Variation Spotlight: #5047 Quarter Horse Stallion

Regular Run Assortment

#5047 Quarter Horse Stallion

1976-87

Footnotes: It's All Just a Popularity Contest - Breaking Down G1 Mold Usage

The graphs are back! This time we're having a look at which molds are the most commonly used, and breaking down the regular run and special run numbers.

Total Mold Usage:

Conga! G1 Silky Sullivan

The original ceramic Hagen-Renaker mold, #30 Mini Silky Sullivan³⁹, was sculpted by Maureen Love Calvert, and leased from the company by Breyer for production in plastic. The Silky Sullivan mold was released in 1976 and was discontinued along with the other Generation One molds at the end of 2005.

During this time, Breyer released five regular runs and nine special runs on this mold, putting him in a three-way tie with Citation and the Thoroughbred Mare for the third least used G1 Mold.

Footnotes: Not Just for Blackboards - Chalky Stablemates

If you've been around collectors for any length of time, you've likely heard someone mention finding or looking for chalkies. No, they're not searching for sidewalk art, they're talking about a special class of variations. Chalkies first appeared during the oil-crisis of the 1970s when Breyer was experimenting with different plastics. Modern chalkies (post-1970s) are either intentional or the result of further plastic experimentation. There are two types of models which fall under the chalky umbrella: base-coat chalky and chalky plastic chalky.

Identifying chalkies, especially from pictures, can be difficult. Even for experienced collectors there's a certain amount of guesswork and luck involved. The Virtual Chalky Museum has a brilliant FAQ to help with identification. A model with any of the following characteristics may not be a chalky while conversely, a model without them might be chalky. If your model ticks more than one box, there's a better chance of him being a chalky. Characteristics to look for include:

Models and pictures owned by Sharon Walbridge and Damaia and used here by permission

White "halo" around rubs & speckled "roaning" effect to coloured paint

Variation Gallery: G1 Thoroughbred Foals #5701

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5701 Thoroughbred Lying and Standing Foals

1975-76

Look-Alike: G1 Seabiscuit

The G1 Seabiscuit had a whole lot of brown going on which made for quite a few look-alikes.



The top row consists entirely of variations of the original Seabiscuit release. Colour ranged from light to dark, semi-gloss to matte, none to four leg markings, and the bay coat could be gold, tan, or red toned. All models were made with old plastic.

#1 looks as if it could be an original Seabiscuit variation, except for one small detail, this 1996 JCPenney special run is made with new plastic.

Numbers two and three are basically the same model: one was released as a Blockbuster special run and the other as a regular run in 2003. There really isn't a way to tell them apart as they were painted in batches at the factory and randomly packaged as either the RR or SR. The reason they look a lot like the Seabiscuits above is that they were the modern Seabiscuit release produced to capitalize on the popular new movie.

The bottom three models are all a shade of chestnut. #4 is shown in the catalogue as a highly glossy, I am not sure if matte variations exist as I have never seen one. This 1997 new plastic SR should be a dark red-brown chestnut with darker points and hind socks. My model is translucent, though opaque models probably exist.

Number five is the only old plastic chestnut, the 1989 Sears SR. The mane and tail should be darker than the brick red body and the model should be no white markings.

The leg markings on number six can vary quite a bit. My model shown here has very high whites while the leg markings on my other model are very low and vague. The chestnut colour of this new plastic Regular Run is much more orange than the others and is generally better shaded.




Though both the grey releases on the G1 Seabiscuit mold are new plastic special runs, there is really no confusing them. The 1992/94 Sears/JCPenney special run on the left is a cool-toned, rather stark alabaster while the 1998 Sears special run is a warm-toned, nicely shaded chestnut going grey.

Variation Spotlight: G1 Citation #710695

JCPenney Special Run

#710695 Set of 12 Miniatures

1995

The splatter technique used to put spots on the blankets of these appaloosas ensures that each model is slightly different from the others in the run.

Conga! G1 Seabiscuit

The original ceramic Hagen-Renaker mold, #10 Mini Seabiscuit³⁸, was sculpted by Maureen Love Calvert, and leased from the company by Breyer for production in plastic. The Seabiscuit mold was released in 1976 and was discontinued along with the other Generation One molds at the end of 2005.

During this time, Breyer released five regular runs and eleven special runs on this mold, making him one of the middle runners in the G1 mold popularity contest.

Play Set: Virtual Ponies - Multi-Media Swaps

From time to time models pop up in some unexpected places, sometimes as a result of Breyer specifically producing models for a collaborative product release, at others a company may utilize standard issue models for use with their products. Our model today is an example of the former.

In late 1996 Breyer teamed up with Inroads Interactive to produce a CD ROM and model horse set.

Model and picture owned by Deb Walsmith and used here by permission.

Singles: BreyerFest Goodies - Keychains!

The first four BreyerFest events (1990-1993) only featured the celebration model, a raffle model, and some test runs which were auctioned for charity; the volunteers at the 1993 BreyerFest were given special models for the first time. In 1994 collectors were treated to something new - BreyerFest special runs!³⁷

At a time when the Stablemate line was being produced in China in new plastic, these special models were made of old plastic in New Jersey³⁶. Gold-coloured key-chains with little metal Breyer logo fobs were added to G1 Standing and Lying Thoroughbred Foals, creating the first Breyer key-chains.

Models and pictures owned by Deb Walsmith and used here by permission.
Some collectors prefer to remove the key-chain hardware for aesthetic reasons or for easier display

Variation Gallery: G1 Silky Sullivan #5022

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5022 Silky Sullivan

1976-94

Look-Alikes: G1 Saddlebred

The G1 Saddlebred doesn't have many look-alikes, and the only pairs with similar colours are quite easy to tell apart in practice. The basic identifying characteristics are the same for both look-alike colours - old plastic vs. new plastic, unpainted ribbons vs. painted ribbons, regular run vs. special run.

Variation Spotlight: Draft Horse #5180

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5180 Draft Horse

1989-94

Like other randomly patterned runs, each #5180 is unique. Variations in shade and dapple placement and quantity are completely random, but within this chaos two distinct dapple types do exist. Older models will have 'splatter' dapples which are created through a grease-resist technique. Newer models were painted using a water-resist method which results in 'bubble' dapples.

Conga! G1 Saddlebred

The original ceramic Hagen-Renaker mold, #458 Mini American Saddlebred³⁴, was sculpted by Maureen Love Calvert, and leased from the company by Breyer for production in plastic. The Saddlebred mold was released in 1975 and was discontinued along with the other Generation One molds at the end of 2005.

During this time, Breyer released six regular runs and thirteen special runs on this mold, making him the fourth most used G1 mold. Only one old plastic special run was produced, the regular run #5110 included in the 1989 Sears set..

Variation Gallery: G1 Thoroughbred Mare #5183

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5183 Thoroughbred Mare

1995-97

Singles: The Stablemate Grails - Early Special Runs

Though collectors have been drooling over hard to find models such as the Riegsecker G1 Draft Horses for longer, the three special runs in today's post are older and even harder to find - we just didn't know about them until relatively recently.

Before the dawn of the internets, collectors only found out about the smaller, more obscure special runs through word of mouth or by being fortunate enough to read the right magazines and newsletters. Breyer did, and still does, release small numbers of special runs for an audience other than the greater collecting community, so if you aren't in the know, it can be hard to keep up.

Some examples of the early runs began coming to light as the Breyer events got bigger and more popular, and information became more widely disseminated as Breyer collectors got online and started comparing notes. Now it's possible to get the latest model news as it breaks via Facebook and the assorted forums which have sprung up.

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Model and picture owned by PolarVrtX and used here by permission.

A metal G1 Saddlebred? Is this a knock off, a custom, or could it be original finish?! It turns out that in 1975 Breyer commissioned an outside company to create 1,000 of electroplated G1 Saddlebreds to celebrate their silver anniversary ³⁴ and probably to announce the introduction of the stablemate line. These were given away as promotional items in silver boxes with purple inserts.³⁴

The first BreyerFest auction in 1990 featured one of these silver models; the auction card confirmed the production numbers and the 1990 Nov./Dec. Just About Horses described the distribution method.³⁴ It is probable the existence of these models wasn't widely known until the 1990 auction and JAH mention.

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Model and picture owned by Deb Walsmith and used here by permission.

Almost as difficult to find, especially complete with his base, is this little conversation starter - Emperor Gold Bar and his 'Genuine horse-hockey'. Yes, you've got that right, he originally came with real horse poo!

Production quantity is unknown and dates for this release are uncertain - they're generally listed as 1975-85. A collector bought one example from a seller who stated they had purchased the model some time in 1975 and another collector found an ad in a 1980 issue of Horse of Course! magazine in 1994, at which time it was brought to Nancy Young's attention.¹⁷

No one seems to have any idea why the owner of Emperor Gold Bar or Breyer would choose the G1 Arabian Stallion for this run as the horse it was representing was actually a Quarter Horse. The palomino stallion came mounted on top of a clear resin base containing a small piece of horse poo. He came with a hang-tag reading:

Front: Genuine 'Horse-Hockey' By 'Emperor's Gold Bar' A.Q.H.A. Reg. No. 786615

Inside: Great grandson of world-famous 'Three Bars,' and one of the most beautiful racing bred stallions in the world. Declared undisputed world equine tetherball champion in 1971 and still holds claim to that title today. Emperor is sometimes referred to as the 'million dollar lover' since his advertised breeding fee is a whopping $1,000,000,000 [sic].
Space-Age Products
Tolleson, AZ ¹⁷

The ad found in Horse of Course! read:

Emperor's Gold Bar is the beautiful racing bred stallion who's[sic] advertised breeding fee soared to an incredible one-million dollars!!!! Now you can own a piece of this Gorgeous Palomino stallion. Genuine 'horse-hockey' from Emperor's stall artistically entombed in transparent plastic. Atop is a solid detailed statue of Emperor.
The Conversation piece of the century, and the perfect gift. Order Now While Supply Lasts.
$8.50
The Clements Co.
Guntersville, AL ¹⁷

As famous as this horse seems to have been, I haven't been able to find anything on him with a Google search or through AllBreed. I'm sure the AQHA pedigree database would bring up his record, but I'm not curious enough to purchase a membership.

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Pancho in matte and satin finish
Model & picture owned by Deb Walsmith & used by permission. Model & picture owned by Elizabeth Emswiler & used by permission.
Even later to the party was the special run G1 Quarter Horse Stallion sold by the Chincoteague Miniature Pony Farm, home of the descendants of Misty of Chincoteague. This little black horse was commissioned to represent Pancho, one of the farm's performing Miniature Horses. In the act, these Minis were billed as different breeds, Pancho was their star "Quarter Horse".

These models are reputed to have been in production since the 70s, based on the release dates of the mold, 1976 is probably the earliest date they could have appeared. According to the owner of the shop, less than 1,000 models were produced.³⁵

In the late 80s or early 90s two collectors purchased a quantity of these models from the shop at the pony farm during their holiday on the island. Some of these were offered for sale at the 1997 BreyerFest at which time the hobby at large became aware of the run. The rest were offered later in 1998. Other collectors then came forward with examples which had been purchased in 1982/83.³⁵

It is uncertain how long these models were produced, but with their relatively small production number, it is likely that they were purchased from Breyer in one batch and were sold from the shop for a period of years before the supply ran out.

Model, items & picture owned by Amy Widman & used here by permission.

How exactly these models were packaged is unknown, but some examples are accompanied by a few other souvenirs from the shop, namely a sheet of puffy stickers representing ponies from the farm and a postcard featuring Pancho in front of the iconic Chincoteague Pony Farm barn surrounded by adoring fans.


Chincoteague Miniature Pony Farm postcards
Many, many postcards have been printed by the farm with pictures of Misty and her family and friends. A surprising number of different Pancho cards can be found.

Pancho retiring to his barn in 1985 after a performance.
Picture taken by Eleda and used here by permission.

A history of the Chincoteague Miniature Pony Farm and pictures of the ponies can be found at Misty's Heaven.

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Many thanks to PolarVrtX, Deb Walsmith, Elizabeth Emswiler, Amy Widman, and Eleda at Triple Mountain for providing pictures of these rarities from their collections!

Variation Spotlight: G1 Morgan Mare #5185

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5185 Morgan Mare

1995-97

Though the box and dealer catalogues show #5185 with a near-hind stocking, models with four solid legs were found right off the bat. I don't know what the production break-down on this particular variation is, but both seem fairly easy to find.

Look-Alikes: G1 Quarter Horse Stallion

Though this mold has a few look-alikes, none of them are particularly challenging.



The chestnut at the top is the regular run #5046. He only came in old plastic, is typically of a lighter and more orange-toned shade, grey hooves, and a mane and tail which is darker than the body. As this model was only available late 1975-76, the detail is much finer than the later releases on this mold.

The 1995 JCPenney special run below is a darker, redder chestnut than the regular run. He was only made with new plastic and has the loss of detail and mold deformities typical of the later releases. He also usually has four socks and pale to white hooves.




Often a bright lemon, though more realistic yellow-tan models can be found, the regular run #5045 palomino Quarter Horse Stallion was always made with the old plastic. He usually had a solid face and a off-hind stocking. Over-sprayed mane and tail were more common than not.

Also a regular run, but made with new plastic this time, 'Pumpkin' from the #10103 Seabiscuit Stablemates Three Piece Gift Set was a paler, more realistic shade of palomino than his predecessor. With the new masking techniques, the markings on this run were remarkably consistent compared to earlier runs. These models should have a crisp star, blaze, snip combo, near-side stockings, off-side socks, and bright white mane and tail. Of course, there probably are variations out there.



There are two distinctly buckskin releases on this mold and one which sits on the fence between bay and buckskin.

The top left model is regular run #5047. He is a nice golden buckskin, often with an off-hind sock, but can be found with a wide variety of leg markings, both distinct and vague (mine has a distinct off-hind stocking and three vague-socks). The quickest way to tell this run from the others is to perform the clunk test as these models are always old plastic.

The 1996 JCPenney special run on the bottom row is similar in colour to the regular run, but is always new plastic and often has a sooty cast to his coat. He should have an off-hind stocking, often paired with a near-hind leg marking, but as you can see, sockless examples exist.

On his own or with other bay models, the 1995-97 regular run #5186 Quarter Horse Stallion to the upper right can look like a dark buckskin, but when you place him with the other buckskins, he looks more like a bay. He is always new plastic and should be without any markings.



The #5186 regular run is back. Standing down on the bottom-right in the bay line-up he looks more like a dark buckskin or a sandy bay.

The only old plastic representative in this quartet is the regular run  #3085 from the Stable Set in the upper-left corner. This guy can range from a deep, dark bay to a lighter red bay. The colour does stay fairly dark and red-toned. Leg markings can vary from none to four and rumors of facial markings are out there. Matte to glossy finishes are frequently found.

In the upper-right corner is the other regular run, #5210 English Rider and American Quarter Horse from 2005. This model is usually matte to satin in finish and is always new plastic. He should be a nicely shaded red-bay with a big splotch of a star with a little trailing tail, hind pasterns, and tan coloured hooves on the marked legs. The paint on the hooves of my model appears rather heavy; I'm not sure if this is typical of the run.

Lighter and more brown-toned than the others is the new plastic 1998 Sears special run. In addition to his four sporty little socks and tan coloured hooves, a model from this run should have a sprinkling of lavender or robin egg blue spots over his haunches. These spots are almost so fine as to be called a mist and at first collectors assumed they were a mistake.

Variation Spotlight: G1 Citation #495092 & #711094

Sears Special Run

#495092 Stablemate Assortment IV

1992
&

JCPenney Special Run

#711094 12-Piece Stablemates Set

1994

Last month we saw the chestnut leopard appaloosa G1 Quarter Horse Stallions from this set, this week we have the dapple grey G1 Citations.

Conga! G1 Quarter Horse Stallion

The original ceramic Hagen-Renaker mold, #31 Mini Quarter Horse Stallion³⁴, was sculpted by Maureen Love Calvert, and leased from the company by Breyer for production in plastic. The Quarter Horse Stallion mold was released in 1976 and was discontinued along with the other Generation One molds in 2005.

During this time, Breyer released ten regular runs and eight special runs on this mold, making him the sixth most used G1 mold, just behind the G1 Saddlebred. Unlike most of the other G1 molds, the Quarter Horse Stallion does not have any old plastic Sears special runs as his first SR gift set release was in 1992.

Conga! G1 Quarter Horse Mare

The original ceramic Hagen-Renaker mold, #428/61 Mini Head Down Horse³⁵, was sculpted by Maureen Love Calvert, and leased from the company by Breyer for production in plastic. Since the Hagen-Renaker Head Down Horse is a stallion, the mold was altered to remove the male parts in order to produce the plastic mares.

The Quarter Horse Mare mold was released in 1976 with the other molds, but unlike the others who were discontinued in 2005, production of this mold ended in 1998. During her short life time, this mold was only used four times making it, hands down, the least used Generation One Stablemate mold. These four runs were all regular runs; no special runs were ever released. Other generations have molds which have been use less thus far, but since these molds are still 'live' there's still the potential for future releases.

Variation Gallery: G1 Arabian Stallion #5013

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5013 Arabian Stallion

1975-88

Play Sets and Singles: Got to Be a Götz - Ponies and Dolls

Götz (or Goetz in the US) started as a small, family owned, German doll company in the 1950s. Originally made with paper mache, in 1957 the company began using rotational molding to produce vinyl dolls. They pioneered the mass-production of "designer" dolls with their product line by artist, Sasha Morgenthaler, in 1964. After establishing a factory in the US in the late 1980s, Götz became involved with the Pleasant Company, the producers of the American Girl Dolls.³³ The company continues to be a major player in the designer doll world to this day.

Breyer produced models for both the Pleasant Company and Götz, but the runs produced for the former company were only of the larger scales, and thus of little interest to us here.

Look-Alikes: G1 Native Dancer

Compared to some of the other molds, Native Dancer's look-alikes are blissfully simple. There are really only two releases which might possibly cause a moment of confusion.

Variation Spotlight: G1 Quarter Horse Stallion #495092 & #711094

Sears Special Run

#495092 Stablemate Assortment IV

1992
&

JCPenney Special Run

#711094 12-Piece Stablemates Set

1994

There isn't too much to say about these guys. Breyer's splatter appaloosa technique results in a unique pattern every time, so every model produced for these two runs will be a variation. Let's just sit back and enjoy the spotty goodness.

Conga! G1 Native Dancer

The original ceramic Hagen-Renaker mold, #12 Mini Native Dancer⁶, was sculpted by Maureen Love Calvert, and leased from the company by Breyer for production in plastic. The Native Dancer mold was released in 1976 and was discontinued along with the other Generation One molds in 2005. During this time, Breyer released only four regular runs and eight special runs on this mold, making this the second least used G1 mold, just ahead of the G1 Quarter Horse Mare.

Variation Gallery: G1 Quarter Horse Mare #5050

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5050 Quarter Horse Mare

1976-88

Happy 1st Birthday, Many Mini Hooves!

One year ago today the first post for Many Mini Hooves was published!

Birthday Week - Footnotes: Model Mementos - Breyer Souvenirs

From time to time Breyers pop up in various gift shops and tourist traps promoting a particular region or attraction. These models feature non-factory modifications such as stickers or even simple dioramas to link them with the area. I have a couple of souvenir animals in my collection, but I've yet to be lucky enough to come across any of the Stablemates.

Birthday Week - Footnotes: Heavy Metal - Stablemate Knock-Offs: Models of Mystery

Earlier today we had the Durham Steel Stallions models which are fairly well documented for knock-offs. The origins of the following models are a bit more mysterious.

The owner didn't know anything about these guys, but it doesn't look as if they are from the Durham Steel Stallions line as they are unpainted and are lacking any type of mold stamps.

They do, however look very similar in finish to other Durham miniatures and are, with the possible exception of the G1 Saddlebred, molds which Durham would already have on hand. It stands to reason this G1 Saddlebred Knock-off probably spawned the rumors of the Hagen-Renaker 5-gaiter mentioned in the Durham Steel Stallions post.

Models and pictures owned by Pam Pramuka and used here by permission.

Birthday Week - Footnotes: Heavy Metal - Stablemate Knock-Offs: Durham Steel Stallions

The following models are the results of copyright infringement due to the unlawful production of certain Stablemate and Hartland molds by a third party, which is wrong. That being said, let's look at some really cool fake Stablemates!

Some time around 1977²¹, model horse enthusiasts began noticing some interesting horse-shaped objects in their local stores such as Kmart²², Woolworth²³, Skaggs drugstores ²⁴, and Kresge's²⁵.

These Stablemate-sized models, mounted on blister cards blazoned with the name Durham Steel Stallions, all three looked quite familiar. They were in fact copies of Breyer's G1 Thoroughbred Mare and G1 Morgan Stallion. The third model was shown on the back of the packaging as a G1 Quarter Horse Mare, but the actual model produced looked more like Hartland's Tinymites Morgan.²⁶ They weren't exact copies as there were a few tiny changes to each mold, but their provenance was clear.

The original molds
Hartland Tinymite Morgan, Breyer G1 Morgan Stallion, Breyer G1 Thoroughbred Mare

Birthday Week - Footnotes: Fun with Colours...and Graphs, Part V

If you're just joining us, check out the first post for explanations and clarifications on the colour graphs.

And now, in conclusion, we have Generation One, in total, broken down by colour.

Birthday Week - Footnotes: Fun with Colours...and Graphs, Part IV

If you're just joining us, check out the first post for explanations and clarifications on the colour graphs.

Birthday Week - Footnotes: Fun with Colours...and Graphs, Part III

If you're just joining us, check out the first post for explanations and clarifications on the colour graphs.

Birthday Week - Footnotes: Fun with Colours...and Graphs, Part II

If you're just joining us, check out the first post for explanations and clarifications on the colour graphs.

Birthday Week - Footnotes: Fun with Colours...and Graphs, Part I

For those of you who know me, you know there's something that's sure to make me giggle like a little girl - graphs! In my baby book it says at two years old I liked to "arrange stuffed animals according to type and size"; in the past 30 years that hasn't changed a bit, I still love sorting things.

That said, I decided it would be fun to break down each G1 mold by it's base colours and patterns. There's so many of these little charts I thought it would be best to only post a few molds at a time throughout the day with a final post containing an overview of the generation as a whole. If you follow our Google+ community page, you'll have seen the data, but isn't everything more fun in colour?

Birthday Week - Footnotes: Stamp of Approval - The Twin Theory

You just thought we covered all one could possibly say about the belly of a three inch tall model horse with the first Stamp of Approval post, but oh, no we didn't! No, it's not exactly new information, I just got my hands on a later edition of Nancy Young's book during my holiday and have come home armed with more tiny belly trivia.

Apparently all of the Stablemate injection molds - except that of the G1 Saddlebred which is alone in its own mold - have two cavities. One injection mold for sure contains cavities for two different molds, the Thoroughbred Foals, but certain variations in the copyright stamps and concurrent examples of said stamps has lead Nancy Young and others to the conclusion that the cavities in some of these molds are of the same model mold, producing two of the (mostly) same sculptures at once¹⁸.

In her book, Nancy only provides stamp data for a handful of models to demonstrate the overlap. I've provided my observations for all of my models of each mold under discussion; with this larger sample size we can see that some stamp types appear to be more common than their counterparts, but this is not a large enough sample group to determine whether this is a genuine trend or just a luck-of-the-draw coincidence.

Birthday Week - Gift Set: Special Run Stablemate Assortments - Ads and Stats

After our romp through the 90s with the Sears and JCPenney Special Run assortments I thought it might be fun to see the catalogue pages which inspired collectors back in the day. I've also included some fun statistics for each year's collection. I was surprised by how expensive the sets in the early 90s were.

Our 1st Birthday is Coming!

This next Saturday Many Mini Hooves will be one year old! To celebrate the fact I've been able to stick with a project for longer than a squirrel sneeze, we're going to have a post every day of the week leading up to the big day.

Footnotes: Not So Mellow - Yellow Plastic

It is not uncommon for some models to yellow over time, though it does seem to be more common in the larger scales than in Stablemates, but that perception may just due to the size difference - yellowing (and other details) is more noticeable the larger you get.

Various factors influence yellowing - exposure to sunlight, plastic composition, finish type, smoke damage, or a combination of these or other issues can cause the white plastic of a model to take on a yellow tone. Avoiding long exposure to direct sunlight and not smoking in the house will eliminate the two controllable factors in the yellowing equation.

Variation Gallery: G1 Seabiscuit #5024

If you would like to contribute to a future VG post, please check out our list of photos needed.

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment
#5024 Seabiscuit
1976-90

Look-Alike: G1 Morgan Stallion

As with the G1 Morgan Mare, the G1 Morgan Stallion has a whole lot of brown going on. Due to the mold's irregular release history, there are a few runs which are pretty much impossible to tell apart. Looking at the mold stamp may provide a clue in some cases, but even so you're more than likely to be left guessing at best.

Variation Spotlight: G1 Morgan Mare #5038

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5038 Morgan Mare

1976-87

Considering #5083 saw twelve years in production and was that oh so variable bay colour, the surprise isn't that I have four of these models, it's that I only have four of these models.

Conga! G1 Morgan Stallion

The original ceramic Hagen-Renaker mold, #389 Mini Morgan Stallion⁵, was sculpted by Maureen Love Calvert, and leased from the ceramics company by Breyer for production in plastic. Officially released in 1976, the Morgan Stallion mold was discontinued along with the other Generation One molds in 2005.

During this time, Breyer released ten regular runs and twelve special runs on this mold, putting him in second place for the most used G1 mold, eight runs behind the G1 Draft Horse. The popularity of this mold makes it one of the more difficult and expensive ones to conga; the sheer number of releases (especially with those three "Arabians" during the first part of 1975) doesn't help matters, either.

Variation Gallery: G1 Native Dancer #5023

If you would like to contribute to a future VG post, please check out our list of photos needed.

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5023 Native Dancer

1976-1994

Gift Set: Reigseckers G1 Draft Horses: Look-Alikes, Profiles, & Mini Variation Gallery

One of the major grails of a serious Stablemates collector is undoubtedly the special run set of seven G1 Draft Horses sold by Reigseckers of Indiana. The Reigsecker family of Middlebury, Indiana were responsible for some of the most highly sought special runs of the 1980s, though this set was their only special run in this scale.¹⁵ As legendary as this set is, it seems odd that it doesn't have an official name, collectors just refer to it as the Reigseckers set or the Reigseckers draft horses.

Variation Spotlight: Native Dancer #5178

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5178 Appaloosa

1995-97

Yet again we have a pair of variations that seem to follow an early/late pattern rather than being completely random.

Look-Alikes: G1 Morgan Mare

With 73% of the G1 Morgan Mares released being either bay or chestnut, you can imagine there are some which may look fairly similar.

Variation Spotlight: G1 Arabian Stallion #5181

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5181 Arabian Stallion

1995-97

Whether you call him bay or chestnut, there's something not quite right about one of these #5181 Arabian Stallions.

Conga! G1 Morgan Mare

The original ceramic Hagen-Renaker mold, #388 Mini Morgan Mare¹⁴, was sculpted by Maureen Love Calvert, and leased from the ceramics company by Breyer for production in plastic. Released in 1976, the Morgan Mare mold was discontinued along with the other Generation One molds in 2005.

During this time, Breyer released six regular runs and nine special runs on this mold, putting her around the middle of the pack as far as run numbers go. With the exception of the 1976 chestnut which only ran for one year, none of the releases on this mold are particularly hard to find.

Variation Gallery: G1 Morgan Stallion #5013 & #5035

If you would like to contribute to a future VG post, please check out our list of photos needed.

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5013 Arabian Stallion

1975

And

#5035 Morgan Stallion

1976-88

Footnotes: I'm Melting! Oh, What a World! - Mold Deterioration

Over time, frequent use and the odd polishing session gradually robbed the molds of the G1 Stablemate line of their refinement and detail. During the production process, the relatively soft metal Breyer used for the early Stablemate molds would become etched by the injection of the extremely hot liquid plastic, and after a time, a polishing would be needed to remove those marks.

While the operation is only meant to lightly buff the metal, it's not difficult to remove fine detail; some of the molds may have been polished so vigorously as to lose their mold stamps, which then had to be retooled. Down the line we'll get a look at these guys when we revisit the mold stamps.

Variation Spotlight: G1 Citation #5175

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5175 Standing Thoroughbred

1995-97

Unlike most variations which tend to be random fluctuations depending on the whim of the painter, the darkening of #5175 seems as if it might have been a systematic progression.

Gift Set: Special Run Stablemate Assortments, Part IV - Sears' Last Hurrah

After years of silence on the Breyer-front from Sears, collectors were pleasantly shocked by a loaded Christmas Wishbook in 1998. They had it all, Traditionals, Classics, and yes, Stablemates! Not only did the set include favourites like the G1 Draft Horse and G1 Saddlebred, but for the first time a SR Assortment included foals!

Look-Alikes: G1 Draft Horses

With the number of runs issued on this mold, it's no wonder there's a bit of ID confusion surrounding some of the models.The most enigmatic of the releases, the Riegseckers set, will have their look-alikes covered in their own post in May! Today we're going to cover the regular runs and the more standard special runs.

Chestnuts:

Variation Gallery: G1 Thoroughbred Mare #5026

If you would like to contribute to a future VG post, please check out our list of photos needed.

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5026 Thoroughbred Mare

1975-87

Conga! G1 Draft Horses

The original ceramic Hagen-Renaker mold, #459 Mini Percheron¹², was sculpted by Maureen Love Calvert, and leased from the ceramics company by Breyer for production in plastic. Released in 1976, the Draft Horse mold was discontinued along with the other Generation One molds in 2005, though he did make a surprise one-time comeback in 2014 as a bonus model from the Vintage Club.

During this time, Breyer only released four regular runs on this mold, but they more than made up for that with the special runs- twenty six! This made him hands down, the number one most used Generation One mold; his nearest competitor is a full eight runs behind. With the plethora of limited special runs (especially that Riegseckers set!) on this mold, it's safe to say this is a nightmare conga to complete.

Variation Spotlight: Morgan Stallion #5036

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5036 Morgan Stallion

1976-88

How much variation can there be in a run of black horses? If that run is #5036, the black Morgan Stallion, the answer might be surprising. Unlike most of the Stablemate variations, the sock variations of this run are unusually well documented.

Look-Alike: G1 Citation

With such a small number of runs on the Citation mold, it would follow that there aren't too many look-alikes to worry about. The appaloosas and greys are so different there's not much confusion there. Really, the only question one might have is "which brown Citation is this?"

Conga! G1 Citation

The original ceramic Hagen-Renaker mold,  #11 Citation¹⁰, was sculpted by Maureen Love Calvert, and leased from the company by Breyer for production in plastic. Released in 1975, the Citation mold was discontinued along with the other Generation One molds in 2005.

During this time, Breyer released only four regular runs and ten special runs on this mold, putting him in a three-way tie for the third least-used Stablemate mold.

Variation Spotlight: G1 Thoroughbred Standing and Lying Foals #5702 & #5701

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment

#5702 & #5701 Thoroughbred Lying and Standing Foals

1975-76

The Thoroughbred foals came in scads of variations even though they were only in production two years. Leg markings and variations in colour and finish are most common, but a few rare examples have facial markings. Mine are of the less dramatic variety, but still super cute.

Regular Run Stablemate Assortment #5702 Thoroughbred Lying and Standing Foals 1975-76

Gift Set: Special Run Stablemate Assortments - Many Minis from JCPenney

Collectors held their collective breaths when the 1995 JCPenney Christmas catalogue came out; would there be another Stablemates Assortment this year? Why, yes, yes there was! There, nestled in amongst the other Breyer holiday offerings was the Set of 12 Miniatures, and weren't they lovely?

1995 Set of 12 Miniatures