New Horse Alert: Meet One of the Lafayettes

At long last, after relentlessly stalking Breyer’s website in anticipation of Lafayette’s release and purchasing two of him, they arrived one week ago. Not bothering to read the info on Lafayette’s page when he was released, I went for two in the event a collector I knew who really wanted one would get one at cost if he sold out. Happily, Breyer accommodated everyone in the Collector’s Club with the backorder option. Lafayettes for all! Hurray! Certainly not the inky black beauty of Breyer’s promotional pictures, the silver basecoat glows from beneath the black topcoat and the silver shines...like silver where there is no black topcoat. I absolutely love how these guys look, minus the weird crappling. Well okay, even with the weird crappling I love this color. What I would love to see is this color on Georg, but dapple free. I unwrapped one Laffy but have kept the bubble wrapping on Laffy #2’s head and tail. Both of my Laffys (Laffies?) look to be about the same color wise, but Laffy #2’s right side has more prominent crapples. Neither one has the heavy gloss you expect on a glossy, but rather a thin gloss coat. Overall, I’m very happy with the Lafayettes, and hope that someday we will get a solid, thickly glossed coal black on this mold. Something like the Coal Christmas Zebra:

I tried to take some outdoor photos of Laffy #1 (Laffy #2 has been shoved back in his box). However, the wind was super wild and kept blowing him down. He tumbled over twice and landed in the grass. I should have just stuck him in the flower bed. The mud would have held him still, haha. Here he is outdoors in full sun standing on an upside down Home Depot bucket (‘cause we’re all about professionalism here):

Here are some more outdoor pictures on the shaded porch, taken on the oh-so-classy grill. And if you look carefully, on the left side in the first picture you can see a tiny Lafayette reflecting in the glass:

Notice in the photos below how much of the silver basecoat is showing on his chest and neck when compared with his head, especially in the third photo. I had to anchor him with one hand as the wind just would not let up. I was lucky to get his left and right sides (see above) before the wind went wild again.

I also took a few indoor photos:

The silver seen here is the basecoat, not straight up glare:

This is a color I would love to see Breyer use again, but without the dapples. I prefer the models to be dapple free, as more often than not the dapples end up looking weird. 

*Coal Christmas Zebra photos from Breyer’s website.*

Gold Charm Secretariats, No Charm Peter Stone

Holy Batman Boots, we’re taking the time machine back to last century, and I’m not just talking about the retro packaging of the Vintage Club Stablemate. Native Dancer is the 2020 VC SM wearing the gold charm decorator color. He is a mini-me of the 1990 Signing Party model, which was (you guessed it!) the Secretariat mold in gold charm. At the time it was exciting because he was a gold charm model-a color from the 1960s, man. These models were available at the 1990 Breyer Signing Parties. Signing Parties were a thing (okay, promotional event) where Peter Stone met with collectors at places where Breyers were sold and signed their models. This was, of course, before he and Breyer parted ways and started his own model horse company. The signing parties went on from about 1983 (maybe 1984?) to 1990. Models specific to signing parties were made only for the last three years of these events, starting in 1988. The first was a Classic set called the Foal’s First Day featuring Johar and the Classic Arabian foal. 1989 saw a red roan-flea bitten grey Lady Phase, and 1990 was the gold charm Secretariat. 

Here is the 1990 gold charm Secretariat glinting in the sun. I am fortunate that he hasn’t tarnished over the decades as some have.

I decided that I had to have a gold charm Secretariat since he had passed away the previous year (October 1989). One of the planned signing parties was in Shipshewana, Indiana, which was the closest one to Detroit. My sister and I made plans to go. We went, and meeting Peter Stone was not what I’d call a charming experience. I cannot remember the name of the store where the signing was held (it has been almost 31 years), but I do remember the meeting. We bought our horses and moved toward the crowd gathered around Peter Stone. He was quite loud while chatting with them, and some lady kept exclaiming, “Oh Pee-tar!” like Wendy from the Disney version of Peter Pan. Since he was occupied by his admirers and Wendy, my sister and I were looking through a large bin filled with Stablemates, roughly five feet from the crowd. To my surprise, I found a solid black Seabiscuit, and held it up to show my sister. The crowd had thinned some, and I said “Look! A black Seabiscuit!” to her. Peter Stone, now on the edge of the crowd closest to us, hollered out, “Those are arbitrary colors! NOT special runs!” Okay, cool, we didn’t ask about the run status, but thanks for the info. We went back to the register, and bought two of the black Seabiscuits along with a few other Stablemates. We returned to the sign line which had dwindled to a few people wanting their models signed. The group of admirers and Wendy were still loitering about trying to talk to Peter Stone. Finally it was our turn to get our models signed. We didn’t want everything signed, so I handed one Secretariat over to get signed, then the second one. Peter Stone sees we have other models, and rudely demands, “Give those models here, girls! Let’s go!” and tries to swipe my sister’s model bag. Fortunately my sister had lightning fast reflexes and dodged him. I said, “Thanks, but we don’t want anything else signed.” Apparently that was somewhat insulting to him; he squawk-shrieked “You DON’T want my signature?!” We both like nope, bye, see ya. Wendy clearly felt it was her duty to be insulted along with Peter Stone. As we were leaving she was roaring about us “being rude to not get our models signed because it was a privilege to get Pee-tar’s signature.” Ummm yeah lady, just because you’ve elevated him to demigod rock star status doesn’t mean everyone feels that way. Of course, we laughed like hyenas all the way back to Detroit, and kept screeching “Oh Pee-tar!” just like the Wendy we encountered.

Gold charm Secretariat and his mini-me Stablemate:

Side note: In regard to the solid black Seabiscuits, they were officially released in 1991 (per the Identify Your Breyer website). I’m not sure why they were available at the Signing Party. Perhaps it was a perk to have it available before the official release or maybe it was by accident. 

*Black Seabiscuit photo from the Identify Your Breyer website.*

New Horse Alert: Premier Club Stablemate Lyric!

 Breyer’s Premier Club comes with a bonus Stablemate, which is a mini-me of one of the Premier Club models which debuted that year. The 2020 PC SM is Lyric, a new Norwegian Fjord stallion mold. He is painted a silver bay splash white to match the PC Morgan stallion, Troubadour. I am really loving this Fjord-he’s so cute and tiny! He is already scheduled to make another appearance as Avant Garde, a purple dun Event Model for Breyerfest 2021’s Horse of a Different Color theme. Yay for purple ponies!

Size comparison with the G3 Standing Thoroughbred:

And because I love him in purple, here’s Avant Garde: 

I am looking forward to the day we have him as a regular run and have one that looks just like this:

Until next time, Fjord Friends!

*Avant Garde photo from Breyer’s website *

*Harnessed Fjord photo from Pinterest *

Test Run Jeans and Lafayette Woes

Okay, test run jeans sounds much more amusing than Denim. At least to me, anyway. The first Test Model of 2021 is a beautiful glossy light denim blue Lady Phase. She has a pattern of warp and weft threads to mimic the weave of fabric. This Lady Phase was the test run for Twill, a 2013 Breyerfest Special Run. Twill differs from Denim in that she is a pinto, has white facial and leg markings, and isn’t glossy. The thread pattern on Twill was retained from the test run model. Denim will be sold via lottery draw, and is priced at $1,100. This is the highest of any test run offered so far. Breyer had initially priced the test runs at $800, and the prices began to increase. I wish Breyer had kept the test pieces in the $800 range to keep them affordable for more collectors. The higher prices have cut many out of the chance to purchase a Breyer test run.

Here is Twill, the 2013 Breyerfest Special Run for comparison:

Personally, I prefer the test model over Twill. Maybe Breyer was going for a ripped jeans look when they decided to add the white pinto markings to Twill? Presenting the latest fashion trend-Pinto Pants! Wear them to any Breyer Event!

If you have entered the lottery for Denim, good luck to you!

Moving on to the much anticipated CC Lafayette model...when Lafayette was finally available to members of the Collector’s Club, he was available in two batches. One was the in stock group, and the other was the backorder group for those who missed the in stock Lafayettes. Breyer allowed the option to backorder a Lafayette model which would be delivered in September 2021, and gave a generous time allotment for the ordering period (February 26-March 18), which I thought was fantastic. However, it seems that Breyer’s Wild Warehouse People began filling the orders randomly. Some people who had ordered Lafayette when he was in stock have been pushed to the September backorder group, and some people who had backordered Lafayette have received shipping notices with delivery dates for the model. The Wild Warehouse People have in recent weeks been mailing horses in bubble mailers, and shipping items from multi-item orders individually. 

Onward with more about Lafayette. The Breyer promotional pictures show Lafayette to be inky black with subtle silver dapples. Those who have received their Lafayettes have noted that he is not the inky black color-he is actually a dark gray, with varying degrees of the silver undercoat peering through. There seem to be variations in the darkness of the black topcoat, with some looking to be more of a smoky silver. I would have preferred the jet black myself, but I’m still loving the color on this guy. I should have mine next week, barring any disasters than may wreak havoc on the shipping route. 

*Test Run Denim photos from the Breyer website*

*BF SR Twill photos from Identify Your Breyer website*

*Pinto pants/ripped jeans from Pinterest*

New Model Alert: Atticus and Atticus Have Arrived!

Atticus #1 has shown up! Since the box was placed right against the door, he was in danger of getting stomped on. The UPS dude could have easily placed the tiny box next to the doorframe, but I guess he thought it would be fun to have us play Stomp-the-Box. I received a glossy Atticus and he is very, very nice!

On the tail of glossy boy, Atticus #2 showed up a few days later. He was ahead of his delivery date, which seems to be uncommon these days. He was placed by the UPS dude off to the side, so no game of Stomp-the-Box. The fun thing about freeing him was that he was obscured by the bubble wrap, so I couldn’t tell his finish until he was completely unwrapped. Happily Atticus #2 is matte! Usually I get duplicates of the same finish or color and need to secure a trade. It was the finish split of Atticus which prompted me to buy a second membership for the SMC. I had been thinking about doing it due to mini Croi being the Gambler’s Choice, but wasn’t 100% convinced. I admit I was almost at the 100% because of Croi, but the matte/glossy Atticus sealed the deal.

Overall Impressions:

1. The new mane and tail work on him; they don’t look phony as some of the other models with switch-a-roo manes/tails do.

2. Dapples are present, a little large for a SM, but they are very subtle and don’t scream, “I’m a dapple! Look at me!”

3. The dark bay color is most welcome. More ponies in this shade of bay, please.

4. I am pleased with both finishes; both look very nice on Atticus. I would love to see the loose mane and tail on the traditional model.

5. I would love to see him as a regular run SM. More, more, more!

New Model Photos and Breyer Boot Camp

Monday, Monday...how did you get here so quickly? The weekend simply ran away. Breyer Boot Camp concluded yesterday, and unfortunately I really wasn’t able to attend any of it. Saturday I popped into the Repositioning Your Stablemates’ Head workshop for a few minutes, and got to see Maggie Jenner-Bennett manipulating a portion of a horse skeleton to show how the bones are aligned in various head and neck positions. It was quite interesting. I also briefly dropped into Shauna McDaniel’s Put Wings and a Horn on It workshop, and saw the beginning stage of wing attachment. Never even got the chance to see anything from Melanie Miller’s Paint that Pinto workshop. I am happy that Breyer has recorded the workshops for later viewing, because I probably spent a grand total of 10 minutes at Breyer’s Boot Camp.

Now it’s time for the promised photos from a previous blog post. Interestingly, both the Pintos and Palominos SM set and the Chasing Rainbows Unicorns seem to have a lot debris on them.  The palomino Darley from the P&P set had tiny white plastic shavings stuck on it, but they were easily removed. Both sets also had a lot of tiny lint fibers on the models, and the fibers brushed off problem free. I am curious as to why they were like this; I cannot recall ever getting linty models. 

Here are the individual shots of the models in the Pintos and Palominos SM set, along with their color descriptions from the back of the box (I am putting the molds used).

Isabella Palomino on the G4 Quarter Horse mold:

Sooty Overo Pinto Palomino on the G4 Trotting Warmblood mold:

Golden Palomino on the G5 Galloping Arabian Stallion mold (aka Darley):

Tobiano Chocolate Palomino on the G5 Lipizzaner mold (aka Darwin):

Onto the Chasing Rainbows BB Unicorns, which have names but unpainted hooves. I didn’t get the chase or super chase pieces, which is fine. I would like to track down the rainbow Croi though.

Sunrise, a golden yellow on the SM Prince Charming mold:

Robin, who is green (um okay, not very Robin-ish) on the SM G3 Walking Arabian mold:

Sky, on the G5 Walking Thoroughbred mold (at least he’s blue):

Blush, another one on the Prince Charming mold and whose name matches their color:

Orchid, a pretty purple on the SM scale Croi:

And lastly we have orange Sunset, another color on the G3 Walking Arabian mold.

I do have to say that I quite like the deeper colors on these guys, but they feel quite cheaped out with their unpainted hooves and Sharpie dot eyes with some having what looks like smudged eyeliner (see Sunset and Sky). Strangely, these are the ones available from Breyer dealers and not Walmart. I would have expected the cheaped out ones to be sold at WM, since those are the ones that mostly end up in the hands of kids. And in parting, here is a group shot of the Chasing Rainbow unicorns: