Dylan is now available!

 Good news, Stablemates Club members - the next release, Dylan, is now available for purchase! 

The purchase deadline is 8/22, so we have plenty of time. I'm hoping to sell mine since I don't collect the mold, so hopefully I can find somebody by then! 

Basking in the Glow

 Greetings, readers! Well, it seems we've entered a bit of a dry spell news-wise over the last few days. Not much new to post about, except for a couple small tidbits. First, it turns out a goodly number of this year's Breyerfest models glow in the dark. The jury's still out on whether this was intentional or not. So you might want to check any and all Breyerfest 2024 models in your collection to see if they glow. I checked all 11 of my Athenas and was disappointed to see none of them glow - I'd really like to get those extra 10 sold off. Most of my other Breyerfest models didn't glow, but Blue Zeus does! As well as Llywellyn for some reason. I'm not sure if this affects their value much (if at all), but it's a neat little feature, if nothing else. 

Secondly, I was checking back through photos from this past Breyerfest (less than a month ago, but it feels like way more than that - what IS time??), and discovered something I'd forgotten about! My Survivor has a variation! Behold: 

She's missing the black spot on her muzzle. I'm not crazy about spots on muzzles anyway, so this is a win-win for me! Huzzah! Here's what she's supposed to look like: 

So that was an exciting little tidbit to discover. Let's hope we get some new news soon! 

Featured JAH - 8/3/2024, Jan/Feb 2002

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! We're starting a new year (again), so let's get going! This week's issue is Jan/Feb 2002. 

On the front cover, Boone's Little Buckaroo looks cute while doing his thing. On the back cover, the 2002 Spring Collector's Edition makes its debut! What a beauty. Remember Collector's Editions? I remember those. Eventually they started taking suggestions from collectors for the Collector's Edition, before it went away entirely. I wish they'd bring it back! 

Usually I skip the table of contents, but I scanned this one, probably because of the Mauvelous on the inside cover. The first ever Collector Event is coming! 

In the Editor's Desk, Stephanie announces the Spirit Collection and the new line of plush horses, as well as another QVC appearance (at 1am EST, ugh). On page 3 is a news roundup. 

On page 4-5 are the models that were offered on QVC. I've still never managed to get my hands on that Silver Cup Series set. I did have Seattle Slew and Equinox eventually, but later sold them off for shelf space. 

After skipping an Artist's Eye about painting by Tom Bainbridge and Letters to the Editor, on page 8-9 we have an article about horse of legend/Breyer portrait model Bucephalus. 

After skipping an article about a mother-daughter trip to Spruce Meadows, on page 12-13 we have a list of Breyer Tour events (RIP) and the reveal of the legendary Batal and Amira, the matching stallion and foal to the regular Tour model, Banat er Rih. 25 of these beauties were made and raffled off at the Tour events. This pair is super hard to find; I can't even remember the last time I saw one for sale. 

On page 14-15 we have an article about Miniature Horses.

On page 16-17 is the rest of the Miniature Horses article, as well as a feature on Boone's Little Buckeroo (model and horse). 

After skipping an article about dog agility, in this week's centerfold is the beautiful Silver Knight! I didn't enter for any of the 2002 Connoisseurs after being drawn for Masquerade, because of the little problem of not having much money. Later on I did have an extensive Adios conga, but never did get my hands on a Silver Knight. I'll just admire him from afar. 

On page 26-27 is a Breyer Scrapbook, featuring some fun envelope art. I always thought that Naughty/Nice combination was really cool. 

After skipping Collector's Corner, Horse Trader (down to 3 pages), and Breyer jr., on page 38 is the rest of the Miniature Horses article, and on page 39 is the first page of this week's Vintage Point article, featuring the Clydesdale Mare.

On page 40-41 is the rest of the Vintage Point, and that brings us to the end of this week's issue! Check back next week for Mar/Apr 2002! 

TSC Stablemate sets!

 Exciting news, readers! New Stablemate blind bags and family sets have been found at Tractor Supply stores around the country. While I don't yet have photos I can use, these Stablemate sets consist of the following:
Blind Bags series 6: G2 Saddlebred in what looks like champagne buckskin, G2 Paso Fino in sorrel?, Mini Fireheart in black blanket Appaloosa, Twist in gray, G2 Standardbred in black and the G4 Para Dressage Horse in chestnut pinto, and the chase pieces are a charcoal-with-white-splatter-spots G2 Thoroughbred and a purple/blue splash white pinto G4 Driving Horse. 
(Realistic) Mystery Foal sets: Peaceful Gardens family: Mini Georg in black pinto with G2 Percheron in gray pinto and the new Playful Foal in black pinto. Graceful Grove family: G3 Cantering Warmblood in silver bay? with dark bay blanket Appaloosa G4 Hanoverian and unknown foal. Shimmering Sands family: Buckskin Kit with bay-going-gray G4 Driving Horse, unknown foal. 
(Unicorn) Mystery Foal sets: Sparkling Canyon family: Yellow/green Twist with light pink/rose Warmblood Mare, unknown foal. Enchanted Forest family: Black Kit with light purple/lavender Prince Charming, unknown foal. Dazzling Cliffs family: Purple speckled Alborozo with light blue G2 Warmblood and new Frisky Foal in speckled blue. 
Note: The G3 Standing Foal, G3 Lying Down Foal, the G2 Scratching Foal and maybe others were in these sets, but now I can't find the other photos to confirm which foals were used in which sets. So there will be more updates soon! 
I like all of the colors I've seen, and so far I think the ultra rare chase piece is the prettiest - too bad I don't collect the mold. I'm happy that they decided to give the previous molds they've been using a much-deserved break and bring in some new molds, too. 
If you're wanting to buy these, but not wanting to shop at TSC due to recent events, they will (or should, anyway) become available from Breyer later. So don't lose hope! 

Llywellyn is here!

 Good news, readers! My Llywellyn is here! And by some miracle, I think I've finally managed to learn how to spell his name. Huzzah! 

Full disclosure: I took photos of this guy in the Collector Club tent for Breyerfest Closeups, but my actual copy arrived before I got to the Collector Club one, so that post got put on ice. Whoops! 

I really like that shade of buckskin. 

He still has that goofy look to him, but I think I like him.

Quality-wise he's pretty nice - he has a few shiny marks, but otherwise looks pretty good. I'll have to enter him in a live show and see how he does! Along with 20 others, of course. 

The packaging got a redesign, which does a nice job of making the model look attractive, and the bags are now a grayish color with navy blue ribbons and embroidery. Very nice! I can't quite say the same for the COA, which I didn't get a photo of - they managed to put the Premier Club 2024 logo on it in two different places, but the actual copy for the release says 2023. Oops! 

Side note: I wanted to get some photos of Tigerlily and Firestorm for Breyerfest Closeups, but they were being featured in the broadcast tent at the time, so I couldn't get the photos. Oh well. Check back again soon for more exciting Breyer news! 

Breyerfest Closeups: Remaining Stablemates Club Releases

 Greetings, readers! Well, we've reached the last of our Breyerfest Closeups for this year! The thrilling conclusion is...the rest of the releases for the 2024 Stablemates Club! Behold! 

Here we have all the colors of Miguel, the gambler's choice for this year. I don't collect the Stablemate Donkey mold, so I don't need any of these for my own collection, but I do like the blue one.

The placements of the Stablemates may vary a little bit in these photos, because the floor shifted as I was taking photos of them and caused them to take an unfortunate tumble all over the table. 

They sure are cute, though. 

I'm a little surprised that none of them are glossy. You'd think the blue one would be, at least.

Next is Dylan. I'm guessing he's the August release? I don't think they'd release the gambler's choice this early, but who knows. 

He's pretty, and while his paint job is slightly better-executed than the very similar Phineas from a couple years ago. 

Next is the optional release for this year. I guess I only got one photos of these guys. Oh well - the color is nice, but I don't need the mare or the lying-down foal, so I hope I get the one I want. Insert grumble about gambler's choice stuff here.

Last is Augustus, the final release in this year's club. I like him! He's like a spicy little drafter.

I love his swishy tail! 

That's all I have for today. Let's hope we get more exciting Breyer news soon! 

Blue Zeus and Petra selections!

 Good news, readers! My Blue Zeus model finally arrived! Okay, he came last Friday, but I haven't had a chance to get photos of him until today. Behold! 

What a beauty! 

I'd gotten a shipping notice for him, but erroneously thought it was for my Llywellyn because the website said Blue Zeus was still unfulfilled. 

I'm definitely grateful I got this guy when I did, because it looks like the warehouse is doing a repeat of the Lafayette debacle, where the orders printed out more-or-less randomly and people who ordered after the original allotment was sold out ended up getting models right away, while people who ordered before ended up having to wait until December.

I'm grateful I managed to get one at all, really, what with all the warehouse issues I've been hearing about lately (crushed boxes, open boxes, crushed open boxes, boxes with no tape, empty boxes, orders arriving with everything but Blue Zeus, orders arriving with one model and the rest of the box full of bird seed/dog treats/cat food/underwear, damaged models, orders not being shipped at all despite it now being 2 weeks since Breyerfest ended, Breyer shotgunning out more releases without resolving the previous shipping issues first, honeycomb wrap not being honeycombed properly, Stablemates shipped in bubble mailers, orders containing Blue Zeus being delayed until December (including anything else in the order), probably more stuff I'm forgetting). Let's hope this is the event that makes Breyer finally dump CCG for a better warehouse. 

As for my Blue Zeus, he was pretty good in the quality department - I didn't see any major issues. He'll look great on my shelf with the rest of my Firehearts. I hope the warehouse gets people's orders sorted out soon, because it sounds like things are a disaster right now. 

In other news, the selections for Petra went out today! Check your email or your Collector Club account to see if you were drawn. With the new website came an update where you can click a button on your Collector Club Home page to see if you were drawn. Nothing here, unfortunately, so it looks like I'll have to grab one on the secondary market. Congrats to all the winners!