The Little Things

It went perfectly smooth and hasn’t sold out yet, so ordering my BreyerFest VIP ticket felt a little anticlimactic? I mean, I’m glad it’s over and done with and I reserved everything I was hoping for, but apparently there was no rush to beat? Ah, well….

I also feel like the only person who didn’t go for a Stein and a Surprise: I went with Franz and the Gummi Bears instead, of course. I doubt either one would have sold out regardless, but they were the ones I wanted most, and I’d rather spend my money on things I want, rather than things I think I can sell for a profit. 

The only time I worry about getting my money back is when I’m buying box lots, or I find it second hand and I have to make a decision on buying it right then and there. It blows my mind that so many hobbyists think they’re entitled to a financial return on their hobby investments. 

(At best, I’m thinking I’ll break about even in the end.) 

For my Limited Editions I reserved the Stablemates: both the Wittelsbach and the Best of BreyerFest Set. It had been my plan to focus on Stablemates this year anyway – a plan that was thwarted by the fact that the Christmas Stablemates Sets I missed out on in the 1990s are all kinds of expensive. That’s why I’ve been buying Vintage Traditionals instead, like my recently arrived Gray Appaloosa Fighting Stallion, here posing with his slightly yellowed brother. (He was a lot yellower when I got him, trust me!)

The new guy has a couple of weird factory paint bloopers that probably rule him out as a live show prospect. I suppose I could get them repaired, but I’m kind of a minimalist when it comes to that sort of thing, and I’m not exactly in mint condition myself, so I can relate.

(Though my health screening this week came back pretty decent. Other than needing to lose about 25 pounds, which I already knew.)

If I get another ticket, I’m not too particular about who I get selected for; the only one that doesn’t do anything for me is Marzipan. I’ve even changed my mind about Landler: I’ve seen some of the photos of him coming out of BreyerWest, and gosh he looks way better than I imagined he would! 

As far as purchasing other Limited Editions, I might still try to get the Black Forest Classic Draft, and in spite of my apprehension about spending any significant time online during the event, I’ll probably have to at least get that Soccer Ball Stablemate Drafter. 

I am a little concerned about the location of the “Model Handout Tent” where the Special Runs are being distributed: according to the map in the blog post, it’s the same general area of the parking lot I’ve sometimes used whenever I had Volunteer business to attend to. (Because lugging totes around in the 90 degree heat is never as much fun as you think it might be.)

I suspected a lot of other things are getting moved around and reconfigured this year and I was ready to deal with that, but for some reason the elimination of my favorite parking lot is throwing me for a loop. It’s always the little things, you know?