Affectations

Completely missed out on the Vintage Club Grab Bags: I was in-transit to work. I’m actually a little bit bummed, since I suspect that there might be a few Gambler’s Choice items mixed in there, and that’s all I really have a hankering for. (Another Sailor would be nice. Or an Ali!)

That’s okay, I have a neat package to open up today that will make up for it. (Next post!)

My first reaction upon seeing the Patriotic Spring Decorator Washington was “Oh, at last a more easily obtainable and/or affordable Interference Blue Bay release.” And I happened to grow up in Washington Township and participated in a couple of Bicentennial-themed parades back in the day.

(Yeah: I am OLD!)

Then a few moments later: “C’mon you know better.” 

Most of the online dealers are already sold out, and with my current work schedule, picking one up locally is a dicey proposition. So I’ll have to wait and see what the situation on the web site will be. Quick sellout, or will he linger?

Last year’s Patriotic Decorator Anthem isn’t too hard to come by now, so I think I’ll be okay. The Show Jumping Warmblood mold isn’t super-mega-popular, or even as popular as the Ethereal mold. 

I only have two other Show Jumping Warmbloods: the 2010 WEG Special Run Cedric, and the 2020 Celebration Horse Ballynoe Castle RM. All the others I’d like on this mold I was either not drawn for (Magpie, Inconspicuous, Bolo) or are budget-busters (Here’s to You, Apollo). I might pick up a Sugar Maple eventually, if the time and price are right.

One model I will definitely be going out of my way to get is the rerelease of Carltonlima Emma, now with neck sash:

I know a lot of hobbyists are a little disappointed that Emma is Not A Glossy. We tend to forget, however, that Gloss finishes are a hobby affectation: something that is way more popular within it, and not so much outside of it. 

Since it’s being marketed to the general public, it makes sense to release the original model. The neck sash is a nice little perk, even if it does give off strong “Malibu Stacy” vibes.

Who knows? Maybe they’ll save some to Gloss for another promotion – the Collector’s Club Appreciation Sale, Live Show Prizes…

And speaking of that, I had my first BreyerFest nightmare last night: I was 4 hours late for the live show and missed most of my classes. It never ceases to amaze me how my brain tailors my terrors like that. 

Pardon me while I try to figure out whether or not to sign up for one Collector’s Class entry, or two…

Unpopular Opinions

I suspected the speckly blue thing was the Classic Decorator, and I was not wrong!

He’s neat. I really like the Classic Morgan mold, but I haven’t found one in a color I like yet. All the original Silver Bays I found had significant masking issues, the Red Bay was a little bland, the Decorator Tie Dye model is too goofy for me, and I am reluctant to buy the whole Spanish Mustang(!) Family just to get the Solid Black guy. But Delft… is a maybe. I just wish he were a tiny bit fancier?

Then there’s the Traditional Decorator Nemea:

Nemea is an obvious adaptation of the very well-received Decorator Marwari from the 2018 BreyerFest auction. And proof that some Test Colors from the BreyerFest Benefit Auction are actually Test Colors!

As the Akhal-Teke mold is longer than a football field, he’s also not a priority for me. If I do get another example of the mold in the near future, I’m still hoping that it’s a nicely-shaded Adamek; I still haven’t found “the one” just yet.

I suppose I should address the brouhaha in the comments that broke out while I was busy binge watching art restoration videos and hand quilting. Since my fingertips are now a bit sore from that effort, I’ll try to keep things short and simple here.

Last year’s BreyerFest was Reeves’s first attempt at a true “hybrid” event, and… it showed. As I’ve said many times before, Reeves is not a large company, and the people who work their often have to fill multiple roles. 

Did they stretch themselves out a little too thin last year? Perhaps; on the other hand, since it was their first attempt at a true hybrid event, and they didn’t know what was going to work, and what wouldn’t. Like the online-only events, they will undoubtedly take the lessons that they learned from the first, and apply them to the second.

It’s a pretty safe assumption that there will be some changes, but the scope of the changes – and whether or not they actually “work” – well, we’re not going to know until we’re back in the thick of it again in July, right? 

(All I know for sure is that more volunteers will be needed, in-person and [probably] online. So if you’re interested, please apply!)

2020 and 2021 were events held under unique and extraordinary circumstances, and it is very, very unlikely that any future BreyerFests will be able to offer the full gamut of Special Runs and other items available at an in-person BreyerFest to online attendees.  

And as others have pointed out, what’s the point of having an in-person event if there is no stuff exclusive to the in-person event?

BreyerFest was originally designed and intended as a live, in-person event: an in-person experience cannot be fully or adequately reproduced online. Reeves’s attempts to duplicate the in-person experience in 2020 – for example, the whole timed ticket fiasco – often ended up causing more heartache than happiness. 

Personally, I think the way forward for them is simply have them be complementary events that happen to share some of the same models (the Celebration Horse, most of the Store Specials) and activities. And have models and activities unique to each experience. 

They’re apparently trying that with some of the Ticket Specials, restricting some of them to in-person participants only. My guess is that they’re also doing this with models that they foresee as being especially popular: they would rather make sure that they have enough of those models for people who made the physical and financial effort to go to Kentucky. 

I would hope that they do offer a little bit more in the way of compensation for online-only guests. As I suggested before, giving them a gloss option on the Store Specials would definitely help. 

But whatever they do, please remember that there are limits to what they can do as a relatively small company. Just a few years ago, the Online Option didn’t even exist: it’s going to be a while before they find the right balance of offerings. 

And remember that there are some people in the hobby – and life, in general – who will literally never be happy with anything, no matter what you do for them or what you offer them. There is usually something else going on under the surface there that no amount of pretty horses can fill. 

Batting .500

In a note almost completely unrelated to the rest of the post, I am mildly shocked that the Zombie Snowman Classic Rearing Mustang Neva is sold out. I am not so enamored of him that I have to buy one at a jacked up price elsewhere on the Internet, though.

Speaking of…

Well, I was half right: they made 1000 of him:

I mean, yeah, he’s pretty, but let’s not kid ourselves here: even though they made 1000 of him, the aftermath of this drawing is going to be Marshall (the notorious Micro Run Polled Hereford Bull) level ugly. I would not be surprised if several hundred of them end up getting listed for sale within the first hour or so of the drawing.

Some will sell because many hobbyists can’t be patient, thus ensuring that the cycle will continue on, ad infinitum. 

Look, most of my life I didn’t have the money to not be patient, and I’m not about to change. Plastic horses are frivolous things, and life goes on perfectly well with or without them. (Or so I tell myself.)

There are way too many Silver Filigree releases – some of them nigh unattainable – for me to be a completist at this point, so I am not going to get too worked up if I don’t get drawn for Tahoe. This is very likely: I don’t usually get picked for the “popular” ones, though I did get Zugspitze last year somehow. So I don’t have a lot to complain about, really? 

I’ll just put my entry in, and worry about it when the time comes.

Since I don’t plan on being online too much in the next couple of weeks – I’m planning to staying as offline as possible through the end of the year to get some real-world things done – I’ll probably miss most of the drama, thankfully. 

Though I may stream some Star Trek stuff over the holiday break while I finish prepping that massive hexagon quilt project: I received a year’s subscription to Paramount Plus as an early Christmas present, and I’ve heard so many good things about Strange New Worlds…

This week I’m trying a new sleep schedule to improve my productivity. It worked out great yesterday, but day two has been some tough sledding. I think I’ll hit the sack a couple hours early and try it again tomorrow.

Anthem

While awaiting those decisions being made about me (still a work in progress, grr) I spent most of my weekend gorging on Easter candy or sleeping. I also made significant headway on the old tax paperwork, too – it’s on track to be finished by next weekend! (I need to get some office supplies and double check some items now in storage, that sort of thing. You can never have enough sheet protectors and binders in the house, apparently...)

Except for the Stablemates, because they’re Stablemates, I haven’t bought most of the patriotic-themed Decorators. Either they haven’t been executed all that well thematically – bloody red points on blue bodies doesn’t exactly scream “America” to me – or the selected molds weren’t must-haves (I’m not a huge fan of the Clock Saddlebred, for instance). 

But this new model Anthem? I think I dig him. Maybe because he’s more of a personification of American Patriotism than a literal representation: there are no stars, stripes, or actual flags arbitrarily slapped on him. I think that’s where a lot of patriotically-themed artwork falls flat: it’s not enough to simply include the elements, you need to integrate them into a design that makes sense both artistically and thematically.

Either that, or you have to do something so over-the-top that you have to admire the audacity of it. Kind of like one of my old favorites, the BreyerFest 2007 Special Run Times Square, also on the Ethereal mold:

I cannot wait until Reeves finally has the gumption to release a Mini Me of Times Square in a future Best of BreyerFest Stablemates Set!

Anthem is just pretty, all dressed up in that funky metallic pearly automotive-style paint they introduced on the Red Pinto Auction piece Georg last year, and executed on a production run with the Christmas Clydesdales a few months later.

The precursor of the American Flag Series was the 2012 BreyerFest Special Run Union Jack, on a translucent Classic Ruffian. She’s got a few design problems herself – the flag sort of blends into her base color, and she’s got those weird red points – but I was kind of hoping that she’d lead to other “Flag Horses” of other nations, but that hasn’t materialized yet, beyond the American Flag Horses. 

Friday Afternoon Fever

Very short show recap: went in with a goal of ten placings, three NAN cards, and a rosette, and did considerably better than that. It’ll be a couple of days before I know the exact total because I am not unpacking the car until at least Tuesday. 

I did run into a little bit of difficulty getting home, partly because I am directionally-challenged and partly because there was an extremely inconvenient political rally near my house that you might have heard about. After got home, I basically slept for twelve hours straight; I should be back to “normal” (night shift person here) by tomorrow.

But let’s talk about a more pressing issue of our time: Discoheart!

My first thought when I saw this guy was “Oh dear, they’re doing the Decorator Khemosabi joke again.” It was pretty obvious he was an actual model and not a Photoshop job, so my assumption is that he’ll eventually end up as an auction piece, perhaps in the BreyerFest Silent Auction – like the Decorator Khemos did.

I have to admit that I’ve been kind of surprised by the unusually strong positive reaction to him, considering how roundly mocked the Ram was. But calling the Christmas Deco Ram “Montana” a failure is also a stretch. 

A failure for speculators looking for short-term profits? Most definitely. Aesthetic failure? Maybe. But Reeves evidently sold most of the seemingly extravagant 490-piece run without having to resort to multiple waitlists. Any time a company can make money that easily is not a failure. 

And the color is obviously a win!

Fireheart is definitely Decorator-friendly, as the late 2022 Stablemates Club release Helios amply demonstrates. But the minute I realized that Discoheart was an April Fool’s joke, I tossed him in my very large“things to be mildly annoyed about” file and moved on with my life. 

(I also happened to be in the middle of rewriting all my live show documentation when he dropped, which probably helped with my attitude.)

I have no doubt that the mold – either his Traditional incarnation, or his Stablemate ones – will be made available in a multitude of Decorator colors in the near, and not-so-near, future. 

I am already imagining the impending anguish and furor of future Web and Club Specials like Silver Filigree Fireheart, Benasque Blue Filigree Fireheart, Ocean Blue Fireheart, Rose Gold Pinto Fireheart, Pearly Dappled Pink Fireheart, Holographic Silver Fireheart, Halloween Fireheart, and (my favorite) Sparkly Translucent Embedded Glitter Christmas Gambler’s Choice Firehearts “Fire” (Red) and “Ice” (Clear). 

Though, as you would expect, I most look forward to seeing him in a Vintage Club release in an original Rearing Mustang color. Line-shaded Gloss Albino? Gloss Charcoal? Any of the Old School Deco colors? Think of the possibilities, people! 

(FYI: none of these actually exist yet, I am not aware of any plans for them existing, and there is no guarantee that they ever will. But you know my luck with accidentally predicting things, so take it all with several grains of salt and a margarita chaser.)

The Unexpected

I unexpectedly got the weekend off, and I didn’t know quite what to do with myself. What is this thing they call “free time”, and what do I do with it?

(I decided to finish prepping a long-delayed appliqué quilt project – something to keep me busy during jury duty this week!)

And since I have a few free moments here, I’ll randomly open one of the “Breyer Breeds” models that I purchase a few weeks back and never had the chance to unpack, because such is my life right now. And the winner is…

There he is, my beautiful boy! (I know the likelihood of you believing this was something randomly pulled from my stack of boxes is slim, but I’m sticking to my story.)

They did a wonderful job with his facial details, perhaps to make up for the fact that he is a solid, unshaded black:

He reminds me a great deal of the Classic Best in Show Thoroughbred release in Solid Black, the popular #935 release that ran from 2011 through 2018, and was even briefly released as a “Special Run” for Pottery Barn Kids in 2012. (As far as I know, the Pottery Barn release is identical to the Regular Run, but I haven’t gotten around to owning or inspecting one in person yet.)

So does that make this Man o’ War a “Maxi Me” of the Classic Thoroughbred, or is the Classic a “Middle Me” of the Man o’ War? Details, details…

I still want a vintage Black Man o’ War (I know, still dreaming) and I am kind of hoping that these releases – except for the Quarter Horse Gelding, naturally – get included in the Collector’s Club Appreciation Event this year. They would all look amazing in Gloss, but a Gloss Black Traditional Man o’ War would be delightful. 

And since we’re talking about Thoroughbreds, am I the only one who wants the current Test Color offering? I have two Sample Cigars – Nosferatu and Aintree, both lucky NPOD purchases – and a true Test Color would make it a nice trio. Plus I love the “Gold Chestnut” variation of Golden Charm in general, and wish this Gold Medalist series had taken off. 

I do remember that nonhobbyist fans of Valegro were both baffled and put off by this Gold Medal release, and the whole concept of Decorator colors in general, which was possibly part of the reason why the series never came to be. 

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...

Cake, and Other Mixed Emotions

As expected, no Cardinal. I did get something really special earlier in the week that I’ll share with you all next time that mitigates the disappointment quite a bit, but until I am ready for that reveal, let’s get back to BreyerFest stuff, shall we?

On one hand, I’m all-in on cake-themed Decorators and have been brainstorming how to execute a “Bumpy Cake” custom for several months now. (Traditional, or Classics mold? Do I go classic Devil’s Food, or go with my favorite Caramel, for the contrast?) I love the Classic Shire mold, and Black Chestnut is one of my favorite real-world horse colors that Reeves doesn’t use nearly enough.

On the other hand, you know that I am more than over this bizarre and almost nonsensical fixation on food for this year’s BreyerFest. I am 100 percent convinced this BreyerFest was entirely conceived over dinner at a German restaurant. 

Part of my bafflement over this stems from the fact that I once attended a German-themed company luncheon that not only inspired a great deal of griping from the staff, it generated a lot of uneaten leftovers. (Some of which I took home, because we could repurpose them into something more... flavorful.)

Even the plush has a food-oriented name. Strudel? Seriously? You couldn’t go with a traditional German boy name like Gunter, Hans, or the blindingly obvious Horst?

(For the record: the Art History professor who introduced me to Franz Marc was named Horst Uhr.)

I wasn’t going to buy the plush anyway, because I wasn’t going to buy anything lederhosen-themed on principle. The little Drafter is on my maybe/probably list: I’d love to have it, but I don’t think it’s a priority. Not yet.

The Blue Horse

A reasonable facsimile of my celebratory dance in honor of Franz:

via GIPHY

You may think I am joking, but anyone who has seen me dance knows that this is not that far off from reality. (Note: this is why I don’t dance in public.)

Anyway, at last, a dream I’ve had since college has finally come true, and we now have a Breyer model based on the work of Franz Marc:

The Traditional Spirit is excellent mold choice, by the way. I was thinking they’d go with something more realistic, but props to them following through and selecting one of the more “artistic” molds instead. 

It gives me hope that the cringe level inherent in this theme could be kept to a minimal level, though I am already mentally preparing myself for the inevitable legions of Lederhosen-wearing Diorama Brighties. But if they have an actual Kraftwerk-inspired Special Run planned, I will dance in public at BreyerFest.

I have purchased a number of Traditional Spirit Models over the years, but none of them stuck around long: some were pickups, but most were secondhand purchases bought for resale. I do have a neat idea for a custom, but it’ll be a while before I get around to it, so I won’t be in the market for a body anytime soon.

I almost bought the 2020 Halloween Horse Apparition – aka “the Scooby-Doo Horse” – but the ones I found locally had some condition issues, and by the time I got around to shopping for one online, the prices were higher than I was comfortable paying. 

While he is not high on my Want List, if I do happen to find a decent, out-of-box one at a not-terrible price at BreyerFest, I am definitely snapping it up. (Worth noting: I am also trying to avoid buying anything online between now and then.)

Spirit’s cartoony-ness has never really bothered me other than his eyes. Because of their size in relation to the rest of his head, they can look kind of creepy and bug-like if they are not “detailed out” properly with eyewhites and pupils. (I’m looking at you looking at me, Padre!) Thankfully, that’s not an issue here.

The color turned out really nice, too, and I hope that means we get to see more of it in the future on other releases. Not sure what I’d call the color itself: Blue Point Wedgewood, maybe? 

Montana

My CCA Box is here! Even though I genuinely don’t care who’s hiding within, I’ll still wait until Christmas to open it. What’s a few more days, right? I’m almost more excited about the Omega Fahim I know is in there: there were a couple at the last toy store I visited a few moons back, but they were clearly the ones left behind after handpicking had been done.

Well, I certainly didn’t have THIS on my Breyer Bingo Card:

I had to do a double take and make sure that the e-mail was actually from Reeves, and not some spoof account, because I thought one of you wiseacres was having a little bit of fun with Photoshop filters or something.

You know I am all for the Outrageous Animal Special Runs - just a few days ago I suggested, completely unironically, a Rainbow Calico Unicorn Kitten – but a Black Florentine Bighorn Ram?

Dude, just… no. 

The color looks cute on the Stablemate Chase pieces it previously appeared on, but here it’s just weird. And not a good way: more like a person randomly poking a model with a metallic paint pen weird.

It’s funny because I was just thinking that the only Web Special Micro Run that I’m almost completely uninterested in is the Bighorn Ram Rodney. I entered for him and would have gladly taken one, sure, but seeing the odd one for sale doesn’t take me to the same dark place other Micro Runs do. 

Same thing will go with Montana. I won’t turn him down if I get one, but I will also not be terribly upset if I don’t, either. I’m pretty sure he’ll look better in person than his press photo, but with a release like this is almost doesn’t matter.

The piece run on this thing is also kind of crazy: 490 pieces? What a completely random (and large!) number. Methinks they’re cleaning out the warehouse and possibly repurposing older/unsellable merchandise. 

For a quantity that large I would have gone with a Gambler’s Choice of two different colors instead – Gloss Chalky Alabaster and Charcoal, or Red and Green Filigree – but that wasn’t my call to make. You know, he might have also been kind of interesting in a patinated color, too, like the old Smoky release Durango. 

Hmm. Any of the older Hess Wildlife molds would look great that way, come to think of it. But then again, we’d have to put up with hobbyists complaining about the eyes not being painted, and that’s not how patinated bronzes work, people…

I have a nice example of the original release of the Bighorn, and both the Gray and Tan horn variations of the Dall Sheep. I’d eventually like to upgrade them to ones with stickers, which aren’t necessarily scarce, but are still a little pricey, nonetheless.

Micro Run Madness

Just another reminder here that while there have been cases where I have sometimes been extremely exasperated by the direction of online speculation about future releases, I have never intentionally revealed anything in advance that I did actually have knowledge about. 

Zugspitze is here, but like my other Christmas gifts – including a set of Carbide Scrapers, and a Mini Hand Jigsaw – he won’t be opened until Christmas Day. Not that I’m expecting any sort of surprise within, I just want to open something on Christmas besides the Breyer e-mail.

Not that I’ll be getting around to using my new customizing tools any time soon; I’m currently making halfway decent progress on several long-term sewing projects as I’m also trying to catch up on a couple years’ worth of TV shows I’m rather dreadfully behind on.

(Yes, I’m multitasking while watching TV. I know I have a problem!)

But let’s get back to the Blue Bull Bunyan. 

This is the first Web Special Micro Run in a while – since Waban, I believe, in early 2019. There have been Micro Runs since, but they’ve either been straight-up Raffle Models, Prizes or variations/surprises within larger Special Runs, or tied to Exclusive Events. 

Web Special Micro Runs have been problematic since their inception nearly ten years ago. Early examples like the Lusitano and the Moose Ghost were sold on a first-come, first-served basis, which favored people who were at the right place at the right time – and had the money on hand to make it happen.

Then they switched to the online raffle distribution method, and that’s when things really went haywire. It happened very quickly: I don’t think I need to reiterate what happened with the Polled Hereford Bull Marshall, but it wasn’t pretty. 

Collectors who didn’t give two patoots about the models in question entered anyway, because the stakes were low (entering is free!) and the short-term financial rewards for flipping were high.

Now that’ve we’ve entered this current period of massive model speculation, I am genuinely fearful of the aftermath of this particular Micro Run drawing. How bad is it going to get?

Some of the prices of previous Micro Runs have been mitigated by the fact that many of them were on molds with a rather narrow fanbases: once the handful of people who were both sufficiently motivated and financially willing to buy them at elevated prices did so, the market flattened out. Prices didn’t necessarily get better, but they didn’t get… worse. And they can still occasionally be found for sale.

That hasn’t been the case with others, like the aforementioned Marshall, and (cringe) the Brighty Cornelius. All the bullet points suggest that Bunyan will fall in the later category: a popular Decorator color, on a rarely used mold that also happens to be a Bull.

Right around the holidays, when a lot of people are looking for a little extra cash to spend. 

I’m not getting my hopes up, because I know better. But I seriously considered – and had, within my means – almost completing my collection of the Walking Horned Hereford Bull this year. 

All I really needed before Bunyan was the Woodgrain, the Chalky variation of the original release, and Colton. While I consider the Vault Sale Colton a lost cause, several examples of both the Woodgrain and the Chalky have turned up in the past year that I either just missed out on or hesitated about. 

I’ve had a pretty good year, model-wise, so I shouldn’t complain too much, and maybe things will be fine and people won’t be too terrible. But still, not the way I hoped to close out the year, hobby-wise.   

Blankets

When I was first finding my way around the hobby, it became pretty clear to me that I was not a tack and accessories person. Whenever a choice between a new saddle or a new horse had to be made, “new horse” always won.

There were some exceptions. I was fascinated by wagons, carts and sleighs (especially sleighs!), and I made a few fair-to-middling attempts at Hollywood-style Arabian Costumes. 

I have bought a few bits of Breyer Tack over the years, mostly because they came in sets and I am loathe to break apart sets on principle. And if I have been given promotional pieces, like the various blankets and things given out at BreyerFest on occasion, I never turned down those items down, either. 

One thing that’s just killing me, though, is this new Gift Set on the Breyer web site: the Le Mer with a sequined blanket. I bought this model all the way back in April because I though it was pretty – put that color on almost anything, and I’ll either buy it, or at least consider it – but you’re telling me if I had waited six months I could have gotten one with a super cool blanket with reversible sequins, too? 

Argh!

Sure, I could just go ahead and buy the set anyway – money is definitely not an issue for me right here, right now – but then I’d have to add another item to my already-too-big sales list. (I am hoping to get some stuff online by Thanksgiving week, but no promises!)

To throw a little history into the topic...

Saddle blankets have been a part of Breyer History since the literal beginning of Breyer History: the blankets for the Western Horse and Pony saddles have been molded into all their various permutations since the early 1950s. Fleece blankets were a component of the early Indian Horse and Rider Sets, too, and the Fury Prancers sold with English Saddles also came with separately-molded hard plastic saddle blankets. 

But the first official production release that came with fabric stable blankets was the #8384 Clydesdale Mare and Foal Set in 1971. Technically, some of the Groomers came with vinyl accessories that could have kinda-sorta passed for stable blankets in the 1950s. Not too many collectors are familiar with the latter: while Grooming Kits are not too hard to come by generally, the stable-blanket style ones are pretty tough. 

I have not lucked into one yet, but I live in hope!

Making Choices

Instead of participating in the Breyer Fun Day, going to the Motor City Comic Con, or even participating in Sweetest Day (it’s a thing around here), I spent my Saturday at DC FanDome and watching the new trailer for The Batman about twenty times.

Inventory is still in progress, and is going quite well, except for the realization that I have a Dapple Gray Old Timer problem. And more duplicates (of other things) than I thought. Once I’m finished with the process (next week?), I’ll let y’all know what my sales plans might be. 

As usual, it’s more of a space issue than a money issue. So stuff will be cheap, and not just compared to what everyone is trying to sell their stuff for. (I swear people are just using random number generators to price things at this point...)

I just unwrapped a couple of recent arrivals and I’m trying to decide what to do with them:

With Eek!, it’s more a matter of where I’ll put him than whether he is staying: I don’t know if he’s going into my window of glowy things, on my nightstand of glowy things, or in my little huddle of glowy things on my dresser.

(I like glowy things!)

The Favrile is a bigger problem.   

I bought him during the Second Chance Sale, mostly out of curiosity: I wanted to see what he looked like in person. The color scheme is definitely more of the “Rainbow Sherbet” variety of Rainbow seen on two recent Stablemate Unicorn Chase pieces, like the Magnolia and Croi. Mine seems to be a little bit greener than the average Favrile, and I like that, and I also like how they tried to make each leg a different color. (A thing they also did with the Seven Arts Surprise Decorator Rainbow Appaloosa.)

But I’m still not 100 percent sold on him, partly because I would have preferred a stained-glass-themed Decorator to be Translucent. I took a pass on the Web Special Nayati, and aside from the ongoing space issues, I am also reluctant to invest the necessary monies to acquire them now. 

If I’m going to collect a newer Classics mold, it’s going to be Mel Miller’s Brabant and also maybe Sarah Mink’s Malik, who incidentally is now available as a Unicorn in a color very similar to the radiant Sunset color the Brabant release Solaris does, sans glitter:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/collections/new/products/solar-flare

(I know some folks have very strong opinions on the matter, but I am neither pro- nor anti-mane-glitter.) 

Actually, come to think of it, the color is very similar to the 2001 Toys R Us Special Run Pacer Horse of a Different Color, who I have assumed was a very, very loose interpretation of Dunalino. 

Favrile will be sticking around a while, or at least until I’m able to get my sales act together. 

Equidae

I still haven’t opened up the box with the Gran Cavallo yet – not out of fear, apprehension or the possibility of disappointment, but because I am saving it as a reward for hitting the halfway mark in the inventory process. 

And that is taking a little longer than expected: I didn’t think I bought that much this year, but the inventory is telling me otherwise. Doing my year-end paperwork this year is going to be an absolute breeze, though.

I was kind of hoping to reach my target by the time the Second Chance Sale opens up to All-Access people on Wednesday, but it’s looking iffy. I kind of doubt my luck is going to be good enough to get me a second go-round at the Special Runs anyway, but I dutifully put my entry in just in case.

(If I do snag a spot, I will either go for a Surprise, or a Pech Merle.)

I have opened other recent arrivals, including the Equidae:

Apparently I have a thing for unusually-colored Othellos; the only ones I have in my possession that could be described as reasonably realistic are the production run BreyerFest 2012 Celebration Horse Mariah’s Boon, and the 2003 BreyerFest porcelain Galway Warrior. The 2018 Volunteer Model Churchill is also a “realistic” color, but one that’s very unlikely on a horse of his body type, at least without some very creative pedigree assignments. 

It’s been noted elsewhere that Equidae is the first production Rainbow Decorator where the rainbow is reversed: his head is purple, and the tail is pink. His paintjob is also flatter and less shaded, and most definitely more opaque, as opposed to previous Rainbow Decos, which tend to feature more translucent coloring.

I don’t know if this is a change in this color going forward, or simply an aesthetic choice specific to this mold and/or design. My guess is that Rainbow Decorators are going to be a lot like Silver Filigrees, where the kind of paint job you get depends on who painted it that day.  

Seconds

It’s going to take me a few more days to unpack everything I want to say about this new funky Five-Gaiter in my life. That, and the studio/office/workspace is still a wreck so I couldn’t take a “glamour shot” of it if I wanted to anyway. 

Speaking of recent purchases, my Second Chance Sales experience went disturbingly smooth. I haven’t had the best luck getting leftovers on Sunday at the live, in-person BreyerFest because I’m usually booked solid with other activities throughout the event. By the time the sale rolls around, I just don’t want to stand in any more lines at that point, especially when the pickings are slim. 

So going online, loading up my cart with… pretty much everything I wanted, and checking out within five minutes felt weird. Like there should have been a catch to it all. 

I bought one of everything I didn’t buy before except the Plush and the Crystal; my Special Run selection this time around was a Gran Cavallo. It just seemed like a safer bet to go for something I don’t already have, instead of trying for a variation of something I already do. And I already like it, as-is, so I am not going to be disappointed in getting something that was exactly as advertised.

Which is a super-strange problem to have. I still maintain that this is one of the few times where this kind of promotion can work, in the sense that collectors will get – at minimum – the model they asked for. 

When they’ve done this at BreyerFest before, a lot of people ended up buying extra models in hopes of getting one of the extra-special ones, which sometimes led to people not being able to get the as-advertised models they wanted in the first place. 

If we had known about the variations ahead of time – or seen them first hand Friday morning – then there would have been significantly fewer leftovers to choose from. 

All I’m saying is that if my Gran Cavallo turns out to be a variation, it’s a bonus! I don’t think it will, but I’ve been wrong before, and recently. 

Oh hey, part of my Halloween order just arrived! Let’s see what Stablemates I got:

Two different ones, yes! The Drafter is way more sparkly than I expected, and honestly I kind of love it. This is kind of surprising, since the Foal he was inspired from – Jack, from the Casper and Jack set back in 2015 – wasn’t something I was sad missing out on. Their designs felt out of proportion on them. And shrinking things almost always makes them cuter!

I am very slightly disappointed that I didn’t get the Fighting Stallion, but that’s only because a lot of collectors are absolutely losing their marbles over it. This means getting a complete set at a reasonable price looks unlikely any time soon. Bummer.

Fewer Clowns, More Horses

If I wrote a slightly fictionalized account of my Monday, the only parts of it anyone would find credible would be the fictionalized parts. 

To give you some flavor of what I went through, at one point during that day – in a rare moment of verbal acuity – I did actually say “I think I’ll run away and join the circus: fewer clowns, more horses.”

Anyway, because the way the week began, I fell off the caffeine wagon and now have a massive migraine and am not in much of a mood to talk. So I’ll let this picture of my Kaleidoscope, with the Classic Lipizzan cousin for scale, do most of the talking:

There is nothing particularly noteworthy about my Kaleidoscope; I was just glad that, as I anticipated, he wasn’t an immediate sell out. So many people were so focused on getting something special – like the Grab Bags, and (later) the Deco Variations – he’s largely been thrown down the memory hole. 

So let’s take a moment to appreciate his rainbow loveliness. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in acquiring rare things that we forget the easier-to-acquire things can be just as beautiful or meaningful.

(Well, that’s what I tell myself when every time I lose an online auction. Sometimes I even believe it!)

It’ll be neat to see this color on something bigger; I’d prefer it on a more vintage mold, either the Family Arabian Stallion or the Classic Lipizzan (duh!) would do. 

More Classic Lipizzans in general would be a great idea: I am not particular on the color, as long as it’s not another shade of White or Aged Gray. It’s funny that the Stablemate Lipizzan hasn’t come in any shade of gray yet, but the Classic has come in almost nothing else, except for its Fantasy releases. 

A Rainbow Decorator Classic Lipizzan would be a nice compromise!

Incidentally, I’ve also seen the blurry photo of this year’s Tractor Supply Specials that’s been floating around. 

I’m not going to talk about the specific details of them until we see something that’s more than blobs of pixels on the Internet. All I’ll say at this point is that I am relieved that there doesn’t appear to be anything that’s a must-have for me, other than the Stablemate Chase Pieces.

For the Records

It’s old news by now, but still worth noting and recording here, for posterity’s sake:

• Rainbow Leopard Appaloosa with Blue Interference: 700 Matte, 325 Glossy
• Flaxen Liver Chestnut Roan: 900 Matte, 325 Glossy
• Palomino Pintaloosa: 975 Matte, 325 Glossy
• Sable Champagne Minimal Splash Pinto: 800 Matte, 325 Glossy
• Bay Maximum Sabino: 1000 Matte, 325 Glossy

I am not understanding the amount of antagonism some hobbyists are still having about the Flaxen Liver Chestnut Roan. It’s like he’s got Khemosabi-level cooties or something. We can’t all make money: sell it at cost and move on with your life. That’s what I did with the Surprises I received that unimpressed me. 

As for not being able to cash in on the current collectibles craziness? (Looks at a garage full of sales items I’ve been unable to list, because a 36-hour day hasn’t been invented yet.) You get used to it, eventually.

Speaking of out-of-control prices, breakdowns for the Surprises were also released today. Per their blog, there were three different 50/50 Splits this year: Seurat, who was the Matte/Gloss; Peche Merle was 50/50 Bay/Buckskin; and Tasilli was 50/50 Marwari/Not. 

All of the Metallic Decorators were issued in 200-piece quantities; with the exception of the Pollock, they were pieces added to (and not taken from) their original announced runs. Anyway, the full details:

• Uffington: 200 Holographic Silver, 1800 Cremello
• Peche Merle: 950 Buckskin, 950 Bay
• Gran Cavallo: 200 Blue/Purple Colorshift, 1800 Liver Chestnut Sabino
• Seurat: 1000 Matte, 1000 Glossy
• Knossos: 200 Gold, 1000 Brindle Piebald
• Tasilli: 1000 Barb, 1000 Marwari 
• Pollock: 200 Gold with Rainbow spots, 1400 Rainbow with Gold spots
• Ansel: 200 Metallic Blue, 2000 Blue Roan

Interesting that they’re officially calling the “Mop Top” version of the Marwari a Barb: duly noted. 

The Buckskin Peche Merle shouldn’t be too hard to find on the secondary, so that’s good for me. 

As for the others, I don’t think the announced quantities will affect their prices too much in the short term. The Glossy Seurats will be even more difficult to attain than the Glossy Thorns were, because New Mold + Glossy; and I am already seeing people trying to use the piece quantities to justify their list prices for the variants. 

But this will change with time; as someone pointed out in the comments a post or two below, the prices for the 2020 BreyerFest Special Runs have fallen back down to issue price, or at least only a modest markup. I am hoping once the next “new hotness” comes along, a Glossy Seurat might become a reality. The Variants will probably hover somewhere above the price for the Surprise Glosses, but not quite the stratospheric prices the first few brought. 

As for possibly scoring another variant, that will depend on what’s available at the “Leftovers” Sale in September, and whether my schedule is compatible with me participating. 

(Still not entirely sure; all I know is that this Saturday will be my only day off from now until Labor Day weekend. Oy!)

Incidentally, I’m a little more optimistic that there will still be some variants to be had. The fact that there seems to be a lot of variants already “out there” is more a matter of confirmation bias than anything else: people are more likely to post pictures of their variants than their boring (in comparison) as-advertised Special Runs. 

That being said, I doubt lightning will strike twice here. Best not to think too much about it. 

Of Course He Is

To quote myself:

And if I somehow get one of those funky Decos, I’ll also be on the lookout for the “normal” ones. But like I said, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue. (Though it would be pretty hilarious if I got the holographic Uffington, because my luck getting Breyer Double Dilutes is even worse than Glossy Luck. Will they cancel each other out?)

Yes, yes they do:

You should have seen my face when I opened the box and he was literally sitting right on top of the pile, wrapped in a clear plastic bag and very obviously not the Cremello I was expecting. 

Dammit, I got the variation, I muttered to myself. 

Then I started laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. It almost feels intentional, though I know more than likely it isn’t. 

I am grateful that I managed to get the scarcer Uffington right off the bat, but now I’ll have to decide whether to wait until the Leftovers Sale in September and try for another one in actual Cremello or go for something completely different. I’m thinking something different; I’ve never had much luck when it comes to buying duplicates at normal BreyerFests.

I also don’t think these stratospheric prices on everything even the least bit scarce are going to last. I just don’t understand rushing out and buying stuff like this before most people even have their stuff yet. We literally know nothing, except that these variations exist. 

Think about it: out of a run of 1800 pieces, 10 percent would be 180 pieces and 25 percent would be 450 pieces. My guess would be that it is closer to the 25 than the 10, but it’s still early and not everyone has received their shipment yet, obviously.

But numerical quantity is only part of the equation when it comes to calculating value; the bigger determinant is desirability, and Decorators are definitely having their moment right now. 

That, and a sudden influx of people with an unreasonable amount of cash to spend. 

Incidentally, my Ansel is a normal Ansel, and I’m perfectly fine with that. In fact, if he had been a blue one, I’d be posting this from my hospital bed right now: 

He’s a much bigger boy than I thought he’d be, too. I can’t wait to see him in a more standard Morgan color, though (Glossy Dark Bay, anyone?)

My Matte Josie and Best of BreyerFest Stablemates Set also arrived in the same box. All that’s left now are the Stablemate Kaleidoscope and all the miscellaneous swag.  

How It's Going

How’s it going on my new schedule?

I’m crushing it on my old paperwork, the garden is looking respectable, and the office cleaning and reorganization is coming along. Sleep is still a work in progress; the melatonin doesn’t seem to be working well for me, and I’d rather not keep relying on the Benadryl.

But the customizing is… a problem. The rest of the household is not too keen on my cracking out the Dremel drill and hacksaw during the small hours, so my diorama plans have changed a little. 

Idea One (the best idea) involves too much customizing for the amount of time left on the clock anyway, so that one’s on hold. The effort there has not been wasted: the mold involved is part of a larger project, and I will get back to it eventually.

Idea Two (my first idea) was supposed to be something quick and simple, but the mold I selected for the task is less amenable to customizing than I originally thought. I think I can still make it work, with some compromises. I’ll give myself until the end of the coming weekend to decide whether or not to abandon it.

Idea Three (the “clever” idea) is actually coming along rather nicely. But it’s also the one I think the judges will be least likely to “get”, and it also involves a painting technique I haven’t tried before. 

So that’s my conundrum. I’ve got several writing projects to occupy my time between now and the weekend, so that’s where my head’s going to be at for the next several days. I’ll probably hem, haw and peck away at the two remaining ideas in whatever down time I do have between now and then.

But as we head into BreyerFest season, let’s all take a moment to stop and smell some freshly unpacked Stablemates Unicorns:

There’s nothing special or noteworthy about any of them, other than the fact that I think it’s a little weird that the dark blue Warmblood Unicorn is named Topaz. While topazes can come in almost any color, they are most commonly some shade of yellow or orange; dark blue is usually only achieved via heat treatment. 

Inner rock nerd me isn’t a huge fan of stones that need heat treatments, other than Tanzanite. If they wanted a dark and mysterious looking stone, I would have gone with Galena or Hematite.

I suppose I should also mention the Limited Edition BreyerFest Stablemate Kaleidoscope:

Ooh boy, he’s something, ain’t he? Rainbow resist-dappled pearly blue with white points: the only thing missing here is the glitter. The 6500-piece count sounds like it should be enough, though I have no idea what they’re basing that production count on. 

The name Kaleidoscope, incidentally, has been used at least once before, on a Special Run Pinto Trakehner way back when. He’s always been one of my favorites among my Trakehner collection, partly because Pinto Trakehners are actually a thing.

Ursa Major and Ursa Minor

Special Run Bears + Astronomical Theme = Yes, please!

The original Black and Brown Bear and Cub sets from the late 1960s/early 1970s were one of my first “big” flea market finds back in the early 1980s; my parents were quite perplexed to see me get so excited over something that was Not A Horse. 

I wouldn’t say I became obsessed with the molds per se, but I have tried my best to keep myself up-to-date with them.

While there are a few more recent strays I haven’t acquired yet, mostly because space is an issue (the Cub in the one Walmart Mustang set, the 2005 set rerelease, and the Bear and Cub that were sold separately in the early 2000s) the Silver variation of the BreyerFest 2014 Kodiak and Denali are the only ones I haven’t acquired (and am not likely to) because of financial reasons.

Yes, there’s been a set on eBay for forever. But it’s either pay up, or go without. And Breyers being the luxury they are, I’ve had to learn to do without. 

(FYI: $500 is about as high as I could go without starting to hyperventilate.)

Well, them and any Test Colors that might be floating around. I know for fact that there’s at least one set of standard black and white Panda Bears out there somewhere. A Chalky set of Polar Bears turned up on eBay several years ago and went well above my comfort zone, too.

The molds are not super popular in general and they’re making 350 sets so I am not overly concerned about being able to get them, even if I’m not picked from the initial list. But I will worry about that tomorrow, if need be.

I do love this particular “colorway” – Space Pinto, basically? – and I hope it makes its way onto other releases soon. Unicorns, Horses, other Nonhorses….