Shades of Grulla

First, Happy Star Wars Day to all those who celebrate. (Can you believe I work with a bunch of nonbelievers who have not seen a single movie? Fine, watch your yucky zombie fungus nonsense...)

Another hard pass: even though he’s still available as of me write this, I’m skipping on the Shelby completely. I bought something that was (a) cheaper, and (b) something I wanted more, and I figured I was done with shopping for the week.

Since I only really wanted the Grulla Appaloosa, I’d be better off acquiring one later than ordering one and only having a 33 percent chance of getting him. All the wheeling and dealing that would have to follow if I didn’t would also be super-annoying.

Part of the reason I decided that the Grulla Appaloosa was my jam was the similarity of the color to a vintage color that’s a particular favorite here at my ranch: Slate Gray!

First seen, very briefly, on the #191 Bucking Bronco in 1966, this color has only occasionally reappeared over the years, most notably on the Classic Arabian Foal in the Blister Card Assortment in the 1970s, and on the Bell-Bottomed Shire in the 1985 Special Run Set of 4 that also included the Black, Red Bay and the notorious Neon Yellow Palomino.

While it’s true that undappled Gray horses do exist and are not all that uncommon, I’ve often wondered if this color was – like so many other colors Breyer attempted in the 1960s – possibly a misinterpretation of another color.

The obvious choice here being Grulla.

The only flaw in this theory is that, in its heyday, they never really used it like Grulla. Aside from the Bucking Bronco itself, it’s been used on molds representing breed and breed types where Grullas either don’t exist, or are highly unlikely: not just the Shire and Arabian Foal mentioned above, but also Thoroughbreds, like the After School Herd release #259 Andrew, on the Classic Silky Sullivan.

And none of the earlier releases in this color had even a hint of a dorsal stripe, leg barring or darkly-pointed legs. They considered it a different flavor of Gray, and goshdarnit, they were going to use it that way!

They did toy with the idea of true Grullas in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with released like the 1989 Quarter Horse Gelding Silver, the 1992 Classic Mustang Family Foal, and even the Bucking Bronco himself in 1988. But they didn’t get it “right”, in my opinion, until the release of the Quarter Horse Gelding Splash in 1998. 

And that paint job, not coincidentally, bears a lot of similarity to the original Slate Gray, though gussied up just a bit.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I consider vintage Gray Appaloosas (the Fighting Stallion, Family Arabians, the Hess Stock Horse Family, and so on) another animal altogether: I assumed they were meant to be Blue Roan Semi-Leopard Appaloosas. 

Shelby

Apparently I was mistaken – Mignonette was Overall, not the Reserve in Mini! I’m so used to finishing second, I just naturally made the assumption…

As for what this forbodes for BreyerFest Live? Probably nothing. I’ve heard enough crazy stories about what happens there that I’m not going to take anything for granted, other than having a good time with my friends. I’ll take my best horses, document the heck out of everything, try not to miss any classes, and see what happens.

(Though if I do end up with a bunch of seconds and thirds, I’m not going to lie: that’s going to be super-duper aggravating.)

This year’s Spring Gambler’s Choice is something different: it’s not a Classic mold, and it’s something that’s already had a Gambler’s Choice released on it!

I like Shelby – especially the Grulla Appaloosa one – but do I love him enough to get one? I’m not so sure yet. I’m still in a Vintage kind of mood, and as much as I love the catlike dynamism of the Nokota Horse mold, he does take up a lot of space on the shelf.

The Nokota Horse mold is rather oddly shaped: he does not fit easily into a rectangular box like most Breyer models do. That’s why he’s had a larger-than-average number of Special Run releases in non-standard packaging: things like BreyerFest Special Runs, Mail-Order Specials, and Exclusive Event models. 

So his selection here makes some sort of sense. He is a moderately popular model, but his last realistic, non-Decorator release was the Exclusive Event Phantom Face in 2018; a more widely available release was the 2016 Flagship Store Special Toro in 2016. 

As for the April Fool’s joke Nokota, I wouldn’t necessarily rule out another appearance: the Decorator Khemosabis ended up as a Silent Auction lot at BreyerFest later that same year. And they’ve already made at least one other actual Roached Mane version of the mold (for last year’s BreyerFest Benefit Auction), so them testing the waters a little more with another auction piece does not seem implausible.

Like the Polo Pony version of the Smarty Jones mold, though, I’m not going to count on a more widely available version of him showing up anytime soon. 

Rushmore Zippo

Wow, there’s been a lot of Breyer activity the past few days! Let’s just focus on the one that’s most interesting to me – the latest Test Color Purchase Raffle, a Dappled Bay Roan Zippo Pine Bar:

Often it’s hard to see why a Test Color was done; in many instances, there was no specific goal in mind, other than experimentation for experimentation’s sake. But in the case of this Zippo (as with the previous Flaxen Chestnut Stud Spider) it’s clearly the antecedent to a specific production run: the BreyerFest 2007 Special Run Rushmore, on the Smarty Jones mold.

The web site’s copy about it being “one of the tests that inspired the Burbank Nakota Appaloosa model for the Velvet Rope Collector Event in 2008” was clearly written by someone with only a passing familiarity with Breyer History.

Yes, it’s technically correct, but it is more obviously and directly connected to the BreyerFest Special Run than the Burbank. Except for the absence of the snip, he’s a near-exact match, and came out the year before!

In fact, him being the clear ancestor of the Rushmore is a big reason why I want him in the first place.  All Test Colors are awesome, but I reserve a special place in my heart for Test Colors that obviously led to widely-available (1000+ piece) Production Run items.

Another plus: if I do win him (unlikely, but still a tiny possibility) it won’t be difficult to get a matching Rushmore; barring a lottery-level miracle, a Burbank will never happen for me.

And also I would like to give a big, gigantic “ARGH” to the misspelling of Nokota, which is one of my biggest pedantic hobby pet peeves, right up there with “hobbiest”, “filagree” and “defiantly” (for definitely).

But to end on a slightly more cheerful note….

One really fascinating thing about the Zippo Pine Bar mold: did you know he was designed to be an “easy” model to mold? There are no undercuts that require special gating or tooling, and no special add-ons or take-aways that could complicate the molding process.

The simpler the mold, the cheaper it is to produce. Having a mold like that around helps mitigate the cost of some of the more flamboyant or labor-intensive molds.

Animal Print Decorators

I love Okapis, so I kind of dig the premiere model in the Wild Animal Series, Kehinde:

The Wildlife Animal Series is an obvious replacement to the annually-released Big Cat Series, which had run its course – and out of “Big Cats” to depict (even though it’s technically not a “Big Cat”, I was kind of hoping they’d manage to work a Caracal into the mix.)

Like the Big Cats Series, which was inspired by the 2012 Passage to the Pacific Stablemate Hear Me Roar, the kernel of the idea for the Wild Animal Series was undoubtedly another Exclusive Event model, the 2011 Sunshine Celebration Everglades on the Nokota Horse mold.

I thought he was kind of neat, but he was definitely a polarizing release: either you loved him, or you hated him. Another animal-themed Traditional release a year later, the Passage to the Pacific’s Fighting Stallion Star of India, left me cold. I liked the general concept, and wanted to love the model, but the execution just didn’t work for me at all.

I am assuming that, like the Big Cat Series, this new series will be an annual one, with releases timed for early Fall. The theme is sufficiently vague enough to allow for a wide range of releases: pretty much any animal print you can think of, from birds to snakes to fish…

… though it seems pretty obvious (or should be) that the next release should/will be a Giraffe on the Forever Saige mold. Technically her neck isn’t as long or out of proportion as a lot of people say it is, but the pose itself is very giraffe-like, so I wouldn’t necessarily object.

Though I’d love to see a Blue Jay-themed Silver/Pegasus, an Oryx on the Unicorn version of Yasmin (obviously!) or a Koi Fish anything.

Kehinde is a really unusual concept, well-executed, and I certainly wouldn’t mind adding one to my herd. Props to the designer Karen Williams for making me seriously want a release on a mold (the Clock Saddlebred) that I am not predisposed to liking in the first place!

But my office is still a mess and I still haven’t gotten around to finishing up my BreyerFest paperwork, so I am okay with not getting one: I am all about minimizing my workload this Fall. I will probably just put in my obligatory single entry and see what happens.

Chasing Phantoms

I swear I didn’t plan this with them, guys: the only reason Riddle is up on the BreyerFest Blog is to tease us into buying more/any tickets before the Early Bird deadline in April.

I do think Reeves is slowly coming to the realization that they probably made a mistake in not releasing Riddle as a bigger run at BreyerFest, judging from the positive online reaction.

Their initial calculations were rational and understandable: it’s a Vintage mold, not terribly realistic by modern standards, and he has the (gasp!) molded-on halter. But I think he would have made a really swell Pop-Up Store Special: still on the scarce and hard-to-obtain side, but not as unattainable as a 3-piece Early Bird Special.

Ah well, best not to give it much more thought. The Exclusive Event in Scottsdale, however…

Boy howdy, I really like the Special Run for this. Looking over the abundance of #98 Quarter Horse Geldings and #87 Mustang variations I’ve added to the herd in the past few years, it’s pretty obvious I have a thing for Bald-faced Buckskins. In my opinion, it’s an underappreciated Vintage colorway, often overlooked in favor of the flashier, glossier, or less realistic ones.

So a modern interpretation of this color on the Nokota Horse mold? Sign me up!

Or maybe not.

The Event Models for these Exclusive Events are among the easiest and most affordable Special Runs to attain. I don’t have to go to get one – and logically, the most sensible course of action for me would be to buy a Phantom Face second hand.

But that’s not how I like to do things. After all these years I still don’t have a Dr. Peaches – the first BreyerFest model – not because I can’t find or afford one, but because I didn’t attend that first BreyerFest.

For me, models are placeholders of memories, but there are no memories to attach to a Dr. Peaches – or I should say, the same category of memories as all the other BreyerFest models I was personally there to pick up. My collection of BreyerFest “Celebration” Models would be complete, but he would still feel out of place to me.

Anyway, the fact that they’ve gone back to a pair-only lottery system for this Event is also not helpful. Do you all need a reminder that my luck in getting drawn for things I want is not so good?

Many, many things are in flux for me right now; while everything is going to plan, more or less, throwing another logistical or financial monkey wrench into the works will not be helpful.

Yet, it’s two months away until the drawing itself. Lots of things could happen in two months.

I’ll give myself a few more weeks to get other, more pressing things done (I finished a memory box today, woo-hoo!) and consider my options then.

Well, That’s Inconvenient

I guess it’s a good thing that there hasn’t been much at the flea market recently? Other than some adorable maneki-neko banks I found on a dollar table last week:

I’ve always wanted one – I even attempted to sculpt one in my Pottery class in high school – and now I have an instant collection!

And judging from the Java, they do work! 

(Incidentally, if I ever manage to snag some distressed Breyer Kittens for customizing someday, a Maneki-neko custom is high on the list. Along with the Silver Filigree, a Pink Panther, a Chartreux, a Glow-in-the-Dark Halloween Kitty…)

The problem now becomes: do I sell him, or sell someone else? The extra money would come in handy, but I haven’t been winning a lot of Web Specials lately, and rumored existence of “black panthers” are a local urban legend that I am very fond of. 

The plan for now is to sell someone else in his stead. I was already doing some herd culling anyway, so it’s just a matter of adding an extra one or two to the sales list, whenever work finally lets up for a moment and lets me do it.

In other news, I spotted the Tractor Supply Specials today, too. I wasn’t as impressed with the Lakota Black Beauty as I thought I would be – they were well-executed, but they not metallic or shimmery enough for my tastes. Silly me was hoping for something more along the lines of the BreyerFest Smart n Shiney or El Pastor Prize Model Sona. 

I found the Jacy Geronimo much more appealing in person: he had flea bites! If I happen to see an especially pretty one in my travels, or on clearance (not likely, here!) I will definitely consider it.

They also had the Mystery Surprise Stablemate Blind Bags, the same assortment as Cracker Barrel, apparently (save for the TSC-standard VIN numbers on their bellies, I assume). After a couple minutes of groping I was able to determine that none of them were the Metallic Blue Arabian, so that saved me a trip back to my car to get my wallet... 

One model I did almost pull my wallet out for was a Hwin. I’ve been doing a lot of shopping on this release; I want one that’s either exceptionally light or dark, or distinctive in some way. This one was: she was very dark, and her dapples were so insanely unrealistic – perfectly round, and covering every inch of her body – that it bordered on Decorator territory. 

I’ll be in that part of town again on Saturday, and if she’s still there, I don’t think my willpower will hold. 

Java

Like a good chunk of the hobby, I am also in love with Java:

I was hoping that they’d get around to that color/pattern, eventually. The Nokota Horse mold is an inspired choice of mold, too. It really suits him!

I am a little surprised that they decided to do a fifth member of this series, since most Web Special series only have four releases, generally. But the “Big Cats” Series was already unusual in that it was (or became?) a “yearly” series, much like the Christmas Silver Filigrees.

Is it by design, or a consequence of the complexity of the paint jobs? A little of both, I am guessing.

As I have only one official account, and space issues, and I’m trying to generate funds for the two train wrecks in the garage, the likelihood of Java coming home with me is slim.

I will not be completely heartbroken, as I was also thinking of cutting back a bit on some of the bigger/bulkier/more spatially challenging molds, and the Nokota Horse definitely falls in that category. If I get selected for one, that means someone else might have to go.

It’s not a coincidence that we’ve seen the mold so often as a non-boxed Special Run – he’s been a BreyerFest Raffle Model three times, an Exclusive Event model three times, and a Surprise Model. While other Breyer boxes can be adapted/repurposed to fit multiple molds, I believe that the Nokota Horse’s box is uniquely his own. And therefore is more expensive to get printed.

Oddly, he’s only been a “Web Special” one other time, the 2011 Cyber Monday Decorator Fall in Love. I thought it was more than that!

I’m sure he won’t be difficult to find a Java in the aftermarket, the same way the Zion and Moab set was – for a price. (The sheer number of those I saw for sale was giving me painful flashbacks to Marshall, no joke.)

If I don’t “win” one, I won’t be seeking him out.

I don’t think I’ll be getting out of the next few weeks without buying something, however: rumor has it that the Brick and Mortar Special Markus will be hitting stores this coming week, and my work schedule will take me past a few participating venues. I cannot not see him....

Time, Timing, and Sparkles

In spite of my already overscheduled weekend, I went on a last-minute “wild horse chase” this morning. My sales list for BreyerFest is looking a little spare (no time to finish herd culling!) and I was hoping I could supplement it with a few bodies, at least.

There were no horses worth bringing back. The trip wasn’t a total loss – I did find exactly the vintage fabric I needed to finish off another old quilt project – but for the time. BreyerFest is coming up way too fast, and it really feels like I don’t have a moment to spare this year.

Speaking of impromptu road trips, I did manage to make a quick stop at one of the better stocked toy stores earlier this week on my way home from work, and finally manage to catch an up-close look at several of those new Translucent Patriot models that everyone’s going gaga over.

And… I’m still not all that impressed by it. It’s mostly the mold: it’s very hard for the Clock Saddlebred mold to impress me. The 2005 BreyerFest Raffle Dragon Horse Merlin was another extremely popular piece that left me wondering what the hubbub was about.

I wouldn’t have turned one down if I had won it, of course, but not-winning that year didn’t have the usual sting. (And it also came with a bit of relief, because me and somewhat delicate things made of resin don’t mix.)

I was hoping for a little more oomph on Patriot’s paint job, too: you could barely see the stars on the ones I got to examine. And there were no sparkles! The Horse Crazy Stablemates have ruined me for that.

The store also had a Toro – the Buckskin Appaloosa Nokota Horse Flagship Horse – and him, I liked. But since I need to be on this super-tight budget a few weeks more, I left that one behind too.

I also skipped out on the Vintage Club Blind Bag Drawing, in spite of the temptation of Glossy Kiowas. Aside from the lack of fun money being an issue, my luck has not been so good with winning random Glossies/goodies lately – whether it’s a super-limited (12 pieces?) Glossy Kiowa or one of the Decorator Running Stallion Sailors I don’t have.

Besides, I already have that Sample/Test Kiowa – the non-Chalky one with the acrylic handpainted markings, on a Warehouse body – that I found in the Ninja Pit couple years back, and I’m plenty happy with him. Two is company, three’s a crowd, right?

Let’s hope tomorrow’s road trip to the flea market is more productive than this morning, and last week. (The market was busy, but the pickings were slim for me.)

The Rare Ones?

All the blankets have been claimed; the first ones will be out the door Saturday morning. I would have gotten them out earlier, but the anti-inflammatory medication I am on for the busted foot has been totally pwning me the past few days. I am feeling much better today, though, and I have the weekend off to stay off my feet as much as I should!

Like many other hobbyists, I am skeptical about the final count numbers for the BreyerFest Pop the Cork Nokota Horses. Here are the official numbers straight from the Facebook page, for those of you who don’t venture there:

Pop the Cork – Special Run Surprise – 2700 total
711181 A - Palomino Pinto (720 Matte, 155 Glossy)
711181 B - Bay (660 Matte, 120 Glossy)
711181 C - Chestnut Pinto (540 Matte, 120 Glossy)
711181 D - Varnish Roan Appaloosa (240 Matte, 120 Glossy)
711181 E - Silver Charm - 25 pieces

Even though I only had two SR tickets, at one point or another I had each of the four colors in Matte Finish. I came home with the Appaloosa and the two Pintos ; I traded my Bay for the Appaloosa early on - not because I had heard it was the "Rare" one, but because Varnish Roan Appaloosas make me do that kind of thing.

I actually really, really liked my Bay - and if I had had a choice, it would have picked a Bay in Gloss. There was no luck this year on the Glosses for me - or any of the Rarities - which is what I expected to happen. I’ve had really good luck the past couple of years with the Surprises - including a Gloss, and a Low-Piece Run item - so figured it was about time for it to peter out.

(The only Rarity that made me wince just a tiny bit was the Silver Bear Set. But I’ll get to that another day.)

The rumor of the Appaloosa Nokota being the "Rare" one got started very early - what I was told was that it was announced at the Open Show? - but it was pretty obvious by the end of Friday that there were way more Appaloosas than you’d expect to see if they were truly The Rare Ones. The one I didn’t see at all on Friday was the Overo Pinto, whatever color it’s supposed to be. (The one listed as "C", above. I think it's Silver Bay, but I’ve seen it described as both Smutty Palomino and Flaxen Chestnut.) I didn’t see one until late Saturday morning at the Horse Park, when someone offered me one at cost - and I jumped at it!

The Model Horse Blab poll was very good at predicting which one was The Rare One last year (the Blue Roan Tovero Roxy), and this year’s results point to…the Overo. I did some quick and dirty surveys on eBay and it also seem to back up our suspicions: I see only half as many of the Overos compared to any other color, save the Silver Charms.

So either there’s some really strange sampling errors happening, or Reeves got their numbers wrong. Or what I think is most likely: they’re giving us the numbers for what they "ordered", but that’s not what the factory gave them. Maybe the Overo and the Appaloosa production quantities were switched? Everything comes wrapped in opaque bags, so it’s not like they’d be able to know when they open the boxes, either.

Just another mystery for history, I suppose. Fortunately for me, the only one that I need to find (again) is the Matte Bay, who doesn’t seem like he’ll be too hard to locate affordably. (Just not now - I need to sell some stuff STAT!) Not even going to think about the Glosses, unless some amazing trade deal gets tossed my way.

Rambling, Roan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When, Not If

My standard work procedures involve me pecking away at several small projects simultaneously, based on my levels of time, interest and energy, with the goal of finishing them all within a relatively narrow time frame. (That’s similar to how work works, too - we run multiple work flows with the intent of finishing them up around the same time.)

It doesn’t always work out, but it works out well enough most of the time that there’s little reason to change it.

Most of the time. Every once and a while I get into a fit and I just have to see a project through from start to finish, RIGHT NOW.

Anyway, that’s my excuse for not opening up my Commander, even though I got him late Thursday afternoon. If I opened him, I’d have to deal with him, and until a few hours ago, I couldn’t. I have to work tonight (a new account, too, I think) so I’ll probably have to put off his unveiling until tomorrow morning, when my mind has room to roam.

One minor distraction I did allow myself was the one-question Vintage Club survey asking members about our preferences: Do you want Vintage colors on Vintage molds, or Vintage colors on Newer molds?

Y’all should know by now what I picked. There was also room to comment, but I didn’t: trust me, Reeves already knows. 

I am not philosophically opposed to Vintage colors on Newer molds, I’d just rather see them released in a different context or program - either as a extra release, like Gus, or as a part of some other program. (A "Retro" Club?)

The molds they selected to show us as examples were quite interesting, especially the Vintage/Vintage pieces:

 For balance, here were the Vintage/New pieces:

No promises were made about the models depicted in the survey - they were being used merely as examples of the kinds of items they were discussing.

Judging from the reactions I’ve seen to the Charcoal Adios, though, I think it’s just a matter of when, not if, on that pretty boy. (Next year’s "Exclusive", maybe, if he ain’t the next release?)

I liked the Gloss Honey Bay Pinto Yellow Mount more than I thought, too. When I initially saw him in that group shot they sent out last year (the one with the Morgan now known as "Halo") I thought "Nice, nothing spectacular". He looked like a glossed regular run Yellow Mount with added black points. (Something they've done in the past, by the way - anyone remember the BHR Bay Running Stallion, made out of leftover 1988 JAH Special Run? And the Small World Trakehner?)

No, he’s an actual Honey Bay, complete with four stockings and black hooves, just like an honest-to-goodness vintage Honey Bay.

And just to let you know, I’d buy either of the Nokotas in a heartbeat, especially the one in the Splash Spot Black Leopard. I like the mold, but I’d dig that color on anything. (As long as they actually do the Splash Spots as Splash Spots, of course.)

Sitting It Out

Due to some glitch in the inventory company’s own inventory system, I find myself sitting at home for a couple of days this week, without work. During the busiest time of the year, when there’s literally work to be had all day and every day, and everyone (else) is complaining about the massive amounts of overtime they're putting in.

Normally I’d raise a stink because, hello, I don’t get paid to sit at home: no work, no pay. But I decided to turn this liability into an asset, and get some other work done in the meantime.

(Model horse related, mostly.)

The "Consolation" Special Run Bull Colton does appear to be being made specifically to cover the oversells on the Logans at the Vault Sale. I’m not sure if they’re going to make just enough to cover the oversell orders, or exactly the same amount as Logan, or what.

On Reeves’s inventory issues and the Vault Sale, I will speak no further. Not because I have nothing more to say, but because of diminishing returns. There’s no point in making an argument once everyone’s made up their minds.

The other big news this week is that all the BreyerFest 2013 stuff has hit the Breyer web site in a big way. A bunch of different Specials were announced, including a Desatado in Dun, a pretty chestnut pinto Haflinger, and another pinto Nokota Horse (as the Early Bird Special).

One of the Raffle models is the Traditional Totilas in a Star Dapple Gray, which makes about as much sense to the "Denim & Diamonds" theme as the Early Bird Special Stretched Morgan did to last year’s "British Invasion". The paint job looks a little weird, but it's also a not-good photograph of a test piece, so I'm not fretting over it.

There’s going to be another SR "satellite" store, too: one of the Specials available in it will be a Bucking Bronco in a quasi-buckskin color with kerchief-style decals on it. It’s very similar to the Home Decorating Show Paisley Rearing Horses that broke my heart a couple months back. I love the Bucking Bronco mold, so heck yeah, it's on my must-buy list.

The two Store Specials were also announced: a Black Tobiano Pinto Bluegrass Bandit named Lady C, and a pinto Brighty named Tennessee Titan. Titan is similar, but not identical to the still-incredibly-desirable 2005 Fest Special Run Oliver. Judging from the reaction I’ve been seeing to the Brighty, I’m guessing we’re in for another very quick sellout. (Keeping mine, if I get a hold of one.)

They also announced the themes and rules to the contests, and honestly, I just can’t get all that worked up about either one of them right now. I am utterly indifferent to the charms of most country music. I’m more Motown than Hoedown: I like some of the old-timey stuff, bluegrass, yodeling cowboys and stuff like that, but most modern stuff makes my eyes glaze over.

If I can come up with something, I’ll do it, but I just can’t get as emotionally involved as I did last year, where I ended up flaming out rather painfully. (When other people win with your same ideas - not once, but twice in the same year - yeah, you do tend to take it rather personally.)

Mont Tremblant, Etc.

In retaliation for the kind of crummy day I had today, I ate most of a large bag of M & Ms. Probably not the best move on my part, but it really was the best choice of solutions I had available to me.

I also opened my Fall in Love today; he’s very nice. A couple of odd little flaws, but nothing to freak out about. His masking is very clean, and he has just the right amount of shimmer in his coat. I’m not quite sure where to put him yet; the odd shape of the Nokota Horse mold makes it a little difficult to accommodate on a shelf.

The name of the SR Mont Tremblant Weather Girl suggested to me the kind of vacation "the right kind of people" take during their winter break. So I was fully expecting the announcement of the lottery/drawing to happen over the Christmas weekend, with the winners being notified on the first day after the holiday (as just the thing to blow your gifted moolah on!)

This weekend? Okey-dokey.

The piece count on her is interesting - 350, instead of the 150-200 piece runs we were assuming were (going to be) the norm with the revamped Web Special program. It may still be the case, with Mont Tremblant’s upped piece count due to the overwhelming demand the Silver Filigree special runs have had in the past. I don’t think it’ll affect the resale value too much, either: the run is still (technically) quite small, and the demand for Silver Filigrees (and Weather Girls) is still quite high.

The announcement of a "gift horse" drawing - in the form of a 100 piece gloss SR for The War Horse, on the Foundation Stallion mold - is a very pleasant surprise. I may be indifferent to the charms of the movie itself, but not to a super-limited glossy Foundation Stallion.

I wonder if they’ll be making gifting a semi-regular thing? (Hmm. Limited Edition pastel-colored Stablemates in Easter Egg packaging, for Easter? I could go for that!)

Lost in the hubbub surrounding the special runs was announcement of the resolution of the international ordering problems on the Breyer web site. Remember when everyone was getting all righteously indignant about this last month?

It gets fixed, and nobody seems to notice or care, presumably because they’ve all moved on to the next outrage. Which I’m guessing is Thrillseeker, based on the length of that thread about it on Blab. (I didn’t get drawn for one, so my interest in that discussion has been fairly minimal.)

Speaking of, it seems that Reeves has finally decided on making its presence known there as "NewBreyerHelper." They haven’t formally said as much, but it does appear to be someone using the editorial we in postings about matters pertaining to the web site today. An interesting development, to say the least (I wonder how many "friend" requests they’ve gotten by now?) I’m guessing it’s part of a run up to the "forum" Reeves has mentioned in passing on the new web site.

I’ve got holiday projects to finish, so toodles…

Winning

50,328 words later:
It turned out better than I expected it to be; it actually has a beginning, middle and end, a (somewhat) coherent plot, and a few genuinely touching moments. Not bad for something that has just about everything in it except ninjas and zombies.

(I’m saving the ninjas for the BreyerFest novel. Duh. Zombies, on the other hand: just not a fan of the concept.)

I have no delusions that it’s anywhere near publishable, though I’m not sure if I’m going to chalk it up as an interesting experiment, or make an attempt to fix it later. I do believe could be made publishable, but I so do not want to even look at it right now. I am all fictioned out for the rest of the year.

If I do it again next year, I’ll probably switch genres and go with something more traditionally science-fictional. I’m a huge fan of Golden Age (1930s-1940s) SF; back in high school, when I wasn’t writing mopey fantasies about my magical flying horse who could talk, it was crazy SF pastiches neither my classmates nor most of my English teachers completely got. (I must admit, in retrospect, that A. E. van Vogt was probably not the best choice to model my writing style after. Hey, at least I hadn't heard of Harry Stephen Keeler at that point.)

Another win this week: Fall in Love. That sort of took me by surprise, since my luck with the Web Specials in the past year has been so not good. (Must have been my time!) Interesting how they made it "orderable" to the winners via their accounts on the web site. That’s actually a modestly intelligent way of doing it. (No icky phones, yes!)

That makes him Nokota Horse number five here. I’d love to have more, but eight out of the ten releases of the mold that I don’t have came in piece runs of less than 100, and six of those eight were piece runs of less than 50. I’d probably have more success trying to collect Faberge eggs, on my budget. Or the Esprit mold.

I was going to close out with a picture of the Christmas Tree, and show you why we’re calling it "Fort Christmas Tree" this year, but the camera wasn’t cooperating today, partly a consequence of my brother upgrading my computer system this week. (Like the Breyer web site, the system is still not quite fully operational.) I’ll have to try again, tomorrow.

Fall in Love

Got all my shopping done on Friday in the space of an hour; fortunately, all I had to do was pick up a couple of things at Walgreens and a few supplies from the craft store. Clipped my coupons, got up at a leisurely hour, did my business, and went home. No "competitive shopping" for me.

(Ironically, I was kinda-sorta pepper sprayed once, in the relative safety of my own home, because someone was too cheap to go buy a can of ground pepper at the store. Peppercorns + Food Processor = Bad Idea. 'Nuff said.)

I spent the rest of the day cussing at (a) dumb people on the Internet, (b) a quilt project that’s way more complicated than it looked on paper, and (c) the Nano novel.

It’s been a good experience for me, but I will be glad to be done with it and move on to other things for a while. I just finished a really emotionally draining scene today, and I am wiped out. (Main character kisses her ex-boyfriend for the first - and only - time. In front of his wife and newborn baby. Didn’t think the scene was going to go there, but dang, that’s where it went.)

Since the new Breyer site didn’t get its hard/official launch until Wednesday, and with most folks having minimal ‘net time on Thursday, it makes sense that the Fall in Love Web Special is being handled as a general, open to the public release.

Running a lottery for the first Web Special a few days after they start offering Collector’s Club memberships - with one of the perks of the membership being the ability to enter drawings for Web Specials? Might strike some folks as a little questionable, both legally and ethically.

I am glad that they abandoned the "don’t call us, we’ll call you" notification method, though truthfully, the lottery method is probably going to make it even less likely for those of us without compliant friends and relatives to "win."

I’m just gonna do my one e-mail entry a day, and hope for the best. I just bought another (small) collection this week, so I won’t be completely heartbroken if it doesn’t happen. (IOW: don’t offer. Seriously. Short on the moolah here.)

I suspect that the Silver Filigree Weather Girl "Mont Tremblant," will be offered strictly to Collector’s Club members, since I’m assuming that that will be at least another week or two in the future - or long enough as Reeves deems the notification timeframe as sufficient.

I’m also assuming is going to be by lottery first to Club members, with the leftovers (if any) being offered to the general public.

(Yeah, I know, leftover Silver Filigree Weather Girls: such a silly thought.)

Well, anyway, like I said, the novel left me a bit wiped. Time to veg out in front of the telly.

Musings

As you might have guessed by now, my annoyance over the abundance of Weather Girls customs has now been replaced with annoyance over all the Sunshine Celebration models now being listed everywhere.

You know my opinion about these sort of events: I’m not keen on them. Most rank and file hobbyists are already at wit’s end trying to acquire more "common" items like Web Specials and Weather Girls. It shouldn’t be a surprise that when they hear reports of some attendees complaining that the special runs they’re being offered at said super-exclusive event aren’t up to their standards, they’re not going to take it well.

It’s more than mere jealousy, it’s also frustration - inelegantly expressed, sometimes, but something I think we shouldn't dismiss so easily.

Fortunately, another distraction came my way this week: my JAH.

The Sunday Raffle model, a loose-maned sabino Cleveland Bay named King Arthur, is nice. He doesn’t rock my work like the Saturday Raffle model Muse does, but if on the rare chance I do win him, I’ll cherish him just the same. If the universe decides I need one, who would I be to turn down the gift?

I think it’s love when it comes to Muse, though: a non-pastelly Pegasus on a Nokota Horse? Be still my heart! It doesn’t hurt that his name has some special meaning to me, too. (Nothing you need to know, other than it does.)


Oddly, I don’t have the same indifference to Breyer’s flying horses that I do to its unicorns. Maybe it’s because the wings are removable, and less prone to breaking. They may not look as "realistic" as the unicorn horns do, in execution, but clumsy me is willing to trade a little realism for safety.


The wings themselves are actually rather well-sculpted; I can remember making note of that when the first Pegasus - the Classic Lipizzan release #209 - was released in 1983. What I didn’t like the fact that they had decided to put the slots for the wings in the middle of the Lipizzan’s back. Sure, the same rules of logic and anatomy don’t necessarily apply to fantasy creatures, but it still didn’t seem like quite the right place to put a pair of wings.

Reeves was probably thinking the same thing: the more recent Pegasus releases - first on the Silver, for the second Treasure Hunt Redemption Horse in 2007, and now the Muse - have somewhat more plausible wing positioning.

I never did get around to getting the Treasure Hunt Pegasus - my lack of enthusiasm for the Silver mold is also well-documented - but I do have most of the other Pegasuses (Pegasi?) on the Lipizzan mold. All except the most recent release #3365 in 2003-2004, and the creepy blue flocked one from the 1985 J.C. Penney’s Christmas Catalog. (Actually, I did own the blue flocked one, briefly, but that was a little mix-up on Santa’s part.)

Hope I get the chance to add Muse to my plastic rookery. I might even - gasp! - buy a few more than my usual ten-dollars-per-raffle allotment.

Bats

The flea market was cold and quiet today. I found a few good deals, including a quilt hoop (for a buck!) and a 1968 copy of The Care & Training of the Trotter & Pacer (with dustjacket!) There were a few models, but nothing worth the effort. I need to move more models out of the house, not into it. Gotta get cracking on the sales listings again…

If one of my pending deals goes through this week I just might buy myself a Bats in the Belfry as a reward. I love the mold, and the paint jobs on the ones I have seen so far have been exquisite.

To be honest, I never had a problem with, or really understood, the hate-on over the fuzzy bats on the original Nosferatu. The reason I never got around to buying one was because the Cigar mold doesn’t fit on my shelves. I love my Wanderlust, my QVC Seabiscuit, and my Glossy Affirmed (swoon!) but darn it, those suckers eat up a lot shelfy real estate. The Nokota Horse isn’t exactly petite either, but he’s got that multiple posability thing going on, and I can work with that.

I was making a few minor corrections and additions to my Nokota Horse file yesterday, in my ongoing effort to get my pile of research notes under control. Sigh: out of its 12 releases so far, 6 of them have piece runs of 100 or less. Here I thought the whole Esprit thing was bad. Fully half of the runs of the Nokota Horse are completely inaccessible to me, and likely always will be.

The Newsworthy mold isn’t a lot better: out of the eight releases so far, only the original release would qualify as a regular run, and even that only ran for about a year and a half. I'm not sure what to call the Enchanted Forest - a midyear release already on the Discontinue list? I guess that’s what he gets for the sin of merely being Bay.

All of these super-brief runs and micro-runs on new molds got me thinking about that question I posed earlier this year: is Reeves really heading towards a "Test Colors For Everyone!" business mode, a la Stone?

I hope not. It’d completely wreak havoc in the hobbyist sphere, where there’s already a huge issue being made over the effect that a handful of "big spenders" have been making on the hobby as a whole. What happens when they can - for a price - pretty much order whatever the heck they want?

I take a little comfort in the fact that most of the models I’ve seen come out of all of these "Make Your Own Test Color" programs haven’t been all that appealing to me. I guess it’s a side effect of being able to get whatever you want: most hobbyists are going to go for something completely, utterly idiosyncratic. It’s so completely tailored to their likes and dislikes that it won’t "fit" anyone else.

That’s also why I’m one of the lone voices out there arguing that models coming out of those programs aren’t really Original Finish. They meet all of the technical requirements - painted in the factory, with factory techniques - but in every other regard, they’re customs. They’re made to order, with a single defined customer in mind.

At best, I could concede them being another category: the Factory Custom.

Most shows are starting to break the RR and SR categories into further subdivisions - separating earlier Regular Runs from later ones, and low-piece count Specials from the more plentiful ones. I suppose, in the not so distant future, they’ll have to have a Factory Custom/OOAK subdivision, too.

Spelling Test

I understand that standardized spelling is a relatively recent invention, and everyone has certain words and rules that are just beyond their grasp. (The "ie" rules are mine.) You might be an uncoordinated typist, or come to English as a non-native speaker, or suffer from a form of dyslexia. I get that.

What peeves me off is when folks consistently misspell proper names. The one that’s really been grating my cheese lately is The Nokota Horse. It’s NOKOTA, not NAKOTA.

It’d be one thing if it had been misspelled on the box, or in the catalog, or online through the official sources. But for the most part, it’s not. It’s hobbyists, being inattentive, indifferent, or just too darn lazy to look it up - all the things they accuse Breyer of being.

Breyer has committed many a serious - and sometimes amusing - spelling faux pas in the recent and not-so-recent past. For many years, they had trouble with the word Lipizzan:



They corrected it the catalog the following year, to the equally wrong "Lippizan." Not surprisingly, when they released the Classic Lipizzan in 1975, they managed to finally get it right on the box - but still spelled it wrong everywhere else!

You might have noticed that this is a twofer: notice "Palamino?" Palomino is consistently misspelled throughout this 1968 catalog, which is a bit of a mystery since Breyer didn’t have much problem spelling it before - or after. (Was there no time for proofreading, or was a rookie typesetter to blame?)

And then there’s my personal favorite, the Charcoal G2 Morgan BreyerFest "Kay Chain."

That one - and most of the more recent spelling errors - are probably translation or transcription errors. Amusing, but not offensive, except to remind us of the uncomfortable fact of overseas production.

And then there’s the term "Wedgewood Blue:"


Any pottery or antique collector worth their weight in Jasperware knows the correct spelling is "Wedgwood." (Type up both spelling variations in MS Word and see for yourself!)

The Wedgewood error is a very common and persistent one, especially among people with only a passing familiarity with collectible pottery. Some companies add the "e" intentionally when they use that word as an adjective or in a description to indicate they’re not officially affiliated with the actual pottery.

I’m not sure the higher-ups at Breyer were thinking that far in advance; I think it was just a simple spelling error. However, they did just have a run-in with Hagen-Renaker a couple of years earlier, so it’s possible that one of their lawyers may have advised them to add the extra "e" to cover their hindquarters, just in case another "nasty lawyer letter" arrived on their doorstep.

Nokota Horse and Multiple Posability

All this fuss over a model nobody wanted in the first place. I would have loved one, since he's a favorite mold of mine, but I was apparently on the wrong side of the table in the tent this year.

I am referring to the “B” word. Burbank. The subject of a thread threatening to eat Blab.

Frankly, I'm a little surprised at the sheer amount of outrage: I thought it was common knowledge that it is not wise to depend on Reeves for the most reliable information. This kind of conflicting language and information has been a problem with Reeves for years. It has always been wiser to rely on their actions, not their words. And their actions have always defaulted to selling leftovers, not regrinding them. Always.

I'm not going to get into the controversy over it here. You probably can guess what my opinion is: I just haven't bothered to post it on Blab yet because I'm still finding myself a little asocial. And I doubt it would sway hobbyists one way or another, anyway.

Let's talk about one of the Nokota Horse's more interesting features instead, one he shares with only a handful of other Breyer molds: multiple posability!

“Multiple Posability?” Huh? Just a fancy term I coined for unjointed, unarticulated models that can be posed in more than one position (usually just two.) The Nokota Horse can either rest on three feet, or his hind legs and tail, for that extra added oomph. The other models that share this trait include:

• Robin Hood Rider
• Traditional Rearing Mustang
• Bucking Bronco

Many nonhobbyist eBay sellers seem to think that the Fighting Stallion and Rearing Stallion have multiple posability: one wonders what they think the footpads and flat-bottomed tails were for. I sometimes try to rationalize - optimistically, I know - that maybe it's just easier for them to photograph it that way.

Here's a pic of the Robin Hood Rider from a mid-1950s sales flier:


I've always thought it took some clever and creative thinking to design a rider figurine that also works as a standing figurine, without the benefits of joints.

A few years later, in the ca. 1961 insert sheets, we had Breyer touting the Mustang's posing options:


Note the fact that his front hoof is intact. In spite of their apparent awareness of his multiple options, they seem to have abandoned the notion of multiple posability with the Mustang early on: the front hoof of most early Mustangs still had their hooves trimmed, including my beautiful and extremely early Buckskin Mustang with eyewhites.


(The quilt frame is taking up the spot where I normally take photos, so a dinky, unused avatar will have to suffice here. And yes, this guy so totally needs a post dedicated to him someday.)

The third older mold that received this multiple posability option was the Bucking Bronco. In the earliest Dealer's Catalogs in which he is featured, it is noted in his description that he “(Stands in two positions)” (parentheses theirs, not mine.) I'd include a pic of my copy, but my copy is less than ideal.

Neat, eh? It's a feature I hope they can manage to incorporate this kind of posability into more molds in the future. Because those articulated, bionic Pony Gals things give me nightmares.