Today, we're going to be discussing a topic that I see pop up all the time... the difference between chalky and non-chalky models. Before I continue, I want to make it clear that we're talking about modern chalky models, not vintage. Breyer doesn't make true basecoat chalkies anymore (in which there was a layer of basecoat painted over the bare plastic before adding the color due to the differences in paints of the time period) but they DO sometimes repaint models that didn't sell into a brand new color, and call them "basecoat" chalkies, or just simply "chalkies" by collectors. These modern chalkies mostly pop up in the Tractor Supply models. A lot of the first models released as Tractor Supply exclusives are repaints, but not all of them are. For example, the horse on the right in the picture below was a the holiday horse, Snowbird, that I purchased from my local Tractor Supply when they first put them out for Christmas. He was clearly a repaint. Later, when I was sent the holiday horse from Breyer (before I decided to no longer sell regular runs at the end of 2022) I was sent the non-chalky model shown on the left. If you look closely especially at the facial features, you'll see that the chalky model (right) has sharper bone structure and the mane is also very pronounced compared to the softer look of the model on the left. With the chalky, the cheekbone is very visible and all the muscling in the face is cleary noticeable. Let's zoom in a bit: The shading of the chalky also seems to pop a bit more whereas the non-chalky has more of a soft, well blended shading. Some collectors have said that if you can shine a light through the horse, then it is not chalky, however I will note that this isn't always 100% true, as I've had chalky models that I know were chalky (as in Breyer purposely advertised them as chalky) and you could still see light pass through them, so take this method with a grain of salt. The best way to tell is simply by looking for the sharper features. Once you see a chalky, it is usually easier to tell when you see it in person.
I think the chalky looks the best on greys, although I have seen it pop up on other colors as well. As these two were so different, I've decided to keep them both. The focus for this month's newsletter was primarily on Brighty the donkey, with the freebie giveaway being a glossy version of Hickory Hills Wall Street. The sneak peek looks to be the classic version of the Halloween decorator, who will likely be released with the stablemate blind bags (with the Nevermore mini we saw at Breyerfest) and Spectre. It looks like it's going to be in that shimmery goblin green color that Maelstorm was on last year. Those of you on the fence about Spectre, I will note that photos do NOT do him justice. I saw him at Breyerfest and will be purchasing him myself, the colors blend together a lot better in real life. Being on Ashquar certainly doesn't hurt, as he is already my personal favorite Arabian mold. Finally, we have the final Birds of a Feather for 2023. I haven't won a single lottery draw since Goldfinch a couple years ago, but I love her amber champagne overo color and Forever Saige is one of my favorite molds so she's hard to resist. Good luck to those who enter!
The numbers for the variations from Breyerfest have been posted. This is the breakdown:
50/50 split for the Action Stock Foal and Standing Stock Horse Foal with Surrey & Axle 50/50 split for matte and glossy Wells 50/50 split for the Scurry red bay tobiano and perlino tobiano 50/50 split for mane/tail variation on Jump & Drive and 240 pieces of the Speos decorator, the Peanutine decorator and the rose grey sabino Araba Stagecoach surprise breakdown: All colors included 375 pieces in gloss with... 1,250 matte pearly black and white tobiano 1,125 matte shaded light dapple chestnut 1,025 matte buckskin tobiano 950 matte chesnut sabino roan frame pinto 850 matte dapple grey While there were many, many pictures online of the variations and the Stagecoach Surprise, there weren't many pictures of the original models, so I'll be posting those for you all. I've currently shipped out about a quarter of my orders Saturday. I will have about half shipped tomorrow with the remaining going out Tuesday and Wednesday. However, all packages have had labels printed so if you haven't received your tracking number by now, please contact me. Some of you purchased privately through email rather than my website so I can't update your order. Now, without further ado, I will introduce the first of the special runs and one that I haven't seen posted much: Nemea. The pattern on this boy was so intricate and detailed that I can understand why Breyer didn't do a variation on him. I believe that the pattern is mapped and not decals, which makes it even more amazing. Amazingly, all the Nemeas I pulled were flawless for the most part. Araba was amazing as well. There also weren't too many flaws on her and not too much overspray despite being a pinto pattern. While I was absolutely in awe of her variation, the original wasn't too shabby herself. Reminds me of a dalmation. Scurry probably ended up being the one that I was impressed with the most, who I think I liked slightly better than her variation. Her bay coloring was very rich and completely contrasted her white markings, and it looks like her spots have been etched. Breyer has a way of making me want models that I'd already decided were too "plain" to want. Despite being a solid chestnut, Speos had a lot more shading than it appeared, and he has a slight metallic sheen. I didn't get the variation of Speos to compare him to but it was glossy with color shifting paint. For me personally, I wouldn't want the variation because I'm not big on decos. My focus for my personal collection this year was the Hamiltons. Wells also ended up really pretty with deep shading, lots of dapples and slight coloring in his mane/tail. It looks like his socks are etched rather than masked. Finally, we have Jump & Drive. She was practically flawless with only minor overspray, which is typical of pintos, but I just still can't with her color. I wish Breyer would've added some dapples or less black on her and I probably would've jumped (no pun intended) at the chance to own her for my personal collection. I did end up pulling variations of her as well. Alas, I don't have pictures of Surrey & Axle because they've both been either packaged up or shipped out already, but I did score some variations of that foal, so I hope y'all will be happy with the variations who have ordered them. I did take a picture of Peanutine, who turned out to be too adorable for words, and if I collected donkeys, I'd have scooped him up in a heartbeat as well. His eyes are brown, not plain black. I've ordered a Buggy before he sold out online, and I'm hoping that I get the original because I'm not super crazy about the gold variation. Me likes real horse colors, Breyer. I'm still shocked that Hamilton did turn out to be the surprise, even though I'd predicted it from the beginning, and a bit let down as well. I'd hoped to keep my conga of him complete, but unfortunately I couldn't find that elusive grey. I can live without the deco, whom I also didn't pull, but I NEED. THAT. GREY. After trying eight times for it, it just wasn't meant to be. I finally pulled the chestnut in my last round, but no grey, so I'm thinking either the chestnut or the grey is going to be the rarest besides the deco, who is always the most rare. I will start looking again later in the year when I financially recover a bit from this event. There was a final sneak peek shown in the online live stream on Sunday. The next round of Spooky Stablemates! I have to admit that Nevermore turned out cute despite the fact that I've only been collecting the glow in the dark ones from this series. Interesting choice though to use a Morgan mold for what was a Mustang on traditional. They're running out of Halloweenies to do so I wonder who the other two will be? Thriller, Maelstorm, Apparition, Goblin, Salem and Ratsputin haven't been used yet, nor has this year's Halloween horse, Spectre, so they may potentially do another series next year... then what? I personally have been dying for a mini Frankensteed... anybody hear me out on this? I keep thinking about next year's theme. The horse on the banner looks so much like Paynter that it is hard for me to wonder if they won't use him in some way. Majus and Majician, the twin Arabian horses that defied the one is another I can think of. This theme is so broad I'll have to wait and see who the celebration model is, and where they're going with the theme, before I can even venture a guess as to who the surprise will be. I'm hoping they'll throw in some rescues turned champions, as those are always my favorite stories, and I'm thinking the Cheryl White model they revealed this Breyerfest was a tribute to what we can expect next year, being a female black jockey in a male dominated sport. What are your guesses for next year's theme?
At the conclusion of this year's Breyerfest, I can say for certain that this hobby is healthy and ain't going anywhere any time soon! There were more people this year on Friday opening day than there were last year for sure. Each year, the line to enter Breyerfest gets a little longer as more young people enter the hobby. Most of the store specials were sold out by the end of the day Saturday, and Wells sold out by Friday night. It was brutal this weekend though with 95 degree heat and high humidity that almost had an older lady almost pass out from heat exhaustion while standing in the store line, then pouring rain for half the day on Saturday. By the end of the day on Saturday, I was ready to go home. I visited the Clarion one last time where I snagged a couple good deals, then headed home and have been packing up models all day today. I did want to note that after 2021, I dreaded another variation year when a few people that don't use social media became upset that I shipped them variations. They accused me of sending them the wrong models and this led to a lot of returns. However, with how smoothly everything went this year, I have talked to my husband and we have thus decided that we will not be restricting pickups next year as was previously announced. The variations this year pounced upon us unexpectedly, and we made it through with 100% success this time thanks to the help of the wild cards, so we have decided to continue offering them to the public for 2024. However, we have decided to no longer offer store specials (aka limited editions) simply because those are now available online. Only event stablemates, the celebration horse and special runs that require an All Access ticket will be offered. I would like to thank y'all from the bottom of my heart for another year, and hope that next year goes just as great! The 2024 theme has been announced and it sounds like a good one: It sounds like they're planning on a rescue horse theme or possibly rags to riches stories of long shots (like Mine That Bird) which absolutely appeals to my fluttering heart. Curious to see what they will do with this theme. One final note I'd like to add is the passing of Funny Cide, the Kentucky Derby winner that has been housed at the Kentucky Horse Park for years. He died today at Breyerfest from complications due to colic. I saw him yesterday and admit that he looked a bit tired, but I didn't take a picture. However, I did take a picture of him in 2019 after I fed him a carrot, and also saw him during American Pharoah's loss in the Travers Stakes at Old Friends at Cabin Creek when we were up in Saratoga, New York. Rest in peace, Funny Cide. I had to update this post after some confusion, as I wrote it super early in the morning when I was tired, so I hope I clarified everything. If you're not already on my newsletter list, I highly recommend signing up. I barely send emails except for when I offer sales in my store or around Breyerfest releases, so I won't be cluttering your inbox with SPAM, I promise :)
Now, for the moment y'all have been waiting for... let me introduce you to the models from the Collector Club tent! These were two of the three variations for the Vintage Club optional release, Tuxedo. There is the white socks only, white socks with the blaze and a solid black (for some reason not pictured even though he was at the Artisan Gallery last night) that will be available for sale to anyone who wants my spot, as I've decided not to collect this particular model. Below is the previously shown Adonis in the plastic! He isn't as tall as I thought he'd be, so I'll be keeping him. He is a lot more colorful and detailed in real life. Now for the true sneak peeks, never seen before. I'll introduce the freebie stablemate with the Premier Club, Akilah. I have to say that despite not liking the traditional due to the long legs, I'm in love with the stablemate version! This has happened before a few times, where I won't care for the traditional but love the mini. I also love that they chose a realistic Arabian color for this horse with Cancion's color being used because, let's face it, the color of Adonis would be incredibly difficult to replicate on a stablemate, and I'm hoping the third release will be a more complicated color as well. The Vintage Club freebie stablemate was also shown during the live feed today online (but not in the Collector Club tent) and, as with the optional release, this guy will also be available for sale. He is a Lipizzan in true Lipizzan coloring on the Darwin mold, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that he is what we've been waiting for in years! Despite having a traditional gambler's choice release eariler in the year with Shelby, it looks like we'll still have a Classics sized release some time later in the year. I thought Shelby was going to take over the Classics release, but I'm thinking now that Shelby will be taking over the "who wore it best" release instead. Anyways, this guy is named Santino and he is on the polo pony mold. I've got to say that I'm liking all the flashy colors on this release, and I don't have any on the polo pony so it'll be neat to own this mold. Can't wait! This little unicorn will likely be a web exclusive around Christmas time. The unicorns are something I personally don't collect, but I'm sure there will be many people out there thrilled with him. His name is Nimbus. This will be a regular run that popped up for Breyerfest as an early release. As a racing nut, as stated at the beginning of this post, this appeals to me. Women jockeys especially. To have a gift set with Cheryl White, one of the first female jockeys, is something I wasn't expecting, but I want! To have a book and doll of Cheryl included makes me want to also get one for my daughters. Below are actual photos of upcoming regular run releases. The first is Full Moon Rising, who, like most roans, varied much in coloring that it'd be best to hand pick this horse out, if you can. Spectre the Halloween horse was sold at Breyerfest, and he is much nicer than his stock photos! I wasn't sure how well those two colors would blend together but he has a metallic sheen and is glossy. Unfortunately I didn't pick him up, but I plan to once he is released through Breyer's website. The following are not sneak peeks, per se, but in-hand photos of upcoming club releases that we've already seen. First up is the complete Stablemate Club releases for 2023 minus the new mold, since we've already seen his silouhette last year. I can't wait for Nero on the mini Georg mold! Next is the Deluxe club model, Fandago, who is a gorgeous dappled black and reminds me of Lafayette. I actually like him a lot more in person and wish I would've joined the deluxe club now. Lastly is Jota, whom we saw revealed yesterday. If I'm lucky enough to snag one upon his release, this guy will be coming home with me. As a reminder to those who did pickups, I will be shipping out orders starting today with the smaller orders. Larger orders will be out on Monday and Tuesday (so as to not overwhelm our poor mailman) so don't worry if you do not yet have a tracking number. I'll be home on Sunday and start packing up the larger orders. If you haven't purchased any pickups from me but would like to participate in Breyerfest, keep checking my website throughout the weekend for extras and surprises. I appreciate your patience and support of my small business!
Please understand that while I'm at the KHP communication will be limited during this time due to the simple fact that I'm busy trying to get all your glorious models :) I will respond back either later in the day when I'm at my hotel or once I get home on Sunday, depending upon how urgent your message is. I have obtained some extra wildcard tickets and will be posting extra models throughout the weekend. If you purchase any today, they'll be shipped tomorrow. Purchases made late Saturday and Sunday will ship Monday. If you haven't seen by now via social media, there were variations in all runs except Nemea. I ended up with only a handful from over 50 models so I'm thinking they are less than 50/50 splits. Several of my buyers will see some variations pop up in their orders while others I purchased through wild cards and will be sold on my website. I received palomino/cremello variation of Scurry and the dapple bay variation of Araba. Others included a color shift Speos and Peanutine. Surrey & Axle included a running foal instead of a standing foal with some sets. They did the gloss split on Wells and the mane/tail split on Bristol. The surprise did end up being Hamilton, which I've been saying all along despite others saying he wasn't a driving breed, and I was thrilled when I opened him. I ended up with two strawberry roan frame overo medicine hat pintos, two metallic buckskin pinto, three pearly black tobianos and one matte chestnuts. The other colors were dapple grey and color shift gold/green. The pearly roans and buckskins have both sold. I only have one of the black tobianos still available as I type this. I will be keeping the matte chestnut for my personal collection. It makes me really want to get back my Hamilton conga now. Those of you who ordered virtual tickets had the chance to buy Buggy or Studebaker. As with the in person models, these two had potential variations too. Buggy had a gold variation and Studebaker has a blue pinto variation. Now I don't usually care too much for decorators, but I do love the blue pinto, and if it were guaranteed, I'd buy it in a heartbeat! I don't want to show the original releases because they are all spoken for, minus the extras that end up in my store, but they all turned out pretty nice this year. There are the usual minor factory flaws, but for the most part, I think quality improved this year over last year.
Come back tomorrow for the Collector Club tent reveals and sneak peeks! I'm happy to announce that we made it to Lexington in one piece despite the numerous areas of construction going on around the outer loop of the city. If you're still traveling to here, be aware that there are going to be traffic delays. That said, the Clarion was still packed as usual on Thursday with a huge line waiting outside the Artisan Gallery for those eager to see the sneak peeks. While I didn't get the chance to snap any pictures of any sneak peeks (I'll do it tomorrow in the Collector Club tent I promise) I did notice that three of the special runs on display were missing: Peanutine, Araba and Speos. Not holding my breath but it's highly possible that they are going to have variations. I figured Araba would be a variation and suspected Speos might be too, but Peanutine was a bit of a shocker. Of course, I could be overanalyzing, but why else would Breyer leave them out? Another reveal has been shown online: Jota who is the fall Collector Club special run in a ghostly white splash pattern with an eerie black coat and bald face with eye patch. He resembles Halloween so much it won't surprise me if that's when they release him. Stay tuned for more to come!
I do a surprise speculation every year using criteria that I've discovered Breyer has used for past surprise models and has seemed very effective in prediction, as I've been correct with 2 of the last 3 Breyerfest mold speculations when narrowing it down to three or less molds. I was correct with Giselle for 2020 and the Cleveland Bay from last year. I was completely wrong about Dundee in 2021, but I'm still under the assumption that Breyer just threw that highly popular mold in the mix because they knew we collectors wouldn't be at the KHP in person to mug each other to get all the colors. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Anyways, the following criteria has applied to most or all previous Breyerfests: *The mold must be one that was used within the past 3 years but can NOT be released the year of Breyerfest. For example, all of the new 2023 regular runs aren't likely to be surprises. Fireheart (spring 2023 Collector Club SR) won't, nor will the Cantering Warmblood (holiday horse), Susecion (spring flagship release) or Ashquar (Halloween). I also don't see Georg or the Gypsy Vanner used, even though they fit the theme, because mini Georg is being used as a Stablemate Club SR and the GV is an event stablemate. *Premier Club or Moody molds are most commonly used, however for the Premier Club molds, they must be older than 3 years and with Moody molds be no older than 20 years old. *The mold must fit the theme. Not necessarily the theme of the surprise, but the theme of Breyerfest that year. In other words, it may not be a breed that typically pulls a stagecoach, but it'll be a driving breed. *It is usually a live auction model from the year before. I say usually because there was two years when it didn't: in 2019 with the Moody Andalusian Stallion and again in 2021 with Dundee, unless you count the glossy Carter from the silent auction. *It is never a pony, animal or vintage mold. Could this possibly change? Well, since they used a mare and foal set for the first time in two back-to-back Breyerfests, perhaps they'll be changing more than we think. *It is never a mold used previously as a surprise model but can be a mold used as a previous Breyerfest model, either a special run, limited edition, raffle model, etc. So who could it be? Usually this early in the year, I have a few ideas. I apologize if this is so long, but my surprise guess is very detailed. I put a lot of thought into it. These were the live auction molds used last year and my reasons why they won't be the surprise model if applicable: -Shannondell (already a special run for BF 23) -Andalusian Stallion (already was a BF surprise) -Fighting Stallion (vintage) -Latigo (already was a BF surprise model) -Valegro (unlikely since they already have a Warmblood as a special run) -Icelandic Horse (pony sized mold) -Missouri Fox Trotter (considered vintage now as he's over 20 years old) -Firefly/Hawkeye (regular runs this year) -Esprit (already was a BF surprise model) -Bristol (already a special run for BF 23) -Fireheart (is a Collector Club SR this year) -Cantering Warmblood (being used as the holiday horse later this year) -Hamilton -Astrid (pony sized mold) -Silver (considered vintage now as he's over 20 years old) -Vintage Arabian (name says it all) -Gypsy Vanner (used as an event stablemate this year so likely not) -Nokota (already was a BF surprise model) -Sherman Morgan (vintage) #1 - Hamilton, or his older version the American Saddlebred Stallion. There has to be a reason Hamilton wasn't offered as a choice for the celebration horse, when his mold would've fit Bravour almost perfectly, and that there wasn't a single Saddlebred in a driving themed Breyerfest lineup. Is it really just because Breyer didn't want to use such a popular mold as a freebie? I would normally say Hamilton would be too popular for Breyerfest, however considering that all the molds this year veer on the popular side, he is currently sitting at my number one choice. While he's already had several releases in the 4 short years he's been in the Breyerfest line, there are plenty more colors he could be in. He hasn't been used in regular bay as an obtainable model, nor grey, blood red chestnut, buckskin, black pinto, roan... the list is endless. #2 - American Saddlebred Stallion. If Hamilton is NOT used, I wouldn't doubt if they substitute with the American Saddlebred Stallion because they tend to use a lot of Moody molds as surprise models. Why am I so set on a Saddlebred being in this theme? Saddlebreds drive and they've used just about every other driving breed except this breed. #3 - Goffert. I hesitated a bit about putting this guy on my list, so I'll put him down as #3. This is because of his stand (Breyer has only made a surprise with a stand once with Smarty Jones) and the fact that they've already used a draft horse for the surprise last year, so would they do it again? I guess they could considering that they're different types of drafters. The Cleveland Bay is more a warmblood whereas Goffert has heavily feathered feet. Surprisingly there aren't any Friesians at all in a driving theme, and since Breyer has made Vermeer an auction model, I doubt they'd use him, nor would they likely use the vintage Friesian mold because... well... vintage. Goffert is also a Moody mold that still has a few years left before he turns 20 years old. However, he hasn't been produced as a regular run in 3 years though, which is pushing the limit. Who else could it be that was NOT a live auction horse last year or a driving breed? These are in honorable mention: Honorable mention - Forever Saige. Why in the world would I put Forever Saige above Fireheart? Well, since Fireheart is still fairly new and hot, and is being used as the Collector Club spring special run this year, I unfortunately don't see Fireheart as the surprise this year. However, his girlfriend Forever Saige might, especially since I found out that mustangs were often used as stagecoach horses and what does a stagecoach remind you of? The American West. What does the American West remind you of? Mustangs. It's fitting and Forever Saige needs some new coats on her, having been very lightly used since her release in 2015. Honorable mention - Ruffian: When I think "stagecoach" I think speed and Ruffian outstretched running her heart out comes to mind. She fits all the above criteria, she is within 20 years old and she is on the popular side. We could use quite a few colors on the Ruffian mold actually, and it wouldn't hurt to use her as a surprise. However, the reason she isn't further up the list is simply because of her stand. Tomorrow, we will be making the 2 hour trek from our home in south central Kentucky to Lexington. I still remember the first time I ever went to Breyerfest. That memory of being so full of excitement that it brought tears to my eyes when entering the park and seeing the thousands of people from all over the country that flock to this event all in the name of our hobby is absolutely amazing to me. You can probably find a license plate from every state in the parking lot. I've even met some people from Europe, and made many lifelong friends along the way. Seeing the smiles on the faces of first timers, usually children but you'd be surprised to find out how many adults are there for the first time as well, is unmatched by anything. No matter how many times I go to Breyerfest, my inner child is always released when I go into the Breyer store for limited editions and other goodies I may find. While I do love doing pickups for y'all, if you ever get the chance to go in person, please do. There is absolutely nothing like it in the world. There is no way I can explain it to you in words. You must see it for yourself. I hope to share my experiences through my blog in pictures I take so all of you at home can watch from a distance. I know a favorite that people from afar like to see is the Collector Club tent, where Breyer often has several sneak peeks and reveals for upcoming models. Breyer has already shown a couple new reveals via email today: Adonis, the second release of the Premier Club, and Tuxedo, the optional 5th release for the Vintage Club. I'm curious to see how tall he's going to be (my shelves in my house aren't very tall and this is why I don't collect the Silver mold) but the fact that he's a buckskin is already making me lean more towards keeping him. The reason I love Heather Puleo art so much is because she does her research on bloodlines in a breed and isn't shy about flashy colors. This guy is a historical Lipizzan from the Conversano line performing the courbette. Heather even adds that he's in his prime, meaning a 15 year old stallion. Tuxedo will for sure be available for sale and will come with one of three sock variations. In addition to seeing all the Collector Club reveals, any variations amongst special runs will be shown as well if I end up with any, or a written description of any discovered variations if I don't. In addition, I have posted some models for sale in my store from Breyerfests of the past, so take a quick look if you're looking to add something to your herd :)
Let's drive forward to Breyerfest Driving Forward and the reveal of the 2024 theme on Sunday night! |
Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|