Awkward

I don’t know what was more awkward to witness on Tuesday. Those epically clueless contestants on Wheel of Fortune? That completely messed up auction where more than one person bid up something that was not only an obvious knockoff, but also in terrible condition? 

Or seeing all the Honeybears already for sale on the secondary – who, at the time of me writing this, almost 48 hours later(!), is still available on the Breyer web site.

Personally, I’d vote for the auction, because it would have taken all of twenty seconds to do the research to determine that just about everything about this lot was wrong. And all Wheel of Fortune does is confirm my suspicion that they deliberately put on less-than-stellar contestants to make the people watching at home feel smart. Which I think is a terrible idea, but I digress…

Anyway, since my sleep schedule was out of whack because of jury duty (that I later found out was cancelled – after I woke up!) I thought I had to make a quicker than average decision on whether or not to get the Honeybear, and I decided against it. 

Not because I didn’t like him – he’d definitely make a nice companion to my Fell Pony/Berry Pony Jujube, who has similar feathered pinto markings – but because I have enough physical Stuff to deal with right now.

I also had the suspicion that unlike Lafayette, Reeves would not get caught flatfooted this year. I am happy to be proven correct! Honeybear’s picture was prominently displayed on the web site for months as a perk of membership, after all, and it’s only right that they make enough for everyone looking forward to him. 

If it takes the wind out of the sails of the more aggressive flippers, even better. If there’s a sufficiently large number of overstock left over after a certain period of time, all they’ll have to do is “repurpose” them with Gloss, problem solved!

What’s nice about this situation is that now I can put off a decision on Honeybear for at least a little while without costly consequences; the extended window has also given a lot of other hobbyists the time to actually make an informed decision about it purchasing him. Or not.

Time I wish I had had last year, as my receipts from last year are quick to remind me.  

Compared to the heydays of the 1970s and 1980s, we get relatively few Regular Run Traditionals to choose from on a yearly basis, so it makes sense to have items that sort of “bridge the gap” between Regular Run items that are theoretically available for most of a year,  and (often extremely) Limited Editions/Micro Runs/What Have You that are gone in the blink of an eye.

Micro Run Madness

Just another reminder here that while there have been cases where I have sometimes been extremely exasperated by the direction of online speculation about future releases, I have never intentionally revealed anything in advance that I did actually have knowledge about. 

Zugspitze is here, but like my other Christmas gifts – including a set of Carbide Scrapers, and a Mini Hand Jigsaw – he won’t be opened until Christmas Day. Not that I’m expecting any sort of surprise within, I just want to open something on Christmas besides the Breyer e-mail.

Not that I’ll be getting around to using my new customizing tools any time soon; I’m currently making halfway decent progress on several long-term sewing projects as I’m also trying to catch up on a couple years’ worth of TV shows I’m rather dreadfully behind on.

(Yes, I’m multitasking while watching TV. I know I have a problem!)

But let’s get back to the Blue Bull Bunyan. 

This is the first Web Special Micro Run in a while – since Waban, I believe, in early 2019. There have been Micro Runs since, but they’ve either been straight-up Raffle Models, Prizes or variations/surprises within larger Special Runs, or tied to Exclusive Events. 

Web Special Micro Runs have been problematic since their inception nearly ten years ago. Early examples like the Lusitano and the Moose Ghost were sold on a first-come, first-served basis, which favored people who were at the right place at the right time – and had the money on hand to make it happen.

Then they switched to the online raffle distribution method, and that’s when things really went haywire. It happened very quickly: I don’t think I need to reiterate what happened with the Polled Hereford Bull Marshall, but it wasn’t pretty. 

Collectors who didn’t give two patoots about the models in question entered anyway, because the stakes were low (entering is free!) and the short-term financial rewards for flipping were high.

Now that’ve we’ve entered this current period of massive model speculation, I am genuinely fearful of the aftermath of this particular Micro Run drawing. How bad is it going to get?

Some of the prices of previous Micro Runs have been mitigated by the fact that many of them were on molds with a rather narrow fanbases: once the handful of people who were both sufficiently motivated and financially willing to buy them at elevated prices did so, the market flattened out. Prices didn’t necessarily get better, but they didn’t get… worse. And they can still occasionally be found for sale.

That hasn’t been the case with others, like the aforementioned Marshall, and (cringe) the Brighty Cornelius. All the bullet points suggest that Bunyan will fall in the later category: a popular Decorator color, on a rarely used mold that also happens to be a Bull.

Right around the holidays, when a lot of people are looking for a little extra cash to spend. 

I’m not getting my hopes up, because I know better. But I seriously considered – and had, within my means – almost completing my collection of the Walking Horned Hereford Bull this year. 

All I really needed before Bunyan was the Woodgrain, the Chalky variation of the original release, and Colton. While I consider the Vault Sale Colton a lost cause, several examples of both the Woodgrain and the Chalky have turned up in the past year that I either just missed out on or hesitated about. 

I’ve had a pretty good year, model-wise, so I shouldn’t complain too much, and maybe things will be fine and people won’t be too terrible. But still, not the way I hoped to close out the year, hobby-wise.   

My Monday

Checks e-mail.

Sighs.

Crosses Emerson off my “I Collect This Mold” list.

Wonders why I even bothered.

Buys some random cheap horses on eBay.

Goes outside to pull weeds.

Comes inside, opens newly arrived box with a completely different and significantly cheaper Breyer Race Horse:

I still can’t believe I bought a #936 Woodgrain Race Horse with its original Gold Foil Tenite sticker for less than the cost of… well, almost anything else now.  

I had a Woodgrain Race Horse before, but it wasn’t the one I was hoping for. This one might be – unless I manage to find an even nicer one at an even better price, though I doubt it. 

Eventually this market bubble will burst, so I might as well take advantage of the bargains where I can find them. 

Incidentally, this is only my third model with a Tenite sticker – including a Brahma Bull and a Family Arabian Stallion, both Woodgrains. 

Tenite stickers are a little harder to come by than the Blue Ribbon variety, and are mostly but not exclusively found on Woodgrains. 

I think Breyer originally intended to use the Tenite sticker on all of their models when it debuted ca. 1959 – I’ve seen it on Western Ponies and Old Mold Arabians in other colors – but it eventually morphed into a Woodgrain thing. 

Most of the Woodgrains – with the exception of the Family Arabians, and the Fighting Stallion – were discontinued by the time the Blue Ribbon stickers debuted ca. 1966. Consequently, they’re the only Woodgrains that can (very rarely) be found with the Blue Ribbon stickers.

The Secondary Game

Oh look, another Special Run that sold out before I even knew it was up for sale!

You know, kind of like Fabio last year. That I still haven’t gotten yet because, aside from life in general, I don’t like doing the secondary market on brand new models. 

This is getting… tedious. 

You know, I wasn’t all that into the Frame Overo/Picture This vote thing for BreyerFest last year to begin with – heck, I can’t even remember who I actually voted for, out of the choices given – but it sure as heck is annoying to have another Collector’s Club Special come and go without even being given the opportunity to decide.

Something needs to be done about this. I mean, the secondary market for everything is so bad right now that if something’s not an open-ended regular run item, I now basically have only a matter of hours – if that – to decide if I even want it. And that’s if I’m lucky enough to find out about it in time. 

And you know I don’t play the secondary game, sorry. I don’t like to reward what I consider bad behavior. Anyone who has ever been owned by a terrier knows that all it leads to is more bad behavior.

It’s not that big a deal, again. But if this nonsense keeps up, eventually it will be. 

In a sense, it already has: I’m beginning to care somewhat less for more modern Special Run releases, especially on more modern molds. 

If this had been a Stud Spider, for instance, this would have been a much different conversation. 

A couple of months ago I was fantasizing about what kind of offbeat Test Color I’d “gift” myself if a “Design Your Own Test” opportunity ever actually came up and they told me that my Lemon Yellow Palomino Man o’ War and Wedgewood Blue Polled Hereford Bull (with pink hooves!) were definitely not possibilities. 

Okay, fine then, then give me a Blue Roan Frame Overo Stud Spider, but make sure the Blue Roan part is freckled like the vintage Red Roan. 

And while we’re at it, give him those goofy 1997 bi-eyes, because why not, right? I’ve seen some of the “creations” other people have come up with: bi-eyes and old-fashioned freckle roaning on a Stud Spider is pretty tame in comparison. 

I really don’t try to be the weird child in my play group. I just am. 

Anyway, peace out: I’ve got some edits to obsess over. 

Jumping In

Before we go any further, here's a slight update to the post previous - a picture of some of those righteous ladies in the painting department, back when. The man on the right is Manuel Valdez, Breyer’s painting supervisor, whose name is sometimes mentioned when higher quality Chicago-era Test Colors turn up:

I used to wonder if, in all my years of horsetrading, I ever had one of those Clydesdale Mares or Rearing Stallions in my possession. I now look at this photo and think one of these people might have been responsible/instigated the shenanigans that led to the Crazy Zebra Painting Party.

The weekend made up for the week preceding, somewhat. Found this gigantic fellow at the town garage sale on Saturday, for instance:

An almost life-sized Red Mill Bulldog! He’s not for sale, but his Five-Gaiter buddy and a big box of recent Stablemates will be. (You can’t see it in the photo, but the Gaiter’s got some nice eyewhites on him!) I also found a big bag of vintage glitter. I don’t know what the heck I’m going to do with it all, though I suspect a Family Arabian Mare may be involved at some point.

I feel bad for neglecting to mention that the next round of auctions at Munda’s was up on Friday, and the second part of the Indiana auctions, too. Too wrapped up in my own crazy business, I guess. From the prices that were realized for some of the items, though, I don’t think they necessarily needed any help from me.

I did find the prices reported for some of the pieces in the Indiana auction a little troubling - much higher than the prices realized for similar pieces in other venues. This is good for the estate, of course, but it makes me sort of glad that I’m more of a Vintage collector than a Contemporary one. (Most of the items in the Indiana sale were Connoisseurs and other more recent releases).

I’d rather spend $300 on a Gloss Dapple Gray Belgian than $3000 on the latest-newest-hottest thing. The volatility of the newer-model market bothers me enough that I tend to shy away from it in practice: if I can’t buy it at or around issue price, I probably won’t buy it at all.

I won’t say never, because there are always exceptions. (Hello there, my beautiful WEG Man o’ War!) The Vintage market isn’t immune either, as the recent crazes for Chalkies and Five-Gaiter Sorrel Family Arabians demonstrate.

But I like the thrill - and unpredictability - of the hunt. Having a set shopping list and applying money directly to it has never been my style, model horses or otherwise. (Yeah, I’m loads of fun in a grocery store, too. Ooh, are those turnips on the clearance rack?)

Actually, the prices I’ve been seeing lately - at auction, on eBay, on MH$P and all that - make me wonder if we’re entering into another "speculator’s" market. Again, I’m mostly insulated from that because of the kinds of models I buy and sell. I am extremely reluctant to sell anything I really like anyway, no matter the prices they start commanding. Sometimes it makes me want just want them even more. What if the price goes up, and stays up? Cheapskate me may never have the opportunity to own another.

I have to admit that I am tempted to jump in, especially since I have some pricey things I need to pay for in the next few months - real life things, not model horse things. A new car is foremost, but there’s also some minor surgery that needs to be done that's likely not covered by my insurance.

What I’m trying to say is that I am seriously contemplating selling that adorable Gray Appaloosa Classic Quarter Horse Foal I showed you a couple weeks back. I haven’t decided on the venue. I’m thinking BreyerFest is going to be the way to go, since he has some condition issues that are best seen in person.

I’ll also have a selection of ephemera for sale, from my recent acquisitions. The problem with those items is that many of them have never been on the market before, especially with provenance, so pricing is the biggest issue there.

When the time comes, I’ll toss a preview ad up on MH$P with the necessary details.

No, Not That One

I’ve had a rough couple of days, so I changed my Nanowrimo subject to something a little more conventional (for Nanowrimo): a science-fiction novel about two genetically-engineered super-soldiers.

The big plus to this project is that it gives me the opportunity to destroy things on an epic scale, with absolutely no real-world consequences. I threw 100 people out of an airplane in the very first chapter. It felt good.

(I’m not a total fiend. Some of them survive.)

I’ll get around to writing my model horse biography, eventually. It just didn’t have enough chaos in it to meet my current therapeutic needs. (On the other hand, there’s no argument with a parrot.)

In other news, both my Lionheart and a little something I bought on eBay recently arrived. Alas, I haven’t had the time to unwrap them yet - I’ve barely been home or awake the past couple of days to do it. Been too busy catching up on other business, and trying to get a little ahead of myself on the novel ahead of the big Sunday Afternoon craziness.

(I also have company coming over. For some completely unrelated business.)

So I suppose some of you have seen that Wedgewood Blue Longhorn Bull on eBay. No, it’s not related in any way to the mysteries I’ve been hinting about, but let’s just say that there are definitely some commonalities.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Breyer-Horse-Texas-Longhorn-Bull-75-Model-Light-Blue-RARE-/230875441453?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35c13fa92d

One thing that’s not surprising about the Bull is that it exists at all: I was always very skeptical about the "They only made two!" story. Almost the small special runs I am aware of from the 1960s came in quantities of five - or more.

I’d love to have him, but there’s no way I can afford him. I’ll just have to hope number four turns up somewhere in the vicinity of my backyard.

And if number five comes along for the ride, all the better. Just to be clear on the point I made in my last post: I have nothing against anyone capitalizing on "free range" finds: if you happen to find a matched set of Wedgewood Blue Fighting Stallions for five buckaroos apiece at the flea market, by all means go for it. I do it all the time. How else do you think I can even afford this gig, on my budget?

It’s just when hobbyists take advantage of items specifically targeted and directly marketed towards other hobbyists is where the squick comes in for me. Remember the stink that came up when those Alpines went up for sale on eBay while people were still desperately trying to get a phone call through to Reeves?

That’s what I’m talking about.

See y’all soon.

A Shiny Object to Distract You

Another less substantial one today - nothing to do with Halloween, it’s just my work schedule messing with my non-work schedule, again. Because contrary to what some of yous may believe, what I do here isn’t work. Work pays the bills, blogging doesn’t.

(Not a complaint, just a mere statement of fact.)

Our weather, mercifully, has been not awful. Not good, but a mere shadow of a shadow that hit the East Coast this week.

The only troubling thing I experienced was watching a transformer explode about a mile down the dark and sleet-covered road I was travelling for work yesterday morning. It was already being repaired when I drove back via the same route about nine hours later.

A small programming note - and unrelated to my personal issues with the concept of time - the big "reveal" will be Sunday night, not Saturday. Nothing nefarious going on, really: it was always scheduled for Sunday. It wasn’t until a day or so ago that all parties involved realized that this Sunday was the fourth, not the third. (My excuse: the way my work schedule is, it’s just better/less stressful for me not to look more than two or three days ahead.)

Like everyone else, I got my Glossy Zenyatta Foal, too. Oh my goodness, he’s beautiful:

There’s some variation in the run - some lighter, some darker - and mine’s on the darker side. My certificate says he’s #259 out of 500, but according to the letter included in the box, they were sent out randomly, and not according to order number. As I talked about before - and more experienced hobbyists know - the numbering doesn’t really "mean" anything anyway, outside of the personal meaning any number has for anyone.

Speaking of that letter, Zenyatta’s people did a beautiful job of marketing and packaging the little fellow - not just a letter, packing slip and receipt, but a "Certificate of Authenticity" that doubles as a "Birth Certificate", and a lovely little Thank You/Business Card.

Ah, if only every super-special were so carefully packaged and tailored to hobbyists. We all love our little bits of paper, don’t we?

Even if I hadn’t gotten him this week, I would have known it from all the Foals popping up, well, everywhere. I know I shouldn’t be surprised by it, at all, but it still grates a little.

I’m old school when it comes to very limited or exclusive Special Runs, always will be, I think. My first thought whenever I stumble across one early enough to take advantage of it is: Do I Really Want One? My second thought is Does Anyone I Know Want One?

If the answer is No to both questions, I generally pass, unless it’s so super-cheap that it’s worth the effort to resell. That’s generally the case when I stumble across something at the flea market, though there have been plenty of instances where I’ve let even those good deals go, just because it wasn’t worth the hassle.

I’ll let someone else have the pleasure of a good deal - or the aggravation of trying to resell it.

UP! with Summer Solstice

I see the sourpusses are out in force again, complaining about the latest Web Special Summer Solstice. So predictable.

Sourpussing isn't unique to our little hobby, you know. It's endemic to most tightly knit, mildly obsessive online communities. Here's an extremely topical one: I've always been a big animation fan, and one of my regular Internet bookmarks is the site Cartoon Research, run by Jerry Beck, a cartoon historian of some note. His blog is frequented by a lot of professional animators and people who are really, really into cartoons.

www.cartoonresearch.com

The comment threads there are infuriating, hilarious and eerily familar. The consensus there is that Pixar's glory days are in the past: they haven't made a “good” film since, oh, Toy Story 2. Ratatouille was a bore, and Wall-E a total failure. The general consensus on UP! so far is fairly positive, but there are already a few naysayers trying to suck out all of the joy. (And they'll probably succeed, since the same thing happened to Ratatouille and Wall-E.)

No, really. I'm not joking. Go check it out for yourself and see. (Cartoon Brew is the blog section.) Some of the most successful films of the past decade, written off as less-than-worthy by the “experts.” Seeing the same kind of nonsense going on in other communities sort of puts it in perspective – and explains why I can't muster more than an eyeroll and “whatever” combo anymore whenever the negativity gets rolling anywhere in the online model horse community. Criticism is one thing: balloon popping is quite another.

I wouldn't mind buying a Summer Solstice – I've been jonesing for Breyer to do a dapple black special or regular run item for a while now. It's a hard color to photograph decently, though, so I'll wait and see what they look like before I commit the money to it. I still have a lot of bills to pay, in spite of the recent influx of cash, and I'm just being cautious.

He has that whole mullet thing going on too, though his new tail is decently modeled at least. But I do love my spotless DZ Weedo, and I think Reverend Happy would like a pasture buddy. The price I paid for my Weedo versus the Summer Solstice isn't that different, and I suspect the piece counts aren't that different either, so the combination of price and quantity seems okay to me. (There's quite a funny story about the Reverend's name, but I'm not feeling particularly funny today. Another day, another day.)


The fact that they used the same blanket and spot pattern isn't a turn off, either – they all used to do it all the time, back in the day. Those pattern templates don't come cheap – even the new and improved ones. I find it refreshingly “retro.” (I know, I know, mullets are also retro, but not in a good way.)

And I haven't gotten a new something – a new anything, really – in quite a while, except for things I've needed for work (food, clothing, gasoline.) I was quite literally asleep when the Music Cities went on – and then off – sale. I logged off the Internet, went to bed for a couple of hours, woke up, logged back on, and discovered what I missed.

I know the economy is in the toilet and all that, but the crazy speculation going on with those Zippos has pretty much caused me to write off ever getting one, at least in the near future. I counted 25 Music Cities on MH$P at one point, which is insane when you consider that (a) that's out of 200 pieces, (b) that's not counting the private sales, presales, and the sales yet to be when Reeves finally ships the rest of them out, and (c) it's a mold that is allegedly not all that popular.

Whatever. Another day, another horse to complain about.