Well, my greatest accomplishment over the past few days was in not dying – literally!
I was driving in the sleet and freezing rain to work yesterday, and I thought the road conditions were actually improving as I traveled south. I noticed a backup (about ¼ to ½ mile) on the northbound side of the freeway due to a spinout crash into a (newly installed!) guardrail, so I slowed down a bit more as a precaution.
Some knucklehead in an SUV decided they weren’t having this, and made the choice to pass me in the fast lane. They gunned it; I saw them wobble a bit as they crossed lanes a couple car lengths in front of me… and then proceeded to do a full 360 spin in my lane, and then slid down the (very steep) embankment.
I swear it looked like a special effect straight out of a Final Destination movie. I held my breath, told myself not to brake, braced for impact and… somehow we missed each other. By how much I’ll never know, unless someone else has dashcam video of it. It was not by much!
Since the cops were not even a half mile up the road attending to the other accident, and it didn’t seem wise to stop, I kept driving. And I actually made it to work on time.
Though, to be honest, I was pretty useless for the first hour or so: my hands were shaking like crazy and I couldn’t concentrate because holy carp, I came within a couple of seconds of nearly dying…
Anyway, that’s the kind of day I had. How was yours?
The 2023 Volunteer Model is the Croi Damsha/Connemara – a mold I did have on my list of possible candidates – in Red Bay and Sunburnt Black Snowcap Appaloosa:
They’re holding back the third color until BreyerFest, presumably to leave us something to speculate about.
Everyone’s first instinct is to think that the third color Chevaliere will come in will be a Decorator, but I’m more inclined to believe it’s going to be a Dilute or some other base color modifier like Dun, Pearl, Roan or Gray.
While I wouldn’t rule it out (especially a Translucent release – surely there must be a few leftover bodies from the Christmas Spice Drop release hanging around the warehouse somewhere?), it’s been a while since they’ve done a pure Decorator color for the Volunteer Models.
What’s unusual about Chevaliere isn’t the fact that it’s an Appaloosa – they’ve already done the Connemara mold in Dun Blanket Appaloosa, for the 2018 Collector’s Club Special Run Starlet – but that they went with a Snowcap Appaloosa pattern.
Breyer has done a lot of Appaloosas over the years, but most of them have been fairly conventional: Leopards, Semi-Leopards, and Blanket Appaloosas. Few Spots, Varnish Roans, Snowflake and Snowcap Appaloosa releases are much fewer and further between.
Some of it is a reflection of real-world tastes and biases: many horse people have a surprisingly narrow definition of what an Appaloosa should look like, and it usually involves lots of spots.
And I know from personal experience that some patterns are simply harder to render than others: I will not regale you with all my failed attempts to paint the Snowflake Appaloosa of my dreams. (Will my Few Spot Standing Stock Horse Foal turn out any better? LOL, probably not!)
I’m not sure when the application for volunteering goes up – presumably pretty darn soon? – and I know they need a bunch of people this year, so I encourage anyone who’s curious about it to give it a shot. Heck, I’d do it just for a tee-shirt and a sandwich, but y’all know I’m a lifer…
And don’t worry if you’re not famous, not an expert at anything, or have even been to BreyerFest before. There’s a place for everybody – even (believe it or not) people who aren’t big on crowds! Everybody can contribute something, even if all it is is a cheerful face and a willingness to be helpful.
That’s it for today; I now need to go to bed and stare into the void for a while. I think I deserve it.
11 comments:
Glad you were okay, Andrea! Scary!
Back in the day we used to race Appaloosas here in Michigan. The trainers I worked for had four of them over the years. All four were from the same mare and had solid color TB or QH sires; two were bay with minimal snowflake spots and mottled skin, the other two were solid chestnut and solid black. Another trainer had an Appaloosa stallion with the loudest black leopard markings I've ever seen in real life. He held most of the track records for Appy races; his name was Tiny Moon Charger and anyone who ever saw him race would remember him. Someday I'm going to attempt a portrait custom of the old boy.
Good to hear you avoided disaster; there's nothing like winter roads in Michigan to provide a mortality crisis inducing event. Travel safe!
That is crazy about the other driver. Just goes to show patience is truly a virtue that can keep one safe! Glad you are ok!!
I am also thinking along the lines of Palomino, or an otherwise lighter color for the 3rd Volunteer color. Since the other 2 are on the darker side. They seem to like the pearly paint these days, so a champagne might also be interesting...perhaps a large version of Dahlia with appaloosa markings?
The only times the Volunteer has ever been Unrealistic include:
2003 - Lonesome Glory Charcoal (and not everyone considers that totally unrealistic)
2002 - Florentine Clydesdale Stallion
1998 - Gold Charm Pinto Fighting Stallion
1994 - Red Roan Indian Pony (again, kind of borderline as to realistic/unrealistic to some)
1993 - Silver Filigree PAM
Given that limited history, I would not expect a deco volunteer anytime soon. Especially when they did not do one for 2021, which would have been the most fitting out of any in recent years.
Holy cow! That's awful. Glad it was just a close call, but those things really shake a person up. I almost ran over a neighbor last week...still wracked with guilt and expecting the worst. (What kind of nut goes for an afternoon walk when there's chainsaws and a woodchipper going full bore? I was backing out of my driveway, looking out for the tree trimming crew...next thing I notice is a woman standing by the driver side door, glaring at me. I'll never trust Providence- or the neighbors- again!)
Hmm, a very appealing pep talk! Except I work in the service industry...my face has grown less cheerful over the past couple years. I'm sure with Croi for an incentive, there will be no shortage of volunteers. Personally I enjoy all Appies!
Holy cow, glad you're okay! I'm in northern Wisconsin, so yeah. Snow and roads and crazy people are not a good combination.
My guess about the Breyerfest Croi volunteer model is palomino snowflake appaloosa.
There may be a place for everyone, but you can bet all your Breyerfest money that the same crowd who does it every year will still be the ones picked. It's as predictable as the sun rising and setting and it doesn't change unless someone passes away or leaves the hobby. It's gotten very old.
Glad you survived the weather driving. We had a nasty ice/freezing rain storm about six years ago. Happened just at the time school was letting out. I picked up my son, and about 100 yards after we left the parking lot, we must have hit a patch of black ice. I was driving slower than usual, but my car did a very nice 180-degree spin and we drifted to a stop on the shoulder facing back toward the school. Luckily there was no other traffic, but still. I very slowly pulled back out on the road, and drove home very slowly, leaving plenty of space between cars. Our 10 minute drive took half an hour that night, and some of the local school buses didn't finish their routes until after 10:00 p.m. It was a day I don't want to experience again.
So glad you are okay!
Hi everyone! I just learned that a land developer wants to turn the Beebe ranch (Misty's home) into housing units. The goal is to reach $625,000. If you can please read Lynn Isenbarger's blog, HorsieMama, for more information. Please help save Misty's home! AC
I just read about that SUV driver too. That is so scary! I'm so glad that you are alright! AC
I hear you. Ill try again for the 4th time. Maybe that will be the charm.
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