Pretty Chestnuts

As you know, I’ve had a hard time warming up to the Dundee mold, but I think next year’s BreyerFest Celebration Horse is one I will keep: that is a very pretty shade of chestnut, and I do like minimal pintos:

I’ve been watching a lot archaeological documentaries lately (hello insomnia, my old friend), so when I hear the phrase “Athenian lady”, all I can think of is how the actual ladies of Ancient Athens were the opposite of empowered.

I know it’s just a play on one of the goddess’s many names and I am reading way too much into it; ‘tis the curse of being a history nerd. 

Her story is (fortunately) not as sentimental as a lot of horse stories tend to be. I am not immune to sentimentality, but The Hallmark Channel doesn’t get a lot of airtime in my house, either. 

(As far as the rescue angle is concerned – I am not touching that with a 50-foot pole and a Hazmat suit. All I will say on the matter publicly is that the enemy of your enemy is not your friend.)

I also really like the latest Test Run offering, who is also a lovely shade of chestnut with just a little bit of extra white:

I was just thinking that if I ever got the notion of entering another Collector’s Class at BreyerFest (definitely NOT next year!) I’d want to do a “Hooked on Classics” Test theme, especially since I have… a lot of Classic Test Colors. A documented “Archival” Test would made a very nice addition to that potential entry, since the rest of mine are technically undocumented. 

I’d also like something in Appaloosa and something in Gloss, too, for variety’s sake, but I also know those are even longer shots than this fellow.

Black Points

Since I’ve been buying a lot of less desirable Collector’s Club Appreciation Glossies recently (the mule Buckeye is on his way!) the currently crop of Glossies has been less of a temptation, especially since my favorite of the bunch – the Black Brishen Sjoerd – seems to be everyone else’s least-loved. 

Conversely, I am not too keen on the Peptoboomsmal: I tried my best to love him or even like the Dundee/Australian Stock Horse mold –the 2022 Flagship Special Romeo should have been a no-brainer for me, for a couple of reasons – but I am having a hard time warming up to him. 

The other two are also very nice, but they are more in the like, rather than love category: the Morgan is pretty, but also pretty huge, and the Totilas is a bit tippy.  

So I took a pass on the offer this time. Maybe I’ll be able to trade for a Glossy Sjoerd at BreyerFest: I just finished my sales list and it’s definitely an eclectic one. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find someone to trade something for it!

My mind is on a dozen different things today (someone or something literally bent some of my metal garden fenceposts to the ground, and I have no idea how) so I’ll wrap up a couple of talking points from the comments and move on to other topics next time. 

The color on the Vintage Custom Black Stallion was not extensively retouched; if anything, he’s actually a bit darker than I received him, since I had a hard time matching his highlights. Any perceived brightness can be attributed to a fresh application of varnish and outdoor lighting. Like Reeves, photography is not my strongest suit! 

As for my opinion of the final disposition of the Test Color Appaloosa Performance Horse: I am assuming, unless proven otherwise, that the sale was taken private: there are always ways. The conversation about him that appeared shortly afterward may well have contributed to his disappearance. I think the fact that my other purchase – also a Test Color! – happened a few hours later, yet was not canceled actually strengthens this argument. 

A hobbyist who was genuinely concerned about the seller would have also seen the Classic and insisted that one be canceled as well. The fact that they let that one go suggests to me that it was someone who either had no idea it was a Test, or was a “high point” collector with little interest or concern for plain, Chicago-era Classics. (Or regard for what their fellow hobbyists think of them, too.)

Because an odd little Black Stallion with four stockings and gray hooves definitely doesn’t have the same allure as an early BreyerFest Auction Test Color that’s been “missing” for 30 years, or the same potential for a financial return on their investment. 

For the record, I am not a fan of “high point” collectors of any stripe: they tend to throw their money around rather carelessly, distorting the market in the process and make life difficult for collectors of more modest means.

For the Records

It’s old news by now, but still worth noting and recording here, for posterity’s sake:

• Rainbow Leopard Appaloosa with Blue Interference: 700 Matte, 325 Glossy
• Flaxen Liver Chestnut Roan: 900 Matte, 325 Glossy
• Palomino Pintaloosa: 975 Matte, 325 Glossy
• Sable Champagne Minimal Splash Pinto: 800 Matte, 325 Glossy
• Bay Maximum Sabino: 1000 Matte, 325 Glossy

I am not understanding the amount of antagonism some hobbyists are still having about the Flaxen Liver Chestnut Roan. It’s like he’s got Khemosabi-level cooties or something. We can’t all make money: sell it at cost and move on with your life. That’s what I did with the Surprises I received that unimpressed me. 

As for not being able to cash in on the current collectibles craziness? (Looks at a garage full of sales items I’ve been unable to list, because a 36-hour day hasn’t been invented yet.) You get used to it, eventually.

Speaking of out-of-control prices, breakdowns for the Surprises were also released today. Per their blog, there were three different 50/50 Splits this year: Seurat, who was the Matte/Gloss; Peche Merle was 50/50 Bay/Buckskin; and Tasilli was 50/50 Marwari/Not. 

All of the Metallic Decorators were issued in 200-piece quantities; with the exception of the Pollock, they were pieces added to (and not taken from) their original announced runs. Anyway, the full details:

• Uffington: 200 Holographic Silver, 1800 Cremello
• Peche Merle: 950 Buckskin, 950 Bay
• Gran Cavallo: 200 Blue/Purple Colorshift, 1800 Liver Chestnut Sabino
• Seurat: 1000 Matte, 1000 Glossy
• Knossos: 200 Gold, 1000 Brindle Piebald
• Tasilli: 1000 Barb, 1000 Marwari 
• Pollock: 200 Gold with Rainbow spots, 1400 Rainbow with Gold spots
• Ansel: 200 Metallic Blue, 2000 Blue Roan

Interesting that they’re officially calling the “Mop Top” version of the Marwari a Barb: duly noted. 

The Buckskin Peche Merle shouldn’t be too hard to find on the secondary, so that’s good for me. 

As for the others, I don’t think the announced quantities will affect their prices too much in the short term. The Glossy Seurats will be even more difficult to attain than the Glossy Thorns were, because New Mold + Glossy; and I am already seeing people trying to use the piece quantities to justify their list prices for the variants. 

But this will change with time; as someone pointed out in the comments a post or two below, the prices for the 2020 BreyerFest Special Runs have fallen back down to issue price, or at least only a modest markup. I am hoping once the next “new hotness” comes along, a Glossy Seurat might become a reality. The Variants will probably hover somewhere above the price for the Surprise Glosses, but not quite the stratospheric prices the first few brought. 

As for possibly scoring another variant, that will depend on what’s available at the “Leftovers” Sale in September, and whether my schedule is compatible with me participating. 

(Still not entirely sure; all I know is that this Saturday will be my only day off from now until Labor Day weekend. Oy!)

Incidentally, I’m a little more optimistic that there will still be some variants to be had. The fact that there seems to be a lot of variants already “out there” is more a matter of confirmation bias than anything else: people are more likely to post pictures of their variants than their boring (in comparison) as-advertised Special Runs. 

That being said, I doubt lightning will strike twice here. Best not to think too much about it. 

Brown Breyer Horse Day

It was Brown Breyer Horse Day at my house on Friday. First up, my Surprise:

When I saw the solid Strawberry Roans popping up (aka “the boring one”), I had a suspicion that’d be the one I would get. The only question was whether I’d be getting Gloss or Matte, and it looks like me getting a Gloss last year was merely a glitch in The Matrix. 

Don’t get me wrong, I actually like him and will probably be keeping him (I don’t have any other Dundee molds yet, and I love roans in general), but I’d prefer if my Surprises were actually surprises more often. 

The Universe is pretty insistent on reminding me that I am not special, just weird. 

My Seurat is quite lovely in person – his dapples are subtle and well done – but like last year’s Thorn, I was bummed to find out that he was the Gloss/Matte Split model. It just annoys me to heck that models some hobbyists don’t care about at all sudden become ultra-desirable when they spray gloss on them. Can’t y’all just leave those models for people who like the mold on its own merits?

(A little more on that topic later.)

And also, now that I have one in person, I like the mold a lot more than I thought I would. But the existence of a Gloss variation creates problems. I suspect that, being a newer mold, he’ll be even harder to acquire than the Gloss Thorn was. If I do decide to buy another example of this mold in the near future, it’s probably either going to be the original Vermeer, or another release entirely – coming soon, no doubt.

And finally, another surprise that’s not really a surprise, the Volunteer Model:

He arrived in a slightly terrifying-looking box, but fortunately the miles of bubble wrap he came in saved him. He is not entirely surprising because (a) I was expecting the Desatado mold to show up at BreyerFest in some way, though I thought it’d be as the Surprise Model, and (b) he’s a Rabicano. More than half of the Volunteer Models I’ve received have been some variation of Roan, and even though Rabicanos aren’t genotypically Roans, phenotypically they’re pretty close.  

All that being said, he’s very pretty in person and definitely not going anywhere. Coincidentally, during my BreyerFest shopping trip I almost bought a Lightning Ridge that happened to catch my eye. I ended up selling the first one I bought, but this second one had little turquoise blue socks that I found rather charming. I might end up back at that store for an event at the end of the month, and if he’s still there he might come home with me. 

After some interesting developments at work this week, attending that event seems increasingly remote, though. (I should know by the end of this week. I think.)

Nothing else has arrived. I’ll reserve further talk about the shipping situation until a later date, especially since everyone has a pretty firm and unpersuadable opinion of what’s going on anyway. I’d rather wait until we had more actual information to assess the situation, rather than participate in the increasingly dark-sided online hearsay.

In other words: your move, Reeves. (My opinion to them that they are free to take or leave: being blunt and completely honest is usually the only way to extricate yourself from a difficult position.)

As for the Surprise Decorator development with the remaining BreyerFest Special Runs, I have mixed feelings. I think this is probably the only scenario where they could have executed this successfully. And by successfully, I mean people buying Special Runs because of what they were advertised as, rather than as vehicles for potentially rare variations that lead to money-making opportunities. 

(I say “potentially” because even that, at this point, is a matter of speculation.)

The flip side of this is, of course, the fact that I never get those kinds of rarities, and knowing that even more unobtainables are out there is never not a bummer, especially when it involves things you already liked.

It's that time of year, again...

Just about everything’s been uploaded, downloaded, printed, prepped and packed. Packing the new car’s been a challenge – the configuration is completely different than the previous car, so figuring out what goes where has been…a puzzle, both literally and figuratively.

(I’d also like to thank our local crazy-awesome independent dollar store Debby’s Dollar for the assist this year with making the trip more affordable. And for the candy: come try the mystery taffy!)

I think I’m way more chill about BreyerFest at this point than I ought to be. I don’t even have the nagging feeling that I’m forgetting something, though I almost certain am.

Since I’m on a slightly tighter than usual budget, and I have too much darn stuff anyway, I’ll probably keep shopping at the Clarion to a minimum. That doesn’t mean I won’t take a look anyway, and if the right thing magically appears in front of me (like the Golden Charm Man o’ War) all that will go out the window.

I might buy slightly more than average tickets for the Saturday Raffle item North Star. The Duende mold hasn’t done anything for me one way or another, but that color is really something. He’d make a nice companion for my Showboat, for sure!

No plans on attending the auction – definitely not in my budget ballpark – but I know who I like: the Bay Roan Varnish Appaloosa Dundee!

Sine the Few-Spot True North I loved so much last year got top dollar, I would not be surprised if the Dundee does, too. The Legionario in a magnificently executed Gloss Primitive Red Dun will go pretty high, too. I mean, just look at him!

I would buy that color on almost anything. (Hint, hint.)

Other big moneymakers will probably include the Gloss Bay Marwari, because it’s Gloss Bay, and the Rainbow Croi Damsha because that Gloss Rainbow Overo Pinto paint job makes a lot of people lose their minds. (Personally I can take it or leave it.)

I know there’s been some speculation that there’s at least one “surprise” that’s being withheld from us – like they did with the Silver Charm Surprises for the 25th anniversary. I have no special insight on whether or not that’s going to happen (really, honest!), but I wouldn’t put it past them, either.

Frankly, I can’t get too excited about it because I haven’t even gotten a Glossy Surprise model since 2012 – an extra-limited something-something? Nah. 

Suave

One good thing about having a Silver as a Store Special? Not having to hear months of hobbyists fretting that no really, THIS will be the year Silver will be the Surprise Model.

That is not going to happen: three days of insomnia has left me too tired and foggy to rehash the arguments why.

I was hoping that we’d see this mold in the form of a Glossy Reissue of the original Silver Release, mostly because I am kind of smitten with the look of my Vintage Club Gloss Chalky Alabaster Cantering Welsh Pony, and think the Silver would look equally fine in a similar suit of clothes.

Whether I get Rico or not is… iffy. I think the color will look nice on him in person – basically a Matte version of the 2009 Early Bird Special Run Angel Food Cake – but I am not the fan of the Silver mold a significant portion of the hobby is, and my shopping list so far is already full of many definites and maybes.

And his name… well, I worked with a guy named Rico, once. While that was an interesting experience (not all bad), I don’t think I want to be reminded of him every time I look at it.

(It’s as logical a reason as any other I’ve seen to just saying no to any given model…)

A Dundee mold will also be released – not sure if it’s a Store Special, Mid-year, or some other classification of production run – as a portrait of Jonathan Field’s horse Hal.

Though for the sake of my sanity I will also assume that this is a very, very, very sly and subtle reference to the original Silver Age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. (I’m more of a Guy Gardner gal, myself, but at this point I will take any DC reference, no matter how tenuous.)

That’s it for me today. Off to make another go at this “sleep” thing. Will the fourth time be the charm?