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! Breyer, y'all need to slow down with the releases! I just paid for my first Vintage Club horse 2 weeks ago and now they're already telling us we need to cough up another $120 for the next release! Ugh! I'm actually greatly disappointed with the second release, and I'll tell you why later on, but let me introduce him to you first. Without further ado, here he is: Glossy Classics Secretariat in honor of the 50th anniversary of this amazing horse. Since it is Breyer and we all know they love variations over there, they have to throw in a gold charm variation to 50 lucky club members. If you have the traditional, the classics would be the perfect mini me, and because Breyer sucks us in with all these variations (because admit it - we love them too) many are wanting to take the gamble of getting that gold version. He also comes with the ribbon shown in the back whether you get the glossy chestnut or the gold, although admittedly the chestnut looks more bay, in my opinion. Maybe it's just the reflection of the paint through the gloss making the slightly darker points appear black, but he doesn't look like Secretariat, in my opinion. Despite being a racehorse fan, I'm actually a bit disappointed in Breyer's take of him, and I won't be adding him to my personal collection.
Also, Breyer, why do you insist on making us pay $120 for a Classics sized model in order for us to stay in the club? That's highway robbery, if you ask me. While Breyer doesn't actually say in the fine print that all horses in this club will be traditional, it is assumed based on the price (please don't message me telling me that rare Classics can be worth as much as traditionals... I know that but not Classics limited to 1000 pieces, plus at least last year the horse came with a base) and should be added if Breyer wants to continue doing this in future. I've always stated that Breyer needs to just do a Classics club, and I stand by that. Stop throwing Classics in the Vintage Club unless it's the last one that people can bypass if they've already paid for the rest of the models in the club during the year. I'm hoping this is just a one off, making up for the music box that'll be worth quite a bit, but this is now the second year in a row Breyer has done this. How do you feel about Classics in the Vintage Club? For me personally, this may make or break my Vintage Club membership. 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? Breyer must have just received another container because they're releasing a boat load of new releases this week. With Black Friday just around the corner, couldn't they have waited until early December? Ugh... Anyways tomorrow at noon EST Breyer is releasing their annual holiday blind bag series, Merry and Bright stablemates. They are all new molds in color shifting decorator colors. I don't have any of the holiday stablemates because I'm not big on decos but I have to say that of all the previous holiday blind bags, this one is probably the best so far. At least we don't have yet another Alborozo unicorn thrown in there. The elusive Chadwick is finally making his appearance as well. If you would like to order him, he will be available to Collector Club members only on Wednesday at noon EST. This guy I do plan to order, as I've been waiting to add him to my conga since I saw him at Breyerfest. Hoping I'm able to snag one before he sells out. If you're a Vintage Club member, your wallet is going to be over $200 lighter alone. Poppy and Ollie has been released (mine is still available in my store and has been discounted for my Black Friday week sale) and must be ordered by December 5th. In addition, if you plan on staying in the club next year, you have to dish out another $100 to renew, also by the same date. After that, memberships will be available either until December 31st or sell out. Word of mouth is that Justin Morgan will be one of the molds used in next year's club because of this picture in JAH: Remember they are increasing the club memberships to 1,000 from 750 for 2023 so quite a few more memberships will be open for those who would like to join the club themselves, although I'm expecting they'll still sell out pretty quickly.
I saw a couple others selling customs to donate to aid the citizens of Ukraine impacted by the war, and I think this is a brilliant idea! During the Iraq war I donated a toy box full of classic, stablemate and mini whinnies sized Breyers overseas to the children impacted by the war back then, so I would like to do my share again. Although I currently don't have the time to make blue and yellow colored ponies that most are making for this cause, I do have some leftover Halloween customs that I can pitch in. Please see my eBay page (screen name is our official business name: gbmodelponies) if you'd like to purchase one of these ponies, as I will be donating between 20 to 30% of the sales towards Nova Ukraine. Breyer is apparently doing their own bit by offering this beauty of a OOAK for auction on eBay, putting 100% of the sales towards Ukraine relief, which is awesome. I love when larger companies do this. He looks similar to the Classics sized Man o'War gambler's choice, Lancelot, with his shimmery blue coat and black points. As a Thoroughbred lover, I'd cherish this guy if I won him, but I know he's going to go way past my price range. The winner of this horse will be incredibly lucky indeed, so good luck to all who bid! Mentioned on Breyer's blog today was the next release in the Vintage Club on the Smoky mold named Sandman. I can't wait to add another red dun to my collection, and on an overo at that, my favorite pinto pattern! He looks absolutely yummy in gloss and look at those detailed eyes! I'm always amazed how good the vintage molds look on modern colors, and Breyer sure has been pumping out a lot of them lately. Do we have a vintage themed Breyerfest coming up or something? Those of you in the Premier Club last year... the mini Fireheart stablemate will be shipping soon. Be on the lookout for it on your account and make sure he is going to the correct address! Breyer is aiming him towards the person who purchased the last PC release (the mare and foal set) so if you pre-sold your set, make sure you call Breyer before he ships out. If you entered for the beloved Robin and Nestling, check the Collector Club page to see if they're available to you. Some people received an email, some didn't, but if you won you should be able to purchase them. If you can't, then you're like me, who also entered but wasn't pulled. Of course it was probably for the better since I sold off a lot of my bay pintos when I downsized on my collection, including Vixen and Blitzen, who would be twinning with this set if I still had them and won. Anyways congratulations to those who will be adding this set to their collection!
Hello, everyone. I still haven't gotten a chance to message back anyone who has tried contacting me over the past couple weeks. We're still incredibly busy here. I've been pulling 10 hour days at work (I'm used to only 8 hours and it's leaving me pretty exhausted by the end of the week) so getting everything we need to done has been going a lot more slowly than we'd hoped. Our property is now partially fenced and the ground is being broken for our new barn but we still have a lot of fencing to do. We're aiming for everything to be completed the first week of April, pushed back just a bit from our original date of April 1st. Below are some updated photos: Sadly, I wasn't able to come up with enough money in time to bail the little Paso Fino mare I posted about from the auction fate. I was about $500 short, plus transportation costs (gas prices are $4.25 down here) but I'm happy to announce that a rescue group did end up getting the highest bid on her at the March 10th auction so she won't be ending up on the meat truck, thankfully. Thank you to everyone who tried to help her from purchasing my models, and the money I did make from my model sales will be put to good use. It will be going towards purchasing another auction rescue once we're finished setting up. I will update when we plan on heading to the auction. On the Breyer end, we've had a few releases that you've probably heard about by now, however for those of you who haven't, I'll quickly go over each of them. Anyone who collects plushies... P'eggy the Easter pony was released while we were moving but is now sold out. However, if you missed her like I did, she may be available second hand. A discovery has been had of the new Vintage Club release, Cooper. I wasn't able to sell mine (he isn't a very popular mold despite being on an outrageously beautiful color) so he had to be shipped to a relative until we get our mailbox up and all that new address paperwork completed. Until I see him, I've been told of an oopsie made by Breyer in which rather than Vintage Club 2022 stamped on his belly, I will see "Kingfisher 2022" instead. Here is Breyer's official announcement: This solved the mystery of the next Birds of a Feather series sneak peeked in the newsletter who apparently won't be the real Kingfisher, but instead was a mare and foal pair named Robin and Nestling. These two, topped in a high gloss finish, are too adorable for words. However, I'm betting that, like Cooper, they won't be too popular since they're on vintage molds despite having a jaw dropping color. It was, however, very gutsy of Breyer to offer these, being the first on the series on vintage molds Breyerfest VIP tickets are still available to the surprise of many. However, I think the fact that Breyer is making VIP ticket holders pick up their models at the event and not shipping them this year has a lot to do with this. I'm tempted to get one myself if they don't sell out within a few more weeks. Those of you that put down deposits on Breyerfest pickups... I announced July 1st for the remaining payment but remember this could change if Breyer needs payment by, say, the end of May. The only thing we know right now is that we'll be making our master lists in May, but when models will be chosen and payment due is anybody's guess. Just be prepared if it IS earlier than July 1st. Shipping will still be requested after the event when I weigh the packages (especially those that ordered multiple models) and can give an accurate shipping weight.
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.
For all the 499 other Vintage Club members who didn't see the email update yet... here ya go! Finally some updates from Breyer! My Yellow Mount and Dawn and Dusk set will be available for sale here on my website for anyone interested. They will be posted at 8 PM EST tonight. For those of you who are unicorn lovers, meet Solar Flare, the annual web special Classics unicorn. Typically I don't like this mold (imo it looks like a fish) but this color goes well with it, almost to the point that if I hadn't promised myself NO UNICORNS I would be adding him to my collection in a heartbeat. Although this wasn't Breyer's intention, I think he looks like a goldfish :) Anyone with All Access tickets from Breyerfest who put in their name for the second chance sale keep an eye on your emails in the next day or so. Breyer will be pulling names for the opportunity to purchase Breyerfest leftovers. I didn't put in my name again since I already had my chance to dip into the leftover stash with my VIP ticket, but I just wanted to remind those who did so you don't miss your opportunity. Also, today was the last day for current Vintage Club members to sign up for the 2022 Vintage Club. Tomorrow it will be open to everyone. If you're interested in joining, keep an eye out for the email because, as a forewarning, this club is extremely hard to get into, being so limited.
Just as an update on the TSC Sayen model... they have changed it to a bay on the TSC website so apparently it was a mistake on Breyer's part to send them the wrong stock photo. The TSC model Sayen is for sure a bay, not a chestnut. I have contacted TSC directly to confirm this. It does make me wonder though if that chestnut is a future release that leaked, possibly a regular run for 2022? We should be finding out soon when the 2022 regular run models are revealed. Still no news about the gambler's choice for this year's Vintage Club, nor about the last two models for the Premier Club for this year, but Breyer has the audacity to show us this beauty for the 2022 Vintage Club whose name is Cooper. It seems like Breyer is putting the cart in front of the horse here, quite literally, because we're all on edge wondering if we'll even have this year's models before 2022 even starts! The communication gap really needs to be bridged... While I was kind of expecting the Vintage Club to open early this year due to finding out that the 2022 Collector Club was already available for membership, I was not expecting it this early. According to records last year, I didn't pay for my membership until November 4th. Of course, this year was my first year in the Vintage Club just because I needed Julius for my Georg collection, and so I paid a bit later than current members, but still earlier than usual. I guess Breyer not having much to sell right now is the blame for it. They've also increased memberships for the Vintage Club to 750 members rather than 500 so there should be quite a few memberships available to those who want to try to get in.
I actually don't have a single model on this mold, but that paint job is phenomenal! I always love me an older vintage mold with a modern paint job. I prefer it a lot better than vice versa. I'm also a sucker for leopard appaloosas, having quite a few in my personal collection. This horse reminds me a lot of Bilberry from the Berry Ponies Series last year. Has almost the exact same paint job. Considering that I tried for him and lost him, Cooper would make a good replacement, and yes he does come with the bareback pad and bridle shown. Since I'm not a tack collector, I will most likely be putting that up for sale upon his release. Since this is the 10th anniversary of the Vintage Club, Breyer said that there will be a lot more in store this year than what they're revealing. Anniversary years are always a treat so I'm making sure I don't miss this year. Current members have until October 11th to rejoin before it opens to everyone on October 12th (no exact time given). The cost to join is $100 with it being split up between 4 models so while the total cost of each model is $135, however since $25 for each model is used from the deposit, you only actually pay $110 upon each model's release. The Stablemate Club was actually started four years after the Premier and Vintage Club, so we still have a few years yet to wait but I'm sure they'll do something special for that as well. The next Vintage Club horse, simply called "Thoroughbred Champion" as is written on his name plate, is now available to Vintage Club members. I wanted to like this guy since I own an OTTB myself, but I'm not much of a Classics collector so I held him for someone who wasn't in the club that wanted him. Here is his picture: We're still eagerly awaiting the delayed release of Fireheart and whichever Stablemate Club horse they release this month. I'm hoping for the gambler's choice but it'll most likely be either Tobias or Raider. I'm offering Raider for pre-order if anyone's interested. He would make a good mini me for Notoriously Framed :)
Tick tock, Breyer... let's get these club releases out of the way so we can concentrate on Breyerfest! |
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