A Little Hope

Just out of curiosity, I did a really quick survey of Elsas for sale (quick because I don’t really have time for shopping: I generally do quick five-minute skims for box lots and Belgians, and that’s about it):

24 on eBay (4 sold), 23 on MH$P. I have no idea on Facebook, because I don’t have an account (and please stop asking, people!) 

It’s an interesting but academic metric, since I was selected for one. 

The current betting line is that the Silver Filigree will be offered shortly after the initial purchase date for Elsa, which is the 15th. Absolutely everyone seems to think it’s Hamilton, but as I explained before, I think he’s replaced Othello and Silver as the mold everybody guesses for everything. 

Not unless they’re going to be offering at least a thousand of them. Which is entirely possible, but I’d like to think they be a little more imaginative with their mold selections when it comes to Winter Decorator Horses. 

I’m going to take a wait and see approach to it, though. Even though I promised myself to keep my purchases to a minimum until the end of the year, somehow all these packages keep showing up on my doorstep, including one with the Bouncer Hope in it:

Hey, it was a part of a half-price offer through Good Morning America, and I threw in some of the Stablemates I didn’t already have (including those goofy Wooden Stables) to get the free shipping. At that price, I couldn’t afford not to buy something!

I was surprised how iridescent the Hope is: her “pinto” markings glow like Mother of Pearl. The box is interesting, too: apparently it was designed to minimize plastic in the packaging?

Although I am usually in favor of more environmentally friendly packaging, speaking as a quilter, the plastic sheeting I salvage from the standard display boxes comes in quite handy for cutting templates. 

Especially for some of the multi-pieced affairs I’ll be mired in early next year. (Imagine a hexagonal quilt with 18 blocks of 55 pieces each. All handpieced, because doing hexi quilts by machine is more trouble than it’s worth!)

I wish I could collect the Bouncer mold more actively, but with the Tom Thumb, all the Gloss Prize models, Bilberry and the Boca, I’ll just have to stick to the handful of semi-affordable ones, which includes…

(looks around the Internet)

… just the Pink Magnum, apparently. Well, so much for even that notion. Maybe there will be something affordable at BreyerFest next year.  

More Silly Sales Season Stuff

More Tractor Supply Exclusives are showing up, including the Appaloosa Ethereal Wilder and the Gray Bobby Jo Cirrus. Both are… different than I expected, but not enough to go out of my way to get them. 

The Stablemates Unicorn Foal Surprises are another matter. They might not even be actual Special Runs, but early releases of 2022 product, like the carded Stablemates Unicorn Paint Kits from a few years back. But with the Stablemates market being as crazy as it is, I’m not going to sweat over them, whatever they are.  

Second, the first offering in the 2022 Stablemates Club is an Appaloosa Fighting Stallion named Dax:

Maybe it’s just my Seasonal Affective Disorder kicking it into high gear this year (so much so that I broke down and finally bought a light therapy box this week) but I don’t find him all that exciting either. I mean, he’s nicely done and I love the name and all that, but maybe I’m just a bit tapped out on the Stablemates Fighting Stallion already. 

It also leaves me a little concerned: I’d rather not have the Stablemates line turn into a series of “miniaturized Traditionals”. With the release of the Mini Me of the Premier Club Fireheart, I worry that hobbyists are going to not just expect, but demand that every new Traditional mold release come with a miniature counterpart. I’d prefer entirely new molds, or releases adapted from other sources, like the upcoming Stablemates adaptation of Eberl’s Sharif, Twist. 

The latest Pony for Christmas is also out: a Bouncer named Gingerbread, in a blanket that looks like a Christmas Sweater!

https://www.breyerhorses.com/collections/website-exclusives/products/pony-for-christmas-gingerbread

It’s similar to the Bouncer release Apple Jack, but with two stockings and without the flaxen mane and tail. I am going to presume that, like last year’s Christmas Pony release Honeybunch, that there aren’t any additional markings hidden under the blanket. 

I would not be disappointed if there was, though. I am always up for a new Bouncer, regardless of the color or pattern. (Thought I did originally skip out on the Apple Jack because he looked a little too much like the original Kennebec Count for comfort.)

A bunch of other new, mostly non-horse merchandise has also been added to the web site, including a couple pairs of socks. The purple ones are 100 percent my style:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/collections/new/products/breyer-socks-purple-pinto

If last couple of years have been any indication, the addition of new merchandise to the web site usually precedes the Customer Appreciation Sale. I don’t know if I’m going to participate this year, especially since I just found out I have to work this weekend (and possibly others), and thus kicking my inventory plans down the road yet another week. I don’t need even more horses to account for. 

But if I can stick to mostly apparel and accessories (I do need more socks!) I just might. 

Just Going With It

It’s beautiful and I want it:

Bilberry reminds me of the 2012 BreyerFest Auction Bouncer, who had a similar patter but in Gloss Bay Appaloosa that I also wanted.

But I am not going to get too upset if I don’t get picked because I seriously have way too much going on right now: one more pretty pony might push me over the edge.

Speaking of, my little Brabants arrived the other day and I love my Drafty Unicorn Solaris:

The color is similar – but not identical – to the Walmart Special Run Unicorn Surprise on the G3 Arabian that I also loved. I am a big fan of orange in general – in fabric, on horses, in soft drinks (takes another sip of her Jarritos Mandarin) – but not so much on people.

Just be your own color folks, whatever color that is. (Mine appears to be… ecru? Kind of a yellowy-gray beige? Sounds about right.)

The newly announced BreyerFest Plushie is cute and the swag – tee-shirts et al – are nice, but I’m not really sure how the Game of Thrones references are particularly relevant. But then again I’m about as Celtic as Chinese Take-out, so none of it is particularly doing it for me, other than the basic BreyerFest tee.

(And people are reading way too much into those “House Brighty”, “House Bristol” shirts: it’s just four popular and somewhat on-theme molds that happen to have names that start with the letter “B”.)

Incidentally, after giving the matter entirely too much thought, I’ve compiled my Special Run preference list, running from most to least wanted:

Slainte Surprise
Hamish (Bull)
Thorn (Trakehner)
Oak (Georg)
Lugh (Sham)
Brighid and Beltane (Welsh Mare and Foal)
Epona (Strapless)
Ash (Othello)
Boudicca (Andalusian Mare)

Technically my first two choices are the Bull Hamish and the Trakehner Thorn, but I don’t think those will be in particularly high demand. This way if I end up with one good spot in the queue I’ll get a Surprise. If not (very likely) I should still get the rest of what I want anyway.

I hope. It’s another one of those things I’m trying to not think about too much. 

Good News, Bad News, No News

The stores I went to earlier this week were a bust: nothing new on the shelves yet. As I was driving past a Walmart yesterday I suddenly remembered that I needed to buy some Romaine Lettuce. I noticed they were doing a reset of the toy department and decided to see if the newest Unicorn Series was in.

Nope, not yet. But they did still have some of the Series 2, and remarkably, there was a Rainbow Sherbet Magnolia to be had!

The collectors around here are so hardcore that I’ve never found a Walmart Chase piece in a Walmart ever, no matter how “common” they turn out to be. (Though at least they’re professional enough to not rip open the bags and leave all their unwanteds behind.)

I know they’re not particularly expensive on the secondary market, now that everyone’s had their fill, but you know I like to find things “in the wild”. If only for the purpose of injecting a small bit of color into an otherwise colorless week.

Yeah, I’m still not Seattle-bound. Yet. Or maybe ever.

I’m trying to not think too much about it. I’m having a hard enough time sleeping as it is!

Another thing that’s not going to keep me up nights? Whatever this photo is a reveal of:

You know that one of the things I dread most about the annual BreyerFest reveals is the almost-incessant “Othello is going to be the Surprise!” chatter.

If this guy happens to be an Othello, at least it’ll provide me with some small measure of peace and quiet. Until the “I hate the entire Special Run lineup this year” people start (predictably) complaining after the second or third reveal. (Sigh.)

My only hope and expectation for this year is a new Fell Pony.

Counting releases or announcements, True North has had six since his introduction in 2017, Duende five, and even Bristol has had five since his intro in 2018. But sweet, shaggy little Emma has had only two: her original release in 2015, and the 2016 Exclusive Event Black-Eyed Susan, in Red Chestnut.

I am going to assume that that’s because the original Emma has obviously been popular enough to still be in production, nearly five years after her introduction.

And yet the Bouncer release Brookside Pink Magnum has been in production since 2012, and in the meantime they’ve released both the 2013 Flagship release Icicle and the Decorator Christmas Ponies in 2017.

Most curious.

(A BreyerFest Bouncer would also be... acceptable.)

Little Jewels

Since the past couple of Christmas Surprises haven’t been that hard to get on the secondary market, I decided to take a pass on the Christmas Surprise Bouncer Jewel Ponies today:

It was tough, though: Translucent and a Bouncer? While I liked all three colors offered – Emerald, Amethyst and Sapphire – if one of them had been Yellow or Orange (Citrine or Amber?) I would have definitely caved.

I remembered what I had been noticing with my recent herd cull, also: with a handful of exceptions either way, most of the vintage (pre-Reeves) pieces have been staying, and many of the most recent pieces have been going. Foregoing the Bouncers might just save me a step (and paperwork, ugh!) later on.

If I have a fraction of the success next year that I had on the secondary market this year, I shouldn’t have any problem finding suitable trade fodder, if I suddenly decide I can’t live without one or more of them.

There’s not going to be any shortage of Translucents in the coming year, either: aside from the inevitable BreyerFest Special Run Classic, Reeves is finally adding a Stablemates Suncatcher Craft Kit to the Craft and Activity line, and there’s another retail market Translucent Classic, a Rainbow-covered Harper named Day Dreamer. You can spot them in all their glory in this online copy of the 2018 Dealer Catalog:

https://issuu.com/lauramcmanemin/docs/breyer2018-b2b-catalog_lr

(It’s not downloadable, but you can zoom in and drool.)

I wasn’t planning on getting any Regular Run Traditionals next year, but I think the Latigo Dun It on the Smart Chic Olena is going to be a difficult one to pass by. How is it that they always come up with the most gorgeous paint jobs for that mold?

My Christmas presents this year were remarkably horse-free, including John Crowley’s Ka, lots of novelty socks, fancy chocolates, some authentic Turkish Delight, a set of woodcarving tools (for Sparky and Jules) and the artbook The Temple of Silence: Forgotten Works and Worlds of Herbert Crowley, which hasn’t been delivered yet.

(The two Crowleys are not related, other than being underappreciated fantasists.)

If I am feeling motivated tomorrow, I might do a little post-holiday bargain horse hunting, but it doesn’t seem likely; I’m in the middle of a big machine quilting project, and I want to get as much of it done as I can before I have to go back to work on Wednesday.

What Is, and What Is Not

Almost finished with that ginormous quilt top that’s been occupying my random bits of free time this week. I could have finished it today if I pushed it, but I didn’t because that’s when mistakes get made. One of the caveats of working with vintage materials is that you can’t just go out and buy another piece at the store if you get a little too scissor-happy.

(Measure twice, cut once: sound advice for both carpentry, and quilting.)

Once it’s done, it’ll be nothing but model horse related stuff from here through July. First trip to the dirt mall tomorrow, if the weather holds!

I’m not looking for anything in particular this year, other than the usual: anything good, cheap, or interesting. I learned a long time ago that if I went to the flea market with a set shopping list, I’d be going home disappointed more often than not.

As you might have guessed from the photos you’ve seen me post here, I’ve done all right for myself. But relying on luck and the local markets for the bulk of my collection (and being cheap) has also led to some rather distinct gaps in the collection.

Please note: this is not a "want list" type of post. I’m just clearing up misconceptions some of you might have regarding what is and is not in my collection, and to partially explain the range of topics and items I cover here.

As I noted before, I don’t have a lot of Woodgrains. They’re just not that plentiful around here, outside of the Fighting Stallion. It took me until the 1990s to start finding the Family Arabians, even. I don’t know if it’s a regional thing, or just bad luck. I’m not averse to buying them on eBay, when the price has been right.

I have no vintage Decorators (Woodgrains are Decorators, technically, but you know what I mean). A handful of them have been found in this area, but I have not been the one to find them. It’s unlikely that I will in the near future, either, given the current hyperinflated prices they’re bringing.

While I have a complete set of Old Mold Stallions, the only Old Mold Mare and Foal I have are the Alabasters. The Bays have been found around here, so I think it’s just bad luck/timing in this case, again. The prices on the Bays on the open market - even the ordinary non-Chalky ones - are too rich for my blood.

I have no Presentation Series pieces. I’ve come close a few times - there used to be a number of Standardbred farms just north of here, and Presentation Adioses are not an uncommonly found thing. Again, I’m not the one who finds them.

There are not a lot of Flockies in the collection, but that’s because I find most Breyer-issued Flockies to be kinda creepy. The few that I’ve found over the years tend to go straight to the saleslist, to fund less creepy things.

I have a healthy collection of vintage Chalkies, but that’s because I was collecting them before they were cool. They turn up with decent frequency around here, too, oddly enough.

My Stablemates collection is complete only to about the mid-1990s. (Well, nearly: I don’t have the Poop Paperweight or the Silver Anniversary Saddlebred.) I missed a couple of the Christmas sets, and I haven’t had the energy to keep up with the seemingly thousands of releases issued since then. I would if I could, but so many releases! Gah!

All the Connoisseur models I have were ones that I "won" - with the exception of the Buffalo Taima, who was the Photography Sample in Just About Horses. (Yes, via NPOD.) I wouldn’t be averse to buying or trading for others ones that I like on the open market, but all the ones I want are on the pricier end, alas.

I do have a lot of Test Colors, or models that are Possibly Test Colors. Some were straight from the source (Chicago collectors, Model Horse Congress, Marney, etc.) and some were lucky finds on eBay. I have no Test Colors from any Benefit Auctions. I did attend a few of the BreyerFest ones before the prices shot out of my league, but I didn’t take advantage of the opportunity then, because dumb.

I have only three Volunteer models, because I’ve only volunteered three times. Technically I volunteered a fourth time - sort of, before there were Volunteer Specials. I wasn’t uncompensated: I did get a couple extra Celebration models that year. (It was the Mustang Turbo). Not Glossy or anything, just regular models, long since sold.

I have only one Glossy Prize Model: the All Glory, from the 2010 BreyerFest Costume Contest. I don’t show at live shows where they are generally awarded, and while my other Costume Contest entries have been very memorable, the Powers That Be have not thought them prize worthy.

I have one other Contest Prize: the 2008 Pinto Bouncer Seren, for my Belgian Chocolate Belgian entry. I entered faithfully for years before and afterwards, without success and with only some annoyance until the 2012 Contest made me cry. I might try this year, if I can find the time to execute it.

One raffle model is in my possession: the 2000 Dapple Gray Morgan Showboat. I won him with my usual ten dollars worth of tickets. I haven’t come remotely close, before or since.

I haven’t been to any of the numerous Exclusive Events, at the factory or elsewhere. There are a bunch of reasons why, most of them having to do with time and money. I have a few models from these events, but they came to me via other routes.

I went to the factory once, back in 1992. I haven’t seen the inside of the facilities since then. I only brought back memories, and some papers. No models, though there were many lovelies sitting on desktops, even then. (Matte Alabaster Five-Gaiter, where are you now?)

That’s it, I think. My luck - where luck is the deciding factor - has been about average. Patience and perseverance have been bigger factors in my success, however you measure it.

Fascinating. Or Not.

And now, of course, I’m seeing Gloss Alabaster Family Arabian Foals with gray muzzles everywhere. But that’s how most discoveries go: they were hiding right in front of your face the entire time.

I’m beginning to think that the In-Between Mares (you’ve seen the latest one on eBay, right?) might be somewhat more common than we think they are, in part because hobbyists have a pretty bad track record of distinguishing between the PAM and the FAM, much less the IBM. Some IBMs, to put it indelicately, are probably hiding right in front of a lot of hobbyists’ faces.

Actually, I’m a little weirded out by the hobby’s compulsive need to know the whereabouts of every single In-Between Mare. It’s not like fakes are getting passed off on the unsuspecting: the mold (probably) doesn’t exist anymore. I don’t think having an extra dozen or two more pieces floating around the hobby should be such a huge cause of concern, except maybe to the people who bought them "retail".

Yeah, I’m cranky. It’s been a rough couple of days.

Are you familiar with that saying "Don’t attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance"? There are a few variations on it, substituting stupidity, indifference or incompetence for ignorance, but the sentiment’s all the same: if something bad happens to you and yours, it’s most likely nothing personal. It’s just the fallout from some other decision, and you just happen to be the "lucky" schlub that it’s getting dumped on.

I just found out yesterday that a certain situation I’m in that I was attributing to indifference can, in fact, be attributed to malice, at least partially. The worst part is there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it, for the time being.

So if I seem a little less personable than usual for the next week or so, it’s nothing personal, guys. It’s just the fallout from me dealing with a less-than-pleasant private matter that has absolutely nothing to do with the hobby.

Back to the ponies…

So they announced the Fascinator Prize: it’s a Gloss Brookside Pink Magnum. The surprise is that I’m pretty sure everyone was expecting that to be a Live Show prize. I was thinking they’d spring the Mid-Year release Hackney Heartland High Tech on us instead. (That Dark Bay would look fabulous in gloss, dontcha think?)

I can see the logic in it, though: considering how insanely popular the Bouncer mold is right now, having a Gloss Bouncer prize model among the live show prize models would just make an already bad situation even worse, especially if it were a Children/Youth show prize. ("How much for the shiny pony, little girl?")

Better to give it out in contest open to everyone. Well, maybe not: I imagine the competition is going to be pretty scary, with some hobbyists opting for "big" over creative, and some stage moms badgering/shaming the judges for a separate category for their children. You know, the usual nonsense.

(Goes outside briefly to work on her own BreyerFest projects a while. No clues for you!)

More tomorrow, when I’m in a better state of mind.

Kids Only

I’ve been in a really weird mood all weekend. I still haven’t gotten around to opening my packages yet, for instance. I only got about three hours sleep last night, but I feel absolutely fine. And today I bought all sorts of crazy stuff at the flea market, including a vintage umbrella:

There were a few horses, but for some reason I had to come home with a crazy plaid umbrella with the swirly green bakelite handle, that I’ll probably never use, not even in a costume-y kind of way.

I also bought a trenchcoat, for pretty much the same reason. Plus, the old lady who was selling it told me I looked good in it, and who was I to argue with her?

I did managed to pass up the Napoleonic hat with the giant ostrich plumes, though. Not because it wouldn't have gone with the umbrella and trenchcoat, but because I was almost out of money.

(I’ll blame it all on the supermoon.)

I haven’t talked much about the Kids Only Event, because there wasn’t much about it to talk about. Reeves designed a very age-appropriate event, with age-appropriate "freebies" - a Welcome to the World of Breyer Kit, a signed Brookside Pink Magnum, and a current NIP Stablemate.

To the disappointment of some of the adult attendees, I’m sure. But I’ll get back to that in a minute.

The only "news" that broke from the event was the BreyerFest SR Prince of Chintz, who was posted on the Breyer web site a few days later. Barely news at all, then. Most of the actual kids, when talking about the event, seem to have been more excited about meeting Magnum in person rather than of any news of future releases.

Which is as it should be. Although I had a fairly intense interest in Breyer History at an early age, meeting someone who was made into a Breyer model would have been just as exciting, if not more. Touring the Sample Room would have been great, too, but I wouldn’t have been able to distinguish the Rare from the Common, the Test Colors from the Regular Runs. I would have just gravitated towards my favorite molds and colors.

And then spun around in circles repeatedly just to drink in the aroma, and then passed out.

(Which is sort of what I did the one time I did get to see the Sample Room - as an adult. No actual passing out occurred, that I can recall.)

Actually, I’m sort of relieved that we haven’t heard much about the potential/future Special Runs that were on display, such as the Volunteer model (especially since I’m not volunteering). It’s not that I’m jealous of people knowing things I don’t know - which happens way more than you think, though I’m pretty good at camouflaging it - but that information like that tends to warp expectations.

Sometimes it’s better to not know what could have been. Whenever there’s a proposed SR that either doesn’t get made - or undergoes some modification prior to release - there’s always lots of whining and moping about it.

The only other news I was able to glean from coverage of the event is that a depressingly high percentage of the "adult" accompaniment was not of a parental nature. In other words, kids were "borrowed" to attend.

This does not surprise me. While I’m sure some of them - like me - would have just liked the opportunity to "tour the facility", I’m also sure that some of them were hoping there would be a little something "extra" in it for them.

Nope, blessedly, the Event was pretty much as advertised.

Little Miss Dressup

I was in a really strange place yesterday, during and after work. I felt almost euphoric. I didn’t have any reason to be, other than at the prospect of finally getting more than a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. It was more likely from the lack of sleep itself, and the sugar buzz I got eating half a bag of dried pineapple for breakfast (Hey, I was running late, and it was the best available option in my car’s pantry. Yes, my car has a pantry.)

So they released a couple more pics of BreyerFest SRs - a Bay Semi-Leopard Cantering Welsh Pony as a British Spotted Pony, and a Fleabitten Dappled Gray Jumping Horse, as the Best of British Contest Prize. Neither one of these pics were a part of the leaked batch, so they were both a surprise to me, too.

http://www.breyerhorses.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=1955

Well, I was expecting a CWP, and a British Spotted Pony; wasn’t expecting them to be the same model. Kinda cute; don’t know if I want her yet, but I won’t rule her out, either. The only thing that worries me about it is what it means about a potential Bouncer SR: now it seems more likely to be a raffle model, or a live show prize (the Brookside Pink Magnum, in gloss.)

That would be scary. Hobbyists haven’t exactly been rational on the topic of Bouncer, lately.

I am not extremely excited by the Contest Prize Horse. It’s not that I don’t like the model or the color, or the combination thereof: it’s that I already have two - a QVC SR Gem Twist, and a Test Color Alabaster Jumping Horse, from the mid-1980s (another Bentley Sales Dump Bin Find, at Model Horse Congress.) So it’s not like I really NEED another.

I’m still entering the contest, regardless of the quality of the prize. It’s about the competition, man! I’m sure he’ll be beautiful in person - I’m imagining a paint job something like the FEI World Cup Strapless from 2007. Loved it.

I need to start brainstorming some ideas, though. I’m trying to not be like everyone else and go with something Beatle, Dr. Who, Harry Potter, or Royal-related. (Or, heaven forbid, Austin Powers. There’s something about Mike Myers that makes me want to hit things with a hammer.)

As far as the Costuming contest goes, I fear we might be seeing much of the same. We’re not as imaginative (or knowledgeable) a group of people as we think we are. (Just how many "Maid Mare-ians" are we going to see? Or boyfriends/husbands dressed as James Bond?)

All the ideas I have so far are potentially illegal, possibly immoral, or dreadfully obscure. I think, for instance, a Professor Quatermass costume - complete with a giant stuffed grasshopper tucked under my arm - would be brills, but everyone else? Would be clueless.

Neil Gaiman? Incredibly easy: black jeans, black leather jacket, black Lou Reed tee, sunglasses. Not sure anyone except a few of my friends would get the reference.

The Avengers? Benny Hill? Dame Edna? Gordon Ramsay? Ada Lovelace? Space:1999? See where I’m going here? I am not lacking ideas - just ideas that might be recognizable to more than a half-dozen people.

I could just go the easy route, and reuse last year’s costume, but I think I might be reusing part of it for the Fascinator contest. The same concept, for both costume contests? Seems a bit tacky, to me. On the plus side, it’ll save me time and money.

Rinty and The War Horse

I should probably go buy a lottery ticket: not only did I win one of those auctions I didn’t think I had a shot on, I got picked for the Glossy War Horse giveaway, too.

I had completely forgotten about it most of Christmas Day, until my brother asked me about it. I had a good excuse: dinner included Barbecue Ribs, Mashed Potatoes with cheese and bacon, Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic Breadcrumbs, and Rhubarb Pie. I think cookies may been involved, but I might have passed out before then.

The office was already looking a wee bit crowded, but now it looks like my plans to lay off any serious selling until Spring might have to be modified.

I might still put it off. Other than the Vintage Club stuff, and the "Limited Edition Retro Release" of the Fury/Prancer next year, I don’t foresee myself adding too many more herd members between now and then. I like the Roan Bouncer, too, but as hot as that mold is right now, I’m more than happy to let other folks buy up the first few batches. There's always the possibility that Reeves might pull another semi-random gloss/matte thing too, like they did with the Valentine and Heartbreaker set.

(With the Lady Phase set most likely, if they do. Because the possibility of random gloss Bouncers is a little too terrifying to contemplate.)


Among my more conventional holiday gifts was the book about Rin Tin Tin I had mentioned earlier. Just as I suspected, the "figurine" that inspired the author Susan Orlean to write the book - and to which she devotes the entire prologue to - was a Breyer Rin Tin Tin: there’s a picture of one right on page two.

I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, but from my brief skimming of the text, it's not only central to the narrative, it's actually called out as a Breyer. So what we’ve got here is a book by a bestselling author that really was inspired by a Breyer model.

Sweet. I mean, I would have bought the book anyway, since I'm also a little obsessed with silent movies in general, but goodness, silent movies and Breyer models, all in one book? Put the cookie dough back in the freezer, ladies, I am out for the count.

In light of their promotion surrounding The War Horse (another story about an animal, set during the First World War), of the launching of the Vintage Club, and (what I presume will be a series of) Limited Edition Retro Releases, re-releasing the Rin Tin Tin seems like the most logical and obvious thing to do, n’est-ce pas?

Regardless, it’s still a book worth adding to your Breyer reference library, if you’re into that sort of thing as much as I am. (As I assume a significant portion of you do.)

Apple Jack

Argh! My apologies to anyone who’s been expecting a reply or response from me; this novel appears to be eating my brain. There’s way more plot here than I anticipated. I have no idea where it’s all coming from. (Though I am grateful for it.)

It also made me completely forget about the Breyer Fun Day on Saturday. There was a live show this past weekend, too, but it was at least an hour and a half drive, through some fearsome traffic and construction. Just not worth the effort, especially since I wasn’t buying, selling or showing. Some serious and intense socialization would have been good for the soul, but hey. I decided to go with "novel" this month, instead. Too far in to give up now.

I did go a couple miles out of my way to buy a horse yesterday, though technically, it wasn’t for me, but a friend. It was an Apple Jack:


He does have a few flaws, but he was way better than the other one on the shelf. I’ll be stopping by another store on my way back from work on Wednesday to see if I can upgrade, and if not, no big whoop. He’s cute, but there's no shortage of cute here.

I might regret it a few months or few years from now, (as I am with the Classic Shire B, in Pinto), but I do not have infinite shelf space. I already have a couple Bouncers, including my lovely Seren, and I suspect we may be seeing another Bouncer as an SR for next year’s British-themed BreyerFest, anyway. (As a British Spotted Pony, maybe? Yes, please.)

As for the condition issues that everyone’s been freaking out about, I guess I should rephrase my commentary on my Pamplemousse a bit (which I haven’t bothered to return, and I rather doubt I will.) It wasn’t the flaws that made me question keeping him, it was the timing. Every year I think I can get a little ahead of myself in the fall, as far as my finances go, but this year - like the last few - it hasn’t worked out that way.

But when he came, well, I could think of a half-dozen more useful places the money could have been spend on, at that moment. That handful of flaws present became just a few more nits to pick.

If he were an A+ super awesome OMG oh so bee-you-tee-full paragon of perfection, it might have tamped down my apprehension a bit. But he wasn’t. Staring at that sample Pamplemousse at BreyerFest didn’t help either.

Oddly enough, some of the reactions I’ve been seeing about flaws - on both Pamplemousse, and Breyers in general - within the model horse web have provided me some much needed amusement. Oh, if only the greatest aggravation in my life was finding a couple pieces of lint on a plastic horse!

You know, I’ve been hearing that Breyers haven’t been made "the way they used to be" since I’ve been collecting, which is longer than many of you have probably been alive. (I used to buy my Stablemates at Kmart - for 99 cents apiece! You do the math.) If Breyers have truly been going down hill since then, we’d all be collecting little puddles of vaguely horse-shaped plastic by now.

The quality curve has been going up for some time; most of the quality control issues we’re seeing now are slight regressions on that upward trajectory, not some precipitous and unrecoverable drop.

Most of the production problems Reeves is going through now are a consequence of scale, not a lack of caring. They probably underestimated the demand for Pamplemousse, and in an effort to meet the demand, created an environment where some quality control issues cropped up.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the production demands for the Pamplemousse contributed to the relatively short - and flaw ridden - run of the Apple Jack. The production timing certainly seems about right.