TSC finds!

 Good news, readers! After weeks of periodically dropping by various TSC locations around here, I finally found the rest of the stuff I wanted! It only took visiting three locations today (one of them twice), but I did it! Behold! 

And more! 

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but I'm irritated that some of the models were repeated across sets - the gray Vanner, for instance, is also one of the TSC blind bag models (I already got one a while ago), and the palomino G2 Morgan appears in the 8-horse set as well as one of the Horse Foal Surprise sets (same for the gray Cassidy and the buckskin Indian Pony). At least none of the foals are repeats, I guess. The palomino color on the draft foal made me realize how much I like the mold! It's much less blobby than the prancing foal that was introduced at the same time. 

Anyway, here are the ones I'm keeping, out of their boxes! 

I really like the roan color on the standing foal, and the G2 Andalusian has a nice color too, if you can get past the word on his side. I like the Warmblood Mare as well. 

So, now that I finally have the TSC stuff squared away, I can go through my sales stuff and figure out how much I have to sell, price things and get them listed! Fun stuff. I may also look through my Breyerfest purchases and unpack a few things and get them ready for photographing. They've been packed away long enough! 

More Spooky Stablemates!

 Good news, everyone! My second Spooky Stablemates order arrived - behold the results! 

Score! I got the mini Apparition, the only one of the three I wanted! 

And another Cornelius! I do like the little guy, but don't need two or them, or one of them. I'll figure out what to do with them later.

What a handsome guy. I don't have the full-size version of him, so it took a minute to realize exactly what the markings were supposed to look like. Looks like they did a pretty good job miniaturizing the design. 

They were both pretty good quality as well, no major flaws that I noticed. I hope everybody else managed to get what they wanted as well, or is able to trade for what they want. 

In other news, my Traditional and Classics models are now all unpacked (except my Breyerfest purchases), though not all are on the shelves, because I ran out of shelf space (again) despite my husband building two new shelves. Fortunately, there's room for another shelf in the room, so we'll have to get that taken care of this weekend. I haven't unpacked any Stablemates yet because I want to wait until I have all the bigger models arranged on the shelves the way I want before I start putting Stablemates up there. But I like the way things are looking so far! It's good to see the models I bought over the past year on the shelves with their buddies, though. So I'm excited to get that last shelf built so I can finish unpacking and also get my Breyerfest purchases unpacked! I'm looking forward to seeing all those Stagecoach Surprise models with the rest of my Hamiltons! 

Featured JAH: 9/9/2023, Summer I 1994

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! This week we'll be covering the Summer I 1994 issue. Let's jump in, shall we? 

On the cover, legendary hunter Grand Central takes a fence with Jessica Fleischmann Aronson (sister of Breyer/Reeves head honcho Tony Fleischmann). On the back cover is the 1994 Breyer Show Special, Silver Comet on the Polo Pony. How timely, since the new Polo Pony gambler's choice release is arriving in people's mailboxes now. Note that despite getting a four-page article in this issue, Grand Central never got his own Breyer model. 

On the inside cover, three Breyer portrait horses strut their stuff (but aren't accompanied by photos of their corresponding models for some reason). On the insert page, we find the official Breyerfest ticket order form for 1994. Tickets for adults were $45 each and kids were $32.50, and that ticket price got you admission to the KHP, a souvenir bandanna, hayrides (after 5pm), the dinner/dancing/dinner model (Bright Zip) and entry to the live auction. We also have the menu for that dinner! Turkey, the perfect choice for those hot, sweaty Kentucky nights! 

In the Editor's Desk, Stephanie reports that the Steel Dust model from the previous issue sold out in a pretty big way (as the JAH special runs usually did in those days) - so big that "we received hundreds of requests over the limit of 1,500" - sound familiar? And nowadays we don't even get to find out how many they made of the various Collector Club special runs. In the EquiNews, we find an announcement about Breyer on TV via Horseworld (I did a search on YouTube to see if any of these old segments were on there, but no dice), Gem Twist winning another show jumping competition, and an announcement of the now-defunct West Coast Model Horse Collector's Jamboree. 

On page 6 is an article about pedigree assignment, and page 7 holds a wealth of information about the upcoming Breyerfest 1994! The format has changed a little bit over the years, but is still mostly the same, other than taking place a couple of weeks earlier. 

The centerfold of the magazine features Bright Zip, the aforementioned Celebration Horse/Dinner Model for Breyerfest 1994! He certainly was handsome, wasn't he? 

On page 20 we have a poem about Paul Revere's Ride, and on page 21 is a salute to Julie Krone, first female winner of a Triple Crown race, and Blythe Miller, rider of Lonesome Glory. 

Here's the rest of the salute to Blythe Miller (with classifieds cropped out of the scan). Interesting that Lonesome Glory got a call-out in this issue, but it would take another 6 years for him to become a Breyer model. 

Lastly for this issue, Vintage Point covered the Running Stallion and all his releases up to this point (Breyerfest Live '94 ticket order form cropped out). I didn't scan the first two parts of the article because they were split over two other pages and it would have just been too many scans. 

Other things in this article that I didn't cover: a Dear JAH response suggesting bleaching yellowed models to whiten them (don't do it! it makes the plastic break down years later!); Breyer Tour events for 1994, featuring Ofir on the Traditional Black Stallion; the Grand Central article (too many scans, again), an article about sidesaddles; Blast from the Past, featuring the G1 Standing and Lying Foals, the only Stablemate foal molds at the time; sneak peeks of the Mesteno "The Progeny" mold and Chinook, the 1994 Export Model; and the debut of Breyer jr., the section of the magazine aimed at younger kids. Whew! Lots of stuff in this issue, but I couldn't cover everything or the post would have been super long. 

That's all I have for today, but check back next week for Summer II 1994! 

Halloween horses are here!

 More good news, readers! My first order of Halloween models came! Behold, my Slither! 

What a beauty. And he definitely has a green tint from the right angle, despite looking browner/purplish in the photos. 

I really like this design! Clearly quagga-inspired, but also the snakes! He has one snake on his back and a cobra on his forehead.

Ooh, scary. 

He almost looks black in this photo. I love him! Didn't see too many flaws, either.

Next, let's take a look at my two blind bags:

Yep, just the two I didn't want. Sigh. 

They're pretty good in the quality department, though! Very detailed stencil on the mini Nevermore. I have two more blind bags coming tomorrow, so hopefully I can do a trade if I still don't get what I want. I hadn't realized the mini Cornelius was glossy, either. Doesn't make me want to keep him any more, but it is a cool effect. His teeth are a little too blindingly-white to be realistic, though! Hahaha, that was a joke. 

Well, here's hoping I get a mini Apparition tomorrow! 

2023 Fall releases announced!

 Good news, readers! The 2023 Fall Releases have been announced! More information can be found here, but let's look at the releases. Firstly, here's Leif, the 2023 Limited Edition/Fall Decorator: 

Ooh, what a pretty Vermeer! I love the gold leaves on his coat. Definitely screams "fall decorator" to me! 

Next is the Cheryl White horse/rider/book set we've already seen, so I'll move on to...Cody's Wish! 

I can't think of a racehorse more deserving of his own model right now than Cody's Wish. Glad to see him getting some attention from Breyer! I can't wait to add him to my collection! 

Next we have Clooney 51!

Ooh, very pretty! This one is very similar to Get Rowdy from last year - I wonder if Get Rowdy is being retired at the end of this year? That would let a new release slot into his place pretty well, and I think Clooney 51 looks basecoated, so I don't think it'll be hard to tell them apart. I also have a fear that Clooney 51 here may end up being a glossy prize model at Breyerfest next year. Ooh, let's move on from that nightmarish thought.

Next, let's take a look at Norwich! 

Hey, a new release on the Hackney Pony! He hasn't had a release since 2020 and that was a web special, so it'll be good to see him in the regular line again. 

Lastly, this year's brick-and-mortar special run, Barranco! 

He's very pretty! Looks pretty similar to Raia, the brick-and-mortar special run from 2020. Maybe a tad lighter shade. With one less sock and a wider blaze. These are only available in physical store locations, so good luck with getting one! 

That's it for new releases for today! The unpacking has been continuing, but is now on hold temporarily until we can get another new shelf built. In the meantime, I haven't had any major casualties, but was dismayed yesterday to discover my palomino Callahan's gloss coat was damaged by the bubble wrap he was stored in. Normally I try to wrap glossies with the bubbles facing out to prevent this kind of damage, but I wasn't paying the most attention when I unwrapped him, so I don't really know if I wrapped him with the bubbles in or not. I guess I wasn't too worried about it since I've never had an issue with bubble wrap and OF gloss before. Lesson learned, I guess. I still have a number of boxes to unpack, so let's hope that's the worst of my issues! 

Featured JAH - 9/2/2023, Spring 1994

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! We're getting started on a new year with Spring 1994!

On the front cover, a cowboy prepares to lasso something - the photographer, maybe? On the back cover, The Challenger gift set makes its debut. These two models were the same sculpture, but the darker model (Sombra) had special attachments on the cooling boards to alter the positions of one front leg and one hind leg so it would look a little different from Mesteno. At least, I think that's what a later JAH article said. 

On the inside cover, Llanarth True Briton finally makes his official debut. Now he's mainly remembered for his terrible dropped pasterns and melty-looking muzzle, but at the time he was noteworthy for being (I think) the second Breyer mold to balance on its tail while doing an actual trot. Fun stuff! Other debuts on this page are Starlight on the Jumping Horse mold (I had one at one point!) and the Fine Porcelain Spanish Barb, who has still not been released in plastic despite being used in resin as a Christmas ornament in the recent past. 

There's a familiar face at the Editor's Desk - Stephanie Macejko has made her debut as the editor of JAH! Stephanie is of course still working for Breyer and has held a variety of roles over the years and is currently the Vice President of Marketing and Product Development. Whew, that's a long title! On the EquiNews page, we learn about Shannon Beethe, "Breyer Salutes Junior Equestrians," and the USET Photo Contest, as well as a cut-off sentence about Breyerfest 1994. 

On page 6 we have an article about Breyer eyewhites by none other than the Breyer History Diva, Andrea Gurdon! It's continued on page 19 of the magazine, but I guess I didn't scan that page. Here's the rest of the article: "model, they should be considered more of a desirable addition than an absolute necessity. For example, take the old Breyer Race Horse: just because he never came with eyewhites certainly hasn't deterred collectors from wanting him in any way!" On the opposite page is the beginning of a Newcomer's Corner article and a Who Am I? featuring the lower legs of a Man o' War of some type. 

On page 10 we have the conclusion of an article about team penning that was reprinted (with permission) from another magazine, and on page 11 is Dear JAH! I scanned this because it contains some valuable information about Breyer's steel injection molds - Stablemates injection molds can actually contain two cavities in the mold, so models can be molded two at a time (Stablemates are solid-cast). 

On the last page we have the Vintage Point article about the Western Horse. I cropped out the other page because there was a survey in this issue and the other side of the page was left blank. The young reader who originally received this magazine filled out the survey but never sent it in. 

Things not covered in this issue: Western Adventure: The Western Packing Saddle by Melody D. Snow, most of Team Penning by Pat Feuerstein, The A Lazy H Ranch by Joe Haas, and of course the Horse Trader classifieds. Oops - I forgot to talk about the rest of the Breyerfest 1994 announcement. 1994 was the year a third day was added to the event scheduled for July 29-31, 1994. Still amazes me that it was held that late, but it looks like they wanted to run the event at the same time as the Kentucky Horse Fair and the BLM Wild Horse & Burro Adoption Program - so basically a precursor to the event we have now. Interestingly, there were two host hotels in 1994 - the Clarion, formerly known as the HIN, and also the Ramada Inn Lexington, which we (much later) stayed at for our first two years of attending Breyerfest. 

That's it for this week - check back next week for Summer I 1994! 

Breyer Halloween Store and August Collector Club Newsletter!

 Well, the Halloween Store is officially opened - and as of now, the only thing that's sold out is the Spooky Stablemates. I got my orders in for a Slither and four of the Spooky Stablemates - apparently there were some glitches with the store, but I missed out on that completely as I'd gotten my orders in prior to it happening. So let's hope nothing weird happens with my orders! 

I find myself liking Slither more the more I look at him - I love his stripey mane and his glossy shininess. I can't wait to see him in hand! 

In other news, the August Collector Club newsletter was released today! If you're a Collector Club member, check your inbox for more. There's an informative article about rare breed models Breyer has done, a "Splatter Dapple Disco Decorator" workshop, an Adamek giveaway and this sneak peek:

Presumably it's the next installment in the Wild Animals series, possibly a gazelle? The Internets are guessing that the mold is Georg or Bristol. While I don't really want it to be either mold (gotta cut down on the spending!), I'm leaning more toward Georg on this one, because Bristol was just a web special last year (Georg was a web special at the end of 2021, but that's at least a little less recent than Bristol). Hopefully we don't have to wait too long to find out!