The Rest Of Them

The connection between the 2016 BreyerFest theme and this year’s BreyerFest theme is a little stretched – Oktoberfest is just like Carnivale! – and I’m okay with it only because it gives me a Mini Me of Caipirinha and the chance to own teeny versions of both Brigadeiros and Polomar, who are both so rare they don’t even qualify as Grails. 

(Brigadeiros hurts a little more than Polomar, because I wrote an article in a Sampler about the Morganglanz that advocated for a Pinto release, not long before that. Sigh.)

I was wondering when the Arabian/Arabian-adjacent component of BreyerFest would show up, and here he is!

Technically he’s inspired by the crest of the House of Wittelsbach, but for about 98 percent of us who first took a gander at him, we immediately thought of the 2018 BreyerFest Special Run Newmarket, on the Flash mold. That particular release didn’t go over so well – I bought one on Sunday afternoon during the sale of the leftovers, hoping that I’d eventually fall in love, and I didn’t – but the pattern looks way cuter and more appropriate on this flamboyant little Eberl Arabian.

The Stablemate that surprises me the most, though, is Torlinie, who is another Online-Only item:

I am not a fan of either form of Football – my childhood was spent grimacing through Detroit Lions games – but I have to say that I think Torlinie is my favorite of the Stablemates releases for BreyerFest this year. 

I know a lot of hobbyists feel this mold has been overused and are so over it by now, and I get it, but if there’s one mold that looks like he’s kicking a soccer ball down a field, it’s the G2 Clydesdale. The mold choice is just so spot on. (No pun intended!)

And like the pattern on Wittelsbach, it’s not something that I think any other mold at any other scale could pull off, except maybe the Brishen. 

All in all, this is a nice crop of BreyerFest Stablemates; I’m going to ignore whoever/whatever the Stablemate is going to be for the Finalist prize in the Customs Contest, because I’m a little too wrapped up in getting all my Quilting UFOs done this year to either start – or finish – anything worth entering. One of these years, I swear...

Firsts of the Year

Getting thing off to a rapid start for the New Year: I’ve already had my first BreyerFest nightmare! Basically we were all kind of running around the KHP and the CHIN bumping into each other, because we’ve all forgotten how to behave in public.

In other words, kind of like being inside a grocery store any time in the past six months. 

Some of the Montanas have arrived, and they’re looking – unsurprisingly – better than expected. I’ve decided I am not going to pursue one unless I get picked from the waitlist, which (if you know my history with waitlists) is a roundabout way of saying I won’t be getting one. 

There’s always the chance there will be leftovers for sale on a first-come, first-served basis at some point, but that doesn’t mean anything in today’s market. And that’s fine, especially since I’m trying to keep my model purchases to a minimum for the next several months, to get caught up on paperwork and stuff. (The office is more of a mess than usual, and I am not liking it. At all.)

He does kind of remind me of the famous Mesopotamian “Ram in a Thicket” sculptures excavated by Leonard Woolley in Ur in the early 20th century. (Technically it’s supposed to be a goat, not a ram, but that’s mere details.) 

If Montana’s basecoat had actually been a deep Lapis Lazuli blue instead of black, that might have changed him from a “Yeah, sure, I’d take one” to a “Hecking YES” because I am kind of obsessed with ancient Mesopotamia: I have a copy of Woolley’s book on my shelves, and one of my favorite works of art at the DIA is the Dragon of Marduk from the Ishtar Gate.

I’m sure there will be something I love more between now and then that might actually break my heart. You know, like another Exclusive Event or Micro Run I won’t get picked for. 

The first Special Run for BreyerFest was announced, a Dappled Rose Gray on the Totilas, and he seems a little familiar: 

Oh yeah, the 2016 Volunteer Special Run Carrick Caipirinha:

I can attest that this color is beautiful in person, but I am not quite as enamored of Ländler as everyone else is. Some of it is “Do I need another tipsy Totilas?” and some of it is “This theme simply doesn’t connect with me on a personal level”. 

More the latter than the former, I think: I can buy a better base for my existing Totilases, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’m sure there’ll be at least one or two models in the lineup that will be must-haves for me, I’m just not predisposed to loving things German-flavored things, aside from Gummi Bears and pretzels. The releases this year will have to work for my love.

We’ve only got about 20-25 more Special Runs to go, right? No worries. 

(And the first Store Special, literally while I was napping! More on Montanara next time.)

Crazy About Carrick

The next release in the Wild Animal Series an Oryx on a Carrick? Sign me up!

Getting drawn for Baruti is not up for me to decide.

It’s kind of funny how you don’t set out to collect a mold, but then you turn around and realize that you already do. I have three Carricks – a Cortes C, Brass Hat, and the Matte Volunteer model Caipirinha – and I have been shopping around for a Justify and a 2014 Tractor Supply Pinto Sport Horse Travis, but they’re both models I’d rather handpick in person.

I had a lot of Justifies (Justifys?) to pick from in person locally, but I never did find “the one”; just like any model, I’ll know him when I see him. 

Most of the rest of the Carrick releases are essentially unattainable – Gloss prize models, rarities like the BreyerFest Silver Charm – but Bonne Fete (or as my friends called him, Boba Fett) isn’t too pricey yet. But he’s another model I think I need to shop for in person. Too many fiddly bits of masking that could go wrong, you know…

I’d also like to acquire a Carrick body for customizing purposes, eventually. A few years back I had a notion to customize a portrait Candy Spots, a racehorse I was a little obsessed during my “teenage handicapper” years. (I grew up in an era where I saw Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed and Ruffian live on the TV, and I was good at math. Perfectly logical!)

Aside from his head and a couple of issues that need to be resolved with his legs, the Carrick mold is a pretty good match. I never got around to it because I (still) have about 300 other projects ahead of it. 

And as an Original Finish-oriented person, it is also extremely difficult for me to purchase a perfectly good model off the shelf just to customize it, especially since there’s a high likelihood of something going wrong. I’d rather not spend 30 or 40 dollars on something that I might end up throwing out anyway. 

Marketing Strategies

Let’s wrap up the rest of the weekend news…

Some of the Justify items are now available; I’ll be getting the Traditional version eventually, because of my recent infatuation with the Carrick mold. It’ll be a while though, because: he’s already on backorder on the web site; it doesn’t seem likely that I’ll be any where near one of my local toy stores for the next few weeks; and good heavens, have you seen those prices on eBay?  

I can wait.

The Unicorn Foals Sirius and Vega are neat – and on my two favorite Classic Foal molds! – but as I’ve skipped most of the other recent Unicorn releases, I’ll probably skip them too. Kudos to Reeves for coloring them to match their astronomical counterparts.

(Vega is the blue one.)

Renewals for the Vintage Club are up, but so far all they’ve been offering is a picture of the Pacer Rockford, who we already knew about.

I have no clue what their marketing strategy is, and am assuming that pictures of the other models will be coming eventually – perhaps as a way of gauging the response to each release? Because I severely doubt that they’re going back to the “everything’s a secret” mode from the first year of the Vintage Club. Especially since, you know…

(Is it ironic that the suspense is killing me?)

Regarding those YouTube videos that Reeves taunted us with – specifically, the one with the mysterious Solid Bay Bristol in it – well, I found them more annoying than rage-inducing. If you’re going to click-bait hobbyists who’d normally never give a passing glance at these videos, could you give us a little something for our effort?

I’m not much of a YouTube person, I’m not the target audience for these types of videos anyway, and I’m okay with that: hobbyists and hobbyist organizations certainly aren’t doing much in the way of youth outreach, and it’s in Reeves’s financial interest to do so.

But offering exclusive information about possible upcoming releases via these kinds of channels does not seem quite right, either. It’s like giving out sports scores during a weather report, or stock market tips in the middle of some celebrity gossip: while it is technically all news, it is not the news the viewers are looking for, or where they were looking for it.

My only other real criticism is that I’d rather they take more of a “bottom-up” approach than a “top-down” one with their youth marketing. Focus on activities and crafts that are more affordable and accessible to everyone: battle bots made with $150 Web Specials and craft bowls made with $50-75 worth of Stablemates would not have happened in the working-class household I grew up in.

Hats

Let’s talk about the Celebration Horse a little bit today.

The initial promotional photos for him were not that promising. It didn’t particularly matter to me, since I appear to be going through a Carrick phase.

But oh my goodness, the two I picked up are super, particularly this one:

Gorgeous shading, nice finishwork, and is that just a hint of Blue Interference paint in his finish, giving him a delightful sheen?

I figured they’d be incorporating that Blue Interference paint on a nominally “realistic” paint job in the near future, but putting it on a release I was already predisposed to like? Nice!

I haven’t taken most of my more recent Celebration Horses out of their boxes – partly out of laziness, and partly out of self-preservation – but I think this one will be having a coming out party pretty soon.

You can’t really see in the photograph, but he’s live show quality, or darn well near it.

It would have been even lovelier to add a Gloss one to my equine family, but that was not meant to be.

My Costume Contest entry this year was made from recycled bits of previous costumes and materials I got on sale, or for cheap through the local thrift store circuit. One yard of felt from the local Salvation Army Store, some glue sticks and a Dollar Tree sun hat =

(Too tired right now to drag out the matching Winner’s Blanket!)

In other words, I wasn’t terribly invested in it, emotionally or financially. But it turned out pretty nice regardless, and considering the judging for this thing seems to be pretty random, I thought I had as good a shot as anyone.

Aside from the fact that the scheduling issues have still not been resolved, and either the time or the location of it has to change – it was, as I mentioned before, the lack of prize equity that I found most troubling.

I believe the prize breakdown was 26 kids got prizes, as opposed to 10 adults? I was there and saw the disparity first hand, but I did not realize the gap was so huge.

I know why they do it: it’s supposed to encourage kids and families with young kids to participate.

But I think it’s starting to have the same effect the Gloss Prize Models did at the Children’s Show, and the Diorama Contest’s under-10 category: it’s becoming an incentive for some parents to use their children as proxies.

Gloss Prize Models tend to baseline at $500 on the secondary market. That’s a pretty big incentive, especially if the odds are in their favor.

I’ve been luckier than most and I have actually won a couple of prizes, and for that I’m grateful. And I’m definitely not hurting for treasures: my local flea markets are pretty sweet, and I definitely have a knack for finding things at BreyerFest or online that nobody else does.

BreyerFest is a constant work in progress, and things will change.

And so am I, and so will I.

For the better, for the worse, or just for the sake of change.

Beautiful, or Useful?

This is one of my favorite quotes, from the Victorian writer and artist William Morris, that I hope requires no explanation:

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. 

It’s a good quote to keep in mind while cleaning, decluttering, or redecorating!

The quote came to mind a while back when I was skimming through some discussions of the Surprise models, and what constitutes a popular mold. Is a mold that gets put into production frequently – at least as frequently as the Lonesome Glory has in the past 18 years – actually popular, in the same ways the Traditional Silver or Lady Phase are?

I don’t necessarily think so.

The most frequently produced Breyer molds – like every other object in your home – can also be categorized as either useful, or beautiful. The ones considered “useful” fit a certain type or fill a certain niche; while those considered “beautiful” are considered aesthetically desirable, independent of any other qualities it might have.

I consider the Lonesome Glory mold to be more of the former, than the latter. It fills a niche – a more modern mold that represents a racing condition Traditional Thoroughbred jogging up to the gate. The mold also has a relatively small “footprint” – it doesn’t take up nearly as much space as a Ruffian, Cigar or Smarty Jones does, and requires no base – but it’s still in an active (nonstanding) pose.

That I think explains why the Lonesome Glory mold has had so many releases over its relatively short life span. It filled a niche, irrespective of its aesthetic qualities: for 18 or so years, it has been Breyer’s go-to mold for a racehorse.

The Carrick mold now fills a similar niche – and is newer – which is why I think we’ll be seeing more of him and a little bit less of Lonesome Glory over the next few years.

For those of us who’ve been around the block a dozen or few times, the Lonesome Glory – released in 2000 – may seem modern, but to many younger or less experienced collectors, he’s positively ancient.

I think back to my experience collecting, starting in (ulp!) 1974: the Traditional Man o’ War mold had only been in production since 1967 – so, about seven years – and most of the other Traditionals that filled the line back then were not that much older.

And when I “officially” entered the hobby in 1978, the “Old Mold” Mare and Foal had only been introduced 20 years earlier! It does not seem so deep a distance in retrospect, but back then it felt like an eternity.

Back to bed for me; I’ve now moved on to the coughing portion of the cold, and my family would prefer that I do that in the privacy of my sickbed…

Right on Schedule

It’s been darn hard to resist the temptation to buy things as it is, but now one of my local independent toy stores is going out of business, and the clearance sale starts Thursday! Argh!

Sigh. They were a Flagship Store, and they sometimes held Breyer Events; I think they actually hosted the last official event Peter Stone attended for Breyer (remember the Mustang Rawhide?) – and one of the first public events for “The Peter Stone Company”.

It’s on the other side of town and I have plenty of other stores to take care of my model horse fix, so there is no need to worry about my long-term shopping needs. But it’s going to be hard to resist this sale, no lie. Especially since I am now considering doing the BreyerFest Customs Contest, and I might need a Carrick body.

I cannot believe I am even thinking about it. It all started about a week ago, when I unboxed the Cortes C I bought for the Customer Appreciation Sale. Here he is:

As I was admiring him and his deepest, darkest chocolate black coat – he’s virtually the same color as that 90 percent cacao chocolate some people think is edible – I suddenly realized that he bore a certain likeness to a racehorse I had a great fondness for back in my racing fangirl days.

It’s someone fairly famous who I am genuinely surprised no one has done a portrait of yet; at least, not that I can recall. It’s a project that’s been on my back-back burner, well behind the other unfinished customs I’ve started over the years … along with all those quilts, and novels, and everything else, too.

But I made a promise to myself to finish unfinished projects this year, and keep new projects to a minimum. I have a difficult enough time getting all of my usual silliness done for BreyerFest: another entry, for another contest? Am I mad?

On the other hand, I did want to seriously start customizing again, and maybe a deadline is the kick in the pants I need to get started.

On the other-other hand, the two potential ideas that I came up with for the Diorama Contest also involve a lot of customizing, and I’ll have at least another extra month to toil on that. (Both involve tack: I will need it.)

Great. Six months away and I’m already stressing out about BreyerFest!

In other words, everything is right on schedule.

(And no, not going to tell you who the portrait is supposed to be. Unless I manage to do it and finish it in time – deal?)

Some Early Speculation on 2018

According to a flier now circulating the Internet, next year’s BreyerFest Celebration Horse is going to be Brass Hat, on the Carrick mold: http://www.brasshat.us

That’s pretty much what I expected the Celebration Horse to be: a former racing Thoroughbred now living a very active retirement. On the Carrick mold!

While it feels a little unusual to get a picture of the prototype this early – nearly two months before tickets even go on sale – it shouldn’t. When you think about all the Special Runs they have to crank out in time for BreyerFest (lately they’ve been averaging about 30 distinct releases, not including the Gloss Prize Models), it only makes sense that they’d get the ball rolling as soon as possible.

Other than thinking about non-Thoroughbred racing breeds – Arabians, Standardbreds, Appaloosas, Quarter Horses, Orlov Trotters, Finnhorses et al – I hadn’t given much other thought to what we’ll be seeing in Kentucky next year, until now.

What would I like?

A Pacer, of course: preferably in a Roan or Tobiano Pinto. Gloss Dappled Black would be pretty sweet too, but I’d take that paint job on almost anything.

I’d also accept a new release of Sarah Rose’s popular resin Hambletonian.

I really, really want an Orlov Trotter of some sort: twelve-year-old me found them so exotic and pretty, and even now I still pine for one. I don’t know what currently existing mold would be most suitable however, and this is one release where I would definitely have to go picky on the execution of the dappling.

While we’re likely to see an Appaloosa in the Surprise SR mix, something that honors or commemorates Stud Spider in some way would be awesome: not only was the real horse a racing Appaloosa, it’s the mold’s official 40th anniversary next year. (Well, technically: the Gift Set was available in the 1977 JC Penney Christmas Catalog.)

A Reissue of the Sham would be fun too, especially if it comes with a Grimalkin on a Companion Animal cat. Sham is popular, the Companion Animals are popular, and the Dally and Spanky set was a big hit this year. And if the Sham comes in the correct shade of Golden Bay, even better.

Alternatively, they could just give us a Grimalkin release on the Kitten mold as the Nonhorse release! Or maybe a “Barn Buddies” Store Special Gift Set featuring one of the cats, one of the dogs, and the Goat.

I don’t know what they’d do for a Quarter Horse release. The first thought that entered my head was a Smarty Jones, since I believe the mold was planned as a racing Quarter Horse in the first place. Put him in a pretty Dilute or Dun, and I would totally be on board.

On the other hand, I could go on forever about potential Thoroughbred releases. Some of the releases I’ve fantasized about include a 12-piece Stablemates set featuring all the Triple Crown Winners, an Ageless Bronze Traditional Man o’ War to commemorate the statue at the KHP, or something honoring the famous Hungarian racehorse Kinscem.

Oh, and I want to see a return of the #36 Racehorse: in almost any color, I don’t care. They could use up whatever bodies they have left knocking around the warehouse, and that should cover the 12 to 15 of us who’d actually want one. (Gold Charm/Gold Chestnut would be great. Just putting that out there.)

The last larger-scale production BreyerFest Special Run on the Ruffian was 2007’s very popular Gloss Appaloosa Heartland. She would be my first choice as the Surprise Special, with either Giselle or Strapless as my second choice.

We’ll also likely see at least one SR on a recent Premier Club release, so I hope that’s True North. I’m not too fussy on the color or finish: I find him adorable and all of the existing releases are utterly unaffordable.

So that’s what I’d release, if I were in charge. Maybe add in a racetrack/companion pony into the mix, and another hunter/jumper for the OTTBs.

Whether or not we get any of this is another matter entirely. My prediction track record (no pun intended) has not been so great lately.

Running, Jumping, Crunching

Earlier this week I ran my personal budget numbers; it’s not that anything is necessarily amiss, but this does tend to be my most expensive time of the year. I was hoping to see if there was room for some of the surprises that Reeves inevitably throws out. Because I had a feeling they were planning some doozies.

Then not one, but two of those doozies got thrown at us this very week: an unusually plentiful BreyerFest Leftover sale, and news of the next Exclusive Event.

The Leftover Sale is a bit different this time, in that they posted items not just from this year, but from the past several years – including pieces like Tunbridge Wells, Aintree, Champagne Wishes, and the Silver Anniversary Stablemates – and some were also discounted, sometimes rather deeply (the porcelain Dances with Wolves is only $35? Really?)

Depending on how a few pending deals go this weekend, I might indulge myself, especially since it looks like the weather is going to put a kibosh on flea marketing over the next few days.

The Exclusive Event – “Chasing the Chesapeake” – well, it’s theoretically possible. Timing isn’t an issue, since my job is very flexible in that regard, but everything else is iffy. With money being the biggest if.

On the plus side: it’d be an opportunity to have a “do over” of the less-than-optimal Chicago event; I already have a (hilarious) costume idea in mind; third, it’s drivable (though I’d do a rental) and fourth: Michael Matz!

Earlier this week, I was getting a little bit of work done on the car (again, routine stuff, nothing to worry about) and while I was waiting, I managed to catch some coverage Team Show Jumping at the Olympics – and of Cortes ‘C’, whose model is one of the ones I was hoping to schedule into my budget for the rest of the year.

(BTW: Get well soon, Tiny!)

Anyway, it made me flashback to the early 1980s. One of the perks of living in the Detroit area was being able to catch Canadian programming locally; this included some slightly demented children’s shows (Mr. Dressup, anyone?) and coverage of sporting events that U.S. stations didn’t deem worthy of airtime, like darts and curling.

That also included a lot of equestrian events. Anyway, one day I was home by myself and watching some show jumping – I can’t remember what event it was, specifically. The first horse I saw was Jet Run (and Michael Matz, of course).

This was shortly after Breyer had released the USET Gift Set in 1980; I had read about them, but hadn’t seen them in actual (live!) action before. So I was dorked out beyond words. I think that was all I talked about for the rest of the day, much to my family’s chagrin. (Me: “I saw Jet Run on TV today!!” The Rest of the Family: “What on Earth are you talking about?”)

http://www.identifyyourbreyer.com/images/3035box.jpg

Anyway. So there’s all that.

But the money and the planning are a huge issue, and tied to the reservations I have about these “Exclusive Events” in general. Especially now that they seem to be a yearly thing.

(In short: they run contrary to my notion of the hobby being a being a more egalitarian and affordable alternative to the “real” horse world. But I don’t have the energy for that conversation today.)

I have a lot of time off in the next couple of weeks – it’s always a bit slow this time of year at work – to crunch more numbers and see if I can make it more doable. If anyone wants to volunteer to carpool or splitsies on a room, let me know. It might help.

Winning and Losing

Here’s a picture of my diorama entry. As you might have guessed by now, it was not a winner:

There’s a moment when I’m turning in an entry or getting ready to enter a contest when I know that I have definitively lost. With my dioramas, it’s become the moment when someone tells me “It’s so pretty, I hope you win.”

I thank them for the compliment, but hope that they don’t see that look behind my eyes that says “There goes another one down the tubes…”

In spite of my inability to crack the diorama formula (I don’t care what anybody says: I don’t think there is one!) at least I enjoyed the process this year. Papier-mache has been a favorite medium of mine since elementary school: I have about a half-dozen other papier-mache sculptures in my bedroom at the moment, and once even built a life-sized sculpture of the Loch Ness Monster for a movie theater promotion.

Other than some fresh paint and a matching Stablemate, I had all of these supplies already on hand, which is either an awesome or terrifying testament to the size and depth of my craft stash.

I was going to go a bit crazier with it – add a couple of sharks, some fancy raised letters, at least one more surfer, maybe a little blood on the trident – but time and ambition ran out. I doubt any of that would have helped, and I still think it turned out pretty amazing.

But the judges did not think so. Sometimes I wonder if the results would have turned out differently if I had gone with my original low-effort plan: “Shake n Bake” a random Classic with a ton of glitter, glue it to a piece of cardboard covered in feathers, and call it a day.

I got the same results in the Costume Contest: nada. The moment I knew I lost there was backstage when the professional samba band that Reeves had hired complimented me on my outfit and asked me where I had gotten my Bahia dress.

Too authentic again, argh!

Then a photographer took my photo, and that’s the moment I knew I was done for, and had to resist the urge to bolt for the door. That one didn’t take too much out of my time or budget either, but still? A bummer.

Moreso if my picture turns up anywhere on the Breyer web site. I know the person who selects the photos for the web site generally doesn’t know the winners from the losers, but the fact that such a high percentage of the pictures they use to advertise the contests show losing entries has to say something about the apparent randomness of the judging process.

I did walk away with this beauty, however:

The Volunteer Model #711468 Caipirinha, named after Brazil’s national cocktail. I totally whiffed on predicting this one – I assumed Gloss, Vintage, Decorator, and he’s Matte, Premier Club mold, and Realistic – but I am not complaining. He’s beautiful!

I had been mulling over picking up a Cortes C as my first Carrick, because I was struck by how great he looks in that color. But Dappled Fleabitten Rose Gray Minimal Pinto? Ooh, boy. A more than acceptable substitute.

I think it’s interesting that the Volunteer Model has evolved from something desirable because of its rarity and exclusivity – the earliest Volunteer Specials had piece runs under 40 – to something desirable because of its detail and quality.

It makes sense on a number of levels. First and in spite of protestations to the contrary on the Internet, Reeves is far better at this painting thing than they were 20 some years ago. And second, now that the piece counts are significantly higher (163 for the Carrick) something else has to be done to make it “special” again, because for some hobbyists nowadays, 163 pieces is too common and possibly not sufficient incentive to volunteer.

Which, frankly, kind of blows my mind, but then again, I’d probably volunteer for a free t-shirt and a sub, so what do I know?

So anyway, in conclusion: I didn’t win anything this year, but I still walked away from BreyerFest with two really spectacular keepers.

So, not bad, BreyerFest. Other than this Diorama Contest thing.

I will conquer you again, I swear it.

Potholes and Things

The week was looking up by Wednesday: the sun was shining, the snow was melting, my mild cold abating, Spring Training was underway, I was just about caught up with sleep - and I even solved a quilt design problem that had been vexing me for several months now.

Thursday morning? I had the pleasure (not) of meeting the largest pothole in Macomb County. I suppose I should be lucky that all I got was a flat tire and a bent wheel: I swear it was about the size of a dinosaur excavation site. I didn’t see it until it was too late to swerve because it was 5 a.m. and full of water.

Florian is now fine, but after what I had to go through to get him there, my thoughts are not of the organized sort. I am most definitely not leaving the Pajama Perimeter tomorrow.

Since I never gave y’all a formal introduction, Florian is a 2011 Jetta Sport Wagen, with an all black interior and exterior. Unlike Drama Queen Sherman, Florian is like a calm and considerate boyfriend. If he were an actual person, he’d wear black turtlenecks, work from home as a Web Designer, and own a couple of Weimaraners and a bossy and overly affectionate Corgi.

Enough of my overly detailed interior life…

I went back to the Salvation Army - all the Grand Champions were gone, with the exception of one with a missing leg. There were a few more Horse Shaped Objects added to the dump bin mix, but only if you defined the word Horse very loosely. (Like those rubbery horse things from Dollar Tree.)

I did not win a Web Special Greek Goddess Hera. Not-winning didn’t bother me all that much until the Pothole Incident. If any week deserved a pony at the end of it, it was this one. The flea market can’t reopen soon enough.

I like the newest BreyerFest release, a Bay Semi-Leopard Appaloosa on the Carrick mold, named Bonne Fête (Happy Birthday). He reminds me a lot of the Beswick Appaloosa, and I’ve always wanted (and could never afford) one, so he could be a happy substitute - depending on who else makes the lineup. The color looks great on him; a lot of people seem to agree.

http://www.breyerhorses.com/bf2014-blog

I also enjoyed the photo of Carson Kressley on the Breyer Facebook page, holding what appears to be a Glossy Gooitzen. I don’t know if that means that they’ll all be Glossy, or that it’s a special piece just for Carson, or what. If they’re going to be Glossy, that means the Costume Contest prizes might be Matte - or something else entirely. (Silver Filigree? Ooh, pretty!)

I didn’t look too deeply into the commentary to investigate, as I suspected it was going to turn into another "Why Can’t We Have Another New Mold Instead" round table. In spite of the fact that new mold introductions on Celebration Models are the exception, not the rule.

Something happens once or twice or a few times at BreyerFest, and suddenly it becomes an inviolate rule. They had an impromptu Free Raffle for the Small Poodles at the 1997 BreyerFest, for instance, and it took two or three years of hobbyists loitering at the Horse Park before it sank in that it was just a one off thing, not an ongoing thing. (I admit fully to loitering the first year after; it’s not like we had a whole lot else to do back then, anyway.)

I like a little unpredictability. Keeps everyone on their toes. A little, mind you, not total chaos. Had my fill of that over the past two days, thank you.

Something more cheerful and history-filled, next time.

Rambling, Roan

Off the top, since I know some of you are curious: yes, I know all about the Red Roan Pinto Five-Gaiter on eBay. In fact, the vendor contacted me earlier today, and I’ll update you about this extremely interesting story as my schedule permits. 

In slightly less exciting news, a few more BreyerFest releases were seen at NAN this weekend: included in this batch were a Crystal Nokota horse Belle Meade, and the red version of the Black Decorator Nocona with the boots and lassoes, named Corral.

I have to confess I am intrigued by the Crystal Nokota Horse, in spite of my clumsy self.

I take it from the excessively long discussion threads I’ve been seeing that there are some issues with the Premier Club release Carrick. I haven’t dived into that discussion because my Internet time was rather limited this week.

I will say that I like "plastic him" better than the "resin him": the resin prototype of him didn’t do all that much for me. I think I’m just not comfortable with that level of detail at that scale; it drifts a bit too much into Uncanny Valley territory for me.

Since we’re on the topic of new molds, there was also a Laredo at NAN, and he wasn’t as "horrible" as I thought he could be. The front leg is still odd, and the mane and tail are ropey and snakelike, but otherwise…he’s not bad. I’m not saying that I’ll be buying him, but after the initial griping, he’ll end up in the same category as Esprit and Ethereal - semi-realistic fantasy horses for the little girl (in reality, or at heart) set.

Of NAN, I don’t have much to say. It’s not my scene. I didn’t tune in to the video broadcast because - aside from my chronic lack of time - watching people look at other models just feels weird. The lack of an opening number and/or a half-time show were also factors. Unless someone decides to break into an impromptu dance routine because one of their entries Top Tenned, there just isn’t a whole lot of actual action going on.

(Which I think would be awesome, by the way. NAN Victory Dances! Someone please make this so.)

The next release in the Vintage Club series this year is - those two Shetlands in Florentine Pinto and Copenhagen Pinto that we discussed prior, named Denim and Diamonds. Which means that those among us who were viewing/participating in the discussion where they first came up on Blab already know what the fourth release will be, too. (I won’t spoil it for those among you who wish to be surprised, except to say: you may have seen it already, anyway.)

The clues this time really annoyed me, though. They were so vague that they actually DID apply to other molds. As someone on Blab pointed out, the Cantering Welsh Pony would have fit all of those clues, quite easily.

"It’s a girl!" Check. (No obvious boy parts on either.)

"Not a horse." Check. (Both ponies, not horses.)

"Chess." Also, check. (Both molds were signed by Chris Hess - C. Hess.)

Eh, not worth sweating over. This humidity, on the other hand…