Did they come in Glossy variations? And if so, which ones?
The first question is the easiest: yes, they did. I knew I had some, but I was rather shocked at the number I found when I was plowing through my Stablemate Storage Boxes looking for live show material. Here are two of the nicer ones that I happened to take with me to Pansies and Ponies – both a Bay and a Black Morgan Stallion:
As for the answer to the second question, I don’t have a complete list of the ones in my herd – again, my time’s been a bit limited of late – but judging from what I remember seeing, I’m guessing most of the G1 molds came in Gloss in their original issue colors.
As to when and why: that, I have no idea. These two guys above aren’t of much help. The Black one for instance, was purchased from someone during room sales at BreyerFest in 1996 (for the hefty sum of $5.00!)
The Gloss Bay was purchased in 1986 at a local Toy and Hobby Shop chain that often received discontinued merchandise from other local retailers. And sometimes that merchandise was ancient: from another one of their locations I also purchased a new-in-box #626 Polo Pony in its original White Picture Box, and a #327 German Shepherd nearly a decade after it had been discontinued.
(Man, I loved that store!)
Judging from the crispness of the detail and the abundance of overspray and flashing, my guess would be that they are pretty early, though I do not remember seeing any particularly shiny ones when I first started shopping for Stablemates in 1975.
So early, but not necessarily the earliest is the best I can do.
I would love to fill in the gaps in my Glossy Stablemates collection, once I figure out exactly where the gaps are! But considering how white-hot the Stablemates market is, I think I’ll just wait things out and hope the local flea market and thrift scene does its magic.
2 comments:
I enjoyed your post. My shelves are filled with traditional models, so I am concentrating on G1 stablemates. I love your black Morgan stallion!
I came up with an oddball glossy SM back in 2005. I bought an SM lot on eBay that was sold as a bunch of white horses. They were all G1 SMs, including the Saddle Club drafter, the Arabs, Seabiscuit, Morgans, and the seller threw in a "bonus" freebie with a broken leg that turned out to be a shaded glossy grey/alabaster Swaps. The closest match is the 1990 Sears and 1997 JCPenney sets, aside from the gloss. When I find the box Swaps and his leg are packed in, I need to fix him and then lick him to test the gloss.
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