More Ponies, More Problems

Sorry about my unexpected absence; it looks like I’ll be working Sundays through most of November, so my posting schedule is going to get really, really weird for the next month or so. 

I can’t argue about the money, though. And with the extra money comes extra ponies. 

First up, I’ve finally managed to go to a couple different Tractor Supply Stores and now I’ve seen all the Special Runs, except for the Blind Bags that I am going to pretend don’t even really exist, because I don’t think I’ll ever see them in the wild. 

I was actually quite tempted by the Christmas Horse Artic Grandeur; color-wise, he reminded me quite a bit of the BreyerFest Raffle Model North Star. But I haven’t made it a habit of buying the Christmas Horses – even the ones I really like, like Winter Wonderland – so I may pass on him just because, unless there happens to be any leftover on clearance after the holidays. 

Which is unlikely, but you know.

I did secure all three of the new Unicorn Foal Surprise sets, which I am sure are either an open stock end-of-year Store Special, or an early release for next year. Doesn’t matter to me, I just think they’re pretty and I wanted them. I think my favorite set is the one with the Prince Charming in it: the mold looks wonderful in Pearly Lavender:

The Mini Carrick in this set is also very nicely shaded, though I do wonder what’s up with issuing him in umpteen shades of blue. Don’t get me wrong, I love blue, but cripes….

I also purchased a Diadem and Alcor:

I’ve had a couple of Sucesion and LeFire sets, but none currently, but for some reason I found this set particularly appealing. It also reminds me that I probably should light a fire under my behind and get some craft projects done; I have a Grazing Mare and Foal in my body box that I need to “unicornize” eventually. 

Some of those Canadian Walmart Blind Bags are also on my way; I have no illusions that I’ll be able to score any of the chase pieces to complete my set, but I figure they’ll be scarce enough that the inevitable duplicates shouldn’t be difficult to sell off, whenever I’m able to find the time to actually sell things again.

But not too scarce: this is/was a planned Walmart Special Run item, and Walmart never buys small. They will be scarcer than other Walmart Special Run Stablemates in comparison, though, since there will not be any subsequent reorders or restocks. 

And finally, here’s my Dahlia:

I figured I’d be getting the Champagne. I don’t get Glosses, so the Pintaloosa was out. I don’t usually get the Blue one, when Blue is an option, so the Ocean Blue was out. From the ones I had seen online, I had decided that Chestnut Splash was my favorite of the four: not every mold looks good in Splash (see Troubadour) but the Connemara Pony is definitely one of them. 

All that being said, this is the first official Breyer “Champagne” that I’ve found convincing; all of the others have been too peachy-pink for my tastes. 

Busy News Day

I spent most of Friday sleeping (deservedly!) And the rest of it catching up on the news. Quite a bit apparently happened this week while I was gallivanting around. (Not just model horse-wise, either: the President was in town, and I had no idea! Oh, so that’s why the freeway was shut down. Duh.)

First off, they apparently did change the rules a bit in the Children/Youth Show at BreyerFest - making some of the awards Regular Run models, and not those coveted-beyond-reason Glossies. This is supposed to minimize the temptation to cheat, but on the flip side, it also makes those particular Glossies that are being awarded more rare, and more coveted.

In other words, I think it’ll be a wash as far as remedying the bad behavior. It appears that this change may have come about as a result of the brouhaha over the BreyerWest prizes last year, though some folks at Reeves may be being a little disingenuous about not knowing about the quality and quantity of less-than-ethical goings on at the BreyerFest shows.

(Per the discussion on Blab, which I won’t link to since it’s in a paid section of the site.)

Second, there’s another Web Special coming up this week, for Mother’s Day, called (presumably, from the original e-mail) A Mother’s Love. From the sneak peek photo on the Breyer web site, it’s quite obviously a Flaxen Chestnut Sucesion and Le Fire set, most recently seen in the screen saver they were giving away on the Breyer web site a week or so back.

I’d love to have it, naturally, since other Sucesion and Le Fire sets are insanely expensive and hard to come by nowadays. Since I only seem to get drawn for things when I don’t have the cash to spare, and I will be somewhat flush by the end of the week, my odds probably aren’t all that good.

And finally, there’s news of not one, but two new molds of the dressage horse Totilas, both by Brigitte Eberl. One’s a Traditional, and the other’s going to be done in that five-inch "Breeds of the World" scale that Reeves seems pretty intent on expanding. (There was a Clydesdale previewed at Equine Affaire that’s also going to be a part of that scale/series.)

No pictures of the little resin were offered up, but the pics of the Traditional on the web site look very promising. Some hobbyists are a little concerned because they see it as a tacit endorsement of rollkur. I have to admit it does trouble me a little bit, but I’ve already zoned out of that discussion, since it now appears to have descended into a game of "I hate this abusive training practice even more than YOU do."

Discussions like that, no matter how well meaning, never end well.

Just A Thing

That was not one of my better weeks. I’ve spent most of today catching up on sleep, and finishing everything I started - and couldn’t finish - during the week. It’s also been cold, wet, and it just turned October. Not exactly conducive to my motivation.

It has come to my attention that the Susecion and Le Fire molds are now something of A Thing: pricey, in demand, and generally pretty hard to get. I hadn’t noticed before because I already had one nice set - the QVC Palominos from 2002 - and hadn’t been in the market for others:


Picked them up for a good price at the flea market a few years back. Not minty-mint, but good enough; I missed out on most of the 2002 QVC Special Runs back when they were released, and I wasn’t about to pay "retail" for them. A couple of small rubs, I can live with.

I had thought the prices on that particular set were just a reflection of the relative scarcity of a lot of the 2002 QVC SRs. Many of them weren’t well publicized, and the piece counts were fairly low (for back then.) Some of them you hardly ever see for sale now; the re-release of the Traditional Man o’ War immediately springs to mind.

Anyway, like I said, I hadn’t been in the market for a set, hence my not-noticing. I have nothing against the molds personally. I just don’t have the space for any more, and other molds have been deemed of higher priority.

Any mention them in certain circles, though, seems to inspire near-apoplectic fits of rage over their anatomical inadequacies (like the crazy face on the mare, and the muley ears on the foal). It’s a rage that seems a little out of proportion to whatever crimes against anatomy they seem to be committing. When I look at them, all I really notice is the tender moment of maternal intimacy.

As to what’s inspiring the high prices, in spite of the hobby’s general dismissal of these molds, I’m not entirely sure. It could be any number of factors - the rather small number of releases, the limited quantity of many of those releases, or the fact that the mold’s been out of circulation for a couple of years now.

I suspect that my initial reaction - the "Aw, that’s kind of sweet" - may be a big factor, too. Nothing sells like cute and sweet. (Don’t be hiding your My Little Ponies in the closet. I know they’re there.)

It could be that it’s "just a thing": all of a sudden something that wasn’t particular popular or noteworthy before then becomes The Thing to have. It happens on eBay all the time. Remember when you could sell a Khemosabi for $100+? Or when there was that unexplainable run on Black Appaloosa Running Stallions? And let’s not forget those other hot items du jour: the original releases of Spirit and Rain.

For hobbyists who do happen to be in the market for a Sucesion and Le Fire set, my only advice to you is to wait it out. In another six months to a year, there might be (no, will be) some other Thing.