The live auction models for Breyerfest just keep getting better and better, as Breyer revealed the last of them today. None of them ended up being any of my top three surprise guesses, so I'm going to collectively take a breath and say that there is a chance for one of them to still be the surprise. Without further ado, I will introduce them, and also add another surprise at the end of this post. Read on! Lot #16 is a star dapple sooty palomino on the Strapless mold, the same that regular run Full Moon Rising (who is now currently available on backorder on Breyer's website by the way for August shipping) is on. Recognize the dappling technique that was introduced for the first time through the Premier Club last year with Anamar? Me thinks in a few years once Breyer perfects this that this might be the new dappling taking over the fishscale dappling of old. Ironicaly I have Ruffian as a possible honorable mention for the surprise because of the lack of Thoroughbreds in the lineup, unless they're considering Altynai a Thoroughbred. This beautiful mapped wild bay overo is done on another Thoroughbred mold, Lonesome Glory, who was already a surprise in the past. I don't collect the Semi Rearing Mustang mold, but if I did, this color would be hard to resist. I'm always up for the modern colors on vintage molds, I think it makes them pop. The blue eyes on this guy, mapped white tobiano markings and a grullo coat is a pretty combination. I don't know what Breyer was trying to do to the mare's face (reminds me of a giraffe in a way) but wow, is this pair stunning! I'm loving the mapped leopard appaloosa spots, and it says they're both pearly as well. This glossy metallic blue overo pegasus is on the Newsworthy mold. Since I'm not big on mythical ponies, he doesn't catch my fancy, although his wings are pretty, and I'm sure he'll make a stunning addition to someone's collection. Now, I will reveal my own surprises, the horses that were not shown on Breyer's blog: As per usual with each year, the Saturday raffle model will be in the live auction. His name is Quadriga and he is an unobtainable in the Fireheart conga (except, of course, to those who win him) in a stunning buckskin frame overo with mapped markings. The Sunday raffle model Hippodrome will also be available in the live auction. Surprisingly, they've used it on the Paso Fino mold, which had just been released a week ago and is already an unobtainable conga with this guy. He looks so similar to the horses in the Assassin's Creed game series that it is hard to think otherwise that this is where Breyer got his coloring from. I actually teetered on Georg being the surprise this year to the point where I almost put him on my list, however with him being a Breyerfest limited edition just last year, and being a Breyerfest special run already a couple years before that, I figured he needed a break. Now that he is in the live auction - in a stunning dapple black similar to Lafayette I may add - I highly doubt he'll be the surprise after all. Described as a glossy "bright chestnut" sabino on the German Riding Pony mold, I can only imagine that means he is metallic, as Breyer has been doing that a lot lately. They did it both with Speos and with the new Fireheart regular run, Mojave. One of my favorite molds in my personal collection with one of my favorite patterns to boot, I'd love to have this mare and foal for myself, but alas I'd have to win the lottery to afford them. They are a stunning pair of dapple buckskin splash pintos. Anamar in a glossy dapple golden palomino coat. Why Breyer insists on doing the simplest colors on this guy this year is beyond me. I'd personally love to see him done as an Abaco Barb, which I realize are technically extinct, but he represents old style portraits and Breyer has made an Abaco Barb once years ago so I don't see why they can't use a similar pinto pattern with this mold. The old style star dappling pattern returns on this beautiful Proud Arabian Mare. This color is so realistic on this gal she would look almost life-like in a grassy mountain background. I would love to see a similar color make it into the Premier Club one of these days.
If you'd like to see more pictures of these beauties, or even bid on one yourself, you can do so here. Good luck to those who will be trying for a OOAK! Attention Vintage Club members: Rustler is now available for shipping! He was the long awaited music box horse that originally thought was going to be the first release, but is actually the third release. Can y'all believe that we Vintage Club members only have one more release after Rustler (not including the optional fifth purchase) which will be the gambler's choice and then the Vintage Club is already over for the year? For a limited time only, the celebration horse "Bravour 54" will be available in my store for 50% off the original asking price! If you'd like to purchase him, this price is practically body quality, if you want some for customizing. Get your order in by Breyerfest and I'll pick him up for you :)
Just in time for Breyerfest, I've made several new T-shirts on my Bonfire swag store. If you'd like to see them, you can visit my store here. Bonfire will print and ship them directly to you, but order soon if you would like to wear them at Breyerfest! Customs will be put on hold for the time being. Up until Breyerfest, unfortunately I won't have much time to work on them. I plan on starting up again in early August, gearing up for my seasonal Halloween series for 2023. Spooky and glowing things are to come! While we are still awaiting Breyerfest, I've had it requested a few times now to rate the Breyerfest special runs, but I've held off as long as I could before making this post. Please understand that for this year it was personally hard for me to pick my favorites, as the molds used were all popular ones that I like, and that the surprise isn't included since we do not know who it is yet. Usually each year Breyer releases a matte/glossy split, mane/tail variation and recently a color variation, which I will weigh in on as well. Here goes... 8. PeanutineThis very popular little guy is unfortunately last on my list for one reason only: I don't collect Breyer's other animal molds. Donkeys and mules count as "other animals" so this guy was automatically a pass for me from the get go. However to those who did purchase him I will say that if I did collect Breyer's other animal molds, I couldn't resist that color. He'd make a colorful threesome with previous Breyerfest Brightys Tennessee Titan and Oliver. Since Breyer has never as of yet made a split run using their other animal molds, I don't see Peanutine being a variation. 7. SpeosBefore anyone brings out the daggers on me, let me just explain that the only reason Speos is last on my favorite list is because of his color. This mold is actually a mold I truly love, and if it had some white pinto markings thrown in, I'd no doubt have this model much, much higher. As it is, from the pictures I've seen, he is at least metallic red and not just matte so there's that. However, he is probably the least flashiest of the special runs this year, and that's a game changer for me. If he is the glossy split, that'd make him a bit higher on my list. 6. Surrey & AxleI teetered for the longest time between #5 and #6 but in the end, I decided to put the mare and foal set as #6 because of the simple fact that I don't like those legs being solid colored while the body is almost pure white on the Lady Phase. I'll give Breyer tempt points for thinking outside the box and using a very unusual color, and I love Lady Phase so I really wanted to like this set. The foal is cute and if the mother was similarly colored, I would have bought them in a heartbeat. Although there is the possibility that Lady Phase could have the long tail versus the swish tail shown in the stock photos, personally I don't see any variations amongst them since the mare and foal sets of years past have not. 5. Jump & DriveBristol is a mold I plan to conga (once they make more colorful models on it that is) that I was really hoping to place this model higher on the list but I just can't wrap my head around the color for some reason. I think it is because of the lack of details like dappling or more white markings. She just looks too... simple? There is a good possibility that Jump & Drive will be the mane and tail split but I doubt he'll have a matte counterpart since he is advertised as glossy. I also do not believe she'll have a color variation since she's already a highly popular model. 4. NemeaI almost never buy the decorator from Breyerfest just because I'm not a big decorator fane (with the exceptions being either blue ponies or rainbows) and the same goes for Nemea. I just sold off my Akhal Teke conga so I don't really need Nemea. That said, I do think the pattern is pretty complex, and being on the Akhal Teke mold certainly doesn't hurt, which is why he is so high on my list compared to decorators of past years. Did any of you recognize that a similar design has been used as a Breyerfest raffle model before? Since the decorator typically doesn't have variations, I don't see Nemea as a potential variation. 3. ArabaSome of y'all may be surprised that Araba wasn't further back on the list than this with how I feel about the long, gangly legs on that mare, but this color is much better than the original release, in my opinion, and flashy is my forte. Throw in the blue eyes and I'm weakened, so she remains at #3. I have a feeling that Araba will be the color variation since she is probably the least popular, as Wyatt was last year, so Breyer will have to make up for it some other way. 2. ScurryEmma is probably one of my favorite molds of all time. If you know this from following me, it is no surprise that she is pretty high on my list already. However, the only reason she isn't higher is because she is done on a colorway that has been done to death a million times before. How many bay pinto tobianos have we seen in the past? We just had one last year with Elbe. While I'm hoping for a color variation on her, due to her extreme popularity, I doubt Breyer will do any kind of variation on her. 1. WellsThis dude looked so-so in the stock photos. However, when I seen him in the picture below and how much deeper his shading is, as well as realistic his dapples look, he quickly shot up to the first spot on my list. His coloring was already very unique, as we don't see many silver blacks made by Breyer. I'm just really hoping that they'll use Bristol for the mane/tail split and not this guy because I really don't like bobs, but he is another strong possibility for that honor. He also may be the matte/glossy split since he is not quite as new as Speos. In summary, my best guesses are:
*Matte/glossy split: Speos or Wells *Mane/tail variation: Wells or Jump & Drive *Color variation: Araba Please understand that I do not work for Breyer so I don't have insider information as to what will be what, this is just solely speculation going on previous years. Also, please note that we all have favorites and molds we don't care for, so let's remember that this is simply for fun and not a representation of anyone's art or choices. All of our collections are unique in their own ways, and that's what makes this hobby so great. If you'd like to put your favorites below, feel free to. Cancion is now available to Premier Club members. As I dreaded, he had to be released right before Breyerfest. I've decided against ordering this guy for myself and was up for pre-sale, however now that he has been released, I am asking full price. That said, if you order him through my website before July 7th, he'll be discounted $25 off of his eBay price (unless he sells there first) but after July 7th, his price will go up to $225 since I'd have to have paid for shipping to get him to me first. If you missed the opportunity to join the Premier Club for the holidays, or if you can't decide if you like matte or glossy better and want one of each, here is your second chance! Eclat was released last week so those of you who are also in the Stablemate Club who haven't purchased him yet will be able to combine shipping. I've already purchased my little guy, as I wanted him for my personal collection, however the final two revealed models will be available for purchase once they are released. Whether I keep the new mold are not will depend upon the color, which I may possibly find out at Breyerfest. Speaking of Breyerfest, to those who haven't yet paid for their Breyerfest special run invoices: please contact me if you are unable to pay by this coming Friday, June 23rd. At this time, I've sent all invoices to the original payment that you used when you paid your deposit. If that has changed, I'll need to know so I can send it where it needs to go and can get these ponies to their new homes. To those of you who have already paid, I thank you for making this an easy process :) UPDATED: Breyer did end up showing us some more live auction reveals, which I will share below. It was a sneaky reveal, hidden in their latest blog post which had absolutely nothing to do with the live auction models in the title, so many of you may have missed it, as I had. I'm happy to see Desatado being used in the live auction. I teetered between him and one of my top three choices, Forever Saige, as a possible "western" breed that could be used for the theme since there weren't any mustangs in the lineup, and since Fireheart has already been used twice now this year. He is on a beautiful liver chestnut overo with mapping. This model eliminates one of my top early guesses for the surprise, Vermeer. He is being made as a pearly reverse dapple blue roan as a live auction model this year so he won't be the surprise. However, can we ask Breyer to make a more obtainable horse in a reverse dapple color? I don't believe they've done so since Reverse Polarity way back from the Connoisseur series. This model eliminates fan favorite and social media early guess, Old Timer. I figured this guy wouldn't show up as the surprise since a vintage mold has only been used once, however I kind of was expecting him to be the vintage mold this year. I think Lady Phase and her foal surprised us in more than one way. I was hoping that Bobby Jo would make an appearance as the surprise, but alas there is always next year, depending upon the theme. There are still many more colorways they could use for this gal, as she's been pretty lightly used since her release in 2015. For the live auction model, she is being done on a blue roan pintaloosa. There is something about modern silver bay on a vintage mold that I just love, and I love it on Roy here.
If Breyer reveals all the live auction molds before the big event is the question, but I'm hoping they do, in case I have to change my guesses last minute. My guesses still remain the same so far: Hamilton (or the older American Saddlebred Stallion), Forever Saige and Smart Chic Olena with Ruffian in honorable mention. Happy Father's Day to all the males of the hobby to which this applies, or the partners of the horse crazy women in this hobby (myself included) that tolerate our pony fantasies. As a tip for those who haven't heard, Stone Horses is having a sale through midnight EST for Father's Day only, up to 30% off on anything under their New Releases page. I woke up early this morning to purchase Monica, who I've had my eye on for a while but didn't think she'd ever go down to the price she is at now, so I highly recommend taking advantage of it if there is something you wanted but not at the price it was at. Speaking of Father's Day though, I just wanted to say RIP to Rheverence, who will no longer be able to father any more beautiful foals. I've seen it all too often, and I'm sure most of you who have been in this hobby a while have seen it, too. A horse will be portrayed as a Breyer model and then pass away suddenly. This time, it has happened to young Rhev, who had just turned 8 years old only days before his untimely death from coronavirus. Despite all the people now trying to flip his model due to the increase in prices from his passing, I'm proud to own his model. He was a beautiful horse that is gone too soon. He was a sane horse despite how young he was that had lots of championships ahead of him. This was the photo I snapped of him at last year's Breyerfest and he was cool as a cucumber despite everything going on around him: To think that in only a few more weeks Breyerfest will be back at the KHP yet again for another assault from the model horse enthusiasts, aka us, and all the pretty ponies that make up our wonderful models. If you're going, and you have not checked out the guest horses this year, I highly recommend doing so. Those who pre-ordered from me and are not going, beware of the overload of pictures to come! I will try to attend Equilocity as well, and if you haven't seen the eye candy being offered as runs for that event, here is the link where you can see what will be available.
This is surprisingly early, and I'm proud of Breyer for sending them with time to spare this year. I'm happy to announce that my 90% pickup success rate still stands. Those of you who have pre-ordered should be getting an invoice soon to your original payment method from either G&B Model Ponies or Greg (my husband who co-owns our business and is the "G" in G&B Model Ponies) for the second payment for your model(s) so be sure to check your email or Paypal for an invoice. The first payment - the deposit - was to help with ticket costs while this payment will be for your models plus tax, which Breyer will be charging this year. Here is a picture of the cards of all the special runs (minus the surprise) together. Unfortunately, I did not end up with any surprises this time however, so I will also be trying to get some surprise models via wild card. I do have an extra Araba that is now available in the store, but no other extras will be available this year. Last year, Breyer did NOT allow us to retain the stubs, however if they do this year, I will include them with your models. If not, I always at least try to include other goodies like wrist bands, retained show tickets, magnets, etc. If you ordered multiple models, I will be sending invoices for each individual model rather than all in one money, that way you can pay one by one if you wish. As a reminder, shipping cost will be sent out after Breyerfest when I can calculate shipping costs. I will also verify your shipping address then. After this final invoice is paid, your models will be shipped to you, so the sooner you pay, the sooner you'll get your models :)
EDITED TO ADD: Once I receive your second payment, your model will then be fully paid for and I will change your status to "processing" on my website. This doesn't mean anything other than helping me to keep track of who paid and who I'm still awaiting payment for. Please let me know if you cannot pay this second payment in a timely manner. If I don't hear from you, and payment isn't received by next Friday, you will forfeit your spot and I will relist your model(s). Y'all... I don't even want to look at these. With the prices these models have been going since Breyer allowed online bidding for them, which means kings and queens from all over the world can even bid on them if they choose, I will never own one of these personally, but I still like to show them anyways since a lot of times these models give us an inkling for the surprise mold for the next year (once we know the theme of course). The first set of five has been shown, so prepare yourself for some lucious model porn. I'm a sucker for leopard appaloosas with peacock spotting, and Ashquar, however I don't know how I feel about the two combined. He is a nicely done appaloosa, it's just not a good color for the breed. I wouldn't mind Ashquar being used as a surprise horse one of these years though. Hint hint Egyptian theme, Breyer? What in the world is going on here? It looks like Breyer literally found a flawed model with a warped leg in the back room, and painted it as a OOAK. The coloring is rather simple in a dapple chestnut sabino coat. This mold is probably my favorite Arabian mare mold of all time (yes, even over tippy Weather Girl) and I like this particular color with the rabicano pattern. The return of the Stretch Mogan mold, a classic vintage that I really wish Breyer would use as the vintage mold for Breyerfest one of these years. He is on a rich dappled chestnut splash pinto this time with beautiful blue eyes. Definitely a show stopper! This beautiful dapple grey sabino is probably the most beautiful colorway of the live auction models so far, however because he is on the Huckleberry Bey mold is the only reason I personally wouldn't purchase him, even if I could. Two reasons: tippy from the stand and the peg often gets stuck in the hoof. However, that grey color is super realistic and I'll definitely try to get in hand pictures of him.
Breyer has announced a big change for Breyerfest attendees. Those who thought that they could use cash and get their models tax free, guess what? Breyer is now only accepting credit or debit cards for the event. This means that all purchases will automatically be charged Kentucky's 6% sales tax.
What does this mean for my pickup people? Absolutely nothing. I've already added the tax into your total purchase. So when will Breyer be sending the tickets out I think is everyone's biggest concern? As soon as they do, I'll start sending the second payment to all of those who pre-ordered from me. If you forgot how much this was going to be, I have left it up on my Breyerfest Pickups page. I will announce here on my blog once I start sending the second payments to your original payment method of choice (either credit card or Paypal) and it'll be under G&B Model Ponies or my husband's name, Greg. If this payment is not made within 7 days of receiving your invoice, you forfeit your pickup and I will refund your original deposit. Remember that shipping costs will be collected after Breyerfest starts once I can calculate how much your model(s) will weigh. Last but not least, to all stablemate club members, the third release is now available for purchase. His name is Eclat and he is a lovely champagne pinto on the Missouri Fox Trotter mold. He looks so much like my own horse, Bella, that I had to have him, so unfortunately I will not have any extras available of this guy. However, I still have the first Premier Club horse, Cancion, available whom I decided to sell last minute, so if you'd like my glossy version, be sure to get in your deposit before he is released if you want to make payments. Once he is released, he will be available on eBay and the full amount will be required. With Father's Day around the corner and Mother's Day just passed, I've decided to make a post about the mare and foal sets offered as regular runs by Breyer in year's past. As a side note I'm only showing the sets offered after 2007 which is the year when I started collecting. These will not include the portrait models of horses in which Breyer made the big horse first and you had to buy the foal separately (some examples of these are Treasured Move/Takoda, Picasso/Van Gogh and Zenyatta/Cosmic One) only the sets which they offered them together for one money. Web exclusives, JAH special runs, club limited editions and Breyerfest models - hint hint these will be talked about in a future post - are also not included on this list. Again, these are only the regular runs and only traditional sized. So sit back, relax and enjoy this post that I made simply to deal with pre-Breyerfest boredom :) Cupid and ArrowThis beloved pair consisted of a rescued Thoroughbred mare with a heart shaped white star on her forehead that was unknowingly pregnant upon her rescue. When she birthed her precious bundle of joy, he had an arrow shaped marking on his rear that gave him his name. This set was made for a while, from 2002-2008 because people loved them so much, as well as their heartwarming story. Misty and StormyWho doesn't know by now about the ponies of Chincoteague? This story, brought to the spotlight by famous author Margeurite Henry, became a favorite amongst horse lovers everywhere. The lives of the Phantom and her foal, Misty, were told in the book series about the wild ponies on Assateague Island that are rounded up each summer to sell off some of the foals to keep the herd population in check. Not only did collectors want to own a little Misty horse themselves, but the windswept look and haired plastic made her unique in her own special way. The set Breyer made included her first foal, Stormy, and was made for many years. Today's set includes Margeurite Henry's book. The Phantom and MistyThis, in turn, led to Breyer finally producing a copy of the Phantom and baby Misty for their 75th anniversary this year. Now, all we need is Misty's sire, the Pied Piper, and we'll have the entire family! Color Crazy Treasure Hunt SeriesMade for the year 2008 only was the Treasure Hunt series that included mare and foal sets. If you don't remember this series or were too young, basically Breyer used to have you "hunt" down so many models, send in the UPCs and you got a free model for collecting them all. I miss this series and really wish Breyer would bring it back. They kind of sort of did with the Collector Club Appreciation except you just get a glossed model instead of a unique model made solely for the event. There were variations amongst the Susecion and Le Fire sets between solid colored and pinto colored as well. GG Valentine and HeartbreakerAnother long lived set, lasting for at least 10 years, was the GG Valentine and Heartbreaker set. The names reminded me so much of Cupid and Arrow with the Valentine theme, but unfortunately these two didn't have special markings. They were plain bay with one in every six sets being glossy, although it is unknown whether the glossed sets were only made in the beginning or if they lasted the entire time the sets were produced. Overo Paint Mare and FoalThis duo didn't have a special name, and weren't even real horses but just a mare and foal set that Breyer made just because grullo overo looks amazing on Lady Phase, I guess. They are part of my permanent collection so apparently I like them too? Susecion and Le FireAlthough the originals of these two were made from 2002-2005 which was before I started collecting, they were re-released as "warehouse finds" in 2014 and sold out quickly, so I decided to go ahead and include them. They portrayed Arabian mare Susecion and her foal, Le Fire, who was sired by famous Arabian stallion, Bask. This was also the first time that mare bits were added to a model, and the horse world went crazy. Fantasia Del C and GozosaA PRE mare and foal pair that were owned by Origin PRE, the bloodlines of these two could be traced back hundreds of years to the Spanish horses that developed the breed. Airiella and Favory AiriellaFavory Airiella is actually the stallion foal in this set. Like all Lipizzaners, he was born black and turned grey as he aged. His mother, Airiella, is the horse he is portrayed with. Favory Airiella inherited his name from his dad (Favory) and mother. They are perfect examples of the Templar Lipizzans. Nistar Blazing Kansas and GTF Blazing EthelAs with the previous set, Nistar Blazing Kansas is actually the foal of the set, and his mother, Ethel, is portrayed with him. I saw Kansas at Breyerfest with his beaming owner, who you can tell is just proud of the little guy. She radiated like a mother would for her son, which is awesome to see. I love it when horses are seen as family and not just simply as machines or money earners. I'm so happy to see that they're coming back again for Breyerfest this year for the driving theme. They truly deserve it. Cloud's Encore and TorWhen Breyer made the Cloud series as Classic models, I've always wanted Breyer to translate them to traditionals. I loved the Cloud series, but Classics aren't really my thing. When they produced his daughter Encore as a traditional, I was thrilled, and I hope that she isn't the last. Her black foal, Tor, is included in this set. Ebony Shines and CharlizeReining champion mare and her beautiful palomino colt, this set is probably one of my favorite mare and foal sets Breyer has offered as regular runs to date. I'm excited to see the real horse at Breyerfest this year! Mariposa and FlorAnother set that are not portrayed after real horses but instead released as flagship limited editions, I decided to include them only because they are still technically regular runs, just super limited regular runs, but you can find them at most dealers.
Yesterday Breyer announced that they were going to hold the Collector Club Appreciation (CCA) event today, which is now available for members. You have to spend $150 worth of merchandise - which is really only about three traditionals - to get the glossy model for free. You must add the glossy model to your cart first and then put in the code during checkout to get the glossy model for free, it will not automatically be added to your cart as a freebie without the code. They've made it clear on their website that adjustments will not be made if you don't do both steps. Please be sure to double check this or you will be charged for your model. Glossy versions for this round are Peptoboonsmal, Morganquest, Sjoerd and Adiah HP. This is one event where I actually like three of the four colors, however unfortunately I must pass as it's just too close to Breyerfest. There were a lot of complaints on social media about this same thing, and Breyer is probably hitting their head into the wall by now trying to please us collectors since they did change it after everyone complained before about it being too close to Christmas. The best time of the year, at least for myself, is in February/March after I've had some time to recoup from Christmas spending. Nonetheless, I may have to track down a Morganquest in gloss one day because that gloss really makes his shading pop. I'll probably do the CCA event next time after the mid years are released because then I'll have enough regular runs I'll want to buy to be able to participate.
Also, Breyer is holding a sweepstakes for pride month. No purchase is necessary to enter and you don't have to be a Collector Club member, unlike with the CCA, so if you'd like the chance to win one of three Pollock rainbow models from Breyerfest 2021 you can do so here. You must enter by June 6th. Just a quick update for Breyerfest. If you want your wild card tickets to be mailed to you, you must purchase them before June 4th. Ticket sales technically run until July 4th, but if you don't order them by June 4th, you'll have to pick them up at the will call window at the KHP. This could be time consuming if you're looking for a specific model from the wild card options because that line can get pretty long. If you are going in person and have not checked out the guest horses list, be sure to do so. They have quite a lineup coming this year, including some incredible Friesians. I'm also excited to see ATP Power with Amberley, as this girl has been my hero that I've been following ever since her accident. While I'm still unsure if I'll end up buying the model of him (Wyatt does look amazing in black) at least I want to see the real horse, and hopefully a demo of him with Amberley in the arena. Not too much longer now, and we'll be on our way to Lexington! |
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