Live Auction Lot 28 - Curiously Meh

The wait is almost over, people! Breyerfest 2017 is almost upon us! In a mere 13 or so hours, the gates at the Kentucky Horse Park will be opened and the ravening hordes will descend. In the meantime, though, we have one more auction lot to get through - and it's on Shannondell!

 

It's the non-plaited version of the mold! What a shock! He makes an excellent final entry in the live auction lots, though I'm personally rather ambivalent about him. I wasn't all that impressed by the mold when it came out, mostly because of his weird-looking hind leg, and the color doesn't really help. He looks super-detailed, though! I'm sure he'll be another high seller.

Also, the four hidden auction lots showed up on Instagram today, now that they're on display at the KHP's visitor center (thanks to whoever did that...I thought about skulking through the visitor center myself, but decided to stay at the hotel and sell instead). They are a dapple gray Yasmin, blue tiger Ruffian i.e. Padma, glossy black or dark bay PAM, and a chestnut (I think) pinto Roxy. Of those three, only Ruffian would have been in the running to be the surprise, so nothing's really changed in that department. But the mystery will be solved in about 14 hours - we just have to be patient!

Live Auction Lot 27 - Ripped Blue Jeans

Clearly I got confused about the auction lot numbers somewhere along the way...oh well. Live auction lot 27 is up on Breyer News, and he's another pretty one!

 

He's described as a blue roan sabino, and he makes me think of ripped blue jeans when I look at him. Pretty! And it's a Fighting Stallion, another popular mold. I bet this is another one that will go high! He's a beauty.  He actually reminds me a lot of this auction model from 2014, but without the prominent dapples.

In other news, we're now settled into our room at the Clarion. We're in room 409, and we still have plenty of things to sell! Feel free to stop by and see us. I'm also giving out one free (regular run) Stablemate to anyone who mentions the blog to me, so make sure to get one! I only have 40 or so, so I don't know how long they'll last. Don't miss out!

Live Auction Lot 24 - Nokota My Heart

We're in the homestretch, people! Only 4 more days until the main event, and some vendors are already at the Clarion selling! And we actually got to see an auction model today, what luck! (Can you tell I'm salty about the hidden lots? Grr.) Today's auction lot is...a Nokota!

 

Glossy goodness abounds! I love him. If I had the money, I'd try for him, but something tells me a certain Blabber will be bidding on him too! He's a beauty. Well, we already knew the Nokota wouldn't be the surprise, but this at least alleviates any fears about him being the volunteer model. I'm still predicting Croi for the volunteer! I hope tomorrow brings something just as exciting! We're getting on the road for Kentucky today and my husband is bringing his laptop, so hopefully blogging the rest of the week won't be as hair-pullingly annoying as it has been in the past. I'm hoping to be able to blog each day of Breyerfest as it happens, so stay tuned for exciting updates! 

Live Auction Lot 22 - AND THE CROWD GOES WILD

Stunning upset as Saturday's live auction lot is revealed to be on the polo pony version of Smarty Jones, a mold many had thought would be the surprise! What could Breyer possibly have up their sleeves next?!
Okay, maybe I'm being a little overly dramatic, but I certainly wasn't expecting an auction Smarty this late in the game. I stand by my original surprise prediction of the Moody Andalusian until I'm proven wrong, though!

 

There's a possibility that they're going to pull another 2011 and sneak a rare variation into the surprises, and throw one of them into the auction - but they haven't done that since, and we have no reason to expect that to happen now.

Another limited polo pony version of Smarty...how many are we up to now, three or four? His pattern is interesting - he looks like he's wearing his own white Sleazy Sleepwear or something. I wonder if he has an "eyehole" on the opposite side, too? We'll find out Friday, I guess.

Also, here's what the news post has to say about the model:

Saturdays are for Smartys!
Smarty Jones that is! Lot 23 is this eye-catching dapple chestnut manchado pinto on the ‘polo pony' version of the Smarty Jones mold. This is mold 586 and was first introduced in 2004. Susan Carlton Sifton sculpted this

Maybe my inner grammar nerd is just being crotchety, but...who's writing these things, the interns? At least bother to finish your sentence (and write something more inspired than that).  Bleh.

Featured Model - 7/8/2017, Stage Mom

Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model, the weekly blog event where I pick a model from my collection, give some stats on it and provide commentary about it. We're two days from departure for Breyerfest, so I picked another Breyerfest special run model for this week: Stage Mom!

 

This pretty girl was produced for Breyerfest 2010, along with her foal Child Star on the Gilen mold. Both were sculpted by Brigitte Eberl, and a total of 1200 sets were produced. This was the first time either mold appeared in plastic after making their porcelain debuts as Connoisseur models. 

Giselle is one of those more understated models, like many of the Eberl sculpts. She doesn't have a crazy pose or wild hair like a Moody mold, nor is she galloping or doing anything else high-energy - rather, she trots along sedately, like a show horse. But I like her - she has a nice face, and sometimes it's good to have something understated to contrast all the wild and crazy molds.

Giselle hasn't been used terribly often since her 2010 debut - most recently she appeared as Chesapeake, the ticket model from the Chasing the Chesapeake collector event. Prior to that she was the Greek goddess Hera in 2014 and the live show prize Minnie Pearl in 2013 - all small runs. I should mention that she's been a part of the regular run line (GG Valentine and Heartbreaker) since 2011 - every time I think about that I'm surprised they haven't been retired yet, but they must be popular. Still, it wouldn't hurt to use her a few more times - I certainly wouldn't complain! Like if they made this auction model (or something similar) a collector club special run or something. Do it, Breyer!

Live Auction Lot 21 - Chump Change

Live Auction Lot 21 is now on the website, after yesterday's Lot 20, one of the Breyerfest Live prizes we'd already seen (ha! I was right). Lot 21 is on what I like to call a "chump change" mold, the Trakehner:

I call it "chump change" because the mold isn't in high demand, so I doubt it'll sell for much over $1000, if it even brings that much. The paint job is nice, though. The website describes it as a "Flaxen Dapple Liver Chestnut." That's a color I wouldn't mind seeing on a lot of other molds - and are his mane and tail pearly? Yum. The color looks vaguely like Brishen's, but executed better. Interestingly, the model has the updated tail they put on the Trakehner a while back, which looks way better than the original blah-looking tail; I wish they'd updated his mane while they were at it, though. I'm slightly irritated that they decided to photograph the horse's off side here, but they probably wanted to show off the mane.

Can't wait to see what they show us tomorrow! We only have one week left until Breyerfest is upon us!

Another New Test Color?

So I guess Breyer decided to try to squeeze one more person's purse dry before Breyerfest - there's another test lot available for entry on the website. Check him out:

 

I have a more-or-less complete collection of these guys, so I entered. The website calls him a "pearly slate grullo," but I'm not seeing a lot of pearly there. Maybe it's more apparent in person? I'm not the biggest fan of solid colors with no chrome, though - he needs some white to make that pearly sheen pop. It'd be fun if I got drawn - though scrounging up $850 right before Breyerfest would be painful. Oh well. Good luck to everyone who enters! I'll close with a view of his luxurious mane.