Positive Spins

I’ve been trying to put a more positive spin on things lately, pretty much because I don’t have much say in the matter. 

In debilitating pain and unable to eat much? Oh well, I wanted to change my diet and lose weight anyway. And all my jeans are fitting again! (Still haven’t found a meal replacement shake that doesn’t take revolting though. And I am absolutely not a picky eater!)

The weird turn that this year’s BreyerFest theme has taken? That means I’ll be picking out models I want based purely on aesthetics, rather than be cluttered by any lingering sentiments about the name or concept. Which means I’m digging the Dunalino True North: one of my favorite colors on one of my favorite newer molds!

I’m not sure why everyone is wigging out about the breed assignment; it wouldn’t be any different from the majority of other releases that have come out since… forever. If half your showstring isn’t some flavor of fence-jumper, you’re just not being creative.

Speaking of fence-jumpers, the latest Limited Edition reveal for BreyerFest certainly isn’t disappointing! The original Brown Sunshine release kinda-sorta had a pre-release party at BreyerFest in 1996, but Alan a Day’s Work represents the first true BreyerFest Exclusive on the mold. Special Runs on the Brown Sunshine mold are fairly rare in general, with the last one being Greenacres for the Ponies & Palm Trees Event in 2022.

Unfortunately, there’s no positive spin I can put on the Spokes & Spurs Exclusive Event thing: as a single-type person with just one official club membership to my name, the odds of me getting picked are just not very good. And I’d really rather not try to formulate a “Plan D” vacation at this point. I don’t have time for that nonsense.

Best to put that one in a box and come back to it later, I guess.

And finally, I suppose I should say something publicly about latest in big model horse news: the sale of Stone Horses. 

All I’ll say is that I had (a) I was not surprised, and (b) I had suspected something was in the works for a bit.

It’s been well over a decade since I’ve bought any Stone Horses at all, and nothing I saw in any of the news or press releases is going to persuade me to change course. 

Almost There

I’m down to what I like to call “the crunchy bits”: the last pieces of a creative project that are going to take a little more chewing on than the rest. 

This is pretty typical for most of my endeavors, especially the more complicated ones. Do the “easy” parts first, and fuss over the “hard” parts last. And the hard parts aren’t necessarily hard, they just need more time and effort put into them. 

I think I have all the photos I need – unless anyone happens to have a nice vintage Decorator pic or two lying around. (I have some, but they definitely need work to be presentable. Long story, etc.) BTW, everyone who has contributed will get credited, even if the pics do not end up in the final product. 

But anyway, everything is on schedule. If only the same could be said of literally everything else in my life, but that’s neither here nor there.

Since I hadn’t been out shopping in forever and my birthday is almost here, I went out and bought a couple of models. I know I shouldn’t have, but it was either that or something practical, like shoes for work, and horses are more fun to shop for. 

First up – a Catch Me!

I wasn’t initially impressed with the first Catch Mes, but the latest batch are actually quite pretty (the VIN says he was made in January?) He has a few minor marks, but this one was definitely the nicest of the ones I had to choose from, and I have no plans on doing any showing this year anyway. 

(Are there any actual live shows going on anywhere this year?)

Whenever things get back to normal again, I am definitely tracking down an Appreciation Event Glossy (also assuming that prices get back closer to normal). I know there are already a couple of True Norths that are utterly unattainable (Masala, and Rangoli) but this year’s Celebration Horse has reignited my desired for more. 

And next up: Le Mer!

Yeah, I was kind of surprised that this one caught my eye, too. I am not normally a huge Unicorn person in general – except for the Stablemates, and we all know that Stablemates are essentially potato chips – but his color was just so appealing in person. And so much darker than the promotional photos! So my Solaris has a buddy now. Go figure.

I also bought all of the new Stablemates Unicorns (aka the Steven Universe Unicorns, because Rose Quartz, Opal, Peridot and Pearl, hello!) but imma gonna wait until my actual birthday to open those up. 

The Bandwagon

I sort of suspected that BreyerFest was going to be all-virtual this year when the link for the “Breyer Boot Camp” went up a few weeks ago. 

I am not happy about this development, to put it mildly. The first thing I did upon hearing the news – no joke – was to search Google for “Wyoming Vacations”, because there ain’t no way I’m spending another vacation entirely at home. With my family. 

(Aside from being socially distant by its very design, I’ve always wanted to do a Wyoming Road Trip anyway. Though I think I’d need a fellow traveler, because I’m the kind of person who gets lost in grocery store parking lots.)

I understand why it had to be done, but I did not have a pleasant time “at” BreyerFest last year, so I’m hesitant to participate in another online experience even remotely like that one. 

I know the people at the New Jersey HQ are going to do their best to make it a less troublesome experience, and their “new” selection as Celebration Horse (actually a Guest Horse that was upgraded to Celebration Horse status) is really beautiful and I would have bought the model as a Store Special anyway. 

Danash’s Northern Tempest, a Semi-Leopard Appaloosa on the True North mold: the YouTube video here, and the Podcast here.

While it’s pretty obvious that they’re completely overhauling the most painful part of the online BreyerFest experience from last year – the actual buying of things! – buying stuff is not the primary reason why I look forward to BreyerFest. I am fortunate to have several local independent toy and hobby stores to get my horse-buying fix, whenever the mood strikes.

What I miss is the real-time interaction with my fellow hobbyists: as a seller at the CHIN, as an attendee at the Park, and as a volunteer. 

I got none of that experience last year. (Well okay, almost none: I did have one friend over.)

A little bit of that was my fault, and some of it was the (lack of) timing and the stars simply not lining up, as they usually do. But a lot of it had to do with a format that had to be built from scratch in the space of three months: the ways in which it had to be cobbled together left no place for someone like me. 

While I was not on board with the Celtic theme at all (for various reasons) I, as the history-type person I am, was looking forward to doing something to help celebrate Breyer’s 70th Anniversary there.

That did not happen. In fact, it was kind of frustrating to see a lot of official merchandise and historical information released last year that was not accurate. (Remember my rant about the Blanket?) Nearly forty years of history nerdery building up to what I thought would be a pinnacle moment and I found myself rendered, essentially, invisible. 

(I hate being invisible. I hate it more than chewing gum and telephones.)

That they managed to pull off what they could last year is worth noting, but I am going to be brutally honest and tell you that the entire experience left me feeling pretty bummed for a considerable amount of time afterward.

And apprehensive about this year’s effort. 

It will be different, because every year is different. There’s more time to plan, the anxiety about the Special Runs will be diminished, and I hear murmurings about the possibility of greater online interaction. 

I was an Art History major in college, and all of the (officially) released SR photos so far are art-historically themed, so maybe this is a hint that I might be able to participate or contribute in a more meaningful way. 

But, I am still apprehensive. So you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t join the “Woo-hoo, Online BreyerFest 2021!” bandwagon, at least not yet.

Hindsight Is So 2020

How is it only Thursday? This week has felt at least a month long! 

The first thing I’ll say is that I will devote an entire post to the Celebration Horse controversy, but not today, because I’m still recovering from… all the other stuff.

I get that Reeves is trying to recoup some of the sales “lost” to the absence of an in-person BreyerFest by extending their holiday sales promotions into October. But I paid off my credit cards earlier this year and I kind of want to keep it that way by the end of it, you know? 

I mean, my family is going to be asking some questions in the next week or so about the sheer number of Reeves boxes getting dumped on our doorstep… 

Anyway yes, to start the week I did participate in the Customer Appreciation Sale: all of the revealed/mentioned items – Winx, Buckeye and the Catch Me – were acceptable to me. The Winx and the Buckeye had already been “revealed” through leaks to dealers a while back, but the Catch Me was a surprise. 

The one I’m most forward to seeing in Gloss is the Catch Me: all the ones received by my local retailers were heavily picked through before I got to see them, and therefore probably not the best or most representative examples. And I do love the True North mold.

Like everyone else, I am all hubba-hubba-yowza about a Gloss Winx: Emerson, in Gloss Dark Bay? Sold. 

And I’ve been casually searching for affordable Brown Sunshines for a big chunk of the year, without much success. I had no idea how popular that mold is right now!

Just last week I was thinking that I should probably put together a couple of alternate CCA “buy” lists, but since they dropped it on us two months early, I just went the easiest route possible and bought 5 of the 6 Fairytale Friends. I was planning on getting them all anyway, saving them as order fillers for free postage, but since my week started out pretty rough (not hobby-related) and I didn’t feel like doing any complicated math, in the cart they went. 

(The last one in the set will get added to my Honeybunch order here in a day or two, because you just know I’m not going to pass up an affordable Pearly Possibly Pinto Palomino Fell Pony Emma.)

As for what other Glosses might show up in the CCA mix, I have no idea. I saw some suggestions that the Brick and Mortar Special Lionel could be a possibility, and I am very much in favor of that, please and thank you, especially since I never got to see any locally and I had plans on handpicking one. 

But I am not going to worry about what I get, regardless.  

Derpy Winner

By request, the Classic Ruffian with the derpy markings:

Classic Chicago factory quality control, ca. 1977! Close enough is good enough, am I right?

She’s super-dark with nice shading, too – a bit of light restoration and she’d probably be live show quality. Depending on the judges sense of humor.

Though I do have a small collection of unusual early Love Classic Racehorse variations, she was not something I was necessarily looking for. I did find that lovely variation of the Palomino earlier in the year, but like that girl, this was more a purchase of opportunity.

I heard reports that many of the Icabad Cranes had markings that were similarly askew, but I didn’t see anything particularly eyebrow-raising when I went to pick mine out Saturday afternoon.

And if there was, I might have actually gone with it anyway. Unless it’s something that’s really distracting – or clearly impossible – it’s something I regard more as a neat variation than a true flaw.

Just a Few

A Few Spot Appaloosa on the True North mold? You’re killing me!

Aside from the fact I just think Few Spot Appaloosa are kinda neat, I’m also of the opinion that the Appaloosa as a breed has been done no favors by the aggressive quest for color.

Once I get around to customizing again, one of the projects I’m very eager to get to work on is an Appaloosa Performance Horse in a Few Spot Appaloosa, since it’s unlikely that they’ll ever get around to giving us a Regular Run one anytime soon.

As much as we carp about virtually every release nowadays being spotted, the fact of the matter is that’s what sells. Unless the model is exceptional in some other way – glossy, with extra or extra-special detailing, or is a Portrait Model of someone historical/noteworthy – it’s been in Reeves best financial interest to make it as fancy as possible.

And fancy means spots.

Though it is true that many BreyerFest Auction pieces in the past few years have actually been previews of future releases (in other words, truly Tests!) I’m still skeptical of more Few Spot releases in the near future.

They are, by definition, not fancy enough.

There haven’t been many Breyer Few Spot Appaloosas in the past, either. There are the occasional extreme variations of the #115 Appaloosa Western Prancing Horse, and I’ve seen a few older Gloss Gray Appaloosa with spots sparse enough to possibly pass as one (later examples of the Fighting Stallion, for instance.)

But the only intentional Few Spot that immediately comes to mind is the San Domingo Oxydol, who was from about 20 years ago.

(I have one, he just happens to be in storage right now.)

I think they tried to pass off the Dappled Liver Chestnut Running Mare from the 2009 Fun Foals Treasure Hunt as a “solid Appaloosa” too. Which I thought kind of muddled the color genetics lesson the Fun Foals promotion was supposed to be about. (Would it really have been that big a deal to toss a couple of stray spots on her? Mottle her nose a bit? Add a couple of hoof stripes? )
 
Back to BreyerFest prep…

Hot and Cold

Rather than catch up on real work last week, I spent it pouring over all the newly posted BreyerFest details. Fantasizing about the baking heat of Kentucky in July is one of the few things that’s gotten me through these past two brutally bone-chilling weeks!

For even the more experienced among us, it might be worth your time to do likewise: there have been a lot of little changes to BreyerFest this year, some more consequential than others.

Among them: the live show is no longer a NAN qualifier, access to the upstairs lounge of the Covered Arena is now something you have to pay for, all the workshops have moved to the museum basement, the Special Runs will be distributed in their own tent, event hours on Sunday have been extended to 4 p.m., and some volunteers will be free-range docents called “BreyerFest Ambassadors.”

(Does that job come with a fancy hat and sash? Inquiring minds need to know!)

One thing that hasn’t changed is that there’s still going to be Store Specials. Here’s a picture of the first Store Special, a portrait of Icabad Crane on the True North mold:

This is the first release on the True North mold that will be relatively cheap and accessible to the average collector. The first True North was available by Premier Club subscription only, and the other two – last year’s Custom Contest Masala, and Sunday Raffle Horse Rangoli – were both extremely limited and things that had to be either won, or purchased at high cost.

Piece counts on Store Specials have ranged from 500 (most of the earlier ones, including the 2006 Peruvian Paso Magnifico) to 1250 (2016’s Dag Dia), with 750 pieces being the median – roughly the same quantity as Premier Club releases.

The accessibility of BreyerFest Store Specials has been a mixed bag over the years, however, and how high or low the piece counts are is usually moot. Some have been popular and heavily fought over (2014’s Novelisto D: with 750 pieces issued) and some have not (2011’s Halla/Bolya Dusty: also 750 pieces issued).

I am guessing that because it’s the first True North that most of us will be able to afford, and the mold itself has been well-received generally, demand will be high.

Reeves should know all this, and plan accordingly.

I hope.

Wanting is different from needing, and I haven’t decided whether or not I actually need the Icabad Crane or not. I suppose it’ll all depend on how nice that red bay color translates into a production run piece, what my budget looks like by then – and what else they may have in store for us.

Rangoli and True North

Here’s the Sunday Raffle Model Rangoli, in case you haven’t seen him yet:

That paint job – an extra dark Sooty Dappled Buckskin Sabino – is amazing, and the rest of him isn’t too shabby either. But you know what I really like about the True North mold?

The shaggy buzzcut of a mane! It’s just so stinking cute. If he were a real-real horse, I’d want to run my fingers through it. 

I tend to appraise sculpts not purely on their anatomical or conformational correctness, but on the finishwork at the edges: the mane and tail, the ears, the hooves, and the muzzle. For me, that’s where the sculptor’s care and passion really shows: everything else is a matter of technical competence.

Getting the technical aspects correct is important, but it doesn’t always make you fall in love. Sometimes it does; but its things like pooky lips, fuzzy ears, and artfully messy manes that quickly turn admiration turn into adoration.

However, I am not real fond of having the first several releases of new molds (mostly but not exclusively the Premiers) be either expensive, or of extremely limited quantity. It’s difficult to get passionate about collecting something that becomes almost immediately hard to collect.  

That’s what turned me away from the Esprit mold, initially. Although I’ve since added a few to the herd – most notably the quirky BreyerFest Special Run Prince of Chintz, and the beautiful Dappled Bay Steppin’ Out – I’ve been hesitant to sink any more effort into it. I wouldn’t have minded getting the Decorator variation of the Samba Surprise from last year’s BreyerFest lineup, but I got only one shot at that guy last year and it didn’t happen. So I sold the one I did get (Matte Palomino) and moved on.

Part of the appeal of collecting Vintage is that unless you pick an exceptionally hard mold to collect – like the Elephant, or the In-Between Mare – the ratio of rare and difficult to not-so-rare or -difficult is better. You can collect for a while before the rarities start to bother you too much. And unlike most of the newer molds, there is a small but real possibility that you just might run across one of those rarities at a yard sale or late-night online auction. 

I never expected to own an Elephant with Howdah, but I somehow managed to snag one on eBay some years back, for considerably less than the going rate. (The Pink, Blue, and Woodgrain? Ah, well, I guess that is what the flea market is for.)

The actual True North release isn’t even out yet, and the likelihood of winning Rangoli is going to be pretty slim (I mean, just look at him!) but it’s a little too early to abandon hope yet.