I have no idea how many of the gloss were in the store – significantly less than 200. It was hard to tell in the chaos: if I were to hazard a guess, it'd be less than 50. (I didn't see any of the Matte, but that doesn't mean anything: there was a lot of stuff in there I didn't see. Like the VRE models.) I have no idea if they're going to sell more on Shopatron or elsewhere. He has the same item number as the Matte, which is #712020, and no mention is made of the gloss finish on his certificate: the Gloss Rileys were re-numbered and re-certificated.
(I never got around to asking, either, but that's another story.)
You can't really tell from the (very bad) photograph, but this paint job is BEAUTIFUL. It's very reminiscent of the Rejoice “Gwendolyn” from a few years back: richly shaded, slightly pearlescent, and (unlike Gwendolyn) subtly dappled. I love this color, and I wouldn't mind seeing it on just about anything else. (Do I see Collector's Choice entries in this color in the future? I do!) And he was $70, too - $40 less than the Shopatron Store price for the Matte! A real steal, I thought.
Others were not so impressed. I showed off my Solstice to anyone who walked in the room. (Heck, I've been carrying him around the house for the past two days, and I have nobody here to impress!) I found it a wee bit distressing that they were not as enamored of him as I was. Admittedly, some of them were very young hobbyists who have the privilege of already being so blasé about this sort of thing already. (Am I the only person a little squicked by the fact that the Youth Show at BreyerFest has prizes that are always rarer, and often better, than anything else at the event? What's left to aspire to?)
And when you have two raffles, an Early Bird Special, several different SR and glossy live show prize models, a hat contest, a cake topper contest, VRE models in the Tent, and the Deco Surprise Quarter Horse Geldings, too, he kinda gets lost in the crowd. He's rare, but not THAT kind of rare. Not THAT kind of special.
Still, it is a bit troubling. Every model is technically unique. I didn't realize we were approaching the point at which a model has to be literally unique for it to attract any attention at all.
Y'know, I remember when any special run of less than 500 pieces was considered quite the catch. Then it was only models of 350-piece runs or less that managed to excite collectors. Then 200 pieces became the threshold: anything more than that wasn't “rare” enough to be worth the trouble. Now it seems that in the minds of some collectors, if there's more than 100 of any given Special Run, it might as well be a dog toy. Especially if it's not a new or super-popular mold.
(Speaking of mold popularity, how right was I about the volunteer model this year – a Proud Arabian Stallion! Ha! Still would have loved to have one, though. That's one pretty paint job. Sigh.)
My Glossy Summer Solstice is special to me, and that's all that matters.
5 comments:
I completely concur with you about the Glossy Summer Solstice model. I too am a veteran collector that found this this model to be quite fetching. I was surprised at how many people passed by the Glossy Summer Solstice in the tent once they realized what model/mold he was. Am I really that behind the times? That mold used to be so popular back in the day.
Like you, I came up quite empty-handed on most of the true rarieties at BreyerFest this year. But I consider my Glossy Summer Solstice to be at the very top of the heap of my loot haul. I'll keep my fingers crossed that Breyer didn't make very many of them after all and that they end up being vastly more rare than folks realized! :)
Shoot, I missed out on him. I wasn't thrilled with the matte and the price but the glossy is really nice (yes, I am one of those).
I picked up an old custom from 89 on a QH mare mold. She was cm to an app and fixed up somewhat. I have another cm on this mold (original which I think is ugly) that won everything. I am a softie for a vintage cm and for $20 couldn't pass her by. She'll be great for my performance set ups.
My first championship was a SHS Sam I Am :D so that mold has a special spot in my heart.
*sigh* I really like this guy too, and I wasn't lucky enough to go to Breyerfest this year. Count me in the group hoping he does show up on shopatron! He's definitely a favorite mold of mine... my first and most favorite Breyer was the Bay App SHS!
When I saw the volunteer model was a PAS, I laughed! The first thing I thought of was your post! The question is, if they do make the Breferest volunteer models "just ok" to keep us humble... why are the Breyerwest volunteer models always SO awesome?
I think he's lovely, and I would have loved to snag one! Congrats!
I had one of the glossies in my hand in the Ninja Pit, but already had the (much higher-priced) matte version and couldn't justify the monetary indulgence. Maybe I should just take a can of glossy Krylon to my matte one to bring out that glorious color! :) (or I could slick him up with Vaseline like I used to when I was a kid!)
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