Different Shades of White

For your consideration and discussion today, an early and attractive Classic Arabian Family set:

These were a part of the same lot that brought me my “Famous Race Horses” set. Even though I knew they were in nicer-than-average condition when I bought them, I didn’t have any hesitation about their ultimate destination: the sales list. I have several examples of the Classic Arabian Family, and I really didn’t need another.

Until they arrived and I was able to inspect them in person, and darn it, they’re Chalky Plastic!

Well, the Stallion and the Mare are, but not the Foal. I found that a little amusing since it’s been my experience that the Foal is usually the easiest of the three to find as a Chalky.

It’s not unusual for Family sets to have “mixed” finishes: we tend to forget that each of these molds is a separate entity unto itself. One shot of plastic into a mold does not make an entire family, just the pieces of a single family member (usually two, but occasionally more if it has interchangeable ears, manes, tails or horns).

This is not a universal truth: I know some of the G1 Stablemates molds (at least) are “doubled up” and one shot can get you two different horses. But that’s a different subject for a different day.

Most of the Chalky Classic Arabians I’ve had over the years have been the basecoated type; Chalky Plastic ones are a little less common.

These were from that time period, however, when Cellulose Acetate was hard to come by, and Breyer was buying whatever they could get their hands on. That included a lot of batches of varying shades of whiteness and translucency, ranging from very bright white to housepaint-opaque.

These different shades of white might not have been as noticeable then, but they’ve become moreso over time, yellowing in different ways (if at all) from the standard semi-translucent stuff.

I’ll give myself a little more time to consider whether or not the set gets to stay, or have to go. That mare is so nice…