Maybe they had issues getting the colors to look right - I remember hearing about a Breyer factory tour a couple of years ago - maybe during Big Easy Bash? - where they saw the Christmas decorators being worked on and were having problems getting the colors right.

Quality-wise, they were both fine - I won't say they're flawless, but anything I noticed was minor. I've seen so many photos of broken tails on Facebook/Blab that I was worried mine would be broken too, but they both arrived in one piece.

Although I was hoping one of my two would be the gold one, I'm not going to complain too much - because at least I got two different colors. I'll have to set my sights on finding a Gold later on. I'm looking forward to seeing what Breyer comes up with next year - the candy cane zebra someone mentioned on Blab would be excellent!

CollectA/Corral Pals: Addendum

I've been thinking about yesterday's post about the new Corral Pals. I said I wasn't interested in buying any of them, but it does seem a little unfair for me to not talk about them simply because I'm not personally interested in them. One of the main reasons I created this blog was to keep people informed about all new Breyer releases, not just the ones I'm interested in.

So, I took another look at the Corral Pals. Some of the molds do appeal to me - my disinterest in them stems from my lack of interest in buying vinyl models; if they were cellulose acetate I'd probably be more interested. That said, I have been known to buy a Schleich or two for my niece and nephew, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that I could buy some of these for them.

So, here are a few of the sculpts that caught my eye:

The Friesian Stallion is definitely attractive. I generally like Friesian-type models, and if I spotted this in a store I'd have a hard time not picking it up.





The Hanoverian Stallion is also handsome. From this angle he looks a lot like Geronimo, though I admit I'm not a fan of the banged tail look. But, moving on.



I've been wishing Breyer would do a Lipizzaner in this pose for quite a while, so this one I definitely like. I think he could use some more mane and tail, though.



Here's the Arabian. I like her, although I wish her tail wasn't in poop position. It doesn't bother me a whole lot, but that's the first thing my husband would notice if I bought one and then I'd never be able to see anything else.



The Knabstrupper Mare is kinda fun. It'll be interesting to see what other colors she's released in.



The Appaloosa Stallion looks nice, despite my general dislike for stock horses.  Not so sure about the mottling on his face, though.

So, those were the models that looked interesting at a glance. It looks like these will be available for sale in the same manner as the CollectAs: on an open shelf, similar to the way Schleichs are sold. So, next time I'm looking for a present for my niece/nephews, I'll have to try to find these.

CollectA Models (Corral Pals) Now Available on Breyer Website

Breyer now has some items from the CollectA line they purchased (relabeled as "Corral Pals") available on the website, as can be seen here:

Corral Pals Horse Collection
Corral Pals Farm Animals Collection
Corral Pals Cats & Dogs Collection

There are a large number of horses, but not many of the other items. Presumably they'll be available soon; I'm not interested in buying any of them, but keep an eye on the website if you are! It will be interesting to see what Breyer does with this line in the future, and it'll be good for Breyer to have a less-expensive product in their lineup.

Breyerfest Tickets Available Now!

Greetings, all! I hope everyone had a good New Year's. Mine just got a whole lot better - Breyerfest 2017 tickets are now available! You know what that means - the unveiling of special runs! First off, the Celebration Horse, Nazruddin:

So it looks like he's keeping his original mane and tail. Exciting! I like what I can see of him - can't wait to add him to the collection!

Unfortunately, the only other model that's been revealed thus far was the Early Bird raffle model - a luscious glossy black Icelandic named Sokkar:



My initial reaction to this was, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Because I want him, badly. Oh, so badly. I haven't wanted an early bird raffle this much since Alegria in 2014. I need him. Ugh. I'll be crossing all of my fingers and toes at the Saturday raffle, I can tell you that right now.

So, that's all we've been shown thus far - am I off base in thinking they usually show us one of the regular raffle models at this time, too? Bleh. Darn Breyer and keeping their secrets so secret. I hope they reveal it soon.

Other tidbits on the website are the "Bollywood Bash" costume contest and the "Gateway to India" diorama contest. I have to admit I have some reservations about this whole theme. I can see a whole host of ways the costume contest - and this Breyerfest theme, in general - could go wrong, with regards to cultural appropriation and stereotypes and...I kind of don't want to go anywhere near that. Which is bad, because I actually thought about trying the costume contest again to try to win a glossy Nazruddin. Let's hope Breyer puts a little more thought into the special run names - Mamacita and Chico and Sheila were particularly cringeworthy choices last year.

(I tried to look up Sokkar on Google, but couldn't find much. Anyone know what it refers to? Is it a common surname in India?)

We'll have to wait and see what Breyer has planned this year. Let's hope they can pull it off!