Sometimes The Only Way Out Is Through

Hey guys, still alive – though not doing much kicking, understandably. Having good days and bad days; hopefully more good than bad moving forward, once the new meds finally kick in.

And if not, Mom’s been crushing it with the vanilla milkshakes.

The worst part of this whole situation is the fact is that I can’t get anything done. I finally have a perfectly legitimate excuse to quilt to my heart’s content, and I can’t, dammit!

And speaking of that, If I haven’t gotten back with anyone, I apologize; I really do appreciate all the cards and plants and letters. Especially the cards and letters – y’all know how much I love ephemera! And feel free to drop me a note anytime. I read everything. 

If you were wondering what my hypothetical BreyerFest selections are, they should be pretty obvious:

As far as Limited Editions go, it’s: Blue Zeus and the Best of BreyerFest Stablemates. Blue Zeus because he’s a Blue Roan Fireheart and the actual live horse I’m basing my Mesteno Custom on. 

The Stablemates are a no-brainer: Stablemates were the first  models I bought with my own money back in the Dark Ages. I am also pretty keen on the mold matches: they are uncannily on point this year, though one is also pretty darn obvious. (I can only imagine what kind of ruckus would have been kicked up if they didn’t pick the Fighting Stallion for Kick Up Your Heels.) 

I think Flowers, the 2021 Raffle Model Bonheur on the Loping Quarter Horse, is probably my favorite here. Such a pretty shade of Chestnut!

Special Runs: I Will Survive (Quagga), and either Fight Song (Pinto Lipizzan) or The Edge of Glory (Ashquar). In spite of my declaration to the contrary, it looks like at least one of my selections this will be chosen purely on sentiment alone. And partly because it’s unavoidable at this point: sometime the only way out of a difficult situation is through.

Little Things

How did I not know of this t-shirt before? I need it:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/collections/apparel/products/stablemates-vintage-logo-t-shirt-adult

Knowing about this yesterday would have made my day just a wee bit less stressful. (Too long, not in any mood to explain. Dragging my sun lamp out of storage today to partially solve the problem.)

I was just thinking the other day that we were probably due another rearing/jumping/leaping Stablemate, but that’s because I forgot that we were getting one – the last release in the Stablemates Club this year, Brio:

I like him better than the other rearing Stablemates (except the Lipizzaner), but I think I need to see him in person and in other colors before I fall in love.

I have no such qualifications about next year’s new sculpture: Zug’s little cousin Augustus is my new favorite Stablemate!

In fact, I was just looking at pictures of Sarah’s Stormwatch earlier in the week, since it only just occurred to me that the Mesteno custom I’m doing is basically turning into a vague, plastic-and-epoxy imitation of him. 

(But done with considerably less skill, and still looking very much like a Mesteno.)

Anyway. There’s the chonky Draft I was hoping for/whingeing about just last post. He just happens to be Stablemates scale, rather than Traditional. I am okay with this: he will require less space, and is theoretically more affordable.

Until they offer one as a Custom Contest Prize: you don’t have to be me to know that is eventually coming. And a Gambler’s Choice, too...

We also got “a” matching Traditional family set too, but it turned out to be for Fireheart, not Georg: Firestorm and Tigerlily!

I do love Fireheart, and this set is very, very tempting, but I have managed to avoid signing up for the Premier Club until now. What is staying my hand for now is that although the money is available, the space is not. (You do not want to see what my office looks like right now. Nope!)

But it is nice to see another Traditional Foal in a more active or playful pose; I was wondering if we’d ever see one that required a base, and now we do.  

Kindness

Thank you everyone for the kind words; I’ve been checking the comments the past couple of days whenever I’ve hit a rough patch, and it’s helped immensely. It wasn’t unexpected, but it still hurts like hell regardless. 

Whenever the house got really quiet before, we just knew she was up to no good, and sometimes I catch myself wondering exactly what order of mischief she is up to now….

I guess I’m fortunate that I’ve also had a lot of work to keep me distracted, too. All those odds and ends that rush at you in the weeks before BreyerFest that absolutely must be attended to simply haven’t given me the room to dwell. 

Most of you who attend in person are familiar with that feeling.

Fate has her favorites and I know I am not one of them, especially this year, but maybe she’ll look kindly my way and favor me with a Raffle Model? I love them both, in different ways:

I’m not a fan of Buckskin Pintos generally, but the Buckskin Overo on the Rotating Draft Cleveland Bay Surprise Model last year was probably my favorite of all the colors it came in last year. And boy howdy, it also looks awesome on the Fireheart.

Reeves has been absolutely crushing it with the paintjobs on that mold; when I have the time and the space, I’ll definitely make some time to go get me a Mojave. 

Pintaloosas aren’t a huge favorite in the model horse world, a reflection of the same biases apparent in the live horse world. Personally I love them, but other than the Fun Foals Standing Stock Horse Foal I picked up in the NPOD years ago, I haven’t had much luck scoring some of the scarcer and flashier ones. The new Classic/Freedom release on the Liam mold is intriguing, but possibly not wild and crazy enough for me; I haven’t seen one in person yet to decide. That Cancion, though, that Cancion….

I won’t go out of my way to buy more tickets than I usually do; I have another trip literally the day after BreyerFest to also pay for, and I don’t think I’ll be able to bring quite as much stuff to sell as I wanted to this year due to the live show thing. 

But I’ll see what I can do; things usually have a way of working themselves out in the end. Or at least I like to think so. 

Familiar Faces

Just letting you guys know that we’re now entering my full-panic-mode-before-BreyerFest season, and things are going to get a little weird from here on out. I just cranked out about 3000 words for the Sampler over the weekend and I’m feeling no pain.

My left foot is another matter. (Long story, hopefully nothing.)

The new Mid-Year releases are both beautiful and oddly familiar. First there’s the portrait model Full Moon Rising, on the Strapless mold:

Her paint job looks quite similar to the uber-popular Bay Roan Sabino G1 Draft Horse, from the 2004 Parade of Breeds Set. 

Apparently that little guy shows really well; I’m just annoyed by the high price the entire set it comes in goes for. It came out back when I wasn’t being diligent about buying all the Christmas Stablemates sets, and now I will have to pay the price. 

The first realistic, Regular Run release of Fireheart, a Flaxen Chestnut Overo named Mojave, also looks very familiar:

His warm undertones, poofy hair and rugged chonkiness reminds me a great deal of the #3065 Classic Love Mustang Family Stallion, who was originally in production from 1976 through 1990. My example is quite the looker, and always shows really well for me. I think he has NANed at least twice so far, in very competitive Mustang classes:

Oddly, the Classic Mustang Stallion has only come in Pinto once and Appaloosa once in the past 47(!) years; Fireheart’s very brief production history has been much more colorful!

To Buy, Or Not To Buy

Shows you just how distracted I’ve been lately: I just now realized I’ve been calling Zafirah Ziyadah! And here I thought I was doing so well, never having called Totilas Tortillas… 

Here’s today’s conundrum:

On one hand, here is a Glossy Dark Dappled Red Bay on the Fireheart; on the other, there is my commitment to minimize my purchases this year until I legitimately have my inventory under control. 

Right now my “buy-o-meter” is telling me no: most of the recent Collector’s Club Special Runs of this sort have not been all that difficult to obtain after the fact, including Lafayette. If I still need him six months from now, I don’t think I’ll have too much difficulty obtaining one.

Plus the Vintage Club and Stablemates Club releases were just announced: that pretty much blows my model horse budget for the month anyway.

Too many hobbyists, I think, make the assumption that models fall into only two categories: expensive, and worthless. As someone who finds value and worth in every Breyer mold – but is also a cheapskate who has a hard time spending more than $300 on any one model – I am not one of those people, obviously.  

Most models fall in the “mushy middle”, with their prices bobbing up and down according to whims, fads and fashions. Remember when Khemosabi was a thing? When the original NIB AQHA Horse was selling for $250? Or the $400 1984 Just About Horses Saddlebred Weanlings? 

That’s why I don’t take too much stock in that current line of hobby thinking that assumes that because the prices of Alborozos have leveled off, that the market itself has cooled. 

No, it’s just moved on to something else, as it always and eventually does. There are still tons of models out there being advertised at crazy prices, and some of them… are actually selling. 

Off to plant my pepper seeds now...

Little Extra Something

I bought another box lot. I wasn’t planning on it, it just happened to turn up during my five-minute daily shopping scans. And I couldn’t pass it up because it was really cheap – as in, I could sell all of them as body box models and still make a profit kind of cheap – but I think most of them are better than that. (I’m good either way: my body box was absolutely decimated at BreyerFest, and I could use a restock.) 

I’m going to try and behave next year and keep my purchases – Vintage and New – to a minimum, because of the usual lack of both time and space. Other than Stablemates, because there’s always room for Stablemates! 

As a matter of fact, I had to do a bit of holiday shopping yesterday, and during the trip I picked up a slew of blind bags from the local not-a-Tractor-Supply store. They were 40 percent off, and I wanted to give myself something to open up on Christmas Day, besides the Breyer Christmas Day Special Run e-mail. 

That I’ll make an effort to actually be up on time to see it before it sells out. But will I buy it? 

It depends. If it’s something like Emma, of course. But if not, it’ll have to be something really spectacular, but my brain is kind of jelly from the writing project I’ve been focused on all week, so I can’t even think what that could be. Something small and pony-ish, I assume. 

Astrid? Misty? Aristocrat? Seems a little too early for Nikolas. Personally, I’d go totally Retro and pick the Western Pony: the Palomino Groomer was a Christmas Catalog staple for over a decade in the 1950s and 1960s. Put him in an assortment of Deco colors – the original four, Charcoal, Silver or Rose Gold Charm/Filigree, whatever. 

Though I suppose that probably won’t work, since it did come in solid gloss black back in the day, too. Racehorse? Kennebec Count? Khemosabi? Another Christmas Kitten? 

I’m out of ideas, LOL. 

Here’s a few recent arrivals – more Stablemates, of course!

The Mini Fireheart is a Fireheart; while I understand why they decided to go a little outrageous for this release, I’m looking forward to the more realistic colors on the mold that I am sure are already in the pipeline. 

I’m undecided on the new little Haflinger; he’s better (more detailed) in person than his online photos suggest, but he does seem a little generic? He reminds me a lot of a Family Arabian Mare custom I lost the plot on a few years ago. (In a good way: the FAM is way more interesting to customize than hobbyists give her credit for.)

I do like Kit’s fancy clip pattern, though. I generally don’t: while I think they can be awesome when they’re properly executed on a custom, they tend to look goofy on Original Finish pieces. That’s because they’re usually just painted on, with no attempt to render the textural element. It kind of gives them a slightly discordant “My Little Pony” vibe.

It kind of works with Kit, because he definitely needs a little extra something. I can see this mold wearing some wild colors and patterns in its future, and wearing them well. 

And speaking of a little extra something, that would describe the 2023 Stablemate Club bonus model Nero, on the new mini Georg/Giorgio:

That’s a mold that doesn’t need fancy clothes, but I appreciate the effort! His bigger brother, of course, was a big hit at the 2020 BreyerFest as the impressive semi-leopard Noriker Oak.

The List of Worries

I had been hearing stories, but this one takes the cake: the Special Runs chosen for me involved my first choice, and my last choice? That is… some messed up selection process you’ve got going on this year, Reeves:

I have a hard time believing everything else I selected before Marzipan was sold out during my theoretical time slot before they got to me. That would have included, by the way: the Surprise, Landler, Brahms, Rapunzel, and Elbe and Spree.

(I already had the Bears and Franz coming via the VIP, so I can’t even remember if I had them on my All-Access selection list at all.)

While I think the Marzipan is a leading contender for the Gloss/Matte split, it’s still not enough for me to actually want him, and my luck is not so good with the Gloss/Matte split models anyway.

So yeah, I’ll need to trade that one for literally… anything else. Even one of those Rando/Choose Your Own Adventure tickets they’re sending out to folks who didn’t get a chance to make tiered selections, or who only made limited selections that were sold out prior to their position in line. Otherwise I may end up giving it away, especially if space is already tight in the car. 

Ugh, another thing to worry about. This whole week, I swear. 

To show you how it’s been going so far: I was researching cargo van rentals yesterday. The vehicle is fine, but the service I wanted to get done before the trip (regularly scheduled maintenance type stuff) may not be possible until after the trip, and if I can’t find another place to do it, I’m renting a van.

Not necessarily because of the space, but because – believe it or not – it’s probably my cheapest rental option. I hope it won’t come to that, because I have enough to deal with between now and then, and I do not want to add “driving a rental van through Ohio” to my list of worries.

But anyway, enough about my woes. I have about six pages of the Sampler written, and I’m hoping for another two or three by tomorrow. I’m aiming to have it mostly written and illustrated by the end of the three-day weekend, and save next week for formatting, proofreading and printing. 

Barring another day like today, which was rough. (Much cussing was involved, as was the occasional “Serenity Now!”)

Not Dead, Just Tired

After finishing up all my other obligations, I am now able to work on my BreyerFest stuff free and clear, but I felt I was entitled to a day off before that madness begins. 

I am hoping to have the Sampler at least half written by the end of this weekend, which will also be punctuated by periodic episodes of garden weeding and watering, as necessary. And if there is time, I might even watch a movie or two!

(Spoiler Alert: there will not be time for movies.)

My VIP ticket packet came earlier this week:

Nice! I know some people are trying to figure out stuff according to the numbers on the tickets, but I am not going to bother trying. I figure the system is probably about as complicated as the one that fulfills the orders at the warehouse, and we also know those are not necessarily done in chronological order…

There was some freaking out a few days ago about a rumor that Stein was a VIP sell out, but I am ignoring that as the usual social media noise. People in the hobby – well, in most hobbies in general – are so eager to find any confirmation of their worst fears that they’ll seize on any bit of information, no matter how dubious.

I have no doubt there will be few, if any, leftovers of him available at the end of the event, but I also don’t think everyone who bought a VIP pack designated him as one of their selections. I didn’t! Some All-Access ticket buyers will get them. Maybe not a lot, but some!

I am kind of curious to see what I’ll be getting on the AA ticket I get with my volunteer ticket. As long as I don’t end up with duplicates of what I preordered on my VIP ticket (Franz, and the Gummi Bears) I think I’ll be good.

(I know, I know, I probably didn’t need to buy the VIP ticket, except that the convenience of it all was a big draw.)

I did mark Stein as my first choice on the AA ticket, so If I get Stein, that’s awesome. But if I don’t, I’m also not blowing a hole in my BreyerFest budget to get one. That money is earmarked for something Vintage: the Dapple Gray Belgian, the Albino Five-Gaiter, or a Matte Black Poodle are all pretty high on my search list this year. 

While we’re in the neighborhood of the topic, I will have some exciting news soon about some of my volunteer duties at BreyerFest this year! (I am not trying to be coy: I do not want to spill the beans until all the details and scheduling are completely hammered out.)

Friday Afternoon Fever

Very short show recap: went in with a goal of ten placings, three NAN cards, and a rosette, and did considerably better than that. It’ll be a couple of days before I know the exact total because I am not unpacking the car until at least Tuesday. 

I did run into a little bit of difficulty getting home, partly because I am directionally-challenged and partly because there was an extremely inconvenient political rally near my house that you might have heard about. After got home, I basically slept for twelve hours straight; I should be back to “normal” (night shift person here) by tomorrow.

But let’s talk about a more pressing issue of our time: Discoheart!

My first thought when I saw this guy was “Oh dear, they’re doing the Decorator Khemosabi joke again.” It was pretty obvious he was an actual model and not a Photoshop job, so my assumption is that he’ll eventually end up as an auction piece, perhaps in the BreyerFest Silent Auction – like the Decorator Khemos did.

I have to admit that I’ve been kind of surprised by the unusually strong positive reaction to him, considering how roundly mocked the Ram was. But calling the Christmas Deco Ram “Montana” a failure is also a stretch. 

A failure for speculators looking for short-term profits? Most definitely. Aesthetic failure? Maybe. But Reeves evidently sold most of the seemingly extravagant 490-piece run without having to resort to multiple waitlists. Any time a company can make money that easily is not a failure. 

And the color is obviously a win!

Fireheart is definitely Decorator-friendly, as the late 2022 Stablemates Club release Helios amply demonstrates. But the minute I realized that Discoheart was an April Fool’s joke, I tossed him in my very large“things to be mildly annoyed about” file and moved on with my life. 

(I also happened to be in the middle of rewriting all my live show documentation when he dropped, which probably helped with my attitude.)

I have no doubt that the mold – either his Traditional incarnation, or his Stablemate ones – will be made available in a multitude of Decorator colors in the near, and not-so-near, future. 

I am already imagining the impending anguish and furor of future Web and Club Specials like Silver Filigree Fireheart, Benasque Blue Filigree Fireheart, Ocean Blue Fireheart, Rose Gold Pinto Fireheart, Pearly Dappled Pink Fireheart, Holographic Silver Fireheart, Halloween Fireheart, and (my favorite) Sparkly Translucent Embedded Glitter Christmas Gambler’s Choice Firehearts “Fire” (Red) and “Ice” (Clear). 

Though, as you would expect, I most look forward to seeing him in a Vintage Club release in an original Rearing Mustang color. Line-shaded Gloss Albino? Gloss Charcoal? Any of the Old School Deco colors? Think of the possibilities, people! 

(FYI: none of these actually exist yet, I am not aware of any plans for them existing, and there is no guarantee that they ever will. But you know my luck with accidentally predicting things, so take it all with several grains of salt and a margarita chaser.)

So Bright and Blue

I am of two thoughts when it comes to the current maybe-probably Wedgewood Blue BreyerFest Special Run sneak peek:

It might be a play on the Danube River, the second longest river in Europe that also happens to originate in southern Germany. The Danube is the subject of the famous waltz “The Blue Danube” by Austrian composer Johann Strauss. It’s a song you’ve heard just about everywhere, from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Squid Game. Some of the relevant lyrics here:

Danube so blue,
so bright and blue,
through vale and field
you flow so calm,
our Vienna greets you,
your silver stream
through all the lands
you merry the heart
with your beautiful shores.

There’s also a subtle equine connection at play here: the German name for the Danube is Donau, which also happened to be the name of the ill-fated 1910 Kentucky Derby winner! 

The other line of thinking is that this release might be (as I speculated a while ago) related to German Expressionism: either The Blue Rider School (Der Blaue Reiter) or specifically to the artwork of Franz Marc, whose artwork frequently featured… blue horses. 

If they go with the latter idea, I would hope (again, as I speculated back in late July) they would do a modified version of Wedgewood Blue with a darker blue mane and tail, to replicate the horses in Marc’s work. 

I have no idea what mold this would be. I know a lot of people are hoping/fearing that this will be Georg, but I’m personally rooting for something more Warmblood-ish, like the Cleveland Bay. 

Either way, this model will possibly create a conundrum. I was hoping to get away from BreyerFest with relatively little financial damage, but with the Gummi Bears, the Stablemates, that magnificent Fireheart Stein, and now maybe/probably The Blue Horse, I can see this is not going to be the case. 

Speaking of Stein, while we all get annoyed at times with Reeves shoehorning in newer releases into BreyerFest themes where they don’t necessarily belong (rolling my eyes, again, at the Wyatt Marzipan) I am a little surprised that they did not mention Germany’s fascination with the American Old West after World War II. It would have created a more palatable rationale for its inclusion, rather than an obtuse one about its color. 

Off to do a little online seed shopping. Will this be the year I finally get Penstemon to grow from seed?