Friday, September 13, 2019

Halloween Surprises

As I expected, Breyer was not on the list of finalists for the Toy Hall of Fame. I have some thoughts and feelings about this, but rather than have it turn into a rant about Care Bears, I’ll give myself a few more days for a more nuanced post.

In the meantime, we can talk about the Halloween stuff they released to Collector’s Club members today:


We’ve already knew about the Spooky Stablemates and the Samhain; however, the plush Boo (above) and the Classic* Mason Salem were new.

I’m trying to avoid even considering any Traditional-scale Halloween items right now – there is no space here at the moment – and Plushes are not an option as long as Vita roams the house.

The Stablemates were a no-brainer the moment I saw them at BreyerFest, of course. I love all three, but I do hope at least one of the two I’m getting is the Mini Ichabod Rivet, because you know how much I love glow-in-the-dark stuff.

And that’s why I ended up buying the Salem, too. At first I thought that he was cute and well-executed – a Decorator Pinto pattern with cat silhouettes and paw prints and purple interference! – but not necessarily a must-have.

Then I saw that it was glow-in-the-dark, too, and I was well, so much for setting aside some funds for a new sewing machine this week….

I do want to object to how this program was marketed, though. It was on Instagram, on Twitter, on Facebook… everywhere except the one place I actually check on a (somewhat) daily basis: my e-mail.

I am glad that these items were basically open stock items and of a sufficiently large enough quantity that they were still available when I actually had the opportunity to peruse the Internet – eight hours later.

Please do not let this be a trend: people do not need any more encouragement to stare at their phones as it is. I’ve never been more lonely than when I’ve found myself sitting at a table eating lunch with friends or coworkers, and every single one of them is staring into their phones like the rest of the world (or me!) does not exist.

Not all of us are attached to our cellphones 24/7 – in fact, I barely use it at all, and usually only for emergencies. And yes, I am also appalled that “Smartphones” made the Hall of Fame shortlist. But more about that next time…

(*Look, I still call “Paddock Pals” Little Bits. But at least it kinda-sorta makes sense. Renaming the Classics Series the Freedom Series just borders on the random and nonsensical.) 

3 comments:

timaru star ii said...

I completely agree with everything you've said. I was referring to Little Bits just last night, and I refuse to spend my life staring at a tiny screen. Thanks for the Salem info: I honestly hadn't known about him.

Suzanne said...

Ha, I saw Freedom series on the Breyer site when looking for a horse & rider set, and I didn’t realize what that was supposed to mean. Good grief. Reminds me of Bill Hick’s advice to people in marketing...

pawprint said...

Totally agree on so many points, although renaming the classics is not a new thing (B-Ranch, After-School Herd, etc.) My thoughts as to why Breyer didn't make the Toy Hall of Fame shortlist are that maybe they're just not available (international) enough. Speaking as a Canadian, I have to say that I could walk into any toy department and find all of the other toys listed, but very few stores here actually carry Breyers. I suspect the same applies in other countries. Unless the Hall is interested in only honouring American toys, I can see how this would be a shortcoming.