When do piggy banks become scale models of piggy banks?

I have three piggy banks. A regular size one that probably holds three handfuls of change. Then I have a teeny tiny pink one which has a Mexican 10 peso coin sitting on the slot. It’s so small that even one coin can’t fit in it.

Then there’s Esmeralda. She has the sweetest white piggy face. Though I admit it’s a bit anthromophized. Her best features are her big dark eyes with the extraordinarily long, gently curving lashes. To see her face at its best advantage you have to put your face on her level.

The first one is a delightful delft blue and was a present from my sister. I’d say it is normal size. The second is obviously a lot smaller. The third, Esmeralda, is perfectly proportioned but weighs 45 pounds when full of change.


So, when do piggy banks become scale models of piggy banks? Since they’re all human constructs it would seem that any size is “normal”. And yet, the little pink one is a mere affectation of a piggy bank and Esmerelda is almost a member of the family she’s so large.

There are scale models all over my house. Some are bigger than what they represent and some are smaller. Scale isn’t just about something that’s smaller than the original. In fact, the models which are bigger than normal are usually the most striking.

I have a jack-like you throw the little red ball up in the air and scrape up the jacks-kind of jack. But it’s made of cast iron and it’s more than a hand-span across. I think it started my scale model collection.

I also have a pair of men’s wing tip shoes. They’re very real looking just sitting on the oriental rug with their laces untied. Sitting next to them is a lovely pair of red sling back pumps. Both pairs are a bit askew. As if the owners had just kicked them off. The oriental rug I mentioned is wool, and it’s really a mouse pad.

Everywhere you look there’s another scale model. I just looked over to check the time. The clock is made out of a brown paper shopping bag, complete with handles, that’s only 5 inches high.

I bring this up by way of introduction to the following two illustrations. They’re from a Hot Wheels ad campaign. I don’t own any Hot Wheels and they just wouldn’t be the same without their “people”.



If this woman were a lot bigger, she could be the owner of the red sling back pumps. She looks like the sort of woman who would wear them.

Here's a little addendum-talk about blown out scale.