The Luxury Of ...

My schedule is finally returning to (what I would consider) manageable and/or normal.

The second week of the chaos wouldn’t have been so bad if just about everyone in the district hadn’t come down with some sort of nastiness or another: for a while there I thought I was, literally, going to be the last person left standing.

(A rather high percentage of people I work with, alas, do not believe in things like coats, gloves, hand sanitizers or vaccinations. And don’t even get me started on dental hygiene! Sigh.)

It’s going to take at least a couple days to get my circadian rhythms back to normal, though, so it might be a few more days yet before y’all start hearing from me on an individual basis.

Thankfully, nothing particularly model-horse newsworthy appeared to have happened over the past several days, other than the notice about the Vintage Club Commander shipping. (Note to self: add "need to pay for this ASAP" on list of things-to-do.)

Just because he wasn’t my first choice/voting choice doesn’t mean that I am any less enthused about the prospect of his arrival. I am not one of those mold snobs that only prefers a handful of models, or the sculpts of just one or two mold designers.

There are certain molds and sculptors I like more - or less - than others, but I don’t go out of my way to insult them, or browbeat the aficionados of molds on my "less favored" list. (Well, maybe the Silver, a little. Nearly 30 releases in 10 years? Enough already!)

I’m sure several of you can immediately call to mind certain individuals who seem to have made it their hobby life’s work. They think they are being clever, when in fact they come off as "mean girls".

I’m not saying that they necessarily mean girls in real life - I know for a fact that many of them are not. But so much of who you are is defined by how and by what you choose to express yourself about on the Internet that what you are in "real life" is becoming almost irrelevant nowadays.

(Another reason why I don’t "do" Facebook: I’d like to think of my friends and cohobbyists as something greater - or better - than the sum of the thoughts they express there.)

Some Breyer models are not designed specifically for you, or by you. Some of us have had that luxury, but most of us will not. Buy what you like, don't buy what you don't like. There's no need to stress out over what other people like. Or dislike.

(Yes, I struggle with that, too. We all do.)

I have a fair number of Five-Gaiters. Not a lot of the rare and/or desirable ones - none of the Decorators, no Woodgrain, Alabasters or Tests. Not even an Albino/Alabaster, or a decent Palomino. (Partially melted. Long story!) But I am rather fond of my early, semi-gloss Sorrel with the gigantic eyewhites. Such a purty boy!

Not Being Myself

Missed me? I missed me, too. Schedule issues are continuing to be a problem, though in a slightly different way than before. Alas, I’m going to be (relatively) incommunicado for a few days more.

If you have received an e-mail from me in the past few days, whatever it was, it wasn’t me. It appears that my Google account was spoofed. I’ve already taken all the necessary steps to remedy the problem, with the tiny bit of spare time I had at my disposal today. (Yesterday’s two hour window of "free time" was hogged up by the dog, who insisted on some intense "warm lap" therapy. I’ve missed you too, Vee.)

I probably won’t be able to (genuinely) respond to anyone’s specific questions until the weekend, at the earliest, so anything you get from me before then is also probably not me.

And on top of all that, it looks like I’ll have to add "new desktop computer" to my list of things I’ll be needing to buy in the next few months. There’s been a lot of whining and screeching emanating from my office lately, and for once it ain’t coming from me. 

But, enough of my troubles. Here’s a little gift to assuage the tiny bit of suffering I have inflicted upon you, albeit accidentally: the flier for the 1976 Re-release of the Donkey and Elephant.

It seems silly in retrospect, but for several years the hobby community was a bit mystified by these models. We knew they were from 1976 - the date was on the box - and that they must have had something to do with 1976 being an election year. But that was about it.

The reason why is obvious: we weren’t the target market for them. 1976 was not only an election year, it was also the Nation’s Bicentennial: it seemed like an excellent opportunity to re-market a couple of old regulars for a slightly different clientele - those wanting to express their patriotism via the purchasing of tastefully (or not) themed tchotchkes.

I have a few duplicates of these fliers from the newly acquired archive, but as you might have guessed, it’s going to be a while before I get around to doing something about them.

Halo

I worked nearly 19 hours total on Friday, and nearly 40 over the course of three days. Tired does not even begin to describe how I feel right now. ("Gelatinous" might work.)

I wish they’d get this scheduling issue resolved once and for all. I appreciate the hours and the overtime, but cramming them all in at the end of the week is not cool, especially since it leads entire days off being slept away.

Other than briefly skimming the Internet for breaking news, I haven’t had a whole lot of computer time to myself over those three days. I think that was for the best, considering the lack of sleep put me in a rather, ah, combative state of mind. Didn’t want to start any fights that I’d have to walk away from. What’d be the fun in that?

I did see that Reeves announced what I’m assuming will be the Vintage Club’s "Exclusive Offer" model: the Stretched Morgan in the Performance Horse colorway, named Halo. Yep, the same guy in last year’s group shot photo who was the source of much commentary and speculation.

Some hobbyists are claiming that it’s the second release in the 2013 Vintage Club series, but the wording of the e-mail - that he’s a "Club Exclusive", not a "Release"  - suggests otherwise, to me.

Besides, the two clues given for the second release - "Solid" and "Four on the floor" - don’t quite jibe: there’s nothing about Halo that could be described as "Solid", unless it is a retro/1970s reference to the level of his coolness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg92Y477XSI

I haven’t given much thought to those clues, by the way. They’re just too vague for me to work with. "Four on the floor" seems to be referencing a standing model (of which there are dozens) and "Solid" could be referring to a solid colorway (likewise).

The first thing that pops in my head is Adios, especially since when I hear "Four on the floor" I think of manual transmissions, street racing and horsepower. A subtle reference to race cars = a subtle reference to racehorses?

Interesting. There’s a Glossy Charcoal Adios, Dapple Gray Man o’ War, and a Gloss Alabaster Quarter Horse Gelding in that group shot: all solid colors, all racehorses. (Okay, the QHG is a bit of a stretch, considering his body type. Close enough.)

I wouldn’t object to any of those guys.

That’s really about the extent of my thinking on the subject, though. Of the three, I think the Charcoal Adios is probably the strongest candidate. A very popular mold, in a very popular vintage color.

Not unlike Halo.

Well, Obviously

My work scheduling issue has been somewhat remedied, if me basically not being home for the rest of the week is "remedied". This is good for my checking account, by not so good for blogging. Or writing. Or sleeping.

(See the timestamp on this posting?)

This is fine, to a degree. The current tone of chatter on the Internet is starting to annoy me again, and this gives me a completely legitimate excuse to be antisocial.

On the other hand, I do actually have some serious model horse business to attend to, and it’s not going to get done any time soon. I need to wrap up my 2012 paperwork, get some color copies made for someone’s collectibility documentation, unpack the big box lot of horses I got in a few weeks ago and get ‘em prepped for sale, and finish the ephemera inventory.

That last task is especially bothering me. The last few scraps - the ones that have so far defied categorization - have been mocking me every time I walk past them in my office downstairs. I’ve been promising myself for the past two weeks that it’d be that "next thing" I’d get wrapped up, but you know how life is, one darn thing after another…

The one advantage to having those unidentifiable bits sitting out and staring me in the face is that it’s helped me finally identify some of them. Take this Glossy 8 x 10 photograph, which seemed so familiar:

It is, of course, the photograph on the original packaging for the Wooden Corral, from late 1982:

Since much of the material I had been sorting was packaging-related stuff from the late 1970s and early 1980s, this sort of thing should have been, I don't know, a little more obvious to me.

It didn’t occur to me until after I had been thinking about the Corral in reference to yet another project I really need to work on. I pulled up the picture above from my files, and all I could mutter to myself was "Boy, do I feel dumb".

As I’ve explained before, this is how history tends to work: most discoveries aren’t about undiscovered objects, they're about previously unrecognized data.

In the grand scheme of things it’s not all that big a deal: big whoop, I found out that I have the original photograph used for the Corral packaging. While it may not be much even in the context of this tiny little sliver of history we obsess over, it’s not nothing, either. It's another tiny piece of the puzzle of Breyer History, now recognized.

Back to work, again. Then another nap. Then more work.

Chewy's Tale

Another short today: just because I’m not technically working doesn’t mean I’m not busy. Plus I’m feeling a little bit of outrage fatigue over, well, everything, and I definitely need to take a break from all that.

So here’s a picture of my Siamese Kitten, the one with the funny story:

His name is "Chewy" because at some point in his life, he was used as a chew toy. It’s not all that bad, really - most of the gnawing occurred on the tail, so careful placement on the shelf renders it out of sight/out of mind, most of the time.

Several years ago I got a wild notion to take a civil service exam. Quite a few people were taking the exam - several hundred, if I’m recalling correctly - so the location of the exam was moved to a local convention center.

At the very same time - in fact, I think it was the day before - someone’s pet lion had allegedly escaped, and had been spotted wandering around the grounds near this center.

I had found it very amusing, initially, because cougars and panthers are something of an urban legend in the metro Detroit area. Every few years, there’s somebody on the news claiming they saw a panther in the woods near their house. Whenever photos or video of said creature are produced, it’s almost always either a case of mistaken identity - someone’s lost Black Lab, or an overfed housecat - or a blurry, unrecognizable smudge.

This time, however, it was no urban legend, or at least it didn’t seem so at the time. I don’t think the lion was ever located, or even confirmed to exist at all. When I got up to go to the convention center that morning, though, we were all still operating under a reasonable suspicion that it might very well be out there.

There was a small outdoor flea market that also operated on the grounds, just coincidentally on the same day of the exam. It’s not one that I went to on a regular basis, because it was a bit out of my way, and not as big (or good!) as my favorite local haunt.

One of the things that annoys me about my local flea market is that some of the dealers there tend to talk big, but flee at the slightest hint of hardship. ("I see a cloud! It’s going to RAIN!") and here were these guys - not a huge group, but a decent number - casually conducting business in spite of the fleetingly small but real threat of a BIG CAT ATTACK.

Ballsy, man. How could I not give them my business?

There were a few things there, but the only thing I found worth buying was the Siamese Kitten. He was in much worse shape even than he appears above - really yellow, and really dirty, like he had been stored in someone’s garage for the past 25 years - but he was only a dollar. It also amused me that of all the things I found at that flea market, at that particularly weird moment of time, was a Breyer Cat!

He cleaned up modestly well, and in spite of running across nicer and less chewed up versions since then, none of them have come with as awesome a rescue story as my Chewy’s. 

Sitting It Out

Due to some glitch in the inventory company’s own inventory system, I find myself sitting at home for a couple of days this week, without work. During the busiest time of the year, when there’s literally work to be had all day and every day, and everyone (else) is complaining about the massive amounts of overtime they're putting in.

Normally I’d raise a stink because, hello, I don’t get paid to sit at home: no work, no pay. But I decided to turn this liability into an asset, and get some other work done in the meantime.

(Model horse related, mostly.)

The "Consolation" Special Run Bull Colton does appear to be being made specifically to cover the oversells on the Logans at the Vault Sale. I’m not sure if they’re going to make just enough to cover the oversell orders, or exactly the same amount as Logan, or what.

On Reeves’s inventory issues and the Vault Sale, I will speak no further. Not because I have nothing more to say, but because of diminishing returns. There’s no point in making an argument once everyone’s made up their minds.

The other big news this week is that all the BreyerFest 2013 stuff has hit the Breyer web site in a big way. A bunch of different Specials were announced, including a Desatado in Dun, a pretty chestnut pinto Haflinger, and another pinto Nokota Horse (as the Early Bird Special).

One of the Raffle models is the Traditional Totilas in a Star Dapple Gray, which makes about as much sense to the "Denim & Diamonds" theme as the Early Bird Special Stretched Morgan did to last year’s "British Invasion". The paint job looks a little weird, but it's also a not-good photograph of a test piece, so I'm not fretting over it.

There’s going to be another SR "satellite" store, too: one of the Specials available in it will be a Bucking Bronco in a quasi-buckskin color with kerchief-style decals on it. It’s very similar to the Home Decorating Show Paisley Rearing Horses that broke my heart a couple months back. I love the Bucking Bronco mold, so heck yeah, it's on my must-buy list.

The two Store Specials were also announced: a Black Tobiano Pinto Bluegrass Bandit named Lady C, and a pinto Brighty named Tennessee Titan. Titan is similar, but not identical to the still-incredibly-desirable 2005 Fest Special Run Oliver. Judging from the reaction I’ve been seeing to the Brighty, I’m guessing we’re in for another very quick sellout. (Keeping mine, if I get a hold of one.)

They also announced the themes and rules to the contests, and honestly, I just can’t get all that worked up about either one of them right now. I am utterly indifferent to the charms of most country music. I’m more Motown than Hoedown: I like some of the old-timey stuff, bluegrass, yodeling cowboys and stuff like that, but most modern stuff makes my eyes glaze over.

If I can come up with something, I’ll do it, but I just can’t get as emotionally involved as I did last year, where I ended up flaming out rather painfully. (When other people win with your same ideas - not once, but twice in the same year - yeah, you do tend to take it rather personally.)

Unresolved Issues

This year’s crop of resolutions includes: buying less stuff (horses and otherwise), eating less sugar, being a little more efficient with my use of time, answering my e-mails/messages in a more timely manner, and reading more.

I’d also like to get caught up on the quilts. I had no idea I started somewhere between 30 and 40 new projects in the past year and half! (They’re not all bed-sized, but when you hit the double-digit mark, size is moot, y’know?)

Since we’re on the subject of unexpectedly bad inventories, today is apparently manure-hits-wind-generating-machine day at Reeves. They just didn’t oversell the Silverados, they oversold them by a lot, judging from the number of cancellations I am hearing about. (A lot of other things were oversold, too, but apparently not quite to the same degree.)

It just occurred to me today that there was a portent of these inventory problems back in July: remember what happened with the 2012 BreyerFest Celebration Horse, Mariah’s Boon? They oversold him, too - the first time ever that that sort of thing ever happened.

Doesn’t look so anomalous, now. (And on another Othello, too!)

I am not belittling anyone’s anger at the situation - anyone who knows me personally knows I can be pretty righteous in defense of my compatriots, even some of the more aggravating ones - but this is one of those rare cases where I do kinda-sorta understand why Reeves is behaving the way that it is.

I’m not saying that the way they are handling it is completely acceptable, or that anyone’s anger is unjustified, but that my personal indignation is tempered by the fact that I’ve seen it happen all too many times before.

Inventorying? It’s my job.

(Have there been instances where I’ve inventoried Breyers? Yes. Very distracting! As are shoes and books. And craft supplies.)

Nobody "loves" doing it, but it’s a necessary part of being in the retail business. If you don’t have the right stock to sell - or too much, or too little - you’ll lose customers, and money. Lose enough of them, and you lose the business, too. End of story.

I have wondered, on many occasions, how Reeves measures their own inventory - is it by overall financial value, or by the value per unit?

From my observation of and participation in the Tent Sale/NPOD at BreyerFest, it appears to me that they may be measuring it financially, rather than by SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). It’s not that they don’t keep track the SKUs sold, it’s that keeping track of the specific items isn’t as important as keeping track of the amount of money their inventory generates as a whole.

In the end, money is money, regardless of the way you count it, but some methods are better than others - depending on the type of stuff you sell, how you sell it, and who you sell it to. Obviously, whatever system Reeves has been using, they need to fix it. ASAP.

(And if they happen to need any assistance in that matter, I’d be more than happy to help, too!)

It appears that Reeves is contacting the customers on the oversold list for Logan and are offering them another SR Bull instead - same mold, in a somewhat different color, named Colton. It’s unclear if this was something that they made to fix the problem, or was another special item for another event, past or present.

The question then becomes - what becomes of the leftovers of this consolation SR? Gah! I don’t need to be thinking about that right now. I need to take a nap before my next two inventories, that’s what.