Pretty excited about this little bag of mostly Hartland Tinymites!
I’m hoping there are at least some upgrades in here somewhere. (I see no Barkies, alas. I really need more Barkies!) If not, I’ll still have fun cleaning them up and sorting them out for the sales list.
Yes, I am a dork. Is that even a question?
Here’s the other item that came with it, a lovely early Alabaster Proud Arabian Stallion with extra shading. He’s not perfect-perfect, but he’s pretty close, and I couldn’t argue with his price one bit:
That now means I have examples of the Proud Arabian Stallion in all three of his original release colors in acceptable – or more than acceptable – condition.
That is not the case with the Proud Arabian Mare, and I doubt it ever will be. I find that bothersome, but not enough to spend the extra money to change that. I’ll find them at a price I’m comfortable with, and not a moment sooner.
(I have a lovely Dapple Gray, an adequate Mahogany Bay, and nicely shaded but battered Alabaster. And let’s not even discuss the Chalky variations…)
As I’ve mentioned several times before, vintage Alabasters are notoriously difficult to find in good condition, and the Proud Arabians are no exception. Considering the popularity of those molds in the 1970s, maybe even moreso!
I can’t count how many Alabaster Proud Arabian Stallions I’ve had in my collecting lifetime, but it’s been a lot, and they’ve come with the full gamut of problems: heavily yellowed, rubs, chipped ears, weird paint flaws, or (most commonly) scuffs galore.
I also wanted an earlier example, rather than a later one: ones manufactured near the end of his production run in 1981 only had a bit of shading on the mane, tail, head and hooves. Very early examples – like the new guy – obviously have significantly more.
The new guy isn’t quite as heavily shaded as some I’ve seen, but other than that (and a few stray marks) I have nothing to complain about. And he’s so white, he nearly glows! I am very happy to have made an exception for him.
I also bought some Stablemates and a few random accessories (socks and blankets) from Breyer’s Black Friday sale: combined with a new mini Shop Vac I purchased in a store on actual Black Friday (half price!), that will probably comprise my Christmas Gift to myself this year.
3 comments:
Very interesting. I was 11 when the PAS came out, so I saw him from the beginning, but I do not remember such terrific shading on an alabaster. I got a very white one in the early 80s, with great gray stripes thru the mane and tail, and still love him. I am rather worried by the yellowish spots on yours (upper near neck); try rubbing alcohol if you can't get them off with soap and water. Rubbing alc is a weak solvent and if used lightly and quickly shouldn't hurt the paint.
My alabaster PAS also has the weird gray stripes in his mane and tail.
I had an early alabaster PAS and he was one of the few of my carpet herd to suffer a broken leg. I think I rehomed him as a body some time back, after I found a dapple gray to match my PAM.
Congrats on finding yours!
Betsy in WI
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