The deadline for the new Fairytale Friends Club is tomorrow. In order to join, you must be a Collector Club member. I've had several people ask if I plan to join, but honestly I'm on the fence about this club. I'm not really big on unicorns. I don't collect Mini Whinnies at all, nor Classics or Traditional unicorns, and although I do have several unicorns in my Stablemate collection, I'm very picky on colors. I don't want to get too into the unicorn world though because Breyer has been releasing unicorns left and right, and my budget is stretched thin as it is. I don't want to feel like I have to collect them all, if you know what I mean. So far the colors for the Fairytale Friends club that were shown look really good... almost tempting. If I had enough people interested in buying the Mini Whinnies from me on the second hand market, I would consider joining, but I have no idea how well these will do. I might wait until next year to see where this club goes... The second release in the Fairytales Friends Club is going to be Seafoam, a teal and silver colored unicorn on the Clydesdale mold. The mane and tail are glittery. His Mini Whinnies buddy is an adorable rearing Gypsy Vanner. The third release for 2019 is going to be Rose, the unicorn shown above on the Magnolia mold. She appears to be pink with silver, or possibly even light sky blue coloring. Again there is glitter in the mane and tail. The Mini Whinnie is cute and is made on a new Arabian mold. The last three releases, which aren't going to be released until 2020, are going to be a surprise.
The third release in the Stablemates Club is out, and it's a new mold! This is Greyson, the bay sabino pinto Thoroughbred. He has some unusual markings for sure. Each horse's pattern will be slightly different, which is what makes him special, because this coloring has to be incredibly difficult to replicate, let alone on a stablemate. He caught my fancy because I am a sucker for both Thoroughbreds and flashy coloring. So for the Stablemates Club, Breyer seems to be on a trend of having similar patterned horses. They have had a pinto (Shiloh, Mirado, Darley, Greyson), a solid dappled color (Sylvester, Zahrat, Sapporo, Fiero), a gambler's choice (Diesel, Fylkir, Finn, unknown name on Highland Pony mold), an appaloosa (Primrose, Wolfgang, Aiden, Priscilla), a vintage mold (Primrose, Cocoa, Raleigh, Gwenevere) and it seems like the decorator (Ricochet and Allegiance) was replaced with a horse with unusual mapping last year (Kohana) and a new mold this year. I am assuming, though it could be more of wishing after the meh colored SM Club horses this year that the last - and surprise - model will be something spectacular, something to replace that special decorator!
We've spent so much time talking about Collector Club models on this blog lately that it is nice to talk about the regular runs for a change of pace! These are the mid year releases, usually available shortly after Breyerfest in July. I believe, if I'm not mistaking, that the mid year releases are available for purchase at Breyerfest so those that go get first chance at the models. I like all the mid year releases this year. Breyer is offering a lot of goodies to those who aren't in the clubs. If your out for those rare blue eyes that Breyer makes almost as scarcely as they are found in real life, then you will want to keep your eyes peeled for Voyeur! This beautiful bay jumper is on the much anticipated Bristol mold, complete with swirly stand and new braided mane. I was never a big fan of mules or donkeys, but after seeing Buckeye I suddenly need a mule in my collection! Definitely have this guy on my wish list! Love his flashy pattern with lightning stripes on his legs. Another guy with blue eyes (or possibly one blue eye as it's hard to tell from this angle) and his own little jump, this mini's name is GTR Patrick's Vindicator. He is a cute little chestnut with a blaze. This is Kentucky, who is listed as a bay on IDYB, although I believe he has some light roaning in his coat. I do love the realistic looking rear hooves. Not very often do you see that on regular runs. Samhain is a must have on my list. Not exactly a regular run, as she more a limited edition, but you don't have to be in a club to purchase her. Ironically she looks a lot like the Halloween customs I've made in the past with the black legs, mural of a Halloween scene on the body and gold top. If you guys know my love of Mustangs, then you'll know how much I'm in love with this horse, American Dream. A beautiful, rearing grullo Mustang with a realistically striking pose is sure to win your hearts! This horse reminds me a lot of the stablemates sized drafter molds. This is Mighty Muscle and I have to say that it's about time Breyer released a Belgian in Classics size!
I've had some rather good ideas of what breeds Breyer should make into models. Now this could be on molds they've already made, although it would be really cool to see them made on new molds through the Premier Club. Some of the breeds have been used once or twice before but not very often. Others haven't been used at all. Here goes... FalabellaThose teeny, tiny horses that are the smallest horses in the world would look so cute as Breyers. Although they've made miniature horses and those molds could probably be Falabellas, it would be awesome if they made a mold even smaller than that. Falabellas are no larger than 32 inches tall whereas American Miniatures usually fall between 34 to 36 inches tall. Falabellas also come in many different colors, including appaloosa. Take a look at this colorful pair... PrzewalskiThe last remaining true wild horse, the Przewalski was only done one time on a Breyer, on the zebra mold at Breyerfest in the form of Caves of Lascaux, and it was more a decorator than a true Przewalski because of the cave markings on it. I think a Przewalski horse would be a neat addition to a collection. Suffolk PunchAlthough done on a stablemate, Breyer has yet to move this breed to traditional size, and I'm not really sure why. These beautiful, rare drafters are on the ALBC priority list as an endangered breed and possibly making a Breyer model of them would help people become more aware of them. It's possible some people don't even know about them. I love the fiery red color of the Suffolk Punch and would love to see it a Breyer model. Akhal-TekeOne thing about this horse that I like is its shiny coat. Yes, it really does have a metallic sheen to its coat in real life and, let's face it, I need more metallic horses. They used the metallic coat with the 2007 limited edition Akhal-Teke. Since then, there hasn't been another release of this breed, which is a bummer since it comes in so many colors, including perlino. Orlov TrotterMostly because I want to see them make a new trotting mold than the usual, tippy Pacer mold, so I'm adding this breed to the list because, well, it seems that trotting breeds outside of the Standardbred are even noticed. Wouldn't this dapple grey look lovely on a brand new mold that isn't so tippy and fat? Bashkir CurlyI'm probably going out on a limb with this one but a Curly horse would be so cool! I mean they attempted the textured look with Misty and Stormy so why isn't it possible? I guess they could probably use Misty as a mold for this breed but she is kind of small considering that the average height of Curly horses is 14 hh. Still... we can pretend she's taller, right? In a way the horse below kind of looks like Misty. CorollaThese wild ponies, native to the Outer Banks, are a representation of America just as much as the wild Mustang of the west. I would love to have a Corolla in my herd, possibly on the new Welsh Mare mold. Basque Mountain HorseHailing from the Basque Mountains of Spain and France, this chubby, fluffy horse is actually pony sized at only 12-13 hh and would look great, in my opinion, on the new Fell Pony mold that Breyer first released in 2015, and despite making it twice more, the horses made were extremely rare. One was a raffle model and the other was for their Chasing the Chesapeake event. I would love to see a new horse made on this mold again and Basque Mountain Horses have all the "fluff" needed for this mold. They can be black, bay, chestnut or pinto (piebald in Europe). Baudet du PoitouA French breed of donkey that is rather uncommon here in the US, I first heard about the Poitou donkey playing Harvest Moon. I didn't even know they existed before then, but they sure were cute! Like wooly donkeys, they have fur that can be harvested and used for spinning. Breyer needs an updated mule mold, and having a shaggy mule would be twice as fun! African Wild AssSome of you probably chuckled when you saw this name but I have to tell ya that ever since I saw these guys at the zoo, I've always wanted a Breyer model of one ever since. The Zebra mold would be perfect for this subspecies of equine, especially given the fact that the Zebra mold hasn't been made in a long time. They kind of look like a donkey/zebra cross. Please note that pictures are for reference only and are not my own. Copyright goes to the photographer.
My first lottery model is here... and she is beautiful! She is much better in person that the stock photos, as per usual. She came in a collector's shipping box (I was a little upset that she arrived by surepost after paying $20 for shipping but at least she arrived safely) which surprisingly was in good condition despite not being double boxed. She has lovely realistic looking greyish grullo shading rather than that greenish-brown color that Breyer calls "grullo" that sometimes pops up on models. Their is some light pinking around her udder area and nose. Her legs are realistically barred, not heavily like seen on Zion. I wasn't sure about the amount of white on her, but actually it blends really good with her markings, and doesn't look overly excessive at all. I noticed that she has white chestnuts on her front legs and black chestnuts on her back legs. All the Breyers I have had only one color of chestnuts. I also don't have many blue eyed models, and a lot of detail was put into her blue eyes. They appear so realistic it feels as if she's looking right at you. You can tell though that Breyer put more detail on her romance side. Her left side has more white, less leg barring, no black spot above her mouth and the "medicine hat" of her romance side is not a medicine hat on her off side, but is attached to the "shield" marking on her chest, making it more of a war bonnet. She could probably still be classified as a medicine hat because she still sports the colored ears, the shield, the bear claw marking and the blue eyes of a typical medicine hat. Breyer has never made a medicine hat before in grullo coloring so I'm excited to have her! She has "Teton 2019" printed in black on her belly, along with a picture of the Grand Tetons in the background. Anyone else chuckle at this? If not, see my original post regarding my entry for Teton :) Ok, jokes aside, she is a very nice model. I will be doing a video review on Youtube in the coming week so keep an eye out for it. Teton fits perfectly with my collection of paints and pintos. I had a few people ask already if I was going to sell her, and the answer is a resounding NO. I feel like the lottery models, being so limited in numbers, should be for serious collectors who plan to keep them, not sell for profit. I know people do though but I only enter when I truly want the model for my own collection. I was asked to let others know if I think that the lottery models are worth the price. I have to say yes. I mean think about it... the Premier Club models (from what I understood they replaced the connoisseur models from the JAH magazine days) cost $175 each plus shipping but there are around 750 members in the Premier Club so really that doesn't make them super rare. Premier Club horses as yet are also not glossy. The lottery models can only be won if you're selected, and the selection is small, at only 350 lucky individuals. Although they may not have the fancy details of the Premier Club models, they are still as detailed as the Breyerfest models, except that Breyerfest special runs are higher in numbers.
So yes, I believe they are worth the price. |
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