That’s the problem with too many hobbyists: some of them really need another hobby to get away to. Lapidary? Pomiculture? Competitive Eating? Anything that keeps people from making way too big a deal over a minor anatomical discrepancy, or freaking out over another 12 year old trying to scam another way-too-gullible veteran hobbyist is okay in my book.
(Unless it leads to links being posted to YouTube videos of hobbyists eating massive amounts of Oreos. I don’t care that they do broadcast that sort of thing on ESPN: nobody nowhere needs to see that.)
Anyway, next up in the NPOD hit parade, a Traditional Man o’ War:
You already know by now: this is no ordinary Man o’ War. Why yes, it’s a Sample - or possibly, a Test Color - of the QVC Man o’ War. He has the shaded naughty bits of the QVC version, with the additional shading around his muzzle. He’s also initialed, and dated: 2/12/02, to be precise. His halter is handpainted, as opposed to the production run pieces that featured masked ones.
I’m really not sure if he’s a "True" Test, or a Sample. The dating and initialing on the belly sort of pushes it over to the Test side for me, but I’ve seen Samples that were dated and initialed, too. In the absence of additional documentation or confirmation, calling it a Sample is the best I can do. It’s a moot point, since he’s not going anywhere.
Funny thing is, I almost didn’t end up with him, at all. I picked him up right away when I found him in the Pit, briefly considered him, and then put him down. Eh, what use do I have with another QVC Man o’ War? I wandered over to the boxed table, where the Packaging Samples hide. (Did I find some? Of course I did, sillies.)
A few minutes later, a friend handed him back to me. " I thought you might want this." I took it as a Really Big Hint: when a model comes back to you like that, you have to take it home with you. Into the pile he went.
I ignored him until I got back to the hotel, and unpacked my "Pit Pile." As soon as I unwrapped him, I instinctively flipped him over - and flipped out. Dang! Major, major score - for me!
That was sort of the secret of the Samples in the Pit. They were all bagged and bubble wrapped, so while you could make out what they were - look, it’s a Pokerjoe! - the finer details of what made them special had to wait until you unwrapped them. Is it a color variation, a mold variation, or possibly an True Test? You won’t know for sure until you unwrap it!
Sort of like a Crackerjack prize.
Crackerjack? Sounds like the perfect name for him.
5 comments:
I haven't made it to the NPOD, how much do the samples usually sell for?
I haven't made it to Bfest in a few years now, but I'm sooo jealous of your finds in the NPOD!! I NEVER got that lucky. Do they put out samples/tests/etc. every year?
It's not just luck - it's hard work! (And research.)
Prices are all over the map - some as low as 10, some are 100 or more (if they happen to recognize it as something "different" to begin with.) Most of the bagged horses this year were in the 30 dollar range.
And yeah, there are samples in the Pit just about every year, but they're usually not marked that way: they might be bagged, or boxed, or tossed into a dump bin with something else.
A lot of them look like totally average RRs at first glance, too.
I grab what I like, and hope for the best. Worked out pretty well for me, so far. (And wait 'til you see what's coming!)
He's nummy looking! He looks almost rosy colored, not red/chestnut/brown/whatever. You seem to have found some awesome things this year.
I would love to have him. If he needs a new home you can find me on blab. :)
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