What complicates matters with the Pacer is that he’s one of a handful of pre-1970 molds that never got the USA mold mark in the first place, so dating early ones is often a matter of either the ephemera, or the other models he might have come with.
There are some exceptions: Chalkies of course, and the early Semi-Glosses, who often have eyewhites. But those are just two corner pieces in an elaborate puzzle for which I have no reference picture.
Generally earlier models have three socks, but this three-socker has the lighter body tones and black halter of a model from the late 1970s or early 1980s. That makes sense, since he came with one of my more recent Man o’ Wars who was definitely a late 1970s/early 1980s piece.
Here’s the quick rundown of the details of the six Pacers now in my possession – and why this particular project might drive me insane in a way the Man o’ War project never will:
Gloss with Eyewhites: 3 stockings, black halter
Matte, small Blue Ribbon Sticker (1967/68): 3 stockings, red-brown halter
Matte in Gold Foil Sticker Box (1973): 4 stockings, red-brown halter
Matte (Christmas Gift 1974): 4 stockings, red-brown halter
Chalky (1973-1975): 4 stockings, brown halter
Matte Lighter variation (late 1970s/early 1980s): 3 stockings, black halter
There seems to be a logical progression in the middle, bracketed by what appear to be outliers. But I’ve also seen Matte versions of the 3 stocking with black halter that were obviously earlier than my lighter variant, but later than the Gloss.
But how much later? When? Argh!
Clearly, this means I need to buy more Pacers. Lucky for me, this guy – except in variations I already have, like the Chalky and the eyewhited Semi-Gloss – is still relatively cheap. For the time being.
5 comments:
There're are brown & red-brown halter versions? Awwww, shoot.
"Clearly, this means I need to buy more Pacers."
Yes. We all need more Pacers!
I'd love to see how glossy is glossy on a Pacer.
I kept almost all my Pacers in their myriad of colors, but in a moment of whatever sold my super super flat matte one. Regret it very much. Must. Buy. All. The. Pacers!
LOVE the Pacer mold.
What about the Pacer that was on eBay last year that had a RED halter and the white mailer box? It was definitely bright red- not red-brown. I wish I had saved the pic, as I didn't have the $$ to buy that beauty.
I don't know why people don't live show that mold- I think it's really nice.
I think the Pacer's main "fault" is that it is tippy and prone to falling over. Some are more stable than others, and I know you can heat the legs and tweak them a bit, but still, most would be a disaster at a live show, both in the ring and at your own table. You almost need to lay them down to prevent the domino effect.
That said, I DO like the mold and plan to customize at least one in the future! I will do some combination of tweaking the legs and plastic rods to make mine more stable.
I think another limit to this mold is that you can only do so much with a pacing horse, whereas other horses can show performance and such, but there are a lot of horses out there than only show halter, so I think that is only a minor reason you don't see them shown.
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