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.

Regular Run Releases
Models listed below left to right

Top Row

• Stablemate Assortment #5020 Citation 1975-1990
• Stablemate Assortment #5019 Standing Thoroughbred 1991-1994 (New Plastic: 1992-94)

Bottom Row

• Stablemate Assortment #5175 Standing Thoroughbred 1995-97
• Gift Set #5650 Saddle Club Collection II 1996-97

Special Run Releases
Models listed below left to right

Top Row

• Sears Special Run #495600 Stablemate Assortment 1989
• Sears Special Run #495601 Stablemate Assortment II 1990
• Sears Special Run #495091 Stablemate Assortment III 1991
• Sears Special Run #495092 Stablemate Assortment IV 1992

Middle Row

• JCPenney Special Run #711094 Twelve-Piece Stablemates Set 1994
• JCPenney Special Run #710695 Set of 12 Miniatures 1995
• JCPenney Special Run #710695 Set of 12 Miniatures 1995

Bottom Row

• JCPenney Special Run #711096 12-Piece Stablemates Set 1996
• JCPenney Special Run #710897 12-pc. Parade of Breeds 1997
• Sears Special Run #770198 12-pc Stablemates 1998

Citation is not a particularly difficult mold to conga. There are only four regular runs and the special runs are just the standard assortment sets, though the older models can be slightly harder to find. There should have been a regular run Citation packaged with a Thoroughbred Mare and Standing Foal in the 1975 Sears catalogue, but his place was taken by a G1 Arabian Stallion instead.

Just to keep things from being too dull, all four regular runs have their variations. The original Citation can be found with any number of socks and ranges from dark to light; shaded to flat-toned. In 1995 a bright white alabaster "Standing Thoroughbred" was introduced. Over the years of his run, the colour gradually grew increasingly more smokey until very late models appeared to be almost uniformly grey.

The colour of the Standing Thoroughbred released in 1991 is a bit difficult to classify; sometimes it's sandy bay, others it's chestnut. In the 1991 and 1992 catalogues the model appears to have dark charcoal forelegs, while the 1993 and 1994 catalogues show him with self-coloured forelegs instead.¹⁰ I have yet to see models with perfectly self-coloured (body coloured) forelegs, most tend to be a few shades darker, but they can get pretty light. If you have one, do share!

Look out for the Draft Horse conga in late February!