The dubious joys of the Mystery Horse Surprise

When Breyer first announced that they'd be releasing blind bags with Stablemates inside, I described it as 'either brilliant fun, or really frustrating' - and wasn't sure which it'd end up! 

I'd already been introduced to the concept of blind bags for kids as this incredible, unbelievably popular craze, because my friends' child went through a phase of having to be practically dragged away from watching endless youtube videos of other children opening them. So it was probably only a matter of time before the fad reached out into the model horse world, where the majority of buyers especially for the smaller scales, are children wanting toys to play with, rather than hobbyist adults aiming to collect and display or show. 

So, seeing this from my thirty-something, long-term hobbyist's point of view, surely the idea of sealing them in bags and having to buy without knowing what you get is just annoying? A total waste of time? Horribly expensive if you spend ages chasing down the full set?
Well, no. I have to admit, I found it rather exciting to order a parcel of models and have the curious wait to find out what was in it! It helped a great deal that I liked all the models, so I really didn't mind which came out of the bags to start with, and it helped even more when I ended up with only one duplicate (and that had a paint flaw which meant I didn't mind repainting it!). Opening the bags gave me a little bit of a thrill each time, anticipation & nervousness as the packet peeled apart, and then happiness & relief that I'd got one I wanted not one I'd had before. Very much like the young target audience that Breyer would've had in mind!

All in all, I had good luck with series 1 of the Mystery Horse Surprise, and only had to buy one as an opened bag on ebay to complete the set.

This year, Breyer released a new set of blind bags, with a new batch of models inside, including the much sought-after Mini Alborozo mould. A couple of months ago they came into stock in the UK, and I found that I could order five for the same postage price as one - so of course that was what I did, and a few days later, a little box of mystery horses appeared on my doorstep.

And guess what - I was lucky again! Five bags, and five different models inside, hurrah!

This is one of the moulds I conga, so I was very glad to get him right away, and know there'd be no long struggle to find him by buying multiple bags! I like his simple pattern with a lot of white, I think he's my favourite of this year's batch. I've given him the name Harecoft Mister Trickster, because my solid chestnut one is called Mister Twister so it seemed a good opportunity for a matching name.

The good old G2 Andalusian mould, in a very different colour than we've seen him before, a red dun with a hint of metallic shine in the paint but not so much as to be overly irritating! I've named this one Harecroft Caracalla.

This is a really beautiful bay, the fiery red colour shades so nicely on the lighter parts, very much like the G3 warmblood which is one of my favourite OF SMs. I've called her Harecroft Sapphire Jubilee because I somehow ended up with a small sapphire theme in this mould conga!

Making mini versions of larger moulds seems to be something of a spreading trend these days, it started out in artist resins but Breyer have adopted the idea too, and I'm pleased because it means we're getting more and more stablemates! 

This appaloosa pattern is an odd choice (I'd have gone with a tobiano, or a solid bay/black/grey) and it's always tricky picking a breed assignment for a spotted heavy horse, but I like him well enough, and it's handy that the blind bags have this mould in as there's a chance I'll get some duplicates to paint in proper cob or heavy horse colours. I've named him Harecroft Spot of Trouble cos he does look like he might be a bit of a handful to handle!

And this one's probably my second favourite, the liver chestnut is really deeply shaded and a refreshing, striking change from the usual chestnut paint, and the white stripe is a nice sharp highlight. I've called this one Harecroft Willowcreek, after my amazing little liver chestnut AA welsh cob Willowood, who's done so well for himself in the photo showring.

This was a fair few weeks ago, but as I had no blog back then, I hadn't introduced them anywhere, and I've just ordered another parcel of series 2 blind bags, so we'll see what comes along next!