Once More, With (A Little) Less Feeling

To clean up a bit of business from the previous comment section:

I have some sensory issues related to food texture and sound. You’re not going to notice the food issues unless you bring a dish to a potluck and find me avoiding it. It’s only a handful of things – like custard-based desserts, and bananas. I am otherwise a very unpicky eater, at least flavor-wise. (I like the taste of bananas, for instance. But don’t ask me to eat one! Weird, I know…)

My reactions to certain sounds are much more noticeable: I have misophonia. I will walk away from people with extremely high-pitched voices, and if someone is chewing gum, I have been known to tell them to their faces that I find it disgusting. And song “remixes” are absolute torture to me. All of these things hurt my ears, raise my blood pressure, and sometimes even trigger a “fight or flight” response. 

So if someone’s social media style incorporates any of those elements into their online presence/persona, I will absolutely turn it off and I will not apologize for it. Most of the time I can access the information elsewhere, so it’s primarily a “me” problem, but if they make content exclusive to some of the more exuberant influencers, me and others like me may miss out, and that could be a problem in the future. 

It almost – but I don’t think quite – rises to the level of ableism. The information was not time-critical, and it was eventually available elsewhere. 

Anyway, back to actual model stuff. 

I am not entirely surprised by the selection of the Stablemates Donkey mold as the Gambler’s Choice for 2024: he’s both cute and popular. Some hobbyists are upset that he’s little, as if the amount of plastic being used has some significant bearing on his perceived value. 

The only thing that kind of weirds me out about him is that he’s one of a handful of molds who have crossed categories. He originally started out as an accessory to various Stablemates gift and play sets, but because of his popularity crossed over into being an individual release with his inclusion in the Spirit: Riding Free Blind Bags in 2017. My mind still thinks of him as an accessory.

Another model that switched/switches categories is Merrylegs: originally designed as a part of the Classic-scale Black Beauty Family Gift Set, the mold has frequently been issued as a de facto Traditional-scale Miniature Horse. 

My problem with Merrylegs, however, is entirely due to the fact that the darn thing is tipsier than The Black Stallion and Pacer combined – at least in my experience. Except for my Test Color Merrylegs, all the others I own are currently in storage to keep her from being the chaos agent that she is. 

Let’s see, I probably should open the last of this year’s shipment, Brio and Nero:

Nothing anybody hasn’t seen before; I am rather pleased that they’re continuing with the Roman Emperor naming scheme with the Draft Horses. And I like Brio a little bit more in person than the original photos, but I still think I’ll like him even more in a solid color.

This came as a complete surprise to me, and as a gift from another kindly benefactor: a Silver Charm Alborozo. I had been aware of some of the items I was being sent (which will be featured in at least one more upcoming post), but this one left me speechless:

As you know, I haven’t had the best luck even finding blind bags in these parts, much less Chase pieces, and I haven’t had any luck with throwing in random ones into some of my online orders, either. I haven’t given up so much as surrendered to my fate: if I happen to stumble upon them in my infrequent shopping excursions, that’s great, but if I don’t, I’m not going to sweat it. 

And then stuff like this happens. 

Christmas Day Ramblings

Alas, I did not win the (char)Coal lottery this year. In fact, I received my least favorite of the four attainable colors, the Red Filigree:

Meh, oh well. It’s been a pretty good year model-wise, I guess I shouldn’t complain; I need to save my luck for Oklahoma City, right? 

I will say that I do like the sparkly-glittery paint they used on these guys, and will look forward to seeing it on other molds more to my liking in the future – maybe something a little more vintage? I could definitely use a few more Five-Gaiters in my life, for instance…

I am a little baffled that some people are mad that the Coal is not solid glossy black? My guess is that since the Huckleberry Bey mold has come in several Black and Black-adjacent colors (my favorite being the lovely Polaris!) that they wanted to go with something a little more Decorator-y, and Charcoal was the logical choice.

I know he is not a “true” Charcoal – his hooves are gray, not pink or tan, and he has no bald face, either – but it works on him, and I’d take him in a heartbeat (as would most people lucky enough to receive one.) Especially since I only have a handful of Hucks here – including two variations of the Celebration Horse Atlantis Bey V, and Polaris.

As it is, I’m not quite sure what to do with my Wassail; I am elbow deep in quilting projects at the moment (I just finished one, yay!) and selling things just isn’t that big a priority for me for the next several months, and I do not have energy enough to arrange a trade. 

This is also why I decided to not take the plunge on the latest Grab Bags. Some of the stuff in them is better than the past few rounds – like SM Club models, Web and Store Specials, and Chadwick, et al – but adding more to my sales pile was a definite turn off. 

Hmm, that reminds me – I still need to renew my Stablemates Club subscription! The latest reveal – a G3 Thoroughbred named Dylan in that same, peculiar new style of dappling first seen on Anamar – isn’t necessarily my cup of tea, but I like the rest of the releases so far, so rejoining is a no-brainer.  

However, I would like to register a formal complaint about the unboxing video for the Polo Pony release Newport. It was unwatchable!

Due to my schedule and my lifestyle, my consumption of social media is currently limited to YouTube videos of hoarder house cleanups and crafting drama. (You think model horse drama is bad? Yarn drama will destroy you!) While I’ve sampled some model horse social media on occasion, I’ve found most of it way too intense and hyperbolic for my tastes. 

Yes, I know some of it is that this content is tailored to a younger audience’s sensibilities and not mine. I also have some minor sensory issues related to certain sounds, and most of the information that can be gleaned from it can be found elsewhere, so I tend to avoid most of it out of habit. Since it was basically a new mold reveal, I thought I’d try to stick it out. 

But seriously, I had to tap out about 15 seconds into it and go looking for screen shots. That... was bad.

Sharing is Caring

Although I think I am through the worst of the cold, I have to say that I am very sick of being sick. The past two months have been plagued by insomnia, gastrointestinal issues, back pain and (this week) a nasty cold. 

I am trying to accept it as a slow-motion system crash and hoping that once the cold has run its course, the rest of the year will be both painless and productive. (The heating pad I bought for my office chair gets to stay, though. Why didn’t I buy one of these before?)  

As it is right now I barely have the energy to open up my mail when I get home. So many tempting packages sitting at the foot of my bed; I may just end up saving them all for Christmas anyway.

The Collector’s Club Appreciation Sale sold out a little faster than I anticipated; my guess is that there were fewer pieces available than I suspected. I wasn’t tempted – too much stuff here people, way too much stuff – but looking at the Traditionals they now have in production, I fear I might bite the bullet next year: Mojave, Zorah Belle and Mooney? I’d be delighted with any one of those in gloss!

I am a little bummed that they’re returning to the mini-display boxes with the Stablemates Club releases next year; I much prefer the eminently reusable two-piece cardboard ones myself. It’s not going to affect the status of my membership. Which I need to renew sometime soon…

Since mobility is still a little bit of an issue for me, here are a few brightening up my very cluttered desk. First, the BreyerFest Horse of a Different Color Dada:

There’s nothing particularly special about this one: I just think he’s a neat little guy and he makes me smile. (As does the art movement that inspired him!) Second up is a NIP Buckskin Quarter Horse Mare with the MEXICO mold mark:

I already had loose examples, but I had been wanting a New in Package example for ages, and she just happened showed up on eBay at an extremely reasonable Buy It Now price earlier this year. Contrary to popular opinion, MEXICO-stamped Quarter Horse Mares are not all that rare, but Vintage NIP Stablemates are definitely a thing right now, especially in this fine of a condition. She was included in my Stablemates Collector’s Class Entry at BreyerFest that took Fifth Place.

And finally, one of the customs I had been working on, before I decided to go all-in on quilting for the rest of the year:

Yup, good ol’ Mesteno: The Messenger! I took him up as both a companion piece to the Mesteno’s Mother custom that is also still languishing on my work table, and as an even more extreme artistic challenge. 

He was the experimental piece that ended up in my BreyerFest Free Box, but I either came to my senses or lost them again, and fished him back out. He still has lots of problems that I probably won’t get around to fixing until Spring, but I am rather pleased at my progress, and wanted to share with the group. 

(His tail is just loosely taped on; it won’t be reattached until I’m finally happy with the resculpting.)

Sunshine and Cloudy Days

Another short one today: any day that begins with spiders is not a good one.

(Not being intentionally cryptic, but everyone I actually told the story to wigged out, so I’ll spare y’all the details.)

I forgot to mention that I got the Appaloosa Virkie:

I am not displeased – I liked all four color options – but the Appaloosa one was not what I was expecting. 

Another unexpected new addition to the herd: the Walmart “Sunshine Meadows” version of the #62031 Grey Thoroughbred & Dark Grey Foal set. 

With all the crazy awesome models I’ve been getting lately, my Duchess collection had been put on a bit of a backburner, but this set turned up at a price I couldn’t pass up. 

As most of you know, I tend to take a more organic approach to my collection compared to most collectors. While I definitely do have grails and molds I do collect (I just purchased a major grail this week, in fact!) I try not to obsess about them too much, because that only leads to heartbreak and foolishness, like overspending on hot new releases that turn out to be not that pricey six months down the road...

I am also fortunate that many of the models I do collect are vintage or vintage-adjacent, so the possibility of finding them “in the wild” or languishing on a lower shelf in someone’s room at the Clarion exists. I am not going to pay the premium if I don’t have to.

Though occasionally I do, because reality is hard to avoid. As I had to with this week’s big purchase. (I’ve been experiencing a lot of overtime lately, so it was easy to rationalize.)

I have no idea who the Celebration Horse is going to be for next year’s BreyerFest; all I’m hoping for is that the new Lipizzan Adonis is in the mix somewhere, because the rescue of the breed during World War II definitely fits with the “Against All Odds” theme.

And also, I just want a Traditional Lipizzan. I don’t think it’s an unreasonable request. Heck, I’ll even take another Classic one.

Fandango and Stuff

The weather’s getting cold and the Seasonal Affective Disorder is starting to kick in, so it’s another random, hodge-podge kind of day.

With the end of the year approaching, we’re going to get hit with a ton of news about next year’s everything; I’m not overly concerned about BreyerFest, but I am kind of curious if there’s an Exclusive Event in the works, since that might affect my travel plans for next year. (Especially since BreyerWest is a no-go.)

Incidentally, it’s unlikely I’ll be traveling for pleasure from now until the end of the year, model horse related or otherwise. I mean, I essentially drove the circumference of Wyoming, I think I can relax. 

Speaking of that, I am contemplating dedicating the month of November to writing the very first draft of the travel memoir, NaNoWriMo style. If I can get some of the craft projects I’m working on to a better place, which is not entirely certain.

I saw the price that Sorceror’s Apprentice went for on eBay – yikes! Especially since they were going for about $400 not all that long ago. I wonder if the fact that this mold hasn’t been translated into plastic like Avalon (Paddock Pal) and Prince Charming (Stablemate) is having any bearing on the prices, or is it just another example of the secondary market being straight-up insane?

The two customs I gave a quick coat of primer to the other day are now looking less terrible, though I think I am at a point with both of them where may stop fiddling with them and just wrap them up and move onto the next ones. My inability to “let go” has probably been the biggest impediment to finishing, aside from my anxiety about painting.

I have no preference on the Virkie; I haven’t gotten a Splash on any of these Gambler’s Choice models, so maybe that one?  

I am a little annoyed with myself for not holding out that extra day on ordering my Thunderbird, though. I already “ordered” the Fandango, since the shipping was free:

Like the Paddock Pals thing, I am having a little bit of a hard time mentally reconciling the existence of a previous Fandango – a 2004 BreyerFest Live Show Prize Moody Andalusian in Matte Dun – with the new one. Then again, the likelihood of me ever acquiring the first Fandango is laughably small. 

Brighton

Had another rough week at work (long story, don’t ask) so I’m focusing on a few things that are making me happy:

That three-legged Merrylegs in the latest batch of bodies to arrive. (Exactly the kind of body I was looking for!)

The ridiculously tasty gourmet ramen I had for lunch yesterday: spending a little extra for the good stuff is really is worth it. No more 35 cent ramen for me!

On the cheaper side, I discovered that those 25 cent packets of wildflower seeds from Dollar Tree are also worth it. Thumbs up, would recommend. 

My Spoooky Stablemates haven’t arrived yet – which I’m totally cool with, I am in no rush there – but the Brighton did:

She might not have the same flash or panache of the other releases in the Stablemates Club this year, but she’s much nicer in person than I expected her to be. She does kind of remind me of my shopping experience at BreyerFest this year, though. 

I thought I’d target a few less-pricey/more common items to fill out some holes in my collection, but I had the hardest time finding anything that wasn’t either (a) extremely recent, or (b) super-popular and/or trendy.

I mean, I get it, I understand that it’s hard packing everything you have for sale in your vehicle, and choices have to be made.  But it does inadvertently invert the market: “common” items become rare, and “rare” items become common. 

You want a previous BreyerFest Raffle Model or an Exclusive Event piece? There’s probably at least six or seven of them in any one of the hotel hallways you’re standing in. But trying to upgrade your Regular Run Running Foals from the 1990s? Good luck with that. 

I get the sense that Brighton – who is pretty but not flashy or groundbreaking, not a Regular Run, but also not really difficult to acquire – will become another one of those pieces that will eventually…vanish.

Which is a shame, really. And gives those of us in the middle or bottom of the market our own unique challenge: what do you do when you collect things other collectors don’t think anyone else wants?

Miniature Family

The only thing keeping me awake right now is more than the daily recommended allowance of those new Oreo-flavored Oreos. (They’re my new favorite flavor!) 

I woke up last night with a pretty intense sinus headache that had me seriously considering a trip to urgent care; I took some pain meds and managed to get another couple hours of sleep, but I’m still feeling a bit woozy. Though the mini cheesecake I had for lunch probably didn’t help, either…

Even though my weekend was significantly shortened by work and by Daylight Saving Time, I’m pretty close to finalizing my showstring for BVG Live. I dropped a few Collectibility entries and added a few more Stablemates, since working on my Stablemates was supposed to be my big experiment this year anyhow. 

The documentation is also coming along adequately: if I pick at it a little bit every day, all I’ll have to do the night before is toss the totes, binders and toolbox in the car and head out the door in the morning. 

(I decided to not take the night before off, so that’s just about all I’ll be able to do!) 

Since I’ve either given up most of my worst vices – and am working on the others – just about the only thing I could give up for Lent this year was buying stuff on the Internet, aside from the obligated “club” purchases. I’ve missed a couple of pretty sweet Buy It Nows on eBay, but otherwise it hasn’t been too terrible an experience so far: I need to buy less stuff anyway. 

I just opened my Stablemates Nadira and Zaahir, incidentally:

Much nicer than I expected them to be, especially the Foal Zaahir. The original G1 Standing and Lying Down Foals have come in a Gloss Finish before, as the 2017 Charcoal Vintage Club Bonus Stablemates Licorice and Jellybean. But in spite of the multiple releases the Mare has had, this is the first time she’s come in a true Gloss Finish – and it suits her quite well, I think!

I’m not the first one to point out that, of course, Nadira and Zaahir pair up quite nicely with the 2020 Stablemates Club release Sultan, the Gloss Dappled Bay G1 Arabian Stallion. I would have paired them up here for a photograph myself, but I didn’t feel like digging him out again, especially since I didn’t have any plans of going back into the Stablemates storage boxes until next weekend at the earliest. 

I’m sure it was intentional, and most likely a callback to one of the original Christmas Stablemate Special Runs: the “Miniature Family” featured in the 1975 Sears Wishbook, which included the Bay Arabian Stallion, Thoroughbred Mare, and Standing Foal. 

(It also happens to be the toughest of the Wishbook Stablemates releases to find in its original box, which says something!)

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.

Atli, and Others

Unlike previous Gambler’s Choice releases in the Stablemates Club, I have no clear favorite among Atli’s four different color options: I like them all about equally, and I’ll be happy with whatever one I get!

I do love his name: it’s the Old Norse variation of Attila! The Hungarian part of me is pleased.

The bigger Stablemates news is that I finally picked up the last two Stablemates in the Dollar General set last week: I had to get some wrapping paper for the wedding shower, took a quick fly-by of the toy aisle and spotted them. 

You know, I think the Black Overo one is potentially live show quality! I have been thinking about going all-mini at a live show next year, just for the challenge...

It’s pretty clear now that these particular Stablemates are not nearly as rare as some hobbyists thought they were going to be. It should have been obvious, since they were being sold at Dollar General of all places, but sometimes what should be obvious, isn’t.

My life has been very instructive on this point.

That’s fine by me: I collect what I like even if it happens to be common. If anything, the existence of a lot of expensive or hard-to-obtain pieces dissuades me from pursuing things. That’s part of the reason why I don’t have many Silvers, Othellos, or Esprits. Just the ones I like, and (most importantly!) can afford.

Collecting is no fun if you can’t, you know, collect the things.

Shelburne

This weekend’s plans included working on my BreyerFest paperwork, and weeding and pruning the garden.

How are things going? The garden’s looking great. The paperwork, eh, not so much. Most of the writing is done, it’s the formatting and photography that might do me in. 

I always hope to get things done early, but it never works out that way, you know?

I also cleaned up my new Sorrel Family Arabian Mare and… discovered some things about her. I I think I’ll save that piece for a BreyerFest posting, though: it’s going to involve a little more research than I’m capable of right now. Let’s talk about my little Shelburne instead, who arrived late Friday night:

Ah, so cute! The promo pics definitely did not do him justice.

Most Breyer Morgan releases, until recently, were pretty conservatively colored. Heck, we didn’t even get a Chestnut Morgan until 1975, with the release of the G1 Morgan Stallion and Mare! I find this endlessly amusing, especially since Chestnut is the most common color among registered Morgans.

Though they did toy with more daring shades in the form of Test Colors, it wouldn’t be until the year 2000 that we’d see more colorful Morgans as production releases: the Dapple Gray BreyerFest Raffle Model Showboat on the Stretched Morgan (mold #48), and the Dappled Buckskin portrait of Montana Harvest on Justin Morgan (mold #65).

(I’m not counting the Dapple Gray and Alabaster G1 Morgan Stallions because they were technically released as Arabians.)

It’s not so big a deal now, of course. In fact, the initial photos of Shelburne, as I mentioned above, actually left me a little unimpressed. I chalked this up to (a) the perennial promo photo issues Reeves has, and (b) me being pretty picky about Buckskins in general. 

But his color was much richer in person, and his gloss is nice and thick, too. That certainly doesn’t hurt!

My favorite part of him, however, is his name. The Shelburne Museum has one of the finest collections of American Quilts in the country, and as a quilting nerd it’s definitely something I want to visit someday.

Variations on a Theme

My Phineas arrived today and he’s… nicer than I expected! Definitely not as weird or goofy as I thought it would be. I still think they need to work on the technique a bit more before they try to issue it more regularly, but they seem to be heading in the right direction.

But let’s talk about another new arrival that I am much more excited about: my Charcoal Running Foal!

He came in a box lot of models of similar age, condition, quality and rarity, with that final factor being in the “not very” category. But everything else about them was superb: I really couldn’t have asked for a better group of vintage “commons” to buy, except for the price. (Not expensive, but you know I am also very cheap. Cheaper is always better!)

As I told you a little while back, I’ve been obsessing over the Running Mare and Foal, so when I saw this stunner in a box lot, I was smitten. One of my first in-hobby purchases was a Charcoal variation of the Smoke Running Mare, so finding a matching Foal for her has been on the backburner for a very long time. 

This was the first one I’ve seen that I seriously considered buying. Running Mares and Foals, like the Family Arabians, were primarily purchased as toys, not as Decorative pieces. Finding them in acceptable condition is a challenge, to say the least! 

Other than a minor (factory?) paint flaw on one hoof, this fellow is perfect. His color is rich and dark, and in spite of what the photograph says, his pinking isn’t faded or pale either. I just adore him! 

The rest of the lot was pretty awesome, too, but whether I keep them or not depends on me making some hard decisions: do I upgrade, or do I keep old favorites because they are old favorites? 

I’ll be pretty busy for the next month or so, so I might be able to kick those decisions down the road a little bit, or at least until the threat of BreyerFest looms.

Phineas

Winter was harder on my garden than I anticipated: a lot of the perennials I so carefully cultivated from seed last year did not survive. After spending most of the day working on the main beds, it’s not quite as bad as I thought originally, but I was planning on having it be a pretty easy year. 

All I wanted to do was just yank up and separate a few overgrown things, grow a few veggies and annuals, and weed as necessary. While I do have several “new” perennials stratifying in pots on the porch, it’s going to be a long time before they make it into the garden.

But… horse stuff. I am probably a little more enthused about the current Stablemates Club release Phineas than most:

It’s interesting that they’ve decided to classify him as a Shagya Arabian. The original resin Prince Charming was generically labeled an Arabian. He’s not super typey or refined, so it’s in the right neighborhood, I guess. (He seems a little pony-ish to me, personally.)

I am not keen on the paint job, though: Reeves has made several attempts at doing Star Dapple Grays, often with not the best results. It’s a difficult color for most customizers to execute, so it’s not entirely a surprise that Reeves has struggled with it. 

Their more successful attempts at the color tend to be with smaller runs that they can lavish a little extra attention on. They only made 500 or so (probably less) of the Elegance Collection Dressage Set in 2008/2009, one of their earliest production runs in this color. The 2013 BreyerFest Raffle Model Blue Bird also turned out pretty nice, but the Polo Pony Smarty Jones Santiago? Not as much.

It was also released on the Stablemates Endurance Arabian for several years – 2011 through 2014 – and I was shocked that he lasted that long. You know my standards are not that high, but even I had a hard time getting past his stripes and polka dots.  

It’s the memory of that Arabian that is most likely cooling Phineas’s reception. It’s been several years since that attempt, however, so I’m more willing to give Reeves a chance to prove themselves. He does look good in the photograph, right? That has to count for something. 

Big and Little

While I was prepared for the inevitable disappointment regarding Robin and Nestling, I found myself more bummed than I wanted to be when I logged into my account and saw the photo list of the year’s previous “Special Run Lottery” models. I noticed I had only been picked for one of the past ten (Zugspitze).

And I know my luck has been better than many, even getting that one. But seeing the visual tally like that definitely makes you think about collecting something more attainable, like Van Goghs or Fabergé Eggs. 

But let’s focus on what we can have, rather than what we can’t. Here’s another not-so-recent acquisition I’ve been hesitant to put on display because he’s still almost as yellow as the day I got him, because both sunlight and window space have been a premium since the day he’s arrived:

Because they usually painted the mane and tail and hooves after they applied the Gloss, finding Vintage Alabasters in good or better condition can be difficult, and matching the gray paint is almost equally difficult.  

Being yellow, fortunately, is the only thing really wrong with this guy, which is why I bought him in the first place. (He is a lot yellower in person than the camera shows. Darn you, camera!) He came pretty cheap, too – less than a modern Traditional at retail. Part of the reason for the cheapness was because the photographs accompanying the auction were not good.

But I noticed his mane, tail and hooves were in excellent condition, and all of the other marks appeared to be mostly surface issues, so it felt like a pretty safe bet. And even if he wasn’t all that, all I had to do was clean him up, de-yellow him, and I’d be able to at least get my money back and maybe a small bit extra to cover my time and efforts.

Like my Semi-Gloss Bay Running Mare with eyewhites, there is also a chance that making the plunge with this purchase will improve the odds of me making a significant upgrade in the near future. I mean, he is pretty sweet, but is not minty-mint, after all...

(The story, if you did not hear it before: after finally spending a nice chunk on what I thought was a pretty good Bay Running Mare, I ended up upgrading her twice within the space of a year, ending with a darn-near-perfect example for eight bucks at the local flea market.)

The only regrettable thing about his purchase is that this Winter has been pretty dark even by Michigan standards, and all the plants and other even-more-yellowed models residing in the window haven’t been doing that well. The seedlings have been moved to grow lights and are doing much better, but the Fighter will have to wait until the weather is warm enough to move the bigger plants outside.

While I’m at it, here’s a picture of the Stablemates Club Dax, as well. You know I was initially a little underwhelmed by him (I am all about the Gambler’s Choice Fjord and Tiny Fireheart!) but he’s much nicer in person than I thought he’d be, and that’s a happy surprise. The new box design is pretty keen, too.

More Ponies, More Problems

Sorry about my unexpected absence; it looks like I’ll be working Sundays through most of November, so my posting schedule is going to get really, really weird for the next month or so. 

I can’t argue about the money, though. And with the extra money comes extra ponies. 

First up, I’ve finally managed to go to a couple different Tractor Supply Stores and now I’ve seen all the Special Runs, except for the Blind Bags that I am going to pretend don’t even really exist, because I don’t think I’ll ever see them in the wild. 

I was actually quite tempted by the Christmas Horse Artic Grandeur; color-wise, he reminded me quite a bit of the BreyerFest Raffle Model North Star. But I haven’t made it a habit of buying the Christmas Horses – even the ones I really like, like Winter Wonderland – so I may pass on him just because, unless there happens to be any leftover on clearance after the holidays. 

Which is unlikely, but you know.

I did secure all three of the new Unicorn Foal Surprise sets, which I am sure are either an open stock end-of-year Store Special, or an early release for next year. Doesn’t matter to me, I just think they’re pretty and I wanted them. I think my favorite set is the one with the Prince Charming in it: the mold looks wonderful in Pearly Lavender:

The Mini Carrick in this set is also very nicely shaded, though I do wonder what’s up with issuing him in umpteen shades of blue. Don’t get me wrong, I love blue, but cripes….

I also purchased a Diadem and Alcor:

I’ve had a couple of Sucesion and LeFire sets, but none currently, but for some reason I found this set particularly appealing. It also reminds me that I probably should light a fire under my behind and get some craft projects done; I have a Grazing Mare and Foal in my body box that I need to “unicornize” eventually. 

Some of those Canadian Walmart Blind Bags are also on my way; I have no illusions that I’ll be able to score any of the chase pieces to complete my set, but I figure they’ll be scarce enough that the inevitable duplicates shouldn’t be difficult to sell off, whenever I’m able to find the time to actually sell things again.

But not too scarce: this is/was a planned Walmart Special Run item, and Walmart never buys small. They will be scarcer than other Walmart Special Run Stablemates in comparison, though, since there will not be any subsequent reorders or restocks. 

And finally, here’s my Dahlia:

I figured I’d be getting the Champagne. I don’t get Glosses, so the Pintaloosa was out. I don’t usually get the Blue one, when Blue is an option, so the Ocean Blue was out. From the ones I had seen online, I had decided that Chestnut Splash was my favorite of the four: not every mold looks good in Splash (see Troubadour) but the Connemara Pony is definitely one of them. 

All that being said, this is the first official Breyer “Champagne” that I’ve found convincing; all of the others have been too peachy-pink for my tastes. 

More Silly Sales Season Stuff

More Tractor Supply Exclusives are showing up, including the Appaloosa Ethereal Wilder and the Gray Bobby Jo Cirrus. Both are… different than I expected, but not enough to go out of my way to get them. 

The Stablemates Unicorn Foal Surprises are another matter. They might not even be actual Special Runs, but early releases of 2022 product, like the carded Stablemates Unicorn Paint Kits from a few years back. But with the Stablemates market being as crazy as it is, I’m not going to sweat over them, whatever they are.  

Second, the first offering in the 2022 Stablemates Club is an Appaloosa Fighting Stallion named Dax:

Maybe it’s just my Seasonal Affective Disorder kicking it into high gear this year (so much so that I broke down and finally bought a light therapy box this week) but I don’t find him all that exciting either. I mean, he’s nicely done and I love the name and all that, but maybe I’m just a bit tapped out on the Stablemates Fighting Stallion already. 

It also leaves me a little concerned: I’d rather not have the Stablemates line turn into a series of “miniaturized Traditionals”. With the release of the Mini Me of the Premier Club Fireheart, I worry that hobbyists are going to not just expect, but demand that every new Traditional mold release come with a miniature counterpart. I’d prefer entirely new molds, or releases adapted from other sources, like the upcoming Stablemates adaptation of Eberl’s Sharif, Twist. 

The latest Pony for Christmas is also out: a Bouncer named Gingerbread, in a blanket that looks like a Christmas Sweater!

https://www.breyerhorses.com/collections/website-exclusives/products/pony-for-christmas-gingerbread

It’s similar to the Bouncer release Apple Jack, but with two stockings and without the flaxen mane and tail. I am going to presume that, like last year’s Christmas Pony release Honeybunch, that there aren’t any additional markings hidden under the blanket. 

I would not be disappointed if there was, though. I am always up for a new Bouncer, regardless of the color or pattern. (Thought I did originally skip out on the Apple Jack because he looked a little too much like the original Kennebec Count for comfort.)

A bunch of other new, mostly non-horse merchandise has also been added to the web site, including a couple pairs of socks. The purple ones are 100 percent my style:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/collections/new/products/breyer-socks-purple-pinto

If last couple of years have been any indication, the addition of new merchandise to the web site usually precedes the Customer Appreciation Sale. I don’t know if I’m going to participate this year, especially since I just found out I have to work this weekend (and possibly others), and thus kicking my inventory plans down the road yet another week. I don’t need even more horses to account for. 

But if I can stick to mostly apparel and accessories (I do need more socks!) I just might. 

Full of Surprises

My life is weird, part 100 in an infinite series:

I went outside Thursday night to pick some flowers to show everyone at work – they were curious to see what these “Ammi” flowers I had been talking about actually looked like – and then I suddenly heard the Harlem Globetrotter’s theme song. I turned my head and noticed the whistler-in-question was wearing a bicycle helmet and a backpack and coming down the road on a unicycle. Our house is at the bottom of a rather steep hill, and he rather casually road up and over the hill without missing a beat of the song.

I just stood there a moment, because I wasn’t quite sure how to react. Did that just happen? Have I officially seen everything? 

I walked in the house, brushed my teeth, and immediately went to bed. I mean, what else could I do? 

To celebrate my one day off this week, I went to Taco Bell and did a little horse shopping. I almost bought an exceptionally well-shaded Peptoboonsmal, but instead I came home and just completed my order for the latest Stablemates Club release Raider, on the G1 Seabiscuit mold:

I also threw in a Chasing Rainbows Blind Bag because they were having a sale on Stablemates this weekend, and those particular blind bags have been hard to come by in these parts. And there’s always room for more Stablemates!

But back to Raider: apparently he has a slight purple iridescence to him, not unlike the Unicorn Mare and Foal set Mira and Antares. While I wasn’t interested in that set, I think it was more a matter of the molds than the colors, because all of the photographs I’ve seen of Raider in-hand make me love him even more. 

Technically the Seabiscuit mold has come in overo before, but that was in the 1990s when masking was much less sophisticated.

I also bought a box lot online, but I am not entirely sure who or what I’ll be keeping of it until it gets here. Since I didn’t get a chance at one of those NPOD grab bags this year (yet somehow some folks ended with multiples, grr…) I’m counting this as my official Grab Bag Surprise lot. 

Getting Artsy

Well, I had my first BreyerFest nightmare in ages last night. That was… unexpected. Can’t say that’s something I missed from the normal BreyerFest experience. 

I mean, other than the Sampler, everything else is a go: the computer has been updated, the VIP purchases have been paid, the time off has been approved. All I have to do is log on, pay for my other SR selections (whatever they are), and do five minutes of shopping (pick up the Stablemate and maybe a t-shirt or mug). After that, it’s just videos and live feeds, and maybe a couple of the VIP exclusive workshops.

I might participate in an NPOD component if it’s there, but I doubt it. That was not fun last year. At all. I thought about about doing a live feed or Zoom meeting, but my work/schedule is hella weird and the times that would be good for me would probably not be good for anybody else in the continental U.S.

I suppose I could clean the office up in case anyone wants to come over at any point during that weekend, but that has to wait until other projects are wrapped up and packed up, and there’s nothing I can do to speed up that timetable. 

Oh, I’ve also decided that instead of baking a cake, I’ll try to make hot pretzels that weekend instead. I planned on buying a box of frozen lemonades to simulate the BreyerFest experience anyway, might as well go all in and add pretzels to the mix, too.

Since I’m currently in picture taking mode for other projects, I decided to put this little piece in the queue since it’s somewhat on topic:

Several years ago I bought a big bag of body-quality Mini Whinnies to keep them on hand for various projects. This is something I did with one batch of them because I had some epoxy that was getting old and I wanted to use it up. I thought I’d make it into something “artsy” just using the materials I had on hand, and I was pretty pleased with the result.

As I’ve mentioned before, I think way too much emphasis is put on realism in the hobby, and it dissuades a lot of people from even trying at all. This was something I did purely as a creative challenge: not only did I enjoy doing it, I learned a lot from the experience.

Anyway, off the soapbox. My Tobias arrived, and he’s neat!

The shipping box he came in was kind of terrifying, but all of the contents inside were fine. And I have to admit, I like this fellow a lot more than I thought I would: all those tiny little spots, all so nicely masked!

The first semi-leopard Appaloosa, of course, was the #99 Appaloosa Performance Horse all the way back in 1974; it was a radical change from Breyer’s appaloosas of the past, and enough of a technical challenge that it would be several years more before they’d try it again. 

And now we’re at a point where they’re releasing Stablemates with a few hundred masked spots as not-outrageously priced club pieces. 

The Latest in Stablemates

Head’s up: I’m switching over to a different schedule this week, so my posting times might get a little weird here for a while until I figure out my new normal. (Or if it even sticks. The situation is… complicated.)

In the meantime, I’ve finally opened up some recent Stablemate arrivals. My Hendrik is nice, no complaints here:

I also really like the Charleston that I bought all the way back in (ulp!) November. While I look forward to getting more of this cute little feller in the near future, that particular collection will probably be forever incomplete, with the Customs Contest Runners-Ups prize being the Black Pinto version of this: 

This is still not sufficient motivation for me to get my tools out of storage and give that contest a try; I have my hands full as it is trying to get my garden to look like a garden again. (The weather is definitely not being cooperative. At least we didn’t get snow?)

If there’s another rainy weekend in the near future I might actually get a Diorama done, though. (And if it does happen and I actually submit it, I’ll definitely post it here, post-BreyerFest.)

Then there’s my Gold(en) Charm Mini Secretariat, who is just so pretty:

It’s been generally accepted that Gold(en) Charm is the least favored of the original Four Decorator colors, but I think it’s rapidly becoming my favorite, or at least co-equal with Wedgewood Blue. 

Not that it matters, because if I was presented with a choice like that I would probably spontaneously combust. 

That’s actually been a nightmare of mine: finding myself at a flea market or yard sale and finding several Decorators, but only having enough money to buy one or two. 

Which, for better or worse, hasn’t happened yet. 

I have been present at situations where I bought something and the vendor has said something like “Good, that’s the last of them”, making me wonder what the heck I missed in the first place. 

And then there was the vendor who deliberately hid a box of models from me as I approached, after letting others rifle through them. Truth be told, I was taking advantage of her, but it wasn’t the horses: some of my biggest flea market scores came from her dollar table, including a giant bag of vintage gumball charms and a large collection of older (early 1970s) Hagen-Renaker miniatures. 

And if she had asked, I would have given her an honest estimate of their value. But you know, some flea market vendors have to feel like they are in complete control of the situation, and the reputation of some of our co-hobbyists sometimes precedes us. 

But anyway, back to Stablemates.

My “Steven Universe” Unicorns are still unopened (yeah, I know) but I did open up the Chasing Rainbows Unicorn that I bought with them; I was hoping for the yellow Prince Charming and not the Pink, and luck was with me that day:

The box was already heavily picked over by the time I got to it, so I didn’t even bother trying to find the Rainbow Connemara/Croi; I’ll wait a little longer and see if they become more plentiful over time, or if (more likely) hobbyists get fickle and move on to the next new thing. 

And finally, the store also had a small quantity of leftover Fun Day Stablemates, so I bought one of the Icelandics, too:

Since everything else I’ve been eyeing has quickly shot out of reach, I’ve been pricing the Traditional Icelandics. The prices for the Web Special Honeysuckle are inexplicably high – inexplicable because wasn’t everyone complaining how “blah” it was when it was released? – but the Jols are still in my comfort zone, so I think that’s where I’ll focus once spring cleaning and spring planting are done. 

Wee Box

Apparently my Lafayette is coming next week? In spite of me ordering in several hours after it went to backorder status? And me being completely fine with it being on backorder?

Guys, honestly, I don’t know what’s going on either. All I do know is that Reeves knows there are problems. 

Whether this baffling situation – with live orders being put on backorder status, backorders moved up to live status, with no rhyme or reason – leads to a resolution, I also don’t know. 

I sure hope so: I had multiple issues with shipping from the warehouse last year, and I am usually one to let most things slide and work themselves out. Most of them were eventually resolved to my satisfaction (i.e. the Glossy Cheesecake) but not all (the sweatshirt that shall not be mentioned ever again). 

I am lucky – and grateful – that I can do most of my Breyer shopping locally, so I only have to deal with this nonsense with club- and web-exclusive merchandise. 

But let’s close on a happier note: here’s a picture of my Glossy Atticus with his wee box:

I like him more than I thought I would. I am so used to seeing the Traditional Clydesdale Stallion mold with his hair braided that any other hairstyle makes him look like an “old school” custom to me, back when we only had a handful of Draft molds to work with and we had to make do. 

(He does make a nice Jutland or Brabant, with a little work.)

I do love this style of box – it reminds me of those tiny Whitman’s Sampler boxes, the kind that come with 4 to 6 pieces of fancy chocolates. The graphic design is very bold and visually appealing, too, very much in the style I would have gone for if I had designed it. The only change I would have made to the design would be to make the corner silhouette reflect who’s in the box.

But also a big YAY for reusable boxes. We haven’t had that for Stablemates since… the 1975 Sears Wishbook Stablemates that will now set you back a car payment, and the silverplated 25th Anniversary Saddlebred, that will set you back a couple of house payments. 

Atticus, Cassidy, and the Box of Mysteries

I am happy to report that my Box of Mysteries has arrived:

Everyone else, on the other hand, is bored with that already and has moved on to the Stablemates Club Gambler’s Choice Alborozo swap-and-sale-athon. I haven’t even ordered mine yet – not a lack of money or interest, simply a matter of priorities – and as I’ve stated before, I’ll be okay with literally any of them, so selling/swapping is not a concern.

Even the funky teal and purple Pintaloosa Unicorn: now that I’ve seen in-hand pictures of it, I actually think he is really neat! (He kind of reminds me of a quilt I finished recently, color-wise.) 

Photos of the first release for next year’s Stablemates Club have been posted, and it’s the shrinkified Clydesdale Stallion with a new haircut, named Atticus:

The paint job is pretty, and I’m sure he’ll be lovely in person, but my very first thought upon seeing him was “Wait a minute, is this a Custom?” 

He reminds me a lot of vintage customs of the Traditional Clydesdale Stallion: dark dappled Bay Sabinos with loose (usually haired) manes and tails were a fairly common sight in the showring in the 1980s. 

Along with Grulla Overo Lady Phases with lowered/turned heads, Indian Ponies in “fancy” (more realistic) Appaloosa paint jobs, Dapple Gray or Bay Proud Arabian Stallions in exaggerated park trots, and Dilute Pinto Adioses sporting way too much mohair. 

(I tended, even then, to stick to weirder and more experimental stuff, but I’ll dig out photos of my early customizing attempts another day.)  

I am somewhat cool to the final release of this year’s club, Maggie Jenner-Bennett’s Walking Stock Horse Mare Cassidy:

It’s either the photograph or the color/pattern combo that’s throwing me off here, because I usually really like Maggie’s stuff in person. Her hooves are striped and I like the pose – it’s similar to a drawing I did a million years ago (high school, maybe?) that I once fantasized about sending to Breyer as a proposal for a Traditional-scale performance friendly stock horse. So I’m sure it will also be perfectly lovely in person.

It also appears that they’ll be offering up the optional “Bonus” Stablemate Duke (the Gloss Dapple Gray Clydesdale) at the same time as Cassidy in early December, which is a nice gesture and an acknowledgement that a lot of us wait to the last possible moment to order in case something else comes up by the order deadline, because it so often does.

Which is also a reason why I am in no hurry to order my Gambler’s Choice mini Alborozo.