The Buzz about the "Daily Breyers"

And what did I tell you? Ballylee sold out by the end of the week. What’s going with the mysterious "wait list" is that they’ve probably reached a low enough stock level - one dozen, maybe two? - that they wanted to reserve what’s left to cover orders in transit or in the queue waiting for confirmation - and also have a few left over to remedy loss and damages. It’s not about them making more. They didn’t make more Silver Snows now, did they?

I’m amused that Breyer has started posting test colors on their Facebook page, as an upcoming post is going to center around the entire definition of the term "test color." The reaction and commentary on these "Daily Breyer" photos has been completely predictable. Of course you want them: they’re unique, unattainable, and have richer detailing than your standard, run-of-the-mill Breyer. Of course they’re not realistic or "successful": that’s why they’re still called test colors. They’re experimenting, and not every experiment succeeds. Duh.

(For the record, if anyone at Reeves is reading: a marbelized vintage mold would make a fabulous Connoisseur idea. May I suggest the Mustang? Or the Five-Gaiter, perhaps?)

I do have to wonder about their obsession with solid legs on pintos - they’ve done it enough now to make one think it’s not something they’re doing out of simple ignorance, though it’s certainly a possibility. Not everyone who works at Reeves is necessarily a horse person, and not every horse person is as well-versed in color genetics as your average hobbyist.

Breyer’s never had the best track record with accurately reproducing real horse colors - or naming the ones they do correctly. The ancient #36 Racehorse was called "Bay" in company literature even though was rather obviously a chestnut. I also have a rather amusing letter in my archive from Marney Walerius - one of the founding mothers of the hobby who had a close, working relationship with Breyer and Peter Stone, back in the Chicago days of the company - that is basically a big rant about Peter not knowing the difference between an Overo and a Tobiano Pinto.

A lot of decisions about color and marking selection aren’t made out of ignorance, though, but aesthetics: a color may chosen simply because it "looks good" on a particular model, not because the powers-that-be necessarily think it’s realistic or possible. Hardcore hobbyists only make up a fraction of the model horse buying public, and the general public is generally more concerned with how visually pleasing something is over how accurate is it. (Some hobbyists, like moi, are a little more flexible on the subject, too.) In this case, the solid-leg pinto concept is just an artistic "tic" they’ve been on lately.

Another factor in color selection is deliberate provocation: sometimes they might deliberately release a color, marking or finish on a model to elicit a reaction and stimulate sales. The discussion on some board will start with some irate, indignant hobbyist posting "Oh, great, another solid legged pinto: those idiots will never learn!" This will be followed by several other hobbyists agreeing wholeheartedly, then others defending it or even posting a possible reference photo … and voila, instant buzz. With Reeves lurking in the background, gauging our reaction.

Breyer did this sort of thing it back in the early days in Chicago, too, though not with the same scale, gusto or planning. It was a different company then, and a different time, and not just in a there-was-no-Internet kind of way. Back then test colors were actually test colors, and not possibly some weird in-between thing, and the one in-between weird thing that did exist was something only a few of us really knew about anyway …but I’m getting ahead of myself again.

Web Specials Commentary

As proof of my Breyer History uber-nerdiness, I was going to post a lengthy, heavily footnoted article about the first Breyer mold mark - not the famous "copyright horseshoe," but what came before. It's fascinating - really! - but it's going to take me another day or two to whip it into readable shape. (Mostly editing for length - I tend to overwrite a bit on my first drafts.)

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few of my thoughts about the recent Web Special release Ballyduff.

I really like him; Reeves has been doing a bang-up job on their solid colors lately, especially their chestnuts. (I adore that gorgeous shade of red chestnut on the Australian SR Phar Lap!) It's nice to see them move away a bit from all the crazy psychedelic colors and patterns they've been high on lately. Don't get me wrong - my first choice this year at BreyerFest is going to be that awesome, over-the-top Lady Phase "Confetti" - but there's nothing prettier in the world than a simple, nicely done chestnut. (Wouldn't Ballylee's color look smashing on the Bouncer, or even the Stretch Morgan?)

Unfortunately, I'm on a budget so tight I can't even pass up the grotty pennies one finds in supermarket parking lots. Since I also had the happy misfortune of being picked for the Connoisseur Auld Lang Syne, and I rather prefer the Kennebec to the Flash, my budget priorities were pretty clear on the matter. Even though I think he's actually a pretty good deal for the money, I had to take a pass on him.

(Oh, I can almost hear you wincing at the thought of someone actually preferring the Kennebec Count mold over - well, anything. I'll deal with you conformation freakazoids another day...)

I think Reeves is finally getting closer to the winning formula for the Web Specials on price, quantity and availability. The 350 piece run - identical to the Connoisseur releases, and the recent regular run gloss variations - seems about right. Not so few to create a ninja-pit-style feeding frenzy, and not so many that they won't retain most of their value. Kudos to Reeves for managing to create a nice buzz - and likely, a tidy little profit - in one heck of a rotten economy. Sure wish I could have contributed!

I'm hoping that they don't go monthly on these particular specials; that kind of overkill is what spoiled Stone Horses for a lot of collectors. And the three month wait certainly added to the anticipation and the drama: the Web Special thread on Blab was interesting, to say the least. (And also, a little scary!)

And yet, in spite of all the fussing, cussing and drinking that went on, the Ballylee still isn't quite sold out. There's lots of reasons why: the Auld Lang Syne drawing was last week, the economy is still sinking, and it's that time of year when a lot of hobbyists are taking a hard look at their live show and BreyerFest budgets for the year. I'm sure he'll be gone by the end of the week though, if not sooner.