Updates and Downsides

In case you were wondering, I finally decided not to enroll in any of Breyer's specialty clubs this year.  The unicorn mini Alborozo in the Stablemate Collectors' Club was the last straw -- I simply could not take the chance of ending up with that one and "Chroma" as well.

I also opted for the regular Collectors' Club membership as opposed to the deluxe -- the price of the mini Fighting Stallion was just too much for me, particularly as I don't like him in palomino all that much anyway.  So, resolution-wise, I'm off to a pretty good start as far as Breyers go.

On the downside, the final total of new horses to enter the stable in 2019 was 78, although I'm including in that count whatever Collectors' Club Appreciation horse I get, which won't actually arrive until 2020 and which is technically free anyway.  Aside from the Breyer Christmas Zebra, the other last-minute additions were all Stablemate size, and included pieces selected to reach the Collector's Club Appreciation redemption limit and a stowaway Stablemate added to my final three Stablemate Collectors' Club horses to make the most of the shipping charge.

I got the gold-striped Christmas Zebra, by the way.  This is super-cool as there is a kind of partial albinism that results in zebras having pale gold stripes.  I can't find an "official" name for this colour; I've seen it referred to as "golden," "blonde," "leucistic," and "white."  But in any case, it's the only decorator colour offered on the Christmas Zebra that could also conceivably be a natural colour.  Bonus for me!

"Illusion," my golden zebra

I have to admit, I was surprised by Breyer squeezing in a last-minute Collectors' Club special with "Ambrose" on the Geromino mold at the end of 2019, but I managed to resist that one.  It's not so much that I had an issue with the price (I did, but I do understand it as it reflects both the cost of having horses hand painted in America and, possibly, Breyer/Reeves' desire to test what the market will bear).  It's more about the fact that, while he's a beautiful horse, he just struck me as "overdone."  I mean -- extensive appaloosa spotting, including the shoulders and legs, plus dapples, plus pearling -- it's all a bit too much for me.  I would have been happier with the appaloosa markings and traits alone, without the dapples and the pearliness.  But that might be just me.

Anyway, since I'm not doing any Breyer specialty clubs this year, I've decided to join the Hagen-Renaker (H-R) Collector's Club for 2020.  I'm rapidly running out of room for chinas on my shelves, but I don't believe the H-R club has any mandatory purchases -- just tempting offers.

My ambitions for this year, as for the year before, include continuing to adjust my collection through selective downsizing, and pulling back on the plastic consumption.  Other new goals involve going through my collection of manufacturer catalogs and other ephemera and filling in the holes where they exist, sorting out my tack and props and choosing what to keep and what to sell, photo show judging for the first time in a long time, and getting better photos to enable me to participate in photo showing as well.

Working on close-up photography.

It sounds like enough to keep me busy, particularly since life is always interrupting hobby pursuits with much more serious business.  However, when that happens, it's always good to have the hobby pursuits to look forward to again.

I hope you're looking forward to whatever 2020 holds in store for you.  Any resolutions you'd care to share?  Feel free to let me know in the comments below.