Happy Places

I ended up sleeping through most of my (actual, full-length) weekend. It wasn’t completely wasted, though: I did get most of my tax paperwork from last year sorted out, about a month earlier than I usually do. And I picked up my newly repaired sewing machine!

(A shout out to Lea Robinson here for making the tax paperwork process super-easy, at least as far as the BreyerFest Sales part goes. If you’re in need of a room-sitter, I highly recommend!)

As far as this week’s big project goes, it’s seed starting time. As I’ve mentioned before, most of the things I intend on growing this year are direct sow, but I do have a couple varieties of peppers and a few perennials I that have to be started early, as well as the usual petunias, snapdragons and coleus. I had pretty good luck stratifying seeds last year, so I have to get that set up, too. 

They released another video of the BreyerFest Special Runs with better (non-distorted) shots. The color on the Barb is beautiful, but I’m still not a fan of the mold. I’m liking the Ziyadah more than I thought I would, but I’m hesitant to put her on my official Buy List. I still own way too much stuff, and it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to sell as much as I want from now until July to make room for her anyway.

Since I had a dentist appointment today and it’s thrown me out of whack (as it usually does), here’s another picture of a not-very-recent but still very pleasing acquisition that puts me in a happier place: the Bay Pinto Thoroughbred Mare and Suckling Foal!

One of the earliest of the “official” Christmas Catalog Special Runs when it first appeared in the 1982 Sears Wishbook, this set was so popular it made a return appearance in the 1983 catalog. A variation of the Foal can sometimes be found with stockings on its opposite legs. (Which I already had, courtesy of a large and very randomly assorted box lot several years back.)

I got this set for Christmas when it first came out, but I was dumb and sold it several years later. Although this set is not minty-mint, I did pick them up in a small box lot a couple months ago: once the other bodies in the lot are sold, the Mare and Foal will essentially be free. My favorite kind of deal!

Getting Things Out Of The Way

So every time I wake up now there’s going to be another BreyerFest reveal? Okay, sure. I guess that means the VIP tickets are going to go up for sale sooner rather than later.

(I have no idea how that’s going to go down this year. I have enough on my mind this month not to want to think about it.)

First let’s talk about Montanara:

I like him! The original Herrick Friesian mold has many loyal fans, so this Store Special will be undoubtedly very popular. My only hesitation with this fellow is that that color is hit or miss: when it’s rendered right, it’s gorgeous, and when it’s not, it bears a striking resemblance to baby poop. 

And there’s the possibility that we might be offered a Gloss option on him like the previous two years’ worth of Store Specials, and if that’s the case, I might need him in Gloss. 

(For the record, I am not a Gloss Addict, nor do I ever use the word “pop” in a sentence except to refer to music or carbonated beverages because I am a civilized person, yo). 

Incidentally, the mold has rarely been offered in anything other than a Matte Finish – and all of these Non-Matte models have been BreyerFest Special Runs! The 2005 Celebration Horse Fire Magic was Semi-Gloss, the 2014 Store Special Athos was Pearlescent, and in 2019 the Black Appaloosa Harley release was offered in Gloss as a Live Show prize. 

The Mare and Foal set they’re offering this year is on the just-released Premier Club Firefly and Hawkeye molds, in Red Bay Tobiano:

I haven’t seen these molds yet in person – I am not a member of the Premier Club, obviously – so I can’t really make a judgement about them. It does not help that the photograph is not great, but that’s par for the course here. The Foal is definitely cute, and the Mare is very reminiscent of the Thoroughbred Mare from the #3155 Thoroughbred Mare and Suckling Foal set. 

Allegedly these molds are controversial and/or are not going over well because their scale is off? Breyer Traditionals have been all over the map in terms of scale since pretty much the beginning, so variations of scale don’t bother me as much as it apparently does hobbyists who are more active on the showing side of things. 

(There’s also some nonsense about their scale being a larger plot to get us to pay Traditional prices for Classic Scale molds, which is… something. Really, if there is anything going on, I think it’s more an issue with their moldmakers or the moldmaking process than some convoluted conspiracy to get more money out of us.)

That's Going to Hurt...

Well, I made the mistake of clicking on some auctions on eBay. I noticed another Black AQHA horse listed, and I was mildly interested to see where it was found, or at least the location of the seller.

You guessed it: the next town over.

Argh! I sure hope it wasn’t the same store I bought my Roan. Oh well, it’s not like I had a ton of time or money to spend on that search anyway. Let it go Andi, let it go…

I am heartened by the outpouring of affection here for the Thoroughbred Mare and Foal set. I was starting to feel a bit lonely, since most of the comments I’ve been seeing online about it had been to express a preference for Grazing set or a Sucesion and Le Fire one instead.

I am also delighted – though a bit annoyed – that their blankets feature another horsey-themed fabric that I wish I had access to for, you know, quilting purposes.

I told myself I couldn’t start any new quilt projects until I finished a few of the several dozen already in progress here. But I would make an exception if I had some of those Breyer-themed fabrics. Heck, I’d make a Breyer-themed quilt for the BreyerFest silent auction in exchange for a few bolts of these fabrics. (Hint, hint.)

But back to the Thoroughbred Mare and Foal. The original #3155 ran for over a decade, and variations are plentiful. It’s one of the slightly commoner items to find in Chalky, which makes sense, since it was introduced right at the beginning of the Chalky Era in 1973.

Most of these Chalkies are basecoated white, but some were painted directly on the gray plastic, giving their coats darker and richer undertones than average. A number of models – most notably the Elephant, the Donkey, the Black Stretched Morgan and El Pastor – also came in this unusual “Semi-Chalky” variation.

While the Mare is usually found in what I like to call “Breyer Bay” – with a black mane and tail, but no black shading on the legs – it does very rarely come in a more standard Bay, similar to the contemporaneous Justin Morgan.

I saw one earlier this year on eBay, in fact, but it was while I was searching completed auctions. If I remember correctly, she went cheap, too. (Another ouch!)

I don’t know if it was an early or late variation, a painting batch error like the 4-stocking Stud Spiders, or something utterly random. I haven’t had any in my hands or in my possession to inspect for clues.

I haven’t been actively looking for one, like I do some other variations, but she’s definitely on my radar. On the same level, I guess, as the No-Star Halla or the Appaloosa Performance Horse without his dorsal spots.

Now to go look at pictures of kittens on the Internet, because it’s that kind of day.

More Roany Rarities

I was in possession of a well-rested morning and coupons, so on Saturday I went in search of others to add to my tiny AQHA collection. I had no hopes of a Black, but I thought I at least had a shot at Palomino. The mold looks nice in that color, and if the Roan had not happened, he would have been the one I would have been aiming for.

Nope. In spite of the fact that I’m within driving distance of more stores that carry Breyers than some entire time zones possess, I never saw anything other than Chestnut and Bay.

I will have to be content with my Roan, and hope I find another rarity accidentally, as I usually do.

Or buy the Blue Roan Warehouse Reissue, when (a) I get some inventory issues worked out here, and (b) there’s a sale of some sort. Numerically, he’s probably as rare – or moreso – than any of the Anniversary Rarities, and he’s sitting right there on the web site, waiting. And he’s a roan; I have a hard time passing by a pretty roan.

Speaking of, I am rather infatuated by the latest Web Site Special – the Thoroughbred Mare and Foal Eve and Claus, in Chestnut Roan:

I can’t right now because it’s a bit pricey (not unreasonably) and I want to build a little bit of a war chest in case of Rare Holiday Special Run Animal Emergency. The previous Holiday Mare and Foal Set – the Running Mare and Foal Vixen and Blitzen – still hasn’t sold out yet, so I’m not in any hurry, though I do think that the piece count on Eve and Claus may be lower.

The Thoroughbred Mare and Foal set has always been one of those sets that polls better among the general public than with hobbyists. The original Mare and Foal Set #3155 ran for over ten years (1973-1984) and the #3367 Cupid and Arrow set ran for about seven (2002-2008).

Most of the other Regular Run sets sold well enough to be kept in production longer than the current two-year average, and the Sears Wishbook Bay Pintos set was popular enough to run in two consecutive catalogs, in 1982 and 1983.

The most recent Special Run was the Gloss Palomino Key Largo and Key West, for the 2011 Sunshine Celebration, though I feel a bit uncomfortable calling any four-piece Special Run an actual Special Run.

So anyway, here’s my thinking on this new Holiday set: it’s either being made with bodies left over from the Cupid and Arrow run, or is a precursor of another set coming in the near future.

It won’t matter to me, though if they turn out to be either Moderately Rare or Only Slightly Scarcer Than Average. I ike them, regardless.