I think the Zodiac Series was a pretty cool idea. Unlike its forerunner, the Blossoms Series, the Zodiac Series utilized 12 unique molds. Sure, it had some misfires (like the laughable lobster masquerading as a crab on the Cancer horse) and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a big seller for Breyer since they eventually sold the entire collection, and then the individual horses, at deep discounts. But some of the horses were pretty cool.
The horses chosen were a mixture of old molds and new. That alone is what probably stopped me from considering getting the whole collection when the prices dropped. You see, while I had very few of the newer molds, I had all I wanted of the older molds and wasn't looking to add to them.
But I did buy Gemini, simply because I really love that mold and it has seen so few releases. The mold is based on the Best in Show Arabian, with the hair mane and tail replaced by plastic. The original Best in Show and Onyx, available only at Breyer Fun Days, have been its only realistically coloured releases so far. In fact, besides Gemini there has been only one other decorator release to date: the Breyerfest 2017 translucent Marigold. So Gemini was actually the easiest of all the releases to get.
I don't know who sculpted Gemini. He reminds me a bit of Carol Gaspar's work, but he could be a Kitty Cantrell too, given that she sculpted the Best in Show Thoroughbred. Whoever sculpted him, I love what they did with him. He's not particularly studly -- in fact, I thought he was meant to be a mare until I got my hands on him. But I love the sweep of his mane and tail, his gentle yet eager expression, and his delightful dancer's pose.
I have one more Zodiac horse in my collection as well: Scorpio, done on the Morgan mare. Having been used as the basis for four of the Blossoms horses, she has been released in almost as many decorator colours as realistic ones. Scorpio was a horse I didn't choose -- I found her in one of the several Grab Bags I've ordered from Breyer over the years. Still, it could have been worse. I tend to prefer decorator colours that are close to real horse colours, so if I squint I could call Gemini a palomino or cremello, and Scorpio a dark red chestnut. There are others in the Zodiac line-up that would work as well, like Capricorn (dun?), Aries (orange chestnut), Taurus (cinnamon chestnut), Cancer (grey), and Leo (golden chestnut). All the rest take a little more than squinting to bring them into the real world.
There are now so many new Classic molds that Breyer could easily do another 12-month decorator series using just the latest releases -- perhaps something incorporating birthstones, or simple symbols associated with each of the 12 months. I'd still be interested in seeing something like that, even though I'm extremely picky about my decorators. However, Breyer waited three years between the Blossoms and the Zodiac Series, and I don't think either one was a big seller, so I'm not really expecting them to do it again. But then again, Breyer is always confounding collectors' expectations.
I should note, perhaps, that neither Gemini nor Scorpio is my birth sign (although I have two Geminis in my family and I knew a Scorpio when I was a teenager). So they don't really have any significance for me -- I just like them because I like them. Since I only have the two they make a nice pair to display on one of my bookshelves.
In time, though, I may send them off to be repainted, or sell them outright, perhaps. If I could do a trade, I would gladly swap Gemini for Onyx, and Scorpio for the Breyer Fun Days Marigold.
All I can say is, at this moment, even I don't know what fate lies in their stars.
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