Once again, Breyer did not disappoint with their choice of mold for the 2017 Stablemate Club Gambler’s Choice. Just as they did last year, Breyer chose one of the most popular Stablemate molds to release in a variety of eye-catching colors – to drive collectors crazy. And again it has!
Fylkir is his name, and he was just recently released in four colors to Stablemate Club members. The new Icelandic Stablemate mold was introduced in 2013 and there have only been 4 releases since then: three special runs and one regular run. Opportunities to buy Fylkir on the secondary market are still out there, and you can expect to pay between $75-150, on average, depending upon the color you need for your collection. The number of listings is starting to dwindle, but with a little determination, Fylkir models are still out there to be found.
The color that seems to be generating the most interest among collectors (and driving the prices higher) is the glossy black, that has been seen to bring in auction bids as high as $150. The matte dun is also pulling in prices just slightly lower than the black, in the $100-$125 price range. The appaloosa and splash pinto Fylkir models have seemed to leveled out currently in the $75-100 range.
As fewer of these models become available, where will their secondary market prices level off at? My guess is that they will level out around the $80-$100 range, with the glossy black still pulling in the bigger money. On what do I base my numbers? Well, lets look back at last year’s Gambler’s Choice Stablemate – Diesel. The market has settled on this guy, but there are still plenty of collectors looking to add him to their collections.
Diesel was released on another new and popular mold – the Stablemate Reiner. With only five other releases prior to Diesel’s Stablemate Club release in 2016 (all but one of the Reiner releases were special runs) collectors went into overdrive trying to keep their Reiner congas complete.
Today, Diesel models are getting harder to find, but collectors aren’t necessarily paying any more for them. Of the ones I was able to locate for sale, the wedgewood and glossy appaloosa Diesels could be seen selling for up to $150, while the brindle/dun and glossy bay paint versions stayed more in the $75-100 range.
Whether it is a BreyerFest surprise model or a Collector’s Club Gamblers Choice, Breyer seems to have found a concept that encourages collecting! Yes, it also encourages higher secondary market prices due to limited availability and collector demand – but that does seem to be the nature of the beast these days, doesn’t it?