Blind Spots

Blind bags have caused quite a controversy in the model horse world since Breyer introduced their first collection around 2013.

It all comes down to this: on the anti-blind bag side are those who like to see their horses before they buy them and those who only want to buy certain molds from each blind bag set.  On the pro side are those who like to be surprised with a horsey gift (even if it's a gift they bought for themselves) and those who don't mind getting duplicates that they can resell or repaint.  Somewhere in the middle are those who like to fondle blind bags in an attempt to find the molds they really want (usually the "chase" or "rare" pieces).  These folks only want certain molds, but they also enjoy the challenge of trying to figure out where those molds might be hiding.

I've been hearing lots of complaints about the number of Breyer's blind offerings from the anti crowd, and a few gleeful approvals from the pros.  The in-between group are mostly silent on the matter -- they've found a way of dealing with blind bags that works for them, as long as they do their shopping in person.  In general, the in-between crowd joins the anti chorus when the blind bags are offered as web specials only, like the Christmas and Hallowe'en stablemates of the past couple of years.

Now CollectA (but not Breyer by CollectA -- at least not yet) have gotten into the blind bag act with a new blind bag miniature horse collection.

You may already be familiar with the Breyer by CollectA mini dinosaur blind bags which were added to Breyer's line-up this year.  The new CollectA mini horse blind bags are very much the same, with the same "augmented reality" benefits.

CollectA Horse Blind Bags -- image courtesy of collecta.biz

"Augmented Reality," as described by Breyer, requires you to "[d]ownload the App from the App Store or Google Play to watch each of the 12 [figurines] come to life with Augmented Reality!"  This is apparently designed to work on all tablets and mobile devices, and involves scanning the information card included with your horse.  I don't own any devices capable of scanning, so "augmented reality" is not for me.

The horses being offered in these blind bags are exactly the same minis that are offered in Breyer by CollectA's Box of Mini Horses (item # A1109), so if you've already purchased a box and are not looking for any extras, the blind bags are probably not for you.  Perhaps in time they'll offer the minis in different colours, but for now it appears that all the horses in the bags are the same as the horses in the boxes.

Breyer by CollectA mini box -- image courtesy of breyerhorses.com

However, if you haven't bought the box and enjoy the surprise of the blind bag horse, it's probably worth hunting down these little guys.  Given that Breyer already offers them in one form, I don't know if they'd be interested in discontinuing the box and adding the bags, but they are readily available through other shops where CollectAs are sold.

I did notice, though, that the Breyer by CollectA dino box is currently out of stock on Breyer's website, while the Breyer by CollectA dino blind bags are being heavily promoted.  However, the dino box has only 10 mini dinos while the blind bags have 12, so technically the two offerings are a bit different.

Anyway, as I've mentioned before, there's no telling what Breyer is going to do next.  They're like the "blind bag" of model horse manufacturers -- and you either love 'em or hate 'em for it.