Being Stubborn

Normally I have no issue with offbeat mold choices used for BreyerFest themes, but this Duende Special Run Straight Bet is rubbing me the wrong way:

I have nothing against the mold itself, per se, other than being not overly thrilled about getting another Andalusian/Spanish type Traditional mold, when so many other breeds and types continue to be unrepresented (Akhal-Teke), or underrepresented (Morgans).  

The hobby’s initial reaction to the Duende mold was fairly predictable: the promotional pictures showed a model with a paint job that simply wasn’t possible from a large-scale production standpoint, molding issues aside.

(I have no idea what is going on with their current mold making issues, other than they really need to address it ASAP.)

Duende does look nice in Glossy Liver Chestnut, I’ll give it that. In any other situation I would be all over this guy. But it’s just so obviously a pander and a marketing push for a new mold, forced to fit into a theme.

You guys have so many molds and possibilities to work here, Reeves: if it’s one thing you do not have a shortage of, it’s molds representing breeds and types that are regularly used in racing events – flat track or otherwise. Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, Arabians, Quarter Horses, Appaloosas – and even Mules?

Okay, now I’m moderately excited for a Special Run Brown Sunshine. Speaking of, here’s my Sergeant, and his NPOD Sample Brother:

As you can see, there’s not a lot of difference between the two – the production piece is slightly warmer and pearlier than the Sample, but the rest of differences could be chalked up to normal day-to-day production variability.

These are the only two Brown Sunshines I have currently. I would not mind another. (But what color? Hmm.)

The Duende is only one model out of a line up at least two dozen, so I’ll give it a pass; it’s not that big a deal, really. Work has been leaving me short of sleep this week and I am a bit crankier than normal, which might be affecting my initial reaction.

Didn’t I promise myself to buy less stuff this year anyway?

Chasing Rainbows

First we heard about the upcoming Classics release Day Dreamer, who is a Translucent Classics Harper with a rainbow on it.

Then we get an e-mail about the 2018 Stablemates Club Gambler’s Choice Finn the Mule, and one of the four potential selections is a Rainbow Overo Pinto:

And then news broke of an apparent Walmart Special Run Classics Unicorn named Skylar, who is a Pearly/Iridescent White Forthwind with a sparkly Rainbow-striped mane and tail.

This is an interesting development. So everything is coming up rainbows for 2018?

We have had a number of pastel and multicolored releases in the recent past – such as the Peace, Love and Horses Classics Warmblood Mare, some of the Unicorn releases like the Alaric, and a number of Test Colors – but it wasn’t until 2011 that we had a true “Rainbow-themed” release, with the Translucent Weather Girl Treasure Hunt redemption horse.

I’m all for Decorator finishes, but I’ve found the rainbow-themed ones aren’t really my cup of tea. (If I do happen to end up with the Rainbow Mule, I won’t be looking to trade. Generally I just go with whatever I get on Gambler’s Choice models.)

Actually, this is cool – if 2018 is going to be the Year of the Rainbow, that’ll help me out tremendously. One of the resolutions I was considering for next year was cutting back the horse buying to an absolute minimum: that means no retail “fun money” binges, no late night eBay pity purchases, and no Web Specials unless they happen to be one of the handful of molds or concepts that push my buttons (like the Traditional Man o’ War, or a holiday-themed Elk).

So it’ll just be obligate Club purchases, BreyerFest, and the incidental flea market/thrift store finds that mostly end up on my sales list anyway. Oh, and the Customer Appreciation Promotion, if they happen to do the “FREE GLOSSIES FOR EVERYBODY” thing again next year.

I’ll still be open to trades and genuine upgrades, and if something insanely rare and cheap turns up in my radar I certainly won’t turn it down, either.

But I’ve been liking the space my recent collection reorganization has given me, and goodness, I certainly could do without the paperwork all that buying and reselling entails. The extra money’s been helpful, but I’d rather have that time to focus on more creative endeavors next year. (Most of them not model-horse-related, unless you count Sparky and Jules.)

The Exclusive Event that’s coming up in the Spring also seems unlikely, though I’d rather wait to cross that bridge when I get to it.

Back to Work, Again

Back to work today, more or less - the paying kind, not the around-the-house kind. In the business that I’m in, things don’t get super-crazy until after the first of the year, but because I’m one of the more (ahem) experienced employees in the district, busy season starts a few days early for me. They’re not the most plum assignments, but money’s money, and I have a new car to save up for. 

This year, though, I kind of wish I did have a couple extra days off to finish all the projects I restarted this month. In the midst of cleaning out the craft supply closet yesterday I rediscovered a few more "lost" projects, and not just the ones I was looking for. (Some of those are still missing. Of course.)

Christmas, by the way, was quiet and not unpleasant. Dinner included Rio Grande Pork Roast, Braised Stuffed Flank Steak (aka Bavette Farcie a la Jacques Pepin) and another obscure but tasty gelatin mold/salad. (Mom has a rather large collection of recipes that we joke - only halfheartedly - include ingredients that are now either illegal, or extinct.)

I received money and chocolate, two gifts that are always appropriate, regardless of the season. Vita received several squeaky, crinkly and crunchy things, all now covered in a liberal application of doggy slobber. The beaded Christmas tree was (very) well-received by its recipient.

No new models for me yet; allegedly I am to receive my Logan and Angel today; all the pending charges have now cleared the proper financial instruments. I have also managed, so far, to stay away from the stores and their infernal clearance sales. (One of next year’s resolutions: owning less stuff, period.)

I shouldn’t have bought the Logan and the Angel, even, but they’re exactly the kinds of molds that push my "Buy It Now" button, for better or worse.

The last Kitten was produced in 2003 - Tom Foolery, the XMAS Kitten - and the last Horned Hereford Bull was Buford, a BreyerFest 2000 SR in Gloss Black and White. It’s entirely possible that they had leftover bodies of both of these molds lying around the New Jersey facilities that long. They stopped manufacturing the Proud Arabian Mare in 2002, but they seemed to have a stockpiled enough for them to make an appearance at this year’s Passage to the Pacific Event.

I did read somewhere that the Logans don’t appear to have VIN numbers, which would support that hypothesis. It does make me wonder, though, if we might be seeing the Horned Hereford Bull mold again, perhaps, for BreyerFest. I’d rather be seeing a mule - either the original Balking Mule mold, or Brown Sunshine - in the "nonhorse" role, but I wouldn’t object to another Bull, either.

The reappearance of the Kitten mold is a bit of a puzzle. The only thing I can think of - aside from the fact that they know some of us are crazy enough to buy almost anything - is that it might have been associated in some way with this year’s ASPCA Benefit Set, the one that included the small standing Companion Cat with a very similar paint job.

Ah well, off to bed. I have to try and get myself back to a more "work-compatible" sleep schedule ASAP.

No Room for Sergeant

Ah, the end of another interesting week. One that included the mother of all bloody noses, a dead car battery, sleep deprivation, and a police stop. (Nothing bad, just annoying - burnt out turning signal.)

On the plus side, I did get overtime. Which should just cover the cost of a new battery.

In the midst of all that, I did manage to hit a couple of Tuesday Morning stores before they were completely cleaned out of horse-shaped objects. Originally I just wanted to do a little people watching; it’s a good two months before the flea market opens again, and that’s the one aspect about the experience I miss the most.

I thought I might pick up a few crafting supplies, and skim the book section for something cheap, interesting or useful. Then I saw a Fall 2009 Collector’s Choice Sergeant:


He has shading, dappling, slight iridescence: everything a girl could hope for. I walked past him a couple of times before I decided he had to come home with me, space issues or not. I was in the middle of a rough week, and as the saying goes, I deserved a pony. A plastic part-pony, but still.

I know the Brown Sunshine mold has its detractors, but I think it’s another case of the right paint job making the model. I think Reeves is aware of that, as well. All of the colors he’s come in since his original, undistinguished blonde chestnut have been quite attractive, in my mind at least: leopard appaloosa, dark mealy bay, dun, and now this shaded iridescent dappled gray.

Yes, I am aware that being a Collector’s Choice model, Reeves only had a partial say in the color selection of Sergeant. But they did choose him as a candidate out of the hundreds of submissions they received.

I haven’t submitted any ideas for the Collector’s Choice in a while. It’s not that I don’t have any ideas to submit, but that I’ve been in the hobby long enough to have seen several concepts I’ve longed for - and occasionally championed - come to fruition. The motivation isn’t as strong as it would be for other hobbyists. It’d be nice to have my name formally attached to a model, in print, but I think there are probably several reasons why that’s not likely to happen any time soon.

(I also have a sinking feeling that if it did happen, they’d spell my name wrong anyway. Which is a huge pet peeve of mine.)

What Sergeant’s arrival means is that I’ll have to make some attempts at selling stuff, again. I’m apprehensive, because it didn’t go so well the last time I listed stuff on MHSP: I got hit with the same group of tirekickers and scam artists everyone else has been plagued by recently. By the time I ran through all of those early responders, I wasn’t in any mood to sift through the rest. Then work started again, and I didn’t have any time for it.

So it looks like I’ll have to start listing on eBay. It’s been nearly a year since I’ve dealt with eBay in any meaningful way; I wasn’t boycotting it per se, I was just avoiding it for my pocketbook’s sake.

I think I’ll just wait and see how everything shakes out after the remodel. I managed to find a little extra room in the china cabinet earlier this week; maybe when the remodel is over, I can find some room for Sergeant, too.