Just A Thing

That was not one of my better weeks. I’ve spent most of today catching up on sleep, and finishing everything I started - and couldn’t finish - during the week. It’s also been cold, wet, and it just turned October. Not exactly conducive to my motivation.

It has come to my attention that the Susecion and Le Fire molds are now something of A Thing: pricey, in demand, and generally pretty hard to get. I hadn’t noticed before because I already had one nice set - the QVC Palominos from 2002 - and hadn’t been in the market for others:


Picked them up for a good price at the flea market a few years back. Not minty-mint, but good enough; I missed out on most of the 2002 QVC Special Runs back when they were released, and I wasn’t about to pay "retail" for them. A couple of small rubs, I can live with.

I had thought the prices on that particular set were just a reflection of the relative scarcity of a lot of the 2002 QVC SRs. Many of them weren’t well publicized, and the piece counts were fairly low (for back then.) Some of them you hardly ever see for sale now; the re-release of the Traditional Man o’ War immediately springs to mind.

Anyway, like I said, I hadn’t been in the market for a set, hence my not-noticing. I have nothing against the molds personally. I just don’t have the space for any more, and other molds have been deemed of higher priority.

Any mention them in certain circles, though, seems to inspire near-apoplectic fits of rage over their anatomical inadequacies (like the crazy face on the mare, and the muley ears on the foal). It’s a rage that seems a little out of proportion to whatever crimes against anatomy they seem to be committing. When I look at them, all I really notice is the tender moment of maternal intimacy.

As to what’s inspiring the high prices, in spite of the hobby’s general dismissal of these molds, I’m not entirely sure. It could be any number of factors - the rather small number of releases, the limited quantity of many of those releases, or the fact that the mold’s been out of circulation for a couple of years now.

I suspect that my initial reaction - the "Aw, that’s kind of sweet" - may be a big factor, too. Nothing sells like cute and sweet. (Don’t be hiding your My Little Ponies in the closet. I know they’re there.)

It could be that it’s "just a thing": all of a sudden something that wasn’t particular popular or noteworthy before then becomes The Thing to have. It happens on eBay all the time. Remember when you could sell a Khemosabi for $100+? Or when there was that unexplainable run on Black Appaloosa Running Stallions? And let’s not forget those other hot items du jour: the original releases of Spirit and Rain.

For hobbyists who do happen to be in the market for a Sucesion and Le Fire set, my only advice to you is to wait it out. In another six months to a year, there might be (no, will be) some other Thing.