Breyer: The Drums of Drama Beat Again (Part 1)

 More Breyerfest drama, and now Vintage Club drama too, which will be in Part 2...

 Starting off with the Breyerfest VIP AA tickets, the lottery for the 800 VIP AA tickets had been drawn and instantly people began preselling their BF swag bags, the Art Movements Stablemate set, and their guaranteed SR choices, along with the (available to all ticket tiers) Limited Edition models for twice or triple the issue price.  In some cases, everything included with the VIP ticket was put up for sale by the ticket holder.  Naturally, this upset a lot of collectors.  Breyer, for the first time in my memory, addressed the issue regarding resellers in a Breyerfest Blog entry (https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/breyerfest-blog/a-note-to-breyerfest-newcomers ).  The post, directed towards newcomers, explains that it makes more sense to buy All Access tickets from Breyer as you get the Celebration model, the ability to purchase two SR models and access to the Limited Edition models, for the same price or cheaper than what some people are selling a single model for.  Oh, and don’t forget the AA tickets include the virtual content for BF weekend (whatever that encompasses).

Hahahahaha, it looks like Dani is going, “Hey, gimme my model back!”  Okay, back to tickets...

The waitlist for the VIP AA tickets came out, and unfortunately I wasn’t on it.  I had originally planned to just buy All Access tickets if I wasn’t chosen for a VIP ticket, but I am thinking I may try for a VIP ticket when the remaining ones go on sale. I cannot make up my mind...

And tomorrow is Feeding Frenzy Day!  At approximately 1:00 PM EST, the remaining VIP AA tickets go on sale, along with the other types of tickets.  Good luck to all who hope to snag a VIP AA ticket!

Decisions, Decisions for Breyerfest 2021 Models

 Just a quick pop in here to talk about the Breyerfest 2021 models I would like to get.  I wasn’t chosen for a VIP All Access ticket, but that’s okay.  Opportunity abounds to get models.  Apparently there is a waitlist, but after that any unsold VIP AA tickets will be added to the First Come First Serve Feeding Frenzy of the 200 VIP tickets which have been retained for the February 1st ticket sales.  I don’t expect to be drawn from the waitlist, and I’m guessing it’s going to be a tad challenging to acquire a VIP ticket.  Breyer should include a small piranha for those able to snag the VIP tickets from their website.  I don’t think CollectA has a piranha in the line, but maybe they can make a super-special-2021-limited-edition piranha for those who do snag a VIP ticket on February 1st.  Lolololol!

*Ahem*  AA tickets will be available soon, so I’ll just try my luck and hope I get who I want.  As most of you know, the AA tickets allow you to purchase two Special Runs and have access to the Limited Edition models.  As Breyer has announced that they will be doing back orders for the LE models, there are no worries there.  Yay Breyer!   I do hope to get one of the Art Movement 4 pack Stablemates, so I better get the piranha picture out for February 1st.  I expect those to go fast. Anyway, here are the SR models I want in no particular order:

1.  Uffington 

2. Knossos

3. (shhhh!!! Secret!) Marwari 

4. Pollock

Easy enough, right?  No! The 7 Arts Surprise models are throwing a bit of a monkey wrench into my plan!

I cannot make up my mind on whether or not to take a gamble on the Surprise models...so far none of the previous years’ Surprise models have been must-haves.  I have this nagging feeling that 2021 may be the year the Surprise model will be an “I need!”  model.  I may add another AA ticket to take the chance on the Surprise models...

For the no-need-to-panic Limited Editions, I definitely want Josie and Favrile.  I sorta conga Esprit, but there are a few colors he’s in that I don’t care for, so he will never be a complete conga.  I may get an Apollo, but I haven’t decided yet. I’m sure I’ll end up with one.  Series 2 of the Best of Breyerfest Stablemates is surprisingly not a must have for me-I really only want Locksley (the rearing Lipizzaner).  The others in the set are pretty, and I wouldn’t mind having some of them, but overall I don’t really collect any of those molds.  For the go-ahead-and-panic Limited Editions, I may want the Stablemate, whomever it may be.  It hasn’t been revealed yet, nor has the plush.  I don’t collect plushes, so no issues there. 

See you later, alligator(s)!

*7 Arts photo from the Breyerfest Blog*

*Piranha picture from free stock photos and decorated by me*

Thoughts on the BF 2021 Theme and (shhhh!!! Secret!) Marwari Musings

 As most seasoned hobbyists are aware, Breyer tends to loosely follow the themes they choose for Breyerfest.  This year’s theme, Horse of a Different Color, features horses with unusual coat colors/patterns.  Breyer also took inspiration from horses in art, and non-horse art.  I still am not seeing the connection between Pollock’s The Greyed Rainbow and the wild rainbow Valegro (named Pollock).  Wild rainbow Pollock is definitely on my want list!  As Brenda of Model Horse Mania states in her blog (https://azmodelhorsemania.blogspot.com/), a black splatter dapple would have been a better choice to tie Pollock’s painting and the model together.  A reader of Brenda’s, Miaow Minx, suggested that a chalky white paint job would have been a better representation for Uffington.  I completely agree, since the Uffington White Horse geoglyph is made of crushed limestone chalk.  Not that I dislike the cremello Uffington-in fact when Altynai was released I was hoping I wouldn’t have to wait eons for a cremello on the mold.  Wish granted!!!  Yay, yay, dance for a day!   I think that Seurat (on the Friesian Sporthorse mold) would have been a better fit for Leonardo da Vinci’s Gran Cavallo instead of the Peruvian Paso, but at the same time it’s really nice to see the Peruvian Paso mold get some love.  Knossos was, of course, taken directly from the Bull Leaping fresco, and I thought Breyer did a great job on Ansel drawing inspiration from Ansel Adams’ work.

Now onto the (shhhh!!! Secret) Marwari musings and ramblings...while I really love the (shhhh!!! Secret!) Marwari, I wish Breyer would have used Indian art as inspiration for an Indian breed. The horses depicted in the fantastic Neolithic art of Tassili n’Ajjer would have been better represented by a solid colored, more stretched-out-in-motion model like Cigar or Ruffian.  Speaking of stretched-out-in-motion models, I would love to see the Justify resin (sans rider and tack) added to the traditional scale models.  He’d be a sure shelf hog, but we already have some, so what’s another one? 

Back to our scheduled Marwari talk... My selfish self would prefer Tassili to have an Indian name like Rangeen (the translation means colorful) and sporting a black and white coat instead of a chestnut and white coat. Hmmm, I should probably read the first sentence I wrote for this entry...lol.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the Breyerfest 2021 lineup, and I think Breyer did a great job.  Lots of pretty ponies to look at!

Breyerfest 2021 Celebration Model

 Lololololol, in the flurry of BF releases I didn’t even get the Celebration Horse up!  Doh!  The Breyerfest 2021 Celebration Horse is Danash’s Northern Tempest, an Appaloosa Friesian cross.  Dani’s doppelgänger will be on the Cantering Warmblood mold (aka the True North mold).  

*All photos are from the Breyerfest Blog*

Breyerfest 2021 Event Stablemates Revealed

 The Event Stablemates have finally been released! Yay!  There will be a limited amount of sets available for purchase; VIP AA ticket holders will receive a full set.  General Admission tickets come with one randomly selected Event Stablemate.  The ‘theme’ for the Event Stablemates is various art movements-Dada, Rococo, Avant Garde, and Nouveau.  

I think all that is left reveal wise is the Limited Edition Stablemate and the plush...

ETA: Here are some unobstructed close ups of the Event Stablemates:

*All photos are from the Breyerfest Blog*

Breyerfest 2021 Limited Edition Model Reveals (Part 3)

 More, more, more!  Another two to add today, and then I’ll be caught up (for the moment, anyway. Breyer did mention that there will be a surprise on their blog tomorrow morning).

First up is the Classic sized Limited Edition, Favrile, on the Rearing Mustang mold.  Named for Louis Comfort Tiffany’s special patented iridescent glass, this multi-colored, multi-patterned (featuring golden spots and stripes) mustang is a definite eye catcher.

The second of today’s LE reveals is Apollo del Solis, a double pearl PRE stallion brought into the model horse world on the Esprit mold!  

*All photos are from the Breyerfest Blog*

Breyerfest 2021 Limited Edition Model Reveals (Part 2)

     Breyer has been giving us a lot of releases-something new every day (I’m a tad behind).  Here is Part 2 of the Breyerfest 2021 Limited Edition models, featuring the two releases which came out the same day.

The “Best of Breyerfest” Series Two set is included in this year’s Limited Edition lineup.  All of the Stablemates are mini-me versions of models from 2011’s Fairytales theme.  Here’s the group shot:

And now we have the individual photos of each one:

Locksley: 

Into the Woods:

Pendragon:

Grimm:

Thumbelina: 

Also released was another traditional LE model, Rheverence+!  He is a half Arabian buckskin overo pinto featured on the Ashquar mold.  So far, Breyer has only posted one side of the model on their blog.  Apparently there is a photo of the model’s other side on Facebook, but I’m not active on Facebook; I will update this post to show the other side when I can.  In the meantime, we can look at one side of this guy!

*All photos are from the Breyerfest Blog*

Breyerfest 2021 Limited Edition Reveals (Part 1)

 Now that the Breyerfest SR offerings have been shown, it is time for the Breyerfest Limited Editions to debut!  

Jumpin’  Josies!   The first LE model is a warmblood mare named Queen of Hearts, aka Josie.  Josie has an unusual surprise on her left side-white brindling!  Her right side, however, is solid.  Josie is portrayed on the Bristol mold.  

This year’s LE crystal is on the Sherman Morgan mold (shrunk down to about 5” or so).  Hello prancy Prisma!

Breyer’s blog is foretelling of weekend reveals-hope to see the Stablemates!

*All photos are from the Breyerfest Blog*

Final Breyerfest 2021 Special Run Reveal and Breyerfest VIP AA Tickets

   Yesterday Breyer revealed their final Breyerfest 2021 SR model, but chose to not reveal it on their Breyerfest Blog.  The reveal was instead live streamed via a Facebook group.  There was no mention of this planned Facebook live stream reveal on their blog at all, and from what I gather the Facebook live stream was announced that same day on Twitter and Instagram.  I found out about it on Model Horse Blab.  Not sure why Breyer chose not to announce the live stream on their Breyerfest blog as that *should* be the main information center.  Not every person is on every social media platform, and some people are not on social media at all.  The model was, of course, put up on the blog shortly after the live stream.  I thought it strange that Breyer would do one model reveal through a live stream while the others were revealed through the Breyerfest Blog.  *shrug*   Onward to the last SR reveal!

The last Breyerfest SR is Ansel, named for Ansel Adams, a photographer known for his black and white landscape photos.  Ansel is on the Troubadour Morgan mold painted as a blue roan frame overo pinto.

The other big news is that the bulk of the Breyerfest VIP All Access tickets will be made available through a lottery system.  There will be a total of 1,000 VIP AA tickets, with 800 of the tickets slated to be used for the lottery.  The remaining 200 (plus any unpurchased lottery tickets) will be available for purchase on a first come, first serve basis starting February 1, 2021.  

*All photos are from the Breyerfest Blog*

Blog One, Get One: Two New Releases Today!

   Breyer has now released the second of the two releases we were promised today.  Even though I had already seen them beforehand, I am still excited for both of them!   The first reveal of the day was the  (shhhh!!! Secret!) Marwari, followed by the dazzling rainbow colored, dapple splattered, gold spotted Valegro.  The Marwari earned the title of (shhhh!!! Secret!) due to his photos being leaked before his official reveal.  We gossiped about him but his photo couldn’t be shown until he was officially unveiled by Breyer.  

   Tassili, a glossy chestnut tobiano pinto on the Marwari mold, is named after Tassili n’Ajjer, a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site and National Park.  Situated within the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria, sandstone rock formations are engraved with various images dating from the Neolithic period.

Up next is Pollock, on the Valegro mold in a gold spotted, vibrant rainbow pintaloosa pattern.  He is supposed to be inspired by the drip and splatter paintings of artist Jackson Pollock.  I don’t see the connection between the model’s color and Pollock’s painting The Greyed Rainbow for the paint job, but okay Breyer, interpret away!  I still want one.

That shall be all for today-I’m sure Breyer will have more Breyerfest reveals tomorrow!  

*All photos are from the Breyerfest Blog*

Catch Up on Breyerfest 2021 Drama and Releases

   A bit behind in posting about this, oops!   The first week of January someone spotted a new, unmentioned anywhere cremello Akhal-Teke named Uffington in a Breyer advertisement.  Shortly after, new models (by now correctly identified as Breyerfest models) appeared on various social media platforms.  Breyer then posted this:

It seems most people had removed the images swiftly to comply with Breyer’s request, but where I initially saw the images still has them up, which is kind of surprising.  *shrug*

On to the official reveals!  First up was Uffington, the cremello Akhl-Teke.  His inspiration is, of course, the 3,000 year old geoglyph known as the The Uffington White Horse which is located in Oxfordshire, England.

The second reveal is on the John Henry mold, named Pech Merle after the cave paintings in France.

The third reveal is based on Breyer’s interpretation of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Gran Cavallo, which was never created.  The original clay model of the would be bronze horse was destroyed.  Gran Cavallo is presented on the Peruvian Paso mold.

Reveal number four flashed forward in time to the 19th century to honor artist Georges Seurat, known for using pointillism (a painting technique in which tiny dots of color are used to create images).  The Friesian  Sporthorse mold, named Seurat, is a dappled, sooty palomino.  

The fifth reveal-not-reveal provides some information about the 2021 Surprise Model.  The Seven Arts Surprise, as the surprise model is being called, will represent the seven subdivisions of art-architecture, music, film, sculpture, performing arts, literature and painting.  Really hoping it’s not a model I conga, but I am eager to see the Architecture Surprise Model.  Long wait on this one!

The sixth release is the non-horse model on the Spanish Fighting Bull mold.  The model, named Knossos, was taken directly from the Bull-Leaping fresco at the Palace of Knossos in Crete.  This is the fourth time the Spanish Fighting Bull mold has been used as a Breyerfest Special Run!

Whew!  Finally caught up on the previous releases, and now I need to get today’s two releases on here.  

*All photos are from the Breyerfest Blog*