Being an international member of Breyer's Stablemate Collectors' Club teaches one patience. We only get two shipments of Stablemates -- one in June and one in December -- so we have to wait a bit to learn what our horses are going to look like. This year's shipments will be even more mysterious than usual as there are three unknowns: whether you get a glossy or matte Fiero, which of the gambler's choice Highland Ponies you will get, and what colour the Irish Draught will be (as well as what the horse will really look like, since so far all we've seen is a silhouette).
Fiero, Greyson, and Gwenevere with the Vintage Club Pacer sticker they were shipped with.
For me, the first mystery has been solved -- I got a glossy Fiero. I'm very pleased with him, but truth be told I had no real preference between the matte and the glossy. The pictures I'd seen of each both looked good to me. I do think a gloss finish, especially the heavy gloss Breyer is using these days, adds an extra layer of protection to the paint job, so for that I'm grateful.
The Gwenevere is just as pretty as I'd been led to believe, with a very striking pearly mane and tail. Those old G1 Stablemate molds are pretty worn, but the Morgan Mare still looks quite decent, although her mold stamp with the old "Breyer Molding Co." text is all but obscured on mine -- I would never have been able to read it if I didn't know what it was supposed to say.
It was fun to finally get my fingers on Greyson, and I really get the "young racing thoroughbred" vibe from him. He's a very skinny little guy, just like many of the 3-year-olds you see taking on the Triple Crown races. I only wish he had pointed ears rather than rounded ones. One feature you often see in thoroughbreds on the post parade are excitedly pricked ears. If the sculptor had just added that tiny bit of detail, it would have contributed quite a bit towards adding a touch of personality to the horse.
Liberated and re-christened as "Boy Wonder" (Greyson), "Sangria" (Fiero) and "Mamma Mia" (Gwenevere)
It's no secret that Breyer is going with the cute little boxes again this year. I've liberated all my horses so I can look them over, but there's no denying the attractiveness of those teeny packages. Interestingly, according to the VINs on my boxes, the horses were all created in the order of their release: Fiero in November 2018, Gwenevere in December 2018, and Greyson in March 2019. Makes me wonder if the spotted drafter Priscilla, which is due in the next batch, will turn out to have been created this year or stockpiled from last year -- after all, she was previewed back at the end of 2018.
Well, I won't know for sure until December, I guess. This next wait is going to be a tough one. I suspect that the Irish Draught will be the final issue, in December, so I'll find out all about it around the same time that American collectors do. However, it's going to be hard wondering which Highland Pony will be slipped into my pack. Fortunately, as was the case with Fiero, I have no clear preference in ponies so whatever I get will be just fine with me.
But it's going to be so frustrating not to know!
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