Eyes of the Beholders

I didn’t get one of the leftover Fontanas that were made available to Collector’s Club members on the Breyer web site on Tuesday. I would have if I could have, but I really couldn’t afford it this week. (New license plate tags for the car + magazine subscription renewal = no extra spendy cash!)

I wasn’t surprised that they sold out in a matter of hours - even though there were well over a hundred of them to be "disposed" of.

Just because something doesn’t sell out at the event it was made for doesn’t mean there wasn’t any demand for the model hobby-wide. Lots of hobbyists couldn’t make it to BreyerWest to purchase it, or didn’t want deal with the hassle that goes into arranging for a pickup, or just flat out didn’t have the money then. (As opposed to now - it being tax refund season, ya know!)

And as for the current online aftermarket - or lack thereof - for the item, that’s really not a good indicator of demand, either. A significant portion of collectors don’t really participate in that arena, at all. They’d rather deal with the safety and security inherent in buying straight from the manufacturer, even if it means a slight markup over the going price in the aftermarket.

(Can you blame them, really? A quick skim of any of the hobby-transaction-monitoring-type places would give most folks the willies.)

Kudos to Reeves for making a leftover SR available to members this way; we can only hope that similar items - like certain BreyerFest leftovers - do, too. Especially if it means more room in the NPOD for weirder, newer, and more exotic stuff!

I suppose I should talk a little about the next Vintage Club piece, which IS a Buckskin Fighting Stallion, with the rather unimaginative name of "King" - the nickname he originally came with.

I am pleased - not just at my guessing skills, but the model itself, who’ll look faboo next to both my Buckskin 1993 Jamboree Rearing Stallion, and my old Buckskin Mustang with the extra body shading and eyewhites:


(See what I meant about those "black points"?)

I couldn’t see eyewhites in the photo on the web site, which is a bit of a bummer, but I’m still hoping the dorsal stripe might be there.

Some hobbyists are obviously displeased that he is neither Glossy, nor "Not Boring" in some way (i.e.: spotted, speckled or dappled). I was sort of afraid of that - and why I’m so concerned about the web site forum content and contributors.

(BTW, I’m not going to muddy myself any further with them for now - I’ve had my fill of unpleasantness this week, both online and off!)

As someone who’s obsessed with Breyer History, as per the title of this very blog, I’d rather the models reflect the actual scope of Breyer History, and not some narrow (mis)interpretation of it. Vintage does not equal Glossy - or Decorator! Some of my favorite oldies, like my Mustang, are neither.

I certainly wouldn’t object to a Christmas Decorator release, though. The evidence for them is so tenuous, but the desire is so palpable. They may never have truly existed, but they need to exist, right? Close enough for me.

More recent Stablemates molds in the four alleged Christmas Decorator colors would also be acceptable - as a little boxed set of ornaments, maybe? (Oh goodness, yes!)