All The Special Runs!

Whew - a busy couple of days at my Day Job but I'm back to model horse news now and woohoo all of the Breyerfest special runs have been announced! Let the analysis begin!

The first thing I thought was interesting is that the total number of special runs is exactly the same as last year - they did not increase any run sizes so this must be roughly the sweet spot for not having too many leftovers (and if there are micro runs or other surprises this year they are even more likely to sell out quickly)

The average price however is up $5 from last year. Last year the average price was $70 and this year it's $75. I am not sure if that is just a sign of the times or it is an indication of more variations in the mix (because that would presumably have more production costs) or maybe a little bit of both! The mare and foal and the surprise are the same, at $85 each, but all the others are up from their rough equivalent last year.

Then comes strategizing which ones to get! For me it's the perfect balance this year, there are two that I really want (and conga) which are the Old Timer and the Show Jumping Warmblood which means I can probably get away with just two tickets, because I also like to get the surprise just in case and I can either pick up another one of those two in case of variation or possibly the Silver which I also kinda like. The rest are take-it-or-leave-it for me and mostly molds I don't collect so that is excellent news in case of micro runs.

What about the hobby as a whole? The first polls are coming out and it seems I am with the majority. The most popular model is the Old Timer by far - almost twice as many people report him as their favorite as the next most popular, which is also my second choice the Show Jumping Warmblood. But it is very close between the rest of the SRs. I wasn't expecting to see the least most favorite as the Croi - a lot of people conga her and the pattern is lovely! The actual least most was the surprise, but it's pretty hard for anyone to say their favorite is the unknown, but a few people did!

Indeed it looks like Breyer got it right and the top two favorites are also the two with the largest piece count at 2500. I'm working on a couple of posts about ticket strategy, but it almost goes without saying that if you want one or both of these it would be a good idea to put them at the top of your preferences list - particularly the Old Timer. Since they are both available online and in person there will be a much larger pool of people who are able to purchase one. As much as I love to get wildcards, it is looking like it is not going to be a good year for that option - three out of four of the in person only models are also looking like the least popular, so your best bet is going to be to try to secure tickets for the other models and if you want the Croi, Brishen, or Collie there's a very solid chance you could pick one up in the second chance line/second chance online sale.

The only things left to announce I believe are the crystal, the plushie, and the stablemate limited editions. We should get those next week and then the ticket announcements. At that point I'll be able to decide if I'm going to go for a VIP but at this point I'm leaning towards yes.

In other SR news the first Web Special lottery horse is up and it's an absolutely gorgeous glossy dapple grey Salinero called Prague, released as part of the Exotic Destinations series. I am all in on this one and hope I get picked! I was still debating on whether or not to get four deluxe CC memberships because of the four mini mustangs and this beauty solidified that decision. I'll do it now and get the extra entries in to the lottery.