Collection Busters

The Stablemates are packed for the show, and now I’m getting down to the nitty-gritty of the Collectibility. I didn’t realize I had chosen so many larger models, and now I need to make some hard decisions. (I do know who I have to cut, it’s just a matter of accepting it, and moving on.) 

The Best Customs Contest Traditional Prize Kansas made me wince a little:

On one hand, that means it’s pretty unlikely the Forever Saige mold is the BreyerFest Stagecoach Surprise, which is a huge relief for me. On the other, it’s a lovely Chestnut Appaloosa version of Forever Saige I’ll likely never get to own, because even if the mold isn’t that popular in the hobby in general, anything that limited is going to command a price beyond my comfort zone anyway.

(Has anyone actually bought any of those Gris Grises in the vicinity of $800, or is it just another aspirational thing on the part of sellers? I don’t need another, just curious.) 

Winning one is out of the question: prepping an entry for the Customs Contest is too late at this point, and I’ve already committed myself to finishing several other projects this year anyway. Most of which are on hold until I get both the show and my taxes out of the way. And some of the gardening too, while I’m at it. (Almost time to transplant the pepper plants to bigger pots!)

The Runners-Up Prize Stablemate Willamette is a little less tempting to me, only because the Darley Arabian mold has already come in Chestnut twice before, and a very shiny Palomino. This wouldn’t be a problem normally, but he’s only had six releases prior to this. But no Gray or a more standard Bay yet: weird how Reeves gets in color ruts like that.

(As everyone let’s out a deep sigh and mutters Django.)

And it is always a bit of a downer when they release the first nearly-impossible-to-acquire “collection buster” release on a new-ish mold. But at least it took them about five years to get around to it with the Darley Arabian, so it does not sting as much, I think. 

But again, it’s a moot issue for me, since most of my custom projects this year fall into the “stress-relief” category. And I’m totally fine with that – in fact, that’s one of the things I’m looking forward to as the weather warms up: a lazy weekend afternoon or two with just me and the Dremel and some otherwise unloved body box inhabitant, making a noisy mess of things in the garage.