Happy Halloween y'all! While we're on the subject of this spooky holiday, I'd like to do a little throw back post and talk about the Classics Halloween series. The series technically started with Mischief Night, a glow in the dark Polo Pony with cats on a tin roof under a moonlit night. Since I wasn't collecting much back in 2014 (I started collecting again in 2015 after a short hiatus away from collecting while I raised my children) I missed out on this guy. The next Classics release came in 2016, and Crane was a guy that I had in my collection at one time. However, because I decided to disperse all the molds from my collection that I didn't conga, I did (regrettably) sell him off. He was a mini me of Ichabod. The black and white Halloween horse streak ended in 2017 with Goblin. She glowed in the dark and had purple monsters all over her. To me, she just didn't scream Halloween, so I didn't get her. It looked more like Breyer was attempting an alien supernatural theme more so than a spooky theme. The following year wasn't much better with the release of Boogeyman. She also didn't remind me of Halloween. The rainbow colored paint dripping on a solid black horse made me wonder what in the world Breyer was trying to get at. I ended up skipping her too. Salem reminded me of a miniature glow in the dark Hamilton. Except, he had a cat design painted into his spots and had an iridescent purple sheen. He was the 2019 Halloween Classics horse. He is probably the one I regret not having as part of my collection to this day the most, but I accidentally dropped him and he ended up breaking a leg. His second hand price was just too high so I never did buy him again. Ratsputin was one I admit that I was kind of iffy about, mostly because I don't think of rats as being scary, even though I know they are used often in Halloween decor. I bought him anyways, but didn't really like him once I got him in-hand and resold him. I did like how Breyer made him more of a realistic color than a decorator, and I wish they'd do more like that. Salem is still my favorite of all the Classics series, however my next favorite has to be EEK! from 2021 who was released on the American Dream mold. Finally Breyer got away from the cutesy Halloween decorators and back into the scary stuff with his spider design, and also added a bit of realism to him by making him an appaloosa with spider shaped spots. He is still part of my collection to this day. Breyer went back to full blown decorator in 2022 with the release of Tabitha. Named after the witch from Bewitched and with a witch design hidden in her overo markings, she was quickly added to my collection. Plus, I loved her shimmery blue color, a return of my favorite blue color that was on Mirror Image from long ago. We've all seen the 2023 Halloween Classics, Slither, with his greenish-brown snake-like shimmery skin and quagga markings on his neck.
My favorite event of the year offered by Stone Horses was yesterday, and boy oh boy did they have a variety! My time with Stones has been rather limited due to their price, but for the past three years, I've always came away with something from their annual Halloween event. Even if I'm not able to purchase a Stone any other time of the year, I always try to save for Moonlight Madness. This year a lot of my first choices sold out before they even became available at 8 PM since Stone allowed Loyalty members first dibs at shopping, but I did come away with one of the Bats Series and Vigil in black iridescence, my favorite of the runs. While I don't like to compare the two companies, I do like that Stone gave the option to choose your color of Vigil rather than making him a gambler's choice.
If you missed the event, there were still some very limited pieces available today on their website that I'm sure will eventually sell. I personally loved the little alien cutter & calf chips that all had backlight reactive parts, and some of the calves had an adorable design of a spaceship abducting a cow. I'm already maxed on the number of lay buys I have open (the only way I can afford Stones these days) but if I didn't get the other two that I wanted, I would have scooped an alien set up without hesitation. The mini Boos were cute too, if any of you remember Boo from a couple years ago. The Best Offers were absolutely to die for, no pun intended, with a couple zombie-like horses available that I would have loved to own. Congratulations to the winners of these spooky horses! Happy Halloween, y'all! While most communities around the country are considering this weekend Halloween with trick or treating and truck-or-treats, us Breyer collectors are wondering what the upcoming holidays have in store for us just around the corner. We still have quite a few reveals left, including this one from the Collector Club newsletter: We all know this is the annual winter decorator that is always won through lottery, and the mold is guessed to be Latigo, or the Loping Quarter Horse. My favorite by far is the blue filigree over the silver, however I haven't been picked for a lottery model in 3 years so I'm not hopeful on this one. If the mold is Latigo, it'll be something I don't conga anyways. The drawing for a freebie is for the palomino Orren Mixer from last year. Not something too spectacular, as you can still get this one on Amazon if you missed him from last year, however he does make a good stallion for Ebony Shines and Charlize. The highlighted article is a neat one about Ponypallooza in Germany, which is a European version of Breyerfest. It is amazing that so many people around the world also collect model ponies! Also, if you're a Vintage Club member, you should have received an email with a sneak peek of the first Vintage Club model (I was wondering when that was going to be shown) and he is pretty cool! They used a modern mold with a vintage filigree pattern, unlike last year's music box that was a vintage mold with a modern paint job, and this time he is a lamp named Kirk! My goodness, the uniqueness of this club just keeps getting better and better each year. I'm definitely going to be renewing. Breyer said they will open up memberships early November to current members which I'm assuming to either be this coming week or next week, and then new members after that. They will go quick, especially with this guy and the fact that this is the only limited club Breyer offers.
Per Breyer's website, we have the 2023 retirement list! If you've been eyeing any of the following but haven't made the plunge yet, be sure to get your order in by the end of the year before these beauties are gone forever:
Traditional Series Models & Accessories 1810 Truly Unsurpassed 1816 Buckeye 1828 Winx 1830 Adiah HP 1841 Obsidian 1843 Theo 1844 Sporður frá Bergi 1848 Tiz the Law 1862 Get Rowdy 1868 The Ideal Series - Appaloosa 1870 Secretariat - 50th Anniversary Limited Edition 1875 Washington 1876 Spectre - 2023 Halloween Horse 1878 Barranco - Brick and Mortar Exclusive 1878 Leif 61213 Hope 760251 Mariposa & Flor - Flagship Dealer Exclusive 2043 Brush Box Jump 2053 Colorful Blanket Asst. 2486 Stable Feed Set Freedom Series Models 62060 Le Mer, Unicorn of the Sea 62068 Lysander Stablemates Models & Accessories 6227 Horse Foal Surprise - Family 13 6228 Horse Foal Surprise - Family 14 6229 Horse Foal Surprise - Family 15 59215 Breyer Farms Deluxe Wood Stable Playset 59220 Unicorn Magic Sparkle Playset Mane Beauty 7404 Daybreak Styling Head 7405 Stardust Styling Head Craft and Activity 4249 Paint and Wear Enamel Pins 4243 All About Horses Craft Kit CollectA Dogs & Cats 88179 Bull Dog 88181 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel 88185 Dachshund 88384 Bull Terrier 88610 American Staffordshire Terrier Horses & Equids 88734 Bay Hanoverian Foal 88114 Red Dun Quarter Horse Foal 88815 Black Friesian Foal 88893 Barock Pinto Foal Prehistoric Life 88039 Pteranodon 88145 Iguanodon 88199 Triceratops Baby 88237 Liopleurodon 88340 Tarbosaurus 88395 Jobaria (Deluxe 1:40 Scale) 88441 Hatzegopteryx 88511 Ornithoscheirus 88777 Styracosaurus (Deluxe) 88778 Deinocheirus (Deluxe 1:40 Scale) 88889 Mapusaurus - Hunting 888910 Kamuysaurus 88917 Neovenator - Scenting Prey Safari 88216 Polar Bear Cub 88356 Koala 88415 Lioness 88459 Ostrich North American Wildlife 88207 Flamingo 88211 Mute Swan 88456 Red Squirrel 88499 Bumble Bee Breyer has just posted that the celebration horse for Breyerfest 2024 will be revealed next week, and from the information they posted, it does appear that they are focusing on a rescue theme for next year. Horses that have overcome abandonment, neglect and abuse to be something great. Likewise, horses that have overcome the impossible (blind horses like Endo come to mind) are going to be featured as well. Finally, Breyer hinted at "girl power" so I'm curious to see what we'll see on that part. No doubt they had Cheryl White in mind. Breyer said there were over a dozen entries vying for the celebration horse so let's hope we'll get something a little more colorful than the horses of the past few years, who've all been bay, minus Dani. Meanwhile, I noticed another seasonal pony crop up on Breyer's website under "Coming Soon"... but this time in the form of a plush. His name is Dasher and he's an adorable reindeer pony with snowflakes and a scarf. I have to say that Breyer is making these plushies nearly irrestible, even for people who don't collect them. The same with their pins, which they've also just made a boatload more of recently. At least the pins are space efficient. If I had the room in my house, I wouldn't hestiate to buy the plushies, as this guy is too cute for words!
This series that Breyer offers as web exclusives around the holidays, actually started pretty recently, back in 2019 with the little bay pinto Haflinger, simply called "A Pony for Christmas" which I thought at the time was absolutely adorable. This was the year after they released Wish and Wonder as the mare/foal set for the year before they transitioned to unicorns. Wish and Wonder sold out quickly, and Breyer probably got the idea to make a limited pony series. When A Pony for Christmas dropped the next year, he wasn't too big of a hit being on the rarely collected Haflinger mold, as he was still available the following year, and had to be discounted by Breyer to finally sell out. The series came with a blanket and a collectible gift box, great for gifting to young children. The next year, Breyer offered a much more popular mold. Introducing Honeybunch. This gal was a palomino on the lightly used, but highly collectible Fell Pony mold. Breyer did it this time, as Honeybunch sold out quickly, thus securing the series. 2021 brought not only another pony for Christmas in the form of yet another popular mold, Bouncer, who was turned into a mare and made as a metallic chestnut named Ginger, but another pony arrival... Snickerdoodle. Snickerdoodle was part of a new series that included a doll and some form of props or tack. She herself was a cute as a button palomino Welsh Pony. For 2022, we saw the still available Kohl for the Pony for Christmas series and the also still available Mia, who came with the doll and tack. Why did they not sell out? Most likely because they are both vintage molds. I'll admit that neither of them fell into my personal collection for that very reason, that and Breyer has already made two other palomino ponies. They really like using yellows for Christmas horses. I will admit that Kohl had me tempted more than a few times, and if she were on any other mold, I wouldn't have hesitated.
This year we had Mittens for the Pony for Christmas, who I thought was palomino, but after seeing her in hand and knowing that she was designed by Sommer Prosser, I'm thinking that she's more of a silver bay, a color that Sommer is best known for. Breyer just describes it as "mushroom" whatever that is, but it looks a lot darker than palomino in hand. The other doesn't have a name this year, called Pony Snow Day but in the description the pony's name is Tinsel and he's a stunning silver dun. Which molds does that leave? The new Fjord mold, Nikolas, the Welsh Cob, Newsworthy and the two miniature horse molds. The Connemare Mare and Icelandic might be a tad too big, but they're always a possibly since they are both technically ponies and were used for the Berry Ponies series. Before I head more into this post, I just wanted to make an announcement for my custom collectors that I will be posting the last of my Halloween stablemates that I'm doing for the year on eBay this weekend. I will be starting Christmas customs next, which the first ones will be posted the first week of November. I still have some traditional Halloween horses in the making but they unfortunately won't be finished by Halloween. Hopefully I'll have them available in November. Now, to the post at hand. The Classics model for the Kid's Club for the 2024 membership is now available. It is a beautiful shaded grey on the Harper mold. You can join the Kid's Club here. I've never joined the Kid's Club but I know others who have just to get the Classics model. It seems worth it with all the bonuses you get, and I might for next year because I'm a sucker for greys. In addition to the model, you get a blanket for your horse, a booklet about Breyer horses, a drawstring bookbag, a membership card, a sticker, a $5 off coupon, and a magazine subscription for a whole year (not really sure the quality of the content but my kids would probably enjoy it) to Young Rider. It got me curious though, as to the previous models from the Kids Club. The model has changed regularly, however the bookbag has always had the same logo, just a different color, until this year. That image of Bristol is tempting. Here is a list of the past models from the clubs inception: 2012-2013The very first year of the club saw a metallic grey on the Warmblood Stallion mold with a blue bookbag. 2014The next year had a golden palomino on the Warmblood Mare mold with a pink bookbag. 2015-2016A red roan on the Mariah mold had the return of the blue bookbag. The booklet remained the same. 2017The first vintage mold was used when Breyer released a fleabitten light grey on the Ruffian mold. 2018The 2018 club contained a buckskin with brown points on the Morgan Mare mold. The bookbag turned purple. 2019A palomino leopard appaloosa on the Running Thoroughbred mold was produced for 2019. The booklet finally saw a change in the cover. 2020I remember wanting to join this year after seeing the red bookbag (a first for the club so far) and the pinto pattern on the bay Stock Horse Gelding. Before the colors of the horses had been made before as regular runs and didn't stand out. 2021This year saw a liver chestnut on the Morgan Stallion mold with a pink bookbag. 2022-2023The last couple years saw the return of the Warmblood Stallion, this time in a leopard appaloosa pattern, and still with a blue bookbag. We're still waiting on that first Vintage Club 2024 reveal, and then at this point, I think we've seen everything for next year besides the celebration horse reveal for Breyerfest and the 2024 regular runs, which most likely won't be shown until December.
...and mustangs. Let's not forget about the mustangs. I'm assuming that there will be a lot of drafts and mustangs for the 2024 Breyerfest theme since a lot of these two breeds end up being rescued, if that is the goal of the theme that Breyer is going for. We still don't really know much about this theme yet, but lets hope that Breyer reveals the celebration horse soon so we can get some kind of idea of where they're going with this theme since it's so wide open. Anyways, the final Stablemate Club horse, the new mold whose silouhette was the only thing we've seen of him until now, is also a mustang. He is a buckskin pinto named Brio who was designed by the talented Mindy Berg of Spruce Mountain Studio, who also sculpted Duede for Breyer. I will have one of these for sale upon his release, so if you're not currently in the SMCC, look for him upon his release some time in December. The Stablemate Club for 2024 new mold has been shown. His name is Augustus and he is a playful drafter. He is sculpted by Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig with his finish work done by Sommer Prosser. We should see the entire Stablemate Club lineup by the end of the year. Those who want to be in the club next year can join now, as Breyer has opened up for 2024 memberships already. We're still waiting on a sneak peek of the Vintage Club releases, but it should be soon. I paid for my membership renewal last year in early December.
Y'all, I think I'm going to have a new favorite Mustang mold starting next year. Forever Saige has been my favorite ever since her release, despite the fact that she doesn't show well with her pose, but Rayvin Maddock took my idea of the perfect mustang and brought it to life with this next set. Yes, I said set. We're getting another mare and foal pair next year! This is a bit unexpected with the release of the Gypsy cobs this year to have two mare/foal sets back to back, but after seeing the reveal of Firestorm and Tigerlily, I'm not complaining. I'm rather excited for the reverse dapple roaning on Firestorm's blue roan coat, a rarity in Breyerdom. I'll probably be selling off the foal though, so if you're interested in just the foal, look for him to become available upon their release next year. Breyer had intended these two to complete a family set with Fireheart, so if you have him, you'll want to add these. They did the same with Adonis for this year with Carina and Selene, however since that set was released 5 years before, I doubt too many collectors still had them. At least this time the pairings will be closer together. I was actually thinking about getting the bay pinto regular run Gypsy Vanner to go as a stallion with Rhiannon and Rhemi once they get here (see this post from a few days ago if you missed their reveal) and I personally would like to see a Marwari mare and foal set. The Premier Club just seems to get better and better each year!
As we all know from my post yesterday, Jota has made his appearance. He is surprisingly only $65 whereas the Collector Club special runs have been running $75 to $85 so this was a nice break. If you want him, get him while he is up! Unfortunately you do have to pay shipping on him. Breyer's free shipping doesn't apply to club models. Also released today is Tuxedo the Vintage Club optional release. It is hard to believe that we are now winding down to the end of the year and that this will be the last Vintage Club release. Those who pre-ordered Tuxedo from me via deposit have 7 days to pay the rest from when I sent you the invoice yesterday. If the invoice isn't paid by then, you forfeit your deposit and I will post him available to everyone. We've already seen the last Premier Club release, so I hope Breyer will start showing next year's first releases. After all, they had to show the final 2023 PC release before they could show the first release for next year, right?
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