We’re up to the last ISH body style - Long Mane Short Tail - and while I only have one, and he's amazing, the story is a little embarrassing.
In March 2023, a seller posted this ISH for sale on the Peter Stone Sales Page Facebook group. The only accompanying info was that he was a test painted by Tom Bainbridge. I have been a fan of everything Tom Bainbridge since the late 90s, and the price was too good to pass up, so I bought it. The seller didn’t know anything about the model; he’d purchased it in a lot from California with a dozen other Stones. The model wasn’t in Stone’s website archives, nor was it on Stone Horse Reference. It was also confusingly signed “Custom Painted” on its belly, so I wasn’t sure if it was a factory horse or one that Tom might have done himself in his own studio. It looked OF to me, but I didn’t want to assume and show him in the wrong division.
I have a couple friends who are friends with Tom, and they suggested I message him to see if he had any memory of the model or at least if he could tell if it was OF or not. I wasn’t optimistic that I’d get a response - after all, I was just some rando sending him a PM on Facebook Messenger - let alone that he’d remember what the model was, out of the hundreds (thousands?) he’s painted over the years, let alone that he’d remember one from 20 years ago, since the model was signed 2003.
Well, Tom being the outstanding, kind human that he is, he did answer - and he did remember the horse. He said he’s 100% certain he painted it at the factory and that it’s OF, and said he “always thought he was quite striking.” Tom was almost positive the model was to be auctioned at Anti-NAN 2003. I reached out to a few people to see if I could find records of the auction items that year, but no dice. I’m perfectly happy to take Tom at his word; his reputation in the hobby is impeccable.
The embarrassing part is that as someone who has admired Tom’s work for almost thirty years and has had a Tom custom or test piece on my grail list forever, I was pretty much fangirling the entire conversation, and then messaged my friends that OH MY GOD TOM BAINBRIDGE TALKED TO ME.
Well, Tom being the outstanding, kind human that he is, he did answer - and he did remember the horse. He said he’s 100% certain he painted it at the factory and that it’s OF, and said he “always thought he was quite striking.” Tom was almost positive the model was to be auctioned at Anti-NAN 2003. I reached out to a few people to see if I could find records of the auction items that year, but no dice. I’m perfectly happy to take Tom at his word; his reputation in the hobby is impeccable.
The embarrassing part is that as someone who has admired Tom’s work for almost thirty years and has had a Tom custom or test piece on my grail list forever, I was pretty much fangirling the entire conversation, and then messaged my friends that OH MY GOD TOM BAINBRIDGE TALKED TO ME.
Not one of my most dignified moments, for sure.
I’ve plunked the mystery ISH on the table a time or two; his show name is Tommaso.
Stone hasn’t used the LMST body style all that often, so the only one on my wish list is Make My Lapis, a blue pinto. As far as Tom Bainbridge ISHs, I’d love to give OOAKs Firestarter or Absinthe a forever home someday, but I doubt I'll ever find them.
That’s it for the ISHs … now to decide what conga I want to do next!
Stone hasn’t used the LMST body style all that often, so the only one on my wish list is Make My Lapis, a blue pinto. As far as Tom Bainbridge ISHs, I’d love to give OOAKs Firestarter or Absinthe a forever home someday, but I doubt I'll ever find them.
That’s it for the ISHs … now to decide what conga I want to do next!
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