Puppy Monkey Breyer

Just a little head’s up here: I got hit with a double financial whammy this week – a bigger than expected tax bill, and some bad news from the dentist – so I’ll be listing some items on MH$P in the next week or two to help with the slight shortfall. I’ve been meaning to do that anyway, so I guess now is as good a time as any.

I don’t know if I’m going to buy one – the pictures are clearly that of a prototype, and not the real thing, and we all should know by now not to judge a Special Run by its prototype – but you know something? I don’t hate Estrela do Carnaval the way the rest of the hobby does.

My first reaction was not unlike the one I had for that strange and slightly disturbing Mountain Dew “Puppy Monkey Baby” Super Bowl commercial. (“What the…”) but then I sort of started giggling over the absurdity and inevitability of it.

Seriously, they’ve done just about every conceivable color and pattern on the Silver by now: an orange, lime green and brown Pegasus with a semi-naked lady decaled on its belly was just about all that was left.

While I would have gone full-on “parrot” with a bright blue body color instead of poo brown, I’m assuming that was tried and the show-through didn’t mix well with the skin tones of the Samba dancer on its belly.

It is worth remembering that the original Decorators – in Wedgewood Blue, Copenhagen, Florentine and Gold Charm – were considered hideous and spectacular failures when they were released in the 1960s. And Palomino Family Arabians were, in terms of sales and longevity, one of Breyer’s most successful.

Anyway, I’m not sure yet if I’ll be getting one; it’s one of those pieces, like the Times Square before it, that probably won’t win anyone over until he’s seen in the flesh. I am also trying (again) to keep my spending to a minimum this year – not out of a lack of interest, but a lack of space. Still trying to downsize here just a bit…

If anyone’s interested, this is the order – from most to least – of my interest in this year’s lineup of purchasable BreyerFest Special Runs, based on my assessment from their photos alone:

1. Dag Dia – Brishen (Store Special)
2. Namib
3. Samba Surprise
4. Bozeman 
5. Sheila
6. Estrela do Carnaval
7. Zebu
8. Furano
9. Mamacita y Chico
10. Diablo DC – Desatado (Store Special)

Interesting that there’s only one Gloss release, aside from the One Day Stablemates and whatever will be the “surprise” in the Samba Surprise. I wonder if that means we’ll be getting a 50/50 Gloss/Matte split on someone this year?