Trying to Summon the Lightning

For lots and lots of reasons I’d rather not get into, I am going to pretend that Volunteer Models didn’t exist this year. (Not that I particularly love the mold, but…  yeah, let’s not go there. Be happy with my Glossy Surprise and move forward.)

Recent BreyerFest Nonhorse Special Runs haven’t been much to my liking – and I was baffled by the inclusion of a Spanish Fighting Bull in the French-themed year, when there were so many more appropriate (and less controversial) options available – but I am quite delighted by this year’s edition Hamish:

Take a boring but competent mold that’s been out of circulation for a few years and give it a snazzy, shiny makeover!

As I’ve said before, I would have been happy if they had just given him an updated version of his original Solid Black paint job, add some shading, hoof and facial detailing, and wrap it up in a Gloss Finish. But Hamish in all his sparkly, splashy, glittery glory is more than fine!

This has gotten me to thinking. Who else is a boring but competent mold who hasn’t seen a lot of action lately? And who would definitely benefit from a sharp modern update?

(FYI: Not a typical Stud Spider.)

Stud Spider! We haven’t seen much of Spider in the past ten(!) years; the last time we saw him as a production piece was Stetson, a very nice Dun Micro Run (24 pieces) for the Lone Star Experience in 2009.

As for whether or not there’s a market for a new Stud Spider release, all I have to do is point to one of the Regular Run releases that immediately preceded Stetson: the #1236 Banjo in Buckskin Tobiano Pinto. He ran a remarkable five years as a part of the My Favorite Horses Series, from 2004 through 2008. That’s longer than his beloved original pinto release – the #88 Overo Pinto, that only ran for three years, from 1979 through 1981.

I was thinking a minimal frame overo would be nice (Blue Roan, or Sooty Palomino?), but the Collector’s Club “Picture This” Sweepstakes – where we had to choose one of four different molds to appear as a Special Run Frame Overo next year – tragically did not include Stud Spider as an option.

(I would have voted for him instead of... gosh, I don’t even remember now! Was it Latigo?)

So, not likely.

But stranger things have happened, and maybe whatever magic I seem to have at my disposal here might help make another Stud Spider happen sooner, regardless.