Breyerfest 'Dani' - Danash's Northern Tempest

When, back in July, I compiled a Breyerfest Special blog post to show all the Breyerfest horses I've collected over the years, I was sitting on an exciting secret!

I'd already secured a pre-sale reservation from another collector who was taking part in this year's online Breyerfest. By paying up front, I could relax and not worry about whether I'd ever get the horse I wanted most from this year's exclusive releases : one was earmarked to be mine, however long it took for them to arrive after the event.

Over the last couple of weeks, Breyerfest models have started to appear on UK Ebay, so I knew I wouldn't have too much longer to wait, and today was the day : I got back from my real horses to find a parcel hidden carefully behind the bins. So which horse was it, who'd earnt a place at the top of my wishlist?

Yes, she may 'only' be the Celebration Model, but what a Celebration Model she is! Let's have a look at her out of the box...

I think they've done a fantastic job with her, the detailed spot masking is a bit more complex than they tend to give us for regular runs, so she's got a bit of a 'wow' effect when you see and handle her. She does look more bay than her official publicity photo, which was quite light, roany and speckled - but perhaps that's just variation between individuals, and I got a darker one.

As I said when I got regular run Catch Me, this mould is a lovely big chunky warmblood horse. The real Danash's Northern Tempest, known as Dani, is a friesian/appaloosa cross, but I've decided to have mine as a knabstrupper. Unless it's a horse or pony I know personally, I'd rather go for a pure breed compatible with the mould/colour combination, than stick faithfully to the breeding of the real horses behind the portrait models, especially if it'd mean adding yet more partbreds and crosses to my herd!

The other side, showing off more of that fantastic detailed pattern - doesn't it suit the mould so well! I've got her up on the mantelpiece and keep glancing up for another look, she's a really striking model which will stand out on my shelves.

I haven't come up with a name for her yet, I was thinking of going on the 'Tempest' theme and calling her Miranda after the female lead in Shakespeare's play, but I already have two model horse Mirandas (not deliberately - I named one myself, then bought the second from a friend!), so I'm still thinking.

Just a couple more shots from unusual angles - when a paintjob is this detailed, I always want to take extra photos to show it from every direction!

I'd seen a few people saying there were a lot of quality issues with the Dani models, with smudged or broken-up spots where the masking was badly applied, but I checked mine all over and can only find the smallest area of slight blur on one spot, on her stifle on the non-display side, and even that is so faint I wouldn't have noticed it without close scrutiny.

There were a couple of places where the masking hadn't fully peeled away, but it's a matter of seconds to rub those off with a thumb and reveal the intended pattern, and you'd never know the factory missed a bit.

Well worth the wait, and I'm really glad I got that early buy secured back at the beginning of the summer - I can only imagine how stressful it would've been waiting and hoping that I'd get chance to grab one on UK Ebay when they started to appear over here. As it happens, there have been quite a few, and at reasonable prices - being the Celebration Model, she's the commonest of all releases this year - so if you have Dani on your wishlist too, keep looking, and good luck!