The Mahogany Bay PAS Of My Dreams

Now here, my dears, is one of the most beautiful Mahogany Bay Proud Arabian Stallions in the world:

He’s one of the early ones – the “*Witez II” version, ca. 1971-4, or thereabouts – with the neatly airbrushed hind socks. Everything about him in fact, is neatly and lovingly done, right down to the wisps of his mane.

Later Mahogany Bay Proud Arabian Stallions – particularly in the late 1970s – were not so carefully painted, and were especially prone to having fuzzy gray oversprayed socks. Among other things: the late 1970s were really and truly not the best of times for Breyer’s quality control.

It was a constant source of frustration to me my younger days, when I wanted to add a Mahogany Bay PAS to my herd. Then I started going to live shows and found that neatly painted, two-stocking versions did exist, and were just as awesome I had imagined, giving me hope that I’d finally get the Bay Proud Arabian Stallion of my dreams.

It wasn’t until recently that I finally – finally! – managed to acquire one that was all the things that I had hoped for: Beautifully shaded. Neatly painted. In near-perfect condition. And (relatively) cheap.

The hardest part wasn’t finding one – he was a fairly popular mold back then, as Breyer’s first Arabian Stallion who really looked like an Arabian Stallion, or at least the way we imagined them. On any given day on almost any part of the Internet, you’re going to find multiple Bay Proud Arabian Stallion for sale somewhere, and some of them are the early two-sock version.

The biggest issue is condition: these models weren’t just popular and played with, they were also dearly loved: held, cuddled, taken to bed and taken to school. The lightly textured finish that was another hallmark of these earliest pieces was very prone to rubbing, so many Proud Arabian Stallions bear the wounds of that well-meaning devotion.

So I went through a lot of these guys – until I found this guy.

The only problem now is that the hobby’s standards of Arabian beauty have changed. While he would have crushed the competition in the late 1980s, he’d only be competitive in Vintage and Collectibility classes today.

No matter. I love him anyway. And his buddy, too, who is next up in the queue...