Well, guys, I have some bad news. It appears that the shipping issue that Breyer was hoping would magically correct itself by July like they told us dealers months earlier will continue to persist, so much so in fact that Breyer is now charging us dealers an 8% price hike for our orders. They mentioned in the email that was sent to us that it was our choice whether or not we passed that 8% on to our customers or not. It's only supposed to be temporary but who knows when this situation will improve. Fair warning: it sounds like there's going to be trouble over the holidays, though. You can read it for yourself, straight from the horse's mouth, as it were: Please understand that any future regular run orders will be affected by this delay, so even if you bought from Breyer directly, they would be on backorder until they came in. I do have one Omega Fahim left in hand and several Marc of Charms from the order that's supposed to arrive this week, so if you want them guaranteed for Christmas, I highly recommend purchasing them now because once these are sold out, I was told they wouldn't be back in stock until December but no idea of when in December. Though I probably shouldn't have shared this information since it was sent exclusively to dealers, I did want others to know what's going on. I'm just happy that Breyer finally came out in the open about it.
Due to the fact that it looks like I won't have much to sell for the upcoming season, to keep my business afloat while the shipping issues are sorted out, I have decided to put my artistic brain to work and create my own line of homemade products to be available closer to the holidays. I will be adding equine themed jewelry, candles and soaps to my store. I will still also have some customs available but to be honest since I'll be using up most of my time making these products - which I'm sure you guys will love and will make perfect stocking stuffers - I probably won't have as many available this year as I did last year. The first Halloween customs are almost finished and will be added to my store soon. Keep your eyes peeled in the upcoming weeks if you're interested! The Collector Club monthly newsletter was sent out today. If you're one of the people who didn't get it or if you're not a member but would like to stay in the know, I will recap the major highlights. As you know, there is always a monthly giveaway. This time it is for this gal, Truly Unsurpassed: If I didn't already own her, I wouldn't hesitate to try for her, but as it is she is already a beloved member of my collection so more power to all those who haven't bought her yet! You will NOT be disappointed for sure if you're the lucky winner! I'm still wondering why Astrid was the sneak peek for August when we still have not had the chance to purchase her. I hope she isn't delayed a couple months like Fireheart was, though honestly at this point I'm kind of expecting it. While I understand that every business that deals with overseas shipments are having issues right now, most stores (particularly Walmart who we all know relies on China for most of their products) are already getting in their Halloween stuff, so I'm wondering what slow boat our Breyers are on for them to be this delayed? Anyways, enough moping. Here is the next sneak peek: The "wild about the upcoming web special" was a dead giveaway that this is the next in the Wild Animal series and I'm 99% sure that's an antelope. The mold, however, is a little more tricky, definitely something ribby which makes me think the Carrick mold. It would make sense since antelope jump high but really any long legged, slim bodied, Thoroughbred could pull off that effect. I guess it won't be soon until we find out considering that September is tomorrow.
I've always tried to refrain from purchasing Peter Stone model horses due to everything being either a limited edition or one of a kind. Unlike Breyers where there is a reasonable chance to buy anything that you want or could ever wish for, nearly all the Peter Stones are nearly impossible to own. Equilocity is Peter Stone's event similar to Breyerfest where they make models exclusively for that event. These models range in price from as low as $89.99 for a chip (about the same size as a Breyer stablemate) all the way up to $650+ for some more popular molds and designs. Last year, just like Breyerfest, Equilocity went online. Last year was the first year I'd ever had the opportunity to attend Equilocity since I never actually went to the hotel in Lexington where it was usually held, but I didn't really see anything in the online catalog that would fit well into my strict personal collection. This year, however, I really fell in love with Spindrift, a horse modeled after Rosanna Brost's artwork of a pied Mustang in a field overlooking a beautiful mountain range. The horse in question looked almost like it had ghost shaped spots with eyeballs/mouths. I know that wasn't the original intention of the artists but this is what I saw and, being a Halloween decorator fan, I immediately thought I had to have him! He was, in my opinion, one of the flashiest of the lineup and had a decent price tag too... only $289.99 verus a lot more that the others were going for. He also was a mustang, a breed that I commonly collect. Besides TBs and Standardbreds, I also like wild horses like mustangs and Chincoteague ponies. My first mount when I was in 4-H as a child many years ago was a BLM mustang (he had a tattoo on his neck to prove it) and really taught me how to ride. Thinking about my old guy Spooky, I could only hold my breath as I hit the "buy" button for Spindrift. I had always wanted to use Peter Stone's Design A Horse to make a couple horses to look like my own guys but I honestly wanted to see if I even liked the quality of Peter Stones first. I've heard mostly good things and being an all-American company (hence the high prices) was a major reason why some people prefer Stones over Breyers. I'm honestly hoping once I see this guy in hand it might give me that final push to get those portrait models done of my beauties once they add more molds back to the DAH option. Right now the only breed suitable for the horses I own is the Palouse for my Standardbred ex-trotter.
The biggest issue I've heard from Peter Stone collectors is the time it takes for them to make it, but considering that they're a hand painted and authentically signed piece, I can see why it takes them about 3-6 months to complete. I can tell you from experience that it's taken me months to finish several of my customs. Obviously this is with me not being able to work on them everyday and yet Peter Stone artists have to work on multiples at any given time so I can only imagine how quickly they'd get backed up. Will I buy another model from Equilocity again? I hope so, but it really all depends upon if it goes back to Lexington next year or stays virtual. I can honestly only afford the models with Paypal's pay in 4 option so if it goes back to Lexington, then honestly most likely not. Back in the day, most Breyer model horses were basecoat chalky, meaning that a layer of white coating was put on before the paint was applied. This "primer" often would show only on white areas (like facial markings, socks and spots) or when the horse got a rub, especially on the hooves where rubbing was most common. While these vintage chalkies were pretty common back then, now they're worth slightly more than a non-chalky counterpart. I only own a handful of chalkies, all modern chalkies. Some of them, like Fabio and the Lillian/Molly set through the Vintage Club whom are in my collection, were intentional chalkies, meaning Breyer purposely made them all that way. Basically this means that their white markings are basecoat white and not bare plastic, so they won't yellow like pintos with bare plastic white areas. Since these guys were made purposely to be chalky, their prices are the same for all models... in other words, someone else's Fabio is worth the same as my Fabio should I go to sell him. I'm not, this is just an example. Now on the other hand, if there were chalkies thrown into a group of mostly non-chalky models, that would be a different story. One example of intentional chalkies was the Indian Pony, a buckskin with appaloosa markings made as a regular run on the Appaloosa Performance Horse mold. I believe it was every 1 in 6 were chalky with white basecoated markings, much richer shading and Indian war paint markings. These soared off the shelves and are still highly collectible, often selling over $100 even today. In 2015 Tractor Supply introduced a little palomino named Jesse... I wrote about him in my TSC Exclusives post last week, and I got a couple emails asking what did I mean by the chalky variation. Even today, most people don't know how to tell a chalky horse from a non-chalky horse. Whether this was an intention variation made by Breyer or possibly even repaints of leftovers on the mold, there were a few chalky variations going around when he was first released to TSC stores. After those first ones sold out, they were replaced by the regular, non-chalky colored specimens. Not every TSC store got in chalkies though... my own store didn't. I went around to several others and they didn't either. Try as I might, I just could not find the chalky variation, so I eventually sold the one I did have and just went without for a few years. Fast forward to this year, 2021, when a Jesse popped up on Mercari. I looked at it's pictures and could tell immediately from the darkness of the shading that this was a chalky. The seller didn't know that, as she said she was selling her daughter's collection so she knew nothing about them. I offered her $50 more than her asking price but she refused to take it, saying that they were sentimental and just wanted him to go to a good home. So chalky Jesse came to live with me for only $50 and I promised her he'd be here to stay. Just look at the shading on this boy! It definitely pops! Also note that his mane is colored versus the lighter mane on the original posted above. The boldness of the coloring is a huge giveaway. However, not everyone would be able to tell based off just that alone. The biggest way to tell if a horse is chalky or not is by looking at the white markings. A basecoat chalky horse will have painted on white markings, however the chalky that people refer to with Jesse is having a basecoat under the coat but the markings are still bare plastic. You can see in the pictures below around his blaze and sock it looks kind of crusty, as if it has been etched. Those are his layers showing through, that's his basecoat outline. This is the easiest way to tell if a horse is chalky or not, especially if it's new in box. Apparently regular run Hwin was another that came in chalky and non-chalky specimens. The chalky specimens were ironically also found at Tractor Supply, believe it or not. Maybe the factory that makes the Tractor Supply exclusives really does get leftover regular runs that didn't sell and give them a newly repainted coat? As with Jesse, my local TSC store didn't get in any chalky Hwins so I settled with the regular. She's still a stunner but it is nice always finding the rarer version, like when I found a glossy GG Valentine and Heartbreaker the first year they came out. Never was so ecstatic in my life. There was also the issue with some people finding glow in the dark Stellas at TSC but, of course, my local TSC store never gets in anything good. I did find the chase from the Spirit series 2 blind bags there one year though so I guess I shouldn't say never.
I hope this helps you understand a bit more about how to tell a chalky versus a non-chalky. I'm happy to announce that the rest of my mid year order including the much anticipated MARC OF CHARM and TIZ THE LAW will be on the way to me next week! I should receive my order by the end of the week, and once I do, tracking numbers will be provided to those who are still waiting on their orders. I would like to thank those who made combined orders for being so patient. It's been a hectic year for sure. I was just informed that my restock for the first year regular runs that I ordered way back in April are finally going to be on the way by the end of next month. I can't even tell ya how long it's been since I've seen Obsidian!
For those of you who have been waiting to order a Marc of Charm until they came in hand, now is your chance. I do have a few extras left, but not many. Tiz the Law sold out completely and I'm only down to one Omega before my next restock - who knows when that'll be - so get your order in while I still have some available! I would love to say that I should have stock in hand by Christmas for gifts but honestly I'm not sure if that'll happen. I'm still waiting on a shipping notice for my Stablemates Club model that I ordered last week. The Tractor Supply limited editions were something I've always had a love/hate relationship with, mostly because the majority were stock horses, which makes sense since TSC is a Western store, but I'm not much of a stock horse fan myself unless it's a Quarter racehorse - which is usually in all essence a QH/TB cross from racing QH lines - then maybe. So in the beginning, I wasn't too interested in them. It started with Riderless, a grullo horse on the Flash mold dedicated to the Pony Express. The next few years, the Tractor Supply horses took a bit of a turn to concentrate on John Wayne's horses. Unfortunately, although my grandmother loved the Bonanza series, John Wayne was a bit too old for me so I never really was interested in that either. Since the majority of TSC shoppers were from that generation, it was a good call for Breyer to target that particular audience. It started with Dollor, who was a blood red chestnut in gloss on the Smart Chic Olena mold. It was followed by Duke, a white grey horse on the American Saddlebred Stallion mold. Zip's Cochise was next and I'm kicking myself for not keeping the one that I bought because I cannot find him anywhere now but I did own him at one time and sold him for dirt cheap. Banner was the final Bonanza horse, a glossy plain bay on the San Domingo mold. All these horses were hand numbered on the belly. In 2010 the focus still stayed on famous stock horses but no longer included Bonanza movie horses, and for the first time included two models to choose from instead of just one limited edition. Both horses were plain chestnuts, both on vintage molds. One was of Doctor T. Tari (aka Popcorn) who was a portrait model of a Quarter Horse on the Ranch Horse mold, the other was of Templeton Thompson's - the famous singer - horse, Jane, on the Stock Horse Mare mold. In 2011 the Tractor Supply models kind of went into a slump. Instead of releasing a Tractor Supply exclusive model, they instead released Kanaretah as a mid years release who ended up at some TSC stores. Another whom I now regret I never bought since he's now worth over $200, he was a beautiful grullo with Indian feathers in his mane and tail on the popular - at the time - Nokota mold. This is one grail I think I'm just going to have to live without. In 2013 the shift yet again changed from famous horse portrait models to now focusing on stock horse breeds. The first was Dillon, a splatter dapple grey (vintage style) appaloosa mustang stallion on the Semi Rearing Mustang mold. This boy I actually still own to this day, but he's the oldest of the first TSC exclusives that I do still own. The next year came another double They released Travis, a black and white pinto Sport Horse on the Carrick mold and Maverick, a grullo Missouri Fox Trotter on the same mold name. When Jesse the Quarter Horse was released on Wyatt in 2015, I remember trying to find the chalky variation. He was going for a ridiculous amount of eBay at the time so I was trying to find one myself, but between three TSC stores I went to, I couldn't find the chalky variation. After this many years of searching, I was able to find one just this year for only $10 more than the original price, so those of you who are on the lookout for something rare, don't give up. It'll come with time. The next year was another double year with Garrett, a Quarter Horse, and Santana, a Mustang. I don't collect the Silver mold due to him being too tall for my shelves, and I thought that Santana looked too much like the Treasure Hunt horse, so I passed on him. Garrett, on the other hand, I wanted to add to my SMO conga, however when I got him in hand I admittedly wasn't too impressed. I don't even know what to call his color... a buckskin roan? Bay roan? Though his roaning looked more like flea bites than actual white hair roaning. Basically I ended up reselling him because I couldn't find a flawless specimen. I admittedly loved the dappled palomino coloring on Lakota but I can't stand the Black Beauty mold quite literally because... well... she can't stand. I cursed Breyer to high Heaven for using that mold with that drop dead gorgeous color that year. Jacy I didn't like at all. He was a fleabitten grey without much shading and he was on the Geronimo mold, who with his boring pose needed a flashier paint job than that for me to purchase him. 2018 brought about a flashy guy named Boone, who looked like the twin of Salpicado, another horse whom I had at the time. I had to have Boone, although he came with a bazillion flaws. Jasper was another released this year, on the Desatado mold, but being a plain bay I decided not to add him to my collection. Getting into more modern times, many of you probably remember the 2019 TSC exclusives, which were (in my personal opinion) one of the best years yet. They came out with not just one, not even two, but THREE limited editions. My favorite was Sampson, the buttermilk buckskin on the Gypsy Vanner mold, who also had a few chalky specimens floating around. Then there was Hakan, a buckskin appaloosa on the Smarty Jones mold. Finally there was Stella who, despite being on the Bluegrass Bandit mold, was too plain for my collection, although several people did report her coming with glow in the dark plastic. Last but not least, for 2020 came yet another trio. Eclipse was by far the most popular, being on the Emerson mold definitely helped but also because of his blue iridescence on his black spots. He is a part of my own collection. Next was Solidago, who wasn't nearly as popular being on the cartoon-y Boomerang mold. However, his dunalino color isn't too common in Breyers so he also ended up in my personal collection. Lapwai, however, didn't make the cut just because of her bay coloring. I did like though that they gave her a Native American name since she's an appaloosa. She was on the Marabella mold. I'm hoping we see the 2021 TSC exclusives soon. In the meantime, I was sent a picture of this year's horses. There is Sayan, a bay Mustang on the Indian Pony mold. Cirrus, a grey American Quarter Horse on the Bobby Jo mold. Finally there is Wilder, an Arabian/Appaloosa cross that looks similar in coloring to Oak from Breyerfest, on the Ethereal mold. I need Cirrus for sure for my own collection and Wilder looks promising, but most likely my local Tractor Supply won't get them in until September/October when they start putting out their Christmas stuff (the only time they carry Breyers around here) and that also more than likely that also includes the new stablemates that have been floating around the internet. The chase piece in that series is gorgeous and is another I really hope I get to add to my own collection with time. ***Not my picture. All credit goes to the original photographer.
I would like to announce that I have decided I will no longer be doing Breyerfest pickups from here on out. I will be, instead, only selling off any extras on my website AFTER the event. I was going to wait until more information was announced during the beginning of next year but the shocking ugliness of this hobby when it comes to gambler's choices clinched this decision. Essentially when Breyer announced the variations this year, everything became a gambler's choice, and thus people who wanted the originals were upset when they got the variations while people who got the variations were upset they bought the horse pictured but didn't get it, so this really threw everything in a loop. Despite having a "no returns" policy on my Breyerfest models, I accepted more returns than I ever have because I want people to be happy. This is why I don't pre-sell Breyerfest surprises and also why with regular run blind bags, I sell them opened so people can buy what they want and don't return them when they get something they don't. Although I'm not expecting another variation year next year for Breyerfest, Breyer is unpredictable as we all know, so I've decided to just avoid it altogether by simply not doing it. I apologize to the people I'm letting down by this. I really was looking forward to being a reliable pickup person. Comments will also be closed for the time being due to a dispute I had to delete from my blog because it started getting out of hand in regards to my surprise models. Thank you for your understanding.
I know a lot of you have been waiting to see the variations posted here on my blog, and today Breyer finally put out not only the photos of the rest of the variations, but the numbers as well. The 50/50 splits were the bay/buckskin variation of Pech Merle at 950 pieces each, the Marwari/Barb variation of Tassili at 1000 pieces each and the matte/glossy splits of Seurat at 1000 pieces each. For the other variations there were only 200 pieces each, making my holographic Uffington the rarest model in my collection to date. The other rarities were the gold bull, the color shifting Gran Cavallo, the metallic blue Ansel and the gold Pollock. Also I want to remind Stablemates Club members that the next release, Raider, is available. He is a beautiful liver chestnut frame overo topped in high gloss. If you are not in the club but would like to purchase him, I am offering mine here on my website since I don't collect the vintage molds. We should also be seeing the second Premier Club release this month, the beloved matte/glossy split, Astrid. As to the mid years about 50% of my orders have been shipped so far. If you're still waiting on yours, it will be shipped either tomorrow or Friday at the latest, so hang tight! They'll be on their way soon :)
First things first, my mid year order has landed! I've seen Marc of Charm, Tiz the Law and Thriller posted on social media but nobody has yet shown Omega Fahim. He is not as "blue" as I thought he'd be but definitely has a light blue sheen under the light and is a must have for those of you who conga the mold. I do have a couple remaining but I'm betting they're not going to last long, especially with supplies being so limited this year. Here is his in-hand photo: Thriller is awesome. He has some rosy tones in his grey areas that you can't see and he has a green iridescence to him. Personally he doesn't remind me of a zombie, more of a Franken-horse with the white streaks in his black hair. He is sold out, but for those who ordered him, unless you ordered him with something that has yet to come in, you should have received your tracking number by now. Shipping will begin tomorrow. The rest of the Breyerfest models for my personal collection also came today. I was able to add Seurat, Ansel and Gran Cavallo to my collection which completes Breyerfest for me. I didn't end up with any variations other than a glossy Seurat. I was really hoping for the matte but it seems like I have been getting everything I wanted LEAST this year. I'm happy though that Seurat has some prominent dappling, especially since I saw some that didn't. He is growing on me. I'm still iffy on the mold but that coloring is rich! Looks like a butterscotch candy. I wanted the original Ansel, and thankfully I got him! I love his blue roan color with the specks. He is much prettier in real life than the stock photos. I can't find a single flaw on this dude, either. He's very nicely done. This mold isn't one of my favorites but I'm inadvertently starting a conga on it and will continue to do so if Breyer continues making colorful patterns on this mold. He will be joining his buddy, Troubadour, on my shelf. I really really really wanted the color shifting Gran Cavallo variation to go with my Mirror Image, but alas the Breyer gods weren't so giving and I ended up with the original of him too. He is one of the flashiest colors ever made on this mold. His liver chestnut color is super dark and looks almost mahogany. The sabino markings certainly stand out. I can't understand why this guy wasn't more popular than he is. I personally love him.
So I just received my shipping notice from Breyer today for Thriller and Omega Fahim. They are due to arrive in tomorrow with my last box of Breyerfest goodies so I will be starting to ship some out as soon as Wednesday. Orders will be shipped on a first made, first shipped basis, so please give me until Friday to get all orders shipped. As this was a rather large order and being a one person business, I do have quite a few to get packaged up in between a full time job. I will be sending tracking numbers out for these horses soon. I do have a couple Omega Fahims left over if any of you were waiting for shipping to purchase them, but Thriller is unfortunately sold out.
Those who ordered Marc of Charm and Tiz the Law I just want to update that I'm no longer giving refunds for these guys due to the fact that it should be any day now that I receive the phone call from Breyer to ship them, so please hang tight! While I do understand that some dealers got these models in already (as they've been popping up on social media) what I understood from talking to Breyer is that they only got in so many models with this first container, since they can only fit so much on a boat after all, that they had to disperse evenly between all their dealers so basically everybody ended up getting something different. Rest assured they do have more shipments due to come in any day now so that the rest of these orders can be filled. ***Those who ordered Thriller with Marc of Charm or Tiz the Law, unless purchased in separate transactions, will have their order held until the others come in so they can be shipped together.*** Black Stallion book sets and Old Glory orders are still set to be shipped in September. Again I want to remind anyone who pre-ordered to please let me know of any address changes if you moved since placing your pre-order. Once these models are out of my hands, there is no way I'll be able to change the address once in transit since they will be shipped USPS. Due to the request of several customers, next year I will be adding to my pre-orders the ability for me to hand pick the best models for you from my shipment for a small additional fee, if you wish to do so. This will be an optional thing, you can still pay regular price if you don't care about the condition of the box or minor factory flaws on the horses. |
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