Brunello and Stuff

First, the stuff.

I made the mistake of wandering into some online discussions about Geronimo a few days ago, during some rare downtime. I keep telling myself not to do that, and one of these days I’m finally going to listen!

Reading new mold discussions always makes me want to go out and buy the model, just to give it a hug. I can’t afford to do that right now!

http://www.breyerhorses.com/brunello

Anyway, most hobbyists know by now that the early release Brunellos with the Tryon blanket were not just the standard release, with blanket: nope, instead of the braided mane and tail that the Regular Run release was supposed to have, these Brunellos have the standard loose Idocus mane and tail.

And what should have been a moderately interesting blip in the Breyer SR radar – a Regular Run release with limited edition accessories – suddenly became much more interesting to many more people.

Supposedly some of this 400-piece run are (or were, until recently?) still available through Tryon Tack, but I’m still on my rigorous budget right now, so I have been trying my darndest to resist calling them to find out. I really like the Idocus mold, but I am not sure I love him enough to stray off my budget.

From what I’ve heard, they were made because the braided bodies weren’t ready in time for the event? I want to believe that, but with Breyer you can never been sure if that was a genuine answer or a wink-wink to those of us who obsess over every little thing.

Ironically, I do collect the “Regular Run with Accessories” category of Special Runs, though not in a directed or organized way. Many of the early Sears and JC Penneys Christmas Catalog items actually fall into that category. If I happen upon them at a reasonably good price, I’ll jump on them. But I don’t get too upset if they go above and beyond my price threshold, unless the model itself is interesting or especially pretty.

This is often the case, because many of those sets also featured newly released molds in their earliest iterations. The dark and pretty Legionario that came up in my discussion of the dorsal-striped Legionario a little while back was just such a creature:

I also like to collect them because the box art is so interesting and fun – like that Classics Race Horse Set one that had me strutting around the house a little while back:

Until recently, most hobbyists didn’t collect this sort of thing either, unless they were mold or series completists. Now that that’s become more of a thing (because most of us can’t afford to have it all!) they, too, have become more of a thing.