After I published yesterday's post, several hobby friends messaged me and said, "Hey! If I had known you had a Gold Charm Secretariat/black pinto Stock Horse Foal/Lippitt Pegasus for sale at that price, I would have definitely bought him!"
That's fair.
I admit, I am really bad at selling model horses.
In particular, I am really bad at selling old, low value horses with lots of memories attached to them. Take this little guy, for example. He was a birthday gift from my friend, Laura, probably in 1984. I remember being kind of conflicted when I opened him. Yay! A new Breyer! but also, not exactly the Breyer I wanted.
I named him Newspaper Man because he was black and white like newsprint and his sire was Backdoor Man (#88 Overo Paint). I remember being quite pleased with that name.
He's stayed with me all these years, not because I love him, but because I love the memories attached to him. |
| Laura and I on Tiger and Snickers in 1983 |
In the last two years, Seth and I have cleaned out both of our parents' homes. I can't help but wonder what it will be like when we're on the other side of that equation, when Ryan and James are trying to work their way through a mountain of model horses. I've realized that I don't need models to hang on to the memories. It's time for Newspaper Man and some of his friends to move on to new homes where they can make new memories for someone else.
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Is this the giveaway winner somehow?
ReplyDeleteHere's a fun thought! If "Newspaper Man" had been a 'real' horse , perhaps he could have been an ancestor of the 2025 Preakness winner "Journalism"!!
ReplyDeleteNow--we know that's not possible with the horses being 2 different breeds--but --maybe if (and when) Journalism goes to stud, he will sire a colt and someone will think of that name!! (instant connection to model horse world--especially if future colt goes on to win any (or all) of the Triple Crown races as his sire did! (Welll-- one can dream!!)
I need to thin my collection too. I is way out of hand. I also get stuck with models bc of memories or just bc I like it or bc it shows well. Selling models is not easy either. I am filling boxes for BF chin sales. One goes in and another comes out bc I notice something about it. Then something new comes out from Breyer and I thing oh need that for the show string. Its never-ending and I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to sell off old friends and make room for new ones, especially when there's memories attached, but just like you said, you don't need the model to hold onto to the memories! It's been hard for me to let go of some carpet herd models lately, but the ones that are just too bittersweet to let go of become my breyerfest signing models for the social media meetups and such! That way, they get a whole new purpose, AND I don't have to go and buy a body just for the purpose of signing!
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