Matte Carmen...Keeper with Caveats
Okay...the good news (for me, anyway): I like her color, and subtle dapples. I got lucky and mine has no scuffs, bumps, or bruises, and her paint job is actually quite good, including nice, crisp borders on her mane and tail. Very nicely painted eyes, too. I like her dynamic pose, and her body muscling is pretty good. I love her little cocked ear, and I think her eyes are *fairly* level - given the tip of her head, I can live with it.
The bad news: oh yeah, that otherwise sweet face. 😞 She reminds me of the poor Stone Ideal Stock Horse "melting face" syndrome that mold has developed from years of overuse, especially on its left side (come to think of it, Carmen is more "melted" oh her left side - is this a thing?). This girl is a fresh release; it shouldn't be this pronounced. If this is poor translation to mass production from the original sculpt, Breyer needs to retool that master mold ASAP. If the original sculpt is this lacking in facial detail...well, that's a lesson learned, methinks.
She doesn't knock me right back on my butt the way most of my Premiers have done, so on the Disappointment Scale, she's...well, kind of midrange. I like her enough to keep her, and I'll may even try photo showing her. With the right setup, I think she could at least be interesting. But she'll be waiting her turn in the show ring for a while. A long while, probably. I've got too many other higher caliber models that will take priority. I agree with what so many have already said: for the price point (and all the ballyhoo about a new sculpt), I expected better. She was the main reason I did the Premier Club (again) this year. *sigh*
Posted Jun 6, 2026, 9:26 PM UTC