Breyer 2021 regular runs reviewed

I realise this post might seem really late, when any possible readers will already have seen the photos on retailer blogs and social media, but I admit it - I'm having a hard time getting excited about Breyer releases when the UK's supply of them is so patchy these days.
Let me make it very clear : it's not the British retailers at fault in the slightest - our online shops are doing the best they can to get their stock in throughout the year, they want to sell what we want to buy, and I'm sure they're as upset as their customers with how slow and frustrating things have got.
It's the distributor's lack of speed or willingness to get all the models imported into the UK in the first place (and, importantly, Breyer being ok with this) which leaves us feeling like second class customers, who don't matter and don't deserve a ready supply of nice things.
It's just kind of disheartening wanting to be an avid collector, but not knowing when or if we'll actually be able to buy the models we've taken a liking to. Some are only a couple of months behind the US. Other main releases aren't imported til summer, or autumn, and the retailers aren't promised up front whether the missing items will ever be added to the list at all. Some mid-years don't arrive til the following year - we don't have Peptoboonsmal yet, for example.
If you have your heart set on a certain model, maybe you can order it fairly soon, but maybe you just have to wait and wait til someone else decides if you're allowed that one.
So what's the point of getting excited over the 2021 pictures, when we don't know which are coming? Not worth being quick off the mark with my review post, when we don't know which will be available to buy quickly in spring, or later, or never.

Right, having got my apathy out of the way early, may as well have a look at the horses and record my thoughts on them - I find it interesting to go back to these 'first impression' posts much later on and see whether my opinions changed on seeing the models in real photos or in person, and which of my selections I did end up owning after all.
Each model name links to the item page on Breyer's official website, and opens in a new tab if you want to click it. I don't ever hotlink photos on the blog (cos I'm not a retailer allowed the pictures for promo purposes), so this seems the best way to show which horse I'm talking about.
If anyone's reading this post from the far distant future when these releases have been and gone and the links are no longer valid, I leave my honest apologies here in Feb 2021 and hope you're doing well in whatever year you're reading from!

Traditional scale

The Ideal Series - American Paint Horse
I wrote last year that maybe I'd like this mould (which I forever think of as The One Like The Stone ISH But Not Quite) more in a more interesting colour than the plain chestnut quarter horse we were given for 2020.
And I think I was right. I do like it more. But still not enough for him to jump onto any theoretical wishlist - there's still something about the head I find a bit off, I think the muzzle is too small leaving the head very pointed, and the eyes are either too small or to low, making him look a little bit less friendly and alert than the dear old ISH he reminds me of.
His pattern is taken exactly from the painting, and I've a feeling that may not have been based on any one real life horse - the front half looks frame overo while the back half looks tobiano, and yes I've seen enough pinto horses to realise this muddle can happen, but perhaps it's just that I'd kind of like models to be a good example of one thing or another?
But he's better than the plain chestnut, and I don't hate him, I just find I can't overlook two things in the same way I could overlook one - put a funny patch arrangement on a horse with a gorgeous, happy head, I'd still buy it; this one, I probably won't.

Sporður Frá Bergi
Now this is one which will hurt if it turns out to be missing from the UK shipment!
I've got two trad Icelandics already, the Svali regular run and the Elska dapple grey, and it would round up the little trio so nicely to add a skewbald friend for them. Sporður (I have to paste the Eth letter every time I type this name, my keyboard doesn't have one even in the alt key shortcuts) has great patches, well copied from the real horse, with just enough jagged-edge detailing and a nice ratio of colour to white. And it's a good small but chunky mould, authentic to breed type and with Moody's typical big-haired, accurate, and characterful sculpting style. He'd be a lovely addition to any OF collection but especially for Icelandic enthusiasts and general native-type pony fans. 

Theo
A mould I've been looking forward to ever since it was first revealed, he reminds me of the sort of imposing, hefty, muscular draft sculpt you only ever used to see in artist resins, it's great that he's made it into the regular run range so quickly, and in a very decent colour, too. I'm not 100% convinced on the breed choice, Ardennes are usually more massive through the leg and often more heavily curly-feathered too, but there's nothing stopping me picking one of the more athletic-built continental heavy breeds for showing my own one. Because Theo is also on the wishlist I'd be making if it wasn't for the ever-present doubt over whether we'll be getting him here, heh.

Cloud's Encore and Tor
Oddly enough, I was reading about the real horses not too long ago, when researching mustangs for my custom painting, and these two were on a list of mares and their foals born in a certain year. As with the Paint Horse, there's two reasons I don't like the Encore model enough to buy the set - the mould's long neck & lack of chest/belly depth, and the pearly paint. Yup, still hating pearlised colour on anything but the few breed & colour combinations which realistically have it - especially when it includes pearl hooves - I'm never changing my stance on that!

Chocolatey
Oh no, another one I'd like! What's that, three so far? 
I haven't got all that many of Breyer's trad appaloosas, quite a few have gone onto moulds I don't much like, so it's good to see a mould I not only don't mind, but don't have yet - Chocolatey may well be the first for my shelf, it's always fun getting a new one even if they don't tesselate so nicely as conga lines for space-saving display! Breyer's designer seems to have done a good job of his colour, not so detailed or flashy as some paintjobs with a lot of varnish roaning and colour shift and darker-coloured spots, but enough that it looks realistic version of a simple blanket pattern, and not a bad match for the real horse.

Obsidian
I don't do decorator models, but I thought Obsidian deserved a hugely positive mention because thank goodness Breyer have finally stepped out of the endless pearly pastel aesthetic for their regular run unicorns and done something very different! Sadly I don't think he'll sell as well as his sparkly rainbow counterparts, meaning he won't be around as long and they probably won't do anything else dark and subtle, and all the awesome goth kids won't have a unicorn collection to rival that of the pearly girlies, but hey, at least there's one. And a big chunky hairy horse, too. Hurrah!

By the way, the Trads have had a major box redesign this year, and...I just don't get the appeal. If they were aiming for cheap and boring, they hit the nail on the head. The new look with a washed out background image and loads of open blank space is like some low-budget brand trying to cut costs with plain basic packaging, and they're all the same. The old boxes had a sharp, colourful, quality look, individually themed by photo, colours, and font to suit each horse's breed, country, or discipline, which set Breyer apart as not like all the cheap kiddie toys, somehow more grown up and intelligent/educational, and therefore worth the high price.
And I'll really miss cutting up the box to salvage the background photos, because they were excellent for photographing smaller scale models against something which suited their nationality!

Classic scale

We have a new batch of regular runs this year (apparently we're supposed to be calling them Freedom Series now, but as a scale name that's hopeless cos they're packaging Mini Whinnies and some of the random aimed-at-younger-kids toy type models under the same branding, so all the collectors I know are determinedly still calling the Classics Classics anyway, heh)

Coppery chestnut thoroughbred
Very nice, but also too similar to the original chestnut Ariat release for me to need both.

Silver bay morab
Not liking the pearly mane or the mould, one to miss for me.

Bright bay morgan
This one is growing on me, I really like the mould and pose, especially his happy little face - I avoided the initial release because of, yes you guessed it, the bloomin' pearl painted mane and tail, so I could see myself ending up with one of these bays instead.

Black pinto rearing mustang
It seems there aren't many piebald models compared to skewbald, cos brighter shaded colours look more interesting as a paintjob, but I think a black and white looks really striking and I don't have this mould yet, so he's on my maybe list.

Pearly grey trakehner
I don't even have to say it, do I. My entire review is right there in the first word of his release name.

Buckskin blanket appaloosa
I'm surprised how much I like this one, the darker shading along the topline really makes the paintjob work, and I think if the production runs are as nice as this promo pic, I'll be very tempted. 

Spanish mustang family
Generally not a fan of sets, because there's usually one you like, one you don't, and one you're indifferent to - and this is no exception. The foal is brilliant, the black horse is nice enough, but the morgan mould I just don't rate much (although I do have one in the middle of severe resculpting, but his surface area will be more Milliput than plastic by the time he's done with, heh)

Stablemates

We still don't get a full set of Stablemate singles this year, but there are some single carded releases on offer - gemstone themed decorator colours on the unicorn versions of several moulds. I usually skip reviewing the decorators as that's best left for their fans, but these are worth a mention cos it's a good way to buy that elusive Alborozo body without having to shell out on a mixed set, or risk a blind bag with no chance to squeeze it first.

Pintos and Palominos
This is a really nice set, and another which I hope we'll be allowed to buy over here cos I'd be so disappointed if it's deemed not necessary for the UK collectors. We get a lovely pale creamy palomino quarter horse, a frame overo on that mould which I still think of as 'driving' from it's World Equestrian Games introduction, the brilliant levade lipizzaner in pinto (which is fun, for historical horse fans with a fondness for obsolete colours not found in the modern breeds), and the Darley mould in a dark golden palomino which will be ideal for my 'They're all National Show Horses' theory of that not being a proper old-world typey arabian, heh. 

In the Paint and Play department, we get single carded clearware unicorns (the same as in the boxed set last year : magnolia, alborozo, new warmblood and walking TB), blind bag blank white unicorns (G2 morgan, G2 warmblood, prince charming, mini connemara), and two different trio sets, the Horse family and the Unicorn family.
These are all intended for creative children and come with the obligatory chunky brush and plastic-potted bad paints, but would provide a handy way for adult customisers to get hold of bodies; the horns are easy enough to remove, but I do wish they'd do some non-unicorns of the fun new moulds just so I didn't have to do so much prep work to paint a horse!
The other Paint and Play sets listed as new, aren't - the moulds and even the paint colours in there are the same as last year - did they really discontinue and relaunch those just to add some logo blob marketing deal in the corner about something/someone called Froggy Stuff, which, I assume, young people care about and I'm too old to understand the point of.

On Identifyyourbreyer, but not on Breyer's own site, there's some 'Horse Foal Surprise' sets, which are an odd mix of last year's Mystery Foal adults (palomino walking TB, dun WB stallion, pinto loping QH), plus three new adults, and an as-yet unknown foal in each box.
Will it be the same foal, or a different one?
Why didn't they do two new horses?
Why aren't they on Breyer's site anywhere?
All as mysterious as a secret foal in a barn box, heh.

That's it, for now. How's my theoretical wishlist looking this year?

Three trads; Sporður, Theo, Chocolatey
Possibly three classics; pinto mustang, bay morgan, buckskin appaloosa
Definitely the palomino & paint SM set
Some more paint-kit walking TBs and alborozos for my body box

This might change. I've certainly got models now which I thought looked boring in the catalogue, or was sure I'd never like til I saw one in person. There's others I thought looked great but turned out disappointing in person and I never did buy them. And of course, what I can buy is dictated by whether the distributor chooses to import it all.
How about yours? Do any of the 2021 releases call out an irresistible 'buy me!' to you?
One thing I always find entertaining about this hobby is how one person's what are they thinking that's horrible horse is another collector's gorgeous must-have, how the ones I overlook entirely might be top of someone else's wishlist, while I'm sitting here raving about a totally different model, and none of my hobby friends get what's so good about it.
And does anyone like the new boxes better?