Happy New Year everyone!
I hope you had a restful holiday! I am very proud of myself for keeping up with this blog for almost 5 months now! I tend to be really bad about abandoning projects with arbitrary or non-existent deadlines, especially if there is no end product that anyone is relying on me for (like putting on a live show, or doing paid work). Several folks have let me know they enjoy reading my posts, so that is a nice confidence boost and likely more motivation to continue. I would like to remind everyone, however, that I am an individual person, I do not have any influence over Breyer or any other company, and due to mental health struggles, I sometimes take things more personally than the average human. I don't mind criticism or disagreements with my opinions, but all I ask is that you are kind in doing so. I have a low tolerance for comments that I perceive as unkind at this point, and this year if I get anything like that, I will simply be deleting such comments. Thank you for understanding!
To catch up a little bit before I dive into today's main topic:
The first Breyer of 2022 has arrived! (Though he was paid for in 2021) Behold!
I initially entered for this guy on behalf of several friends. Like many, I wasn't terribly interested due to the poor stock photos. However, when I was drawn in the first round, and all of the people I entered for either won themselves or found someone else to buy from, I found myself pondering for a few hours. I did try and find someone willing to purchase. I was planning to send him to the wait list otherwise. Then I saw the additional in-hand pictures Breyer added to his Buy page, and I realized he was truly nicer than anticipated (not really all that surprising, but still). I did not have any takers by then, so I decided to go for the purchase, with the thought that I'd like to see him in hand- if I didn't like him, I could sell or trade, of course. When he made it, I don't know what happened but I LOVE him and for the foreseeable future, he's staying put.
BREYERFEST 2022 UPDATES!
In a similar fashion to 2021, Breyer has dived in to the reveals straight away in January!
The first Special Run (KHP exclusive) was revealed yesterday- Landler, a fancy gray Totilas:
No run amounts have been revealed yet!
He certainly is pretty. One of my friends mentioned that he resembles Caipirinha, the Volunteer model from 2016. Other than being a bit lighter in color, and lacking the slightly more extensive white markings, I would agree. Since I don't collect the Carrick mold, I was never all that interested in "Cai". If this ends up being the only SR that I "kind of/sort of" like, I doubt that a 3-day ticket would be worth it, but normally I end up liking at least 1-3 of the SR. If nothing else, there's always going for the Surprise model. Totilas fans are certainly rejoicing though, as he would have been a good candidate for the Surprise in my opinion. I would consider 6 of the 11 Non-OOAK colorways so far to be somewhat to very hard to acquire (Glossy Totilas, Blue Bird, Zydeco, Rialto, Koh-i-Noor, and Man of the Hour).
The first Limited Edition (available to all BF Ticket holders) was revealed earlier today- Montanara, a Black Forest Horse stallion on the old Friesian mold:
(Run amounts have also not been revealed for this guy)
This is a portrait model, so in person attendees should have the opportunity to meet this horse (on occasion, portrait models do not make it to the Park for various reasons). While this is a pretty color and an iconic breed, this is not a mold I collect, so I will be passing on him. I didn't buy any of the TR Limited Editions in 2021, so passing on them again won't bother me too much. I wasn't planning to buy any in 2020 either, until they offered the gloss option (I ordered a Benelli). I'm fine with focusing on the smaller scales- I always get the crystal horse for my mom, and I usually like either the Classic, SMs, or both in the most recent years.
BREYERFEST EARLY SPECULATION:
While I am always excited to try and predict the Surprise horse, this year also brings the question of whether there will be any additional surprises within the Special Runs. The fancy unrealistic colors made sense for 2021 due to the theme, even though it wasn't an Anniversary year. Breyer ended up producing a larger amount of models overall, so I understand their reasoning behind adding the "extra special" versions. I still don't totally understand the rationale behind doing this for some, but not all of the runs, and giving the rest "less exciting" variations - color, finish, and hair splits as 50/50. I believe that especially gave Peche Merle a handicap, as he was already a less popular vintage mold. Putting a run of 200 into his amount would have helped that one sell better during the Second Chance sale.
I think my feelings on this may depend on the run sizes...if we are looking at similarly higher run sizes to last year, I would not be surprised if they do the "small runs" thing again. The question will be what sort of different colors they'd use. 2021 was kind of "anything goes" because of the art theme, with a German theme it might be more restrictive? Who knows! They have only ever put micro runs in during Anniversary years (silver charm in 2014, somewhat-but-not-totally altered colorways in 2019) and the not quite micro runs from last year (also same patterns but different colors). I use the term "micro run" to mean runs of under 50 usually, but sometimes also count runs of under 100.
Thoughts on the Surprise...
These are *very early* predictions, since there have only been 2 reveals so far- it is quite likely that my options will change as more 2022 releases come to light.
Since last year had a Stock breed mold, and a German theme doesn't really match with Stock breeds, some of my top guesses from last year are disqualified (Bobby Jo, Wyatt). Desatado is out because he was just the Volunteer/Ambassador model in 2021.
I believe we are most likely to see a Sport, Light, or Draft breed this year. The Cleveland Bay was a strong contender for me last year, and since they are going back to in person they won't have that on-camera reveal of the size. In the same "sporty/carriage" type, there is also Goffert as a possibility. I see people guessing Croi every year (and I'm surprised she was not the choice for 2020), since even though she is a Pony, she is more horse-sized. There still is that possibility...they did just use her, but it was for a Clearware run (maybe that even makes her a better candidate, if they retained some of those bodies for the Deco member of the surprise). Otherwise, I think that for Light breeds, the Arabian Mare (S Justadream) or Weathergirl are not too far off guesses. the Arab Mare I do think they will use at some point, simply due to her various mane/tail/neck options. The most likely category though, in my opinion, is sport breeds. There will likely be a few other Warmbloods represented in the lineup, so maybe one could be the surprise. My top guesses here are Salinero, Carrick, and WB Stallion/Idocus. The last one especially due to his mane/tail combos as well. I could see a case for Emerson, since he is a few years old now, but he's very Thoroughbred rather than some of the others like Strapless who can pass as a TB or WB. (I'd put Strapless in as well, but I think we've seen her too recently as Epona in 2020.)
Anyway, time will tell just how accurate my predictions are! I'm looking forward to seeing more reveals in the days to come.
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