More Friends Helping Friends - A New Steha-Leha!

I love it when hobbyists help each other. Last week Shannon Call did just that and I am still over the moon about it. She emailed me Friday morning saying, "Thought this might interest you" with a link attached.

Did it ever! How about a Steha-Leha Circus Horse in white? For a very fair price?

I couldn't believe my eyes when I clicked on the link to Triple Mountain Model Horses. Stehas are flocked horses that were made by Steha-Leha in Germany and distributed by Breyer in the 1960s. It is tough to find one that is in good condition, has all its wheels, and with the original feathers.

Eleda, proprietor of Triple Mountain, is a hobbyist herself and knows how to pack a fragile horse. That was evident in the note she include on my receipt.

I had been concerned how those feathers would fare while being shipped, but Eleda was also aware that they needed extra protection and loosely put bubble wrap around them with a cardboard protector around that. She was very careful that there was no exposed tape that might stick to the feathers or the model and remove any flocking.

The saddle was too far back and I carefully unbuckled the girth, hoping that the old plastic would not snap or crack. I also wondered if there might be some damage under the saddle or girth.

Aside from a girth mark where the flocking had been compressed, there was no damage and while the girth clearly hadn't been unbuckled in a long time, I was able to unbuckle it without any harm.

I hope to get Beauty, my black Steha-Leha Circus Horse out later today and compare the two. In the meantime, I am so excited to have finally gotten this piece after years and years of looking for one in good shape and at a fair price.

Thank you so much, Shannon, for the heads up, and to Eleda for knowing what she had and packing accordingly.