Pretty Chestnuts

As you know, I’ve had a hard time warming up to the Dundee mold, but I think next year’s BreyerFest Celebration Horse is one I will keep: that is a very pretty shade of chestnut, and I do like minimal pintos:

I’ve been watching a lot archaeological documentaries lately (hello insomnia, my old friend), so when I hear the phrase “Athenian lady”, all I can think of is how the actual ladies of Ancient Athens were the opposite of empowered.

I know it’s just a play on one of the goddess’s many names and I am reading way too much into it; ‘tis the curse of being a history nerd. 

Her story is (fortunately) not as sentimental as a lot of horse stories tend to be. I am not immune to sentimentality, but The Hallmark Channel doesn’t get a lot of airtime in my house, either. 

(As far as the rescue angle is concerned – I am not touching that with a 50-foot pole and a Hazmat suit. All I will say on the matter publicly is that the enemy of your enemy is not your friend.)

I also really like the latest Test Run offering, who is also a lovely shade of chestnut with just a little bit of extra white:

I was just thinking that if I ever got the notion of entering another Collector’s Class at BreyerFest (definitely NOT next year!) I’d want to do a “Hooked on Classics” Test theme, especially since I have… a lot of Classic Test Colors. A documented “Archival” Test would made a very nice addition to that potential entry, since the rest of mine are technically undocumented. 

I’d also like something in Appaloosa and something in Gloss, too, for variety’s sake, but I also know those are even longer shots than this fellow.

Accessibility Issues

I am surprised that people are surprised that Brunhilde sold out in less than an hour. The collectibles market (in general) has not significantly abated, and even if it has, it always takes… quite a while for the rest of the hobby to catch on. 

The only limited-edition items that haven’t been immediately selling out are either the Classics or the Mare and Foal sets. The Classics are the least popular scale among active hobbyists, sometimes verging on the point of active antagonism: you have to jazz them up with gloss finishes, crazy color schemes, or multiple variations to sell them.

The problem with Mare and Foal sets is that there’s a misalignment of markets: these sets tend to appeal to kids and the parents who buy for them, and hence there’s some hesitancy to buy a premium or limited edition set that may well get played with.  

But yes, I got a Brunhilde; I managed to log in just before the e-mails landed in everyone’s in box, and I didn’t experience any of the technical difficulties that a lot of other hobbyists did a few minutes later. And I am so pleased about her color: this is the precise shade of Bay (sans dapples, because I suck at dappling) that I hope to achieve on that Mesteno custom I’ve been tinkering with, whenever I finally finish her:

She’ll also make me feel a little less guilty about selling off one of my other Wixoms: she’s a big girl, but according to my ongoing inventory, my heart already belongs to the original Big Butt Belgian. 

In other news, I missed the start of the Early Access Black Friday sale, and hence missed anything I would have considered purchasing: everything that was left I either already had or did not want. Considering all the sales items they’re currently throwing at us, I don’t have much else to complain about it, other than missing the thrill of logging on to see what was theoretically available to me.  

And finally, while I am not a huge fan of the Traditional Black Stallion mold, I really love the coloring on the Black Beauty release AA Omner, who the latest Test Run Purchase Raffle was obviously a Test for. I haven’t acquired one yet – it’s something I’ve been saving for in-person BreyerFest, and we haven’t had one of those in a couple years. I haven’t decided which variation I want, and I’m guessing I won’t know until I meet him. 

Tractor Supply 2017

This year’s Tractor Supply Specials offer an interesting contrast. We’ve got something old – the Traditional Running Black Beauty in Palomino, named Lakota:

Tractor Supply Link for Lakota

And something new – the Geronimo in an Aged Gray, named Jacy:

Tractor Supply Link for Jacy

(FYI: Neither one is technically available, yet. They are just on the TSC web site to get us all stirred up, obviously.)

Hobbyists tend to forget that the model-horse-buying public consists of more than just active hobbyists, and what the rest of the world likes and what we like rarely align.

Lakota is clearly designed with the rest of the model-horse-buying public in mind.

I see two big markets for Lakota. The first: someone who might feel nostalgic for the less sophisticated Breyers of their youth – he might not be popular now, but the original #89 Black Beauty had a pretty respectable ten-year run through most of the 1980s. The second: someone (young or old) who just wants a pretty palomino horse to gallop on their shelves, and for whom strict realism or accuracy is not that big a thing.

Jacy is a little more tailored to the active hobbyist market: a new mold fresh off a moderately well-received BreyerFest release, in a modest and realistic color. (The other widely available Geronimo is the Patinated Copper Decorator Bandera – an acquired taste, no disagreement there.)

If I were to buy one – this Fall is looking to be a bit of an expensive one for me, so the TSC SRs are a definitely not a priority here – the Lakota would get the nod. It’s not that I’m necessarily a huge fan of the mold (who is the very definition of a shelf hog) but the color looks lovely on him.

Like one of the 2010 Tractor Supply Specials – Templeton Thompson’s Jane, a solid Chestnut on the Stock Horse Mare mold – I fear I may be smitten once I see him. Darn it, Tractor Supply, why do you have to be right next door to the local Salvation Army store....

A Different Kind of Black Beauty

Next up: a Black Rabicano Sabino Yasmin, named Kaalee.

I haven’t seen the mold in person yet, but I am slightly obsessed with the breed she’s supposed to represent (Shagya Arabian), it’s an Eberl, and her paint job (designed by Lesli Kathman) is unique and interesting, so all signs so far point to her being a “Yes” here.

Kaalee is also very reminiscent of the original release of the Traditional #89 Black Beauty, except prettier and more correct. Allegedly she’s just as much as a shelf hog, but since I also collect the Pacer mold, I know how to deal if it becomes a deal.

Just when I thought I had made peace with my “just one ticket this year” rule. Sigh. Time to do some budget number crunching again…

I have nothing further to say about Kaalee or the Yasmin mold, other than noting that she’s the third of the last year’s three Premier Club molds in this year’s lineup. (And will make a mighty fine ladyfriend to Polaris!)

It’s good that they got the new Premier molds out of the way early for the sake of the Special Run speculations, I guess? Maybe that means the rest of the Specials will be on older molds, for balance?

While it’s pretty much a given that we’ll get the Elephant at some point, beyond that I’m going to stick to my minimal public speculating rule for the year. I’ll just go with the flow around and let it all be a surprise, more or less.

And how’s this for a surprise – I actually “won” a Wailua! It’s been two years since I’ve won a Web Special of any kind, so I was a bit gobsmacked when the e-mail showed up in my In Box. I only have the one official account and my luck is typically about average luck, but that dry streak was just starting to make me think otherwise.

The only downsides to winning are that I have to push the BreyerFest ticket buying two more weeks down the road, and I have to scale back some of my eBay bidding ambitions. (Darn it, and just when it was starting to get interesting there!)

The Necessity of Cliff Diving

More bodies from the local Salvation Army –

The Traditional Black Beauty was a nice one, by late 1970s/early 1980s standards: the cleanly masked star, good seams, not tippy at all, and has that attractive “dry matte” finish you don’t run across very often. And he’s the four-stocking version, earliest of the multiple variations of the long-running (1979-1988) #89 release.

But not rarest. The rarest would be the left foresock version, seen almost exclusively on his box:

This was not the first version of the box: the first version had the four stocking variation. It was one of the rare instances where Breyer actually updated the artwork on the box to more accurately reflect the horse inside. Somewhat, of course: while all subsequent Black Beauties did have a single sock, the placement varied. And very rarely appeared on the left fore. (How rare? I cannot remember the last time I saw one for sale.)

Alas, the previous owner took it upon her- or himself and “neatened” up the stockings with some nail polish remover – aka slightly watered down Acetone, which is the stuff they use to fuse freshly-molded pieces together to make fully functional Breyers. And so he goes, along with his dinged-up jumping friend, into the body box.

As much as the mold aggravates me – mostly because he’s such a shelf hog – he’s another one of those underappreciated Hess molds with a lot of customizing potential.

But not for me. The irony of my again-plentiful body box is that most of my creative efforts for the time being are of the sewing and quilting variety. Some clean and empty floor space made itself available in the house, and I want to take advantage of it while I can to finish a few of the bigger projects.  

The other project I have to focus on: making this Chasing the Chesapeake thing happen.

Yep, silly me bought a dang ticket.

My other rationalization for doing this – aside from all of the others I articulated earlier – was that I think I need to do this to get myself out of the personal funk I’ve found myself in this year.

My other Breyer-related travel has become almost routine. I’ve been to Kentucky enough that it almost feels like my second residence, and last year’s Event was my fifth trip to the Chicago area. But I’ve been to the East Coast exactly once – back in 1992, again for a Breyer-thing – and all the travel arrangements were made for me then.

Other than it being also a Breyer-thing, this is going to be an entirely new experience for me, almost from the ground up. Drive or Fly? Roommates? Travel companions? None of this is set in stone. I’m not quite sure where to even begin.

It’s both thrilling and terrifying, like diving off a cliff.

(IOW yes, I’m looking for roommates and travel companions. Blab me, e-mail me, comment below if you have any help to offer in these areas.)

Mostly Black

Why yes, there are quite a few solid black Breyer releases on tap for 2016:

• Dag Dia (BreyerFest SR Brishen) 
• Carltonlima Emma (the new Fell Pony)
• Cortes C (Carrick)
• Cherry Creek Fonzie Merit (Adios)
• Rhapsody in Black (Weather Girl)

Add the following earlier Traditionals, still current:

• Magic (Miniature Horse from the Magic and Hamlet set)
• Classic Shire (from the set)
• Welsh Cob (Llanarth True Briton)
• Totilas

Throw in several more recently discontinued items like the AQHA Horse, and models in other scales, and it makes you think: wow, Reeves must have gotten some deal on black paint recently, eh?

I think it’s more coincidence than planning. Mostly.

Black horses had a strong pull on the imagination of horse lovers long before the publication of Black Beauty in 1877. Black in and of itself is visually striking: in a herd of Bays and Chestnuts, the Blacks will stand out. It doesn’t hurt that it also has the cachet of being a relatively rare color too, genetically speaking.

It is an easy and inexpensive color to paint, and very flattering on molds with strong and pleasing contours, like the Adios.

With all other factors being equal, Black will tend to get the nod over something slightly more common, like Chestnut or Bay. Throw in a few popular or trendy breeds that either specify or favor Black (like the Friesian, and the Fell) and there you go: a Mostly Black lineup for 2016.

Speaking of Adios: not counting Roans, Grays or Tests, the Cherry Creek Fonzie Merit release represents the first true unmodified Solid Matte Black Adios Production Run. The closest we came previously was the striking Dark Mahogany Bay #853 Mesa, released in 1991-1992.

The “Special Run” Black Adioses of the 1980s that get spoken of with some frequency in hobby circles were more a collection of similar Samples, Tests, and Gifts than a true or formal Special Run, and as far as I can remember were never advertised as such, either.

I certainly wouldn’t argue its technical or legal status if one was offered to me, though!

Prune Brown

Head’s up: I’ll be starting to sell stuff again within the next week or so. The outdoor flea market season opens soon here, and I will need some walking-around-money for that.

The Special Run we thought would be a vintage model turned out to be the Croi Damsha in Dappled Sooty Palomino: it’s the very antithesis of a Vintage Model. Huh. I wasn’t expecting another release on that mold until the Fall.

You know, from a distance, in passing, and if I wasn’t wearing my glasses, a Palomino Croi Damsha could pass for a Palomino Family Arabian Stallion. There’s that, at least.

(Hmm. A Reissue Palomino FAS in Dappled Sooty Palomino. I had not considered that a possibility until now.)

The final model in the Ticket Special Lineup will be a Gloss Dappled Rose Gray Wixom, if the rotating banners on the Breyer web site are to be believed. (A Percheron, finally!) Unless it turns out to be a different kind of something, like a Store or Souvenir Special.

Regardless of what she is, I doubt her inclusion there is an accident. It feels more like a way to drum up interest for the last weekend of Early Bird Ticket sales: Let’s drop a previously unknown/unseen Gloss Special Run on the front page!

Back on topic. Here are a couple of actual Vintage Models: a pair of Western Ponies in Dark Brown and Black Beauty:

The Dark Brown variation is comparatively rare; it appears that it was only issued ca. 1956, or shortly after the discontinuation of the Davy Crockett Horse and Rider set. It really was listed as "Dark Brown" on at least one piece of ephemera from the era, so it was a genuine release, and not a variation.

My theory for its existence - and relative rarity - is that the #40 Dark Brown release was created to help use up the "Plum Brown" acetate that was purchased for the manufacture of the Davy Crockett Horse and Rider set. The Davy Crockett fad faded almost as quickly as it rose, and Breyer may have been stuck with a load or two of Plum Brown plastic.

But not too much: the Brown Western Ponies aren’t easy to find today, and (as far as I know) there aren’t any other Plum Brown models floating around, other than the Fury/Prancers. The "Brown and Gold" Western Horses that occasionally cause a stir on eBay are just early (and not very good) knockoffs.

The color of the Brown Western Pony is dark enough that in the right setting and the right lighting, it’s almost indistinguishable from the Star-faced Black Beauty, so it might be slightly more common than we actually think. And the Star-faced Black Beauty slightly more rare.

Through the 1950s and early 1960s, Breyer seemed to have an "as above, so below" policy when it came to the Western Horses and Ponies. Except for the Dark Brown - and the Star-faced Black Beauty Ponies, who share the same item number. That, and their decorative similarities lead us to the conclusion that the Star-faced Black Beauty Western Ponies were the variation - of the Dark Brown, created when the Plum Brown plastic finally ran out.  

Due to the ephemera gaps of the 1950s, we can’t be sure when the transition happened. It was somewhere between 1956 and 1958, since the No. 40 Western Pony is listed on a 1958 dated price list - and is shown in a ca. 1958 Dealer Catalog - as "Black Beauty". I tend to believe it was earlier rather than later, hence my "ca. 1956" dating.

On a final note, I have to admit that I snicker a little bit every time I see or hear the term "Plum Brown" used to describe this brown plastic we’ve been discussing today. "Plum Brown" has always struck me as a very pleasant euphemism for the word "Prune".

We’re very fond of describing horse colors using food words: Olive Bay, Mulberry Gray, and Peach Dun. But Prune Brown? It doesn't sound quite so yummy.

Rock On, Lobster

Just a little something today; a long-delayed project decided it needed to be done yesterday, and it threw my weekend plans completely off course.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the care and thought that’s been put selection of the colors, molds and motifs in the Zodiac series. This series has been a long time in development, and it shows. So much so that unlike the Blossoms, I have been giving some serious thought into buying the entire series.

Okay, I’m not thrilled that "my" horse (Taurus) is pink, again, but at least they jazzed him up a bit with some pleasing bronzy highlights, and a slightly naughty-looking bull:

The one model in this series that did give me a bit of a giggle fit was Cancer, on the popular Black Beauty mold:

What’s up with the lobster? Sure, they’re both crustaceans, but a lobster is not a crab.

This faux pas is not enough to dissuade me from potentially buying the series; my arch-nemeses time, space and money will be the more likely culprits there. But it is kinda funny: even in a series where every detail was obviously labored over, mistakes still happened.

You’ve probably heard the saying Perfect is the enemy of the good. There’s a tendency in this hobby towards perfectionism: the notion that model horses are somehow perfectible in a way real horses are not, and that nothing short of absolutely perfect is acceptable, either on the shelf or in the show ring.

It’s not a healthy idea, nor an achievable one. Aside from the philosophical problem - what constitutes perfect, exactly? - perfection is boring. If everything were perfect, there’d be nothing to talk about.

We should strive for better, instead: better is always doable. 

Some mistakes are groaners, but sometimes mistakes are just…funny. Cancer’s butt lobster is funny. And in its own way, endearing.

(I can’t believe I just wrote the phrase "Cancer's butt lobster".)

Factory Tour, 1986

Wrapping up some old business here, so it’s going to be more show than tell today.

But the pictures are worth it. Presenting - a Breyer Factory Tour ca. 1986!

From Marney’s files, of course. They’re all in black in white, so I’m assuming that they may have been taken for future reference or use in an article or feature. When I had my first article published in Just About Horses in 1985, I recall, photographic submissions had to be in Black and White.

Here are the painting booths, awaiting fresh victims:

First ones up in the factory - the Traditional Black Beauty! The story I heard was that the first models Reeves manufactured fully under their aegis were the #89 Traditional Black Beauties, so it’s possible they may be them. There are no notes on any of these photos anywhere, so I can’t be sure.

There’s also no way of knowing/distinguishing those early Reeves Black Beauties from the thousands that roam the Earth today. Quality control was a bit of an issue in those days, and seams were a little rougher than they should have been, but that’s about it.

Here’s the warehouse:

I work in inventory services, so this is a sight I see often - though the boxes in my case are usually filled with car parts, electronics, or paper towels. Be still my heart - is that a case of Polled Hereford Bulls (#74) down front? I think we’re going to need to ask for a SKU check and run a variance report on that…

Here’s what I’m assuming is the packaging/fulfillment area. Among the sights I see are Phar Lap, the Lying Down Unicorn, Stormy, the Bay Shetland, the Family Foal, the Black Beauty Family, and some Corrals down front:

Ah, the mysteries contained in those freshly wrapped shrinkwrapped boxes! You both knew - and didn’t know - what you were purchasing. The box would say "Phar Lap" - but would he be awesome, or awful? It was like a retail version of Schrödinger's cat.

And here’s my favorite picture of the group:

I had no idea Ron Burgundy had a brother who worked for Reeves. Huh.

No actually, that’s Tony Fleischmann. They have plenty of awkward and slightly embarrassing pictures of me in their files, so having one picture in my files brings a little more karmic balance to the universe.

Breyercano!

I must be going through one of my periodic personal system crashes; in addition to the back pain, nausea and allergic reactions, I spent most of Wednesday incapacitated by the Worst. Migraine. Ever.

My ears are still ringing somewhat, but at least I can stand up and walk a (more or less) straight line. And food tastes like food again!

This next model I am featuring may seem like an odd choice, considering all of the things I picked up in the "Ninja Pit of Death" this year. It’s a Sample Black Beauty, from one of this year’s Walmart "Sunshine Meadows" Special Run sets:

There had to have been at least one example of each of these sets in the Sample Boxes. I grabbed the one that I wanted, and left the rest behind for the more dedicated Classics collectors among us, because I know how you guys are. (Though I wouldn’t have turned down the Silver Bay Keen if I had seen him, either.)

The reason why I'm spotlighting him: in case you haven’t already heard, those Special Run sets are now being distributed throughout Walmarts in the United States, and not just in select stores in the Upper Midwest. Every Walmart I’ve stopped at in the past two weeks has had a selection - some more complete than others.

(NOTE: I am in Southeast Lower Michigan. The Shelby Township store at 23 Mile Road and Van Dyke store had the biggest and best, if you’re on the prowl.)

It was hard to resist the urge to grab a shopping cart, shove everything off the shelves into said cart, and make a mad dash to the cash registers at the first store I stopped at. It was only a couple days after I had gotten back from Kentucky, so I think I was still in Ninja shopping mode at that point.

What stopped me was that I remembered that I still hadn’t entirely dealt with the "Breyercano" eruption in my office yet:

(Note: this is only about half of it - excluding the pickups, Stablemates, and various still-unbagged ticket line items. Sigh. I was so bad this year. But according to my very rough calculations, apparently on budget! Woo-hoo!)

There were even some boxed Walmart sets in the Pit, too, but they got lost in the shuffle, for the most part. We were all too distracted by other boxed items, including those mysterious "Are they or aren’t they?" Regular Run models with Special Run rumbers that baffled us all weekend. (You might have already spied a Huck in the photo above: more on those, next time.)

Head's Up

My schedule for the next two weeks is totally crazy - I think I’ll end up with more hours next week than in the past two weeks combined. This is more of a head’s up than a complaint, though: it’s just that posts over the next two weeks might be somewhat irregular either in timing, or quality.

(In case you find yourself wondering "What on Earth is she posting about at 3 a.m. - on a Wednesday?")

We’re now starting to see more upcoming goodies from BreyerFest, via the Breyer booth at Equine Affaire. Newly revealed items include the One-Day Stablemates, and another of the Line Ticket SRs, a Bay Roan Sabino Cleveland Bay named Tunbridge Wells:

http://www.modelhorseblab.com/forums/showthread.php?131882-Equine-Affaire/page8

(The good stuff starts on Page 8, with more pictures on following pages.)

Technically, the Cleveland Bay isn’t really "new": he’s another one of those SRs that was leaked early. He’s nice, though awfully reminiscent of last year’s Raffle Horse King Arthur. Theoretically he should be pushing all my buttons - a Cleveland Bay, in a Roan Sabino! - but I’m just not feeling the love for him that everyone else does. (Though it is nice to see that some of the Negative Nellies are showing some interest in him, for a change.)

The One-Day Stablemates are all Gloss Drafts, named after different beers ("drafts" - get it?) The G2 Draft, the G3 Belgian and Friesian, and the G4 Vaulting Horse, all in various shades of gloss pintos. (The G4 "Carling" is my favorite!) They seem to be going over pretty well, too - hard to go wrong with glossy pinto draft horses.

(It’s the same reasoning I’m using to justify my opinion of the SR Pinto Shire "Cheerio".)

There’s also going to be another Gambler’s Choice model, but Reeves is being coy about it, as usual. We’ll get a better idea of the potential candidates once we learn the "name" of this special, but I’m hoping for something ponyish, like a Shetland, a Bouncer or a Newsworthy (especially if it’s the loose-maned version.)

There were also previews of two items that will be exclusive to the "British-themed Souvenir Shop" they’ve been hinting at in the promotional literature: a "Black Beauty" on the small resin Lexington mold, and "Union Jack", a Translucent Classic Ruffian painted with …a Union Jack. Weird, but kinda cool - and very reminiscent of the WEG Commemorative Horse.

When I first heard mention of this Souvenir Shop, I was a little concerned that they’d be pulling that kind of stunt on us - more super-limited items being sold at a second location, simultaneous (?) to the NPOD? Scary!

I’m not all that worried about the Black Beauty - I got issues with both resins, and Black Beauty - but I’m thinking I might need that Ruffian. (How limited is "limited"? 50? 100? 500?) There’s also the possibility that they might pull a "WEG" on us and dump some super-limited SRs in that location as well.

There’s absolutely no indication of that yet, but I got a funny feeling we shouldn’t rule anything out this year.

The Original Black Beauty

I have a small confession to make: I don’t like Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty. Most of my attempts to read it ended with me throwing my copy against the nearest wall. It’s not something I normally do with any book that displeases me, so I’ll just chalk it up to my low tolerance for Victorian sentimentality.

When you grow up in an environment encrusted with Victoriana, you either learn to love that particular aesthetic, or ignore it … and I don’t love it. I’m more of a gee-whiz, streamlined, hope-for-a-better-future Art Deco gal. (A bit of a contradiction for someone who researches history, I know.)

On the other hand, I do like Breyer’s early Black Beauties: not the seemingly endless reissues and reinterpretations of the horse from the book, but the color itself.

The color "Black Beauty" first appeared in the ca. 1953 catalog sheets, in reference to the Western Horse and Pony: the Western Horse is #58, and the Western Pony is #44. By 1958, the number on the Western Pony changes to #40, the Western Horse disappears completely, and the Fury/Prancer is now listed as being available in this color. From the 1958 price list:


The term is not used as a color descriptor, but as a proper name. Here’s another part of that 1958 price list that clarifies this point: the model doesn’t come in "Black Beauty," it is Black Beauty:


The Black Beauty terminology is dropped in the 1960 Dealer’s Catalog, and the color simply becomes "Black." The Western Horse reappears in this color, too, as #50. A Mission Supply House mailer from ca. 1961 still refers to all three as "Black Beauty," but Red Bird Sales pages from roughly the same time period call them "Black."

Confused yet? It gets worse: there are at least three different variations of this color!

The earliest "Black Beauties" - the #44 Pony, and the #58 Horse - were solid, glossy black plastic, with metallic gold hooves and trim. The Prancer never came in this variation, as far as I know. It may have been discontinued by 1955, but it’s difficult to tell precisely due to the lack of paper evidence.


The second version of "Black Beauty" was the version I discussed in my last post, with four white stockings, gray hooves, and a masked star or blaze. Only the Western Pony and the Fury/Prancer came in this color. Since the #27 Fury has nearly the same paint job as the #P40 Black Beauty Prancer, it can be hard to distinguish between the two. Black Fury/Prancers are usually only identified as #P40 Prancers if they still have their original chain reins and western saddles.

Both the Western Pony and the Fury/Prancer were used in Horse and Rider sets in this color, adding to the confusion. Some of the Horse and Rider set Fury/Prancers had the wider, Davy Crockett Horse blazes, but not all. This variation appears in the 1958 Dealer’s Catalog.

Dating this color variation is very difficult, especially since they share the same issue number - and markings - as the Plum Browns. The Plum Browns predate the Blacks, and probably "evolved" into the Black Beauties once they ran out of the colored acetate: all they had to do was change the name on the pricelist, and carry on.

All three models came in the third and final version of "Black Beauty." This color is quite distinctive, and in my opinion is the most attractive of the three: bald face, 4 stockings, a white tail tip, and silver trim on the saddle and molded on tack:


This color also varies the most of the three: the markings can be white plastic, or overpainted, or some combination of the two; handpainted eyewhites are also sometimes seen.

A Western Horse in this variation appears in the 1960 Montgomery Wards catalog; it’s possible that they may have started manufacturing it up to a year earlier, but until more evidence shows up, we can never really know for sure.

The same can be said for their discontinuation dates: all we have are rough boundaries here. They all appear in the ca. 1960 Dealer’s Catalog, and are all gone from the 1963 Dealer’s Catalog. I’m pretty sure the Fury/Prancer mold, with the exception of Fury himself, was discontinued in 1961. But according to the Red Bird Sales pages, the Western Horse was still available in 1962.

All three variations are fairly rare; I’ve been told that the solid blacks are the rarest of the three, but it’s hard for me to judge. I purchased a primo pair back in 1980 (one of my earliest "hobby" purchases) and consequently haven’t paid too much attention to their market prices.

I’ve had the most trouble finding the silver-tipped third version, but I think that’s mostly an issue of condition, not availability. Since most third version models were molded in white plastic, and not black, rubs are just more prevalent - or noticeable.