Relaxing & Recharging

Second Post of the Day

When you walk into an antique shop and the very first thing you see is this,

you know it's going to be a good day. That is one of the nicest lots of Made in Japans I've seen in a long time.

I was sorely tempted. I used to have the orange rearing horse but lost it to breakage during childhood. The large bay foal is an unusual scale for a MIJ foal, and the palomino mare was a lovely color.

But, I am not adding to my MIJ collection any more, so I left them behind for another collector to find and love.

A few steps away and there was my second sighting of a HSO. Not something I needed, but it boded well for more finds as I shopped!

No surprise here - these metal clocks and their variations are very, very common. I think I find one every time I go antiquing.

Nothing I collect. (Is that pinto a Barbie horse?)

Whenever I find sculptures like this, high priced or not, I think of the beautiful pieces the artists in our hobby produce and realize just how talented they truly are. (And how lucky we are to have them.)

An odd jointed horse; again, one I've never seen before. (And not one of the Marx jointed horses - too small.)

Listed as a resin piece, but I think it was actually plastic. It did not feel like resin when I picked it up.

An unusual metal horse. It made me think of Dani Boiko and the lovely work she does with chain mail.

This Clydesdale almost came home with me. Look at his beautiful shading!

He was missing a bob and overpriced. Still, I felt badly leaving him behind.

I see a lot of these plastic Clydesdales in harness when I am out looking for HSOs. 

I like the lampshade but those overlong legs on the mare were a deal breaker for me.

Roemer and Pluto - vintage molds but not ones that I collect.

This Fostoria bookend set is pretty ubiquitous. I was given the set as a high school graduation gift and sometimes you can see mine in photos taken in my sewing room.

I don't need a horsey planter, but this MIJ one almost came home with me. When we were kids and collecting "glass horses," Leslie and I prized those who had what we called "arrowhead" stars.

However, the seller wanted $50 for this piece so it stayed on the shelf.

An intriguing MIJ piece - I've got several of these in my collection from childhood, but they are all charcoal colored. Another almost, but $26 to add to a collection I am no longer adding to? No.

A pieced from my childhood glass horse collection, and marked down from $25 to $10. Tempting but no.

A resin horse head bust. Again, I thought of our hobby artists and their beautiful work. This piece can't hold a candle to any of them.

By the time I was done wandering, I'd visited four shops. For whatever reason, lots of HSOs were available which always makes the shopping even more fun. And, I did come home with four new pieces to add to my own collection. All vintage and all Breyer.

Stay 'tooned!

Comment to enter the October Give Away! Entries close Saturday night at 11:59 PM Eastern.

Antiquing After the BreyerFest Crowds

One of the main thoroughfares for people going to BreyerFest is I-65. It runs close my home and often when people post photos of their BreyerFest trip, I recognize exactly where they were when that photo was taken. I've even met hobby friends at restaurants at the exit near my home to say hello, exchange models, and have lunch.

It's a lot of fun. But, there is a downside. It also means that any antique or thrift shop along I-65 has been heavily checked out and picked over by collectors as they travel. I've learned to do my antiquing at least a week before BreyerFest and then even as much as a month after the event has ended if I want to find any HSOs. (Horse shaped objects.)

So, after a trip down to Indy to meet a friend for lunch a few days ago, I decided to try my luck and stopped by a shop that I don't often get to go to as it's a long drive from my home.

Lots of HSOs were evident - it looked as if that particular store had recovered from the scores of collectors who had stopped by.

I was tempted by the 5 Gaiter, but left it behind for someone else. Almost $100 for something I already have was more than I was willing to pay.

The Lone Ranger, Silver, and Tonto caught my eye, but I left them behind, too. (I think they are by Revell.)

I was more interested in the circus wagon than I was the two FASs and their harnesses. I've long wanted a circus wagon made by Dick Eighmy and did not buy one when I had the chance years ago. But this work was done by someone else.

This bust stopped me for a couple of minutes. It was cool but where would I put it?

If I had a quarter for every Breyer Boxer I've found... 

Fostoria made these heavy glass bookends and I see a lot of them in antique shops. I actually was gifted a pair for high school graduation; they're on one of the shelves in my sewing room.

I considered rescuing the Zebra mama and foal and then selling them to another collector (I already have the pair) but I left them behind.

Not only is the Boxer ubiquitous, so are metal western horses. Some standing alone, some on bases, some with clocks, gold colored metal, silver colored, pot metal, big, medium, small... Pass! (But passed with a smile.)

This bobble head donkey with its tail on a spring made me laugh but nothing I needed or wanted.

A very colorful mid century modern planter.

This Revell box stopped me in my tracks and I was hopeful the horse inside would be in good shape.

It was in rough shape - the seams were separating and showing yellowed glue

the mane and tail needed work, and for $32, I was not interested in taking on a restoration project.

I came home without dropping a dime, but I also came home happy and relaxed. 

There may be a second post coming today - if so, it will be posted by noon. If not, look for it tomorrow.

Taking a Detour to Shop

I had to run to JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby for some sewing supplies, so naturally I made a little detour to a nearby antique shop while I was out and about. There are a lot of horsey items to be found in the antique shops and flea markets around Indiana, and usually I come home with something from my forays.

I don't collect metal horses, but I've seen this piece before and am always tempted by the Breyer Yearling mold that was copied and used for it.

This piece looked promising, but it was made of plaster and had very rough seams and bumps on its body. Plus, they wanted $50 for it.

Just because they are plastic horses, they aren't necessarily Breyers. This seller mislabeled several of these as such.

This Breyer Family Arabian Mare has been on the shelf since before the pandemic. She has a lot of rubs and is priced high. Still, I was tempted to rescue her. (Maybe next time?)

At $15, I probably should have brought this pony and rider home with me, just to get it into the hands of collectors.

I don't know much about Breyer's early tack, but I may go back and get this saddle, too.

More metal horses priced at $35 each. Probably a fair price for them as they are in good shape.

A whimsical piece of "saw art" in a booth with other pieces of saw art available.

I think these are copies of some Chinese artwork. I've seen the molds in various mediums (I had a set of resin/wood) and at $1 each are probably reasonably priced but I left them behind.

This wasn't labeled but I think it is an American Girl horse.

This 1984-1988 Little Bit Clydesdale did come home with me. There is a distinct pearly sheen in his coat although the bare plastic on his legs is not pearly. He's a curiosity, he's old, and hasn't been in Breyer's line-up since 2006, so I grabbed him.

A pretty but pricey bronze horse and rider statue.

A Madame Alexander Doll Horse in its box.

This framed copper horse was kind of cool and certainly very unusual.

You just never know where you are going to see a horse's head pop out at you - I almost walked past these without seeing them.

Real Breyers in a glass case. Prices were pretty good but I left them all there.

A Hartland Wyatt Earp and horse for $68 were also in the glass case. I have Hartlands but chose to leave this one behind.

A Hagen Renaker lion for $2? I'll probably go back for it.

So, what did I bring home?

 

The Little Bit Clydesdale with the odd sheen in its coat,

a Breyer Boxer (my sixth, but he is so pretty!),

and a 1950 - 1954 Hagen Renaker Cocker Spaniel (my second.) Hey, when they're older than me, they deserve rescuing, right?

I was glad I'd taken that little detour while I was out buying sewing notions.