Thursday, July 29, 2010

Dwelling on the Pit, Pt. I

Things are almost back to normal; pretty much everything except the paperwork is done. The paperwork will take a while, but I don’t mind, considering the quality of the stuff (the paper, and the horses) that I brought home. I’m going to have to have a sale on all the leftovers and upgraded stuff pretty soon. Maybe I’ll just sell it all as a lot, save some time…

Here’s a scan of the Armstrong Supply Company logo from the brochure I mentioned last week, just to prove I wasn’t talking out of my butt:


I did some cursory research, but wasn’t able to find anything more about the company - what happened to it, how long it was in business, or whether it’s now operating under a different name or something. At least I have a name and address to work with now.

My horse pickings were pretty modest this year: almost entirely stuff from the NPOD:
  • Escondido
  • Silver Charm Newsworthy
  • Pink Poodle
  • Lady Liberty
  • Pintaloosa Standing Stock Horse Fun Foal
  • Pippen (blue roan POA - in a Racehorse box? Odd.)
  • Buttermilk (older Adios release in a JCP XMAS box, with video)
  • 2009 and 2010 Dealer Catalogs
  • Two Radars (one for me, one for a friend)
  • LSE G2 "Denim" Arabian
I passed on the Alborozos, the Connoisseurs (The Widowmaker, Giselle, Gilen, Oasis), didn’t need a Frappe or Summer Solstice, missed all of the other Fun Foals, and I wasn’t "offered" any of the FEI Straplesses or LSE Sassies. (Apparently I wasn’t deemed worthy enough by the Breyer staffers - more on that later.) I thought about getting the other two Medalist Ponies, but interest seemed surprisingly low on them, so I figured I could wait another year on them and hope the price gets docked even more. The Silver is the one I really, really wanted anyway, and the $75 price tag was exactly what I was willing to pay for it.

I didn’t see any Autumns, no TSC or Mid-States pre-releases, no Christmas Catalog stuff except for the actual Christmas-themed pieces (Jewel, the ornaments, etc.) I just missed getting the last Music City (as did one of my roommates) and at one point I thought I was being offered a test/station sample of a Silver/Hobo, but I don’t know if that was just a case of bragging or affirmation, instead. (Annoying, but water over the bridge at this point.)

Lots of other stuff, too - the usual BreyerFest leftovers, recently discontinued items, new releases, clothing, odds and ends. They had Cream and Cocoa, but at the regular retail price - too rich for my blood. Not a bad assortment of pickings this year, overall.

Things did seem to go a little bit smoother this time around, but I don’t think much of what Reeves did had anything to do with it. It’s pretty much the same group of people who punish themselves every year with this nonsense, and we know how to police ourselves by now. There were the usual bad actors and cutters, but nothing is going to stop them short of serious professional intervention.

Reeves did enforce the one item per person rule on the Radars, more or less (allegedly they were confiscating multiple Radars from people in the checkout line, but I didn’t witness that personally.) I got one on the first day, and a second on Saturday for my friend, when I realized just how nice he really was in person. There are two versions - one with subtle dapples, and the other with more dramatic ones - though I couldn’t tell you which one is the more rare of the two. I got one of each, and I’m having a hard time deciding which one to keep. I might let my friend make the decision for me.

I was a little alarmed by the feeding frenzy associated with the Radar. He’s nice, but not elbow-to-eyeball nice. Things were nowhere near as crazy for Toby last year; it makes me wonder if the news about the nature of the "Store Special" has finally sunk in with the greater collecting public (i.e. lower piece run, no ticket required.) If that’s the case, Reeves really does need to step up their game in regards to the Pit, especially if next year’s Store Special is really something.

And regarding the Strapless and LSE leftovers, That Foal, That YouTube video, and the misadventures of my Hat - well, we’ll discuss that tomorrow.

2 comments:

Stockstill Stables said...

The only breyerfest model I saw I liked was the little Rearing SM Andy(black and white) I need to get him for my conga.

Tehana said...

So the FEI/WC/Whatever straplesses were in the store? I don't understand why they did all of that, I was offered one of the sassy's but didn't want to pay what they had her priced at.