Point of View

For the record, and to clarify: I don’t dislike the new Stablemate version of Othello. I am just bemused and confused by the excitement over him, in much the same way I see some of my friends gushing over guacamole. 

I appreciate a good guacamole as much as the next person, but I don’t quite get why people get so animated about it. It’s just avocado dip, people, not the Fountain of Youth…

Nothing new here, model-horse wise; I spent the weekend crafting and customizing. I briefly considered participating in the Breyer Fun Day on Saturday, but I decided to stick to my original plan and work on old stuff instead. 

I didn’t make much progress, but I did make some: I even had an old FAM custom project surprise me by being nicer than I expected after the first coat of primer. She’s still not good, but I despair about her prospects less, so that’s something. 

The only other thing worth reporting here is that my Thunderbird arrived: I got Gloss Palomino, which amuses me partly because… well, it’s a long story, and today doesn’t quite feel like the day to go into it. (I had a rough bout of insomnia last night, and I am exhausted.)

My only quibble with him is a minor one: I would have preferred gray hooves, rather than the pinkish/natural ones. I know that both variations existed in the pre-Reeves era: the natural/pink hooves were generally reserved for “fancier” molds like the Fighting Stallion and Five-Gaiter, and the gray hooves used on pieces more tailored to kids, like the Family Arabians. 

But by the mid-1980s that distinction was largely tossed out the window: the Special Run Palomino Pacer and Shire were definitely not items designed for little kids! 

Since the Silver is basically a modernized version of the Fighting Stallion, going with the more natural hooves made sense. Still, it would have been fun to see that variation, even if it did not exist historically; it did with the Rearing Stallion, but that is because he remained in production into the 1980s, and the Palomino Fighter was gone by the end of 1973. (And in Gloss, even earlier than that.)

But personally, I find the gray hooves feel more “iconic” than the pink/natural, in the same way I see the black hooves on old (unpointed) Breyer Gloss Bays. While Gloss Bays with gray hooves do exist (hello, Clydesdale Stallion), I just like the way the black hooves pair with it. 

Lost in Translation

This has been another not-great week, and I will be grateful when it ends. (Without injury, I hope. No guarantee there, unfortunately.) 

I am currently self-medicating with an extremely elaborate quilt piecing project, art restoration videos, and homemade pound cake.

Let’s focus on some positives. First, the pound cake was a new recipe, and freaking delicious. And second, the latest Vintage Club release has been revealed – a Gambler’s Choice Silver, named Thunderbird!

Boy, that guy was a hard secret to keep under wraps. He looks awesome in all four colors; it appears that the Appaloosa is the online crowd’s clear favorite, but I will be happy with whatever one I comes my way. 

(And he’ll definitely cheaper than trying to buy something like a Goldfinch on the secondary!)

I also managed to secure a spare couple of hours of free time earlier this week, and used that opportunity to sort through some e-mails and ephemera, which wasn’t quite as big a mess as I thought it would be. (But yikes, I’ve got some gaps to fill.)  

It also reminded me that I needed to show you guys my other big Ephemera find at BreyerFest this year: 

Breyer got a lot of mail from its fans in the 1970s and early 1980s, to the point where they had to generate in-house materials to deal with it. There was a preprinted postcard that acknowledged your suggestions for future models, that infamous (and somewhat inaccurate) historical list of Breyer releases, and – news to me! – a short history of Breyer (above), and an explainer on how models were made (below):

There’s nothing new or revelatory here, but the wording on the history page is both more clear, and more nuanced than the initial history I heard bandied about it my early days in the hobby. The game of telephone did it no favors! 

The ways information get conveyed, interpreted and distorted haven’t improved much in the decades since, but that’s more of a statement about human nature than of the hobby itself. 

Not One for the Win Column

All my Spoon Tomato seedlings are either dead or dying for no discernable reason, and I didn’t get picked from the waitlist for Goldfinch, so I am putting Tuesday in the “bad day” column and moving on. 

(I am more bummed about the tomatoes than Goldfinch – I spent actual money and time on those!)

I don’t care if I get called out for price shaming on this, but seriously, I need to rant right now. Prices are completely out of control not just for the Silver, but for just about… everything right now. Who are all these people buying $1000 Alborozos? 

Speculator markets like the one we’re apparently in the middle of are scary, dangerous, and never end well. I want no part of this.

This is also why I am not optimistic about getting picked for the True Blue Exclusive Event: people like me who actually want to participate in the event are going to be outnumbered by the resellers.

(I kind of wish there weren’t any exclusive items for these events at all, beyond the one model and the one Stablemate. But I know I am dreaming.)

One of the side effects of this speculator’s market is the sheer abundance of White Boxers that have come up for sale. The White Boxer is one of the few Traditional Breyer Dogs I don’t have – and at the prices they are currently going for, it’s going to stay that way.

Years ago it was assumed that only a small quantity of White Boxers existed – I think the number that floated around was 25? – but that’s since been disproven by both documentary evidence and the sheer number of them that have turned up over the years. 

Scarce? Yeah. Eight hundred dollars worth of Rare? Nope.

Some of the pricing on these Boxers is a consequence of misinformation still being circulated. That was the case with the Buckskin Lady Phases for years, as well.

Collectors, for the most part, now realize that not all Buckskin Lady Phases are the same, and “rare, extremely limited quantity” label attached to her referred to her slightly (but noticeably) different Model Horse Congress and VaLes Bead Trailer runs, not her later and actually pretty numerous JC Penney’s Christmas catalog run. 

But the White Boxer? It looks like I am going to have to continue biding my time until (a) I get lucky, (b) this nutso speculator’s market we’re currently trapped in finally abates or (c) the hobby finally comes around to the idea that it’s not THAT rare of a model in the first place, and moves on to something else.

Preferably something I do not want, or already have.

(I know, also dreaming.)

Glossy Chalky Buckskin

The first thought that came to mind when I saw in-hand pictures of Goldfinch was: holy cats, this is My Girl all over again.

The 2016 Vintage Club release My Girl, on the Cantering Welsh Pony, came in three colors: Gloss Bay, Gloss Palomino, and Gloss Alabaster. When I opened the shipping box and discovered that I had received the Alabaster – my third choice – I was slightly crestfallen. 

I think Gloss Palomino is a highly underrated vintage color, and who doesn’t love a lovely Gloss Honey Bay? But Gloss Alabaster can be hit or miss, depending on its shading, or lack thereof. And as far as shading goes, the initial pictures of the Alabaster My Girls showed a definite lack.

Then I opened up her actual box-box, and fell in love with Glossy Chalky Alabaster. 

I think I kind of love Glossy Chalky Buckskin, too.

If I don’t get picked from what’s going to be a very small waitlist – because people are definitely willing to put themselves in short-term debt if they know they can make an almost-immediate profit – I’ll just have to let it go. 

I have a little too much stuff anyway. 

That’s what I keep telling myself, but there I was at the toy store after I got my first COVID shot Saturday, trying to persuade myself that I really didn’t need Obsidian.

I did manage to walk out of the store horse-free. This time.

(In all seriousness, though, if I do start buying seriously again, I think I’ll start with the homely little Standing Stock Horse Foal. Not a lot of demand, not a lot of rarities, not a lot of Test Colors, Oddities or Whatever.) 

Birds of a Feather

I used to think that a sure way to make money was to set up a live feed of some of our neighbors; while I have accepted that I am not normal, some of my neighbors in comparison make me feel refreshingly average.

But the past couple of days – mostly consisting of me cursing at my computer as I attempt to learn how to edit videos – have led me to believe that a livestream of me teaching myself new things might be more entertaining. 

(FYI: While it would probably be hilarious watching me yell at a ball of yarn or throw my woodcarving tools against the wall, it ain’t happening.)

As I’ve asserted for years, both comic book fandom and the model horse hobby have a lot in common – both for both the better, and the worse. After watching Zack Snyder’s Justice League Thursday night I strongly considered writing a post about how the model horse hobby also has a toxic fandom problem.  

And you might have noticed, there are certain common hobby words, arguments and phrases that I do not use specifically because they play into the hobby’s darker nature. There’s a sense of ownership among certain segments of both comic book fandom and the model horse hobby that goes well beyond what’s rational and reasonable.

The vocabulary you use makes a difference.

But you know what? It’s the first day of Spring and I am going to let that nonsense go. My seeds are sprouting, it’s starting to warm up outside, and my studio is all set up and ready to roll.

But back to actual horses for a bit, here. From the sneak peek photo in the most recent Breyer newsletter, the general consensus was that the next release in the Birds of a Feather Series was going to be a Silver. And the consensus was right:

I’m not a huge fan of the Silver mold because it’s been used to death: nearly 40 releases in the past twenty years, not including Test Colors, Samples and unique and/or unobtainable Live Show prizes or Event releases. There are Traditional molds three times as old that haven’t had that many releases in their lifetimes. 

It is kind of hard to get emotionally attached to a mold with so many releases in so short a time, and so many of them are impossible to get regardless. 

But somehow they found a color/finish combo that he hasn’t been issued in yet: Glossy Light Buckskin. I am very picky when it comes to buckskins, so in spite of those two handicaps, I rather like him! 

If I get Goldfinch, great, but I’m also cool with not getting him, because things are a little nuts here at the moment and adding another package to the pile would be problematic, especially if it’s something that’s not a must-have for me. 

All of my actual must-haves I have been escaping me on eBay, or but that’s another story. I may have more money to spend nowadays, but I am not going to change my spending habits because everyone else has. 

The Waiting Game

A shorter one today: the weather turned frigid cold and all I want to do is hibernate until Spring arrives. 

(FYI: this is typically late April or early May in Michigan, and lasts all of two weeks until Summer arrives. Not even kidding.)

Just as I suspected, I got picked for Puffin, and she’s already been rehomed. As I mentioned before, I’m all in on the series concept, but it’s just a bad time for me and I am not in the best mood right now anyway. (See above.)

One of the many delights of our garden last year was the arrival of a family of Orioles that made little piggies of themselves at our feeding station (Turns out that they really do love grape jelly. Like, a lot!) so if an Oriole turns up in this series somewhere down the line, I call dibs.

A Hummingbird would be nice, too. (On either Newsworthy or Bristol, maybe?) Even if they can be little jerks sometimes. 

I’m assuming there is going to be at least one actual winged model (Silver?) and that’ll go for crazy bucks no matter what bird/color scheme it ends up being. The 2016 BreyerFest SR Estrela do Carnaval was widely derided initially, but good luck finding one at a decent price now! 

I finally decided to forego the Breyer Bootcamp thing entirely: the photo show was enticing, but then I realized that (a) I had no time for that nonsense in the first place, (b) the photography studio is out in the unheated garage and it’s insanely cold out there right now, and (c) while the class list was to my liking, the unlimited entries per class thing is not. 

Among other things.

I am undecided on the BreyerFest Photo Show, partly because I’d like to know how they’re going to handle previous winners. At the live version of the show, Overall Champs are disqualified from entering again, but they suspended that rule last year on the assumption that there’d be an actual Live show this year. And there isn’t. 

While it’s true that a different set of judges will judge things differently, I am still not entirely comfortable going up against the last year’s winners.

I have the opportunity to take new photos, and I have several new additions to the herd who I think could do well, so my showstring would be improved over last year’s. But still. I guess I will have to wait and see when the details are posted.

Same goes for the online Swap Meet. The fact that I wouldn’t have to pack, move, unpack, repack and move all my “stock” is definitely a plus, but it appears that I’d also have to build an online store from scratch, unless they are going to offer a basic platform/template for everyone and just have not told us yet.

Building a basic online store isn’t necessarily hard and it is something I have been meaning to do anyway but again, it does involve time to set up, something I haven’t had a lot of these days.

Decisions, Drawings and Snap Judgments

Money is definitely not the issue: it’s my luck in Breyer drawings – especially the ones involving “exclusive” events – that’s pretty bad, so I’m not getting my hopes up for this BreyerFest VIP Ticket raffle/drawing thing. 

All the VIP package does is guarantee your selections, throws in the Stablemate 4-pack, and adds a swag bag which I am assuming is stuff like a coffee mug and a backpack, anyway. 

And some exclusive online content too, I guess? That part is not a big draw for me, to be honest, because of my experience last year. 

But the “All Access” Ticket that goes on sale after this drawing is basically just the standard BreyerFest ticket with Celebration Horse, the option to buy two Special Runs, and access to all areas/opportunities/sales, save for whatever the “VIP exclusive” content is. 

And you have to buy the Stablemates separately, if you’re lucky enough to snag a set.

Other than the Uffington, (An iridescent Cremello? You know the way to my heart, Reeves!), I’m not going to be upset over not getting anything in particular.

Well, okay, the Best of BreyerFest Stablemates Set, too: my Nottingham needs his Mini Me. But they’ve significantly boosted the piece counts on just about everything, and some smaller piece count items other hobbyists are swooning over (Knossos, the Crystal) aren’t doing diddly for me, I should be good, regardless of my ticket status.

Quick takes on some of the other SR announcements: 

Although I am not likely to buy him, I’m glad the John Henry is getting some BreyerFest love this year. He looks good in Bay Appaloosa!

The new Morgan mold in Blue Roan Frame Overo is intriguing in both concept and execution; I definitely like the mold in that color as opposed to its original Splash Pinto paintjob, which did him no favors.

The artistic inspiration for the Rainbow Pintaloosa Valegro is definitely more Lisa Frank than Jackson Pollock. The Rose Gold Filigree paint job on the 2019 Winter Web Special Avoriaz reminds me more of Pollock’s style: all you would have to do is overlay some black and/or metallic silver splatters on that, and call it a day.

I like to imagine that they totally did do the Valegro as an homage to Lisa Frank, freaking nailed it, and then… doing their due diligence realized it was in their best interest to preemptively change the name. (It’s a long story. Google it yourself if you’ve got a couple hours to spare.)

As far as the Surprise goes, the first thought that popped into my head is that it might be Bobby Jo? Or maybe it’s just me looking at the Spectrum that’s sitting in my office and wondering if that’s too obvious a choice. I’ll consider it when the time comes, whether it’s sooner… or later. 

I’m just not a big fan of Buckskin Pintos, so the Store Special Ashquar Rheverence+ is out, as is the Crystal Sherman Morgan Prisma, because I break nonsense like that. I’m on the fence about the Queen of Hearts/Josie: her base color looks amazing, but I’m a little concerned about what her markings will look like in person.  

And that’s… it, except for the rest of the Stablemates (want anyway), the various bits of swag and plushes (depends, probably not), and the various prize and raffle models (which are not up to me to decide). 

Finally, Some Ponies!

I was both expecting and not expecting to see the Rhian and Cadell set: expecting it because it’s both a British Pony breed and a Mare and Foal set, and not expecting it because it was featured as the Sunday Raffle item last year.

Back to back BreyerFest releases on the same mold aren’t unknown – most notoriously the Silver releases Valentino in 2001, Ahote in 2002, and both the Live Show Prize S’Wonderful and Strawberry Fields in 2003 – and most recently, with Bristol’s 2018 Raffle release Jackpot, and last year’s Customs Contest prize Leap of Faith.

As a few others might have pointed out by now (or at least, I hope so), Brighid and Beltane do bear a passing similarity to Misty and Stormy, which may well be intentional, considering it’s an “anniversary” year and the only other nod to history in this year’s BreyerFest lineup so far has been the inclusion of the Sham Lugh.

This set is on my maybe list: I love the Foal mold, but the Mare mold seems a little soft and undefined to me. Like anything, a lot of it will depend on how they look in person.

And of course, there’s the whole issue of whether we’ll even get that chance.

Even though my life, as it is, has so far been relatively undisturbed by the pandemic, fret and worry have my traveling companions during this journey too. All this uncertainty about… everything is definitely taking its toll on me and my own.

(Even Vita: she is Not Happy about all these dogs walking past her territory on a daily basis. Not one bit!)

Most of my other extracurricular activities – including, today, the Comicon I had substituted in lieu of the Soiree – have been either postponed or cancelled outright. I spent a considerable chunk of time on Sunday looking up alternative events to participate in in the late Summer or beyond, like Quilt Week in Paducah, or Youmacon, in case the worst case scenario comes to pass.

(FYI: I genuinely don’t know any more about that situation than most of you do. So don’t interpret this as anything other than my reaction to the stress we’re all experiencing right now. I come from a family that prepares for even the most obscure of emergencies: contingency planning is just something we need to do to cope.)

I am grateful to have other activities that don’t depend on going anywhere or even interacting with anyone – like my gardening and my quilting – and I did promise myself to wrap up a lot of “unfinished business” around the house this year.

But I do need some social interaction with people I don’t have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. The prospect of doing without… is not one I want to think about.

Not one bit.

Suave

One good thing about having a Silver as a Store Special? Not having to hear months of hobbyists fretting that no really, THIS will be the year Silver will be the Surprise Model.

That is not going to happen: three days of insomnia has left me too tired and foggy to rehash the arguments why.

I was hoping that we’d see this mold in the form of a Glossy Reissue of the original Silver Release, mostly because I am kind of smitten with the look of my Vintage Club Gloss Chalky Alabaster Cantering Welsh Pony, and think the Silver would look equally fine in a similar suit of clothes.

Whether I get Rico or not is… iffy. I think the color will look nice on him in person – basically a Matte version of the 2009 Early Bird Special Run Angel Food Cake – but I am not the fan of the Silver mold a significant portion of the hobby is, and my shopping list so far is already full of many definites and maybes.

And his name… well, I worked with a guy named Rico, once. While that was an interesting experience (not all bad), I don’t think I want to be reminded of him every time I look at it.

(It’s as logical a reason as any other I’ve seen to just saying no to any given model…)

A Dundee mold will also be released – not sure if it’s a Store Special, Mid-year, or some other classification of production run – as a portrait of Jonathan Field’s horse Hal.

Though for the sake of my sanity I will also assume that this is a very, very, very sly and subtle reference to the original Silver Age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. (I’m more of a Guy Gardner gal, myself, but at this point I will take any DC reference, no matter how tenuous.)

That’s it for me today. Off to make another go at this “sleep” thing. Will the fourth time be the charm?

Glossy Jake

It’s a Glossy Jake for me, yay!

Actually, I would have been completely happy with the Bandera, and was fully expecting it. So getting something different is just extra sprinkles in my bowl of ice cream.

I have only one other Wixom – the pretty 2002 BreyerFest Special Run WH Annie, in Dappled Rose Gray – and after my recent collection reorganization, I won’t have any problem making room for another.

Some time in the near future I will be buying one of those Glossy Banderas. But not now, as there is room in my budget for just one more purchase and that’s either going to be whatever Reeves drops on us on Christmas, or an obscure grail I spied on eBay today.

That’s also what eventually stayed my hand on filling a second order – it certainly was not for a lack of stuff to buy!

Just a few more observations on the whole deal…

For the record, I don’t know any more than anyone else about the true quantities/ratios on the four freebies; Bandera and the Donkey are obviously the higher quantities, and the Jake and Liberty are the lower ones. Beyond that…?

Reeves hasn’t been forthcoming in the past about the piece counts on previous Gloss Promotion models, so we might have to be content with rough estimates. It’s probably still too soon to really do that, since I suspect a large quantity of packages haven’t been received or opened yet.

There’s also the issue of whether the promotion truly sold out, or was simply allowed to expire due to the holiday break. (If they did not, it was close.)

If it failed to completely sellout, it wasn’t for a lack of interest, but out of exhaustion – and a lack of money! We saw a lot of products and promotions this year, and most of us are just spent out, waiting in both anticipation and dread for that one last thing we know they’re going to foist upon us.

Incidentally, the other things in my box included another Warehouse Find Bluegrass Bandit (to upgrade my previous) the Cortes C Carrick I’ve been eyeing all year (on sale!), and a bunch of Stablemates. Because I want to focus on Stablemates for the time being.

(Yes, I am very excited about all the new Stablemates releases for next year!)

Odd Person Out

Funny how this always happens right after I pay my bills:

They made a Gambler’s Choice out of the Classics Swaps they asked us to vote on last year, and the one I liked – the Dun – didn’t make the cut. I figured the Dun was a long shot anyway (Matte + Solid), but to finish fourth in a field of four?

Ouch.

If there’s any silver lining to this cloud, the absence of my personal favorite makes it easier to walk away from a deal I would have had to walk away from regardless. The possibility of Reeves pulling a silly on us and issuing a few Duns as chase pieces in Scotty’s run isn’t enough motivation, either.

Then to make me feel even more like the “odd person out”, there’s the Special Edition Liberty, on the Silver mold:

I’ll give Reeves credit for managing to come up with a color that the Silver mold hadn’t come in yet. It’s similar in concept to the Lone Star Experience Fighting Stallion from 2009, the Rearing G2 Arabian from the same event, and the 2013 BreyerFest Special Run Lady Phase Twill.

But yeah, no on this one too. While the paint job is pretty, I’m not a member of the Silver Cheerleading Squad. Put that same color on the Rearing Stallion and we can talk...

This point seems a bit silly, but I am also annoyed by the copy on the promo flier:

Everyone knows that any American cowboy (or cowgirl) worth their salt owns their fair share of jeans – both for riding and for evenings off the ranch boot scootin’!

I don’t know why Reeves is so enamored of line dancing – there have been two different releases to bear the name Boot Scootin’ Boogie, including a Regular Run Justin Morgan in Black and a BreyerFest Raffle Model Brishen in 2013.

However, as someone who shares a house with a dog with various digestive issues, the term “boot scootin’” conjures up some less than pleasant memories.

(Though I would not mind getting the Justin Morgan one eventually. That mold looks good in Black!)

Tractor Supply Season

No Leandro, no surprise.

I just took a look at my records, and I haven’t “won” a Web Special since Astru, and that was back in May of 2015. There have been a couple I haven’t entered for, and a couple I only put in a single token entry, but it’s been a year and a half since I’ve gotten a “You’re a Winner!” e-mail.

I’ve gotten a lot of great things in the interim, but being told I’m a winner – even in an e-mail, for a silly plastic horse I probably didn’t need anyway – would have been (a) a nice change of pace, and (b) a good pick-me-up. (I have plenty of flowers, so bouquets are of little use to me in that regard.)

That’s okay, since my money has to be allocated to other things; I will also not miss the messy internal dialogue I would have had about the logic of selling it to fund even more desirable things.

Speaking of Special Runs I likely won’t be getting either, it appears that we have now entered Tractor Supply Special Run Season: this year’s Specials are a Bay Pinto Silver named Santana, and a Bay Roan Smart Chic Olena named Garrett.

I consider both to be interesting and surprising choices, because we’ve already had two other Silver SRs this year (the BreyerFest Pegasus, and Leandro) and the Smart Chic Olena is soon to be released as the Fall Collector’s Club Special Run Gideon.

Like everyone else, I was thinking it’d be something more like Forever Saige or Latigo.

Someone at Tractor Supply must have a soft spot for the SCO mold: he was also previously released as an SR for them in 2006 as John Wayne’s Dollor, and Topsails Rein Maker was a part of their Regular Run product mix in 2014.

The past few years of Tractor Supply Specials have brought out some interesting behaviors in my fellow hobbyists. I know for many of us this might be the only opportunity to find a Special Run in the wild, but the intensity of the searches always knocks me for a loop. Especially since these runs aren’t particularly small or limited, and no longer even numbered.

Though I can perhaps understand it a little bit more this year, considering the molds in question.

I’ll probably get the Smart Chic Olena some time down the road, once I finish up the collection cleanout (I can always make room for another SCO!) but I’ll take a pass on the Silver. Aside from being not all that into the mold, he looks like a dressier variation of the Treasure Hunt Bay Pinto Silver from 2007: not that there’s anything wrong with that, but the Bay Pinto from that release was my least favorite from that set.

Maybe if I see him in person I might change my mind, especially if some of them turn out to be Chalky, like last year’s Jesses.

In the meantime most of my spare horse money will continue to be invested in box lots and flea market finds. I just got another doozy of a lot in yesterday that’s was well worth the price, as you’ll see later this week.

Color Vs. Concept

In spite of my indifference towards the Silver mold, I really like the latest release in the Big Cats Series, Leandro:

The color and concept really suits the mold, and he is a good match for his predecessor, the 2011 Passage to the Pacific Hear Me Roar:

http://www.identifyyourbreyer.com/images/HearMeRoar.jpg

(Does this make the Hear Me Roar the Mini-Me, or the Leandro the Mighty-Me?)

Leandro got me to thinking about Decorators, in a general sense. While the earliest Decorators were basically one-to-one color swaps – substituting a realistic color with a non-realistic one – many of these newer Decorators are more about Concept than Color.

It is relatively easy to replicate a Color-based Decorator paint job on any mold in any scale, since these types of Decorators tend to have parameters that aren’t all that different from a realistic color. And sometimes are even more basic than that.

Want to replicate Charcoal? It is relatively simple: shaded Brown- or Blue-toned Black body color, masked white mane and tail, pink hooves, pink muzzle, four stockings, bald face, and maybe some eyewhites. Make a few minor tweaks for markings, decide between Matte and Gloss, and you are done.

But with Concept-based Decorators like the Big Cats Series, it’s not that simple.

In fact they are just more complicated in a technical sense: you have decals, diecut masks, and multicolored/multitonal paint jobs with odd little details (like footpads!) that are tailored specifically for the mold. Adapting it for another release on another mold would mean making adjustments to all of these components.

This is why you don’t see repeats of Conceptual Decorators very often, unless it’s something that was popular before (like the Stablemates Halloween Decos) or a seemingly perfect match of mold and concept (like Leandro here).

It would take almost as much time and effort to come up with a new concept, than recycle an older one.

I only have three Silvers in my herd – a Skullduggery, a Valentino, and the Volunteer Special Nottingham – and I wouldn’t mind adding Leandro as a fourth. But I’m not going to sweat it if I don’t, especially since my luck with Web-Specials-I-Want has not been so good, lately.

Puppy Monkey Breyer

Just a little head’s up here: I got hit with a double financial whammy this week – a bigger than expected tax bill, and some bad news from the dentist – so I’ll be listing some items on MH$P in the next week or two to help with the slight shortfall. I’ve been meaning to do that anyway, so I guess now is as good a time as any.

I don’t know if I’m going to buy one – the pictures are clearly that of a prototype, and not the real thing, and we all should know by now not to judge a Special Run by its prototype – but you know something? I don’t hate Estrela do Carnaval the way the rest of the hobby does.

My first reaction was not unlike the one I had for that strange and slightly disturbing Mountain Dew “Puppy Monkey Baby” Super Bowl commercial. (“What the…”) but then I sort of started giggling over the absurdity and inevitability of it.

Seriously, they’ve done just about every conceivable color and pattern on the Silver by now: an orange, lime green and brown Pegasus with a semi-naked lady decaled on its belly was just about all that was left.

While I would have gone full-on “parrot” with a bright blue body color instead of poo brown, I’m assuming that was tried and the show-through didn’t mix well with the skin tones of the Samba dancer on its belly.

It is worth remembering that the original Decorators – in Wedgewood Blue, Copenhagen, Florentine and Gold Charm – were considered hideous and spectacular failures when they were released in the 1960s. And Palomino Family Arabians were, in terms of sales and longevity, one of Breyer’s most successful.

Anyway, I’m not sure yet if I’ll be getting one; it’s one of those pieces, like the Times Square before it, that probably won’t win anyone over until he’s seen in the flesh. I am also trying (again) to keep my spending to a minimum this year – not out of a lack of interest, but a lack of space. Still trying to downsize here just a bit…

If anyone’s interested, this is the order – from most to least – of my interest in this year’s lineup of purchasable BreyerFest Special Runs, based on my assessment from their photos alone:

1. Dag Dia – Brishen (Store Special)
2. Namib
3. Samba Surprise
4. Bozeman 
5. Sheila
6. Estrela do Carnaval
7. Zebu
8. Furano
9. Mamacita y Chico
10. Diablo DC – Desatado (Store Special)

Interesting that there’s only one Gloss release, aside from the One Day Stablemates and whatever will be the “surprise” in the Samba Surprise. I wonder if that means we’ll be getting a 50/50 Gloss/Matte split on someone this year?

Odds and Ends

Right now I happen to be working on a vintage quilt block called Odds and Ends. It’s a little known and challenging pattern involving a lot of little curved and pointed pieces. It’s still in the design stage - a little something to preoccupy the back end of my mind while I deal with some bigger issues on the front end.

Seems like a good day to catch up on some odds and ends of the model horse sort, too.

First, here’s a picture of my Reissue Clydesdale Mare:

So pretty! Very metallic, and not a dapple in sight. (Not that I have an issue with the dappling technique - I don’t - just noting it as a point of distinction.) She has a couple of flaws - a tiny box rub, and an eartip that was obviously chipped, but "cleaned up" and painted over. If I didn’t already know that they were flaws, I wouldn’t recognize them as such.

I like to think they give her character.

I’m a little bummed that my Reissue mold predictions didn’t pan out, other than the Family Arabian Stallion. More proof that I shouldn’t be buying lottery tickets.

Like everyone else, I was flabbergasted to the point of speaking in Doge when I saw the "final" (not really) BreyerFest Special Run, Platinum Star - a grulla overo pinto Latigo with a different mane (from the angle of the photos, I’m not so sure if the tail is different). So Wow! Much Beautiful! Such Happy!

Now I’m wondering if I need to buy ANOTHER ticket, or pray that the Surprise model is something I’m not interested in.

There’s currently a rumor floating around that the model will be similar to the Roxy - performance-friendly, with multiple mane/tail options. This suggests Strapless to me, though we already had her this year as a Web Special with Aphrodite.

I still don’t think they’ll pull a Silver on us. I could see a Silver being tied to whatever surprise raffle-type-thing they apparently have planned to coincide with Saturday’s evening festivities. Not a Silver Filigree, naturally, but a Silver Charm or Solid Silver are viable possibilities. Or something with glitter, like the Ethereal Times Square Special from a few years ago, or the Horse Crazy Stablemates.

All of which I love, and any combination of which I would accept wholeheartedly into my herd.

I’m not going to bet on it, though: the Silver, the possible color combos, or winning one.

BTW, I had another great day at the flea market today! I haven’t had time to unpack the car yet (long story) so it’ll all have to wait until next time.  

Frame of Mind

I haven’t been in the right frame of mind to do much speculating about What This Year’s Surprise Model Will Be. The current line of thinking is that it’ll be Lonesome Glory, based on an otherwise unidentified set seen during the latest Exclusive Event.

Except for the first Surprise Model - the old Quarter Horse Gelding - the Surprises we’ve had since then have been on modestly popular newer molds like Flash, Ethereal, and Roxy. Lonesome Glory would fit right in to that lineup.

I don’t have any other information or hunches to convince me, and there are a lot of other molds that would also fit. Two other popular guesses right now are Othello and (naturally) the Silver.

My primary argument against either of those molds is that they’re too popular with the segment of the hobby population that does go to BreyerFest. (What colors are left to put the Silver in is also a viable question to ask.) There’s already an inherent appeal in the Surprise Models - that they’re all very limited releases, but a few are more limited than others - that doesn’t need to be sweetened with the addition of it being a Very Popular Mold Already.

I can easily imagine the chaos that would ensue if either model was. The first words that spring to mind? Gasoline on a bonfire. 

They’d also probably be the only molds that would make me bypass getting one. I’m not a very athletic or agile person, and the weight of all the metaphorical daggers in my back that I’d get from people standing behind me in line might be enough to physically topple me over.

I’m not going to give it much more thought until the first bags get opened. And then act accordingly.

There’s been one line of questioning that I have been actively engaging in over the past couple of days - the identity of the mold in the sneak peek photo they gave us on Friday via the Blog and the Facebook:

http://www.breyerhorses.com/bf2014-blog

By the time most of you read this it will have already been revealed, but the first thing I thought when I saw it was: Western Horse?

It’d be both a daring and logical choice. There have been only a handful of actual Western Horse Special Runs: the 1990 Just About Horses Brown Pinto, the 1995 QVC Palomino Reissue, and the Solid Gold pieces given away in 2003 for the T-Shirt/Costume Contest. Frankly, we’re overdue.

There are a couple of other factors working in its favor. First, a Western Horse would be a logical choice for a BreyerFest that’s all about celebrating an Anniversary. Second, I believe a Vintage Club Western Horse Special - either as a part of the Series, or as a Bonus Model - is a matter of when, not if. It’d make sense from an economic standpoint to drop the mold to make enough for two releases, rather than drop it to just make enough for a more limited (350-500 piece) run.

If it’s something like the San Domingo or Old Timer, and I’m made to look silly by the guess, no matter. But I am so on board with the idea of a Chestnut Frame Overo Western Horse Special Run right now I’m already imagining the names I will give it.

I like Stetson.

The Unsellables

I spent most of my waking hours over the weekend organizing the last of the tax paperwork: I sold more, it’s true, but I also bought more, and the difference between what I bought and what I sold is going to be almost identical to last year’s difference.

Funny how that works!

My downfall this year, again, was the retail end: too many store impulse buys. If my schedule continues the way it has been, though, that shouldn’t be much of an issue going forward. (Though I hear rumors of models reappearing at Tuesday Morning. Must. Stay. Away.)

A lot of what I sold was older, lower end items, and quite a bit from the dreaded period from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s: aka, The Age of the Unsellables.

Don’t let the online community fool you: now THAT was the true dark ages of Breyer quality control. Reeves had just taken over production and shipped it to New Jersey - with some, but not all of the Chicago crew. (Just the handful who were willing to move from Chicago to New Jersey.)

Coupled with the fact that Reeves had no idea what it had gotten into - well, it showed. Rough seams, undistinguished paint jobs with masking issues, questionable choices for sculptors, and problems with the plastic itself that later morphed into Shrinkies and Oozies.

Things didn’t seem so bad at the time, because there were some genuine bright spots. The first BreyerFest was in 1990. Models like Breezing Dixie and Precipitado Sin Par were early and moderately successful attempts at more complex paint jobs. Detailed, handpainted eyes and hooves reappeared on certain releases, as did Vintage colors, like Gloss Charcoal on the 1992 release of Memphis Storm.

The darkest parts were the new molds that they gave us: headshakers like Khemosabi and Rugged Lark, and pieces like Roemer and Misty’s Twilight that were more conceptual and "artistic" than realistic. While I didn’t have any problem with more artsy-fartsy molds, the increasingly complex and realistic paint jobs Reeves was putting on them did feel incongruous.

There is room for both approaches, but it’s rather hard to pull off on the same model.

By the end of the decade, however, we had molds like the Silver and the Huckleberry Bey, both of whom are still popular - almost too much so, in Silver’s case. While they may not be up to the almost too rigorous standards of today, consider that only ten years separates them from the likes of Khemo or Rugged Lark. They hardly seem like products of the same company, in retrospect.

Anyway, back to the selling aspect. I haven’t had too much trouble selling "Unsellable" Era models: at the right price, in the right marketplace, you can sell almost anything. I’ve found that New in Box items from that era sell moderately well at low - but not unreasonably so - prices.

For out of box items, it all depends on condition and relative quality - is it a good piece compared to others of the same kind? Is it something that at least has moderate value as a body (Adios, Lady Phase, G1 Stablemates, Love Classics)?

Fortunately for me, most of the items I resell from this era I pick up from my usual haunts, so my emotional and financial investment is not very substantial to start. For what they are and for what I invest in them, I do fine.

There is no model so homely that it cannot be loved by anyone.

Zzzzzzzzz

Blizzards, man. Just something about having to drive in ‘em while they’re busy blizzarding that messes with the whole day. Makes me antsy and weird. (No snickering!)

I’m off ‘til Monday, so I have the entire weekend to work out that nervous energy, and I have no plans of geographically venturing any farther than the mailbox until then. Got lots to do around the house, anyway. (The usual: paperwork, e-mails, the finishing touches on another dusty old sewing project.)

The title is/was my reaction to the latest Web Special Zeus, which is yet another Silver. I love the color, and the theme (Greek Mythology), but I’d rather see it on another mold that doesn’t get quite as much love. Like the Western Prancing Horse, Stud Spider, or the Trakehner. You know, someone just a shade on the dull side who could really benefit from a punch of color.

I’ll do my one and done entry. With my luck, I’ll probably win him. If I do, there’s a greater than 50/50 chance I’ll sell him. I don’t want to be one of THOSE people, though, so no guarantees. But I have way too many models hanging around as it is that I thought were just short-term rentals…

I have no clue about the identity of next week’s upcoming Collector’s Club "Made to Order" Special - I’ve been too busy freaking out about the weather, or the dog, or astronomical events to give it more than a casual glance.

They’re hinting at something fantastical - something with wings or a horn, I presume - which would disincline me from ordering it. (Unless it’s a Newsworthy Pegasus. Don’t ask me why or how, but I’ve been quite taken with the idea. And in possession of a body.)

I’ll deal with him/her/it when I see it.

I see that the Vault Sale Consolation Prize SR Coltons are shipping out. Pretty boy! Some says the color reminds them of the old Gloss Palomino Family Arabians, but my first reaction was "It’s the Texas Longhorn Bull’s cute second cousin, twice-removed!"

(Not saying this guy isn’t cute. In fact, he’s gorgeous. One of my better restoration jobs, too!)

Colton’s neat, I like him lots, but I’ll wait until Reeves drops the leftovers somewhere surreptitiously, because you know they will. And you know where they tend to dispose of small, slightly controversial, and awkwardly distributed Special Runs?

(Remember folks. BULLWHIP. That day, a couple of weeks ago, when it was really warm? Totally gave the neighbors something to talk about. No, really.)

In other somewhat-hobby-related news, I have been reconsidering my stance on the local Zuni-enhanced live show. I feel the need to shake up my hobby routine a bit, and simply reshuffling the shelves hasn’t been doing the job.

The only thing hampering me is that the task of prepping and documentation may not fit into my already overscheduled life. On the other hand, I actually like socializing in meatspace, especially with people where the phrase "not the ice cream" never enters the convo.

I have a few weeks to sleep on it.

Crystal Clarity

I decided to treat my three days off as actual days off. Didn’t get a whole lot done, other than bake some cookies, but I feel a whole lot better. That counts for something, right?

(White Chocolate Macadamia, with coconut and lime. New recipe, and a total keeper.)

Just to clarify my Facebook stance: I am not anti-Facebook. I am non-Facebook. Anyone who has met me in person knows that I am far from antisocial. I just prefer in-person social interaction: it’s harder for people to be fake to you to your actual face. Having a huge bodycount of friends who barely interact with me in a meaningful way? That's what I have model horses for.

And also: I’m not a big fan of the Facebook business model. Privatizing a huge chunk of the Internet, and monetizing people’s personal information on it? No, thanks.

I am far from a Luddite. I was e-mailing people (at work) in the late 1980s, my first computer was a Mac IIsi, and (like so many people) lost a big chunk of myself in the Internet startup boom/bust in the early Aughts.

I only just barely have a cell phone (for emergencies) but that’s mostly because I’ve been phone-phobic most of my life. If I didn’t do a lot of traveling by myself, I might not even have it at all.

Nonconformist? Well, obviously. Anyone who tells me I have to like or do something is going to get some serious pushback.

This probably explains, in part, my indifference to the latest "Equestral Crystalworks" releases Reeves snuck onto their web site recently: miniaturized versions of the Andalusian, the Silver, and Brishen have been added to the line. There’s an extravagantly long thread on Blab where everyone is falling over themselves with how beautiful and awesome they are. If you wish to avoid such effusions, you can go direct to the source:

http://www.breyerhorses.com/equestral_crystalworks

Am I the only one out in model horse land who’s just not into these things? I am clumsy and break stuff with disturbing ease. I walk into walls, trip over my own feet, and have fallen out of trees, off of bikes, and down several stairwells. If I were any clumsier, I’d qualify for one of those handicap parking stickers.

That I, as yet, have not broken any bones is a miracle and wonder to all, including me.

Miniaturized Breyers, made out of glass? No freaking way, man. My H-Rs make me nervous enough, and most of them are locked up in china cabinets.

Yeah, I’ve had my share of plastic-Breyer-related injuries over the years, but this is someone who once injured herself while reading. If it's in the house, tripping and falling is an eventuality. The fewer (potentially) sharp things, the better.

Rode Hard, Put Away Wet

Did y’all miss me?

Sorry about the lack of posts; as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I was a little busy last week. I barely had time to sleep, much less type. I think I got … maybe 20 hours of sleep total from Tuesday through Sunday?

Which would explain why I slept in until 2 p.m. today. I’ve only just now finished unloading the truck, and have only made the most minimal efforts to unpack. I gave myself an extra day off work to recover, and I’m taking advantage of it. My only plans for today were to lounge around the house and eat as much ice cream as I can stand. (Check, and check.)

I have lots of stuff to show everyone, so I’m hoping (but not promising) to make daily posts this week to cover the craziness in full. I had a blast, for the most part, though there were a few things, as always, to complain about.

Unlike the folks elsewhere on the Internet, the hotel will not be one of my complaints. There were some annoyances, but it is what it is, and expecting drastic physical improvements in less than a year seems a little bit too much to ask. Seriously: it’s a ginormous complex on a half dozen levels, built nearly fifty years ago, in multiple stages, on the side of a hill, in a high traffic area. It’s going to take a while to get the job done, is what I’m saying. Next year, we can talk.

(Besides, some of the condition issues are part of the ambiance, by now.)

Anyhoo, today y’all get to see one of the many fabulous things I got to bring home with me - one of the few things I did unpack, just because he’s so special to me: my volunteer model!


A bay ("lavender") roan Silver, named Nottingham. I believe his model number was 711430; I wrote it down somewhere, but it’s on something I haven’t unpacked yet. I think there were 137 pieces produced, more or less. (Yeah, I know, another roan. Good thing I love them so!)

Contrary to popular opinion, I do not hate the Silver mold: I am just annoyed by his overuse. The only other ones I have in my collection currently are the gloss bay Valentino (because he’s beautiful) and the Skullduggery (because I love the Halloween horses.) I’d like a few others - especially the Silver Filigree, or the Hobo - but I’m not in any hurry. I think there were a few Pegasus Silvers in the NPOD this year, but I wasn’t especially motivated to toss one in my buy pile.

No worries: my NPOD pile was still plenty big, and plenty good, but we’ll get to that later in the week. I have to still unpack it all, y’know.

(And before I forget: h/t to "Tumnus" for the upgrade. You are also awesome.)