British Relations

I don’t have anywhere else to put this, but as I was catching up on the news earlier today I came across this picture, and I think the hobby needs to see it:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/12/spock-riding-a-unicorn-pegasus

That pretty much sums up my early experience in the hobby, ca. 1978-79. There are so many SF and Fantasy references in pre-Internet model horse newsletters and zines that a reasonable argument could be made that the hobby ought to be categorized as another subsection of that fandom.

Now for something more timely.

Here are some actual in-the-flesh pics of some of the Best of British line, including the mysterious reappearance - again - of the G1 H-R Draft Horse in the Stablemates set (as a Suffolk Punch). Not included are those of an upcoming mold, a new Fell Pony named Waverhead Model IV, by Kathleen Moody. There’s a picture of her with the original sculpt at BreyerFest last year: https://www.facebook.com/laurelhighland

I don’t know much more about the Best of British line than anyone else does, though if I had the energy and gumption I could probably pull a few strings and change that. Rumor has it that the launch will be in the UK first (naturally) followed by a US/worldwide release by Summer, with more items added to the line by Fall, including the Fell.

I’ll guess that his release will be tied somehow to the "international collector days" mentioned in the last Just About Horses annual - one in Canada, and one overseas.

In light of the recent controversies, it’s interesting to see just how many British breeds and/or British celebrity horses Breyer already has in its lineup, from the Clydesdale Stallion (ca. 1958) forward. Just speaking of Traditional molds, there’s the entire Clydesdale Family, the Traditional Shetland, the Bell-bottomed Shire, the Cantering Welsh Pony, Bouncer, Aristocrat, Llanarth True Briton, Black Beauty (ad infinitum).

More is always better, and better is always better, but objectively there’s been no shortage of "British" critters in Breyer’s past. What there has been - until recently - is a shortage of ponies, British or otherwise.

Think about all the times in the past when a new pony release meant one of four things: another Shetland, another Cantering Welsh, another Haflinger, or another Pony of the Americas. (And sometimes for variety’s sake, a Classics Merrylegs.) We had other pony molds, like Misty and Stormy, the Galiceno, Henry the Fjord, and Midnight Tango, but they rarely got a lot of love in the form of new releases.

Some molds, like the Hackney Aristocrat, didn’t see a lot of action because they were not well-received. But the others? Heck if I know.

The turning points came Flash in 2004 and Bouncer in 2007 - two well-received molds who have since been released in a rainbow of colors. Newsworthy arrived in 2008, and was a more modest hit; in 2011 couple of Classics-scale Eberl Pony molds received more acclaim, then late last year came Croi Damhsa.

And later this year we will be getting a Fell.

So things are getting better on the pony front, anyway. Now about that shortage of Draft Foal molds…

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.

Sweetness

I went against my better judgment and bought a couple of things online this week. That’s what I get for doing research on the Internet - you start playing around with obscure keywords searches, and the next thing you know there are invoices in your inbox.

So I decided to take a break from research yesterday and get stuff ready to sell - taking photos, writing descriptions, pulling out packing materials, and all that. I already managed to list a bunch of stuff on MH$P today - nothing spectacular, but decently priced. (And as an extra incentive - it's all postage paid!)

It probably wasn’t a good idea to list it today, with everyone freaking out about the Breeders Cup and Zenyatta, but at least it’s done and out there. Anything that doesn’t sell there is going to get dumped onto eBay eventually, along with all my other bric-a-brac. If I’m really motivated, I might even get an Etsy shop going and finally put some of those spare quilts of mine online.

I see that Reeves is having a warehouse sale of its own coming up. A little too far away for me to cash in on, but a nice gesture for anyone in the area, I suppose. I do like how they put that little disclaimer on the bottom about the absence of extra-special stuff. I’m sure a lot of folks who go to the sale will conveniently ignore that last sentence anyway, and get miffed when they don’t find it.

They’ve got one Black Friday sale and it ain’t in November, folks.

I think, at most, they’ll have some leftover Holiday stuff and maybe a little bit of WEG merchandise. The rest of it will just be recently discontinued merchandise and overstock - all the fun stuff that usually ends up at Tuesday Morning or T.J. Maxx.

Here’s another thing I found while poking around the Internet the other day, in the middle of my research on the Dapples/Ponies line: another Little Debbie Snack Cake Special!

https://www.littledebbiestore.com/www/products/100.31

I don’t normally collect the Dapples/Ponies items, but if I happen to end up with a dash of extra cash somehow, I just might spring for a Swiss Roll. The previous two sets in the series - Ginger and Oatmeal Crème - were cute, but the customized saddle pad with the blue gingham trim on the Swiss Roll sets off my squee-meter.


I think it’s because I’ve been experimenting with gingham in some of my recent quilts. Gingham’s not the easiest material to work with, because the checked patterning tends to overpower most conventional designs. I’ve managed to come up with a few satisfying solutions to the "gingham problem," so a Swiss Roll might be a nice little tribute to my artistic triumphs.

Has fewer calories, too.