Racing Chump

 

My Vintage Club Thoroughbred Champion arrived this past week. I unboxed him and had to do a double take at the hang tag around his neck. My quick glance made my mind read ‘racing chump’ instead of ‘racing champ.’ In my defense, the cursive vowel ‘a’ isn’t closed (although it almost is), and somehow my brain interpreted it as a ‘u,’ thus making the word chump. 

Now that is has been cleared up that he’s a champ not a chump, let us take a look at this gloriously glossy guy (lol, the alliterations are back). First off I must say I am loving the rich color, the nice thick coat of gloss, and the beautiful shading. Here’s Champ/Chump on his wooden base, looking quite dapper:

The base is actual wood, following the original presentation pieces. However, his nameplate is off kilter and there is damage to the base:

I don’t care much about the base as he won’t be displayed on it. Here are photos of Champ/Chump without the base:

Here is Champ/Chump with some friends, the original Terrang and Coeur de Lion (2016 Web Special), making for a handsome trio:

One last photo of Champ/Chump just because:

Breyerfest Sneak Peek Square

 

From yesterday’s Breyerfest Blog we have a Sneak Peek Square:

The reveal is supposed to be today. Guesses are going with the Icelandic, and I think so too. I love the color and cannot wait to see the full reveal! 

*Photo of Sneak Peek Square from Breyer’s website*

Birds of a Feather Series Fourth Release: Meadowlark

 Run to Breyer’s website and enter for the fourth model in the series!

Meanwhile, in the testing lab, the Breyer News Catcher seems to have caught something…

The fourth release in Breyer’s Birds of a Feather Series is Meadowlark, a glossy palomino pinto on the Bluegrass Bandit mold. She is limited to 375 pieces, and entries for the lottery will be accepted through 6/29/2021. Good luck to all who are entering for her!

There’s a good chance I missed it due to life dancing on fire lately, but I don’t think we got a sneak peek square of her. I happened to check my email and saw her in my inbox. 

I wonder if she will be the last in the series, or if we will be treated to more horses disguised as birds. I hope Breyer continues this series! 

*Movie still from The Birds (1963)*

*Movie still from Back to the Future (1985), captioned by me*

*Photos of Meadowlark from Breyer’s website*

Cow and Pig Test Run Models

 

Time warping again here. Well, sort of as I always seem to be behind with stuff. So it’s more like Back to the Future. I go into the past and bring news back to the future, even though everyone knows about it, lol.

Breyer made a donation to the Mercy for Animals Hope Gala charity auction. Breyer’s “Basket of Hope” included plenty of items grouped around the ‘Hope’ theme, along with TWO test runs, a cow and a pig. This was posted on Breyer’s (regular) Blog on June 8th, but I haven’t been checking any of the Breyer blogs daily as of late, so I missed seeing it. Not a big deal as I wouldn’t have bid anyway.

That cow…if she had been offered as a test run model to members of the Collector’s Club, I would have totally entered for her. I do understand that there are collectors who don’t collect non-horse models, but cows have their own fan base. As for the pig, cute but less popular than cows. Hawthorne (2018 woodgrain pig Web Special) didn’t seem terribly popular, which is probably why I was drawn for him. 

I have also just realized that I never put up my last Vintage Club and Stablemate releases, even though they arrived awhile ago. Need to get caught up and get them on here, along with the latest releases which arrived yesterday.

*Stillshots are from the movie Back to the Future (1985) and captioned by me*

*Photos of Hope Gala auction items are from Breyer’s website*

Fireheart Update and a Warehouse Whoops

 

Little bit o’ Breyer news…Breyer sent out an email yesterday updating the status of the already delayed Premier Club model Fireheart. He will be delayed longer, but it is unknown how much longer. Breyer’s email stated that the ordering window for him will be open for a week starting July 7th, close for Breyerfest, and then reopen post Breyerfest for another week. It seems too complicated - I think it would be easier on Breyer if they had one ordering period. Some hobbyists have speculated that perhaps those who order during the first period may get Fireheart before those who order during the second period, but who knows. As long as I get mine I’ll be happy. 

Uh oh, it seems the Wild Warehouse shenanigans are out to entertain us again. Apparently a VIP ticket holder received a box from Breyer containing some of the Breyerfest models she picked and paid for in February. The big question is, was this an isolated mistake, or were other VIP BF models shipped? If other BF boxes have been shipped, we may just find out who the Seven Arts Surprise is. So far it seems just one BF model box was shipped, but we’ll have to wait and see. 

*Fireheart photo from Breyer’s website, text bubble added by me*

The Unicorn Chronicles: The Rainbow Connection

 

“Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lov———actually, you can find it on a shelf at Walmart. In a Breyer box, to be exact. This particular rainbow is Rainbow, a purple unicorn on the Classic Mason/American Saddlebred mold. There may be some confusion as there is a different model that has the same designation. That Rainbow is from the 2011 Weathergirl Treasure Hunt, and consisted of three different prize models offered for the completion of the hunt (the models were sent out randomly). The Treasure Hunt Rainbow was either a matte or glossy golden blanket pintaloosa, or a translucent rainbow Weather Girl. Guess which one was the most coveted?

Ding ding ding, you guessed correctly! The rainbow Rainbow Weathergirl was the one most hoped for. 

I was in that hoping-for-a-rainbow-Rainbow crowd too, and I received the matte pintaloosa. Don’t get me wrong, she’s very pretty, but a translucent rainbow Rainbow would have been awesome. Let us now return to the subject of unicorns, and to the matter of a unicorn named Rainbow. Here we go:

Here is a photo of him out of the box, but still attached to the package insert:

Rainbow is accompanied by a small sticker sheet, and a hang tag:

Notice the colors of Rainbow’s mane and tail. They are not typical bright rainbow colors, but a pastel mix of purple, blue, barely visible green, yellow, and peach. Oh, and generously covered with glitter. I can do without the glitter (on all models), but I quite like the colors chosen for the mane and tail. 

The back of Rainbow the Magical Unicorn’s box:

And we need to put in the blooper reel. Here is Rainbow being swept over by wind gusts:

Never fear, he was caught by my magical Breyer reflexes so he didn’t plummet off of the grill and onto the cement. Here is one last rainbow photo, taken in my side view mirror (at a really long light) a few years ago:

Be on the lookout for rainbows, it’s the season for them. I’ve already seen a few this year. 

*Photo from The Muppet Movie (1979)*

*Rainbow Weathergirl photo from Identify Your Breyer*

Deadline for Breyerfest SR Preferences is 6/23/2021

 

Talk about time flying! If you have All-Access tickets, your time to get your preference lists submitted to Breyer is nearly up. Here is the lineup of this year’s Breyerfest Special Run beauties once again:

Remember to get your preference lists in on Wednesday, June 23rd by 11:59 PM EDT as that is the deadline. Hope that everyone gets what they want!

*Breyerfest Special Run photos from Breyer’s website*

Tobias: The Third Release of the 2021 Stablemate Club

 

Tobias is up and ready to order, except I’m going to hold off a bit on one. I have two SMC memberships, so I ordered one Tobias. I am hoping to order the second one along with Fireheart, the first Premier Club model of 2021. I ordered the latest Vintage Club model, forgetting about waiting for both the PC and SMC releases. I am determined to combine shipping on these other club releases. Tobias is a dun semi-leopard on the SM Appaloosa (G2) mold, which I have a soft spot (get it? Spot?) for. I love his gentle face and swishing tail. Come on Fireheart, I want to order my second Tobias!

*Tobias photos from the Breyer website*

In Memory of Janice Cox, Creator of the Identify Your Breyer Website

 

Yesterday I, like many hobbyists, heard the sad news that Janice Cox, creator of the Identify Your Breyer website, passed away on 6/10/2021. I didn’t know Janice personally, but had corresponded with her and she was always extremely pleasant. Her passing is a tremendous loss to the hobby, and she will, of course, be missed greatly. She started the Identify Your Breyer (IDYB) website in 2001 as a reference for Breyer collectors. It was the perfect go to as it answered so many of our burning questions. How long was this model produced, and during which years? What is the run number for that Limited Edition? Oh, so there is a variation of that model. Was this one ever produced as a chalky? I bought this Breyer model from a garage sale, but I don’t know the vintage molds well, so who is this?  Hmm, which Walmart Blind Bag unicorn is this? It was so easy to get the answers we needed; many of us used Janice’s site weekly. I am one of those hobbyists - I was (and will continue to be) a frequent user. Janice updated the site constantly; as soon as a new model or models came out, she would add them to IDYB. Identify Your Breyer is a treasure trove of information. Janice’s hard work was a blessing and a benefit to the model horse hobby. Rest In Peace Janice, you are loved and shall be fondly remembered by us for your important contribution to the hobby.

Janice was the featured hobbyist in Breyer’s June 2020 Collector’s Club feature, My Collector Story.

ETA: Janice had also done an interview with Triple Mountain Model Horses in 2019, which was posted on the TMMH blog:

https://triplemountain.com/blogs/news/identify-your-breyer-who-is-behind-the-hobbys-favorite-reference-site

A special thank you goes out to Eleda of TMMH for sharing the link to the interview. 

*Identify Your Breyer photo from the IDYB website*

*Photo of Janice Cox from Breyer’s June 2020 Collectors’s Cub newsletter*

2021 Vintage Club Third Release: Thoroughbred Champion

 

Shock of shocks! The non-mysterious Vintage Club glossy bay Terrang Presentation Piece has been completely revealed and is available to order for VC members:

 

I did chuckle at the nameplate-Thoroughbred Champion? So Breyer was unable to come up with a name for this guy? Not even a rehashed name as Breyer is known to reuse names? Lol, I am highly amused by this. Hmm...he could have been named Mahogany Winds, Gateway to Godiva (he looks chocolately), Allegro Tide, Mantis, New Launch, Reactivated...I mean, if I can come up with a bunch of goofy names in under three minutes, couldn’t Breyer? I understand that the model is removable from the base, which is great. Otherwise I would have to rip him off of the base. I love the color and think Breyer did a smashing job on him. I would love to see this color used again and again and again. 

*All photos of Thoroughbred Champion are from Breyer’s website and email*

Dani’s Box, Bases, and VC Front Feet

 

Supernote: Yep, due to multiple delays this post is going up quite late...sorry about that! On with the post that should have been up much, much earlier...

Breyerfest 2021 is creeping closer and closer, and Breyer shared a photo of the Celebration Model, Dani, in her box. I really like the design of her box; last year I also liked the box designs of Cheesecake and Benelli, as well as the cute bags that the Event Stablemates came in. 

I am excited to see what this year’s Event Stablemates bags will look like. Here are the Event Stablemates’ adorable bags from last year’s Celtic Fling:

I admit that I do like interesting packaging, and no packaging as well. I recently bought these shampoo and conditioner bars, which arrived like this:

There was a pile of the brown accordion packing material on top to keep the bars from moving about while in transit. The idea behind these is to cut down on the plastic waste from shampoo and conditioner bottles, keeping everything biodegradable. The bars are a bit of an odd presentation when we’re so used to everything being wrapped up. Speaking of presentation, in the May Collector’s Club newsletter we got a Sneak Peek Square of the upcoming VC release, which is the Classic/Freedom series Terrang painted a glossy dappled bay and placed upon a wooden (most likely a pseudo wood) base. In the 1970s certain models were placed on wooden bases with brass name plates; these were dubbed ‘Presentation Pieces.’ Models affixed onto the bases included Adios, Yellow Mount, the Indian Pony, the QH Yearling, Man O’ War, and the Proud Arabian Stallion (as Witez II). Here are a couple of couple of examples of these Presentation Pieces:

Models on bases post 1970s include the Limited Edition Ethereal Series (2007-2009), as well as the QVC Limited Editions from 2002 which included Cherokee (Cody/Ranch Horse mold), Mint Julip (Cigar mold), and Phoenix Rising (Silver mold). I am excluding models that require bases to stand, such as Hobo and the Polo Pony, and models which use a disk base (like Huck). An interesting tidbit about the Ethereal Series is that the models (which represented the Elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water) had oval bases consisting of two pieces. There was the wooden base, along with a resin-ish (no idea what it’s actually made of) sort of ground-mimicking base with impressions for the model’s hooves. The fake ground base was intended to sit on top of the wooden base, but you could also display the model on either base independently, or simply without the bases. Take a gander at the two piece bases:

The wooden bases alone:

The ground-mimicking hoofprint base things alone:

I am not understanding why Breyer chose to put a Vintage Club piece in the general CC newsletter, nor why they included a Sneak Peek Square of an already announced model, but here is the okay-let’s-all-pretend-to-be-surprised ‘Sneak Peek Square’ of Terrang’s forefeet:

The May CC giveaway is the four pack of Event Stablemates for this year’s Breyerfest. They are still available as a set on the website for purchase by All-Access ticket holders (I just checked this evening). Good luck to those who have entered for the CC May Giveaway!

*Dani in box photo from Breyer*

*Presentation model photo of Witez II (PAS mold) from Identify Your Breyer website*

*Presentation model photo of Man O’ War from Identify Your Breyer website*

*Sneak Peek Square photo of Terrang’s forefeet from the Breyer May Edition of the Collector’s Club newsletter*