Checking Off The Boxes

I’m not sure how I feel about the long-awaited Premier Club Draft Mare and Foal Rhiannon and Rhemi: I don’t dislike them, but they weren’t quite what I was expecting, either. I suspect some of it is that I find the names a bit too twee and pretentious for my tastes. 

And they are Vanners. I get that they’re popular, but like most hobbyists, I dig the slightly more obscure and/or rarer breeds, especially ones on the chunkier side like Jutlands, Suffolk Punches and Dutch Drafts. Georg deserves a family! 

I’m not in that club anyway, so until they come out in a more widely available release, the whole argument is academic. I think I may like them more once I see them in a solid color. (Next year, probably.)

I will also not be buying the Collectors Club Special Jota. This is odd, because everything about him says he should be totally my thing: he’s a Gloss Black (check) Splash Pinto (check) Smart Chic Olena (and check). 

But he’s not doing it for me for some reason. I know a lot of collectors are turned off by the weirdness of his pattern, but it’s definitely not that: I was just researching Splash Pintos for my Standing Stock Horse Foal custom the other day, and I now have a disturbingly large reference file full of peculiar looking foals. They don’t look possible, yet they are. 

I once heard the word “cute” described as “ugly, but interesting”. That about sums it up: I find them cute.

But I think it’s the Gloss that’s the turn-off here. 

I’m definitely not one of those Finish Fanatics: I think some models look better in Gloss, some in Matte, and some look good regardless of their finish. Jota would have been more tempting to me in Matte, especially that soft, satiny Matte Black finish the Stretched Morgan came in in the 1960s. 

I know it’s possible: the Black Sabino version of Araba is pretty darn close!

Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to the Vintage Club Black Troubadour Tuxedo; I’m trying not to be mad that I couldn’t wait that extra day to order my Virkie. 

I am currently debating whether or this means I need to order a little something extra from the website, just because. I know I shouldn’t, but…

Little Extra Something

I bought another box lot. I wasn’t planning on it, it just happened to turn up during my five-minute daily shopping scans. And I couldn’t pass it up because it was really cheap – as in, I could sell all of them as body box models and still make a profit kind of cheap – but I think most of them are better than that. (I’m good either way: my body box was absolutely decimated at BreyerFest, and I could use a restock.) 

I’m going to try and behave next year and keep my purchases – Vintage and New – to a minimum, because of the usual lack of both time and space. Other than Stablemates, because there’s always room for Stablemates! 

As a matter of fact, I had to do a bit of holiday shopping yesterday, and during the trip I picked up a slew of blind bags from the local not-a-Tractor-Supply store. They were 40 percent off, and I wanted to give myself something to open up on Christmas Day, besides the Breyer Christmas Day Special Run e-mail. 

That I’ll make an effort to actually be up on time to see it before it sells out. But will I buy it? 

It depends. If it’s something like Emma, of course. But if not, it’ll have to be something really spectacular, but my brain is kind of jelly from the writing project I’ve been focused on all week, so I can’t even think what that could be. Something small and pony-ish, I assume. 

Astrid? Misty? Aristocrat? Seems a little too early for Nikolas. Personally, I’d go totally Retro and pick the Western Pony: the Palomino Groomer was a Christmas Catalog staple for over a decade in the 1950s and 1960s. Put him in an assortment of Deco colors – the original four, Charcoal, Silver or Rose Gold Charm/Filigree, whatever. 

Though I suppose that probably won’t work, since it did come in solid gloss black back in the day, too. Racehorse? Kennebec Count? Khemosabi? Another Christmas Kitten? 

I’m out of ideas, LOL. 

Here’s a few recent arrivals – more Stablemates, of course!

The Mini Fireheart is a Fireheart; while I understand why they decided to go a little outrageous for this release, I’m looking forward to the more realistic colors on the mold that I am sure are already in the pipeline. 

I’m undecided on the new little Haflinger; he’s better (more detailed) in person than his online photos suggest, but he does seem a little generic? He reminds me a lot of a Family Arabian Mare custom I lost the plot on a few years ago. (In a good way: the FAM is way more interesting to customize than hobbyists give her credit for.)

I do like Kit’s fancy clip pattern, though. I generally don’t: while I think they can be awesome when they’re properly executed on a custom, they tend to look goofy on Original Finish pieces. That’s because they’re usually just painted on, with no attempt to render the textural element. It kind of gives them a slightly discordant “My Little Pony” vibe.

It kind of works with Kit, because he definitely needs a little extra something. I can see this mold wearing some wild colors and patterns in its future, and wearing them well. 

And speaking of a little extra something, that would describe the 2023 Stablemate Club bonus model Nero, on the new mini Georg/Giorgio:

That’s a mold that doesn’t need fancy clothes, but I appreciate the effort! His bigger brother, of course, was a big hit at the 2020 BreyerFest as the impressive semi-leopard Noriker Oak.

Awkward

I don’t know what was more awkward to witness on Tuesday. Those epically clueless contestants on Wheel of Fortune? That completely messed up auction where more than one person bid up something that was not only an obvious knockoff, but also in terrible condition? 

Or seeing all the Honeybears already for sale on the secondary – who, at the time of me writing this, almost 48 hours later(!), is still available on the Breyer web site.

Personally, I’d vote for the auction, because it would have taken all of twenty seconds to do the research to determine that just about everything about this lot was wrong. And all Wheel of Fortune does is confirm my suspicion that they deliberately put on less-than-stellar contestants to make the people watching at home feel smart. Which I think is a terrible idea, but I digress…

Anyway, since my sleep schedule was out of whack because of jury duty (that I later found out was cancelled – after I woke up!) I thought I had to make a quicker than average decision on whether or not to get the Honeybear, and I decided against it. 

Not because I didn’t like him – he’d definitely make a nice companion to my Fell Pony/Berry Pony Jujube, who has similar feathered pinto markings – but because I have enough physical Stuff to deal with right now.

I also had the suspicion that unlike Lafayette, Reeves would not get caught flatfooted this year. I am happy to be proven correct! Honeybear’s picture was prominently displayed on the web site for months as a perk of membership, after all, and it’s only right that they make enough for everyone looking forward to him. 

If it takes the wind out of the sails of the more aggressive flippers, even better. If there’s a sufficiently large number of overstock left over after a certain period of time, all they’ll have to do is “repurpose” them with Gloss, problem solved!

What’s nice about this situation is that now I can put off a decision on Honeybear for at least a little while without costly consequences; the extended window has also given a lot of other hobbyists the time to actually make an informed decision about it purchasing him. Or not.

Time I wish I had had last year, as my receipts from last year are quick to remind me.  

Compared to the heydays of the 1970s and 1980s, we get relatively few Regular Run Traditionals to choose from on a yearly basis, so it makes sense to have items that sort of “bridge the gap” between Regular Run items that are theoretically available for most of a year,  and (often extremely) Limited Editions/Micro Runs/What Have You that are gone in the blink of an eye.

Sometimes Less Means More

I am the kind of clumsy you normally only see in sitcoms, so the BreyerFest crystal release Lorelei is not even an option: 

This is also why I don’t buy (many) china releases at retail: breakage is just a matter of when, not if. I don’t need that kind of guilt.

Plus, my shopping list this year is already a bit on the long side, which is partly my rationale for (probably) not getting the online-only Georg release who, oddly, doesn’t have a name beyond “Rhenish Draft”: 

They’re making 5000 of him, and that means he shouldn’t be too difficult to locate after the event, if need be. He reminds me quite a bit of the #777 Belgian release, down to the mismatched hoof colors. It’s not just a random style choice, it’s a thing that happens with flaxen-pointed Chestnuts whose points are so light that leg markings essentially disappear, with only the hoof color to distinguish them. 

I was kind of hoping that they’d offer something exclusively to online-only attendees, but all the online-only items are also available to in-person attendees, so far. 

Another complication for me with these online options is that I normally try to limit my online interactions during the event. The whole point of being there is to get the face-to-face interpersonal interaction I don’t get with my fellow hobbyists on a daily basis: any moment I spend online there feels like I’m taking away from the in-person experience.  

Plus the past two years has soured me a bit on the online experience: the less I am reminded of it, the better. While I acknowledge that it has been a boon for those of us unable to attend in-person, for whatever reason, it’s just not for me personally. 

If that means missing out on some items, so be it. 

Surprise Speculation

If I didn’t get drawn for the weird Decorator Bighorn Ram Montana, the likelihood of me getting selected for the latest Birds of a Feather release Cardinal is nonexistent:

A pretty Flaxen Red Chestnut on a Shannondell? Even though they upped the piece count to 500, I am not getting my hopes up. 

Speaking of Drafts, it’s probably a good time for my brief discussion/analysis of this year’s BreyerFest Surprise Model, which they’ve dubbed “Rotating Draft Surprise”.

The more cynical among us are thinking this is yet another head fake, the same way last year’s “Seven Arts Surprise” ultimately didn’t involve seven different variations. While it’s true that the Surprises aren’t always what their names lead us to think they are (I did not see the Bollywood Surprise Latigos coming) sometimes, they are. 

For the 2018 Off to the Races “Dark Horse Surprise”, they not only used a racing-appropriate mold – Smarty Jones – the rarity was the Solid Black: an actual “Dark Horse”!

So I think a Draft Horse is a strong possibility this year. It’s about time for one, anyway. 

To get the usual formalities out of the way: the “rotating” part will have nothing to do with that long-held BreyerFest fantasy of multiple molds being used for the Surprise. As I’ve explained before, that would be an absolute nightmare to execute, especially in person, since it would become very obvious what molds are what even in their opaque bags. The only way that’s a viable option would have been virtually, and that opportunity has passed. 

There’s the chance that they’ll interpret that word in a more literal sense, and if that’s the case: say hello to Bobby Jo!

But back to the Drafts: it’s not going to be Othello, and it’s very unlikely to be Georg. Othello not so much because it’s popular, but because it’s been done to death, and coming up with five new colors or takes on previously-used colors is difficult. 

Georg is still too popular. We’ll definitely see him at BreyerFest – either as a Live Show Prize Model (hello, Gloss Theo!) and/or as a Raffle Model. 

Shannondell is a possibility: Georg has stolen a bit of that mold’s thunder, and it’s still new enough that it hasn’t been released in a multitude of colors yet. It also has multiple mane and tail options, which is something we often see with Surprises. But it might be just a tad bit too popular yet.  

Two other choices I think might be possibilities include the always-popular Clydesdale Mare, and Brishen, whose popularity has muted just enough to finally qualify it as a Surprise-level model. Both have been used recently, so that may or may not rule them out.

Goffert and Wixom are slightly better candidates: both are at least moderately popular with solid fanbases, with some color options that haven’t been exploited yet. Goffert’s big with the younger crowd, which is often a factor in Reeves’s mold selection process.

Molds like the Bell-bottomed Shire, Big Butt Belgian, and Roy, with the Friesian Sporthorse and Welsh Cob being draft-adjacent enough to qualify as Surprise candidates, but I’d consider most of them pretty unlikely, though I think the Friesian Sporthorse might turn up as a Surprise in the not-distant future. 

Personally, I’m rooting for either Cleveland Bay or the original Clydesdale Stallion. The Cleveland Bay is modestly popular, comes with multiple mold options, and is popular with at least one member of the staff in New Jersey. 

There hasn’t been a true Vintage Surprise since the very first – the Quarter Horse Gelding in 2009 – and the Clydesdale’s reappearance in Stablemates form has rekindled interest in the mold, who hasn’t come in as many exotic colors as collectors might think.

Of course, the Cleveland Bay was most recently used as the Celebration Horse back in 2019, and the Stablemates Clydesdale is being used as one of the One-Day Stablemates (As a Beer! Hmm?) 

So in short, I have no idea. I’m just happy that it won’t be a complete shot in the dark this time around. For me, there are so many lovely Special Run options this year that knowing who or what the Surprise is, is not going to be a huge factor in my SR selection process. I might even opt out of it entirely, considering how many others are already on my “Must Have” list.

Year End Wrap Up Stuff

A little late to the party, true, but here’s my Zugspitze:

I still haven’t decided on a name yet; I’m torn between “Taconite” and “Zug Island Dandy”.

As I suspected, I rather like the Red version of the Christmas SR Spice Drop – she looks like a Cinnamon-flavored jellybean! – but not enough to seek one out at the moment. Maybe by BreyerFest, if the sales and my budget aligns.

As far as my purchases for 2022 go, I think I’ll stick to the “Stablemates and Vintage Grails” plan that worked out pretty well for me in 2021. The Palomino and Albino Five-Gaiter are high on that list, as well as another Woodgrain or two (eyeing the Running Mare and Foal in particular), and some of the later Christmas Catalog Parade of Breeds Stablemates sets that I dropped the ball on back when they were originally released. 

And some upgrades of more of my vintage Commons, even though I know that rarely goes well. 

It’s good that other than the Unicorn Swirl Gift Set and the Halloween Desatado release Maelstrom, I don’t see much in the way of new releases to tempt me. The Friesian Sjoerd is interesting, but do I really need another Black Brishen?

(Probably, but humor me.)

Like a lot of folks, I’m hoping to sell more than I buy next year because whoo boy, I bought a lot of stuff this year. Of course (and as I suspected) now that it looks like I might have the chance to do that, the market is just beginning to show signs of cooling off.

It’s not that big a deal, really, just not… unexpected. I’ll still manage to break even because I know the market well enough to know when to hold and when to sell. I am more bummed that my complete lack of spare time completely upended my selling opportunities this year.

On the other hand, I’m doing much better professionally than I’ve done in a long time, which means I didn’t have to depend on that extra cash for my day-to-day expenses. Which is a good thing, I guess? 

I’d like to do a live show or two in 2022, but most of the ones I am aware of that are within a reasonable driving distance are already full, and information about newer shows is difficult for me to find because it’s almost entirely hidden behind Facebook. 

It’s more of a want than a need, though: if it happens, it happens.

As far as BreyerFest goes, I am not sure of my precise plans, other than lots of hugging, crying, and selling. The thought of live showing has crossed my mind, but I might have other duties or responsibilities that might get in the way, so I have to wait a couple of months before I can make more extensive plans.

I might just take a breather on all of the associated contests and competitions and devote my spare, non-hobby time to finishing more old sewing projects and completing the revamp of my garden. 

As far as my other plans for next year, I’ve decided to forego both BreyerWest and The Wyoming Trip, and opted to attend my first World Science Fiction Convention (aka “Worldcon”) instead. Aside from always wanting to attend, next year’s convention is in Chicago, which is the closest it will probably be for me for some time (it’s in China in 2023!)  

It’s close enough to feel manageable, and it’s an experience that’s enough outside my comfort zone to feel daring and exciting. The thought of participating in the Masquerade is also intriguing (a Novice did win Best in Show this year!) but I might just go and be an anonymous nerd. (If anyone wants to come with and split the hotel tab and/or hold my hand, let me know!)

Food For Thought

I just found out I’m getting the whole weekend off, and I don’t know quite what to do with myself. Bake Christmas Cookies, maybe? Take another shot at the Poppyseed Roll? I think I figured out what I did wrong with the last one....

Speaking of food, Reeves really is going all-in on the “German Food” thing with the One-Day Stablemates:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/breyerfest-blog/breyerfest-event-stablemates

You’d think the Mini Me Emma “Brezel” would be my favorite, but I’m kind of digging the licorice-themed Hanoverian “Lakritz”: Glossy Dark Dappled Gray with multicolored ribbons based on the German flag? Sold!

While you will not find a bigger booster of licorice than me – there’s currently half a bag of licorice taffy in my car, because if I brought it into the house it would be an empty bag of taffy – I’ve always thought of licorice as more of a Scandinavian thing. Including it here is not a stretch in the same way the Spanish Fighting Bull Special Run Le Taureau was for the French-themed BreyerFest, but it’s up there.

I would have gone with something like Strudel, Pumpernickel, Stollen, or even Pfeffernusse. But hey, not my call. 

Anyway, I’ve grown rather fond of the G4 Hanoverian mold and I even have a body in my Stablemate stash that I’ve been trying to find an idea for, for a couple of years now. I’ll be getting some carbide scrapers and a mini handheld jigsaw for Christmas, so next year, maybe….

Another FYI, for those of you out of the loop: due to technical difficulties, the drawing for the Winter Web Special Zugspitze is being held off until Monday. 

Since I’ve already emotionally distanced myself from the rest of the “Silly Sales Season” Specials, this glitch is not affecting me personally one way or another. I did enter and I will check, because Silver Filigree, but I’m not getting my hopes up. It’s just not worth it at this point.

I have to admit, though, that this Special Run’s name has been the source of a great deal of amusement to me. Whenever I hear the word “Zug”, I immediately think of a local Detroit “landmark” Zug Island that (trust me) nobody thinks of as a vacation spot. 

(Though they are looking into eventually rehabilitating it. I hope so!)

And while German is certainly a very expressive language – it’s given us wonderful words like Schadenfreude and Backpfeifengischt – it is not particularly beautiful, no matter what one of my former employers once said. 

(That dude had some… issues. I’ll leave it at that.)

The Story of Julius

Dear Reeves-type people: I am completely exhausted and you can stop with all the reveals, new stuff and special offers now. I’m sure everybody at the warehouse would also be relieved. 

Aside from the Vintage Club and Premier Club reveals and another web exclusive Unicorn, take a gander at the New Products page for the latest Good Grief What Now. Not shown on this page: the fact that the 70th Anniversary Traditionals are now also selectable by mold, so if you still need a Palomino Hamilton, now’s your chance.

(I’ll wait for that shiny black one.) 

The Vintage Club is currently taking renewals from current subscribers and will start taking new subbers on November 4th. I have no idea if they will release pictures of any of the other releases in the club, and I am not at liberty to give you any hints anyway. 

Except (a) I expect it to sell out quickly, and (b) I don’t think you will be disappointed. 

As for Julius, the first reveal in the VC, I have a little story to tell about him:

It has been one of my greatest joys – and favorite hobby accomplishments – to name actual Breyer releases. When it came time to find a suitable name for a Vintage Club release on the Georg, one name became very obvious for me.

I named him after my Uncle George (my grandfather’s youngest brother), whose given name was actually Julius.

All of the male siblings in the family were... hell raisers, to put it mildly. The inside joke was that if anything went awry on the family farm, they’d blame it on “George”: that was the name the brothers called each other, much to the consternation of their father. (The brothers actual names were Joseph, Charles and Julius.)

Truth be told it, was Julius who was the biggest troublemaker of the bunch, so he eventually he became “George”. Our grandfather Charles passed away when we were fairly young, so George became our surrogate grandfather, even though he had a son who was two years younger than my brother, which caused all sorts of confusion in school. (We lived in the same town, for a while.)

My brother and I didn’t even know that George’s actual name was Julius until years later, when we wondered why everyone else at holiday get-togethers called him “Julius”, instead.

(There was a lot of that in my family, actually. Both sides. I learned very early on that identity can be a very slippery thing.)

All the men on my Grandfather’s side of the family were stout and big-boned: if they had been horses, they would have been Drafts. The name Julius also has an old-fashioned, old-world feel to it that suited the Georg mold very well. 

There have also been a number of Breyer releases that have unintentionally named after other relatives of mine, so it seemed appropriate that one be intentionally so.

Oak

In spite of the pretty tight crop on the photo, this one was pretty easy to peg, except for the part about it being an ordinary BreyerFest Special Run, and not a Raffle or Prize model:

That should make “Oak” easier to acquire, depending on your ticket draw. It’s too early to determine if he’s going to be the Gloss/Matte Split model. At this point, I would say no: Georg is still too new and popular for that kind of promotional hoo-ha.

I guess my only complaint at this point is that they are… laying the blarney on extra thick with the rationale for incorporating a Noriker into this year’s theme:

Oak trees feature prominently in Celtic mythology – they are an aspect of a magical trilogy of trees related to fairy lore. Their use in sacred rituals dates back to the First Century, when Pliny the Elder described their incorporation into fertility rites performed by ancient Druids, and Celtic Britons under Roman rule worshiped Daron, the goddess of the oak tree. Even the town of Kildare finds its roots in that of the oak tree – Cill Dara is Irish for “church of the oak.”

I get it. You’ve got folks on staff (and a significant portion of the hobby) who are very, very, very personally invested in this theme. Meanwhile in my corner of the universe, the closest I can come to a connection is that there was a story on Dad’s side of the family about a male relative who was a coachman for an Irish Duchess.

No evidence whatsoever, just a story.

And I was in the Highlander Fan Club for a few years. Because I loved sword fights, the Queen soundtrack, and the male leads were all nice to look at. (RIP Stan Kirsch.)

But I am going to be very frank with you and say that some of my lack of enthusiasm goes back to 2015 when I felt very… alone in my love of the French theme. And kind of put out by the execution of said theme (a Spanish Fighting Bull as a Tent SR?!?) and the fact that I couldn’t find three people – out of thousands! – who had even heard of Le Petit Prince. Which made me feel more than a little crazy.

It’s certainly not for a lack of effort this year: the models, so far, have all been lovely. And I am not normally one who gets too worked up about mold selections or appropriateness, unless they’re real eye rollers. Like the previously mentioned Spanish Fighting Bull, or the baffling selection of the Stretched Morgan as the Early Bird Raffle Model Bennington for the British Invasion theme in 2012.

But you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t get rapturous when Celtic words and phrases or obscure Irish trivia get thrown at me. Versta?

The 2020 Info Dump

Remember last year, when Reeves was oh-so-coy about giving us any detailed info about anything for 2019 until it was absolutely necessary, and even then – not so much?

As you might have noticed over the past three days, they’ve apparently decided to go in the opposite direction this year! 

First it was the 2020 Celebration Horse, a portrait of Irish Sport Horse Ballynoe Castle RM, aka “Reggie”, on the Show Jumping Warmblood mold:

I was thinking a few days ago that the Show Jumping Warmblood mold might have been a good choice for the Surprise model – aside from having multiple mane and tail options, it’s also had two Translucent releases (2007 Halloween Horse Twilight Terror, and last year’s Sugarmaple).

It’s an interesting, and uncontroversial mold choice (as either the Croi or Vanner would have been), though I do expect the inevitable mutterings from the “solid Matte Bay is so boring” crowd. We all thought the same thing with 2018’s Brass Hat, and he turned out gorgeous, right? And this guy’s photo looks way more promising than Brass Hat’s ever did…

Then there’s Klaus, the first release in the 2020 Stablemates Club:

I figured that Darwin would be a part of next year’s club lineup, but first up, and in Leopard Appaloosa, too? Sweet. I am a little annoyed that the first three releases of this mold were/are all Special Runs or limited in some way, though. I know they are trying to recoup their initial investment and get everyone all het up about him (mission accomplished!), but just get to the inevitable Aged Gray already, as the masses demand…

Then there’s the gorgeous Premier Club release Georg, Eberl’s highly anticipated Rhenish German Coldblood:

Like Weather Girl, Georg (pronounced “Gay-Org”, incidentally) is a reworking of one of Brigitte’s earlier resin sculpts – in this case, Valentin.

I am in love with this big beautiful chonk of a horse, but I’ll probably have to wait until next year to find a more affordable release. (I would love him as a BreyerFest Special Run, but I fear he’s got Raffle Horse written all over him.)

And finally, instead of stringing us along like they did last Fall, this time they’re hinting at doing a full reveal on the Vintage Club 2020 lineup. I am not going to read anything into this marketing strategy one way or another, other than to comment that it would definitely be better for my mental and physical well-being. I’ll just let the picture of the next reveal do all the talking for me now:

Okay, now to take a moment to drink something relaxing, before diving into the existential terror that is Star Wars Ticket Presales….