Feis

Part of the reason I am not all that into the Diorama Model Feis is that I have no current plans on entering the contest in the first place.

This cosplay idea I’ve been trying to execute is frustrating me literally every step of the way – supplies missing, orders canceled, pieces lost from patterns – and so throwing myself into another project whose end result is bound to frustrate me has no appeal at all.

Yes, the lineup is pinto-heavy this year, but the pinto part doesn’t bother me. The fact that it’s a Jeanne Mellin Herrick mold doesn’t bug me either – in fact, one of the articles I’m prepping to write for this year’s Sampler is a discussion of her work for Breyer.

No, I have two other, completely unrelated aesthetic reasons I’m not all that into the Diorama Prize model Feis.

First, as I’ve discussed before, I’m just not into Buckskin Pintos in general. I do admire how well done it is, though: instead of simple streaks, the intricate mane masking gives us a real sense of hair twisting and tangling in the breeze, and the color itself is very similar to the well-received Buttermilk Buckskin Bollywood Surprise from a few years back.

Second: it’s another Draft Horse, in a thematic year that should almost be pony-obsessive. I know there are still several more items to be revealed that will (or should) make up that deficit, but at this point it’s becoming almost comical.

As you might have noticed, Reeves has been using either older molds, or molds unsuitable for live showing for their Diorama Contest prizes recently: Haflinger, Buckshot, Boomerang, El Pastor. Many of these molds have been used for releases or entire lines designed to appeal to a younger crowd, which may be the point of selecting them for this contest, entirely.

But personally, if I had to go with an older mold, or even another Jeanne Mellin Herrick mold, I would have preferred Roemer or Pluto. (And I am extremely relieved it’s not the Fell Pony Emma. So, so relieved.)

So yeah, this one isn’t lighting a fire in my belly, and I am fine with that. I still might enter, depending on what shakes out with my plans for the next few months (i.e. if the Comicon the costume is for gets canceled or postponed), but I am definitely not going to sweat it, regardless.