The Collector Club newsletter released today showed a sneak peek of an upcoming model that will be available "in a few weeks" and when I first saw it, immediately Battlefield Angel came to mind. I have his model, so I bet this is going to be the Collector Club Appreciation event that is done every year. Breyer can't seem to get it right in releasing the CCA. They used to do it around Christmas, then people complained it was too close to the holidays, so they released it last year right before Breyerfest and... you guessed it! Everyone complained they had no money for Breyerfest. I guess this time of the year would be the best time of any. This sneak peek brings up a topic that really should've been posted like yesterday... A bit of a backstory before I get into this post: as a teenager, I would ride these magnificent beasts at the rescue I volunteered at. The rescue housed many ex-Amish plow horses that we would retrain to riding horses. I cannot explain to you the power of the draft horse beneath your knees. I remember feeling like I was in the PBR when one of the drafts I was riding, a 17.1 hh Belgian, decided she wanted to be a rodeo bronc that day and gave me a few solid bucks that I somehow managed to ride out before she stopped right before I fell. This was actually the first time I'd ever been bucked, and it had to be on a draft horse of all breeds. That would have been really far to the ground. All jokes aside, I still find these horses fascinating, although after seeing how much they eat in real life compared to a "regular" horse, I would never want one of my own when you get the same amount of riding time on a horse that is much smaller with less of an appetite. However, I do find the Breyer drafts to be easier on grain and thus have quite a few in my collection. Note that I will NOT be including the Cleveland Bay on this post, as he is more of a Warmblood than a draft horse, nor will I be including any foal molds. The Cleveland Bay will be put on a future Warmblood post. BelgianThis mold hasn't made its way into my collection too many times. I'm not fond of the high stepping action with a smallish head and the huge... um... bum bum... that is even more pronounced with the teeny tiny tied up tail. Basically the confirmation of this horse gets an F and the only model I've ever had is the Trait du Nord. Even in a flashy modern color, I just couldn't fall in love with it, although I know a lot of people who love this mold just because they like big butts. I thought about getting Gibson from Tractor Supply this year, as his coloring looks almost exactly like the Belgian that tried to buck me off, but it didn't help being on this mold and truthfully I don't really want to remember the Belgian that almost unseated me. Clydesdale StallionFor being a Hess mold, he is realistically posed looking as if he is pulling a plow and he has some feathering. I currently do not own any models on this mold, as I don't like models with bobs, although most consider this mold outdated with the more modern releases of Othello and Shannondell. I doubt Breyer will use this mold much more, and of the times they did use it in recent years only Dandy from the Vintage Club and Seamus, a flagship release, were very flashy. Clydesdale MareThis is actually a Hess mold I can be on board with. I've always been fond of the Clydesdale Mare, and she's a rather big mold to boot without an outrageous bottom. I haven't had too many on the mold admittedly just due to the fact that the majority are either vintage or not too flashy of colors, however I did buy Wisteria this year. The flashiest horses on this mold were the Picture Perfect Spotted Draft who is now hard to find, Lanark's Rosebud from the Connoisseur Series, and Pepper from Breyerfest 2019. FriesianAnother mold I don't collect, I've had a couple and they've been kind of tippy, plus that left hind hoof looks weird with it half being sunken in the ground... or shelf if looking at it from a realistic perspective. The Gypsy King was one of the flashiest on this mold, and he was ironically supposed to be a Gypsy Vanner, not a Friesian, but of course back at that time Breyer didn't really have a Gypsy Vanner mold. The palomino from the Let's Go Riding set was also kind of pretty, and so was Harley the track pony. GoffertThis mold represented the Friesian horse well, and is still my favorite of the Friesian molds. I do understand that his biggest flaw is having a stand, but a stand isn't a turn away for me, as I really don't know how Moody could've made him any other way without it. I have several on this mold with Gettysburg being by far my favorite. Kuchi the regular run, Night Mare the Halloween horse, Crystalline the gemstone decorator, Shenanigans from the Connoisseur Series, Noelle from the holiday series, and Kashmir the web decorator from the Big Cat Series were all unique colors on this mold. Friesian SporthorseThis mold was meant to replace the original Friesian mold, and while the details on the mold are astounding compared to the original Friesian mold, down to his eyelashes and shaggy mane, I do wish that he'd been on a different pose and I probably would've loved him more. I do own Battlefield Angel HP because I couldn't resist his flashy color, as he is the flashiest on this mold yet. WixomThis big booty girl has her followers, even until this day. She trots in a very confident manner and has a braided tail. While she is meant to be a Percheron, I beg to differ. I grew up with Percherons and her head is too small for the mold in my opinion. The booty could also have been less emphasized. She also can be a bit tippy. As far as colorful models, she did have the red roan Treasure Hunt mare made on this mold, the Brabant cross limited edition in a metallic bay roan similar to Theo on the Georg mold, Puffin from the Birds of a Feather series, Samhain from the Halloween series, Versailles from Breyerfest 2015 and was sex reversed to portray BHR Bryants Jake who is a much better fit for this mold breed wise. GeorgFor the longest time I mispronouned this dude's name but I loved the mold. Although originally made to be a German Rhenish Draft, it fits Belgians perfectly, and you might even get away with calling him a Percheron. I love how the artist didn't put emphasis on his rear and made him well proportioned. My only complaint is his short cut mane. Most drafts I've seen have long locks, but otherwise this guy is great. Theo the bay roan regular run, Oak from Breyerfest 2020 and Honeybear shown below are by far the flashiest on this mold. I'm sure we'll be seeing him in future, and I expect him to be at Breyerfest again this year since drafts are rescued quite a bit. Gypsy VannerI hesitated a bit as to whether I'd put this breed on here, as you'll get people arguing that they're a cob and not really a draft horse, however since Breyer hasn't made enough cobs to have a post about cobs, and the fact that they're not really ponies either, I decided to add him here. Feather footed breeds have always been my favorites in Breyer models, and the Gypsy Vanner mold was the breakthrough of this rare breed that Breyer had never did before. He is heavy although not very tall, just as Vanners should be. However, with the release of the new mare mold, I've decided to disperse this mold. While I love this guy, he always portrayed himself as a big over the top, a quality a lot of Moody molds have, and the new mare mold is much more realistic. When selecting molds I want to focus on, realism is my number one. While this mold has been modified to an Andalusian form, the original Gypsy Vanner did have a few flashies: the regular run bay pinto Gypsy Vanner, Thriller the Halloween horse, Sampson the Tractor Supply exclusive, and Cheesecake from Breyerfest 2021. Gypsy Vanner MareWhile I don't know the official name for this gal, we will for the time being just refer to her as the Gypsy Vanner Mare. This will probably change sometime down the road. Like the previous Vanner mold, she is solid (heavy) but is also tall, almost as tall as Othello. I'm excited to see more colors on her in future! OthelloThis horse was the breakthrough we asked for with Shire/Clydesdale type horses, and we weren't disappointed! Despite being a Moody mold, Othello is realistic and certainly has an expression on his face to look like he's happy with his draft duties. This mold has been used so extensively, I'm happy to see it being used as a Collector Club special run next year, despite the fact that it's a bit older, as I thought Breyer would dwindle down releases for this guy since he's had just about every color made on him as it is. He is my personal favorite mold over the Hess Clydesdales and even Shannondell. I will not go over every flashy release, as there is way too many to name, but just put it this way... it'd be hard to think of a color that hasn't been used on this mold already. ShireThis vintage Hess mold reminds me of a 70s kid with her bell boot style "pants" with the big emphasis put on her having feathery legs. It's a mold that I've secretly been hoping would turn up in the Vintage Club one of these years in a realistic color and not just the decorator gambler's choices. Besides those, not too many other flashy colors have been made on this mold. My personal favorite was Cheerio from Breyerfest 2012. ShannondellThe latest release of feather footed full size drafts was Shannondell. I don't think this mold was quite a well liked as Othello due to being notoriously tippy, but he does have a large fan base, as Wells (whom was one of the most unique colors made on this mold so far) sold out last year at Breyerfest. I used to have a conga on this mold but sold them after one of them fell and created a domino effect of my other molds, knocking one of my favorite models off the shelf and breaking its leg. Bad pony. My favorites on this mold was Vahana from Breyerfest 2017, Benelli from Breyerfest 2020 and Wells from Breyerfest 2023. If you read my previous blog post from a while back called All The Kings Horses, you'll read about what I wrote about the most popular Thoroughbred molds made by Breyer and the flashiest colors made on each. What I didn't reveal back when I wrote All The Kings Horses was which mold I personally think was the best of the best Thoroughbred mold. It was tough, but I think I've narrowed it down, and I'm going to go with... drumroll please... Lonesome Glory. While Ruffian and Smarty Jones have amazing sculpts, the stands make them wobbly, and is a reason why I didn't choose one of those two. Emerson is the ideal two or three year old in peak condition (Thoroughbreds that are racing fit have muscles all over, even their ribs, which is why he looks like he's starving) but I still think that Lonesome Glory represents the best Thoroughbred at any age group, and his high headedness gives him a look of sass that the hot blooded breed is known for. Although I personally collect all the Thoroughbred sculpts and have at least one in my collection of all the modern sculpts, I find Lonesome Glory to be my favorite.
To be released tomorrow to Collector Club members is Zayn, the Classics gambler's choice for 2024. He will be available in three random colors: glossy red bay, bloody shoulder fleabitten grey and chestnut rabicano. Breyer does note that he will be limited to only one per Collector Club member. This is a mold that has been very lightly used. I had the Julien and Sophia set way back once upon a time, but nothing has been used on this mold ever since. I remember falling in love with the soft eyes and my favorite Classic molds are actually the vintage molds so I will be trying my chances with this one. I'm hoping for the bloody shoulder first and foremost, but would also be happy with the rabicano as well for my personal collection. The glossy bay will be available for sale (or trade) if I happen to pull him. In case y'all needed a refresher, here are the Classics gambler's choices since Breyer began offering them in 2017: Last year we also had a Traditional sized gambler's choice with Shelby, the first time ever Breyer offered it. Whether they offer it again this year or not, only time will tell.
When Breyer talked about a Marguerite Henry model being made for the Vintage Club this year, I expected something new, never made before. What I wasn't expecting was a remake of a previously made model. Not that I'm mad, as I loved the original San Domingo, but he's been made two other times now that he was the last I was expecting. They decided to remake this handsome fella on Fireheart... yes, Fireheart of all molds! Vintage Club members are going nuts! This guy won't be cheap, and I hope I can snag Blue Zeus from Breyerfest because he'll likely sell out in a matter of minutes. Honestly I wouldn't mind if Breyer remade a Marguerite Henry model every year for the Vintage Club. How about a remake of Misty on the Connemara Mare mold? Or Justin Morgan on the new Morgan Stallion? Or Black Gold on Smarty Jones? I'd still even like to eventually see the Born to Trot horse and Lipizzan Stallion made as well! Also, those in the Stablemate Club will be delighted to learn that Wallowa is now available for purchase. I'm not in the Stablemate Club this year but I'll be tracking this one down on the second hand market, as he's one of my favorites for the year because I love both his color and Thoroughbred molds. He is the matte or glossy split.
Welp... it looks like Weather Girl is eliminated from the Breyerfest surprise with this upcoming flagship store special: While I personally didn't have Weather Girl in my top three, I know a lot of people who were looking forward to her as the surprise, and to be honest the mold would have been perfect for the Girls Run the World, but alas she is still young. Who knows? We may still see her as the surprise one of these years! At least we can for sure eliminate her off the list (I swear Breyer is doing this on purpose) and enjoy her instead in this beautiful bay roan named Picante available at Brick and Mortar stores only. Since I am an online reseller, I will not have her, but I will check with a local dealer in my area and possibly offer some second hand. The next release is the spring decorator. He is on Geronimo and is named Gilded. He is a gold and blue pinto representing Breyer's colors. He is also the sneak peek from last month's Collector Club newsletter. I'm not really sure what it is with Geronimo, but he's been popping up a lot lately. Gilded will be available but I'm no longer doing presales on regular runs due to Breyer's sporadic shipping schedule. He will be available once I have him in hand and can ship right away. While we wait for these two releases, I will share with you the in hand unicorn versions of the Paddock Pals that I posted about last week are now available at Five Below. If you don't have a Five Below store near you, you can do what I did and order them online. I'm addicted to these little guys. As mentioned before, I don't collect the Thoroughbred mold, as I like the more dynamic poses, but he is available online as well at the link above if you'd like to collect all of them. They only cost as much as stablemates but are much bigger, about classics sized, and though their colors are simple, they are still better than most of the cheap toy knockoffs on the market. I mean... ...just look at this prancing Arabian! This mold is what got me into the Paddock Pals. I avoided them for a long time because the first series were on the same two molds. However, when I saw this beautiful Arabian arrive in stores, I had to have her. I hoped that Breyer would add new molds, and it appears they are, so hopefully these little guys will be around to stay. Now, Mara (the pink Arabian shown above) is very aromatic. I could smell her through the box when it arrived before I even opened it. It is a very nice smell that will add a candle-like scent to a room, but isn't so overpowering that it is obnoxious. One of the new molds is a classic version of what looks like Alborozo. He has the same dancing pose. Anything that even remotely represents Alborozo has to come home with me, as I didn't go to the Breyerfest that year to obtain the original, and due to crazy second hand prices, I'll likely never own him. This one didn't have as much of a smell as the others. I couldn't really smell it until I put my nose close to his mane. He is a bit darker than the previous purple unicorn they made on the Arabian mold. Finally, the Gypsy Vanner who didn't really look like a Gypsy Vanner in the stock photos, looks much more draft-like in real life. I was worried, as he looked more like a feather footed Icelandic, but in real life his legs do have some thickness to them. He is not taller than the other molds, however, just slightly more chunky. I can't wait for the non-unicorn versions to come out now!
We discussed the Vintage Club welcome letter, now let's talk about the Premier Club welcome letter: We know about the mare and foal set (which it sounds like they are holding off until the end of the year so that makes more sense why the price was again higher on the final release) and the Welsh Cob that we were shown a sneak peek of last year will be the first release. The artwork included with the letter was the Welsh Cob so now we get to see exactly what he looks like in full. His name is Llywellyn and he's incredibly adorable, I'm absolutely in love with his feathers. I am curious to see what his size is in comparison to most traditionals but he looks like he's going to be a long boi. Since I primarily joined the Premier Club for the Mustang mare and foal, I will be putting the Welsh Cob up for presale if anyone is interested who is not in the club, as due to shelf space I'm trying not to collect long or tall models. If you pre-order before he is released, I will include his artwork and sticker for free. The third release is a Criollo horse by Morgen Kilbourn, who is one of my favorite artists that also sculpted Bristol, Wyatt and Bobby Jo. I'm excited to see what she offers us this time. A "lovely coat decoration" makes me feel like this will be the flashy horse of the year, especially since the other two had solid colored coats. Not much is said about the stablemate given at the end of the year, only that it's sculpted by Mindy Berg, so hopefully we'll get a sneak peek in July at Breyerfest for this one. I will, of course, share any and all sneak peeks with y'all!
Thank you to those who partook in my Easter sale. This will likely be my last sale until the major holidays at the end of the year. I just arrived home after spending the weekend out of state with family so I'll be getting orders packaged up today. Tracking numbers will be sent by the end of the day. If you're on the eastern part of the country, you probably know that Kentucky is currently under a severe storm threat so unfortunately I won't be able to actually ship out until tomorrow. I thank you all for your patience! Since those are cleared out, new models will be added to my store by the end of the week. Breyer posted this yesterday on their Facebook page. Everybody thought it was an April Fool's joke: ... but it turns out that it is actually true, and these bags really are going to be released tomorrow, April 3rd at 1 PM EST on Breyer's website. They include vintage style paint jobs on four different models. Mini Cloud is the dapple grey on the vintage Swaps mold and is a recreation of the 1995 Classics B-Ranch series; mini Cinnamon is a recreation of the 1996 era zig zag blanket appaloosa and is on the new Show Stance Arabian mold; mini Overo Paint is just what it sounds like... an overo paint that resembles fluffy clouds on the Quarter Horse mold; and mini Arabian Stallion intended to be a bay going grey with vintage dappling sporting a green appeareance due to the laying style of painting done back in 1994 and is on the Twist mold.
I pesonally will not be getting any of these myself because I typically like it the other way around, modern paint jobs on vintage molds versus vintage paint jobs, but if you'd like one yourself, note that Breyer is limiting them to just ONE per person. If you want multiples, you'll have to use different accounts and pay shipping for each one. The models will be $24.99 each and shipping will likely run about $10 per model. EDITED: Breyer has heard us and has raised the limit to 2 models per account, as per usual, so as long as you buy 2 blind bags you'll get FREE shipping. If you only purchase one blind bag, you'll have to pay about $10 for shipping. Thank you, Breyer, for listening to collectors! |
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