A surprise that was released today was the winner of the My Strongest Suit contest, Beau! Though I had hoped - and voted - for the buckskin, the light grey ended up being most collector's favorites. I am going to offer mine up on eBay, so if any of you are interested, please feel free to head over to my eBay page to buy him. If he's not on there, chances are he's already been sold because, like I said, a lot of collectors voted for him. Unfortunately I'm not big on this color or the mold so my loss is your gain! He was offered as a gambler's choice in either the loose mane/tail version or the braided mane/tail version. I also wanted to make a note that Gwenevere the second release for the Stablemates Club is out! I kind of suspected either she or Priscilla would be next. I'm still going to offer her up for sale on my eBay page once again because of the mold, she was actually better than I anticipated. A bit of a surprise is that she does have some light dappling which is hard to see in the photo, as well as a pearlescent sheen to her mane/tail that is also hard to see in the photo in addition to her high gloss. Although I'm personally not big on vintage molds, if you do and aren't a member of the Stablemates Club, I have to admit that this color looks amazing on this mold! "Like the queen from the Arthurian legend, Gwenevere will steal your heart! The second release in the Stablemates Club, this Morgan lives up to her name’s meaning: fair one. This golden girl has a shaded sooty dapple palomino coat, which is gorgeously accented by her pearly mane and tail. Her eye-catching look is completed by a high gloss finish." I would like to mention too that Breyer will be releasing Bisbee sometime this spring, so be out on the lookout for her if you're into decorators!
"Turquoise is a natural stone that comes in many hues, and is traditionally found in southwestern jewelry and adornments. There are many varieties of turquoise, including the remarkable Bisbee turquoise that was found in Bisbee, Arizona. Varying shades of blue are surrounded by a chocolate matrix, and often, copper veining that accents the stone’s color. Arizona’s Lavender Pit copper mine yielded a fine supply of this special Bisbee turquoise, which was highly sought after for its beauty. While this mine is now closed, Bisbee turquoise is still prized by collectors and artisans. True to the natural stone that inspired her decoration, Bisbee has a unique speckled body color that mimics the gorgeous natural hues of turquoise. Her coat is accented by metallic copper veining that is the hallmark of Bisbee turquoise. Stunning from every angle, Breyer has indeed unearthed a rare beauty to be treasured!" First off I wanted to announce that Justify has been released! If you have not seen him yet, he is available in both traditional and stablemates sizes, as well as a collectible ornament. The sash of Triple Crown flowers is available only with the traditional sized model. Rumor has it that there will be another Justify model on a NEW mold next year on resin, just like they did with American Pharoah. Below is a sneak peek of what he'll look like... This horse's name is Celeste. She is the Collector Club special run for fall. In accordance to autumn colors, she is a beautiful silver bay. I love her coloring and am looking forward to adding her to my collection. Test run horses are available only to Collector Club members, and only ONE is made, so the chances of being chosen are astronomical. Even if you ARE the lucky one that's chosen, you have to cough up $850 in order to receive it. For this reason, I don't often post the test run pieces, however this one is real eye candy. I entered but I'm not expecting to win. Bay roan is one of my favorite colors and looks amazing on the Zippo Pine Bar mold! For all you unicorn lovers, you'll really like this set. This is Sirius & Vega. They were made as Breyer's yearly Classics web exclusive. They made quite a few web exclusive unicorns in the past and then tried trailing off to regular horses, but now seem to be going back to the unicorn craze. The regular horses must not have been as popular. Anyways these guys will be available to the public after November 6th so if you like them keep your eye out for them. Breyer just released Wish and Wonder which I'm assuming is the mare and foal set made around this time each year. They are Chincoteague ponies and are a very flashy pair. The mare is a dapple grey and the foal is a medicine hat sooty buckskin. Both are chalky. They were $49.95 and came with a drawstring collectible bag. I'm really looking forward to these two coming out, as they are a breed that I collect. Ok so I know this isn't a fall 2018 release but it has just been revealed that the Breyerfest 2019 celebration model isn't the palomino Saddlebred shown in the picture above (which is what I first thought when I saw the banner) but is instead Oliver who is the beautiful black pinto Shire mix police horse shown below. It is a mystery who the palomino is at this time - maybe a possible store special or special run? Or possibly even a 2019 regular run who will be attending Breyerfest? Hopefully we'll find an answer soon.
The fall brick-and-mortar exclusive is Alejandro, a grey Lusitano on the re-sculpted Gypsy Vanner mold. He is only $49.99 versus the $59.99 most flagship specials have been going for and is limited to only 3,000 pieces. One of the yearly Tractor Supply special runs, released around the holidays, is Boone who is a beautiful red dun pinto on the Cody mold. This horse is gorgeous and I'm hoping to scoop him up. The second Tractor Supply special run is named Jasper. He's a bay Mustang on the Desatado mold. I'm in love with the Halloween horse, Nevermore! As some of you may know one of my favorite molds is the Mustang Mare mold so I definitely want to get my hands on one. She is limited to 3,000 pieces. Bogeyman is the Classics sized Halloween horse released as a web exclusive only. Unfortunately she doesn't glow in the dark so I think I'm personally going to pass on this one, however if you're into decorators, she is a good price. Finally, here is a sneak peek at the 2018 holiday horse, Celestine. She is a beautiful silver Lipizzaner on the new Carina mold.
All the hype with Stablemate collectors (and even Mini Whinnies if you're into that line) are over these so-called "chase" models that Breyer offers in blind bags. In all honesty these blind bags are a thorn in my side because if there is a certain model I like in the series, I have to either purchase it on the second hand market or go through every bag feeling the contents and hope I'm right in my selection. These "chase" models are even more hard-to-find since they only put one in each box. You could buy a whole box and end up with several duplicates but only one chase. Even tougher is that the Horse Crazy blind bags were released as Walmart exclusives, meaning you couldn't purchase them on Breyer's website. So when I found out that the Horse Crazy series 2 horses had been released, I went to three local Walmarts searching for them. Someone bought the entire box at one of the three. Most of the box was gone at the second one and the four that were left were not the chase model (yes I cheat... I feel the bags) but thankfully the third store had just received a new box. It didn't even look like anyone had the chance to rummage through it yet. I felt... and found the chase! I was happier walking out of checkout than my son with his new firetruck he talked me into. So I now have the chase models from both Horse Crazy series 1 and 2. I'm always happy to try to find limited edition models for my customers, as these have been asked about these "chasers" a lot, but I have to admit that they are incredibly elusive to find. I guess that's why they are called "chase" models. Anyways I currently have them both for sale on my eBay page for those that were interested but I have a feeling that they will go quickly. The stablemates blind bags started being produced by Breyer last year and seemed like they were testing the waters to see if they'd sell good. They originally released them as Mystery Horse Surprise blind bags with re-releases of horses past in addition to one new decorator model which collectors referred to as the "chase". The chaser from this series, a blue Arabian with black points, is pictured below. The Horse Crazy series 1 models contained five of the eight of the same horses as in the Mystery Horse Surprise, except they made an entire new chase model. This time the chase model was a greenish-gold Friesian with black points that I have pictured above. Horse Crazy series 2 included a completely new assortment of horses never made before, along with the Icelandic chaser (also pictured above) that was metallic pink with blue sheen and black points. They remade the Mystery Horse Surprise series for 2018 and, like the Horse Crazy series, they made completely new horses just for the blind bags. The horses included two Django models and the new cob model, both which were very much wanted by enthusiasts. One of the Djangos were the chaser model and came in gold florentine coloring, the other was a bay appaloosa. I ended up purchasing the Django appaloosa from eBay, as I didn't want to take a gamble buying from Breyer. If you're interested in the collecting all the stablemates blind bags, there is also the Spirit Riding Free collection. They made a series 1 and series 2 for those as well. The major difference between series 1 and series 2 is that there was a gold chaser model in every set with series 1. With series 2 on the other hand, they only put one chaser in every 4 boxes so your chances of finding the chase was even harder. Finally there is the newest Unicorn Surprise, due to be a mid year release later this year. This set was very much anticipated, as it included not one but TWO NEW MOLDS! One was the Magnolia mold and the other was the Alborozo mold. If you remember the Alborozo mold from the traditional series that was only made once for Breyerfest, then never again, you will be happy to learn that he will be remade in stablemates size! Not only that but, as with Django, Alborozo will be both a regular in the series as well as the chaser. So will there be more blind bags to come in 2019? Many collectors are hopeful.
Anyone remember Sergeant Reckless the brave Mongolian mare? Well she is being temporarily re-issued. She will be limited this time to only 5,000 pieces. If you didn't get a chance to get her the first time, now is your chance to buy her again. This is the endurance champion, LV Integrity. He is a beautiful bay gelding on the Shagya Arabian mold. He is a regular run. King is a regular run who will be released at Breyerfest 2018. He is a Paint trick horse. There is a brand on his hip to symbolize his union with the Trixie Chicks. Meet Harley, an American Sugarbrush Harlequin Draft Horse with an appaloosa pattern on the old Friesian mold. He is a track pony that leads Thoroughbred racehorses to the starting gate. He is most popular for leading horses in the Kentucky Derby. Prism is the fall flagship horse who will be released to brick-and-mortar stores only. He is limited to 3,500 pieces. Breyer surprised us with the first gambler's choice Classics of the year, Callahan. You can receive one of three different colors on the Shire mold. You could get either a highly detailed silver bay portrayed after Silverado the Connoisseur series, a silver filigree portrayed after Silver Snow the holiday web exclusive or a glossy palomino sabino portrayed after Pamplemousse who was a JAH magazine subscriber special. I ended up with the silver bay and I absolutely love him! Pictures don't do him justice at all. Finally meet Sapporo, the third release in the Stablemates Club for 2018. This was the horse I was most excited to get, as I'm a sucker for dapple greys and breeds with feathered feet. He was finally released.
For the longest time, I thought Breyer wasn't going to release much, then all of a sudden they began cranking out horses left and right. If you pre-ordered Fletcher back in the fall of 2017, you should have received an email asking you to complete your pre-order. It was $50 to complete the pre-order (putting Fletcher's total price at $70 including the pre-order price to reserve one) and surprisingly only $10.95 was charged for shipping. Usually for traditional special runs Breyer charges $14.95 so this was a nice break. Soon afterwards they released Aiden the second release in the 2018 Stablemates Club. I wasn't too interested in this guy and have already sold him on eBay. If you shipped him with Fletcher, you only saved $1 on shipping. A special run that was released only to Tractor Supply stores was Alba, a Clydesdale mare to commemorate the company's 80th anniversary. She was a lovely mahogany bay with perfect chrome, what you envision in a "perfect" Clydesdale. She has 80th anniversary written in gold upon her belly. Not sure how many she's limited to but each store is only getting in a handful until they sell out. The past few years, Breyer has released a patriotic themed horse to brick-and-mortar stores only. Last year it was Liberty. This year it's a clearware made on the Nokota mold named Illumination. I'm not particularly big on clearware despite this horse being on one of my all-time favorite molds so I'll probably pass on him. FINALLY Breyer released the winner of "Who Wore It Best" from last year's voting. She is on the mold I picked so I went ahead and bought her. Her name is Starlet. It says she is limited but I'm not sure exactly how many were made. I was a bit disappointed that Breyer charged $14.95 for shipping with her, considering she is just a large pony. Last but not least, Breyer surprised us with this beauty. If you sort of recognized the coloring as being similar to that of last year's holiday horse, you're absolutely right! Koh-i-Noor was remade using 750 left over Winter Wonderlands, giving him chocolate points to turn him into a buckskin and then was glossed over. I was on the fence about him since I already have Winter Wonderland, however Breyer said that some of the Koh-i-Noors were going to have sock variations and I luckily ended up with one with no socks at all. Also the horse I received looked a little darker in coat color than the ones in the stock photos. I'm glad I was able to purchase him because he sold out within a day at $75 and FREE shipping.
Several new releases are coming out this holiday season through Breyer, most of them set to be out this fall. The top of the line up is Sugarmaple, a clearware traditional horse on the Show Jumper mold. He is being limited to only 3,000 pieces. The next horse is Markus, the fall 2017 flagship edition that is to be sold solely at Brick-and-Mortar stores. He is a silver bay Black Forest/Shire cross made on the Shire gelding mold and is also limited to 3,000 pieces. Then there are the Tractor Supply special runs. The first is Jacy, a light grey Quarter Horse with minimal shading on the Geronimo mold. The second is Lakota, a dappled palomino Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred cross on the Black Beauty mold. Personally I was a bit surprised and disappointed that they made Lakota on the Black Beauty mold, which is known not to stand very well. Finally, meet Goblin, the Halloween horse in Classics size. She is on the new Harper mold and glows purple in the dark. She has "Halloween 2017" written on her belly. She is an online exclusive only.
Jesse is the Tractor Supply limited edition for 2015 and is he ever gorgeous! I'm in love with the new Wyatt mold. Although the mold is supposed to depict a Quarter Horse going from a standstill to a full gallop, and is the breed that Jesse represents, I think it could also make a good racehorse model. Racehorses were the original Breyers I collected. I once had all of them available in traditional size. I had several shelves full. Sadly I had a room full of Breyers that was beginning to look a bit like a museum of plastic horses. When we found out we were expecting our first child, I had to downsize since we only had two bedrooms at the time so I cut out my racehorse collection. I saved only a select few and have then turned my collection to acquiring limited editions instead since my budget was then also tighter. Tractor Supply horses were one kind of limited editions that I could afford.
Rumor was that Jesse had come out in two different shades: light and dark. I thought this was just fancy of the eBay world to try to get more from their models, however I went to two different stores to find out that they were right after all. I was glad to find Jesse in both the lighter version and darker version. Both were very beautiful but I decided to buy both but kept the darker version, as I loved the shading on that one. I sold the lighter one on eBay since Jesse was becoming hard for people to find, as many others seemed to share my love of the new Wyatt mold. I was very lucky indeed to have found not just a Jesse at all but one in both versions |
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