Happy New Year's Eve to everyone! I hope your new year's resolutions involve something horsey. I've seen a lot of people post that this is going to be their first year in all three specialty clubs, so that gives a lot to look forward to! Speaking of the specialty clubs, Breyer has been throwing some last minute releases at us left and right, including some sneak peeks that they've never shown before in other years. Yes, you read that right. But first, let's show a reveal that they typically do show every year, a January release that was viewable in the Collector Club newsletter. People have said this reveal could possibly be the new regular run Arabian since, technically, they haven't officially been announced yet. However, others are saying that they wouldn't show regular runs in the Collector Club newsletter (even though they have shown web exclusives that have been available to everyone, not just CC members, in the CC newsletter before) so they're guessing possibly the first lottery model of the year, which isn't a bad guess considering that they haven't done a bay in the Birds of a Feather series yet. Now to the awesome, brand new, never before seen stuff. They have shown a sneak peek of the unfinished Stablemate Club new mold! *gasp* This horse has future unicorn vibes written all over it! Typically we have to wait until Breyerfest for this reveal. Which leads me to the next reveal... the final stablemate mold used for the event stablemates... and it is Kit, the new Haflinger. Not really surprising, I kind of saw this coming based on the theme, but I'm still excited to see what new coat pattern they are going to use nonetheless. I love the mold, Kit had such a soft face and sweet eyes, just wasn't sold on the clipped coat. The final reveal is the third Premier Club release. Say what? I know, I was shocked too. Never before has Breyer shown a sneak peek of all three club models. Here is what they showed us today: It looks like my guess as to a draft mare and foal set, most likely by Kylee, was correct because that, my friends, is a draft foal butt if there ever was one. I must have! I may end up actually keeping all of the Premier Club models next year, and I finally decided to go with glossy for Cancion. I can't wait until that boy is a regular run so I can paint a portrait model of my little Paso Fino, Roberto, on the mold. I wish Breyer had waited to do Vivaldi on the new Paso, especially given how excited his contacts were to have their baby portrayed as a Breyer, but I'm hoping Breyer has something else up their sleeve to turn the Cancion mold into in the coming years.
So here's the one last day of the year and the start of a new year is upon us! Happy 2023 y'all! Those of you who are planning on joining the Vintage Club for 2023... set your alarms! All those currently in the club have rejoined by now that want to rejoin (myself included) and Breyer is opening up the club tomorrow for the 250 new members to try to get a spot. Remember that the Vintage Club is going up to 1,000 memberships, which still really isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, especially when you consider how much Breyerfest models now number in quantity. Also, don't forget that the models will be $10 more next year than they are this year. We still haven't been given any clues as to who the remaining molds are going to be on, but there is a rumor that the Justin Morgan mold will be one of them since he was used as the logo for the 2023 club. Stablemates Club, however, usually has all the reveals, and they are this year as well. We've seen the adorable Arabian mare and her tiny foal set that will be the first release. One of the releases will be Sidewinder. He is on the new Smart Chic Olena mini mold in a stunning grullo appaloosa complete with peacock spots, a cute crescent moon shaped star, silvering in his mane, hoof stripes and leg barring. I mean these little guys are getting almost as detailed as the big guys! In addition, we've now seen silouhettes of all the molds that are going to be used in the Stablemate Club for 2023. I'm sure, if this year is like previous years, that Breyer will eventually show all of them except the new mold. As of right now, we know that (besides the Arabian set and Sidewinder) the Missouri Fox Trotter, Shetland Pony and Cantering Warmblood will make an appearance. Which will be the gambler's choice? Well, going by previous years it's usually the smaller mold, which would be the Shetland Pony this year, however I'm personally hoping for the Missouri Fox Trotter myself. To current Stablemate Club members, the final release (and new mold) Kit is now available for purchase, along with the optional 7th release, Helios, neither of which I will be purchasing for my personal collection. If you're interested in Helios, I do have him currently available on eBay, but I presold Kit. I was expecting a Haflinger mold to be a little more... chunky? Kit reminds me more of a mustang than a true draft-type Haflinger. Not bashing the artist in any way, I'm just saying that every Haflinger I've ever seen looked like a mini drafter with foot feathering and a big ole round belly. Still a cute model, just not to the breed they were looking to get.
I'm still waiting to see what the other models in the 2023 Stablemate Club look like before I jump into that membership for sure, but it shouldn't be too much longer before we find out. I still haven't joined the Premier Club yet either, mainly because I cannot decide for the life of me if I want the Paso Fino in matte or glossy. Maybe I'll end up purchasing two memberships, who knows? I'm hoping we'll get a hint as to why the third model in the Premier Club is the only model whose pricing is going to be so much. Will it be that mare and foal draft set that we've all been wishing for? Happy Friday, everyone! After just releasing Breyerfest tickets, Breyer then decided to finally release Cooper, a gorgeous leopard appaloosa, to Collector Club members. He looks amazing without his tack on, and I wish I could purchase him myself because I love his loud color, but since we will be in between addresses next month, I'm offering him for sale in my store to someone who will cherish him. Next up is a test run available to Collector Club members only. I was a bit saddened to find out that Breyer had intended to release this guy as a regular run as a gold medal series, but they never ended up doing so, probably because gold Valegro didn't sell well. I love anything Thoroughbred and the gold tone shading is just stunning on this guy. I wouldn't have hestiated purchasing him at his regular run price but I can't afford his current asking price of $1200 right now. I'd much rather buy a real horse with that kind of money. Good luck though to anyone who enters! You only have until February 28th to put your name in. Collector Club members should have received the latest newsletter, and seen the sneak peek for the new Birds of a Feather series coming next month. This one looks promising, looks like either a stocky or draft mold. I'm hoping they'll release it later in the month so we'll have a mailbox put in by that time at our new house, because I do plan on entering for this one. I'm a sucker for anything flashy. The only "bird" I've won so far is Goldfinch, so I'd love to have another. I'm probably the last person to get him, but Dax is here! I'm astonished by how much the quality of the Stablemates Club horses keep improving year after year. I mean honestly it seems as if they'd eventually run out of colors! In the case of Dax, they may have. Doesn't he look like a shrinky of the variation Quill from Breyerfest 2019? (Picture used from IDYB for reference) My guy also had an oopsie in the form of the star on his forehead. It... well... is hard to explain but it is a little lighter than his chestnut color but not completely white like it should be. It isn't masking either. There is nothing to pick off. It just looks like the artist accidentally oversprayed the star with a lighter brown during one of the many layers it takes to make a dun colored horse like him. It's cool, and I love it. Sorry for the horrible picture (it was taken on my phone which doesn't have a macro setting) but you can see it on his forehead. He will be a keeper for sure.
Next up on the roster for the 2022 Stablemates Club models (I'll be updating this post from now on when a new one is revealed) is Jameson the Spotted Drafter. He is made on the G1 Draft Horse sculpture so he's our vintage mold for the year. If you missed the previous two releases, here they are, Dax (the Fighting Stallion) and Miss Phineas: Christmas day brought out our second to last reveal, Shelburne. This cute little guy is a beautiful dappled dun with primitive markings. He is going to be glossy. This means that the Fjord is going to be the gambler's choice. The gambler's choice has been shown, making this the completion of the obligatory 2022 Stablemates Club purchases, minus the new mold which is usually never shown until Breyerfest. The new mold is supposed to be a Haflinger sculpted by the same artist who made Django, a personal favorite of mine, amongst many other collectors. The Fjord gambler's choice comes in four colors: chestnut, rose grey, silver bay and a rainbow decorator similar to Giverny. The optional purchase, aka the model you don't HAVE to buy to stay in the Stablemates Club, is Helios. If we wondered what in the world Breyer was doing with Montana the ram, we sure weren't expecting this. He has that shimmery purple/blue color shifting paint for his markings, mane, tail and horn with a black based body. He is... unique. No doubt about that. Not my personal cup of tea but other collectors seem to like him. For myself, I won't be rejoining the SMCC for next year since the only one I'm interested in is Miss Phineas. For those of you who want to join, you have until December 31st to do so. Remember you MUST join the Collector Club first before you can join the SMCC.
I know a good majority of you are Stablemates Club members and are awaiting the reveal of the first Stablemates Club model of 2022, and here he is! His name is Dax and he is a beautiful red chestnut appaloosa on the mini Fighting Stallion mold. While I do love the Fighting Stallion mold, I would like to see what else Breyer plans to offer for the Stablemates Club before I join. I'm hoping they show the rest of the lineup, as the lack of quality from this year has me a bit hesitant to rejoin. I had to get replacements twice this year because of the flaws. The other details is that it'll include a bonus optional purchase, just like the past two years, and new miniature Breyer boxes with a "new design for 2022" as per Breyer. Thankfully despite the regular run prices increasing, the club model pricing hasn't changed, knock on wood. There has been no mention of the Collector Club Appreciation event, which was done last year around this time, nor has there been any mention of the Deluxe membership stablemate. Hopefully Breyer will update us on those next.
Finally, before I conclude this post, I would like to mention that a few fellow hobbyists have discovered the elusive Cirrus and Wilder at their local Tractor Supply stores. My store told me December when I asked but I truly hope it doesn't take that long, however my store does seem to take their sweet time when it comes to putting out their holiday merchandise. I visit my local store at least once a week for horse and chicken feed so the next time I'm in there, I will definitely be on the lookout for these two. I don't have any pictures I can post - yet - but Cirrus is not a dapple grey but a shaded fleabitten grey, however it appears that she does have a slight pearly sheen. I'm hoping I'll be able to add pictures soon! I couldn't believe my luck when I ended up with one of my favorites! Really makes up for the gambler's choices last year when I was given all the same color each time. I was actually really happy to get this beautiful gal, as I believe she is the most detailed of the lot. She not only has subtle dappling in her coat, but a splash pinto pattern, blue eyes and a metallic sheen to her red chestnut coat. Very beautiful. I absolutely adore her! I'm still waiting on word from the Dahlia on my second account. If she's a duplicate she'll most likely be up for sale in my Model Horse Store. I have updated the store to include more inventory, but please take arrival times with a grain of salt, just due to the way the world is right now. If anything changes, I'll be sure to post. Posting here on my blog just makes it easier than responding to several different messages asking the same thing. If you hear nothing, that's good news, that means that the models are due to arrive on time. As soon as they arrive to me from Breyer, you can bet that I'll have them out the door the next business day. I don't wait around when it comes to shipping so long as I actually have the stock.
To finish out the week, we got the reveal of the new mold of 2022 for the Stablemates Club, and he is a stunner! He is a chestnut rabicano portrayed after Brigitte Eberl's resin Arabian stallion, Sharif. This is a beautifully realistic paint job. His name is Twist and he's due to debut in December with the optional 7th Stablemates Club purchase, the foal set Leti and Addie. The foals were shown last year, but in case you forgot who they were, I will show their pictures below. I will have an extra Twist and a set of the foals available for pre-order to those who are not in the club. Both will be glossy. We're still waiting to see the first Premier Club model for 2022 as well as the lineup for the 2022 Stablemates Club. If I remember correctly though, the Stablemates Club model is usually revealed in the JAH annual magazine that every Collector Club member gets about November-ish.
Today I unexpectedly got Tiz the Law and Obsidian. It's honestly been a long time since I've seen Obsidian, so if you're interested in him, I now have a half dozen available in-hand. As I said in my previous post, I do not know if Breyer will have another restock by Christmas once they distribute this shipment to all their dealers, so if you want him as a gift, I highly recommend purchasing him now. This order I just received of Obsidian I ordered way back in April so that's how long it took to get him. Yes, things are crazy right now. Anyway this is the first time I've seen Tiz the Law in hand, and he has pretty nice shading for a bay. The shipment I received wasn't my full order but it was enough to complete my pre-orders so the next shipment - who knows when it'll get here - will be extras. However, I'm still waiting on my Marc of Charms (apparently he was so popular that Breyer is having a hard time keeping up with orders) so anyone who ordered Tiz the Law with Marc of Charm is still going to have to wait a bit longer. Hopefully he'll be here by Saturday but we'll see. I didn't even know this shipment was on the way, didn't get a shipping notification or anything, so I can only guess when they'll show up. No information on any upcoming club models yet. The Stablemate Club ordering time frame for Raider has come and gone but still no shipping notification. I'm beginning to wonder if they don't have all of those in stock yet either. I'm still wondering why they used a sneak peek of Astrid for the Collector Club newsletter last month, making us think she'd be released in August, and then we never heard any more. If you want to take the gamble, Breyer did release the annual Stablemate Club grab bag. It contains two past Stablemate Club models for $49.95 plus shipping. This is a good way for those who haven't been club members to get the models close to cost, or possibly even gambler's choices. As I've been in the club since the second year, I already have or had most of the models so I won't be taking up the offer. To be honest I'm still recovering from Breyerfest so I'm saving for that VIP sale of leftover BF SRs which should also be happening this month some time. Usually the Halloween bling bag stablemates and Classics Halloween horse would be released this month too but due to issues with shipping, they might be delayed as well.
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 :)
With the release of the next Stablemate Club horse today, Tobias, I'm sure everyone in the Premier Club is screaming "Where is Fireheart?" I'm going to hold off on ordering Tobias as long as I can in hopes that the answer to that question will be soon since we have until the final day of June to pay for him. By that time Fireheart should either be released or we'll be notified by Breyer that he'll yet again be delayed (hopefully not) but anyways back to Tobias... I can't believe the number of people that don't like this guy! I guess it's more the older mold that people don't like but I'm not really "moldist" when it comes to stablemates. Granted there are a few that I like more above others, but for me it's more color than mold, and this boy is very loud. Not just his flashy semi leopard appaloosa coat, but the striped hooves and leg barring too. Breyer is making these stablemates more and more detailed with each passing year. I think he is one of my favorite stablemates from the club this year. I said in a post before that he reminds me of a mini Heartland. My arm is now fully healed from my horse riding accident and I'm happy to announce that I'm back to painting again. The customs I tried finishing while I was injured ended up being kind of... meh... so I decided to wait until I could paint again, and paint I shall! I ended up cranking out several customs over the week, mostly stablemates, that are currently for sale on eBay. Here is a little preview of what's currently available: As always, if you'd rather purchase them directly from me, I would be more than happy to *cough* save on eBay fees *cough* send you a Paypal invoice. I can also send an invoice through Square to pay via a credit card if you'd rather do that instead. I know with Paypal breaking up from eBay that a lot of people are migrating away from it so that's always an option. All customs come signed or initialed and now include hand signed COAs.
Before I close out this post, I just wanted to give a big thanks to Stephanie, who made my grail dreams come true when she sold me Summer from the Four Seasons Treasure Hunt. A couple of you reached out to me with offers after my last post, and of that I am incredibly grateful. I wish I could have taken all of you up but I could only choose one. There isn't a regular run I've wanted more than Summer. I really love how this community comes together to help each other achieve the collection of our dreams! |
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