Making Choices

Instead of participating in the Breyer Fun Day, going to the Motor City Comic Con, or even participating in Sweetest Day (it’s a thing around here), I spent my Saturday at DC FanDome and watching the new trailer for The Batman about twenty times.

Inventory is still in progress, and is going quite well, except for the realization that I have a Dapple Gray Old Timer problem. And more duplicates (of other things) than I thought. Once I’m finished with the process (next week?), I’ll let y’all know what my sales plans might be. 

As usual, it’s more of a space issue than a money issue. So stuff will be cheap, and not just compared to what everyone is trying to sell their stuff for. (I swear people are just using random number generators to price things at this point...)

I just unwrapped a couple of recent arrivals and I’m trying to decide what to do with them:

With Eek!, it’s more a matter of where I’ll put him than whether he is staying: I don’t know if he’s going into my window of glowy things, on my nightstand of glowy things, or in my little huddle of glowy things on my dresser.

(I like glowy things!)

The Favrile is a bigger problem.   

I bought him during the Second Chance Sale, mostly out of curiosity: I wanted to see what he looked like in person. The color scheme is definitely more of the “Rainbow Sherbet” variety of Rainbow seen on two recent Stablemate Unicorn Chase pieces, like the Magnolia and Croi. Mine seems to be a little bit greener than the average Favrile, and I like that, and I also like how they tried to make each leg a different color. (A thing they also did with the Seven Arts Surprise Decorator Rainbow Appaloosa.)

But I’m still not 100 percent sold on him, partly because I would have preferred a stained-glass-themed Decorator to be Translucent. I took a pass on the Web Special Nayati, and aside from the ongoing space issues, I am also reluctant to invest the necessary monies to acquire them now. 

If I’m going to collect a newer Classics mold, it’s going to be Mel Miller’s Brabant and also maybe Sarah Mink’s Malik, who incidentally is now available as a Unicorn in a color very similar to the radiant Sunset color the Brabant release Solaris does, sans glitter:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/collections/new/products/solar-flare

(I know some folks have very strong opinions on the matter, but I am neither pro- nor anti-mane-glitter.) 

Actually, come to think of it, the color is very similar to the 2001 Toys R Us Special Run Pacer Horse of a Different Color, who I have assumed was a very, very loose interpretation of Dunalino. 

Favrile will be sticking around a while, or at least until I’m able to get my sales act together. 

Equidae

I still haven’t opened up the box with the Gran Cavallo yet – not out of fear, apprehension or the possibility of disappointment, but because I am saving it as a reward for hitting the halfway mark in the inventory process. 

And that is taking a little longer than expected: I didn’t think I bought that much this year, but the inventory is telling me otherwise. Doing my year-end paperwork this year is going to be an absolute breeze, though.

I was kind of hoping to reach my target by the time the Second Chance Sale opens up to All-Access people on Wednesday, but it’s looking iffy. I kind of doubt my luck is going to be good enough to get me a second go-round at the Special Runs anyway, but I dutifully put my entry in just in case.

(If I do snag a spot, I will either go for a Surprise, or a Pech Merle.)

I have opened other recent arrivals, including the Equidae:

Apparently I have a thing for unusually-colored Othellos; the only ones I have in my possession that could be described as reasonably realistic are the production run BreyerFest 2012 Celebration Horse Mariah’s Boon, and the 2003 BreyerFest porcelain Galway Warrior. The 2018 Volunteer Model Churchill is also a “realistic” color, but one that’s very unlikely on a horse of his body type, at least without some very creative pedigree assignments. 

It’s been noted elsewhere that Equidae is the first production Rainbow Decorator where the rainbow is reversed: his head is purple, and the tail is pink. His paintjob is also flatter and less shaded, and most definitely more opaque, as opposed to previous Rainbow Decos, which tend to feature more translucent coloring.

I don’t know if this is a change in this color going forward, or simply an aesthetic choice specific to this mold and/or design. My guess is that Rainbow Decorators are going to be a lot like Silver Filigrees, where the kind of paint job you get depends on who painted it that day.  

Fewer Clowns, More Horses

If I wrote a slightly fictionalized account of my Monday, the only parts of it anyone would find credible would be the fictionalized parts. 

To give you some flavor of what I went through, at one point during that day – in a rare moment of verbal acuity – I did actually say “I think I’ll run away and join the circus: fewer clowns, more horses.”

Anyway, because the way the week began, I fell off the caffeine wagon and now have a massive migraine and am not in much of a mood to talk. So I’ll let this picture of my Kaleidoscope, with the Classic Lipizzan cousin for scale, do most of the talking:

There is nothing particularly noteworthy about my Kaleidoscope; I was just glad that, as I anticipated, he wasn’t an immediate sell out. So many people were so focused on getting something special – like the Grab Bags, and (later) the Deco Variations – he’s largely been thrown down the memory hole. 

So let’s take a moment to appreciate his rainbow loveliness. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in acquiring rare things that we forget the easier-to-acquire things can be just as beautiful or meaningful.

(Well, that’s what I tell myself when every time I lose an online auction. Sometimes I even believe it!)

It’ll be neat to see this color on something bigger; I’d prefer it on a more vintage mold, either the Family Arabian Stallion or the Classic Lipizzan (duh!) would do. 

More Classic Lipizzans in general would be a great idea: I am not particular on the color, as long as it’s not another shade of White or Aged Gray. It’s funny that the Stablemate Lipizzan hasn’t come in any shade of gray yet, but the Classic has come in almost nothing else, except for its Fantasy releases. 

A Rainbow Decorator Classic Lipizzan would be a nice compromise!

Incidentally, I’ve also seen the blurry photo of this year’s Tractor Supply Specials that’s been floating around. 

I’m not going to talk about the specific details of them until we see something that’s more than blobs of pixels on the Internet. All I’ll say at this point is that I am relieved that there doesn’t appear to be anything that’s a must-have for me, other than the Stablemate Chase Pieces.

Getting Colorful

I hadn’t planned on saying anything more about the BreyerFest Auction pieces, but if a bag of money fell out of the sky RIGHT NOW, I wouldn’t hesitate to bid on pretty much on any of the ones in that last batch, up to and including the Metallic Red Pinto Georg everyone is dumping on because “there’s not enough paint on it”:

That’s another one of those popular hobby arguments I don’t understand either. I think he’s neat, and if that’s an idea they were pursuing for a future Christmas Day release, all I can say is: Keep going in that direction. I would definitely buy metallic red or green pinto horses. Basecoated or not. 

I am also really digging that new Fireheart mold – but I do prefer my Mustangs a bit on the “chonky” side. I’ve been trying to gently nudge my Mesteno’s Mother custom in that direction, too, but she’s being uncooperative at the moment. (She is looking better than she did a couple of days ago, though.)

Anyway, the Sampler is coming along adequately, and my garden is not an overgrown jungle yet, so everything is… more or less fine here? I am definitely in my “Wish I Was Doing Almost Anything Else At This Point” Phase, though.

I can’t remember if I ever showed you the Spectrum I bought last year when they were briefly available again on the Breyer web site. Originally I wasn’t going to buy her, as the Rainbow Decorators normally don’t do much for me, but the in-hand pictures finally sold her:

I think also the fact that the colors on this Bobby Jo are a little more intense than some of the previous Rainbow Decos, especially her screaming red-orange head and neck. Red-Orange was my absolute most favorite color when I was nine and I didn’t understand why everybody else didn’t love it too. And there’s a little part of me that still thinks that way. 

Bobby Jo is currently one of the betting favorites for the BreyerFest Surprise model, and I don’t disagree that it’s a contender with Desatado, Wyatt and maybe Bluegrass Bandit. But that’s as far as I’ll go in terms of speculation. My head is full of words that need to get committed to (virtual) paper, and I need to hop back to it.

Getting Around

La Molina and Masella are here, but I’ll open them next week; since I’m deep in a multitasking mood, their shipping box is probably the safest place for them to be for now.

I also succumbed to Breyer’s Black Friday Sale on Thursday, which means that I was actually logged on when they still had some interesting stuff for sale. So I bought the 2019 Premier Club Bonus Stablemate Charleston, because I really like that mold, and a Spectrum because it was back in stock and Rainbow Decorators have been on my mind a lot this past week. 

Probably because I am hoping or expecting more news about BreyerFest to drop soon, and curious if they’ll take the opportunity that’s sitting right there with the whole “Horses of Another Color” theme with a Rainbow Decorator as a BreyerFest Special Run.

(Any mold, I’m not fussy. A Rainbow Yellow Mount might be neat!)

Speaking of, this video has been circulating around the model horse Internet:

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTerryBradshaw/videos/652770828729569/

The only comment I’ll add to this is utterly unrelated to any controversies – real, imagined or exaggerated – about the horse, is to express my amusement at the Bradshaws pronouncing Breyer as “Breyers”. Here in Michigan, we’re known for adding an “s” to the end of everything: 

https://owlcation.com/humanities/Michigan-Accent

Then there’s the Polygon article Reeves promoted on their Facebook page that gave a summary explanation of the basics of creating a model horse, from start to finish:

https://www.polygon.com/2020/11/24/21591409/breyer-horses-how-they-make-toy-horses

I know some of the nerdier hobbyists among us would have liked to see even finer details of the process, but as someone who spent five years working in an injection molding plant, I’m glad they kept it relatively simple. Because I probably would have started picking out the obscure technical bits that the writer might not have “translated” into English correctly that nobody but me would even care about anyway. 

Incidentally, when I worked at that plant the head of production was mightily impressed that I – just a girl! – knew anything about injection molded plastic in the first place, thanks to my involvement in the hobby. 

I get that a lot, about a lot of things; as I like to say to people, my resume tends to confuse people. (You did what? You worked where? You know how to do that? Yeah folks, I’ve been around.)

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.

Feeling the Rainbow

Lots of ground to cover today.

First, I "won" a Nympheas! Yay me! (Is it weird that I still get a bit of a thrill whenever I see my name on the Winners List?) I don’t have many Marabellas in the collection; not for a lack of trying, I just never seem to be in the right place at the right time for the right model. So that’s a happy way to start my weekend.

Second, yes, I’ve been brainstorming ideas for the Costume Ball ever since it was announced on the BreyerFest blog a few days ago. The first idea that popped into my head was hilarious, but probably inappropriate, and possibly illegal in the State of Kentucky. (No, the whip is not involved.) I still might do it if I can’t come up with anything else equally awesome. I thought my costume last year bordered on the inappropriate, and everything turned out fine.

Third, well … the Rainbow Weather Girls are out. I’m surprised at how much I like the Translucent Rainbow variation; I wasn’t a huge fan of their previous Rainbow paint jobs, but it really works on the Translucent plastic. Kudos for them for being able to pull it off so successfully.

I like the Pintaloosa ones too. It seems like an odd choice, but I get it - it’s a paint job with a lot of "color." I would not be displeased to get either the Matte or the Glossy version, if only because my Standing Stock Horse Fun Foal needs a Mommy:


Most of the "Herd" seems to think otherwise. Quelle surprise, non? Whatever. Some hobbyists just gotta complain no matter what. A few more realistic colors would be nice, but I’m not going to snipe, carp and moan about it. Or withhold my UPCs and hope for something "better." I’ll send them in when I finally get around to getting the rest of them, and be happy with whatever shows up on the doorstep.

We got spoiled on the multiple variants on the Hucks and Fun Foals: hobbyists seem to have forgotten that the first couple of Treasure Hunts didn’t have a lot of variations within them, and there wasn’t a huge amount of complaining at the time that there should have been more.

(Well, some: no subject in the hobby ever goes uncomplained about.)

It’s nice that Reeves seems to be going with a simultaneous and random release of multiple variations, something I wish they had done last year with the Othello Treasure Hunt. Allegedly there are going to be four variations total; whether the Gloss and Matte Pintaloosas count as one or two, I don’t know. If they’re going to go with variations on the "color" theme, I’m supposing there’s going to be a "Color Change" painted piece in the mix somewhere.

A Color Change Pintaloosa, maybe? Oh yeah, I’d totally dig that!

Peace Out.