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:

Friday was Full of Hobby Happenings

Who would have guessed yesterday would have been a busy hobby day...Lafayette dropped, Breyer Boot Camp started, the Breyer Collector Club Newsletter came out, and The Birds! are back.

Right, starting out with the long awaited appearance of the CC Exclusive model Lafayette. Hurray! Hurrah! Whoooooooo! I thought for sure he’d be released next week. I found him by a chance checking of the CC home page. I was on a conference call which was wrapping up, and took a gulp of water while happening to check the CC page because I was trying to pass the last few forever minutes of the meeting. I gasped when I saw Lafayette and apparently forgot how to drink water. I was coughing and sputtering as I started ordering. I vaguely heard someone ask if I had anything to add, but I just kept coughing and choking. Yes, please add  *cough*choke*sputter*cough-cough* on my behalf, thank you. I then hung up. Next I flew over to Blab (still choking) to make a new thread to alert people that he was available so people could go and order him. Mind you, I didn’t bother to read the accompanying information on his page as in the past, once these models sell out, that’s it. You have missed out. 

Turns out, there was no need for a mad dash to order him-Breyer gave the option for folks to back order him once the first batch of Lafayettes had sold out. 

Well done, Breyer! I am *so* happy they did this! Now every member of the CC can get one if they so choose. In the past, people were often disappointed because these CC exclusive models would be sold out before they even knew about the releases.  I certainly hope Breyer continues to do this!

Yesterday was also the start of Breyer Boot Camp, and unfortunately I didn’t see any of it. There were two Meet the Artist sessions, and the conclusion of the Open Photo Show Judging. I know today’s workshops are to be recorded, but I don’t know if the artist sessions are being recorded. I hope that they are.

The latest Breyer CC newsletter popped up yesterday as well. I skimmed the feature on the evolution of Brenda Breyer. I need to go back and read through it properly, but it was nice to see Brenda Breyer get some recognition.  Oh, and one more thing. Ruuuuuuuuuuuuun!!! The Birds!!!  Breyer treated us to a new sneak peek square of the upcoming model in their Birds of a Feather series:

I cannot venture a guess at the moment which model it may be, but we can see that the mane seems to be flying off of the horse’s neck, indicating a movement model. So that leaves us waiting, just like this:

Scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s movie The Birds, 1963.

*Lafayette photo from Breyer’s website, written on by me*

*Info on back ordering Lafayette from Breyer’s website*

*Sneak Peek square taken from Breyer’s CC newsletter*

*Movie still taken from The Birds, 1963*

February Hobby Stuff, Horse Blizzard Ahead!

Really late to the gate here with NaMoPaiMo, which stands for National Model Painting Month! A yearly event, hobbyists who participate are to paint a model horse during February and get it completed before the month ends. Started in 2017 by Jennifer Buxton of Braymere Custom Saddlery, NaMoPaiMo encourages hobbyists of all painting skill levels to participate. Considering February and NaMoPaiMo are almost over, there isn’t too much to say about it except prepare for next year! I didn’t participate this year nor have I in previous years, but I think I’ll aim for 2022. 

Next up is Breyer Boot Camp (aka pseudo BreyerWest) which will take place this upcoming weekend (February 26-28). I’m hoping I can attend some of the workshop webinars I signed up for. I may try to pop into some of the Meet the Artist sessions, but who knows. I’ll attend what I can, and then watch the recorded workshops at my convenience. Hopefully they will be available for a couple of weeks.

Onto the Horse Blizzard! Due to the weather last week, I have had an influx of new horses since many of the deliveries for last week were delayed. I’m from the land of ice and snow, but Texas is unaccustomed to ice storms, snow, and the uncharacteristic cold. Here are some ice pictures from my yard, before the snow:

I think my cacti are probably goners, but I’m going to wait and see. I covered them up, but the wind had ripped the covers off so the cactus became iced overnight. We had a high of 23 degrees on February 15, and a high yesterday of 84 degrees. The cactus paddles are now soft, limp, and wilted down. Their bases look somewhat okay, but time will reveal the damage done to them.

Onward to the horses!  First up is this Hartland Arabian, whom I bought off of eBay for $2.40. It is about fives inches tall, battered, scuffed, and has been branded by someone or something. Makes me think of that Sid kid from the first Toy Story movie. I don’t know much about Hartland horses, but supposedly this one dates from the 1950s:

Surprise, Julius showed up yesterday! His tracking showed him as not moving. I was starting to get worried about him, as I had ordered him on February 8th (the first day he was available). His tracking indicated that he was in Illinois (like forever, man) and somehow he magically made it to Texas. I made room and shoved him next to his conga friends:

Notice how weird Oak’s face looks with the bendy blaze. Hahahaha! Here are some Julius (not Caesar) photos:

Another arrival this week was the Pintos and Palominos SM set; here are the package photos with individual shots of the Stablemates to be featured in an upcoming blog post:

A box of the Chasing Rainbows SM BB unicorns arrived too. No suspense here-I didn’t get a chase or super chase piece. I’ll need to get individual pictures of them later as well (sun has set and the lighting is bad).

 

Atticus #1 is in the next city over, but there is no delivery date given (at least he’s close by). Atticus #2 is showing as fulfilled on the Breyer website, but again no delivery date is given. When I click on the tracking number he seems to still be out East. My VC and PC Stablemates are showing as unfulfilled, but it shouldn’t be too long before they head out (I hope anyway). The CC model Lafayette has not made an appearance yet, but information relayed through the grapevine indicates that Lafayette was supposed to have been released on February 18 and was delayed due to the severe weather last week. I think he may be delayed until next Thursday-really hoping it’s not tomorrow! 

*Blizzard photo from free stock images and written over by me.

‘90s Throwback or ‘90s Throwup?

Yes, I know, gross title, but it was too tempting, thanks to someone’s comment that he looks like barf. This is in regard to a new 2021 Breyer Classic model. Here he is, in case you haven’t seen him yet, and yes, his name really is ‘90s Throwback:

This Classic American Saddlebred mold was first introduced to collectors as Mason, the 2018 Horse of the Year. He was painted grey with dark grey points. 

Mason popped up next as the 2019 Halloween Classic model. Named Salem, he was painted a bay pinto with images of cats hidden within his pinto pattern, and he glows in the dark. When not glowing, he is reminiscent of the Premier Club Saddlebred Hamilton. 

Pictured below is the Premier Club model Hamilton, which was debuted in 2019.  You can see how similar he looks to Salem (pictured above).

Mason appeared in the 2020 issue of JAH (Just About Horses) as Rainbow the Magical Unicorn.  He was listed under the New Products section for TSC and Walmart. Rainbow has just started to appear in Walmarts as of this writing (February 2021).  

Interestingly, three of Mason’s four releases have been non realistic horse colors (or a unicorn, in Rainbow’s case).  Two of those decorator releases are currently simultaneous, which I find a bit odd. Having Rainbow as part of the Walmart Unicorn Gang is smart because many will be impulse buys by non-collectors. “Momma! Buy me the pretty unicorn! Pleeeeeeeeeeeease!” ‘90s Throwback, having kid appeal with his bright, fantastical colors paired with an exotic pattern would probably be a smash at Walmart. However, ‘90s will be available through Breyer and Breyer dealers, and won’t have the public exposure that Rainbow has. I think that a realistically painted Mason would have been a better choice than ‘90s; ‘90s could have been put off a year or two. Certainly some collectors will like ‘90s, but other collectors are less than thrilled with what they consider a garish color combo and pattern, and do not intend to add him to their collections. They feel somewhat disappointed in another Mason decorator. ‘90s seems to be a love it or hate it kind of model. I am undecided on him as I do like the color combination; however, I have seen an in-hand photo of him still boxed up, and his colors look muted compared to the Breyer website photo. I prefer the vibrant neon version, if it exists. I will have to wait and see more in-hand pictures before I decide to purchase one. I do intend to get a Rainbow when he shows up at my local store.  

Oh, one other thing. This is Breyer’s product description of ‘90s Throwback from their website:

I underlined the first four words of that sentence. Going to get a bit nitpicky and opinionated here, but Trapper Keepers don’t speak ‘90s to me-they scream ‘80s. Trapper Keepers first appeared in the late 1970s, were a mainstay throughout the decade of the 1980s, and endured through part of the 1990s. Obviously the wild colors and designs were from that ‘90s timeframe. Waaaaaay back in the day, I remember kids having Trapper Keepers that were just one color-green, red, or blue. Soon after we were lucky to get Trappers with pictures on them.  I had this Trapper Keeper in the 1980s:

Okay, rant time is over for now...

*Mason, ‘90s Throwback, Salem, and PC Hamilton photos are from Breyer’s website.

*Rainbow the Magical Unicorn photo is from the 2020 issue of Breyer’s Just About Horses magazine.

* ‘90s Throwback product description is from Breyer’s website.

*1980s horse Trapper Keeper photo is from Pinterest, photographer unknown.