This year Breyer's surprise model for BreyerFest is called the Rotating Draft Surprise. And just as there is every year, speculation is running rampant as to what mold might be used. I have my own guesses, and for the first time ever, I did some research and came up with my own list of guesses.
First, I think that Breyer may use several molds, something that has never happened before. But with that word "rotate" in the name, I think it's a real possibility. I don't drink, so I googled "rotating draft" and found this:
In many bars and restaurants, certain breweries have a dedicated tap through which they can rotate their seasonal or special-release beers. For craft-beer lovers, these beers are often some of the most intriguing on the beer list.
It still could simply refer to "rotating" through a variety of colorways on a single mold, but I am going to go big and say that several molds will be used.
Next, the cost of the model is $85, the most expensive of all the special runs and limited editions being offered this year. Between that indicator and the word "draft", I am guessing that Breyer is going to use a draft horse mold or molds for this piece.
(Dare I hope they use this vintage mold??)
Drafters are some of Breyer's biggest pieces and should Breyer use a smaller traditional mold and charge $85 for it, there will be many unhappy folks. I don't think the price point allows for a mare and foal set and the Clydesdale Foal is too small to be a stand-alone at the price, so I eliminated it.
Here is a list of all the traditional draft horse/close to draft horse molds that Breyer had done:
- Clydesdale Stallion
- Clydesdale Mare
- Friesian
- Belgian
- Othello
- Cleveland Bay
- Roy
- Georg
- Shannondell
- Goffert
- Wixom
- Brishen
- Shire Marę
- Friesian Sporthorse
I took out a few I was reasonably sure would not be used, either because the mold had been used recently, or because it is an unpopular mold and collectors would be unhappy paying $85 for an unwanted mold. That left:
- Clydesdale Stallion
- Clydesdale Mare
- Othello
- Cleveland Bay
- Georg
- Shannondell
- Goffert
- Wixom
- Brishen
If Breyer is only doing one mold, then my guess is Wixom.
A lovely mold sculpted by Donna Chaney, it was just used as Puffin, from the very limited Birds of a Feather series. She was the Halloween Horse in 2019 and has had a few other limited releases, but it has been a long time since we have really seen her.
Othello is also a strong contender to be the Rotating Draft Surprise if only one mold is used. He is another very popular mold but he has appeared in Breyer's regular line-up both as a horse and a unicorn very recently.
My guesses if multiple molds are used? I'll share those tomorrow.
Stay 'tooned!
