Tiny Tinna

Angelo's Rastus My Fatass isn't the only new-to-me resin hanging out on my bookshelf. He has a very pretty girlfriend.

I hadn't bought an unpainted resin in more than a year, but after my amazing trip to Iceland, I knew I needed a small scale version of either Tinna or Glóinn. I asked my Facebook group for advice and leads.

Several people recommended Anna Dobrowolska-Oczko's Moeara.

I am a big fan of Anna's work, but somehow I'd missed this one entirely.

She is a near-perfect match for Tinna.

A day or two later, an unpainted Moeara popped up on one of the resin sales pages on Facebook.

Almost immediately, half the hobby tagged me in the comments.

One thing led to another, and now I have my own little Tinna.

She's just perfect.

She came with some fun extras, including a lovely COA (sadly misplaced) and this magnet, which is now a part of the Icelandic refrigerator collection.

Tiffany Purdy has graciously offered to paint her for me. 

I can't think of anyone more capable of capturing Tinna's amazing silvery, dunny coat.

It's been a long time since I've been this excited by a model horse. I can't wait to see her in color, a perfect reminder of a perfect trip.

Which one?

All of Angelo's plants have names. All of them.

photo by Heather Malone

Most of the names are normal - or at least normal adjacent - but then there's this guy. His name is Fatass.

Of course, with a name like that, he's the one Heather wants to keep.

That got me thinking. I have several tubs of Angelo horses in my basement. Which one do I want to keep?

It's the real life version of the virtual game we played last April.

I definitely don't want anything from this tote.

Yeah, no.

This box, however...

Literally, I want everything in this box.

But... that's not how the game works. I can only choose one, and clearly, I'm not taking something I already own. Goodbye Boreas, Meribel, Tadpole, Barely Jolie and Dos Brio!

Angelo and I are both big Maggie Bennett fans, so this is tempting.

As is this...

and this.

If I was still interested in conventional performance showing, this would probably be the one. Those days are over, though, so back in the box she goes.

Jennifer Scott is another artist we both admire greatly. This isn't my usual scale, but she's cute, nonetheless.

Similarly, this guy is amazing, but I'm holding out for the braided version.

Two Stetsons? If I chose one of these, Angelo might not even notice.

Since I'm trying to downsize, giant horses are out. Sorry, Crusher.

That goes double for you, Snort!

Daniela Baglai's Bourbon is more my size.

Ditto Sue Kern's Wally West.

Since my current hobby focus is mostly setting up scenes, horses in unusual poses are especially enticing.

I'm kind of feeling this Ruah.

Of course, I also like tack.

Both Babaji...

and Bowie come with halters.

As you can see, I could make a case for so many of these models, but the one I keep coming back to is this guy.

He's the Fatass of the box!

Except - weirdly - he's not in the box anymore. 

Sorry, Angelo. The Fatasses have spoken. They're staying in their new homes!

Operation plant rescue

A little less than a year ago, Angelo, and her wife, Tori, bought a condo. 

They moved in and turned it into a perfect pony and plant-filled paradise.

Then the HVAC system failed and ruined all the floors and some of the walls. Angelo, Tori, their dogs and all their stuff needed to be removed before any of could be fixed. So now Angelo's painted resins are living with Fabian,

I have the unpainted resins...

and Mildred...

and Heather has the plants.

There are so many plants.

It's too many plants to fit inside a normal car. Fortunately, I have a minivan with no back seats.

Last Sunday, I drove that minivan over to Angelo's house to help her move the plants. They were all right there by the front door waiting for me.

We carefully loaded them into the van. 

They all fit, even giant six foot Atlas.

It's about five miles from Angelo's condo to Heather's townhouse, but it seemed much longer. This was partly because the roads were slick and snowy, but mostly because I had to be careful with all of Angelo's precious babies in the back.

We unloaded them into Heather's living room, where Angelo and Tori checked them over for damage.

Heather's cat, Rusty, also helped with the inspection.

We took a few minutes to rest and talk.

Then we moved all the plants up the stairs...

and into Heather's guest room.

Angelo set up the lights and humidifiers.

I took photos.

Hoardiculture.

Despite the circumstances, this was kind of a fun day. I am already looking forward to part two, when I get to spend more time with my friends moving all those plants back into Angelo and Tori's new and improved condo.