Midwest Model Mania: Shopping!

If seeing your friends is the very best thing about a live show, then shopping at shows is the next best thing - at least, in my opinion. But believe it or not, I didn't buy a single thing at Midwest Model Mania!

That doesn't mean I didn't come home with new models, though. In the weeks before the show I did some trading of Horsiemama merchandise with folks who were also going to be at the show. We brought our trades with us and then handed them off there. (Always good to save on postage!)

The Indian Pony is one of my favorite molds, and usually I already have those that I find at shows, antique malls, or flea markets. This matte red dun piece from the 1988 JCP English Horse Collectors set is one I did not have.

I also traded for this lovely dark bay Proud Arabian Stallion. He has an unusual textured coat and very high dark socks. 

Teresa Rogers sent Marilou a huge box of mini Hagen Renakers as a donation. Marilou used them as door prizes and I received Baby Caterpillar. He will go well with Caterpillar Pa that Kristina Lucas Francis sent me last year.

A tiny piece is missing from his propeller, but I don't mind a bit. 

Here he is with Kaleidescope to show how small he is.

I also sold quite a bit of merchandise during the show. To my surprise, the big seller was pony pads. I only had three left when the show was over. I sold a lot of haversacks, too, but I was pretty sure that that would be the case - nearly selling out of pony pads was unexpected.

With three boxes and two totes fewer than when I started, packing to come home was not quite the Jenga that it was to get to the show. 

That wraps up my coverage of Midwest Model Mania. Next up? Some of my BreyerFest models have finally arrived.

Stay 'tooned!

Horse Trading!

Collectors love to sell, trade, and swap model horses, and I am no exception. Sometimes you see on social media that someone is looking for a particular piece, and when you contact them about the one you have that you might be willing to sell, things happen very fast.

That is what happened this week, the first week back to school, which made things pretty crazy, but in the end, it all worked out.

A hobby acquaintance posted on a Facebook collectors' group that she was looking for a Hagen Renaker Lippitt. I had one and was willing to sell it, so I sent her pictures of it. She responded that, while she was looking for a different HR production era, she was still interested in buying my piece.

And the horse trading began!

She had asked if I had any other HRs for sale, so I sent her pictures of pieces that I would consider selling. She ended up buying all the Morgans:

 the San Dimas Lippitt,

 my San Dimas Forever Amber,

  and my sweet Monrovia Roughneck. (He was a little hard to part with.)

The other hobbyist sent me photos of pieces she was willing to trade as part of our deal. I'm a vintage Breyer collector, so I selected:

 the bay Running Mare with eye whites and awesome shading,

 the chalky Running Foal,

and the SR buckskin Lady Phase (a piece I have wanted for a very long time. Squee!!)

The two of us figured out what we were willing to sell each piece for, totaled that up and then estimated shipping, and finally compared the two amounts to see if one of us owed the other money. She owed me, and so she sent the money to me via PayPal.

It was fun trading with this hobby friend. Even better, there was a level of trust between us. She understood when we began trading that it was back-to-school week for me and that I would not be able to get the horses mailed until the weekend. On my end, I sent them to her before she'd sent her payment - I knew she was good for it (and the payment arrived later that day when I sent her the tracking number and actual shipping costs.)

I cannot wait until my new models arrive next week. I imagine we both will be smiling when we open our boxes!