Itty Bitty North Lights

One of my most recent impulse buys was a small collection of itty bitty North Light ponies.  I'd never actually seen of these in person, but I was aware of their existence.  Ironically, though, I'd never really desired to add them to my collection until this set came up for sale.  There was just something about them ...

My impulse buy

I've never seen the North Light minis on an official price list, but the unfinished North Light website lists them as Micro Minis, which would mean that North Light was doing micros before micros were a thing.  The website lists 15 different micro horse and pony sculptures, of which I now own six.  I don't really see myself trying to collect all 15, but there are a couple more I've seen that I might add someday, for the right price.

Lying Foal, copyright 1979

Like any other North Light sculpture, the date incised into the base or bottom of the micros indicates only the date the mold was first sculpted and copyrighted, not the issue date of any particular model.  However, even from my small collection I can tell that North Light began making micros almost from the start.  My oldest sculpture, the Lying Foal, is dated 1979 and the newest, the Welsh Mountain Pony (in grey) is dated 1983.  With North Light Micro Minis, the breed name is also incised into the base.

Welsh Mountain Pony (hard to see in the glare of a flash), copyright 1983

I've also found evidence in Internet sales ads to show that the North Light micros continued to be released after the business became North Light@Wade in 2005, although the few samples I've found have been North Light dogs rather than horses.  They made a full range of micros over the years, including cats, dogs, and birds, so this is not too surprising.

Exmoor Pony, apparently hock-deep in soil

The micros are not as detailed as the larger North Lights.  All of the horses on bases kind of lose their hooves and lower legs where they meet the base.  It looks rather as if they rose up out of their bases rather than being set down upon them.  However, the wee little guys do have a charm all their own.  I particularly like the standing ones, who remind me of little toy soldiers standing at attention. 

New Forest Pony in his soldier stance

In any case, I'm glad I followed my impulse and brought these little guys home.  They take up very little space and add to my collection of micros, most of which are not actually on display.  Also, these days anything North Light is usually hard to come by.  Chancing upon a bunch of these little guys for sale was a bit of luck that I just could not pass up.