Showing posts with label Breyer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Breyer. Show all posts

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Sunday Surprise: Horse Foal Surprise by Breyer!

Well.  These past two weeks haven't gone quite how I'd planned.  I've been working on a vintage fashion doll review, which is one of my favorite things to do, so that's been fun.  And I was pretty much on schedule, too, but then as I started to write the review, I hit a snag.  The problem is, my research into the brand made me realize that I was missing at least one, and probably two, important iterations of the doll.  So, I bought some more stuff and am waiting for it to arrive.  The delay shouldn't be too long, but it's been a while since my last review, so I decided to dig up a Sunday Surprise for you today!

As many of you know, one of my lifelong passions has been horses--especially Breyer model horses.  My blog friend Rebecca Z certainly knows this about me, and so a few years ago she suggested Breyer's Horse Foal Surprise sets as a possible review topic.  These sets include two Stablemate (1:32 scale) Breyer horse parents, and a mystery foal.  The really cool thing is that, according to the Breyer website, the foals are supposed to have some genetic realism, meaning that they have coloring and markings based on the combination of their parents.  Horses, surprises, and genetics?  I could not resist.

Horse Foal Surprise Set by Breyer, $9.99.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Sunday Surprise: Blind Bag Spirit Riding Free Horses!

Before I dive into today's review, I thought I'd mention that my Create Your Own American Girl clothing is on its way (it shipped--as promised--just shy of a month from when I ordered it) and should arrive sometime next week.  I'm excited to see how the outfits look in person!  I still don't expect Eliza herself to arrive until mid November.

In the meantime, I thought this Sunday would be a great time to write a companion piece to my Spirit Riding Free review from last week.  In this post, I'll contrast the blind bag surprise horses that are being offered by Breyer and Just Play.  I also have a few non-mystery Spirit toys that I want to share, including two unexpected Just Play horses that I found at Toys R Us today, and a small horse and rider set from Breyer.

To start things off, here's a sneak peek at one of the Breyer blind bag horses--this is Spirit himself!

Breyer Spirit Riding Free blind bag Stablemate, Spirit.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Spirit Riding Free Toys by Breyer and Just Play

The original Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron movie by DreamWorks came out in 2002--the year my kids were two and four years old.  My four-year-old, in particular, was obsessed with this movie, in part because of the impressive steam engine featured in one of the climactic scenes.  At that time we were all listening to a series of tapes (yes, cassette tapes...) with songs about the construction of the transcontinental railroad, so both boys liked everything that had to do with trains.  Anyway, I loved the movie because of all the horses--and because the horses weren't given silly human voices.  Matt Damon adds a voice to some of Spirit's thoughts, but this is a rare occurrence, used only to forward the plot or explain a complicated scene.  The human protagonist in this movie is a kind-hearted Lakota teenager named Little Creek who yearns to ride Spirit, but knows when to stop trying.  It's a wonderful movie that will always have a special place in my heart.

In May of this year, DreamWorks premiered a new animated series on Netflix called Spirit Riding Free.  Season two of the series was released last week.  Fans of the original movie looked forward to this series with great anticipation, many of us hoping to rekindle the excitement we felt fifteen years ago when we were first introduced to Spirit's Wild West.

Both Just Play and Breyer have released a whole collection of Spirit Riding Free toys, and I will look at several of these in today's review.  I want to start the review by showing you something I bought right after I watched Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, though.  This is Breyer's 2002 model of Spirit himself:

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Breyer horse model, 2002.

Monday, September 29, 2014

A 1:9 Scale Horse and Rider by Paradise Kids

Writing a review of the Breyer Let's Go Riding Western set last week inspired me to get some of my Paradise toys out of storage for their long-delayed review.  I have reviewed a few of the Paradise horses before, but only the larger animals designed for 18" play dolls.  I was so pleased to see the level of articulation on the Breyer doll, I wanted to find out how the Paradise riders compare.  Also, as a long-time fan of Breyer model horses, I was curious about the equivalently-sized 1:9 scale articulated Paradise horses.

This scale of Paradise toys has a few size options.  There are 9.5 inch horses (measured from hooves to ear tips) and also 8.5 inch ponies.  The riders also come in a few sizes.  In the Barn Buddies collection, there are 7.5 inch "adult" dolls to fit the horses, and 6 inch child dolls for the ponies.  The newer Cowgirl Cool collection of riders contains 10 inch dolls that I suspect are made to fit a different group of Paradise horses--the 10 inch fuzzy-skinned ones that look like miniature My Life As horses.  Today I will review a 9.5 inch (non-fuzzy) horse and one of the larger Barn Buddies dolls.

This review will serve as a companion to the Breyer post, and my hope is that it will provide a resource to help horse lovers figure out which company's 1:9 scale horse and rider toys are best for them.

Paradise Barn Buddies "Eva," and horse "Merlin."

Thursday, September 25, 2014

My Favorite Horse "Let's Go Riding Western" Set by Breyer

When I was a kid, I had a huge collection of Breyer model horses that was the center of my imaginary universe.  Every last one of these horses had a name, a personality, and a specific role in an elaborate game that I would lose myself in whenever I got the chance.  I played with these beloved horses more than I played with any doll.  Most of my games revolved solely around the horses, but every once and a while there would be doll riders in the plot.  I had some Mego Corp Wizard of Oz dolls and a Marx Jay who could ride really well, but I was never tempted by the Breyer dolls.  The first dolls, called "Brenda Breyer," had blank-looking faces and weren't articulated enough to ride the horses properly.

I still gaze admiringly at the Breyer horse displays in toy stores, but I haven't purchased a new horse for a while.  Recently, a friend told me about the Breyer Stablemates "Mystery Foal Surprise" sets.  It's hard to think of three words that would entice me more than mystery, foal and surprise.  That's a triple threat.  These little $10 toys each contain a mare and a stallion, and also a tiny foal that's concealed behind a closed door.  I can't resist surprises, so I bought one of these sets on a whim the other day (some pictures are posted over on Facebook).  This experience inspired me to put aside my Breyer rider prejudices and look more closely at the doll-related products that this company is offering right now.

Today I will look at one of the larger (Traditional size) horse and rider sets from the 2013 My Favorite Horse collection.  I have to admit that after spending most of my life as a Breyer horse fan, I was really excited to finally get my first close look at one of the Breyer dolls.  The set I bought is called, "Let's Go Riding Western," and I chose this particular toy because the rider looked unexpectedly pretty and realistic to me:

Breyer "Let's Go Riding Western" set
"Let's Go Riding Western" set by Breyer, $39.99.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Last Minute Holiday Shopping at Rainbow Toys

Well, I am finding myself insanely busy these days, and I won't be able to get all of the pre-Christmas reviews done that I had hoped, but I do want to (as promised) take you along on my shopping trip to a local, privately-owned toy store.  This particular store, called Rainbow Toys (in Falmouth), has been my favorite since we moved to Maine.  Rainbow Toys is where I discovered Squishables--the plush critters that ended up being the perfect fun gift for my kids as they crossed the threshold into young adulthood.

Large chain stores like Target and Toys R Us have an excellent selection of dolls and a very current inventory of all different kinds of toys, but smaller toy shops have always seemed extra special to me.  The owners and staff of these stores put a huge amount of time and thought into hand-selecting their specific inventory.  I love the thrill of finding a new small toy shop, because no two of these boutiques have exactly the same offerings.  When my children were younger, local toy stores were more than just fun places to shop--they also played an important role in my social life, and in the preservation of my sanity.  Whenever I needed to get out of the house, there was a beautifully arranged train table waiting for me at the nearby toy store.  My sons found seemingly endless amusement at such tables, and I could usually find at least one other parent desperately seeking the company of an adult.  My eldest son met his first good friend at a toy store when he was under two, and the two boys remained close for many years.

To me, the most exciting thing about Rainbow Toys is that in the last few months, they have started to carry Arklu's adorable Lottie dolls, which, at the time of my original review, I could only find online at Amazon.  Welcome to Maine, Lottie!

Robot Girl Lottie
"Robot Girl" Lottie doll by Arklu.