Is it just me or....

Are there several CollectA horses that are almost identical to Breyers?  I was looking at someone else's blog and she was doing a walkaround of a couple of CollectA models and I spotted it right away so I went in search of a website for CollectA and found a couple of others that are almost identical to a Breyer model.  The only difference might be a slightly less tucked head or a leg moved a hair.  What do YOU think?  All of the photos are from IDYB and collecta.biz

The first model is what they are calling an Australian Stock Horse Stallion.  Bring the head up just a touch and make a slight change to the swish in the tail and who do you have?  Latigo.

Next is what they are calling Lusitano Stallion...

Again, change the head a bit and the swish of the tail and you have Croi Damsha.  Even the floppy lip. At this angle it's more noticeable on the CollectA, but if you flipped Croi around, the floppy lip would be evident

Even Classic size didn't escape being copied.  CollectA's Quarter Horse Stallion

And Breyer's Cutting Horse...

Those two are a little more different than the others with the forward leg being switched, but it's still pretty close.  Or maybe it's supposed to resemble the Traditional Bobby Jo...?

But considering Bobby Jo was brand new and only released last month, maybe not but the tail and foot placement is more like the CollectA one.

I'm sure there are others, but those were the most obvious to me.  I know imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when you're imitating something like a model horse from a well-known company, it borders on...just a tiny bit...copyright infringement.  They may have changed just enough characteristics to get away with it, but really, why not come up with your own unique designs?  Oh well.  

Tuesday Breyer released for purchase the 2nd Collector Club special model Fabien.  He was first spotted at Breyerfest this year and has been much anticipated since then.

It's funny, though.  When a Blabber announced they'd discovered Fabien was available for purchase, a lot of people said they weren't going to buy him because they thought his dapples were horrible.  Fish scaley and too perfectly uniform.  The funny part is today, someone went to buy him and the website said he was sold out.  A call to Breyer confirmed he was currently unavailable due to them running out but more were on the way.  Finding out he wasn't currently available made him a hot commodity all-of-a-sudden.  I got my order in right away so now I just sit back and wait for him to arrive so he can join Totilas and Enchante on my shelf at work.

So far, it looks like 2016 is going to be an expensive year for me, model-wise.  I will be joining the new Stablemate Club and I will probably join the Vintage Club for the first time.  Only time will tell if I renew my Premier Club membership.  I really like the first model, but so far I haven't kept any of the 2015 models.  I wanted to keep the first one, but at the time I couldn't really afford to buy it so I sold the pair to someone else as I did with Bobby Jo, the 2nd model.  I don't know about the 3rd yet.  We've seen a picture of it in Just About Horses, but the angle was a bit odd so we don't really know what it looks like.  In addition to the clubs and the individual models that we already know will be released, Breyer will be having another Collector Event in 2016, plus there's Breyerfest, which promises a brand new mold for the Celebration Model.  I would really like to try to attend BF this year, but if the Collector Event ends up being closer to home and sounds like something I'd enjoy as far as activities, I will pick that one over BF.  The website says more information will be released later in the Fall.

Speaking of Fall, it is officially here.  According to the calendar, anyway.  In Arizona?  We are still firmly entrenched in Summer with 100+ degree temperatures.  The mornings are starting to feel a little cooler, but we still have a bit to go before the weather is comfortably cooler.

I hope y'all have a great weekend!

Plastic Pony Overload!

How much can model horse collectors take in one day?  Or even over a couple of days.  First it was the Stablemate Collectors Club on Tuesday.  Yesterday morning there was the unofficial release of the 2016 Vintage Collectors Club models, the 3rd (and final) model for the Premier Club and the reveal of the first model for 2016. PLUS...the reveal of what the first Collector Club exclusive model is going to be.

Fortunately it's not a mold I collect and it's not a required purchase to stay in the club so I don't plan on getting him.  Anyway, also "leaked" was another new model on the Wyatt mold. 

It's not known, yet, if he'll be a Special Run or a Regular Run but at least he's something that will be available, unlike the bay Carrick that was on the cover last year (or was it the year before?).  I also wonder if the tack is something that is being made for release as well.  There is no barrel racing sets out there for commercial purchase and this set looks pretty neat.  Jennifer Buxton of Braymere Saddlery designed the tack on both the 2013 and 2014 covers, but she hasn't said anything about 2015. But then again, because the magazine hasn't really been mailed out in large quantities yet, maybe she's not able to say anything. I guess we'll know soon enough. :)

Anyway, with all of yesterday's "reveals" (none are official yet since Breyer hasn't said anything), the best was yet to come. A "few" months ago we were told that a model was being made of the British dressage horse Valegro. We got a tiny preview of what he might look like when a picture of the sculptor was photographed next to the actual horse and she had the sculpture in her hands. Well, yesterday a photo was posted on Blab that someone had seen on Instagram, I think it was, and while it isn't official yet, we're pretty certain it's Valegro

The pose is a Canter (or Cantering) Pirouette, although depending on who you ask on Blab, they'll correct you and say it's just a Canter. Bah. I've heard it called a Canter Pirouette on TV so you can take your unneccessary correction and stick it in your ear. hahahaha. I dislike it when people correct you like that and it comes across as know-it-all. She could've said "Actually, it's this not that" rather than say "It's not that, it's this". It's all in the way you word it that can make it seem less "You're ignorant and I know everything" Oh well. Anyway, I looked on Google and found a photo of Valegro in almost the same, exact pose so that kind of solidifies that the mold is him

It's a really neat mold and they pretty much nailed the pose.  The model will be released in the UK first and then to the US.  I am really looking forward to getting one.  Gosh, 2016 is going to be such an expensive year.  I may as well just have my paychecks sent directly to Breyer.

Well, I'd better get to work.  I've goofed off way too much this week because of all the fun stuff that's been going on over at Blab.  Yesterday I told myself I was going to stay off the fun internet (some of our programs are internet based), but that quickly flew out the window and I'm not doing so well today staying off and it's only 7:14am. 

Hope everyone has a great one!

Darn you, Breyer!!!!

A year or so ago I had a "Darn you, Stone" post, but I've never done one for Breyer. Never had a reason to. Until today. Yesterday I blogged about the new Stablemate Collectors Club they'll be starting up in the new year. That's fine. It's inexpensive. But then today someone on Blab posted a picture of another goody. Or Goodies, as in plural. The first is the Vintage Club. I've never been a member of that club because it seemed too expensive to me and I didn't like the models they had in the past. But then, I saw the offerings for 2016 and it's full of all kinds of wonderful

I really like the 3 Cantering Welsh Ponies and definitely the Lady Phase on the 2nd shelf.  Initially I also liked the black appaloosa Man O' War, but the more I look at him the less I like him because of the white mane and tail and the white socks.  It looks off-balance.  The article says he's painted reminiscent of Stud Spider, but Stud Spider didn't have all that white.  Anyway, unfortunately the CWP models are Gambler's Choice so you won't know which one you get until it arrives.  Well, I want all 3!  Ugh!  The Charlie is a neat addition, but I'm not a huge fan of this new mold and will likely sell it along with the Western Prancer on the top shelf, should I decide to join.

Also leaked out, was the final model for 2015 Premier Club

Yeah, I'm not a real fan of it right now.  The pattern is a little odd to me, but I don't know yet if I want to try to find a buyer for him.  When I saw the offerings for the Vintage Club I figured I'd join that one and not the Premier Club again, but then the first model for the 2016 PC was leaked and I really like that one

So what do I do, then? I might be able to afford both the PC and the VC, but I don't know if I want to attempt it. Not with me trying to go to Breyerfest next July. It's a hard choice, really. On the surface, since you don't know what each PC model is going to be until a short time before its release, the VC seems like the best bet since those are all revealed ahead of time.

I still have time to decide. Neither the PC nor the VC have been opened up for joining yet so I will think on it some. But really, the VC has more that I'm interested in. Oh well. I'll figure something out.

I've been goofing off much too much lately and need to do more work and less playing. I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday.

Exciting Breyer Collector News and a Car Update

A few months ago one of the people on Blab started a Facebook page to try to get Breyer to start a collector club for just Stablemates.  Last I saw, there were more than 300 members, but it wasn't very active.  The person has been in touch, off and on, with someone at Breyer to keep her updated on our numbers to show Breyer that there really was enough interest to have a club.  Fast Forward to Saturday (or was it Sunday?) and a conversation on one of the bus trip during the Sweet Home Chicago event.  Someone asked the Breyer employee about the possibility of having a Stablemate Collector Club and all Breyer person would say was to keep an eye on social media for an announcement that would make Stablemate collectors very happy.

Today, it happened.  Not on social media and, in fact, it hasn't even been mentioned by Breyer yet, but someone got ahold of the new JAH issue that is about to be mailed out and there it was...

It looks like Breyer listened to us on a lot of things we wanted such as an affordable price, older molds, newer molds and drawstring bags like the big guys get.  It's very exciting and I'm looking forward to joining.  I will need to renew my Collector Club membership in order to join, but I'm due to renew in December anyway so I'll just do it sooner to make sure I don't miss out.  So far, I really like the looks of the first model (I believe it's the one in the picture) and am excited about getting it. It's an interesting color. I don't know when the first model will ship, but probably not until after the first of the year so there's still some waiting to be done, but that's okay since we know it's going to happen now rather than hope and speculation.

On the car front, I was able to pick mine up yesterday after work from the Progressive Service Center. They did a GREAT job on it and you can't even tell it was dented. Plus they gave it a good bath both outside AND inside. I'm quite impressed and would have no problem recommending the body shop to anyone who needs paint or body work done and lives in the Phoenix area (the shop is in Mesa). I'm just happy to have my car back, I tell you what! They told me not to wash it for 7 days, though, and we ended up getting hit with another monster storm last night. Strong wind and heavy rain. I was worried it would not only dirty my car back up, but also wash some of the paint away, but it did neither so I'm happy about that.

Well, I've been goofing off too much today already so I'd better get back to work. Until next time!

Padma...

Well, Breyer has released another model in the Big Cat Series.  I think this one is the best one so far.  The mold they chose was a good fit for the cat

My only real gripe, other than the cost of $175, is that they painted completely different markings on each side of her face and real tigers have more similar ones.  They're not identical, but close enough that you'd think they were identical until you looked real close and saw the small differences.  What Breyer did is more than small differences

Oh well.  I don't plan on entering for her because I don't like the idea of model horses painted to look like big cats.  I wish they'd just done a series of big cat models that were the shape of the actual cats.  Does that make any sense?  Instead of a horse painted to look like a cat, just have the cat.  hahaha.  Oh well.  I still think they did a really good job on this one.

We had another little storm last night.  Some rain.  A little wind.  Nothing major.  I think our monsoon is giving us a good soaking at the last minute before it leaves until next June.  Now, if the temperatures would just come down some more.  On Saturday it was 107 and yesterday it was 103, I think.  I'm looking forward to when it's down below 100 degrees for longer than 2 seconds.  hahaha.

I'm still trying to find a Four Stars from the Sweet Home Chicago event over the weekend.  I had someone offer me hers, but since she'd bot it on the secondary market she'd already paid a mark-up and was offering it for the same price she paid.  I had to politely decline.  I'm not interested in paying more than twice the original cost.  And I'm not toally 100% sold on whether I like the paint job or not.  The body is nice, but the tail is what is bothering me.  I might see if I can find me a Ferris, though.  Who knows.

Happy Monday, All!

Breyer Event: Sweet Home Chicago

When  Breyer first announced through the 20 15 issue of JAH there would be a Collector Event in the Fall, there was lots of speculation on Blab over where collectors thought it would be and where they hoped it would be.  Since the last event, Big Easy Bash had been in New Jersey, the obvious location would have been the west coast, even though Passage to the Pacific had been in San Diego in 2012, us west coasters figured it would only be fair since they also get Breyerfest.  Well, eventually the location was announced as Chicago and after seeing the list of activities, I decided I wasn't interested in going, especially since Friday's activities included an aftenon at the Arlington racetrack.  Also, because I have never been to Chicago before, I wasn't sure I wanted to devote my entire weekend to the event because I'd want to visit the zoo, some lighthouses and maybe take that river tour.  Even if I had decided I wanted to go, it was limited to 200 people so there's no guarantee I'd even get selected in the drawing of people to attend.

Anyway, the event is going on right now and aside from some minor drama at dinner last night about seating and such, everything seems to be going well.  I believe today is when people have access to the Special Run Store.  The exclusive models were on the tables at the dinner last night along with a handout of what models are available and I gotta say, I àlmost wish I'd entered for the chance to go.  Almost.  Hahahaha.  All of these photos were taken by Blabbers...

This is the one I want most 

Eventually I hope to find the glossy Desatado down the road for a decent price, even at cost preferrably, but I think that one is going to be like Zydeco from BEB.  I have yet to see one go up for sale, but it looks like they increased the quantity, which is good.

In addition to the store speciaĺs, each attendee was given a special Stablemate and I was able to find one on MH $P so I have one of those coming

I can't wait.  He's more than I normally like to pay for an SM but I learned from BEB and Moon Pie , the prices don't always come down and if you don't get one shortly after the event, you may be waiting awhile before they show up on the market again.

Today my mom and I went to my local Breyer dealer.  The Grulla AQHA has finally started hitting the shelves and I was hoping to find one, but no such luck so I got the bay plus the tack for the Polo Pony.  I have the doll, too, so once I get it all set up I will take a picture and post it here.

Our temperatures here have still been pretty high, but they're slowwwwwly coming down.  Now it's only 457 degrees rather than 502.  Hahaha.  We've had some good storms lately, too.  I don't remember if I mentioned the one we had last Monday that knocked our power out overnight.  It also kjockey over one of our fences in back.  It wasn't a perimeter fence so there was no danger of a dog getting out, but it provided them access to a small part of yard we don't want them in because they would be able to escape from that part.  I took off Tuesday because we didn't know when power would be restored and I didn't feel comfortable leaving my mom here alone.  So we went and had my tires looked at then I took her to see the wild horses she's been hearing so much about on the news.  We didn't see any at first but as we were leaving to go check out a spot another regular told us she'd seen them at, we saw them in the parking lot.  She was quite impressed and kept saying how healthy they look.

Well, I guess that's about it for now.  I hope everyone is doing well.

What a "great" way to start a 3 day weekend...

Okay.  So.  I got a new car back in October, right?  My wonderful little Nissan Versa Note SV.  My very first new car.  It still smells like a new car much of the time, too.  I love my little car.

at the dealership

I was so happy to make it through that first day of driving without anybody hitting me, because you just know new cars are magnets for idiot drivers. When my parents bought a new pick-up truck years ago, someone hit my dad while he was driving to work the day after we bought it. So I considered it a major thing that I made it to work and home the first day with no problems. That one day became two and then a month and when I reached the 6 month mark in April, I was quite happy. No, I didn't think I'd make it "forever" without any damage, but I was hoping to go as long as I could. Well, 10 months later, that all came to a screeching halt. I was at work (still am) when two ladies I didn't recognize came down the aisle. They passed me then turned back and one of them said my name. She then said "You're the one who drives the little red car, aren't you?" A sense of dread came over me. I knew it couldn't be good. She said someone in the parking garage hit my car. He was backing into the spot next to me and backed right into my car. In front of 4 witnesses. She said he left a note so I went down there (our garage is underground) and found the note, encountering the other 2 witnesses. It was someone I see almost daily because we work the same hours. Usually he rides a Harley, but he'd had to take someone to the airport and had taken her car and drove it to back to work. The damage isn't horrible, but it's bad enough.

At the very least they'll have to replace the front fender and the bumper.  <sigh>  I'm so bummed.  I went from laughing and carefree about it to shaking with anger to wanting to cry and now I'm kind of numb.  There's nothing I can do about it, but I'm just sick over it.  He has already turned the claim into his insurance company so now I'm just waiting for them to get in touch with me so it can get fixed.  I live near a claim center so that will be convenient, but that's about the only thing that will be convenient.  I don't think it will take long for it to be fixed, but they'll have to get me a rental and it's just a whole lot of hassle.  The ironic thing?  I told my mom and brother that the first accident I get into with this car will not be my fault.  And it wasn't.  <sigh>  I just don't know...

Well, hopefully everyone else's weekend goes better than mine has started off so far.