Chasing Rainbows

From what I’ve seen of the Seattle Soiree models, I think I’ll be okay: I have no “mighty needs”. I certainly wouldn’t turn down a Black Blanket Appaloosa Idocus Nirvana if it were offered to me (at a reasonable price, of course, which is not going to happen).

They dropped a few more reveals on us today to brighten our spirits, including the rainbow-hued thingie they sneak-previewed in the March newsletter: it’s a Goffert named Crystalline!

I actually… really like this one. I was just thinking to myself last week that, other than the 2014 BreyerFest Celebration Model, I don’t actually have any Gofferts in the herd, and I’d like to remedy that. The colors remind me of Larkspurs and Delphiniums, flowers that I’ll be reintroducing to my garden once the weather warms up a bit more. (All of my previous ones have either died off, or spent themselves.)

They also “officially” announced the Winx portrait, on Emerson. The only surprise there is that they’re shipping by the end of this month. Since all the stores that would have her in stock are all closed as non-essential businesses until the end of April, I’ll just have to wait until May for the luxury of shopping for one in person.

And finally, the BreyerFest Saturday Raffle Model, Order of the Thistle:

Don’t get me wrong, he’s drop-dead gorgeous and if by some improbable bit of good fortune I win one he’ll be staying with me forever, but I continue to be amused by the lack of fuss being made about the mold choices this year. I am not quite sure how a Gold Champagne Tobiano Pinto Saddlebred on the Hamilton mold really fits into the theme here.

The only surprise is that most of us assumed that this mold was going to appear as a Store Special, not a Raffle model, because the only semi-reasonable way they could shoehorn a hot new mold into a theme it was unsuited for was as a portrait model of a guest horse or performer.

Nah, they decided to go the Woodford route: give an inappropriate mold a gorgeous paint job and a name that fits the theme, and call it a day.

Chesapeake, Part II

Originally I was going to write about the Chesapeake trip as I’ve done with all my previous trips: as an epic Odyssey where model horses are the treasures, conquests, and victories sought.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that that was the wrong approach: this trip was more about the experience, than any victories that would come along the way. Any models I acquired would be secondary. Completing the trip unharmed (physically, mentally, financially) was the only true victory I sought.

And find it, I did.

I did that by letting go: of expectations, of preconceived notions, of obsessively detailed to-do lists. Other than doing the things that I absolutely had to do ahead of time, I did very little to prepare for the trip.

It typically takes me a couple of months to get ready for BreyerFest, but for Chesapeake it basically took me an afternoon: a couple of phone calls, a trip to the bank, a trip to the dollar store for some snacks, and then toss some clothes (and my Jet Run) in a suitcase.

And I was off.

After taking Vita for a 45-minute walk, of course: she knew I was going on a trip, and demanded the last few minutes of my time before I left be all about her. After the walk – where she spent most of it glancing back at me and smiling that not at-all-innocent smile of hers – I gave her the carrot and the handful of marshmallows she usually demands in tribute, and then I was off.

Finally.

The drive itself was relatively uneventful, though a little bit slower than anticipated. I arrived in Pittsburgh about an hour later than I wanted, hitching a ride with a fellow hobbyist from there forward. It’s not very often that I have traveling companions for my horse trips, and I always forget how much fun – and how quickly the time flies! – when I have someone to talk horses with.

We arrived at the hotel sometime around 9:30 p.m., and settled in to our respective rooms for the night.

We were a little disconcerted the following morning at check-in, when we received our event packets and discovered that they did it to us again: there was another 144-piece run among the Special Runs being offered on Sunday, a Palomino Pinto Goffert named Mason. Oh goodness, not again, I thought…

The selections that were offered – outside of the Fell Pony Black-eyed Susan, that I think everyone was sort of expecting – did seem rather odd too, especially for the nature of the event. Three Pinto Drafts, a Pony and a Missouri Fox Trotter?

We were visiting the Fair Hill Training Center and the Fair Hill International: I was kind of hoping for at least one Warmblood or Thoroughbred in the bunch, aside from the Chesapeake model herself, and the little G3 Thoroughbred Cecil we had just received.

Like everything else on the trip, I decided to let go of my trepidations about the models and just go with it. I liked Mason better than last year’s Four Stars, and since I have found almost all my other Gofferts wanting in some way (and sent them to other homes), coming home with this one wouldn’t have been a heartbreaker.

It wasn’t about the models, it was about the journey, right?

And for the inevitable second Goffert that was probably in my future? Well, I did have an upcoming dental appointment I could pay off with it, I guess… though I really did hope I could at least get the Fell Pony. She might have been the plainest – and most “common” of the bunch after Mason – but the heart wants what the heart wants, you know?

I’d worry about it when the time came. Turns out that like everything else on this trip, I didn’t have to worry about it at all, but we’ll get to that next time…

Chesapeake, Part I

I’m still mentally – and physically – unpacking from last weekend, and with my work schedule it’ll probably be a few more days still before both tasks are anywhere near completed. As will be the full trip report, as well; but in the meantime, here’s what I brought home:

I was actually the second in line in my ticket time, so unlike the last Event, I found myself with the enviable option of being able to get whatever I wanted…

… and I chose the models that I liked (the Fell Pony, and the Fox Trotter) instead of the ones that would be easiest and quickest to resell (the Bell-bottomed Shire and the Brishen). Technically I did buy the Brishen, but I did it to help out one of my roommates who would have been just out of purchasing distance of him, and we swapped later.

Because I fully expected and planned on getting one or two of the high piece run item (again) I now find myself in the position of having to decide what else to sell to make up the small financial shortfall that came with actually getting what I wanted.

(Whatever I decide will probably go up on MH$P, as my schedule allows.)

I was still bummed that Reeves obviously didn’t learn its lesson from last time regarding the Four Stars: a significant number of attendees (up to one-third!) should not be put in a position of having no choice at all in their selection of Special Runs.

It was mitigated a little bit this year, in that apparently 24 of the 144 piece run Goffert Masons are Geldings rather than Stallions – an (allegedly?) unplanned for mold variation.

If they insist on doing another larger run again, they really need to do something along that line to soften the blow: gloss half the run, have some variability in the color or markings, or include a mold variation of some sort (hair or gender).

That way even if you have to get two, one of them still might be a rare kind of wonderful. And there’s the possibility that – if existence of a surprise is made known ahead of time – more people near the front of the line might be tempted to take a chance on it, and thus move and improve the selection down the line.

For what it’s worth, I actually liked the Mason. I’ve bought several Gofferts in the past, yet all but my Celebration models have consequently been found wanting, and sold. I am not sure that would have been the case here.

The next Event is in the Spring of 2018; it’s too early to tell if I am going, or if I can go, but I’ll cover that in the actual trip report.

And I would be remiss to not call out the awesome team of fellow hobbyists that helped make this trip possible and wonderful: Erin, Marcy, Ellen and Jennifer!

Gone Goofy for Goffert

First, I noticed that a custom I’ve been tinkering with for over a year had started oozing. Then I broke one of my more recently acquired Hagen-Renaker miniatures. Then I get the e-mail from Reeves about Yet Another Special Run - this time, "Kashmir" from the Big Cat Series.

The little cartoon sign above my head that reads TILT finally went off. I spent the rest of the evening working on an abandoned beaded flower project I found in the basement. Horses? What horses?

Anyway, I find the Kashmir most curious. The initial piece in the Big Cat series, the Smarty Jones Kimbia, received a rather cool response. I don’t think many of us would have been shocked if the series had been scrapped or drastically scaled back; there was enough of a delay between the Kimbia and Kashmir to make it seem likely.

What I find even more curious about the Kashmir is the fact that it is the third Special Run on the Goffert mold this year. While it is not at all unusual for a mold to have multiple releases in a given year, they are usually either part of a set or series. In the 1950s through most of the 1970s, many Regular Runs were offered in multiple colorways. (Family Arabians, anyone?) In the 1980s and early 1990s, a lot of Special Runs came in sets of multiple colors, either simultaneously or in sequence. In more recent years, we’ve had the Treasure Hunt, Gambler’s Choice and Surprise models.

In the Goffert’s case, the SRs are from three completely unrelated series: a BreyerFest Celebration Horse, a Brick-and-Mortar Halloween Horse, and a Web Special. This is not unheard of, but definitely a little odd. That must have been some crazy kind of Product Development meeting they had early this year. ("It’s almost time for lunch - let’s just make all the remaining releases on the list Gofferts and call it a day. Who’s up for Chinese?")

Speaking of Product Development, I ran across some interesting commentary online about the Night Mare and the Flagship Store Special Sahran, on the Ashquar mold that deserves some clarification.

First, yes, it is true that Reeves lurks on sites looking for ideas and suggestions. Sometimes they even ask for them, in private or by proxy. However, these ideas and suggestions are very rarely translated into immediate action. You don’t go from zero to Production Run in a week or two, unless it’s a really small piece run and it’s made in the U.S. (The Vault Sale Bull "Colton" comes to mind here.)

Typically it takes months - and in the case of an event like BreyerFest, up to a year - for a model to go from concept to reality. Sometimes little tweaks are made during the production process - let’s make half the run glossy! - but big changes are rare.

When we talk about wanting a certain model in a certain color, and it becomes a reality a week or a month later, it’s certainly not a coincidence. But it’s more a matter that both hobbyists and Reeves are operating in the same environment online, simmering in the same cauldron of ideas and inspirations. We think our ideas are uniquely our own, but chances are, someone else is thinking along the same lines. (For me, it’s a numbers game: I make a lot of suggestions. The more you make, the more likely one of them is going to become reality.)

Anyway, back to the Gofferts. The Kashmir is interesting - I like him more than the Kimbia, but I am tapped out financially. I can wait on him if I have to.

If I happen to run across the Halloween Goffert, named Night Mare, she’ll definitely be coming home with me somehow. You already know I love glow-in-the-dark things, and as a "night person" of Hungarian ancestry, I am totally down with the vampire imagery.

Toe Exams

I promised myself that I wouldn’t do anything halfway at BreyerFest this year, and I apparently lived up to it in every sense of the word: all the medical professionals I met this week were very impressed with the extent of my foot injury.

Due to those various appointments, the plan for multiple posts this week didn’t work out, obviously. Today was the first day this week I didn’t have to go anywhere or do anything, other than unpack the car - at last!

First, does anyone need a few extra Anniversary blankets? They seem to have stuffed all my Sales Tent bags full of them. I did toss a few into my free box, but I still ended up with eight of them total. I’ll keep two - one for each of my Gootzy-Tootzies  - but the other six are free for postage.

I did get one of each of the Boxed and Bubblewrapped Gootzies - I had two tickets, and they offered both - and my cursory examination didn’t reveal any significant paint differences between them. The Gloss on them - on all the Gloss models I saw at BreyerFest this year - is deep, thick and wonderful. Reeves had been having some issues with their Gloss Finishes lately, so it’s nice to see that they had been working to resolve them.

(A-ha! THAT’s what that really neat Super Glossy Black Appaloosa Proud Arabian Stallion in the auction was about!)

It almost makes up for the lack of extra detailing we were all hoping for: his eyes are nicely painted and the base is silver, but there are no dapples, no undershading, no sparkles to be seen. His Gloss Finish is so nicely done, though, that I consider him a more than adequate representative of the mold in my collection. (I’ve had others before, but I’ve let them all go.)

Originally I was going to just keep the boxed one (with the documentation, naturally) but I just took a second look at the VIN numbers, and there is one subtle difference between the two. My Boxed Gootzy is dated April - but the Bubblewrapped one is dated June! That’s what another toe exam gets me, more trouble….

If I do decide to let the Bubblewrapped one go, I don’t think I’ll have much of an issue selling him. All the Gofferts we had for sale in our room - except for an original Goffert - sold briskly, and generally for asking price. (The original Goffert had a lot of lookers, too, so I think it was just a matter of time with him.) He may not be a super-popular model in certain segments of the hobby, but casual collectors and younger hobbyists can’t get enough of him.

And as I (and others) have said before, if you really can’t get rid of your extras within the hobby, donate them to charity. Spread that Breyer love! And just imagine how lucky some little kid will feel to get a Shiny Black Horse as a gift. I certainly wouldn’t have turned him down.

Extreme!

If there’s some sort of merit badge for driving in extreme conditions, I totally earned one this week. The new vehicle arrived today; I was supposed to pick it up on Tuesday, but the weather and my schedule conspired against me. More about the car another day, when I actually have time to say something meaningful and coherent about it.

(Yes, he does have a name.)

As expected, they dropped the preliminary information for BreyerFest this week; the Guest Horse is a Friesian shown by Carson Kressley, named Gooitzen fan Teakesyl. On the Goffert mold.

From the comments being bantered about on the Breyer Facebook page, you’d swear Reeves had dropped a Baby Ruth into the proverbial swimming pool. 

I don’t have a problem with this model at all; I’ve been wanting a Goffert for the herd for some time. The paint job on the original release was a bit plain - one that let the sculpting do the work of the paint job, basically - and none of the subsequent releases have really captured my heart enough to keep them.

I really, really liked the Christmas Horse release a few years back, the one in a pearly Cream color, but I’ve been a wee bit hesitant to buy any of the models in that series. That tends to lead to me wanting to buy up the entire series, and I just can’t do that. (If I had ever found one in the Sample boxes of NPOD though, that might be a bit different.)

Besides, Black isn’t always Black, especially nowadays. Aside from the model probably being matte, having gray hooves, and a silvery base, there are a host of other details that could make this release as different from the original Goffert as the Smart and Shiney was from the Big Chex to Cash.

Just a few of these include: handpainted tri-colored eyes, additional facial detailing, horseshoes, point slightly darker than the body color, dappling, and a lighter and differently colored base coat (like the original release of the Traditional Moody Andalusian).

In fact, a preliminary look-see of the photograph of the Sample horse seems to show some light dappling and possibly some brown undertones.

Aside from the contests, which don’t look all that interesting to me, I’m kinda liking the stuff they have planned so far, especially the guests. Friesians, Carson Kressley, Icelandics, and Jousting? No complaints!

In terms of additional Special Run announcements, the presence of the Knights of Iceland means that there’s going to be at least one Icelandic release. I wonder if that means we’ll be seeing a Special Run on the Porcelain Moody Icelandic Horse? I would not mind that in the least, either - in porcelain, or plastic.

I only just skimmed the comments on Blab on Facebook to confirm that the usual commentary is going on. ("I am extremely disappointed!" "More money for me to spend at the hotel." "Totally dropped the ball on this one."  Etc.) Predictable, but also oddly comforting, especially during this most unpredictable part of the year for me.

Back to work, again.

Magnus

The extra special secret ingredient to the Father’s Day Web Special Clydesdale, Magnus? He’s Chalky. Didn’t see that one coming.

Darn you Reeves, darn you all to heck.

(Actually, the first word out of my mouth when I read the e-mail actually rhymed with "custards". As this is an all-ages blog, feel free to fill in the blanks with your cuss word of choice.)

He’s glossy too, which certainly doesn’t hurt. There aren’t a whole lot of vintage Glossy Chalkies of any stripe floating around: the Gloss Finish was mostly discontinued by the heyday of the Chalky Era of the 1970s. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are the Brahma Bull and that small batch (five pieces) of Dapple Gray Shires.

There are some earlier Gloss Chalkies - the Walking Horned Hereford and the Bay Old Mold Mares and Foals being the most "common" of these, relatively speaking. Common the same way the "Full Rough" Walking Polled Hereford is compared to the "Poodle Cut" version, I mean.

The reaction among the chattering classes seems to be fairly muted, which probably means my odds of winning one aren't great. I don’t know if I’m some sort of statistical anomaly or in the possession of a really lame superpower, but the better the odds, the less likely I am to win something. (You know those really awkward drawings where there are more winners than losers - you know, 75 prizes and 100 entrants? Always one of the losers. Always.)

I already "won" something else a few days ago that I think will make up for next week’s potential disappointment. I won’t know for sure until it arrives later in the week.

They also released the remainder of last year’s Store Special "Dusty" as a Collector’s Club Special Offer. He didn’t light the model horse world on fire last year, and he’s not doing it this year on the Internet - so much so that Reeves took the "pieces remaining" ticker off his listing, ‘cause the lackadaisical pace of sales was kinda sad.

As I’ve said before, I don’t think the same thing’s going to happen with this year’s Store Special Taskin: a Draft Horse, on a more popular mold, in a more interesting (and better executed?) color. I didn’t bother with Dusty last year, but I am seriously considering Taskin, depending on what he looks like in person. (He wasn’t among the pieces on display at Equine Affaire, if I recall correctly. Odd.)

I have to do some actual, real-world housekeeping today, so that’s all for today, folks.

British Flavoured

Spent some time yesterday poking the underbelly of the Breyer web site - the legal way, via the links, tabs and buttons.

I’d consider myself a fairly adept user - I even took some classes, back in the day, when I had delusions of being a webmaster. Even though I haven’t done much in that department since then, I still find myself obsessing over the structure of every web site I visit. If I get annoyed enough, I’ll even start sketching out - on paper, or even just in my head - how I’d reconfigure it.

I wasn’t super-impressed with the Breyer web site before, but now that I’ve spent some time wandering around the place, I think it annoys me more than almost any other site I visit on a regular basis. There’s too much "fluff" getting in the way of the "stuff". Fooey!

Rather than discuss how I’d completely restructure it, let’s discuss the BreyerFest material, which was my original reason for visiting the site.

I am not as upset as many are about the lack of true "Britishness" regarding the Celebration Horse "Mariah’s Boon", and the Store Special "Taskin". They are, if not true British breeds, at least British-flavoured.

I am as mystified as everyone else over the Early Bird Special: a Stretched Morgan mold, in Liver Chestnut? That’s one peculiar choice for a British-themed BreyerFest. Aren’t Morgans like the quintessential American breed? Kind of wondering how they’ll spin that one. (As a product of "New" England? Maybe? Whatever.)

"Bennington" seems a little blah from the picture, but that’s probably more the photographer’s fault than the horse. I certainly wouldn’t complain if I won one.

The dapply-dun-silver-whatever that is the SR Cigar "Aintree" is beautiful, but my preference between the two now public Tent SRs is the British White Bull "Bowland", on the Charolais Bull mold. I’ve wanted a British White for years, so that one’s a no-brainer for me. There’s at least one other Tent SR that’s on my must-have list, but since the photos haven’t officially been made public yet, I’ll have to continue refraining comment. (HINT: I kinda-sorta gave you a clue the last time I talked about them.)

I’m running way short of time today (work + driveway shoveling) so I’ll finish up the BreyerFest 2012 discussion tomorrow.

Betting on the Ponies

I’ve had a lot of "Where am I? What day is it?" moments this week: I’ve essentially either been at work, or asleep, since 3 a.m. Tuesday. (Don’t ask.) Mercifully, I have this evening off, though I plan on spending most of it catching a few more snores before starting it all over again at 3 a.m. tomorrow.

(Blast these early assignments!)

It appears that the Taskin model is going to be a Store Special, after all. I haven’t followed up on the links though, to confirm, so take it with a grain of salt. No confirmation on the piece count, from what I’ve seen, but I expect it to be in the 500-750 range. The most recent Store Specials were 750 pieces, but the Dusty didn’t sell all that well, so 500 pieces wouldn’t be out of the question either.

I haven’t given much time or thought to BreyerFest, otherwise. It is about that time of year when they start peppering us with the PR though, isn’t it? I’m curious to see how they handle this in the post-JAH era. Since I’ll be on this work routine for the next couple of weeks, you guys will probably get the scoop on the latest BF news well before I do.

From what I can see, most of the current BreyerFest speculation seems to be focusing on potential pony-based SRs. A Bouncer is a no-brainer, and the 2004 XMAS SR Highland Pony Piper also a very distinct possibility, especially as the designated "Nonplastic" release.

I know there’s a lot of "hatin’" concerning the Traditional Hackney mold, but I wouldn’t rule him out as a possible mixed/crossbred pony, to compensate for his chunkiness. Most of us would prefer a new plastic Hackney, it’s true, but I think it’s more likely we’ll see one as a new resin in the "Breeds of the World" series, if at all.

(Did you know that the H-R Brookside Stella was among the molds considered for release by Breyer, back in the 1970s? I’m assuming the technical challenges posed by the mold put her out of contention. But oh, if only…)

I wouldn’t object to an SR of the original old Shetland, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they didn’t. No disrespect intended towards the Shetland Pony mold, but I think we’re long overdue for a new mold Shetland, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one shows up in the very near future. BreyerFest? Maybe.

If it’s not, I’m hoping it’s a Dales Pony. There’s a chance they could take the cheap and easy route, and just slap an appropriate paint job on the Piper mold, but I’m really hoping the fact that they specifically name dropped the Dales in the BreyerFest writeup in the last issue of JAH means a new mold is in the works.

You have no idea how much this idea excites me: I don’t know what it is, but I just love Dales Ponies! They most closely approximate my image of the ideal pony: sturdy, sensible, versatile, a little on the big side, a bit shaggy (but not excessively so), who also cleans up well if need be.

If I were a nonclumsy Nonplastics collector, I’d have an entire army of Hadrians.

Getting late (relatively speaking.) Time for bed.

A Draft of Champagne

Okay, now this is getting ridiculous. My next grail search didn’t even last the weekend.

Dang, I’m gonna have to start dreaming bigger. I’m not a gambling person, at all, but the next time a friend or coworker asks me if I want to go to the casino, I’m taking them up on the offer.

(You’ll have to wait a little longer than a weekend, however, before you find out who this latest grail was. He ain’t here yet, anyway.)

In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a picture of the possible BreyerFest Store Special for this year: a champagne buckskin Goffert!

http://www.villavanners.com/welcome.htm

I say possible because the wording on the web site about it is open to interpretation:

Villa Vanners is proud to announce that Taskin has been chosen to be a limited edition Breyer model. He will be appearing at Breyerfest British Invasion next July.

He could just as easily be a Line Special, Web Special, or even a Mid-Year, based on that description.

If he really is going to be the Store Special, he’ll definitely go over better than last year’s bland little Dusty. A big, fluffy draft horse in an unusual color? Duh. If he looks as promising as he sounds, I might even get one myself.

The usual suspects are making the usual grumping and harumping noises (Gypsy Vanners are a scam! It’s not a British Breed! I hate Goffert!), but one of my New Year’s resolutions is to pay less attention to the negativity in the hobby, and in life in general. I’m not going to turn into a Pollyanna by any means, but good grief, some of the stuff I’ve been seeing in the model horse community over the past month or so is enough to make me consider joining a religious order.

(What’s up with everyone wanting to sue everyone else, all of a sudden?)

Sometimes a pretty horsie is just a pretty horsie. Nothing wrong with that.

I already made some changes to my diet and lifestyle last month, so I’m thinking about something a little more nebulous in the resolution department. I liked the discipline I developed during NaNoWriMo, so I might apply the same working regimen to other unfinished business here. (Quilting and sewing this month, I think.)

I’ll also like to take a bit of a mental breather from the horse stuff. It’s not going to affect anything here; it’s more a matter of slightly refocusing and compartmentalizing, creating a space my personal life where the horses need not intrude.

Sometimes it’s good to get away from the horses once and a while, too.

BreyerFest 2010 Wrapup

An unremarkable day at the flea market this Sunday: quite a few vintage Hartlands, a smattering of Breyer bodies, and some common H-R minis. All I really bought was some old paper - vintage craft magazines, and a huge stack of early NASA promotional brochures, ca. 1958-1964. Astronomy and early space flight are another minor interest of mine; I don’t go out of my way to collect any of that stuff per se, but I pick it up if I find it. The graphics tend to be quite beautiful, too, including this little gem:


Speaking of paper, I’m almost finished sorting out my BreyerFest ephemera finds - I sort of had to, considering that Evil has finally figured out how stairs work, and my office doesn’t have a door. ("No honey, Escondido is NOT a chew toy!") I’ll probably be posting a few things on MH$P soon, including a small number of late 1970s-early 1980s Dealer Catalogs. (Managed to do a little upgrading!)

Just a few more thoughts on this year’s BreyerFest, before I resume the straight up history-talking again.

There were some minor improvements - the Bag Check line and Store Special limits, for example - but overall, BreyerFest this year seemed more disorganized that average. Was it a change in personnel, a result of restrictions imposed by the park because of the WEG, or some unknown financial considerations that threw everything off kilter?

As always, I found the judging for the Custom Contest - the "Look-A-Like" Contest, this year - baffling. Looking at the entries left on the table, and comparing them to the winners, didn’t make much sense to me. I was relieved to overhear that I wasn’t the only one who thought that way. Hey, I knew my entry was a bit of a long shot - a Classic Foal painted metallic black, mounted on a base with a PhotoShopped poster of "The Maltese Foalcon" - but all the ones I thought were legitimate contenders also went unplaced. (Lest you think it sour grapes, I found 2009’s winners equally mystifying, and I didn’t even manage to muster an entry that year.)


The Costume Contest could have been handled much, much better, too. Some of the chaos surrounding that event was due to the short notice, but there was no excuse making everyone wait … and wait … and wait around for judging to begin. And then making us parade around the ring, after telling us we’d have a "red carpet" to walk on. And then not announcing the winners until after the raffle, after most of the audience had left for dinner or the hotel. It takes a little of the excitement of winning away when most of your audience disappears. (Isn’t playing to the audience sort of the whole point of dressing up like a celebrity?)

The way food was handled this year was also an issue for me. There was no opening night reception at the HIN on Thursday, and only a smattering of snacks - cookies, lemonade, popcorn - Saturday night. Served on the floor of the Covered Arena. (Seriously?) I know there have been issues with the food in the past; I haven’t had many complaints about it, but I’m evidently not the gourmand everyone else in the hobby thinks they are.

(Lest you think I was raised with an unrefined palate, my Mother’s main creative outlet is gourmet cooking; she has as many - if not more - binders of clipped recipes as I have of reference materials. She knows how to use ‘em, too. On the menu today: Chicken Cacciatore!)

I had no significant condition issues with my Tent Ticket models, other than slightly bent legs on my Child Star/Stage Mom set. It would have been nice if we had had the opportunity to look at the selections Thursday night; that’s when I usually make my final selections. The uncertainty was unnerving.

I briefly considered going with the Color Change Huck Technicolor, but opted for my original second choice instead, which was the Red Carpet Royalty Goffert. His subtly dappled paint job would have won him greater acclaim - and better sales - if he had had a chance to show off the night before, I think.

I was not pleased at the number of people who were obviously buying the Giselle/Gilen set to customize. What, you can’t wait for a more reasonably priced, and less collectible version to come out in a few months? Yeesh. That sort of thing always leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially when the models being customized are already limited, and in high demand. It feels like a thumb in the nose of us mere OF collectors, y’know?

Loved the Volunteer Model this year, an iridescent red chestnut Missouri Fox Trotter. A favorite color, on a favorite mold? That one's gonna hurt for a while.

Next year’s reservation’s been made; I’m a little uncertain about next years theme of "Fairytails:" I’m in the minority when it comes to the frou-frou princess-y Unicorn and Pegasus thing. (Am I the only one in the world who wasn’t all that excited about the Dragon Horse Merlin Raffle a few years ago?)