Nothing special here, just the standard (initially offered) Surrey and Axle:
When I heard about the variation, I was mildly freaked out that I’d get the Action Stock Horse Foal: even if it had turned out to be a one-in-ten variant, I would have been kind of annoyed, the same way I was a little miffed about having to find the Cremello Uffington secondhand.
A big part of the reason I bought the set was for that Standing Stock Horse Foal. A Few-Spot Appaloosa Lady Phase didn’t hurt, either. I know a lot of hobbyists aren’t fans of Few-Spots, but I am definitely not one of them!
Anyway, crisis averted.
The Standing Stock Horse Foal, incidentally, was one of those “more common” models I was looking for to fill in some holes in my collection, but all the ones I was specifically shopping for were in short supply. Which is super-weird, considering how popular the mold used to be as Breyer’s generic, go-to Stock Horse Foal!
Again, I am not in a rush. I am assuming I will pick up what I need in a box lot somewhere along the way.
Since I had an unexpected day off last Saturday, I used that opportunity to look at – but not actually buy – some of the newest “Paddock Pals” at my local Dollar General.
I haven’t bought any of them since the initial batch dropped at Five Below a while back, and we didn’t know what the heck was going on. But now we kinda do. It’s what I speculated all along: it’s a budget-priced, entry-level line sold at dollar/discount stores and marketed to younger kids. They even have a web site now with backstories for every single release:
https://paddockpals.breyerkids.com/meetthepaddockpals.html
I like a lot of them, and I may end up buying a couple more in the future, but actually collecting them looks like it is out of the question.
It’s not just that I don’t have the time or space, it’s that they exist in such a weird place. It’s a completely new scale that’s somewhere in between Traditional and Classic, that’s both realistic in terms of anatomy and conformation, but also not really live showable as-is (without special accommodations). And they gave the whole shebang the obsolete name of a now largely obsolete scale: the Little Bits.
My brain doesn’t quite know how to process them.
4 comments:
Thanks for the heads-up,... I wouldda gone on thinking Little Bits referred to the original 1980s releases for, I dunno, the rest of my natural life? since I have some of them....and since IDYB refers to them by just those names, Little Bits / Paddock Pals. I can't think what Breyer is about. I'd've come up with a name like Corral Pals or something,...
I'm not usually one to miss out on Breyerfest's spec. runs or LE's--but this year's selection just didn't do it for me for some reason!
Now I'm one who loves Lady Phase with a passion(she's one of my largest conga models)--but I passed on this set just because of her coloration! I don't care so much that she was a few spot--as much as the way they did the so called "roaning" over her face! Now --when have you seen a "real" horse look like that??
It would have been better if they had reversed it (put the foal color on the mare and her color on the foal) What's the deal with the way that they do roaning anyway?
They give such shading depth to "Peptoboonsmal" and "Full Moon Rising" and others--but can't carry it on to others?? So disappointing--but that's JMHO!
Those paddock pals are neat! Thank you for the link! We don't have any Five Below's close by in our area that I know of--but Dollar General's are everywhere! I'll have to check them out sometime!! They don't always carry the toys until closer to the holidays! Usually Cracker Barrel also carries them but they can be "hit and miss" too!
Wow! I haven't thought of little bits in years!! I still have the ones from when they were 1st released! Wonder how much they would go for nowadays??
The foal is very charming! My only criticism of LP's paint job is that it looks like the three sections- legs, throat and head- were all painted separately. Of course they're all painted in stages, but this one kind of takes down the third wall.
I was confused about Paddock Pals too! I was thinking, awesome, glad they're reviving Little Bits! They are tempting. I've seen the bay Morgan and pink unicorn at family dollar. The bios are fascinating, and Midnight! "Tell me EVERYTHING!" I'm not very touchy-feely, but, aw!!! I like to think my own tiny horses are as sympathetic.
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