Breyer and Breyerfest

[Sarapaurolophus]

A couple of days ago Breyer announced this year's Breyerfest is going to be 100% virtual. This means for the first time I'll have the chance of attending

All Special Runs as well as the Celebration model have been revealed already! Here they are.
Anyone else into model horses and/or thinking about "going" to Breyerfest this year? I'd love to get a little discussion going!

I am of course delighted to get Dani, the Celebration horse. She is the most detailed I have ever seen during the last couple of Breyerfest years. As for the SRs, I am going to shoot my shot at getting the unknown "Seven Arts Surprise".

Breyer's 2021 line-up also looks pretty nice: https://www.identifyyourbreyer.com/2021new.htm

[Dusty Wren]

I used to collect Breyers when I was growing up, and re-discovering the hobby on YouTube and social media has really brought back the feels for me. I just recently rescued my remaining figures from my parents' basement 

I've never been to a Breyerfest -- what kinds of panels and events do they do?

(Also, I had no plans to keep collecting Breyers, but I'm tempted by some of those special runs. Tempest is really lovely.)

[Sarapaurolophus]

I just recently rescued my remaining figures from my parents' basement 

That's great! I bet you have some treasures in there.

I've never been to a Breyerfest -- what kinds of panels and events do they do?

Due to location and money I have never been myself, but based on what I saw in videos from last year's virtual Breyerfest they do a wild mix of pre-recorded shows, movies, interviews, workshops/how-tos, guest horse presentations as well as a live auction, contests and raffles. Of course also model shows but only US residents can enter those and only US, Canada and UK residents can enter the contests sadly.

[Dusty Wren]

That sounds like fun, and it looks like most of those events will translate well to a virtual format. They don't say how much tickets will cost on their website yet; if the price is reasonable, I think I'll check it out. Would be nice to have something to look forward to this summer. Thanks for the heads-up!

[Sarapaurolophus]

@Dusty Wren Last year they reduced the regular tickets from $95 to 85 and shipping to US was free. Canada pay-once $15 and rest of the world pay-once $25, which was a pretty good deal. I hope it will be the same this year. So far they only announced the VIP ticket for the crazy price of $230 and people are already giving them a piece of their minds, so I hope Breyer is wise and won't hike up the regular prices.

Would be nice to have something to look forward to this summer.

Yeah, that's what partially pushed me to attend. I am sharing my ticket with a friend so we can enjoy the models and content together. Last year in summer lots of venues were still closed, I assume it will be the same for 2021 so the money saved might as well go to Breyer

[Creature]

More model horse folks!


I'm doing Breyerfest again this year. Last year's virtual version was my first time, since it's all the way on the other side of the country. It was a really fun, but exhausting, weekend. Lots of fun presentations and workshops: I learned a ton about customizing.


They've posted the events calendar online. (Or you can buy a print copy for $5.) I'm especially looking forward to the Meet and Greet with Kathleen Moody. She's sculpted some of my very favorite horse sculptures.


Tickets are still on sale if anyone feels like joining in at the last minute. It's going to be a fun weekend!

[Creature]

@Dusty Wren @Sarapaurolophus @Loon

It's Friday on the East Coast now, which means that Breyerfest starts today! Dusty, did you get tickets? Loon, are you still going on your model horse journey?

[Dusty Wren]

I did get my tickets I even took a few hours off work this afternoon so I could start the weekend a little early.

Still trying to figure out how they're handling the on demand workshops--do they just all become available to watch once Breyerfest goes live? Really interested in the anatomy course and the workshop on pastels.

Nevermind, just realized that the workshops are only for all-access and VIP ticket holders. That's a bummer, thought they'd at least let you watch the presentations.

Are you going to pick up any of the exclusive models this time around?

[Creature]

At least some of the pre-recorded workshops and seminars should be available to a general access ticket. I've got a friend with a GA ticket who's been watching them. I think it's just the Zoom workshops that aren't available. They all had an extra fee to participate anyway. The anatomy seminar is really good!

I did get a few of the exclusives. I'm most excited about Queen of Hearts. I picked the glossy version so she won't be here until December, but I think she'll be worth the wait. What about you?

I'm also enjoying the archive room segments in the livestream. I kind of hope they'll compile those into an archive room supercut once they weekend is over!

[Dusty Wren]

I really enjoyed Maggie Jenner-Bennett's seminar on sculpting. I've always loved her work, so getting some insight into her process was awesome.

I was sorely tempted to get Apollo, because I have a soft spot for Andalusians and I think that particular mold is lovely. But I'm not currently collecting Breyers (the only ones I have right now are a few well-loved models from when I was a kid). My current budget and space constraints mean I have to limit what I collect, and dinosaurs win out for now

[Creature]

Maggie is so freaking talented. Her Shah Azim sculpture is one of my all-time grail resins.

[Sarapaurolophus]

@Creature
Sorry I didn't reply earlier, I took a big break from dinos because of Breyerfest My bestie and I had a viewing party at my place and we got everything we wanted! Talk about being lucky for once! She did get Seurat and I got the 7 Arts Surprise (still don't know what it'll be but I did get spoiled on the models and colors and am hoping my luck won't quit me. I really don't want a decorator).

We also got a couple of items from the shop, I'll make sure to share our collective loot once everything is here

Overall it was a great experience and we are beyond excited for next year's theme (I already begged to see my favorite German breeds in the survey, I have no shame).

[Creature]

Oh, yeah, I took that same break! I've got a couple of photo shows coming up that I'm getting ready for as well, so the dinos have to sit in the backseat for a while.


My special runs haven't arrived yet. Tracking says Monday?


Other SR surprises that aren't about the 7 Arts Surprise:

Spoiler

I have Ansel and Uffington coming and I reeeeeally want to know which versions they are. I'll be happy with either one, but I just wanna know!

[close]

I think they did a really great job both this year and last year - especially when last year went online with such short notice. They've said they'll keep doing parts of it online even when it goes back to being a live event, so I'm eager to see what that looks like. I'm unlikely to be able to go to a live version one for a while. Kentucky is not exactly nearby.

[Sarapaurolophus]

Hello, long time no see! I've been super busy and neglecting the model hobby for a while.
Here I'd like to share my friend's and my collective Breyerfest 2021 loot!

Spoiler

[close]

I got the Champagne Splash in gloss! I damn near screamed when I pulled it out of its packaging. When I saw the rainbow version and the one that looked a lot like a Regular Run that's out right now on the same model (Dundee) I grew super nervous. I was hoping not to pull these two as they didn't appeal to me at all. Now imagine my delight when I pull THE MODEL I WANTED THE MOST I usually am completely out of luck when it comes to these things.

My friend puled Seurat in gloss and was super happy about it as well. Gloss really brings out his color, he looks like a delicious caramel bon-bon.
The limited edition decorators are also her's, Dani and Rheverence+ are mine.

Now onto Breyerfest 2022!

https://www.breyerhorses.com/pages/exclusive-models-breyerfest-2022

They decided that Breyerfest Special Runs this year would only be for in-person attendees and it led to some bad blood amongst the community. Apparently there are a lot of US collectors that want Breyerfest to be a thing for those worthy enough (TM) (those able to go the distance, have enough time, money and are in good health and mobile enough to walk around three days in the Kentucky heat).

I have never gone to BF and probably never will because I have no business in Kentucky, especially not in the summer, and no money to boot But I feel some type of way about Reeves blocking all their new customers from all over the world that they aquired during the last couple years from buying their most coveted stuff.
It just sounds like a weird business decision.
Especially since the Limited Edition models from the online store are once again available to everyone. Even the Celebration Horse is. So the shipping hassle couldn't have been the reason. Looks like a lot of people with money complained to them about having to share their precious SRs with the commoners I saw a lot of comments online in the spirit of: "THANK YOU Breyer for keeping SRs special for us and not for everyone!" and "I DESERVE it more than the lazy bums at home and in other countries because I drive there from halfway across the country!" - well, how about flying to BF from halfway across the globe? Maybe foreigners should get EXTRA special SRs then Hehe, but they surely wouldn't agree on that.

What helps me cope is the fact I am not interested in any Limited Editions this year, even when they'll do an elusive Black Forest horse. The model they chose is not my cup of tea (the Frisian face is way too long for a BFH) and the colors look different from the real life horse it's based on. Just a letdown overall, but at the same time it'll help me save money and that's always a good thing!

[Creature]

@Sarapaurolophus Congrats on getting the Surprise model you wanted! I actually really want a rainbow appy eventually, but I'm still waiting to see if the second-hand prices come down any further.

I got Matte Seurat, and regular Ansel and Uffington. They're so pretty!


I'm not going in person this year, but I still bought an online ticket. I'd love access to a few of the SRs, and I know the prices are going to soar afterward for the ones I want most, but I'll just have to be patient. On the other hand, not buying the SRs lets me save that money for resins or other Artist Gallery stuff from online sales.

I'm planning to get all the Limited Edition SMs (except the soccer draft), the glass PAM if I can get her before she sells out, and maybe the Rheinish Draft. That's my favorite color for Georg so far. I'm most excited about Nikolas though. He turned out so cute!

I also signed up for a bunch of workshops, and I have a small china collection I entered in the Breakables photo show, so we'll see how those come out.

Man, I've been seeing people unveil their Best Customs Contest entries today too, and there's some amazing pieces.

[EmperorDinobot]

I never realized fans of Breyer horses had their own convention. That is kind of cool.

[Creature]

There's two! BreyerFest is the big one, and it's been going on in Kentucky for a little over 30 years now. There's a brief write-up here.  They made it virtual during the height of the pandemic, but they're going back to in-person this year and maintaining the virtual access for collectors who can't travel to Kentucky. BreyerWest is a smaller West-side version that started about 15 years ago. It's been held mostly in Oregon, but the last few years it's been in Colorado.

Back in the 90s, Peter Stone, the son of Breyer's CEO, left Breyer and started his own model horse company, Stone Horses. They also have 2 big events every year in Indiana. 

And then there's a million local shows and meetups that hobbyists organize for themselves throughout the year that, in theory, lead up to the big North American Nationals show (in years when NAN is actually holding the event). 

There's a lot going on for model horse folks who want to be busy.

[EmperorDinobot]

I wish us dinosaurheads had our own collector cons...

Where in Oregon?