Trying Not to Worry

The past few days have been exceptionally rough. I really can’t elaborate in public, other than to say if you have any virtual hugs to give, they would be most appreciated.

One thing that has gone well is my (potential) diorama entry; I gave myself the free time I had this week to see if I could pull something together from what I have on hand. Remarkably, I think I might be able to. Here’s a hint where I’m going with it:

(Coincidentally, this also doubles as a fair approximation of how I feel about everything else in my life right now.)

And like my last entry, I’m trying not to invest too much in it emotionally, other than the joy inherent the creative process. I find working with my hands very comforting, emotionally.

The BreyerFest program was released earlier this week, and the most important information (for most of us) was the piece counts and price points for the Special Runs:

Store Specials:
Dag Dia – 1250 pieces - $75
Diablo DC – 1100 pieces - $75

Mercado Merchandise:
Auriverde – 1000 pieces - $30
Copacabana – 2000 pieces - $8
Mancha y Gato – 100 pieces - $40
The Girl from Ipanema (crystal) – 750 pieces - $45

Ticket Specials:
Namid – 1800 pieces - $55
Zebu – 800 pieces - $65
Bozeman – 1500 pieces - $65
Furano – 1400 pieces - $50
Sheila – 1600 pieces - $55
Mamacita y Chico – 1700 pieces - $60
Samba Surprise – 3700 pieces - $85
Estrela do Carnaval – 725 pieces - $65

Nothing too unusual, other than the lower-than-I-thought piece count on the Estrela do Carnaval; that factor alone may help spur a sellout, though I haven’t been following that discussion too closely to see if the tide of public opinion has turned on that piece yet.

The most “affordable” ticket options are the Furano (on the trendy/popular Make A Wish mold) and the Mamacita y Chico (the first “affordable” release on a new Mare and Foal set) so those will probably go quick. And also probably Bozeman: newish mold + elaborate spotted paint job = winning formula (see also, 2014’s Bonne Fete).

The upped piece counts on the Mercado merchandise is encouraging, but probably still not enough to get me to stand in another line.

There’s been some concern that there might not be enough Special Runs to go around, per the amount of potential number of tickets being distributed. Yes, there have been a couple of years where there were either insufficient Special Runs or Celebration models. But oddly, I am not hugely concerned that this is going to be that big of a problem this year.

The fact that they have printed up 475 tickets per ticket time doesn’t mean that all will be distributed, redeemed, or even partially redeemed.

I am not familiar with how Reeves handles its inventory (as an inventory pro, I’d love to know, though!) so my guess is that they have been taking a look at the sales numbers, comparing the number of tickets sold to the number redeemed, and trying to making projections accordingly.

You can’t account for every variable, and some stuff will sell out regardless. But I’m pretty sure it everything will be fine, more or less.

For me, it will have to be regardless: I have too many other things to worry about, so I’m choosing not to worry about this one.