Oh, The Purpleness....

A few years back there was a Clydesdale Stallion Unicorn silhouette included either on a box or some holiday-themed fabric, and I remember thinking: that’s so crazy, but it kind of works. Put something pearly/metallic/shimmery on that boy, go wild with his ribbons and bobs, and I’d totally buy it…

We came kind of close in 2021, with the Stablemates Christmas Clydesdales. But alas, they were (a) Stablemates, (b) sans horns and (c) the Stablemates market is still too bonkers for me to complete my set. 

(I need the Blue and Silver ones. Again, I am not in a rush.)

So naturally, the only item from this year’s holiday collection that’s really tempting me – aside from that insanely cute little knit hat included in the Fjord gift set, because tiny fabric accessories get me every time – is the Unicorn Mare and Foal set Hyacinth and Wisteria:

They remind me a great deal of the 2015 Web Special Unicorn Andreus, in lavender pinto. I have half-heartedly been looking for him in the secondary market, because all the ones I’ve found have been way too rich for my blood. 

Since I’ve been in a customizing mood, I am now tempted to make myself a Metallic Purple Clydesdale Stallion Unicorn. But I probably should finish one of the half dozen or so pieces I currently have loitering around the office. 

Unfortunately, I just sprayed a bit of primer on a couple of them, and that dashed all my hopes that either one was anywhere near completion. 

(Makes note to go check my body box stash for Traditional Clydesdales anyway…)

Into the Unicorniverse

Had a lovely time at Motor City Comic Con this Saturday, wish you were there. I’d post the only picture I had taken, but I suspect a lot of you may have no idea who Run-DMC is.

(It was a moment and I had to do it. Three Stripe Life!)

It was definitely better attended than last year; there were times on the convention floor when I couldn’t move. I did buy a few things, including this lovely, and very BreyerFest-adjacent piece of art on an authentic piece of papyrus!

I bought a couple similar ones to take to BreyerFest for people who might want a little something extra to go with their Speos; I’m not getting a Speos myself, unless something changes and an extra ticket magically happens. 

I almost bought a lightsaber, too, but I didn’t have enough walking around cash at that point, and that booth was absolutely mobbed anyway. Maybe for Christmas…

I’m also getting the notion that I should cosplay there next year. (More on that another time, if it ever becomes more than a notion.)

Like Worldcon, I was struck by the notion that Reeves would have done well with a booth here (at any comic con, really) selling their Unicorns and other fantasy-affiliated creatures. There’s always been a lot of fandom overlap between general “nerd” culture and “model horse” culture, you might as well make it official!

Speaking of unicorns, when I bought my Blue Roan Brabant the other day, I also bought the “Sparkling Splendor” Deluxe Unicorn Collection, because I guess I needed more Metallic Stablemates Unicorns in my life:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/collections/unicorns-and-more/products/sparkling-splendor-deluxe-unicorn-collection

What I love about this set is that they went through the effort of not just naming every Unicorn in the “herd”, but they gave them a little backstory, too: 

Assuming that genetics in Breyer’s Unicorniverse follow the color wheel, I’m guessing that the leader of this particular “herd” is the purple Fireheart “Trifle” and not the silvery Mini Carrick “Esteem”. 

The Inherent Danger of Shiny Objects

The past four days have been an absolute nightmare that ended with me in Urgent Care this morning with an eye problem. 

This is an entirely separate problem from the exhaustion thing, which had led to me spending most of my interrupted weekend in bed, which then led to my back giving out and even more time in bed because I couldn’t get out of it.

Everything seemed fine by Monday morning, I thought. 

Then I woke up with something in my eye Monday evening right before I went to work, and it’s still there.

I just woke up a couple hours ago and it’s quite apparent that whatever they tried to do at Urgent Care did not work, so even further medical intervention may be necessary on Wednesday or Thursday if the situation does not resolve itself on its own by then.

So needless to say, model horse stuff is on the backburner until this is fixed. It’s more irritating than painful, but I’ve had it with my week of sickness and anything involving my eyes makes me nervous and I don’t have the patience to deal with this anymore. 

I have a live show in a week and a half and I haven’t even printed out anything to start assembling my show string. I was just going to treat it as a “fun show” anyway, but it’s like the Universe is attempting to make even that low bar a challenge.

Why can’t I have just a little bit of fun without dire consequences? Must karma always bite me in the butt? 

Here’s a little bit of actual model horse content to keep you entertained while medical professionals prepare to drop more mysterious liquids into my eyes:

It’s the Stardust I had Peter Beagle sign! As far as I could tell, I was the only person who brought a Unicorn to be signed, which surprised me a bit because if you were at Worldcon itself, you would have noticed that it was very… unicorn-flavored. Reeves probably could have done well with a table full of Unicorns in the vendor area. 

 

(FYI: Unicorns taste like cake batter. I recommend the Kroger Unicorn Oreo Knockoffs!)

I chose the Stardust because he was the most readily available Breyer Unicorn that I had, and he’s one of my favorites anyway, with his darling little space pants. Photographs were taken of the occasion (not of, or by me.) I also told Mr. Beagle that he had many fans in the model horse community and that we’d love to see him someday if he’s willing and able. 

A Very Brief Report From Your Ambassador to Another Planet

Here is the extremely condensed summary of my Chicon 8 report, in the style of Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman:

• Made friends.
• Forged alliances. 
• Plotted the destruction of my enemies.
• Partied like a rockstar. 

I had a wonderful time, and I wish (more of) you could have made it. A bigger and better report of the trip will be posted in a couple of days, after my ears stop ringing and the laundry gets washed.

(And also: I will neither confirm nor deny that there may be video of me dancing somewhere on the Internet.)

Purple, Blue, Yellow

Back to work – and a “normal” sleep schedule – tomorrow. I certainly don’t lack for more things to do, but I found myself watching carpet cleaning videos last night, so it’s probably about time to go back to the real world. 

I did find a Blind Bag Unicorn Croi yesterday – on sale, even! – but it’s just the purple one. That’s fine, because I was sincerely doubting I’d find any of the Crois at all, because these people are vultures around here, I swear:

The rest of the series – except for the Chase pieces, because that’s not happening – I’ll pick up later from the enterprising souls who purchased entire boxes. Groping blind bags in farm stores has lost its appeal, especially since success in these parts is so slim. 

I have way too little time in my life to be running around half of Michigan looking for “rare” Stablemates. In fact, it sounds more like work than anything else. No thanks!

I was moderately amused by the “Best Holiday Shopping Spots for Breyer Fans” e-mail that Reeves sent out a few days ago; just going by this e-mail alone, you’d conclude that I lived in a vast wasteland with no Breyers within our borders. I can assure you that is most definitely not the case. I can handpick almost anything I want within an hour’s drive except (of course) the accursed blind bag Stablemates. 

In other news, I did get the Copenhagen Brighty, fancy that:

And the Yellow Mount Mini Me is the no-spot variation:

I had no preference on either of these: they were all equally “rare” anyway, and I have no illusions about completing my sets, regardless. (Flipping the negative on theYellow Mount box was a nice touch, by the way!)

I am glad, though, that aside from the Chalky variation, I’m pretty much “full up” on my Traditional Yellow Mounts. Vintage Club releases tend to boost the aftermarket prices of their respective molds and inspirations (good gravy, have you seen the prices for absolutely ordinary Brighties nowadays?) 

What’s funny is that up until a few years ago, I didn’t have any Yellow Mounts, at all. I had had several over the years, but they were all either subpar or just not what I was looking for. 

Aside from the Chalky variation, I think all I really need now is a better no-spot variation and one with a dorsal stripe. A Presentation piece would be nice, too, but it’s rare enough to not be a must have.   

Blankets

When I was first finding my way around the hobby, it became pretty clear to me that I was not a tack and accessories person. Whenever a choice between a new saddle or a new horse had to be made, “new horse” always won.

There were some exceptions. I was fascinated by wagons, carts and sleighs (especially sleighs!), and I made a few fair-to-middling attempts at Hollywood-style Arabian Costumes. 

I have bought a few bits of Breyer Tack over the years, mostly because they came in sets and I am loathe to break apart sets on principle. And if I have been given promotional pieces, like the various blankets and things given out at BreyerFest on occasion, I never turned down those items down, either. 

One thing that’s just killing me, though, is this new Gift Set on the Breyer web site: the Le Mer with a sequined blanket. I bought this model all the way back in April because I though it was pretty – put that color on almost anything, and I’ll either buy it, or at least consider it – but you’re telling me if I had waited six months I could have gotten one with a super cool blanket with reversible sequins, too? 

Argh!

Sure, I could just go ahead and buy the set anyway – money is definitely not an issue for me right here, right now – but then I’d have to add another item to my already-too-big sales list. (I am hoping to get some stuff online by Thanksgiving week, but no promises!)

To throw a little history into the topic...

Saddle blankets have been a part of Breyer History since the literal beginning of Breyer History: the blankets for the Western Horse and Pony saddles have been molded into all their various permutations since the early 1950s. Fleece blankets were a component of the early Indian Horse and Rider Sets, too, and the Fury Prancers sold with English Saddles also came with separately-molded hard plastic saddle blankets. 

But the first official production release that came with fabric stable blankets was the #8384 Clydesdale Mare and Foal Set in 1971. Technically, some of the Groomers came with vinyl accessories that could have kinda-sorta passed for stable blankets in the 1950s. Not too many collectors are familiar with the latter: while Grooming Kits are not too hard to come by generally, the stable-blanket style ones are pretty tough. 

I have not lucked into one yet, but I live in hope!

More Ponies, More Problems

Sorry about my unexpected absence; it looks like I’ll be working Sundays through most of November, so my posting schedule is going to get really, really weird for the next month or so. 

I can’t argue about the money, though. And with the extra money comes extra ponies. 

First up, I’ve finally managed to go to a couple different Tractor Supply Stores and now I’ve seen all the Special Runs, except for the Blind Bags that I am going to pretend don’t even really exist, because I don’t think I’ll ever see them in the wild. 

I was actually quite tempted by the Christmas Horse Artic Grandeur; color-wise, he reminded me quite a bit of the BreyerFest Raffle Model North Star. But I haven’t made it a habit of buying the Christmas Horses – even the ones I really like, like Winter Wonderland – so I may pass on him just because, unless there happens to be any leftover on clearance after the holidays. 

Which is unlikely, but you know.

I did secure all three of the new Unicorn Foal Surprise sets, which I am sure are either an open stock end-of-year Store Special, or an early release for next year. Doesn’t matter to me, I just think they’re pretty and I wanted them. I think my favorite set is the one with the Prince Charming in it: the mold looks wonderful in Pearly Lavender:

The Mini Carrick in this set is also very nicely shaded, though I do wonder what’s up with issuing him in umpteen shades of blue. Don’t get me wrong, I love blue, but cripes….

I also purchased a Diadem and Alcor:

I’ve had a couple of Sucesion and LeFire sets, but none currently, but for some reason I found this set particularly appealing. It also reminds me that I probably should light a fire under my behind and get some craft projects done; I have a Grazing Mare and Foal in my body box that I need to “unicornize” eventually. 

Some of those Canadian Walmart Blind Bags are also on my way; I have no illusions that I’ll be able to score any of the chase pieces to complete my set, but I figure they’ll be scarce enough that the inevitable duplicates shouldn’t be difficult to sell off, whenever I’m able to find the time to actually sell things again.

But not too scarce: this is/was a planned Walmart Special Run item, and Walmart never buys small. They will be scarcer than other Walmart Special Run Stablemates in comparison, though, since there will not be any subsequent reorders or restocks. 

And finally, here’s my Dahlia:

I figured I’d be getting the Champagne. I don’t get Glosses, so the Pintaloosa was out. I don’t usually get the Blue one, when Blue is an option, so the Ocean Blue was out. From the ones I had seen online, I had decided that Chestnut Splash was my favorite of the four: not every mold looks good in Splash (see Troubadour) but the Connemara Pony is definitely one of them. 

All that being said, this is the first official Breyer “Champagne” that I’ve found convincing; all of the others have been too peachy-pink for my tastes. 

Cheap Horses

Crankiness warning activated: this week has been messy, complicated and exhausting. I no longer have the patience or energy to engage with people who have the luxury of being angry all the time about everything – whether it’s about work, life or horses. 

I finally made it to a Tractor Supply this week and saw the Indian Pony Sayan. She is very pretty, but I am still not motivated to get her. I wouldn’t mind getting the Stablemates, but the store I visited didn’t have them, and I have a suspicion that I’m not going to see any of them any time soon.

My work schedule might be changing, again, so I literally have no idea when I’ll get back.

I did make it to a few Five Below stores this week to investigate the latest Breyer Mystery: these new Classics-scale “Paddock Pal” Horses and Unicorns. I haven’t found the horses yet, but I did buy the four Unicorns. My favorite is “Cherry”:

When I first saw them on eBay earlier in the week, I made the erroneous assumption that they were possibly Reeves’s entrée into the 1:6 Scale market: they looked a lot like the vintage Marx Horses preferred by military miniaturists, both in terms of style and materials. The box was also very similar to the “Touchability”boxes used on the Breyer-branded Plush Aurora releases, some of which can now be found in the toy departments of some Meijer superstores. 

(Meijer is a slightly more upscale, Midwestern equivalent to Walmart that very occasionally carries Breyers. But none currently: the plushes are distributed by Aurora.)

Some of the initial speculation about the origins of these models was… interesting, to put it politely. When it was discovered that they appeared to be a Five Below exclusive, my first thought was: Oh, so this is how Reeves is trying to break into the “Discount Store” market.

One of the few bright spots in the retail market has been the rise of Discount Stores like Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and my personal local favorite, Debby’s Dollar. 

A lot of name brands have been tailoring products for the Discount Store market, and I was just wondering when – or if! – Reeves was going to tap into that market. Reeves had dumped some of the Walmart Stablemates at Five Below before – and some of the more recent Blind Bags are also showing up there again. 

As for the criticisms about the materials, the quality, or the fact that they’re even in discount stores at all, I find most of them moot. These are intended as an inexpensive, entry-level product. For most non-hobbyist consumers – we’re talking parents, grandparents and younger children – a plastic horse is a plastic horse. 

They’re a significant step up from the usual equines available at this price point, and are therefore more attractive product for a child who may potentially outgrow their horse phase. And for those that do not, the brand recognition is built-in. 

I find them interesting. There are several Five Belows in my area, but I do not know if I will go out of my way to find the horses: as I mentioned before, my time is currently at a premium. 

(FYI: I still think they need to do 1:6 Scale horses.)

Always Room for Candy

It’s only Tuesday? 

While the extra money has been be nice, it’ll be nice to get back to my more normal schedule next week. I am also kind of bummed that it’s also prevented me from partaking in the extended BreyerFest access. 

It’s been a while since I formally considered myself a PEZ collector – it’s another one of those long and winding stories probably best told in person – but I had to buy this last week when I saw it in the checkout of a local Meijer’s:

My first thought: why is the unicorn facing the wrong direction? My second thought: your move, Reeves.

Pez is actually an abbreviation of Pfefferminz, which is the German word for Peppermint: that was the original flavor the candy originally came in. Even though Pez was technically an Austrian innovation, I would not be averse to having a Pez-themed Special Run for next year’s German-flavored BreyerFest.  

It’s probably as likely as a Steha-themed Special Run, though. I’m not normally a huge fan of Flockies in general, but I did pause for a moment when this delightful fellow showed up on eBay a little while ago: 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274924618658?hash=item4002c8c3a2:g:bXYAAOSw4D9hKqst

I don’t remember them being that cute when I saw them being sold at the mall back in the late 1970s. Back then, I only had eyes for the Breyers on the other side of the store: it didn’t hurt that Breyers were also one third the price. Little did I know then that the company that imported Stehas back then would be buying and manufacturing Breyers a few years later! 

While I’ve contemplated adding a Steha or two to the collection for its historical value, the handful of vintage Stehas I’ve found locally have either been prohibitively expensive, or in pretty rough shape. I only hesitate now because I really need fewer fragile, breakable things in my life.

But getting back to the Pez idea: as I’ve discussed before, Breyer did sell Horse and Candy Gift Sets back in the 1950s – I call them Candy Packers – but they didn’t involve elaborate candy delivery systems, just cellophane-wrapped bags of hard candy slung over the body of the horse. 

And it was just the same candy that you’d find in your Grandma’s candy dish. About the only stuff in that mix I had much use for were the Strawberries and Raspberries with the soft, chewy centers. 

I have, on occasion, thought about doing a fantasy custom of a Breyer into a Pez dispenser: both the Forever Saige and the Family Arabian Mare have necks that could accommodate a modest supply of candy. But then I think about the dozens and dozens of other projects I currently have ongoing, and it gets put back into my “maybe later” pile.

I have a fairly important presentation to finish prepping for Thursday, so I’ll see you all again on the other side of that. 

The Latest in Stablemates

Head’s up: I’m switching over to a different schedule this week, so my posting times might get a little weird here for a while until I figure out my new normal. (Or if it even sticks. The situation is… complicated.)

In the meantime, I’ve finally opened up some recent Stablemate arrivals. My Hendrik is nice, no complaints here:

I also really like the Charleston that I bought all the way back in (ulp!) November. While I look forward to getting more of this cute little feller in the near future, that particular collection will probably be forever incomplete, with the Customs Contest Runners-Ups prize being the Black Pinto version of this: 

This is still not sufficient motivation for me to get my tools out of storage and give that contest a try; I have my hands full as it is trying to get my garden to look like a garden again. (The weather is definitely not being cooperative. At least we didn’t get snow?)

If there’s another rainy weekend in the near future I might actually get a Diorama done, though. (And if it does happen and I actually submit it, I’ll definitely post it here, post-BreyerFest.)

Then there’s my Gold(en) Charm Mini Secretariat, who is just so pretty:

It’s been generally accepted that Gold(en) Charm is the least favored of the original Four Decorator colors, but I think it’s rapidly becoming my favorite, or at least co-equal with Wedgewood Blue. 

Not that it matters, because if I was presented with a choice like that I would probably spontaneously combust. 

That’s actually been a nightmare of mine: finding myself at a flea market or yard sale and finding several Decorators, but only having enough money to buy one or two. 

Which, for better or worse, hasn’t happened yet. 

I have been present at situations where I bought something and the vendor has said something like “Good, that’s the last of them”, making me wonder what the heck I missed in the first place. 

And then there was the vendor who deliberately hid a box of models from me as I approached, after letting others rifle through them. Truth be told, I was taking advantage of her, but it wasn’t the horses: some of my biggest flea market scores came from her dollar table, including a giant bag of vintage gumball charms and a large collection of older (early 1970s) Hagen-Renaker miniatures. 

And if she had asked, I would have given her an honest estimate of their value. But you know, some flea market vendors have to feel like they are in complete control of the situation, and the reputation of some of our co-hobbyists sometimes precedes us. 

But anyway, back to Stablemates.

My “Steven Universe” Unicorns are still unopened (yeah, I know) but I did open up the Chasing Rainbows Unicorn that I bought with them; I was hoping for the yellow Prince Charming and not the Pink, and luck was with me that day:

The box was already heavily picked over by the time I got to it, so I didn’t even bother trying to find the Rainbow Connemara/Croi; I’ll wait a little longer and see if they become more plentiful over time, or if (more likely) hobbyists get fickle and move on to the next new thing. 

And finally, the store also had a small quantity of leftover Fun Day Stablemates, so I bought one of the Icelandics, too:

Since everything else I’ve been eyeing has quickly shot out of reach, I’ve been pricing the Traditional Icelandics. The prices for the Web Special Honeysuckle are inexplicably high – inexplicable because wasn’t everyone complaining how “blah” it was when it was released? – but the Jols are still in my comfort zone, so I think that’s where I’ll focus once spring cleaning and spring planting are done. 

Almost There

I’m down to what I like to call “the crunchy bits”: the last pieces of a creative project that are going to take a little more chewing on than the rest. 

This is pretty typical for most of my endeavors, especially the more complicated ones. Do the “easy” parts first, and fuss over the “hard” parts last. And the hard parts aren’t necessarily hard, they just need more time and effort put into them. 

I think I have all the photos I need – unless anyone happens to have a nice vintage Decorator pic or two lying around. (I have some, but they definitely need work to be presentable. Long story, etc.) BTW, everyone who has contributed will get credited, even if the pics do not end up in the final product. 

But anyway, everything is on schedule. If only the same could be said of literally everything else in my life, but that’s neither here nor there.

Since I hadn’t been out shopping in forever and my birthday is almost here, I went out and bought a couple of models. I know I shouldn’t have, but it was either that or something practical, like shoes for work, and horses are more fun to shop for. 

First up – a Catch Me!

I wasn’t initially impressed with the first Catch Mes, but the latest batch are actually quite pretty (the VIN says he was made in January?) He has a few minor marks, but this one was definitely the nicest of the ones I had to choose from, and I have no plans on doing any showing this year anyway. 

(Are there any actual live shows going on anywhere this year?)

Whenever things get back to normal again, I am definitely tracking down an Appreciation Event Glossy (also assuming that prices get back closer to normal). I know there are already a couple of True Norths that are utterly unattainable (Masala, and Rangoli) but this year’s Celebration Horse has reignited my desired for more. 

And next up: Le Mer!

Yeah, I was kind of surprised that this one caught my eye, too. I am not normally a huge Unicorn person in general – except for the Stablemates, and we all know that Stablemates are essentially potato chips – but his color was just so appealing in person. And so much darker than the promotional photos! So my Solaris has a buddy now. Go figure.

I also bought all of the new Stablemates Unicorns (aka the Steven Universe Unicorns, because Rose Quartz, Opal, Peridot and Pearl, hello!) but imma gonna wait until my actual birthday to open those up. 

The Missing Unicorn

Anyway, something short again today because I have business to attend to. 

In case you were wondering, yes, that’s one of the reasons why I’ve been so busy of late. It’s gonna be… terrifying but exhilarating at the same time, kind of like my Chasing the Chesapeake experience. 

(If she behaves, it may even include a Vita cameo!)

As I’ve been sifting through my craft supplies, I’ve been sorting some of them into boxes for possible ready-to-go crafting opportunities: we’re talking “not until at least the Fall” territory here, though.

One of those projects is creating a Little Bits/Paddock Pal Carousel similar to the one that was planned as a holiday catalog series in the mid-1980s. Only one piece – the pink and mauve Morgan – was officially released, and unmounted/undrilled white Unicorns with baby blue manes and tails showed up a short time later at the Riegsecker’s store in Shipshewana, Indiana. 

(They were the folks who were contracted to do the tack and mounting.)

I already have a small assortment of Paddock Pal/Little Bits bodies assembled for this project – culled from the unsellable detritus from body and box lot purchases – but do you know which body is the toughest to find right now?

Of all things, the Unicorn! He hasn’t been in regular production for over 15 years. The last regular run one was the #1652, in a pearly white with green points (obviously not the lavender fellow above, who was just the one I happened to have most readily available). He was in production from 2005 through 2006, and “reissued” as a Special Run for Kmart in 2007. 

I’m not sweating it right now because that project is still a long way from being started. But it did strike me pretty funny that we’ve been getting Unicorns hand over fist lately, but the first Breyer mold designed specifically and exclusively as a Unicorn has basically been as elusive as the real thing for over a decade. 

Why has this not been issued in a Painting Kit already, complete with glitter and holographic stickers? I am not the target demographic for painting kits in general, but I would buy that. 

(Well, okay, I did buy a Suncatcher Painting Kit in January, but it was half-priced clearance merchandise and involved Translucent Stablemates. Duh.)

Feeling Lucky

This also happened last week:

I had to make a quick pit stop at Walmart to pick up a few things, and I figured that as long as I was there, I’d swing by the toy department and see if they had anything. I found an almost-empty box of Series 4 Unicorn Surprise bags, and after about five seconds of groping, I just dumped the contents of the box in my cart and figured I’d sort the mess out later. 

I didn’t get a chance to even open them up until a couple of days afterwards and whoa nellie, was I surprised!

Alas, my luck didn’t hold out, as I completely missed the $35.00 Presentation Collection Indian Pony on eBay Saturday night. And while I have been to the Kroger where the Billion Dollar Lottery Ticket was sold, multiple times – most recently about a month ago – the lucky winner wasn’t me, either.

C’est la vie.

I did buy a body box of old customs that had one item in particular that might be worth something, but it’ll probably be a couple of weeks before I see it and know for sure. And even if it isn’t what I think it is, I got the entire lot cheap enough as bodies to justify the price I paid for it anyway. 

Incidentally, if you’re curious, if I do happen to get a second BreyerFest ticket, my third and fourth choices would be Seurat (because I do love the painter he’s named after) and either Pollock or the Surprise. I think Pollock is neat, but others love him way more than I do, and I wouldn’t want my like to stand in their way of their love.

The only molds I can think of that would persuade me to keep a Surprise would be Bluegrass Bandit, or something Vintage like the Stretched Morgan or Buckshot, and both scenarios seem unlikely (though not impossible) to me.

It feels like a Stock Horse kind of year, and other than the Smart Chic Olena, I have no pressing need for more. But Surprises can surprise you, so you never know…

In other news, I’m mulling over entering the BreyerFest Photo Show again this year, and maybe even participating in whatever this online version of the Swap Meet will look like. 

With the online Swap Meet, I’m assuming that means that instead of simply tagging and bagging, I’ll have to take detailed photos of everything, and you know that’s not my favorite thing in the world to do.

But I do have a lot to sell, so I dunno, I might give it a shot. The results might also surprise me. 

Just Going With It

It’s beautiful and I want it:

Bilberry reminds me of the 2012 BreyerFest Auction Bouncer, who had a similar patter but in Gloss Bay Appaloosa that I also wanted.

But I am not going to get too upset if I don’t get picked because I seriously have way too much going on right now: one more pretty pony might push me over the edge.

Speaking of, my little Brabants arrived the other day and I love my Drafty Unicorn Solaris:

The color is similar – but not identical – to the Walmart Special Run Unicorn Surprise on the G3 Arabian that I also loved. I am a big fan of orange in general – in fabric, on horses, in soft drinks (takes another sip of her Jarritos Mandarin) – but not so much on people.

Just be your own color folks, whatever color that is. (Mine appears to be… ecru? Kind of a yellowy-gray beige? Sounds about right.)

The newly announced BreyerFest Plushie is cute and the swag – tee-shirts et al – are nice, but I’m not really sure how the Game of Thrones references are particularly relevant. But then again I’m about as Celtic as Chinese Take-out, so none of it is particularly doing it for me, other than the basic BreyerFest tee.

(And people are reading way too much into those “House Brighty”, “House Bristol” shirts: it’s just four popular and somewhat on-theme molds that happen to have names that start with the letter “B”.)

Incidentally, after giving the matter entirely too much thought, I’ve compiled my Special Run preference list, running from most to least wanted:

Slainte Surprise
Hamish (Bull)
Thorn (Trakehner)
Oak (Georg)
Lugh (Sham)
Brighid and Beltane (Welsh Mare and Foal)
Epona (Strapless)
Ash (Othello)
Boudicca (Andalusian Mare)

Technically my first two choices are the Bull Hamish and the Trakehner Thorn, but I don’t think those will be in particularly high demand. This way if I end up with one good spot in the queue I’ll get a Surprise. If not (very likely) I should still get the rest of what I want anyway.

I hope. It’s another one of those things I’m trying to not think about too much. 

Mostly Right

First, let me give a shout out to whomever is doing the history posts on Breyer’s social media: you’re getting it mostly right! That hasn’t always been the case, and it’s nice to see that they really are taking the historical stuff more seriously.

And that’s not “damning with faint praise”: Breyer History is complicated, often sparingly documented, and many points are legitimately debatable. (That’s why I’m here!) “Mostly right” is about the best we can hope for.

What bothered me in the past were instances so wrong they made me wonder if I had found myself on an alternate Earth: you know, like the time they confused the Proud Arabian Stallion with the Family Arabian Stallion.

With 70+ years of history behind it, Breyer is legitimately a “legacy” toy brand, and deserved better. And now it appears to be.

Anyway. Enough of that.

The weather put a damper on my shopping plans this weekend, so my search for 2020 releases will have to wait until later this week. My last serious horse shopping didn’t start out that way – back in December I had a coupon for Ollie’s and found myself coming home with these guys: the Walmart Special Run Sarafina and Serendipity!

One of the diorama ideas I was contemplating involves a Mariah/Morgan mold, and this Serendipity is just an exceptionally well-painted piece, with lots of pink shading around her head and neck.

And I couldn’t pass them by: after all the discounts and coupons were applied, they were basically body price. In other words, they were a no-risk investment. If I change my mind on either, it won’t take much to recoup my money!

I bought a few sets of those Stablemates-scale Lanard Royal Breeds horses during the same sale too, the ones sculpted by Maggie Bennett:

They were also purchased on the same presumption as the Classic Unicorns: if eBay is any guide, they’ll be astoundingly easy to sell if my plans for them – one of each to keep, others to mangle and/or paint – change.

(For instance, if Seattle becomes more than just a possibility…)

Rumors Have It

In other news, there’s yet another round of Unicorn Mystery Surprise Unicorns at Walmart. Like a lot of others, I am mentally and physically tapped out of the blind bag thing at the moment; unless there happens to be one in the assortment I can’t live without – not likely, but who knows? – I’ll either skip this round entirely, or buy them whenever the mood strikes, or the budget allows.

None of the BreyerFest Store Specials have been officially announced, but there’s a very credible rumor going around that WGC Marc of Charm will be one of them – with the model being used being the one he modeled for himself: Hamilton!

(Tentatively pencils him in on my must-get list.)

Speaking of Hamilton, I’ve also heard that the 70th Anniversary Collection will have at least one of each of the four primary releases in each case of six, with the other two being a random choice of the five, with one in ten cases having the Chase Piece Pinto Smarty Jones.

If that’s so, then the odds of getting the Pinto Smarty are about one in 60 – not great, but better than the Stablemates Chase pieces, which are one in 96. This comes out to about 250 pieces per every 2500 cases (15,000 units total) sold.

Back when Reeves had distinct definitions for all of the releases that were not your typical, Regular Run models, the term “Limited Edition” was used to describe models that were specifically advertised as being limited to one year of production. Not surprisingly, “Limited Editions” typically sold better than Regular Run models – often, ironically, outselling some Regular Run models that were discontinued after a single year of production!

The production quantities of these Limited Editions were in the neighborhood of 15,000 pieces, thus explaining the origins of my rough guess number. That was nearly 30 years ago, so I am assuming the actual production quantity will be north of that.

And also assuming that they keep the proportions of the other four models in this release roughly equal – at least initially – that means that about one in four of this assortment will be a Palomino Hamilton.

For the number geeks: that is about 3,685 pieces per 2500 cases/15,000 units – roughly the equivalent of a Brick-and-Mortar Special.

So again to all those people who are still freaking out about getting one: calm down! I don’t think the first new shipments of anything will even be hitting stores for another week or so anyway.

Personally, I am not in any big hurry, but if you could see the state of my house right now you’d understand why….

FYI: Yes, I knew all about the Riddle on MHSP. Aside from the fact that I am a little bit short of fun money this month, what I could comfortably pay for it even if I had that money to play with was well under what it even started at, so that was a complete and utter nonstarter.

That Color Purple

Reeves is doing its darndest to drain my Paypal account!

No joke: I happened to be at the fabric store the day before shopping for material to finish an old quilt project, and one of the colors I was seriously considering was the same exact shade of purple as Zenith.

It’s always been one of my favorite colors anyway, but I went into the store thinking about a completely different color. But my eye kept wandering back to that purple fabric, which means it’s probably the color I am going to go with when the project reaches that stage.

(It’s a project to use up all my scrap flannel, and I won’t know how much of it I’ll need until it’s almost done.)

Purple is a relatively “new” color in Breyer’s palette; until the arrival of the Legionario III Centerpiece model Bourbon Street at the first Exclusive Event in 2002, Purple was limited to minor decorative touches and some accessories. And even after Bourbon Street, it took a few more years for Purple to catch on as a Decorator color, most notably with the BreyerFest 2009 One-Day Funfetti Stablemates.

The problem with Purple pigments is that – like some shades of Pink and Orange – is that they tend to be fugitive: they fade or change over time, due to environmental conditions. That’s why Vintage Palominos, especially the Glossy ones, are that lovely shade of Honey. Find a vintage Gloss Palomino that’s been kept in its original box or packed away in storage forever, and they tend to be much more orangey.

In other words, for those of you considering buying Zenith, I wouldn’t recommend keeping him in or near any sunny window.

I put Zenith in my cart – along with a Starry Skies Unicorn and a Stablemates Justify – and they’ll probably sit there a little while longer. Presumably until a couple other eBay auctions I am watching are over and done with: after my two most recent scores I probably shouldn’t even be looking at eBay, but sometimes you have to strike when the iron’s hot….

(Both of those have arrived, but my schedule hasn’t spared me the time to open them and revel in my luck. Next time, guys.)

Starry Skies, but...

As someone who unreasonably loves glow-in-the-dark things and also collects vintage Astronomy textbooks, these Starry Skies Constellation Unicorns are definitely in my wheelhouse.

https://www.breyerhorses.com/products/starry-skies

Yet like a lot of collectors, I still haven’t clicked the buy button yet.

Money is not the issue: I have had enough fundage to buy two grails recently, one of them (pretty much) at retail.

The selection of molds and colors is also fine, though I am a little baffled at the antagonism the poor G2 Clydesdale Stallion is receiving as a result of inclusion in this assortment.

It seems obvious to me that when Reeves went about selecting older Stablemates molds to “unicornize”, the G2 Clydesdale was an obvious choice. He’s definitely kind of a “prancey” and fanciful mold, especially when compared to the other SM Draft molds. I am assuming that he was also selected for variety’s sake: Othello mold aside, it’s not every day – even in the hobby – that you see Draft Horse Unicorns.

Yeah, they could lighten up on the light blue-teal-green color scheme he always gets stuck with. I can imagine there would be a lot less grumbling about his inclusion if he were a Gloss Charcoal or Silver Filigree…

And I, too, am getting a wee bit fed up with this Alborozo blind bag nonsense: unless there’s some contractual issue to the contrary, just release the darn thing as an individually carded Regular Run item in a normal, non-fantasy color already. You don’t even have to put it into the standard Dealer’s Assortment, just pack it up separately in cases of 12 or 24. 

Please and thank you. 

Finally, it seems silly to even consider the inconsequential amount of stress the uncertainty a Blind Bag adds to my world (a “First World” problem, almost by definition), but it is an issue for me, nevertheless: I am already on the verge of being overrun with everything at the moment.

If this had been offered as a 4-piece boxed set or even a boxed and carded assortment, they’d be on their way here already.

But as the offer stands, I’m hesitant. Whether or not I reconsider will depend on their availability, and how the rest of my week goes.

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!)

Fairytale Friends

I am still on the fence about this “Fairytale Friends Club”, aka the Fantasy Stablemates Club.

While I definitely wanted to focus more on Stablemates for now as I sort out some of my storage issues, dealing with a third set of shipping schedules – as I mentioned before – might be just a bit too much for me, on top of all the other things I am juggling right now.

It’s also pretty clear that the club is designed with a specific audience in mind, and I am a little bit older than that particular audience. Which is absolutely fine! If everyone in the hobby took a deep breath and acknowledged that fact from time to time, the Model Horse Internet would be a far less stressful place.

Complicating the situation is the fact that each release is comprised of a Stablemates and a Mini Whinnies model, with the Mini Whinnies (and some of the Stablemates, if the blurred out background on some of the promo photos isn’t fibbing) being on either entirely new, or newly shrunken molds.

We’ve been getting new Stablemates for a while now, and at least one new mold a year via the Stablemates Club. But it’s been ten years since the last “new” Mini Whinnies mold – a Lipizzan performing a Capriole – was introduced. Or more correctly, was reintroduced, as the entire series was originally designed by Candace Liddy for Creata ten years prior.

New Mini Whinnies are an unexpected development, and confirmation that the blind bag Mini Whinnies assortments are selling well enough to merit a backdoor extension of the line, through a club. (If only the Paddock Pals/Little Bits could manage the same!)

But I was also thinking about scaling back on my Mini Whinnies collection: truth be told, I haven’t bought any in recent years other than the BreyerFest Showcase Arena Deluxe Playset I found in the NPOD a couple of years ago. And I am not sure I want to play catch up: other than the BreyerFest set having a prominent spot in my office, I haven’t been able to display any of them properly. Not with a Stablemates-gobbling hellhound roaming the premises!

Simply selling the Mini Whinnies off and keeping the Stablemates is not an option for me: splitting up sets is one of my personal model horse pet peeves.

Well, I guess it’s good that I have over a month to make this decision, anyway.