Breyer Spanish Fighting Bull - dream come true!

So this package arrived today, and I just couldn't wait for better lighting to get pictures and share him!

The story is that I always liked this model as a child, but never acquired him - never even saw him in person, I think. Plus he was expensive for a childhood budget, and the horses took priority. But a while ago, I dreamed that I owned him and that he was on my shelf. It was such a convincing dream, I actually couldn't remember if I DID own him or not for a while, and maybe he was just in storage? He was not, of course, I did finally remember, but the dream stuck with me and I remembered how I'd admired him when I was little. I asked in a Breyer group what prices to expect, and realized he was even more out of my budget than he was when I was little (at least $50, and that without shipping on this very large model). So I thought, well I probably will not have him any time soon!

But then a very kind stranger messaged me and offered me hers for nothing but cost of shipping!! Which is an incredible deal, even with the shipping cost on this guy (not little, haha). I have been on the edge of my SEAT waiting for him over the past week or so. He was delayed in California and I worried and worried, but here he was, waiting for me after work today.

It's a beautiful model, but hard to photograph because the angle of the head. I did my best, haha. I absolutely love his facial expression. I feel like the sculptor (Chris Hess, very prolific artist for Breyer in this time period) was sympathetic for the creature, and not for the sport it represents. It's not an aggressive face, but an alert and vibrant one. It's really almost a . . . stressed face? Which is not, like, something we like to see in a live animal - but I think it's a subtlety to this model that recognizes the beauty and athleticism of the bulls without glorifying the controversial sport.

Interestingly, in the dream what I remember specifically was the texture of the model and the matte quality of the paint, as well as the impressive feel of the neck and shoulders. I have to say, all of it matched in real life what my subconscious expected to encounter.

Only two regular runs exist on the mold. The first is black (1970-1985) and the second on this guy, gray (1997-2004). The gray is the one I grew up admiring in the catalogues. :) There are quite a few special runs on this mold, mostly made for Breyerfest and auctions, but all of those are VERY very expensive second hand.  

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He was hard to fit anywhere, but he ended up in the Place of Honor on my bookshelf.

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Oh wow what a beautiful model and a generous gift Jill. It is always nice to cross an item of your holy grail list! Congrats !!

Congratulations Jill ! and well done on your dream manifesting
he looks beautiful and seems to be perfectly at home on your bookshelf.

Literally a dream come true! Beautiful model and amazing that you got it for free. He has a great place on your higher shelf so you can see his very best feature, his face, from below.

What a fantastic story behind him, from the childhood wishlist to the dream to the gift! I've dreamt models before, but never gone on to find the exact one my subconcious mind had me owning already

And I agree with rogerpgvg, that's the perfect viewing angle for him! Also I was about to end with a 'Tolkien fan!' hurrah in a high-five-to-fellow-reader way, and then I looked at the next shelf and see I also need to cheer 'Gunnerkrigg Court fan!'

I love this kind of stories and I immagine your joy! I love knowing about dreams, not those we have when we are awake but especially those when we are sleeping. I think they always have some meaning.
Also, I don't agree with that theory which tells that what we dream it will never happen.
Not wanting to sound rude, but I think it happened with many kids. I remember perfectly dreaming I was peeing and when I woke upI could verify it was true.
Surely my little dream story has no glory at all but the one you're telling with all these details and with that final result is something to be glorified forever.

Congrats

Thank you everyone! It is remarkable to me that I was able to find the model I had a dream of, usually if I find things in dreams they are fabrications of the imagination and not anything that exists in real life, unfortunately. Or they are such rare things that they might as well be fabrications.

rogerpgvg wrote:

Literally a dream come true! Beautiful model and amazing that you got it for free. He has a great place on your higher shelf so you can see his very best feature, his face, from below.

Thank you! I had him placed on the lower shelf first and thought, this won't do! He's looking at the carpet!

George wrote:

And I agree with rogerpgvg, that's the perfect viewing angle for him! Also I was about to end with a 'Tolkien fan!' hurrah in a high-five-to-fellow-reader way, and then I looked at the next shelf and see I also need to cheer 'Gunnerkrigg Court fan!'

Ah, wonderful! I am always trying to get people to read Gunnerkrigg! It is such a unique and original story, immaculately crafted. I actually need to re-read all the ones I have and catch up with the current on-line story, I fell behind for a while.

Roger wrote:

I love this kind of stories and I immagine your joy! I love knowing about dreams, not those we have when we are awake but especially those when we are sleeping. I think they always have some meaning.
Also, I don't agree with that theory which tells that what we dream it will never happen.
Not wanting to sound rude, but I think it happened with many kids. I remember perfectly dreaming I was peeing and when I woke upI could verify it was true.  
Surely my little dream story has no glory at all but the one you're telling with all these details and with that final result is something to be glorified forever.  

I am thankful this one was the sort of dream you WANT to come true, though I think many little kids have had the same unfortunate dream.

This story is amazing : The child, the dream of the adult, the incredibly generous stranger, the long wait, and, ta-daa ! this fabulous model arriving to stand on your VIP place

I love the colour ! Apart from the size, it makes the model stand out among the many black ones

CONGRATULATIONS

Thank you Susanne! I love his color as well! The original release was black, and most of the special runs are some kind of spotted. I think this guy has the best color, though, personally.

Congrats and what a superb model and a wonderful addition.Also below him do I spy a book on Breyer models?

This is awesome!! Congratulations to this absolutely fabulous bull!!
Always wanted to own one too, maybe one day I will be lucky too! So happy for you!

Thank you both!!

Taos wrote:

Congrats and what a superb model and a wonderful addition.Also below him do I spy a book on Breyer models?

Yes! It's quite out of date now, it's the Nancy Atkinson Young 5th edition, so it only goes up to 1997. It's a really cool manual, though!