Breyerfest Sneak Peek Reveal and a personal note...

Well, I guess they were finally right.  The people who kept guessing Rhian and Caudel.  It only took them a few guesses.  hahaha.  But Here we have Brighid and Beltane...

Done on the Welsh Mare and Welsh Foal, sculpted by Josine Vingerling, this stunning pair was designed for Breyerfest: Celtic Fling by artist Sommer Prosser.  This is only the second time they've been released as a new run following their debut in the 2019 Premier Club!  The pair has been done as two darling tobiano pintos - the mare is a flaxen chestnut and the foal a dark baby bay.

Brighid, named after the ancient Irish goddess associated with springtime, fertility and healing, keeps a close watch on her little foal, Beltane, named for the festival marking the start of the summer pastoral season in the Celtic calendar.  These two cuties look poised to take a dance around the Maypole together, don't they?  Happy Spring!

This is a very cute duo and while I don't usually collect foals, I like this pair.  I am loosely on the hunt for the original set and may get this one, but I haven't decided yet.  I still have time and that's even if Breyerfest still happens.  A couple of things scheduled for July have either been cancelled or postponed.  Last I heard, BF was still scheduled to happen, but things are changing daily, it seems.

So...on a more personal and non-hobby related note.  Tomorrow is my birthday.  Arizona is now under a Shelter In Place order so to say this isn't how I expected to spend my 50th birthday would be an understatement.  But even with the order, not much has changed.  We are still allowed to go to essential businesses, hiking, walking the dog, golf.  I don't know what the purpose of having a Shelter In Place order is, but several city mayors kept pressuring our governor so he folded and issued one yesterday.  I have the day off and I'd already made plans and I don't intend to cancel them.  But both activities are considered "allowed" as one will be a trip to the grocery store and the other is for outside "exercise".  Where I go, I won't encounter anyone anyway.  The store, yes, but maybe less so since it will be the middle of the week.  We shall see.  My manager usually bakes us a cake when it's our birthday, but since we're working from home, I won't get my cake.  So while I'm at the grocery store tomorrow, I will buy myself a cake.  A single slice or a whole one to share with the rest of the family, I haven't decided yet.  And Jake the Farrier may or may not be coming along on my adventure tomorrow.  Anyway, part of the reason why I bring this up is because there likely won't be my usual Wednesday post.  If something exciting happens then I might, but I just want to alert you, just in case.

Okay.  I hope everyone is doing well.  Til next time!

I give up! ANOTHER sneak peek!

The last time Breyer gave us two sneak peeks in the same week, we had to wait about a week for either one of them to be revealed because it was just before BreyerWest.  But those were pretty close to each other and this one is at the opposite end of the week of the other.  This sneak peek is just a sliver of the model...

A lot of people are guessing the mold is Rhian and Caudell or however their names are spelled.  But people have been guessing that pair for awhile now.  They're also guessing it's another paint, but I think I have to disagree with that one.  I think what we're seeing is the rump and tail so at the minimum, it's a palomino.  There might be a pinto or appy pattern, but who knows from this photo.

The caption reads:  The calendar may say it's spring, but the weather outside still isn't sure.

The early bird ticket deadline is coming up soon, and we are almost out of Special Run models to reveal.  Can you guess who this is?  Check back soon for the unveiling!

It will be interesting to see who it is and if the people who've been guessing Rhian and Caudell are finally correct.  hahahaha

Yesterday I was looking at Facebook and was looking at the feed of someone I know of who has some horses a couple of towns over from me.  She had posted some pictures that I thought were funny and are actually hobby-related...

When you finally finish with the shedding blade and your horse is smaller than you remembered.  hahahaha.  I thought it was a clever use of horse hair and a model.  Who is the model?  I'm not sure.

Well, I guess that is it for now.  I've managed to survive my first week working from home...so far since it's still early on Friday.  hahaha.  Hopefully by Monday I will have my desk in my room set up so I can work in there.  A drawback to that is my collection is in my room and I might be distracted by them.  I need to dust them big time.  Maybe Jake the Farrier will help me.  He needs another job.  Til next time!

Meet Feis...Sneak Peek Reveal

Well, surprisingly, and probably because I was going to wait until lunchtime to post...Breyer revealed the latest sneak peek earlier in the day.  That's okay, though.

Sooo...say hello to this year's Diorama Contest Prize model, Feis!

Done on Jeanne Mellin Herrick's Friesian mold (#485), this model, originally released in the early 90s, has been beautifully re-vamped for this year's Celtic Fling in a stunning soft buttermilk buckskin tobiano pinto - an unusual and striking color on this sculpt!

A Feis (pronounced fesh) is a traditional Gaelic arts and cultural festival that commonly includes Irish dance competitions.  Feiseanna are held all around the world these days, and if you'd like to get a taste for yourself, you'll be able to see students from the Bluegrass Ceili Academy performing at Breyerfest this summer!

I'm glad he isn't a Special Run model, although I'm not real sure why since I don't collect the mold and I'm not real thrilled with the odd mane and tail coloring.  The mane reminds me of when it was popular for woman to "block" their hair.  Or was it called "chunk"?  I don't remember.  But they'd have blocks of different color put in their hair.  And the tail just...it looks odd to have it mostly white and then the end be black.  And do Friesians even come in pinto if it's a purebred?  Breyer doesn't say it's a cross like they did Goji when they put a paint pattern on a Fjord mold.  But the black mane and tail is just too stark in comparison to the lighter color of the body.  I don't know.  Maybe he'll look better in person but since he's an award model, it doesn't really matter.

I'm sure many of you have heard by now that Seattle Soiree has been canceled, which is a total bummer, but not all that surprising, even with the president's intent to have the country "up and running" again by Easter, a month before the event.  Besides, Seattle was ground zero for the virus in the US.  That's where the first case was diagnosed.  Anyway, Breyer has offered two options for people who were picked to attend.  Option 1 is a full refund of the ticket price and relinquishment of any models offered.  They will also get priority for the next event, which hasn't been announced yet.  Option 2 is to get their Redmond and Puget models plus be in a lottery to purchase the boutique models.  The details of how that will work hasn't been announced yet as I'm sure they're still trying to figure that out.  If I had been picked to go, I think I would choose the full refund simply because I don't want Redmond to begin with and I don't know what Puget looks like and there's no guarantee I'd like any of the boutique models, which would cost extra anyway.  Most of the feedback I've seen since the announcement came out yesterday has been positive.  No complaints, yet, that they can't have a refund AND their models.  If they pre-sold their Redmond, then they'd better use their refund to pay back their buyer.  Unfortunately they may end up having to pay out of pocket if they pre-sold the model for more than the cost of the ticket.  Some people have requested refunds prior to the cancellation.  If they select Option 2, then they still owe their buyer the model. 

The one good thing so far about working from home is that I finally unboxed my Truly Unsurpassed and Protocol.  They're still in their yellow Breyer boxes but they're out of their much bigger shipping box.  Of course, the shipping box is still in my room, but that's only because our recycle bin was too full to put anything in it.  The truck comes today so I will hopefully be able to put it in there in the next couple of days.

Okay, well, I guess that is it for now.  Til next time...

A Monday Sneak Peek...

So...while I await for the rest of my computer to be set up so i can work from home, I bring to you a Breyerfest sneak peek.  Before I do, though, I want to say this about working from home...we don't know how long this will last.  During a conference call with my unit this morning my manager said he has heard this work from home thing could last anywhere from 1 to 12 weeks.  I can only hope we aren't going through all of this just to go back to the office in a week or two.  He did also say, though, that if this work from home "test" works out it may open the door for future opportunities.  If that is the case, I will be first in line to sign up!  I would move to a more permanent desk space, though.

Also, I would like to apologize in advance for any misspellings, words not capitalized and incorrect punctuation/lack of punctuation.  I am writing this blog on my phone and I can't see the full screen so I may miss something.

So...onto the good stuff!

Breyer decided to surprise us with a Monday Sneak Peek...

And the caption they provided...

We are kicking off this week with a sneak peek worthy of a jig! Can you guess who this one is?

From first glance it appears as though they actually gave us a snippet of an upright model...possibly the back near the withers.  Of course, with the way Breyer has been this year, you can't take the photo at face value.

Someone on Blab said it looked like Big Ben to them and provided this comparison...

A lot of people are agreeing with her.  I can sort of see it but there is more of a pronounced withers area on Big Ben but someone good with photo editing software could probably flatten it.  I'm surprised it's another paint, though.  Oh well.  I have no complaints.  I like paints.
My only wish is that they had chosen a different color combo.  

Well, I guess that is it for now.  Check back later this week for the reveal.  I hope everyone is doing well and not going stir-crazy yet.  My state isn't doing a shelter in place type thing yet and hopefully they won't.  Not that I have anywhere to go.  I just like the option, you know?  Hahaha.  Take care and until next time...

A Day Early...New BF "Sneak Peak"

I haven't been keeping track much of the Breyerfest happenings lately, but decided to look today and saw they posted a new sneak peak...sort of...

The caption reads: You know we can't reveal this one - we can't even give you a hint!  All we can say is that Slainte is how the Irish say "cheers" and we know you'll be cheering when you unwrap this beauty at Breyerfest....

Ohhhhh!  I bet this is the Surprise model.  That makes sense, now, why they can't give us a hint or tiny picture.  Now it makes sense.  Sorry, I can be a little slow sometimes.  I'm Polish.  hahahaha.

At the moment, Breyerfest is still going to happen, but that might change.  The Kentucky Derby has been moved to September.  I doubt they will run the Preakness and Belmont out of order so those two might be postponed until the fall as well.  Also, for the time being, Seattle Soiree is still scheduled to happen in mid-May.  I hope it does for the people who spent oodles of money on airfare and the like.  Obviously it will be understandable if they decide to postpone it, though.  My trip to Las Vegas the same weekend, however, is in jeopardy.  Currently, I am planning to stay at the Mirage, which is owned by MGM Grand and all of the MGM properties are closed now and no new reservations will be accepted until May 1st.  Or maybe it's they won't accept any reservations for dates prior to that.  My concern is that when they open reservations back up, the prices will be jacked up to make up for the lost revenue.  So far, only Wynn and Encore have closed down as well, but that's just 2 casinos compared to the 7 owned by MGM.  I wonder if Caesars Entertainment will follow suit...?  If they do, that will pretty much wipe out the entire strip since those two corporations own the majority of the properties on the strip.  I could stay somewhere else, I know.  I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens. 

In lighter news, someone on a doll group I belong to on Facebook is having a little fun with the toilet paper shortage...

I don't know whose photo it is, but it was posted by Joyce Savage so that is who I will give credit to.  That's a pretty fancy outhouse if you ask me!  hahaha.  I'm surprised it would have that many rolls of TP.  Anyway, it shows you have to keep a sense of humor in this chaos.

And this cool photo comes from Medib2 on Instagram.  I thought it was really cool (literally!) and wanted to share it...

I think the frosted breath look is being a bit overdone like the water splash, but this one is a bit unique in that it features wildlife in nature.  I wonder what they're looking at...

Well, I guess that is it for now.  Til next time...

I'm a bit behind on this reveal... and a new web special...

Somehow, when I wasn't looking, Breyer snuck in a new Sneak Peak model.  How is that possible, you might be wondering?  Well, the past few days I've been "off the grid", so to speak.  I needed a bit of a mental health break so I haven't been doing social media really, except for binge-watching cruise ships have horn battles on You-Tube.  hahaha.  Disney Cruises have a medley of Disney songs such as Small World and When You Wish Upon A Star while Princess Cruises has the Love Boat theme and other ships play We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions.  Some ships with have "horn battles" while in port or while one ship is leaving port.  Sometimes it's between the same cruise line and other times it's different ones.  Some cruise ships blast their horn or, if they're capable, play a medley while passing under a bridge.  It's pretty cool, actually.

Anyway, let's get on with the Sneak Peak...

I'm so far behind on this one that I'm not even going to bother with what people were guessing it was and how correct they were.  But I did just look at Blab and nobody guessed the correct mold.  Somehow they went off-rail on a conversation about giving beer to horses.  hahaha.  So, we shall go straight to the reveal...

Cead Mile Failte (my computer doesn't do accent marks) to our next Special Run Reveal - Lugh!

Done on the classic sculpt by Rich Rudish, Sham (mold #410) was originally part of Breyer's Artist Series in the 1980s.  Since this year also happens to be Breyer's 70th anniversary, we've thrown a few throwbacks like this handsome guy into the mix!

Lugh (pronounced "loo" --- uh...bathroom?  hahaha) has been done for BreyerFest's Celtic Fling in a richly-shaded medium bay with a high-gloss finish and an unusual feature - a gulastra plume!  This unique genetic anomaly was named for the Arabian stallion Gulastra, whose bay descendants were commonly found with a light or flaxen tail instead of a black tail.

With such a strong look about this model, we felt it fitting to name him after one of the most prominent gods in Irish mythology (are they aware "loo" is what the Brits call the bathroom? hahaha)  Portrayed in the folklore as a warrior, a king, and a hero, Lugh is associated with oath-making, the truth, and law.  He is celebrated during the summer harvest festival Lughnasadh, which takes place around August 1st.

His name and all the bad jokes associated with the pronunciation aside, I kind of like him.  I only have one on the Sham mold and that is SShameless++.  I don't know if I will get Lugh, though.  The more I look at his hear...I don't know.  I do like the tail, though.

A couple of real horses with a Gulastra Plume...

They look real neat, but I'm not sure how well that will translate to plastic.  The promo picture looks "fine" but that doesn't mean the actual models will look as good.

Breyerfest is still about, what, 4 months away and there's been a lot of discussion about how the Corona Virus is going to affect it.  Some people are talking about canceling their plans to attend while others are planning on wearing a mask and gloves.  With the event being 4 months away, I think they're being a little over the top about the whole thing.  My bigger concern would be the Seattle Soiree, which is only 2 months away, especially since Seattle has been the epicenter of virus cases in the US.

Completely unrelated to model horses, we got an email yesterday telling us our desktop computers are being replaced with laptops at work.  99% of my tasks require two monitors so I'm not sure how that is going to work...unless there's a way to plug the monitor into the laptop...I hope so.  I guess I could ask.  Anyway, I'm not sure why they're doing this, but we will be responsible for taking our laptops home each night and bringing them to work each day.  Oh goody! <heavy sarcasm>

Well, I guess that's it for now.  I guess I should actually get to working.  I've been here almost 30 minutes and I've done nothing except post this.  hahaha.  Til next time!

**Edited to add**
And, as per usual for Breyer, I make a post and they make an announcement afterwards.  Maybe I should just wait until lunchtime to post my blog.  hahaha.

Introducing Goji - The Second Web Special of 2020!

First introduced in 2016, the Berreis series introduced horse lovers to a sweet crop of berry-inspired ponies.  For 202, we are expanding our berry patch with a farm-fresh herd of new ponies you'll be excited to pick!

Protective and medicinal, the Goji berry is quickly becoming popular outside its native Asica, where it has been used to improve health for thousands of years.  A member of the nightshade family, they taste a bit like a sweet tomato.

This stury Fjord cross is strong and willing to help carry new friends across the toughest terrain.  Goji is not overly sweet, but is always ready and willing to help when asked.  Sommer Prosser designed Goji's unique shaded bay varnish roan blanket appaloosa coat.

Goji is limited to 350 and comes at the "bargain basement" price of $150.   hahaha.  I like the paint scheme, but I'm having a hard time seeing an appy pattern on a Fjord, cross or not.  With certain breeds, you expect a specific color.  I found out recently that Friesiens come in colors other than black, but to me, they're always black.  Same with Lipizzaners always being grey, except those are born an actual color.  hahaha.  But I think I will enter.  On only one of my accounts, though.  He is quickly growing on me, but not enough to enter on both accounts.

Bonus post: I'm in love...

Someone on Blab mentioned there was an article on the Chronicle of the Horse's webpage about Breyer, so being the curious person that I am, I went and had a look.  I was unprepared for what I saw, however.  I'm going to put the brief article here so you can skip to the reveal at the end.

From Untacked:  From Stable to Shelf

Most riders can remember the major firsts in their equestrian life:  first time cantering and jumping, first competition, first blue ribbon.  But before those milestones occur, there's often another important event in the life of a horse-crazy child:  The day a young person gets a first Breyer horse model.  While any horse figurine is a draw to a child, those created to honor equine celbrities are even more special.

Breyer Animal Creations, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, has highlighted famous horses as portrait models since the 1970s, when it released the Misty of Chincoteague model.  But what exactly goes in to making a portrait model?  We spoke with Stephanie Macejko, vice president of marketing and product development at Breyer Animal Creations, to find out.

Macejko estimates that Breyer produces between six and 10 portrait models - those created in honor of rel-life famous horses - a year.  The company's product line spans a variety of disciplines and breeds, so part of the decision-making process is evaluating how a particular horse would fit in with the existing balance.

"We might determine, 'This year we need to make sure we highlight a show jumper.' " she says.  "And if every great horse one year is a bay, we're going to say, 'OK, in this year's selection, we need a pop of color.' We want to highlight the top horses, but we also want to show some diversity within the horse world.  Sometimes kids who don't know all the horse's credentials will look at a pinto or an Appaloosa and thin, 'I'm in love,' and that's their entry into the horse world."

Breyer has immortalized famous race horses like Barbaro, Justify, Secretariat and Cigar, and winning sport horses like Valegro, Sapphire, Verdades and Voyeur, as well as honoring breed repreenstatives like Pura Raza Espanola stallion Dominante XXIX or other popular horses like Elisa Wallace's mustang Whin.  This year the team will debut models of pinto Grand Prix dressage superstar Adiah HP and now-reitured five-star horse Ballynoe Castle RM.

Macejko said staff members are always on the lookout for inspiring horses, and they're open to submissions from the public.  The final decision comes down to a handful of factors, including a horse's story, their impact, and the makeup of the rest of the product line for that year.

"we're trying to look at the horse industry as a whole." she says.  "We do our own research, and then people send in recommendations, whether it's an association that says, 'Hey, there's some really top horses we'd like you to consider,' or individuals and fans who will write in sometimes like, 'Oh my gosh, you really need to do a model of this horse.' "

Once a horse has been approved, it's matched with an existing mold, and then artists go to work perfecting the horse's colors and markings.  Every model is hand painted.  Occasionally Breyer will work with a sculptor to create a new mold, as it did for Valegro's portrait model, which was sculpted by Brigitte Eberl.

"We generally don't do new sculptures simply because of the expense.  It's a significant investment for us." said Macejko.  "But if it's a legendary horse like Valegro, who became so dominant in dressage - we had the opportunity to go take some photo and video and have our sculptor there, so she was really able to capture his personality.  We had a lot of input with Carl Hester and the groom (Alan Davis) in helping to provide the little things.

And then they did this...they tossed ni a photo of a model that hadn't been shown before.  He's either a store special or an SR, I don't know.  They haven't said that part yet, but regardless, I NEEEEEED this guy!

<drool>  Hopefully he won't be too difficult to obtain.  Dagnabbit, I wish I was going!!!!!!!  Oh well.

Speaking of trips...there's talk on Blab about Seattle Soiree and the CoronaVirus.  Seattle seems to currently be an epicenter for it with at least 11 documented cases and the first death in the US from it.  The first US documented case was also in Sesattle.  Will Breyer cancel the event?  "They" (the disease experts) say that the coming warmer weather will help eradicate it, but we're talking Seattle here.  Yes, their temperatures do warm up, but not that much and not enough by Mid-May.  It will be interesting to see what happens.  Will they do the right thing and refund the ticket holders?  But everyone is still going to be out of a lot of money.  Breyer will lose deposits they may have paid.  Attendees will lose money on airfare if it's non-refundable.  Hotel costs.  Even if they only postpone the event, both sides will be out of money.  I don't think I would want to be in Breyer's shoes right now.  The virus will not affect my own trip in May.  I'm driving, not flying, and won't really be going anywhere that would require me to be closed inside with a bunch of people.  I can use mobile check-in for my hotel.

Well, until next time...

Boring hobby musings...and a Test Run...

I had originally planned to write a post about a big name in the hobby, whom I have "known" since she was a little name...and I'm still going to write about her...but now I also want to talk about something else.

Like many bloggers, I have a list of ones I read on a fairly regular basis.  I check them maybe twice a day but sometimes only once or twice a week.  It depends on when I remember to.  And because they're all hobby blogs, many of us write about the same things, especially when the Breyerfest reveals start happening or there's a Web Special or something.  As many of my regular readers know, I like to try to keep my content fresh and interesting.  Now, I'm not saying others aren't after the same thing because I know they are.  What I mean by "fresh and interesting" is...I don't want it to be the same as everyone else's.  And usually I'm pretty good at that.  I'm fortunately in that I work at a job where I can periodically, albeit surreptitiously sometimes, check the Breyer website and Blab for news during the day.  If I see something new, I check my "Blog Roll" (that's what they call it) and see if it's been covered already.  If it has, then by how many will dictate whether I will or not.  This BF season of sneak peaks, I've been lucky in catching the Sneak Peaks within a few minutes of them being posted to the website, but then Breyer through a wrench into the works.  They released 3 in a row then took almost a week before revealing the first one.  Then they revealed the 3rd one at BreyerWest before going back and revealing the 2nd one.  By the time I discovered the 2nd one had been revealed, a couple of other bloggers already had so that kind of took the wind out of my sails, although to be honest, my sails had already been pretty much deflated with the 3 sneak peaks with no reveal.  But that's on me and nobody else so please don't think I'm trying to get sympathy or blame anyone or anything like that.  

And complaining about it isn't even the purpose of this post either.  It's actually to point out how different people post about the same exact thing, but in different ways.  Like, if I had posted about the new reveal from yesterday, I would've given my opinion on the "Perlino Cremello Rollo Taco Brishen" and said I had no plans to get it then be done with it.  The two other blogs that I follow (I follow more than two others but these are the only two that posted about it) went at it two different ways.  One was kind of how I would've posted and said she wasn't real sure on the color, but hoped to get her hands on one.  The other person was more like "you already have enough Brishens" but at the same time it's a "Perlino Cremello Rollo Taco" color (the Rollo Taco are my words, not theirs) then went on to give a short history on the mold.  I just think it's kind of funny how three people would see the same horse and have three different blog posts about it.  I'm including myself in the 3 since I had intended to post the reveal.  Aw heck, I guess I will anyway...

His name is Faugh-a-Ballagh, but all I can think of is Fa la la la la la.  As in Christmas music.  Deck the Halls.  I think I would have to name him Rollo Taco, though, if I somehow ended up with one.  Not that that's ever going to happen because I don't care for the mold.

Well, this post is relatively meaningless. hahaha.  I was going to continue on with my original idea and had even typed a bunch of it out, but decided to delete it.  Trust me, it wasn't anything exciting.  

None of the ideas that are coming to my head are very interesting ones and one could potentially cause some hurt feelings so I'm not going to bring it up.  I guess I should end this here.    I need to come up with some interesting content or nobody will want to read this thing anymore.  But I may have just come up with an idea for next week.  So, YAY!

Till next time...

Well...here we go...an edit on my earlier post.  On Facebook I saw Breyer had posted a new test run.  And it's actually on a mold I like...Stud Spider.  Regardless, though, I don't like the price so I won't be entering for a chance to win...