Gibson and Stuff

This is (not) my week: I have maybe fifteen minutes to spare today to let y’all know I am not dead. 

Apparently there are like a bajillion Special Runs for Tractor Supply? Considering I don’t think I ever saw a single blind bag Stablemate last year, my hopes are not high on seeing any this year, especially if my schedule keeps doing what it’s been doing. 

I might try for the Traditional Belgian “Gibson”: aside from being a vintage mold that I already like, and something I presume will be in much less demand, maybe he won’t be as hard to acquire:

But what the heck do I know, I wasn’t even picked from the waitlists for Oriole. On the Forever Saige mold that all the cool kids love to hate. 

(FWIW, I’ve pretty much given up on the whole “Birds of a Feather” Series, anyway.)

The only complication here is that I could see the mold being popular here locally because of Kirk Gibson. And since getting celebrities to sign models for me has been a theme lately, it gives me notions…

Speaking of notions, I was also curious why I hadn’t seen anything about the Best Customs Contest this year yet – since I’ve been contemplating giving it a go next year, mostly for funsies and to motivate me finish a custom for once – but then I did track down some of the entrants this year, and oh good lord...

I have words, and as you might have guessed, they are not going to be entirely nice ones. 

But I won’t have time for that – to write it, and deal with the fallout – until next week.  

Out and About

FYI: when the pharmacist says that the Shingles vaccine might kick you in the butt for a day or two, believe them! 

I don’t exactly have a lot of spare time right now, but most of my Friday had to be slept away: my body decided staying awake was not an option. Today I’m just mildly nauseous and have a slight headache: in other words, just your typical Monday, if it didn’t happen to be Saturday. 

This also arrived on Friday and was entirely predictable:

They don’t appear to have sold out yet – either they made more than they usually do of the Classic Gambler’s Choice Web Special, or since it’s a mold made last century nobody but us old farts want it anyway – so I’ll bide my time until the remainder get sold by other means. 

Earlier this week I was in the vicinity of another Tractor Supply that was even less well stocked than my local store, which only served to remind me just how rapacious my local co-hobbyists are. Just two lonely Snowbirds and a Zeke were left!  

Then I thought I’d take a chance at the local Dollar General that I hadn’t gone into in the past couple of months, and found these babies:

Yay, (the) cheap Stablemates! Someone had already swiped the Saddlebreds, but that’s okay: at least I found something. A win is a win, and I am taking it. 

I mean, cripes, even the Stablemates Sets at both Tractor Supplies – which are just early releases, not actually Special Runs or anything – were nowhere to be found.

(Yes, I am aware of the VIN numbers on the TSC releases kinda-sorta make them an exclusive variant, but the road to collecting Stablemate Variations is paved with madness.)

Like Johann, I am going to wait until the entire situation is less ridiculous. The Unicorn sets will be available everywhere eventually. And according to the Breyer web site, display cases of the standard, non-VINed version of the blind bags they sell at TSC will be in stock on the web site soon, so I will go with that as my XMAS present to myself this year, whatever series it happens to be. 

Will I get a chase piece? I’d love to finally get one of those ultra-rare metallic ones, but I am not counting on it. 

Whatever. I’ll just be happy to get a danged box. I don’t have the time to worry about it.

The Bluest Time of the Year

You have no idea how much the wholesome conversation contained in the post previous delighted me! 

As much as I would like to continue it, extended philosophical discussions about the intersection of two of my favorite pastimes will have to be put on pause: I’m now entering my money-making season (both online, and offline) and my spare time is not plentiful.

Speaking of money, some of that as-yet-unmade moolah has already been spent on a Johann: 

I have a feeling I’ll be getting one of the lesser-desired ones – will it be the Appaloosa, or the Palomino? – because that’s how my luck runs. While it does not matter to me (because I do WANT THEM ALL), it would make life less of a hassle if I could get one of the more desirable/expensive ones out of the way first.

While making a post office run earlier in the week, I swung by the local Tractor Supply to see if they had gotten in their Christmas goodies yet, and they did – with the Stablemates predictably absent. Although I don’t have any plans of buying anything from Tractor Supply this year, I rather liked the Future Farmers of America Benefit Horse Blue: I’m not a huge fan of the Geronimo mold, but that shade of indigo was very attractive.  

It reminded me quite a bit of the color of the Curio-sized Resin #9132 Lexington they released at BreyerFest in 2010, except with some added cross-hatching to mimic the FFA corduroy jackets.  

Close up, though, the cross-hatching looks more like scuffs or flaws in the paint, and I imagine a few years from now collectors will assume that they are, the same way many now assume the single eyewhite on the Five-Gaiter Special Run Wil Shriver is, or the black birthmark on the #817 Abdullah release of the Trakehner.

Will I be buying Blue? Unless they go on deep discount, probably not. I have other blue-colored things to buy first, like the third and final Jól: my recently purchased (and extremely affordable) Clear one still resides in his shipping box at the foot of the bed. Maybe tonight, after I get some sleep...

More Silly Sales Season Stuff

More Tractor Supply Exclusives are showing up, including the Appaloosa Ethereal Wilder and the Gray Bobby Jo Cirrus. Both are… different than I expected, but not enough to go out of my way to get them. 

The Stablemates Unicorn Foal Surprises are another matter. They might not even be actual Special Runs, but early releases of 2022 product, like the carded Stablemates Unicorn Paint Kits from a few years back. But with the Stablemates market being as crazy as it is, I’m not going to sweat over them, whatever they are.  

Second, the first offering in the 2022 Stablemates Club is an Appaloosa Fighting Stallion named Dax:

Maybe it’s just my Seasonal Affective Disorder kicking it into high gear this year (so much so that I broke down and finally bought a light therapy box this week) but I don’t find him all that exciting either. I mean, he’s nicely done and I love the name and all that, but maybe I’m just a bit tapped out on the Stablemates Fighting Stallion already. 

It also leaves me a little concerned: I’d rather not have the Stablemates line turn into a series of “miniaturized Traditionals”. With the release of the Mini Me of the Premier Club Fireheart, I worry that hobbyists are going to not just expect, but demand that every new Traditional mold release come with a miniature counterpart. I’d prefer entirely new molds, or releases adapted from other sources, like the upcoming Stablemates adaptation of Eberl’s Sharif, Twist. 

The latest Pony for Christmas is also out: a Bouncer named Gingerbread, in a blanket that looks like a Christmas Sweater!

https://www.breyerhorses.com/collections/website-exclusives/products/pony-for-christmas-gingerbread

It’s similar to the Bouncer release Apple Jack, but with two stockings and without the flaxen mane and tail. I am going to presume that, like last year’s Christmas Pony release Honeybunch, that there aren’t any additional markings hidden under the blanket. 

I would not be disappointed if there was, though. I am always up for a new Bouncer, regardless of the color or pattern. (Thought I did originally skip out on the Apple Jack because he looked a little too much like the original Kennebec Count for comfort.)

A bunch of other new, mostly non-horse merchandise has also been added to the web site, including a couple pairs of socks. The purple ones are 100 percent my style:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/collections/new/products/breyer-socks-purple-pinto

If last couple of years have been any indication, the addition of new merchandise to the web site usually precedes the Customer Appreciation Sale. I don’t know if I’m going to participate this year, especially since I just found out I have to work this weekend (and possibly others), and thus kicking my inventory plans down the road yet another week. I don’t need even more horses to account for. 

But if I can stick to mostly apparel and accessories (I do need more socks!) I just might. 

Patience

By the time I found out about the Tractor Supply Specials being online on their web site yesterday, the 30 percent off discount was effectively no longer operative – everything was listed as “no longer available”.

I figured the sale was some sort of mistake somehow anyway – why on Earth would they be on sale before they had even shipped them to stores yet? – and I figured I’d rather wait and handpick anyway.

There was probably also an element of hobbyists… taking advantage of the situation and ordering multiples, especially the Black Pinto Emerson Eclipse and the Christmas Horse Shannondell.

Tractor Supply Specials are not that limited and they will restock both, so have some patience and don’t give in to the not-so-nice people who might have gotten lucky enough to actually get one or more at the discounted price.

As we’ve learned with Vita, rewarding unpleasant behavior just leads to more unpleasant behaviors. Scalpers have less incentive to be scalpers if you don’t buy from them.

Same thing goes with Web Specials and other stuff like that. I just don’t understand to impetus for someone to buy a Web Special from someone else – sometimes at a significant markup – when they haven’t finished pulling the waitlist yet.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people who get drawn after purchasing it from someone else. Sure, I never get pulled from the waitlist, but I’ve also learned that if I wait long enough, I’ll eventually get what I want anyway, at a price not much more than the original offering.

It took me years to get a 1984 Just About Horses Saddlebred Weanling at a reasonable price. And a Golden Charm Man o’ War, too. And most of my Hagen-Renakers. And the thing that’s currently on its way to me.

(But let’s get this out of the way: Marshall is probably never going to happen.)

Sure, I would have loved to have gotten any of this year’s TSC Specials at the discounted price, but I don’t have access to the Internet most of the day and I am not even sure where my phone is most of the time. It was unlikely to begin with, and I have to be okay with that.

Waiting for the Tractor Supply Horses

Another busy weekend: I reorganized my main flower garden yesterday (and am I feeling it today, oof!) and I apparently made yet another grail purchase.

But you should know the drill about these grails by now (waiting until it gets here, yadda yadda).

I was hoping that all I’d have to worry about with regards to the upcoming Tractor Supply Special Runs would be whatever Stablemates (Blind Bags and otherwise) they’ll be adding to their standard store assortment. But based on the plan-o-grams floating around the Internet, it looks like it’s going to be more complicated than that.

The Alabaster/Aged Gray Classic Brabant is definitely a given, since I’ve managed to keep my little collection of the mold complete so far (and it comes with a wee blanket, squee!) I still haven’t opened up my Greenman yet, but horse inventory stuff is part of my extended Labor Day weekend plans, so soon:

I might even buy another Mighty Muscle in the near future for customizing purposes, but that will depend on the progress I make on all my other projects in the next month or so.

I am hoping that this Tractor Supply Special will be the last new release on the Brabant mold for a while, though. At least through the end of the year? While I don't expect the TSC Brabant to be all that difficult to get, I still could use the break.

You also know I’m also a big fan of the Emerson mold, so the Black Pinto Emerson in the TSC assortment will also likely be coming home with me. I’ll have to see what the Marabella and the Boomerang look like in person (and how my inventory plans go!) before I make any commitments.

I am intrigued by the Marabella; while the mold has come in an assortment of pintos over the years, her upcoming TSC release will mark the first time she’s appeared in Appaloosa.

September Shopping

I know I got lucky with the Fruitcake Fillies last year so I kinda-sorta had it coming, but I seriously do not have time to deal with twinsies right now:

The Salem is just as awesome as advertised, though: I don’t know what process they are using to achieve this, but he glows so intensely you could use him as a nightlight.

This is also my first in-hand experience with the Mason mold in person, and I have to say that… I really like him! I wasn’t overly impressed with the mold when he debuted as the 2018 Horse of the Year, but I think I was letting the original release’s sedate gray color get in the way. It’s amazing what a difference a nicely designed paint job makes!

(I think the same situation is going to occur with the new “Mighty Muscle” Draft Horse.)

Speaking of… since I happened to be in that part of town, I swung by one of my local toy stores on Friday, ostensibly to check out some of the Fall releases. I was impressed by the sparkly Cupcake (who, despite what some people say, does look like chocolate in person), found myself still on the fence about the “Black Opal” Desatado Lightning Ridge (a concept that would have definitely benefited from translucency), and unexpectedly fell in love with the Brick and Mortar Marwari release Khalid.

I didn’t buy any of those three, though if I can carve out any time in the next several days to do it I just might go back for the Khalid. He was a release I hadn’t really given him much thought to prior to seeing him in person, and now that I have I realize that he’s the exact shade of Dun Sabino that I’ve been chasing for years.

I’ve tried painting one myself, and got others to try and paint one for me, but here Reeves goes and just nails it in a Production Run. I was not prepared for that.

It took me a couple of Tractor Supply Stores, but I did manage to secure a Stella that met my specifications yesterday. The same store had a drop-dead gorgeous and extremely Chalky Sampson too, but since things are kind of chaos here at the moment (and the Khalid is messing with my head) I decided to stick to my original plan. Though I did thrown in a few of the Series 2 Spirit Stablemates I hadn’t acquired yet, including the Chase Running Mustang Spirit. Because there’s always room for Stablemates!

And finally, here’s last week’s flea market acquisitions: while the weather was fine, I just wasn’t feeling up to the task today (busy, allergies, not sleeping well, etc.)

The larger Fox Terrier is actually hard plastic – I’m assuming Diamond P, but I don’t see a mold mark anywhere so don’t quote me on that. As I’ve pointed out before, in Breyer’s earliest days they briefly billed themselves as a “Horse and Dog” figurine manufacturer. And it makes sense: by 1958 they already had the Boxer, the Poodle, Rin Tin Tin and Lassie molds in their lineup – all before the Old Mold Arabians and the Clydesdale Stallion even debuted!

That parity would be short lived, with only four more Traditional Dog molds introduced in the following twenty years.

Would a Fox Terrier have been a part of the mix eventually, if the Dog molds had been just a bit more popular? (Or the horses, a little less so?) Sometimes I wonder.

Tractor Supply Time

Another good day at the flea market: a #327 German Shepherd, some vintage Classic bodies, and a Tractor Supply Nevada Joe Sterling from 2002 – who isn’t minty-mint, but he has nice shading and was a relatively low number (74/5500), so I couldn’t pass him by.

Low numbers on hand-numbered Special Runs don’t really mean anything, per se; metal molds don’t deteriorate over time like ceramic molds do, and they don’t keep track of them that way regardless. (The 74th piece numbered is not necessarily the 74th piece out of the mold, or the 74th painted.)

A low number is just a nice little plus, like a cherry on your sundae. 

I already have a mint, low-number Nevada Joe Sterling (97/5500) that I bought locally; I can’t recall if any of the other Smokies were of similarly low numbers, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case. It’s been my experience that most models bought locally tend to stay local, though this has been gradually changing over time, with the Internet et al.

I was at my local TSC yesterday, incidentally, and they were just setting out the stocking stuffer bins, which (I’ve found) go up a few weeks before the rest of their holiday merchandise. I was able to sneak a peek at some of the shelf labels for potential Stablemates, and found them: the Paint and Play Unicorn Assortment, the Surprise Paint Kits, and the Mystery Unicorn Blind Bags.

But which Unicorn Blind Bags? The Walmart ones with the Black and Gold Florentine Magnolia, or the standard Regular Run assortment with the Navy Blue Alborozo?

This is important because of what happened last year, with an unusually high number of Copper Florentine Chase Piece Djangos turning up in the TSC assortment.

I’m fine with either – the local hordes cleaned out most of my local stores of both Unicorn assortments. (Though I did have a chance at a Magnolia, walking away from a full and unopened box in a rare moment of clarity.)

The speculation about the Traditional pieces is focusing on more recent molds – from the past 15 years, that is – with my cohort coming to the conclusion that the Smarty Jones and the Brishen are two of the most likely candidates; with Flash, the Marwari, and the Andalusian also being in the running, though slightly less likely.

Personally, I’m also keen on the Giselle, Bluegrass Bandit, and Bouncer – but that’s not intuition or deduction talking, that’s me just liking those molds and wanting to see them in new and attainable colors. (Especially Bouncer: he is about due for a new release!)

2018 TSC Roundup

Briefly stopped by the local Tractor Supply earlier this week, and got a good look at all the 2018 Special Runs: the Jasper, the Boone, and the Classics Mustang set featuring the Charging Mesteno and the Frolicking Foal.

The Jasper (Desatado) was very nice, but still didn’t impress me enough to buy one. I don’t think Glossiness or Chalkiness would have changed my opinion: it’s the mold, not the color.

I liked the Boone (Cody) more than I thought I would: the color was softer and lighter than I imagined – almost a Perlino Dun – and I liked the Pinto masking on him better than on his big brother Salpicado. They did a very rough-edged style of masking on the Salpicado that I assume was an attempt to simulate the feathery edges you see on some sabinos, but I don’t think it was entirely successful.

The Mustang set intrigues me. The Charging Mesteno mold hasn’t seen much use at all – I think the last time we saw him was nearly ten years ago, on one of the Walmart Mustang sets – and I honestly don’t know why he has been so scarce since.

I can kind of understand why the lumpy-bumpy “Old Man” Mesteno hasn’t been put back into production since his initial release in 1996, but the only thing I could see being an impediment for the Charging Mesteno mold is, like the Nokota Horse, the size and shape of the mold might make it difficult to package him?

I do like his color; it’s very similar to (though not the same as) the Balking Mule Test Color that appeared in my dreams early this week. I also love that they used the Snowcap Appaloosa pattern on the Frolicking Foal: you know me and my fondness for the “less attractive” Appaloosas!

Though I was surprised – and quite pleased – that the Few Spot True North was the second highest moneymaker at the BreyerFest benefit auction this year. It’s reassuring to know that my tastes aren’t quite as “out there” as I assumed, and that the auction results may improve the odds of a more available/affordable release in the future.

There was also another Django in their latest batch of Mystery Stablemates at this TSC too, but since I’m having a hard time selling stuff I already have in the stash, I didn’t feel like I could justify bringing home another to resell. I’ll let someone else have the job of that surprise.

I didn’t bring anybody else home either. The usual excuses: time and money.

Interesting Failures vs. Boring Successes

I like Bogeyman, but I don’t know if I love him yet:

It doesn’t help that I took my car in for a little deferred maintenance and found out that the repairs are going to be a little more expensive than I anticipated. (A part that normally never breaks, broke. Michigan roads!) So there is no fun-money in the budget for little things like Bogeyman.

Heck, I had to walk away from a stack of Nevermores earlier this week, and I just about had a panic attack over that one, because that one really does tickle my fancy. (Sigh.)

If you did a personality test to determine my likes, dislikes and preferences and designed a Halloween Horse to meet all the criteria, the end result just might be Nevermore. I think the only thing that’s missing is that it doesn’t Glow in the Dark!

But back to Bogeyman.

I think he’ll be neater in person than the photograph lets on – the ad copy hints at a “pearly base” to her color. If they apply it liberally to the drippy parts, I can see it reasonably reproducing the look of slime.

If that is the case, I might just pinch a few pennies and get one after all.

If not, hey, I’ll still give them points for trying something different. I’d rather buy an interesting failure than a boring success.

The Tractor Supply Special Run Traditionals – a Red Dun Pinto Cody named Boone and a Shaded Bay Desatado named Jasper – will also be a pass for me this year, too.

Of the two, I find the Jasper the more intriguing.

Some models are just harder to love than others. For a lot of hobbyists, it’s a structural or anatomical issue that puts a model on their hard-to-love list, but for me it tends to be aesthetic ones.

I’m just not a big fan of the Desatado as a sculpture, so much so that I still haven’t found one to join my herd. All the ones that I have managed to acquire I’ve ended up selling a few weeks or months later.

The only one I’ve really loved? It had to be last year’s Saturday Raffle Model Rana. Of course. Not winning most raffle horses ranges from annoying to mildly or moderately disappointing: not winning Rana actually hurt.

(After the raffle I went back to the Clarion and walked into three successive rooms with occupants who had won Ranas. If there had seen one more Rana, something else would have ended up as hurt or broken as my soul.)

But I have been an absolute sucker for a well-done Bay paint job, something you probably could have guessed from the number of them I brought home with me from BreyerFest this year.

Hmm. Maybe I’ll put it on my Christmas Wish List and let Santa make the call.

Stablemates, Unicorns, Tractor Supply, Etc.

The store where they were acquired is a bit out of the way of my usual travels, but I just happened to be in the neighborhood about a week ago and thought, why the heck not?

Apparently some of the Unicorn Stablemates Glow – regrind from the Glow in the Dark sets, obviously – but these two aren’t among them. I’m fine with just having them.

The store – not one I’d normally consider a sales hotbed – received not one, but two cases of the Paint Kits. That tells me that either it’s an open stock item, or an early launch of a Regular Run item. The 5000-series numbering on these sets leads me to believe that these are (or will be) Regular Run items.

However, items made for Tractor Supply – Regular Run, or Special Run – tend to come with either extended VIN numbers on their bellies and/or Made in China stickers, subtle differences that mean little to someone merely looking for a nice horse to add to the herd, but mean yet another subtle variation for the completist to track down.

This means that the Copper Florentine Djangos turning up at TSC are – or could be – interpreted as a separate entity from the actual Chase piece in the standard Mystery Box assortment. If you are so inclined.

As for the upset some are feeling over the declining prices of Copper Florentine Djangos because of the appearance of the TSC Djangos, there’s the reason why I can’t justify spending more than 20-30 on any given Stablemate.

Because aside from a handful of Special Runs (like Hermes) and Promotional items, most Stablemates aren’t numerically rare: most piece runs are in the thousands, or at least the high hundreds.

It’s perceived rarity, rather than actual numerical rarity, that’s driving the Stablemates market, especially now. When you’re told that that only one in four Mystery Boxes has a Copper Florentine Chase piece, that sounds pretty rare, right?

Here’s the kicker: we don’t know how many boxes have actually been produced.

Some hobbyists have been trying to parse the numbers based on the shipping boxes they come in from China – the ones that say “XXX of XXX boxes” – but that’s not necessarily accurate either. That “96” number that’s been batted around could be per shipment, and we have no way of knowing how many shipments.

They sell an ungodly amount of Stablemates, y’all. It could be lots.

Even without the appearance of the TSC Djangos, the price on the Copper Florentines was bound to fluctuate lower, eventually, as more boxes of Mystery Stablemates were distributed.

Because of Tractor Supply, it just happened sooner, rather than later.

Stablemate-o-palooza

So this is what I get for not trying too hard:

The Appaloosa Django came with my Stablemates Club order; in addition to the Glow-in-the-Dark set I finally decided on to capitalize on the weekend Stablemates sale, I tossed in a couple of Mystery Stablemates Bags just for the heck of it, too. I hadn’t purchased any yet locally – mostly because I haven’t found any to purchase – so it was going to be a win-win regardless of who showed up in those bags.

Then I stopped at a Walmart on the way home from work yesterday; Back-to-School sales are in full swing, and I really needed a new lunch bag for work…

After that, I swung by the toy department: the Pink Icelandic was long-gone of course, but everyone else in the Series 2 Mystery Box was still available, and I wanted them anyway – especially the Fleabitten Gray Dungaree. The Liver Chestnut G2 Saddlebred is lovely too, which came as a surprise; the photos I’ve been seeing of him online do not do it justice.

There was also a fresh, full box of the Mini Whinnies Surprises, but after a couple of minutes of poking around, I decided I had had my fun and let someone else have the pleasure of a lucky find.

This particular Walmart did not have the 4-piece Stablemates Set with the Bay Django and Dun Tushar, but at least a half-dozen of the older 4-piece Stablemates Set and a couple of the Classics Unicorns. Since I’m not all that into Unicorns at the moment, and that SM set is basically a renumbered “Reissue” of the Horse Crazy Set I already have, I took a pass on all of them.

Then this afternoon I went to the local Salvation Army to look for some new pants for work; I stopped in at the local Tractor Supply next door, and they had just put out their Mystery Stablemates a few minutes before.

I found the shelf label for the Stablemates Paint Kits, but they weren’t out yet, so I guess I’ll be making a return trip to the store tomorrow after work – that is, if someone else doesn’t get there first.

Since the secret to my success in Stablemates hunting appears to depend on my lack of worry, I’m not going to worry about that, either. And I’ll be fine, regardless!

I have a funny feeling those Paint Kits will not be a TSC-only exclusive, anyway. I just want to see the mini Alborozo and mini Magnolia in person, dangnabit.

I have to get up at an entirely unreasonable hour for work tomorrow, so that’s all for today, folks.

The Pursuit

Since I took a big step today in alleviating the incredibly high stress levels I’ve been experiencing for the past few months, I decided to buy an off-the-shelf horse or two to celebrate. I was originally going to go with an LV Integrity, on the Yasmin mold, but I came home with some Stablemates instead:

The shading on the Icelandic is amazing; he has a few minor production boo-boos that’ll preclude me from showing him, but my primary objective today was Ooo, Pretty Horsies and he fits the bill.

The G2 Thoroughbred was chosen because I particularly like his spots. All of the others had bigger and cleaner spots, and his randomly-sized freckles really stood out in contrast. I also liked the fact that he is not actually black but either a very, very dark gray or roaning black.

Another thing I’ll be doing to alleviate the stress this week? Not doing a darn thing to follow up or pursue any of the latest crazy/rare/obscure Stablemates floating around. Because now apparently, there are some at Tractor Supply too?

Cripes. 

There are ten – yes, ten – Tractor Supply Stores within an hour’s driving distance to me, including one that’s just down the road. But I am not going to go make any special effort to get to any of them in pursuit of the Copper Florentine Django, the Unicorn Alborozo paint kit, or anything else.

I don’t want to feel like I’m being forced to buy anything because they might be even more unaffordable later than they are now. In every other nonmonetary term – time, money, and headspace – they’re already unaffordable.

If I happen to be in the vicinity, or driving by in pursuit of something else, of course I’ll stop in and take a look. But I don’t have the resources for anything more than that.

I have more immediate things to worry about. Like how I managed to lose my keys inside my car for a half-hour last week. (I know the past couple of weeks have been rough on my psyche, but seriously?)

If I want some new horses, you’ll find me over in the Regular Run aisle, doing some handpicking.

Clearing Off the Desk

Cleaning off the desk here today, so a few odds and ends follow…

You probably do not know this, but I am a huge fan of novelty socks, so I am very pleased to see Reeves kicking up their branded clothing and accessory program a notch and giving us Breyer ones!

http://www.breyerhorses.com/breyer-socks

My only issue with them, naturally, is that they did not appear on the web site until the day after I paid for my Vintage Club Clara and Mae.

If they’re still around when the next Stablemates Club purchase is available, a couple pair will hitch along for the ride. (One to wear, and another for the archives.)

My local Tractor Supply finally stocked the two TSC Specials earlier this week; I stopped by the Salvation Army next door for my weekly shopping run and decided to check in to coo at the chicks and ducklings.

I managed to walk away without buying anything feathered – horse or fowl. The Clydesdale Mare was tempting, but then I reminded myself that I’m saving up to splurge on museum-quality archival supplies for my recently reorganized hobby papers.

Since it appears that these Specials may be more limited than the standard TSC Specials, I may live to regret it. But considering my most recent attempts at speculating, maybe not.

Sigh. 

Not everything in my last box lot was a body when I bought it, but by the time it got here, they most certainly were. I’ll still break even with it – if it’s one thing I’m good at, it’s salvaging something out of nothing – but darn that luck of mine, again!

The box lot of unicorns I bought back in February was a little less derelict, mostly because I had a chance to repack it myself before driving it home from a local auction house. Among the treasures in it I didn’t mention before was this lovely pair: Hagen-Renaker releases of Freeman-McFarlin designs, I believe?

I’d love to keep them, but as I am clumsy and in possession of a small and highly destructive dog, they’ll be packed up for BreyerFest. (Sorry, guys: I don’t ship larger china figurines.)

Looking over my saleslist, I have to say I’m pretty pleased at my assortment so far. Since my vacation spending money is drawn from my sales, it looks like in this one regard I am already ahead of the game. I won’t have to put too much pressure on myself to “stock up” once flea market season gets underway in another month.

I’m considering taking a similar approach to all of BreyerFest this year: ditch all the self-imposed pressure of trying to win something, and just chill.

My Contest attempts are memorable and (so I’ve been told) inspirational, but they are bigger emotional and financial drains on me than you might realize. And there’s not a lot in my trophy case to show for it.

To put it in business-speak, my ROI has been terrible.

I do have some ideas, but as I am also on a bit of an efficiency kick, I am beginning to think my time and resources might be better invested in something else.

Alba

A few weeks ago when I was looking at the last of the Christmas Breyer leftovers at the local Tractor Supply, one of the employees made a comment in passing about how they “needed” to sell them soon.

I didn’t think much of the comment at first – I just assumed it was about needing to make room for the Seasonal Spring merchandise – but it did nag at me a little bit. Did that mean they’d be getting more Breyers sooner, rather than later?

Apparently, yep. One of them, in fact, is very similar Clydesdale Mare similar to the #856 Shire who – oddly enough – was something I was looking at on eBay over the weekend.

(I had one once, and sold it a while ago. I can’t remember why.)

This new piece – named Alba – commemorates Tractor Supply’s 80th anniversary. The name “Alba” is Latin for White, an odd choice for a dark bay-black horse. Maybe it’s because she has a lot of white on her?

The Clydesdale Mare has had so many genuinely pretty releases – Opry, Del Mar, Lanark’s Rosebud, Palisades, the Picture Perfect Pinto, Shannon, the Vintage Club Blossom, that Glossy Appaloosa Test Piece I’m still kinda-sorta mad about not winning – that I’ve been wondering if I should go ahead and make the commitment to actively collect that mold.

Except for Palisades and Betsy Ross, I already have most of the harder ones to get. If I ever decide to go on that quest it’ll be a achievable, lower-stress one.

To make a long story short, though, I won’t be getting Alba any time soon. The primary reason is space: since I just finished an extensive collection cleanout, I am a bit reluctant to make any impulse purchases beyond the box lots I’ve been buying for resale. (Kaibab was a happy exception.)

I do not want to deal with the drama right now, either. Like the regular Holiday TSC specials, I have a feeling that hobbyists are going to lose their minds, buy out store stocks, then the stores will restock, the prices will start fluctuating wildly….

No thank you. If I need to, I can wait until either the market levels off, or until the next “gotta have it” Special Run drops somewhere. Though at the rate they’ve been going with releases this year (another release in the America the Beautiful Series, already?) that probably won’t be too long.

For the time being, I’ll just retreat to my office and continue with my Spring Cleaning and paperwork. (It’s been an interesting and productive day: I just found a few “lost” horses in my office supply closet! Nothing rare, but a nice surprise nevertheless.)

Updates on the Duchess Project

Neither of my attempts to get something special outta Breyer worked this week (Moritz and the latest Test Color on Roy) so yep, I resorted to eBay again for a quick – and potentially profitable – fix. 

It’s a possible upgrade of something scarce I already have. I don’t have it yet, so the jury is still out on whether its actually going to be an upgrade, or profitable. Chances are likely neither, but better than my odds of ever winning a Micro Run or Test Color Purchase Raffle, so there’s that. 

Here’s another something I purchased recently that I was quite pleased with – the Red Roan version of the Duchess Western Horse and Rider Set: 

It was both on sale and on clearance at the local Tractor Supply: the whole shebang came to less than ten dollars, tax included! Score!

And right there is the main reason why I chose to collect the Duchess mold in the first place: it’s not a particularly hard or expensive mold to collect. Here’s a sampling of the others I’ve managed to acquire this year:

I think the Grey Thoroughbred Mare and Foal set is my favorite of this group; while it’s among the most common of the Duchess releases, the shading on this particular Duchess is especially lovely.

That all these sets are still boxed was not intentional. They just worked out that way. And the Grey Mare and Foal will be unboxed when the inventory situation is settled to my satisfaction.

I’ve discovered that one of the harder Duchess releases to find, ironically, is the Walmart Sunshine Stables/Sunshine Meadows re-release of that set from ca. 2012-2013. Other releases and re-releases in that series turn up with moderate frequency on the secondary market, still boxed, but the Grey Thoroughbred Mare and Foal re-release (#755481) is not one of them.  

It’s one of the few items where I am specifically looking for the boxed version, because it’s otherwise indistinguishable from the original release. 

Getting that set in a timely fashion is not a huge concern or high priority; I wrestle with enough frustrations in my life, and I am not going to add to those frustrations by actively chasing the unobtainable. It’ll come to me in good time, just like most things do. Eventually.  

Somethings Special

Most of my “big leads” on collections this Fall haven’t pan out – which is fine, since I wanted to focus on cutting back on my existing inventory anyway – but a few more strays are still managing to make their way here, including this lovely set:

The Tractor Supply Special Run Prince Plaudit Family! See, told you that I’d find a set locally, eventually. I just wasn’t expecting eventually = a few weeks later.

(Funny how that “trick” never seems to work on Decorators or rare Woodgrains!)

I am now somewhat relieved that the Calvins were finally taken off the Breyer web site. I did feel a twinge of regret when I noticed they were gone (they are not technically sold out, just gone) but I’m glad my patience and cheapness paid off.

Here are a couple more recent acquisitions, made mostly because (a) I had money in my Paypal account, and (b) my continued lack of success with Micro Run drawings makes me cruise eBay in search of… something special.

Rare? Weird? Didn’t matter. Didn’t care. I think I did okay!

The first thing you will undoubtedly notice is the Transitional Saddle, correctly placed on a Western Horse this time, and who has a sticker!

We’ve already surmised from the existing evidence that the Transitional Saddles were from ca. 1966-1967, which is also around the same time period the small version of the Blue Ribbon Sticker was used (ca. 1966-1968). While there’s nothing “new” to learn here, it’s a nice confirmation to have. The Western Horse has some conditions issues, but whatever. Not a deal breaker in this house.

And the other? That is a Grazing Mare variation with no black points on her front legs!

Considering how long the Bay and Palomino Grazing Mare ran – from the mid-1960s through most of the 1970s – you’d think there’d be more variations out there, beyond the requisite Chalkies. But Breyer was remarkably consistent painting the original Grazing Mares through the years.

Occasionally you’ll find a Palomino with a solid face, or a Bay with four stockings instead of two, but they are fairly scarce. Even the Chalkies for those two aren’t all that easy to find.

So even though her variation is a bit on the subtle side, and she’s seen some play wear, I just had to have her.

Funky Dappling: A Love Story

By the way, that hunch I had didn’t quite play out – there were no softly dappled Hwins at the store I went to last Wednesday night. Then I made the mistake of going to the Tractor Supply down the road, and guess what I found?

Not one, but two Chalky Hwins!

Normally I’d just buy the one and leave the other for someone else to discover, but as you can see, they are completely different. It was getting late and I have to get up unbelievably early for work, so I bought the both of them in hopes of making the decision later on.

The weekend has come and gone, and I’m still not sure which one I want to keep. Do I go with the darker one with the nicely executed polka-dot dapples, or the lighter and more Matte-finished one with the seriously askew dappling?

You’d think it would be a relatively easy decision, but it’s not. Well, not for me!

Unlike the rest of the hobby, I do not have a reflexive dislike of the newer, hand-airbrushed dappling technique. The ratio of good to bad to meh isn’t really all that different from the random resist dappling technique that was the norm prior.

You had beautiful ones. Terrible ones. Weird ones. You had lacy dapples, cornflake dapples, dapples in the mane and tail. Some were beautiful, some were awful, and some were just weird. But most of them were simply unmemorable.

A few years ago when they had some leftover Aintrees – the Dappled Rose Gray Cigar – in the Ninja Pit at BreyerFest, I almost purchased one that had to have been one of the worst hand-dappling jobs ever.

It was so bad it almost touched the philosophical definition of sublime. I am terrible at doing dapples and not all that handy with an airbrush, and even I could have done a better job. In the dark. Wearing oven mitts. It almost looked like a piece that was done to show the painters what not to do.

Terrible, yet still memorable: every now and again I’ll walk past the Aintree I did buy in the NPOD that year – a gorgeous Sample with subtle dappling and handpainted gray hooves – and lament that I didn’t rescue his terrifying yet strangely compelling brother.

Hence, my hesitation at leaving the second Hwin behind. She’s not quite as terrible as that Aintree was, but the combination of being a scarce Chalky variation with bad dappling is giving me serious pause.

I don’t think I can afford to keep both, though. I planned on listing a bunch of stuff in various places over the next few weeks, so I’ll see if it’s possible to make room for them both.

Lovesick

I was doing so good this weekend: there wasn’t much at the flea market, I decided to pass on the darker Hwin and the Halloween Horse Goblin and its adorably cartoony germ-monsters (though that one was tough!), and so far no Chalky Hwins appear to have shown up at any of the local TSCs I’ve visited, yet. (More on that a little later).

But it was a long, rough day at work today, so on the way home I caved and bought that softly and lightly dappled Hwin at the local Family Farm and Home. I love how sassy she looks here: she’s obviously not giving lovesick Java the time of day!

Her other side is a little more dappled, but definitely less-so than the average Hwin. Just a couple of teeny touch ups and I’d definitely put her on my live show string, if I had one. (I am still thinking about that possibility, yes.)

It’s still too early to tell how scarce this variation – or the Chalkies – will be. Judging from the number of ones I’ve looked at so far, I’m thinking/hoping fairly scarce?

I would have bought her regardless, but it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.

Incidentally, Family Farm and Home is a Michigan-based farm store chain that tends to carry a pretty decent selection of Breyers for the holidays – more than the average TSC. Remember when the first run of the Zenyatta release sold out at the Reeves warehouse just before the holidays, and everyone was scrambling to find her?

The then-local FFH in Richmond – not far out of my way, but not a direction I usually go to shop – had at least four cases of them sitting on the floor, still leftover after Christmas.

Then a few years back, the store up in Almont had at least a couple dozen S Justadreams on the shelf. I remember looking at them thinking to myself “Is this another Zenyatta situation? Should I buy one just in case?”

(Yes it was, and no I didn’t. D’oh!)

Anyway, that’s why I’m moderately excited about having one of these stores in town now: while they don’t tend to get exclusive Special Runs, their buyer obviously knows what they are doing! I’ll be checking out other FFHs for more as time and travel permits, mostly to determine if this Hwin is an aberration, or an indication of something else going on there, again.

All the Chalky Hwins that I have heard of or seen so far have been found at Tractor Supply stores, and there’s some talk that this is perhaps related to Chalky/Nonchalky situation that occurred with the 2015 Tractor Supply Special Run Jesse.

I think…maybe there’s a correlation? It could just be coincidental one: I am assuming that Tractor Supply’s purchases/factory shipments occur at the same time every year, and maybe it happens to be the same time the factory in China “chalks up” slightly flawed bodies to repurpose from production runs earlier in the year.

So, in other words, the Chalky Hwins might be a de facto Special Run for TSC, in the same way the Black 75th Anniversary AQHA Horses became a de facto Tuesday Morning SR. One of circumstance, not intent.

While I’d love to find one, I’m not going to go out of my way to find it. One Hwin is enough for now!

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.