Sunday, March 20, 2016

And Now, a Regular Run Gambler's Choice?

Loose-Maned Newsworthy/Connemara Ponies have been found in the wild; apparently Reeves is doing a “Gambler’s Choice” with the two different versions, though I suspect the Loose-Maned will be scarcer, at least at first.

It’s nice to know that the option is out there, since the positive online response to Persimmon is making it less likely for me to get picked for one. (More people entering, more often = worse odds.) I’ve heard almost nothing but nice things about the paint job for the Connemara, too, so it won’t be a mere consolation prize when I find one.

While we’ve had simultaneously released finish variations (Gloss vs. Matte) for both Regular Run and Special Run items for a while now, simultaneously released mold variations are a relatively new thing.

This is because the ability to release multiple mold variations simultaneously is a relatively new thing.

But not a new-new thing. We’ve had separately molded and theoretically swappable parts on molds since the 1950s, primarily via the various “saddled” horses (Horse, Pony, Fury/Prancer, Western Prancer) and the cattle with their separately molded ear and horn pieces.

The closest corollary to the Connemara, I believe, would be the original Breyer Dairy Cow, who had unique horns or sets for its five different releases: Ayrshire, Holstein, Brown Swiss, Jersey and Guernsey. They were not always consistently placed, or done with the correct pieces, but the effort was made.


The Dairy Cow experiment ended after a couple of years, but not due to technical issues: being the most popular dairy cow breed in the U.S., the Holstein outsold all of the other Dairy Cow releases, plain and simple. So much so that many of the subsequent releases, reissues and Special Runs were some flavor of Holstein, like the Weber Scientific Cow:


The two-year production run for the other Cows (and Calves) was atypical for Breyer releases in the 1970s, but it’s fairly average for a release today. It’s a different market, requiring different marketing techniques, so I wouldn’t “read” too much into the length of the Connemara Pony’s run, one way or another.

Though I do think the release will get a little bit of a bump in sales, since a scarcely produced and previously much more difficult to obtain mold variation is now in the mix.

All I’m asking for is that it run long enough for me to find and procure one at a reasonable price. This might take a while, since my work schedule has not been conducive to pony shopping lately.

6 comments:

Little Black Car said...

I have that postcard! I keep meaning to get it scanned, enlarged, and framed. I love it.

I need to get the new Breyer cows, too.

Yvonne said...

Don't forget the long-tailed and short-tailed Lady Phase run for the Treasure Hunt.

Anonymous said...

This is off the subject...but have you heard anything about a translucent red, white and blue ASB being sold in stores in May?

Yvonne said...

On the off subject ASB: Currently he is listed for sale at Back In The Saddle (Item #BB6163). No word from Breyer if this will be available at other locations but it does say that it is a Limited Edition.

ANDREA said...

I have heard about the "popsicle" horse, yes, but haven't looked into him yet. No idea yet about their status - how limited, SR or not. But it's not too much of a surprise, since we recently saw some clear sample pieces from China on eBay.

RE: The Treasure Hunt Lady Phases - even though they were released the same year, and both versions could be found on the shelf of particularly well-stocked stores, I always thought of them as consecutive rather than concurrent releases.

Truson said...

Breyer has confirmed them to me in a phone call that they will be a limited edition of 3000, available in stores and on their website. :) LOVE this blog!